2021 Senior Bowl: 3 takeaways from annual draft showcase

The 2021 Senior Bowl was a fun showdown with all stars from many college programs. Who stood out the most?

Since 1950, the Senior Bowl has been a crucial event in the draft process for college athletes making the step to the next level. Hall of Fame players such as: Dan Marino, Terry Bradshaw, Derrick Brooks, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Walter Payton all started their professional journeys at this game.

The importance of this event is now heightened from years past, with the announcement there will be no national scouting combine in Indianapolis for this draft cycle.  Pro days will also be limited in terms of how many personnel members NFL teams can send to schools.

This also means for a lot of guys, the Senior Bowl is their last chance to make an impact on a national stage.

It was also a chance for many players who opted out of the 2020 College Football season to shake off some rust and remind everybody about the talent they bring to the table. Jamie Newman was one of the notable opt outs playing in game action for the first time in over 13 months.

For College football fans, it was fun to see players who were heated rivals for four years become teammates for one week. Creed Humphrey having to protect Sam Ehlinger who in turn, handed it off to Rhamondre Stevenson was one example of that. We also got to see WR duo’s team up for potentially the final time with Amari Rodgers and Cornell Powell on the American team.

Sam Ehlinger and Kellen Mond were tagged as the starting QB’s of this game after stellar, lengthy careers in the state of Texas. Despite the experience at the QB position, the first half was a defensive battle, as the National team got off to a 13-0 lead.

We saw more offense in the second half and a comeback from the American team. In the end, the National team held on by a score of 27-24.

With the NFL Draft looming in the distance, what did we learn in Mobile?