Every January, the entire NFL world descends on Mobile, Alabama for a week to see some of the best college football players in the nation audition for the upcoming draft.
The Reese’s Senior Bowl is the first major mile marker on the crazy-train that is the NFL predraft process, and it can make or break a player’s draft stock before the train even gets rolling.
So, why should you spend the week of January 20th in Alabama’s Port City?
If you’re a fan, you have to go to the Senior Bowl because:
For 51 weeks out of the year, the NFL is an impenetrable fortress, with massive forces insulating itself from the general public.
But for that one unicorn of a week in late January, the league opens a wormhole to an alternate reality, where the who’s who of the league are packed into the hotels and streets and restaurants and dive bars alongside your everyday locals.
Actual conversation overheard at Veet’s, the post-practice watering hole of choice:
Local man, sitting at the bar: “Hey man, how’s it going?!”
Another man, sitting at the bar: “Pretty good so far. How about you?”
Local man: “Another day, another dollar, you know! My name’s Mark!
Other man: “I’m Bruce. Nice to meet you!”
Local man: “You in town for the game?”
Other man: “Yes sir, I am.”
Local man: “Who are you here with?”
Other man: “Oh, I work for the Arizona Cardinals.”
Local man: “No kidding? That’s awesome, man. What do you do for them?”
Other man: “Well, I’m the head coach.”
Local man: “NO WAY! Well, ain’t that something!”
There are many other incredible interactions I’ve experienced in Mobile over the years, and the best ones I can’t share (you won’t believe what you hear in the Waffle House on Government Street at 4am). Just trust me when I say, if you come to Senior Bowl week, it will be unforgettable.
“The Senior Bowl provides fans and draft analysts the unique opportunity to see many of the top prospects through the same eyes as an NFL scout,” says Bryan Perez of NBC Sports, a veteran of the NFL media scouting world. “The exposure to practice and player interviews helps gain a much greater appreciation for what a prospect does well. Mobile is a great host city and it’s always a blast connecting with people down there, too.”
Practices are open to the public, giving fans a chance to see some of the nation’s top players up close, and the players do the best they can to accommodate autograph seekers. I’ve seen plenty of smiling faces leaving Ladd-Peebles with a freshly signed mini-helmet and a day they’ll always remember.
“The first thing you notice at the Senior Bowl is how everyone is there,” says Jeff Risdon, editor of Browns Wire and Lions Wire. “Every NFL coach, every GM, loads of former players, all the big college coaches. Just for stargazing purposes, there is no better place for fans. And if they want to be accessible, it’s an easy place to get a picture or a signed ball–especially for kids.”
There’s also Saucy-Q’s for solid BBQ, Wintzell’s for killer seafood, and even a Ruth’s Chris if you’re feeling fancy. If you’re anything like me, that should seal the deal.
If you’re a player, you have to go to the Senior Bowl because:
You’re a competitor, and that’s what competitors do.
They compete.
“The Senior Bowl serves as one of the pivotal stops on the path to the NFL draft each year,” says Kyle Crabbs, editor of Dolphins Wire and senior draft analyst for The Draft Network. “Seeing college prospects in a live football setting provides clarity on their coachability and allows prospects to show skills their college teams may not have asked them to use on the field – all while mixing players of different backgrounds and skill levels on the same playing field to prove themselves. If you like competition, odds are you’ll like the Senior Bowl.”
If you’re lucky enough to get an invite, the Senior Bowl can be a life-changing experience.
Just ask Eric Fisher, who entered the week a little-known prospect from a non-Power 5 school and left on his way to being the eventual No. 1 overall pick.
Ask Aaron Donald, who dominated every living thing that dared line up against him, making everyone in attendance well aware of how much of a steal he’d be at No. 13 overall.
Ask Carson Wentz, who took all the “lower-level competition” concerns and blasted them to Fargo and beyond, enticing the Philadelphia Eagles to trade the kitchen sink to move up for him at No. 2 overall.
If you’re a small-school prospect, it’s an invaluable opportunity to go up against other players from the nation’s powerhouse programs, proving you can hang with the best of the best.
If you’re a big-name prospect, it’s a chance to show NFL teams you won’t pass up any opportunity to compete.
If you’re a member of the media, you have to go to the Senior Bowl because:
Just as Risdon says, everyone is there.
Players, teams, reporters, editors, owners, coaches, general managers, scouts, former players, college coaches.
Looking to work your way up the football media ladder? Want to get your foot in the door somewhere? There’s no better place to strike up a conversation with someone than Senior Bowl week, because everybody you’d want to talk to is in one place. Bring your resumes and your elevator pitches, and you never know what can happen.
The first time I went to Mobile, I was representing my own draft blog. Each of the next three years, I returned to Mobile working for a bigger outlet than the year before.
Social media has allowed members of the media to connect and develop friendships across the country and the globe. That week in January is a fun and unique opportunity to remind yourself the friends you met on Twitter aren’t murderers (unlike our cab driver, ask Perez).
Every player in Mobile is trying to prove they belong at the next level. They’re there to get their name out, however they can. Senior Bowl week gives every media outlet, every reporter, every person with a recorder a chance to learn more about these players; what they bring on the field, and more importantly, who they are off the field.
There’s no better place to network, to find a guest for your podcast or radio show or live shot, to pick the brains of the best and brightest in our business, to become better at your craft, and to get to know the human beings under the helmets. Catch up with friends, make new ones, and get closer to where you want to be.
No matter where you connect to the NFL universe, there’s a place for you in Mobile.
See you there.
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