2023 NFL Draft

2023 Senior Bowl roster reveal: What you need to know

Published: Jan 10, 2023 at 08:31 PM

Eric Edholm

Lead Draft Writer

The 2023 Reese's Senior Bowl roster is nearing completion.

On Tuesday, Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy joined NFL Network's Bucky Brooks, Rhett Lewis and Daniel Jeremiah on the Move The Sticks Reese's Senior Bowl Roster Reveal Show to unveil the annual college all-star game's 120-plus expected participants. Practices will be held from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 (with live coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET on NFL+) at Hancock Whitney Stadium on the campus of the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. The game will be held on Saturday, Feb. 4 (2:30 p.m. ET on NFL Network).

Senior prospects, along with some early-graduating juniors, will compete in a week's worth of practices leading up to the game -- with NFL coaches, scouts and personnel executives getting a chance to meet and evaluate the players.

1) QBs under the microscope

The 2022 Senior Bowl featured the draft's only first-round quarterback (Kenny Pickett), two third-round signal-callers (Desmond Ridder and Malik Willis), one fourth-rounder (Bailey Zappe) and a fifth-rounder (Sam Howell).

Right now, there's no clear-cut favorite to emerge from this year's group, which features TCU's Max Duggan, Fresno State's Jake Haener, BYU's Jaren Hall, Houston's Clayton Tune and Division II star Tyson Bagent of Shepherd.

That's five spots accounted for. The Senior Bowl typically features six (or more) quarterbacks. Kentucky's Will Levis, a possible first-rounder who has not yet publicly stated his all-star-game plans, is likely the highest-rated quarterback who potentially could fill that spot in Mobile.

Tennessee's Hendon Hooker would have been an excellent candidate to play in the game, but he suffered a season-ending ACL tear in a loss to South Carolina in November and is mid-rehab now.

Duggan's brilliant 2022 season makes him the biggest name right now, even after his struggles in the national title game, but Haener's penchant for the dramatic, Hall's dual-threat ability, Tune's mental and physical toughness and Bagent's whopping small-school production will all be put under the microscope in the week's practices and game.

2) Ohio State OT can make big impression

The 2022 Senior Bowl featured as large an NFL prospect as we might have ever seen at the event: Minnesota offensive tackle Daniel Faalele, who checked in at 6-foot-8 and 387 pounds, with 11-inch hands, 35 3/8-inch arms and an 86 1/4-inch wingspan.

Is it possible we could have an even bigger OT prospect this year?

Ohio State's Dawand Jones is listed by the Buckeyes at 6-8 and 359 pounds. It's not likely that Jones will outweigh Faalele. But Jones' height, arm length, hand size and wingspan could surpass Faalele's eye-popping measurements.

Jones was rated as the No. 6 senior prospect by NFL.com's Chad Reuter in November, thanks to a strong senior season where he improved as a pass protector. Faalele ended up as a fourth-round pick of the Ravens (No. 110 overall), but we believe Jones has a chance to go much higher. His penalty totals are a bit high (eight flags in each of the past two seasons, per PFF), but he has massive upside and could help himself with a strong push in Mobile.

3) Pass-rush group could be really strong

One of the expected strengths of the 2023 NFL Draft class as a whole appears to be reflected in the Senior Bowl crop.

The pass rushers could end up offering one of the draft's best allotments of talent, and even without considering the underclassmen who could join the class, the Senior Bowl participants at this spot appear to be a very strong group.

Among the best pass-rush talents include Texas Tech's Tyree Wilson, Army's Andre Carter II, Ohio State's Zach Harrison, Notre Dame's Isaiah Foskey, Missouri's Isaiah McGuire, TCU's Dylan Horton, Auburn's Derick Hall, Tennessee's Byron Young and Iowa State's Will McDonald IV.

Wilson might be the top dog entering the week, assuming he's healthy enough to play. His season ended early with a right foot injury that required surgery in November. Prior to the injury, he collected seven sacks and 14 tackles for loss in 10 games in 2022.

Carter's pre-draft process already has been a whirlwind after his NFL dreams as a service academy prospect were suddenly in jeopardy prior to recent legislation clearing his path to the pros. Harrison and Horton both stood out in the College Football Playoff semifinals, with Horton collecting four sacks versus Michigan.

Another 2022 sack leader, Central Michigan's Thomas Incoom, racked up 11.5 sacks in his 12 games this season.

There will be a promising group of offensive tackles in Mobile, including Syracuse's Matthew Bergeron, Michigan's Ryan Hayes, Maryland's Jaelyn Duncan, USC's Andrew Vorhees (who also plays guard), North Dakota State's Cody Mauch and Jones. But they'll have their hands full with the edge-rush talent that has been assembled.

4) Cody Mauch is your annual FCS darling

Every year, there seems to be an offensive lineman from outside the FBS who captures the imagination of Senior Bowl attendees.

In 2020, it was Ben Bartch of Saint John's (MN) who earned that title. Wisconsin-Whitewater's Quinn Meinerz won over observers with his blocking and his "let the belly breathe" mantra in 2021. Eventual 2022 first-rounder Cole Strange of UT-Chattanooga was a standout for his feisty style and the fact he didn't wear gloves during practice.

The overwhelming favorite for 2023's OL darling is Mauch, who fits the role ... well, like a glove. The 6-foot-6, 303-pound lineman out of North Dakota State has flowing red hair and is missing his two front teeth (they were knocked out during a junior high basketball game). He has the appearance of someone straight out of central casting for a film set in the Viking Age.

Mauch also can play, and could be among the highest-drafted blockers at the Senior Bowl. Reuter notes that the former walk-on and converted tight end's "athleticism and pure tenacity have gained him fans among NFL scouts." He even caught a pass on a two-point conversion in a 2019 playoff game versus Montana State.

NFL teams are expected to look at Mauch at both tackle, the position he's played most at NDSU, and guard.

5) RBs might be showcase collection

If there's a position that sometimes gets short shrift in Mobile -- and elsewhere -- it's running back. That's a spot that often is dominated in the draft by underclassmen declaring early, thinning out the senior prospects.

"That's usually the toughest position for us," Nagy recently told me, citing the sheer volume of underclassmen who typically declare early at that position.

That appears to be changing. Last year's crop featured a few eventual rookie standouts, including Florida's Dameon Pierce, Alabama's Brian Robinson and Arizona State's Rachaad White, among others.

But the 2023 RB group, top to bottom, might be even better.

Georgia's Kenny McIntosh is the latest in the Bulldogs' recent run of talented backs, as good a receiver as he is a runner. Illinois' Chase Brown ranked fourth in the FBS in rush yards (1,643) this season, and will have his brother (Illinois safety Sydney Brown) playing in the game. Kentucky's Chris Rodriguez Jr. is a hard-charging rusher who averaged 6.2 yards per carry in his career as an SEC back.

Not to be forgotten in the group is Oklahoma's Eric Gray, who bounced back from a disappointing 2021 campaign to run for 1,366 yards in 2022. Tulane's Tyjae Spears finished with eight straight 100-yard rushing efforts, including 205 yards and four TDs in the Cotton Bowl comeback win over USC. And the winner for "best backup" award goes to Texas' Roschon Johnson, who split time with star Bijan Robinson but could have been the lead option at virtually any other school in the country.

Nagy said this year's RB group is "as good as we've had in a long time."