The Senior Bowl is the most prestigious all star event in college football, and is the biggest goal in mind for a graduated player hoping to impress NFL scouts before the draft. More and more top draft picks are showcasing their skills down in Mobile, Ala.
Getting praise by executive director Jim Nagy and his staff is a nod of approval to a player’s abilities. Getting a Senior Bowl invite is like getting punched by the Phoenix.
The past few editions of the game have been very friendly to the Hawkeyes. While there were no representatives this past year, defensive end Chauncey Golston was featured down in Mobile in 2021. He would become a third-round pick to the Dallas Cowboys.
Michael Ojemudia also had a pit-stop in Mobile en route to becoming a third-round selection in 2020. Linebacker [autotag]Jack Campbell[/autotag] and cornerback [autotag]Riley Moss[/autotag] appear to be the next Hawkeyes on the Senior Bowl’s radar.
Jim Nagy put out a tweet on Sunday featuring both returning Iowa stars. Nagy notes that both are two of the highest-graded players in their positions for his crew. He also says that Moss accepted his Senior Bowl invite last year before heading back to school for his senior year.
A 10-win @HawkeyeFootball team returns 14 starters and LB Jack Campbell & CB Riley Moss are two of @seniorbowl’s highest graded prospects at their positions. Moss was headed to Mobile last year before opting to return and he’ll be a 4.3 guy next spring.#TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™️ pic.twitter.com/3mTc4tjXfO
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) July 24, 2022
For anyone who’s kept up with Iowa football or just college football in general, this should come as no surprise. Jack Campbell was beloved by a lot of scouts last year. You’re starting to see a lot of the big guns in the draft world catching on to the Campbell hype train as well.
In his first true season as a starter last year, Campbell was one of the best tacklers in the nation. His 143 total tackles were the most in the nation last year. With another year of improvement, and a big week in Mobile in front of all of the NFL scouts and coaches, he could go high in the 2023 NFL draft.
While praise for Campbell should hardly come as a surprise, it is Nagy’s comments on Moss that should perk up some ears. Moss was one of the nation’s elite defensive backs in 2021. He was the Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year and a first-team All-American by Sporting News. Naturally, he was a first-team Big-Ten member as well.
There’s a ton to like. He’s extremely smart and disciplined, and his physicality causes a lot of plays on the ball. He’s caused 10 turnovers for Iowa in his career.
Many will look at Moss and try to characterize him as unathletic, but Nagy sees the exact opposite. He stated that he will be a “4.3 guy next spring.” Nagy and his team have their ears tuned directly to what NFL teams want. They knew exactly how the league feels and which players they should be bringing in. If there are opinions in the league that Riley Moss is that athletic, then he could go a lot sooner than some think come April.
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