Invitation acceptance announcements for the postseason bowl games are starting to trickle out. The biggest and brightest of these is the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, which will take place January 30th in Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

This will be my ninth consecutive years covering the Senior Bowl in person. And here are the first group of players who have accepted invites and what I’m going to see from them in the practice sessions.

Evan Boehm, C, Missouri: A four-year starter who oozes experience and leadership, Boehm’s 2015 play has underwhelmed for the most part. An ankle injury deserves some of the blame as the drive behind his power just hasn’t been great. He’s a better prospect relative to position than former linemate Justin Britt, not quite as good in my eyes as Mitch Morse from last year. Both are NFL starters and Boehm projects as one too. I’m hopeful his teammate Connor McGovern, currently playing left tackle but an NFL guard, eventually gets an invite as well, though it’s more likely I see him in St. Petersburg a week earlier during Shrine Game practices.

James Bradberry, CB, Samford: I always love seeing the small-school guys get a chance to compete. Bradberry has outstanding length for a corner at a listed 6’2”, and the weigh-in will be critical to verify his real size. I’ve seen just one game, a loss to Furman where he picked off a pass and showed the kind of dominance a good prospect should at the FCS level.

Sean Davis, DB, Maryland: While he’s listed and currently playing cornerback for the Terrapins, Davis projects better as an NFL safety. His best asset is his run support and tackling, where he’s forced five fumbles and doesn’t lack pop behind his pads. He reminds me some of Green Bay’s Micah Hyde coming out of Iowa. The one-on-one duels in the practices will determine if he’s a Day Two sleeper or late-round hopeful.

Joshua Garnett, G, Stanford: The Cardinal have sent some seriously overrated prospects to Mobile in recent years, but Garnett joins Henry Anderson from last year as very strong (both figuratively and literally) prospects. Check out this bit of line porn (he’s No. 51)…

 

Garnett struggled with Oregon studhorse DeForest Buckner in their head-to-head matchup, so it will be illuminative to see the burly guard square off against top competition on every rep.

Deiondre’ Hall, CB, Northern Iowa: Here’s a player I’m flying blind on at this point. I know he’s picked off a lot of passes (6) at the FCS level and the Iowa coaches talked him up big-time, but for whatever reason I haven’t seen him play yet. I always try to have at least one player on both the North and South I haven’t seen before witnessing them practice. It’s a fun way to tune my scouting eye.

Matt Ioannidis, DT, Temple: Here’s what I wrote about the crafty Ioannidis heading into the resurgent Owls game with Notre Dame…

Matt Ioannidis plays all over the line and wins with his ability to keep himself clean with exceptional hand placement and quick, coordinated movement. There will be times in this game where he’s shaded outside against LT Ronnie Stanley, while other times he will be heads up over C Nick Martin. This is a big challenge for Ioannidis, widely considered a late-round prospect.

He got one TFL that night, which is fairly standard production for him. He’s a complementary piece who will probably look overmatched in individual drills but shine in team drills. I wonder how that will be received by the gathered scouting cognoscenti…

Jordan Jenkins, OLB, Georgia: I have a feeling Jenkins is going to impress in Mobile with his athleticism and has improved his hand technique. I’ll be watching for consistency on every rep. I have no question about his effort, but Jenkins has always struck me as a streaky player. Those types tend to scare me as an evaluator, though some NFL personnel folks love them because they believe they can straighten it out and have a valuable project.

Miles Killebrew, S, Southern Utah: Here’s another small school DB who gets to prove he belongs with the big boys. From the highlights and one game tape I’ve seen, Killibrew could be the biggest rising star in January. He’s a legit 6’3” and 220 pounds of twitchy, thumping muscle with decent instincts in coverage. One regional scout tells me his team projects Killibrew at linebacker and that he’s going to be a better version of Arizona’s Deone Bucannon. His T-Birds teammate James Cowser will be at the Shrine Game and could play his way into Mobile too.

