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.

Keith Taylor should have been in consideration for MVP of the week. He stood out as the best defensive back for the entire week, and according to NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, he was “in position every time,” and played a nearly perfect game on Saturday.

But where Taylor truly shined was in practice. He displayed what Jimmy Lake teaches every day, perfect technique. He was disciplined, demonstrated his awareness on the field, and with his big body and long frame, he can make things very tough on anyone that lines up across from him.

While Taylor was always seemed to be overshadowed at Washington by guys like Elijah Molden, Trent McDuffie, and Byron Murphy, he can make a name for himself at the next level starting on draft night. An assumed day three pick coming into the week, Taylor might have launched himself all the way into the second round with his strong week.

Lake can bring tape like this into the home of any defensive back recruit as proof that his program will get them to the next level.

In what’s considered to be a loaded secondary class, Taylor has the opportunity to make himself a lot of money over the next few months. His pro day is going to be huge for him. If he tests and interviews well, there’s a good chance a team uses a second round pick on him because they missed out on one of the three or four corners that could potentially be taken in the first round.

This is great exposure for the entire Husky program, because the more noise they make nationally, and the higher these players get drafted, the more exposure and hype Lake and his staff can use on social media and in the recruiting world.