South squad seeks respect from evaluators
MOBILE, ALA. — Envy can often times be used as fuel, and there’s a group of overlooked football players in Mobile that are pretty gassed up for Saturday’s Senior Bowl.
While the score, and winner of the showcase game really shouldn’t matter to these 2018 NFL draft prospects, don’t be surprised to witness the South squad play like they’ve got a chip on their shoulder.
The North team got all the attention from NFL executives, scouts, and the media during this week’s practices because Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, the Heisman Trophy winner, and Wyoming’s Josh Allen, a quarterback viewed as a potential first-round pick, were on the same team.
The attention was so one-sided, NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock, who sparingly mentioned any other quarterback participating in the game, jokingly nicknamed Mayfield “Seabiscuit” and dubbed Allen as “Hollywood” because of all focus they’ve received this week.
A perfect illustration of the disparity in attention paid to both squads came on Thursday, which is usually the departure day for NFL executives and coaches from Mobile. The North team practiced earlier in the day, and that session received about twice the amount of onlookers as the South team’s afternoon practice.
“Of course,” Western Kentucky quarterback Mike White said when asked if being overlooked as a member of the South team bothered him. “They are good dudes over there on the north side. We all got to talk these past couple of days, but it is like ‘Hey, we’re here too! Come out to practice and watch us throw and you’ll give us the respect we deserve.’ ”
That respect can be earned on the field during the game, which is the last chance for NFL draft prospects to impress talent evaluators in actual game conditions.
Plenty of players — most notably Hall of Fame pass rusher Jason Taylor, and Pro Bowl talents like Demarco Murray, Kareem Hunt, Carson Wentz, Russell Wilson and Dak Prescott just name a few — have used the Senior Bowl practice week and the game to elevate their draft stock.
“You always see one team that looks so great during practice,” Dolphins General Manager Chris Grier said. “You’re like ‘Oh, they’re going to kill the other team,’ and then the opposite [happens]. They’re blown out or something and you’re just like [wow].”
White, who starred at University School before going to South Florida and then transferring to Western Kentucky — where he threw for 8,540 yards and 63 touchdowns in two seasons — held his own all week.
“He’s very good between the ears. He understands what’s going on and does a great job reading defenses. Doesn’t make mental errors. Doesn’t force the throw. But he’s a tall, skinny guy with adequate, but not great arm strength,” said draft analyst Tony Pauline, who classified White as a prospect worthy of a midround selection. “He needs work on his downfield passing game. He’s a two year project.”
Pauline thought Allen had the potential to become the first quarterback selected in the 2018 draft, but his performance during the Senior Bowl practices has him backing off that prediction after he struggled with his accuracy all week.
As for Mayfield, Pauline said he had a “solid, but not spectacular” week, and predicts he’ll be taken too high, possibly coming off the board in the middle of the first round.
“He can’t drive the deep throw, but he did well working under center in an NFLtype offense,” Pauline said. “But, overall, I still have my concerns.”
The attention might not be the same, but the stakes are just as high for everyone competing in the game because history says a strong Senior Bowl performance can move a player up a round or two, especially when it comes to the players from small schools.
North Carolina A&T offensive lineman Brandon Parker used this week to show he can play with the big boys in the trenches, holding his own against potential first- and second-day talents.
“Ever since I got the invite I’ve been hyped up. I’ve had this circled on my calendar this whole time,” said Parker, who held up well all week against Texas-San Antonio’s Marcus Davenport, a projected first-round pick. “I hope they look at the film of me competing out here and winning my fair share, and see that I’m a kid that can play in that league.”