Players reported and the rosters were being finalized for the 76th annual Senior Bowl, which will be held at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Hancock Whitney Stadium on the campus of South Alabama.
Browns assistant head coach/special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone will coach the American team. Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, who interviewed for the Saints’ head coaching opening, will coach the National team.
“We’re excited to be getting two outstanding coaches with such great reputations leading our teams this year,” Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy said. “I was part of the Patriots scouting staff that drafted Bubba Ventrone back in 2005, so I know how smart and competitive he is. Mike Kafka has already had numerous head coaching interviews over the past couple hiring cycles and many people I’ve talked to around the league believe it’s only a matter time before he gets one of those jobs.”
All 32 NFL teams will be represented at the college all-star game of draft-eligible players.
Before the Senior Bowl, the Falcons did a self-analysis of their roster after going 8-9 and missing the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season.
“So now, as we get into free agency and get into the draft,” Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said. “This is the first step in determining specifically what those needs are and where those areas that we need to focus in (are).”
While Fontenot and coach Raheem Morris are not expected to attend, several of the Falcons scouts will attend, scout and interview the prospects.
All three days of the practices – Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday – will be televised on both NFL Network and ESPN. The Browns have the second overall pick and the Giants have the third pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
The Falcons are set to pick 15th and will heavily scout the safeties, cornerbacks and the pass rushers.
Last season, the Falcons heavily scouted quarterback Michael Penix Jr. at the Senior Bowl and went on to shock most of the league when they selected him with the eighth overall pick.
The Senior Bowl has had four consecutive drafts with at least 100 players selected by NFL teams, which has represented over 40 percent of the entire past four draft classes.
In 2024, a record 110 players from the Senior Bowl were drafted, including 10 first-round draft picks and 45 of the top 100 picks.
Recent Senior Bowl alums include some of the NFL’s biggest stars, including: QB Justin Herbert (Chargers), WR Cooper Kupp (Rams), WR Brandon Aiyuk (49ers), QB Jalen Hurts (Eagles), OLB Jonathan Greenard (Vikings), WR Terry McLaurin (Commanders), Falcons right guard Chris Lindstrom, and DL Montez Sweat (Bears).
“It’s truly an honor to be a part of the premiere college all-star game and I am beyond excited to have the opportunity to coach,” Ventrone said. “I watched the Senior Bowl roster reveal show on NFL Network and I couldn’t believe how many great prospects were committed to the game.”
Kafka, who played quarterback at Northwestern, was a fourth-round pick by the Eagles in the 2010 draft.
“It’s an honor to be selected as one of the head coaches for the Senior Bowl,” Kafka said. “I look forward to getting to know some of the best college athletes in the country both on and off the field, as well as getting to work with a variety of talented coaches from around the NFL.”
Some of the top players invited include quarterbacks Jaxson Dart (Mississippi), Dillon Gabriel (Oregon), Will Howard (Ohio State), Riley Leonard (Notre Dame), Jalen Milroe (Alabama) and Tyler Shough (Louisville).
“There is more and more love on Mr. Dart down there at Ole Miss,” said former Lions general manager Rick Spielman on the “With the First Pick” podcast on CBS. “The reason is that everybody has done the film, but what I’m hearing is because of the toughness – the game he played with through the sprained ankle – I guess people are going to learn this through the pre-draft process, the intangibles are going to be off the charts.”
Dart, who’s 6-foot-2 and 220 points, needs a good week of work in front of the league scouts to move up in the draft. He started his career at USC, but transferred after Lincoln Riley was named the coach and was bring Caleb Williams with him after the 2021 season.
“Just wrapped up two tapes on Jaxson Dart (LSU, South Carolina ‘24),” NFL drafty analyst Todd McShay said. “Neither were great stat-line (games) and LSU was a loss, but a lot of positive takeaways. His natural ball placement is underrated, and he shows a lot of awareness on certain throws. Really excited to share more throughout Senior Bowl week, but don’t be surprised if Dart winds up as QB3 in this class!”
Spielman said Dart’s intangibles compare favorably to former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who was drafted 10th overall by the Vikings last season.
Former Georgia running back Trevor Etienne, wide receiver Arian Smith, offensive lineman Tate Raledge, offensive lineman Jared Wilson, linebacker Smael Mondon Jr. and defensive lineman Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins.
Former Georgia Tech tight end Jackson Hawes has also accepted his invitation.
The Falcons will also heavily scout the kickers. Caden Davis (Mississippi) and Ryan Fitzgerald (Florida State) are the two kickers for the game.
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