The Draft Starts in Mobile, and it is officially time for the 2023 Reese's Senior Bowl.
I am on the ground in Mobile, and will be providing live coverage all week for the College Football showcase of the year. Led by Jim Nagy, there are over 4,000 members of the media in attendance this week to shine a spotlight on some of the NFL's next stars.
We started off this morning by talking to Nagy, TCU's Max Duggan and Isaiah Fosky from Notre Dame. Here are some of the highlights before Senior Bowl practice Day 1 starts at 11:30AM local time.
Jim Nagy opened up the morning by speaking to the media about the 74th annual Senior Bowl. With the most media ever credentialed for the Senior Bowl, Nagy denied any idea that other "showcase games" are nipping at their heels.
In terms of the depth of this draft class, Nagy praised the running back position and the tight end group. With four different 1,000 yard rushers in Mobile this week, teams in need can feast their eyes on the future of the NFL's rushers.
For the quarterback needy teams, this may not be your week. The Senior Bowl staff grades every players before sending out invites, and Nagy's team has this class in the 4th-5th round range, but truly believes that guys can make the leap to the 2nd round if they show out this week.
Max Duggan, QB from TCU, was next to the podium in one of his first public interviews since the National Championship game in early January. Duggan acknowledged how "special" the season was, while praising his teammates and his support system.
Duggan also gave specific praise to Quentin Johnson, his WR running mate that is a projected first round pick. Duggan believes he can prove his ability to "run a whole operation" this week, including implementing a playbook and leading a group of men. In a class without a true #1 QB, and plenty of QB needy teams, Duggan has the opportunity to make some magic this week.
Last, but certainly not least, Notre Dame EDGE Isaiah Fosky spoke with the media and showed his personality. I asked Fosky about the 1 on 1's this week, and he did not hesitate to name names on who he wanted to match up against.
With practices at 11:30AM and 2PM local time today, make sure to follow me and Third Down Thursdays on Twitter for live updates, and come back to the site for plenty of breaking news and analysis all week.