Jay Lee, WR, Baylor: Corey Coleman gets all the attention but Lee has excellent long speed and tracks the deep ball well. Like Devin Smith from Ohio State last year, Lee must prove he can do more than just run deep routes. He’s another guy for whom the weigh-in measurements will be critical. If he’s really 6’3” and 205, watch his stock rise.

Blake Martinez, ILB, Stanford: As noted above with Garnett, Stanford prospects tend to get too much scouting love. Martinez has proven he’s a very solid college LB. He’s even shown a better knack for the big play as a senior. I want to see him do it against the athletic cream of the college crop. I won’t lie, I’m not optimistic he is anything more than a backup 3-4 ILB. But I’m open minded enough to be wooed. Plays like this help (he’s No. 4):

 

Tyler Matakevich, ILB, Temple: He’s been one of the best playmakers in the nation as a senior, picking off five passes, bagging four sacks and blowing up screen passes with the best of them. It’s easy to compare him to an upper-middle-class man’s Luke Kuechly coming out of Boston College with his prodigious tackle numbers. Mobile is a proving ground to show he’s got the range and movement skills to keep that comparison from getting folks who embrace it (read: me) laughed at come February.

Malcolm Mitchell, WR, Georgia: A consummate team player for the Bulldogs for four years, Mitchell doesn’t have great production and is probably not going to wow folks with his size/speed metrics. His calling card is his versatility, and he’ll get a chance to show that at Ladd-Peebles. Mitchell can play outside or in the slot, and he’s got experience on special teams.

Sheldon Rankins, DT, Louisville: Teams operating a 3-4 defense are going to love Rankins, as he’s perfectly built to play the 5-technique end spot. I’ve often seen him compared to  but he’s primed to have a big Senior Bowl week the way another current 5-tech did a few years ago in Cam Jordan.

Charles Tapper, DE, Oklahoma: Here’s another guy to watch during weigh-ins. His official listed sizes the last three years are 6’4”/261, 6’4”/281 and 6’2”/282. Most people don’t get shorter in their early twenties, although he looks every bit of a chiseled 282. Tapper is coming off a great game against Baylor, but he’s never been a progenitor of pressure despite posting decent sack totals. He’ll be challenged in the mano-a-mano drills.

Cole Toner, OT, Harvard: From what I’ve seen of Toner in limited doses (probably 15 total drives over parts of three games) I know he’s got long arms, fairly quick hands and sinks his weight well as a run blocker despite being on the high side of 6’7”. Physically he looks like Nate Solder. The Ivy League has had some impressive talents at these shindigs recently, and I expect Toner to fare well too as long as he’s strong enough. 

Dan Vitale, FB, Northwestern: Here’s a back who is likely to get drafted despite not having a rushing attempt as a senior. Vitale has proven he’s great as both a pass protector and receiver. Will he show enough if he gets the ball in his hands in the backfield, or as a more traditional lead blocker, or will the Senior Bowl begin his transition to tight end?

Jihad Ward, DL, Illinois: I’m admittedly not a big fan of Ward, who has considerable athletic promise but doesn’t ever really seem to do much with it. But my friend Ryan Booher, whose scouting eye I respect a lot, had this to say about him in the wake of a pretty solid (for him) game against Ohio State:

 

Maybe Mobile is where it all comes together for the JUCO transfer. Maybe.

Carson Wentz, QB, North Dakota State: The reigning FCS MVP has been out for weeks with a broken wrist. Everyone is praying he’s healed in time to throw in practice sessions. He’s got a build like Joe Flacco, moves reasonably well and has proven a great field general for an elite program. He’s my top senior QB already, and a strong Senior Bowl experience could put him there for a lot of other folks too.

Bryce Williams, TE, East Carolina: Two years ago Crockett Gillmore came to Mobile and proved he belonged from a lower-tier FBS conference. He’s been solid for the Ravens and Williams has a similar athletic profile. In fact, no tight end has more receiving yards this year even though--like Gillmore--he doesn’t have sudden movement skills. Getting open reliably in Mobile will only help his stock.