- North Dakota State deal with thriving on the inside offensive line: Regardless of taking part in deal with for the Bison, Gray Zabel impressed together with his work within the one-on-one go drills at guard and heart.
Estimated Studying Time: 5 minutes
The 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl is among the most anticipated in years for quite a lot of causes. There’s heavy intrigue on which quarterbacks can separate themselves, the trenches are deep and gifted, and naturally, the fireworks that may fly within the vast receiver and defensive again battles.
Listed below are some early notes on how these gamers fared on day certainly one of follow.
QUARTERBACKS STRUGGLE EARLY
It wasn’t the most effective begin for the quarterback group on day certainly one of Senior Bowl practices. Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard stood out as a result of he was extra constant than his friends. He most not too long ago performed a school recreation, however that gave the impression to be to his benefit. Laurier’s Taylor Elgersma accrued a couple of good throws within the WR/DB one-on-one drills.
Nonetheless, the 2 who appeared to have probably the most intrigue, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart, struggled of their respective methods. Milroe’s lack of accuracy and ball placement was a lot the identical as what we noticed over the past two seasons (and his smaller hand measurements from this week give us extra context as to why that is likely to be one thing he may at all times wrestle with). As for Dart, he had a number of fumbles throughout his first practices, largely coming from below heart, one thing he hardly ever did in faculty with simply 9 snaps below heart out of 943 whole snaps over the past two years.
Hopefully, each can bounce again on Wednesday.
GREY ZABEL LOOKS LIKE THE TOP INTERIOR OL IN THE DRAFT
There’s a variety of expertise within the trenches on the Senior Bowl, however there was nonetheless lots to kind out. North Dakota State’s Gray Zabel was a big-time early winner within the group. After taking part in proper and left deal with the final two seasons for the Bison, he was used largely as an inside offensive lineman on Day 1 of Senior Bowl practices.
Enjoying at proper guard, left guard and heart, he was a constant winner within the one-on-ones and within the staff drills. His footwork, core power and grip power have been all NFL caliber. He has the talents and flexibility to be the highest inside offensive linemen in your complete class.
ELIJAH ARROYO MAKING HIS CASE FOR TE3
Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland are seen as the highest two tight ends within the 2025 class, however there are questions on who will probably be TE3. Miami’s Elijah Arroyo made a really sturdy case for that title on Day 1 of Senior Bowl practices.
He was an early winner from the weigh-ins, coming in at 6-foot-4 and 251 kilos, greater than his listed peak and weight at Miami. Then, he showcased excellent all-around motion abilities within the slot, coming from inline and even on the surface. He had only one season of true manufacturing (2024) as a result of a knee damage he suffered in 2022 and was nonetheless getting again to kind in 2023. This previous 12 months, he recorded profession highs in each class and regarded like a future NFL receiving tight finish. He continued to look the half in Cell.
T.J. SANDERS HEADLINING A TALENTED DEFENSIVE LINE GROUP
There are a ton of gifted inside defensive linemen on the Senior Bowl this 12 months. Walter Nolen, Shemar Stewart, Deone Walker, Omarr Nolan-Lott — the listing goes on. But, South Carolina‘s T.J. Sanders regarded like the most effective of the bunch on Day 1.
He’s a smaller, faster inside defensive lineman who wins with an excellent first step, fast arms and a capability to shoot into the backfield, incomes an 87.3 pass-rush grade on true go units over the past two years. He was definitely in a position to present a few of that, however he additionally had an ideal rep the place he received with a robust bull rush changing that velocity into energy. That’s what the NFL desires to see from him, particularly weighing in at simply 284 kilos. It appears like we’re getting a handful of defensive linemen within the first spherical this 12 months. Sanders is exhibiting why he could possibly be certainly one of them.
.@GamecockFB DT T.J. Sanders is thought for his velocity, however Good Lord did he convert that velocity to energy on this rep
WHEW pic.twitter.com/59VVZlicdg
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) January 28, 2025
JACK BECH PLAY OF THE DAY
TCU vast receiver Jack Bech is a fan favourite within the 2025 receiver class. The previous LSU Tiger recorded over 1,000 yards this previous season with an 84.0 receiving grade. Nonetheless, his motion abilities are probably the most spectacular.
He’s a smooth-moving 6-foot-1 and 212 kilos, and he is among the higher separators within the class. Tuesday, he had the play of the day, gaining separation on a deep crossing route then climbing the ladder, turning his physique in mid-air to come back down with an eye-popping catch. Dependable arms, nice coordination and creating these throwing home windows will proceed to make his inventory rise.
Stunning catch from @TCUFootball WR Jack Bech to climb the ladder and are available down with this one
Catch of the day at @seniorbowl pic.twitter.com/14DFuC1uVS
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) January 28, 2025
