Senior Bowl Recap
First, we must note who didn’t participate in the game. All week, we heard these names mentioned as players who dominated the practices. They must have determined they did enough in the practices before the scouts, and the risk of getting hurt in a game was not worth taking. The following players didn’t play:
Derrick Moore EDGE Michigan
Jacob Rodriguez LB Texas Tech
Lee Hunter DT Texas Tech
TJ Parker EDGE Clemson
Tanner Koziol TE Houston
Dan Villari, TE, Syracuse
JC Davis, OT, Illinois
Tyreak Sapp, EDGE, Florida
Gabe Jacas, EDGE, Illinois
Daylen Everette, CB, Georgia
Davison Igbinosun, CB, Ohio State
Malik Muhammed, CB, Texas
Jalen Stroman, S, Notre Dame
Kaytron Allen, RB, Penn State
Nick Singleton, RB, Penn State (broke foot in Thursday practice)
Romello Brinson, WR, SMU
Caleb Brunson, WR, Texas Tech
Reggie Virgil, WR, Texas Tech
Vinnie Anthony II, WR, Wisconsin
Nate Boerkircher, TE, Texas A&M
Kage Casey, OT, Boise State
Jalen Farmer, IOL, Kentucky
Dano Dennis-Sutton, EDGE, Penn State
Romello Height, EDGE, Texas Tech
Deven Eastern, DL, Minnesota
Zane Durant, DL, Penn State
Jeffrey M’Ba, DL, SMU
Darrell Jackson Jr., DL, Florida State
Only three players that are projected by NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah to go in the 1st round practiced this week. Parker and Hunter didn’t play in the game. Gennings Dunker RT Iowa is the only player projected to go in the 1st round that actually played.
From my observation, the Players of the game were:
QB Garrett Nussmeir, LSU – The conditions were brutal with 30-degree temps falling much lower with a strong 30 MPH wind. His run on a Run Pass Option in the 1st quarter was a thing of beauty. He read the DE (Max Llewellyn) crashing down on the back and kept the ball and ran it into the End Zone. He was 5/8 for 57 yards. He was credited with an INT, but that was clearly TE John Michael Gyllenborg’s fault, with the ball slipping right through his hands and into S Deshon Singleton’s hands.
Malachi Fields, WR, Notre Dame – The big (6’4”) receiver was dominant during the game.
American Runningbacks – Kaelon Black, Indiana, Jadyn Ott, Oklahoma (TD), and Mike Washington, Arkansas, all ran well. The O line was dominant in the 1st Quarter, especially behind OT Max Iheanachor. Black had 8 carries for 45 yards and a 5.8 YPC.
Max Iheanachor, OT, Arizona State – he dominated practices and showed up huge in this game. He threw key blocks on Nussmeier’s and Ott’s TDs. He also had at least three pancake blocks. He plays nastily, and he has made himself a lot of money this week. I had him on my initial Mock Draft as a 4th Round pick (130). In my next Mock Draft, I have the Patriots taking him at the end of the 2nd round (64). Daniel Jeremiah claimed that Iheanachor is pushing to get into the 1st Round.
Bryce Boettcher, LB, Oregon – he had a great game with 12 Tackles and a pass breakup. He played a lot with Rodriguez and Louis opting out. Boettcher is ranked as a late-round pick only because he has an option to play baseball. In 2024, Boettcher had a breakout season where he batted .276 with 12 home runs, 35 RBI, and 15 stolen bases, earning a collegiate Gold Glove. After the season, he was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 13th round of the 2024 MLB draft. He has not played in the minor leagues yet.
Ndame Tucker, EDGE, Western Michigan – I can’t believe he was selected as Defensive Player of the Game. He had 2 Sacks, 3 Tackles for Loss, and a Forced Fumble. He is a player the Patriots might be interested in on Day 3 if they don’t go for an Edge player early in the draft.
Vincent Anthony, EDGE, Duke – He had a heck of a game with a Sack and 2 Fumble Recoveries.
Zion Young, EDGE, Missouri – He had a good game as well and was selected as the 2026 Senior Bowl Most Outstanding Player of the game.
Quintayvious Hutchins, EDGE, Boston College – He came into the game as an unknown player. The scouts know who he is now! For the game, he had 3 Tackles for Loss, including stuffing QB Cole Payton at the goal line on a 2-point conversion try. The 6’1”, 244-pound played on the EDGE for BC, but his lack of size means he won’t be there in the Pros. He had 4.65 speed and should move to OLB.
These are the 2026 Senior Bowl Practice Players of the Week. These are voted on by the players they went up against in each of the 3 Practice sessions.
| National | American | |
| Diego Pavia Vanderbilt | QB | Garrett Nussmeir LSU |
| Seth McGowan Kentucky | RB | Mike Washington Arkansas |
| Jordan Hudson SMU | WR | Malachi Fields Notre Dame |
| Justin Joly NC State | TE | Tanner Koziol Houston |
| Gennings Dunker Iowa | OT | Max Iheanchor Arizona State |
| TJ Parker Clemson | DL/EDGE | Caleb Banks Florida |
| Kyle Louis | LB | Owen Heinecke Oklahoma |
| Rivers Duke | CB | Davison Igbinosun Ohio State |
| Zakee Wheatley | S | Bud Clark TCU |
A player who had a difficult time in the game was OT, Jude Bowry, BC. He played at Right Tackle and was a turnstile all day. Some players, like the Patriots’ Caeden Wallace, can’t make the switch to the opposite side. Bowry played left Tackle at BC. Daniel Jeremiah, the NFL Network Draft analyst, said that Bowry should be moved inside to guard. I had those same thoughts weeks ago when I had Bowry as a Patriots pick in a mock. I was thinking of moving him to Left Guard.
Dartmouth College Delby Lemieux was an Ivy League star at OT. He received an invite to the Senior Bowl and learned to play Center. The 6’5”, 305-pound lineman from Hanover, Massachusetts, played Center and Guard, and he threw the big block that sprung Kejon Owens for a National team TD.
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Merrimack Valley native and lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. My earliest memories of the Patriots were attending as a child with my dad, the off-season practice at Phillips Academy. I was at the Patriots game at Harvard Stadium in 1970 where Bob “Harpo” Gladieux was called out of the stands by the stadium announcer over the PA to play in the game. Analyzing the draft since ESPN first started to televise it in 1980 and former writer for the Lowell Sun Newspaper.
