The official practices for the 2024 Senior Bowl have wrapped up, and three whole days of action at Hancock Whitney Stadium have given insight on the top group of collegiate players from across the country. I am here today to share some of the sights, sounds and observations from my time in Mobile. 

Non-Power 5 Standouts

Players from non-Power Five schools are often met with criticism that they have not played against the quality of opponents they will see in the NFL. While this is a fair point to bring up, it is not true for every player. The Senior Bowl is a great opportunity for Group of 5 or lower division players to prove themselves to NFL scouts, which a few guys took advantage of. 

If University of New Hampshire running back Dylan Laube is not a name you have heard yet, I would suggest looking him up, because he’s someone you should expect to see on Sundays. The 5’10”, 208-pound Laube played at the FCS level in the Colonial Athletic Association, where he finished the 2023 season with 715 rushing yards and 699 receiving yards. 

“My versatility is so important, especially in the game today where a running back has to be a lineman, a receiving back, a receiver, a running back, a special teams guy,” Laube said. “So me showing it on the field the past couple of years at UNH is so important, and I think my versatility will set me apart from everyone else.”

During practices, Laube was out on the field bright and early before any other players. He showed his strong work ethic, running hard through every single drill. He not only can shift around players and break into open space in the run game, but look natural catching passes while lining up as a receiver. 

Despite only playing against FCS teams his entire career, Laube looked at ease lining up with guys that were mainly from the Power Five. 

“It’s awesome, man. The knowledge of the game and their [NFL coaches] experience is unbelievable,” Laube said. “They’re so intense and it’s so fun.” 

A G5 player that really stood out on the defensive end was Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell. Mitchell actually played so well over the first two days that he pulled out from the rest of the Bowlt to protect himself from injuries. 

“Group of 5, Power 5. No matter who you are, I’m gonna compete,” Mitchell said. 

Mitchell lined up against some of the best receivers in the draft, and was able to defend them well with his ability to keep pace and have an accurate awareness of where the ball was going. In a one-on-one with USC’s Brenden Rice, Mitchell read the route perfectly and leapt in front of Rice to grab the interception in the endzone. 

Wide Receiver Successes 

The talented crop of wide receivers showed out during practices. Like Mitchell, Michigan’s Roman Wilson and Florida’s Ricky Pearsall did so well over the first couple days of practice that they too opted out of the Senior Bowl. 

One wide receiver who was not so lucky to escape injury was Arizona’s Jacob Cowing. During Thursday’s practice, Cowing was carted off the field after suffering an apparent injury (there is no word yet of how serious the injury is). Prior to this, Cowing was making his mark, bringing in tough passes that did not look easily catchable. He also had an around the shoulder touchdown catch worthy of SportsCenter nomination. 

While many of the wide receivers looked great, North Carolina’s Tez Walker showed some struggles. Walker dropped his fair share of balls, and buzz from the media was not leaning in his favor. Walker did look more comfortable on the last day of practice, but I would not say the Senior Bowl really brought up his stock. 

Quarterback Notes 

Seven quarterbacks took snaps during the three days of practice, and to be completely honest, there wasn’t one in particular that completely jumped off the page as someone you “have to draft”. Honestly, though, it seems a little superficial to make bold assumptions about any of these quarterbacks after three days of practice when we have years of film for all of these guys in real game situations.  

Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman sometimes looked small behind the defensive line. During the second day of practice, Hartman had two pass attempts batted down at the line of scrimmage. Hartman did make some nice throws as well, but it often appears he needs to put exuberant energy into each pass. 

Bo Nix, who often took snaps from the shotgun while at Oregon, had lots of issues with the snaps that were primarily under center in Mobile. A lot of this can be attributed to the unfamiliarity with the center, but the other quarterbacks did not seem to have this issue. 

Spencer Rattler did not look particularly special, but it was interesting to hear him from the stands say “my bad, that’s on me” after a bad pass during a one-on-one drill. Rattler has been notorious for his cocky nature dating back to his time on the Netflix show QB1, and to hear him take accountability for a mistake was a noticeable change.

Joe Milton still has the strongest arm, but as we’ve seen over his years in college, it is not always the most accurate. NFL teams will have to decide if they think they can harness his potential into an NFL-caliber quarterback. 

Tulane’s Spencer Pratt impressed during the first day of practice, but overall, nothing crazy really jumped off the page to me. I envision Pratt playing a very similar NFL role to someone like Aidan O’Connell. 

Overall Vibes

Ultimately, the vibes at the Senior Bowl were very high. When it’s sunny and 60 degrees in January, it’s hard for people not to be happy. Players seemed to be enjoying themselves, with lots of smiles all around. Practices usually concluded with some “fun” drill with the losers doing push-ups in good nature.