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Senior Bowl player of the week awards announced

Nick Profile Picby:Nick Geddes02/02/24

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Senior Bowl
Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports

Reese’s Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy has announced the recipients of the 2024 practice player-of-the-week awards.

The American and National teams each had one player from each position selected based on a vote among their peers. The recipients are as follows:

American Team

QB: Spencer Rattler, South Carolina

RB: Michael Wile, Arizona

WR: Ladd McConkey, Georgia

TE: Jared Wiley, TCU

OL: Christian Haynes, UConn

DL: Braden Fiske, FSU

LB: Nathaniel Watson, Mississippi State

S: Javon Bullard, Georgia

CB: Jarvis Brownlee, Louisville

Specialist: Will Reichard, Alabama

National Team

QB: Michael Penix Jr., Washington

RB: Marshawn Lloyd, USC

WR: Malachi Corley, Western Kentucky

TE: Theo Johnson, Penn State

OL: Taliese Fuaga, Oregon State

DL: Michael Hall Jr., Ohio State

LB: J.D. Bertrand, Notre Dame

S: Evan Williams, Oregon

CB: Quinyon Mitchell, Toledo

Specialist: Tory Taylor, Iowa

Additionally, Missouri defensive lineman Darius Robinson was named Overall Practice Player of the Week by a panel of NFL scouts and front office executives who attended the Senior Bowl.

Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell rising up NFL Draft boards

Perhaps no player improved his draft stock more than Mitchell, who is projected to be a first-round pick. According to Lance Zierlein and Eric Edholm of NFL Network, Mitchell might even be in the discussion for the first cornerback off the board.

“Mitchell is a riser,” they wrote after Day 1 practice. “He entered the week squarely on the radar for scouts with his combination of size and game film, but it’s different when you see him in person. Mitchell utilizes a lot of trap coverage techniques off of press, where he makes an early leverage declaration and forces the receiver to release outside.

“From there, he has shown off the speed and body control to stay in phase with receivers and has the physicality to close off the catch space. During one matchup against USC’s Brenden Rice, Mitchell played from trail and simply closed the distance on a post route before leaping and grabbing an interception in the end zone. He should be in the discussion for CB1 this year.”

The Senior Bowl is stocked with high-end talent, but that rings true even more so this year. For the first time, the NFL allowed non-graduate juniors to participate in All-Star games such as the Senior Bowl. After three days of practices, those players will have one final in-game showcase to impress NFL Draft scouts, coming Saturday at 1 p.m. ET at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama.