Sedrick Van Pran accepts Senior Bowl invite
Sedrick Van Pran has yet to officially announce his intentions for the NFL Draft, but an announcement on Sunday could give us a good indication of which way he’s leaning. The Georgia offensive lineman has accepted an invite to the Reese’s Senior Bowl where he’ll have an opportunity to showcase his skills for scouts on hand against some of the best pre-draft process competition.
Van Pran, who was a finalist for the Rimington Trophy awarded this past Friday, passed up on the NFL last season. He has admitted that it was a back and forth decision, so going pro this time around would come as no surprise – and was the expectation in all honesty. However, a formal announcement from Van Pran is still likely to happen at some point, even if he’s shown his hand a little bit already.
Van Pran, according to ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., is the second-best center in this year’s draft behind Duke’s Graham Barton.
After redshirting in his first year on campus, Van Pran stepped right into a starter’s role in 2021. He has held that position ever since, starting all 30 games of Georgia’s back-to-back national championships, plus the 13 this past season.
Van Pran, who was a permanent team captain in 2022 and acted as a game captain five times in 2023, won the SEC’s Jacobs Blocking Trophy earlier this week as the league’s top lineman on a Bulldog unit that’s up for the Joe Moore Award. Georgia, behind Van Pran’s performance and leadership, has averaged 38.4 points per game this season, good for ninth in the NCAA, and is on pace to set school records for the program’s best marks in yards per play (7.12) and yards per game (482.9).
“He was a tremendous leader. We knew when he decided to come back it would impact our team in more ways than snaps and blocks. He would be a major figure in pushing guys to be excellent, to reach their goal,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said of Van Pran prior to the SEC Championship Game. “He’s one of the most driven, dynamic leaders I’ve ever been around. He just cares so much and is so selfless. His practice habits this week alone have been stuff of legend, and we’ll be showing videos of how much effort, how far he covers down, how important it is to him. He’s one of the guys that doesn’t look out for himself. He pushes everybody, and that’s hard to find, and he’s certainly a super high-quality leader.”
Van Pran and the Bulldogs missed out on the College Football Playoffs, ending their hopes of a three-peat, and will take on No. 5 Florida State in the Capital One Orange Bowl on December 30th.
