Washington football alums show out at the Senior Bowl

The Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, is a great place for some of college football’s best to showcase their talent every year during the NFL Draft process, and some Washington football alums made waves this year in practices.

If you talk to any NFL scout, they’ll tell you that practices are much more important than the game that’s played at the end of the week, because NFL coaches get an up-close chance to work with potential prospects. The coaches can put the players through drills that they find important, and prospects can go through an interview process with head coaches and general managers as well.

Two Huskies accepted invites to the Senior Bowl this year, defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike, and cornerback Keith Taylor. Both guys came into the week at very different spots among their respective position groups, but both left Mobile near the top of the boards.

Let’s start with Onwuzurike, who saw his week cut short due to an apparent injury. While he only participated in practice on the first day, he set Twitter ablaze and seemed to assert himself as the top defensive tackle in this class. Some analysts have even gone so far as to put him in the first round of their most recent mock drafts.

In what most of these analysts have called a shallow class at the position, Onwuzurike took advantage of his short time in Mobile and seemed to set himself apart from the rest of the class.

He displayed for the entire nation what Husky fans have known for multiple years. He’s explosive off the snap, plays with impressive power despite being slightly undersized, and can beat offensive linemen out of their stance, and be in the backfield before anyone knows what happened.

With just one productive day, Onwuzurike has made himself a lock to be picked in the top 50. With a successful pro day, since there’s no traditional NFL Combine this year, he could lock himself into the top 32.