Six Ole Miss Rebel football players received coveted invitations to the Reese’s Senior Bowl. The match includes 139 players divided into American and National teams and will take place in Mobile, Ala., and the game was first played in 1950 in the Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.
The Senior Bowl is designed to help NFL prospects improve their draft stock. Solid examples of first round draft picks post Senior Bowl include Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell and Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Tyler Guyton.
Since its inception, 93 Ole Miss Rebels have been invited to this event, including Evan Engram, Shay Hodge, Dexter McCluster, Michael Oher and Patrick Willis.
All six of the players representing Ole Miss this year are a part of the American team, with Cleveland Browns Assistant Head Coach and Special Teams Coordinator Bubba Ventrone serving as head coach.
Jaxson Dart (Quarterback)
Dart is coming off of a stellar season, throwing for 4,279 yards and 29 touchdowns. He is viewed as a day two to day three pick in the NFL Draft. A good Senior Bowl performance could put him into first-round conversations.
Competition for the QB1 spot will be fierce. Dart will have to beat out Riley Leonard, who is coming off a National Championship appearance for Notre Dame and Jalen Milroe from Alabama. Of the three quarterbacks, Milroe is the most talented, but Dart holds the edge due to his greater reliability. The wide receivers for the American team should help Dart as well, with names like Utah State wide receiver Jalen Royals and Tennessee wide receiver Bru McCoy as passing targets.
Princely Umanmielen (Defensive End)
Umanmielen is coming off a 10-and-a-half sack season as a part of a loaded Rebel defensive line. He is viewed as a fringe first rounder to most, and a strong performance in the Senior Bowl could possibly solidify his first-round status.
Players fighting for a starting spot off the edge include fellow teammate Jared Ivey, Kyle Kennard from South Carolina and Shemar Stewart from Texas A&M. Umanmielen has a quick first step, giving him an early advantage against other players. If he does well against tackles like Aireontae Ersery, a potential first-round pick from Minnesota, and Josh Connerly Jr., another potential first-round pick from Oregon, then he can set himself up nicely come April.
Walter Nolen (Defensive Tackle)
Nolen is coming off of a six-and-a-half sack season from the interior defensive line. Nolen is viewed as a very comfortable first rounder, with a good showing potentially catapulting him to the top of the first round.
Competing with Nolen are Deone Walker from Kentucky and Omarr Norman-Lott from Tennessee. Nolen stands above the two, but there is room for one of them to push him back with good days of practice. Nolen will have to face some good interior offensive lineman including Wyatt Milum, one of the top offensive lineman in the draft from West Virginia, and Grey Zabel, a good guard from North Dakota State, making his job much harder. Nolen has the potential to be the best defensive player of the Senior Bowl.
Jared Ivey (Defensive End)
Ivey is coming off of a seven sack season, playing everywhere along the defensive line. Ivey is currently mocked as a day two to day three pick, with some mocks having him go in the third round. Ivey is a joker along the defensive line, being able to move along it and contribute at a decent level.
Just like Umanmielen’s, Ivey’s competition is tough. However, his Senior Bowl performance should have even more impact than Umanmielen’s.
Trey Amos (Cornerback)
Amos was quietly one of the best corners in college football last season, with three interceptions and 13 pass break ups. Amos is projected to go anywhere between the first and third round. He is a great corner who might not get the interception numbers you would expect from a top corner, but he is one of the best in the draft when it comes to breaking up a pass.
He will have some tough wide receivers to face, with players including Oregon native Tez Johnson Iowa State native Jayden Higgins lining up across from him. If Amos can prove himself against a variety of wide receivers like he has all year, he should be a strong prospect come draft time.
Caden Davis (Kicker)
Davis is coming off an inconsistent year, having an 82.8 field goal percentage. The Senior Bowl process for special team players is a bit different, as very few ever get drafted. If Davis can be consistent throughout the process, he should put himself in a good spot to make a team.
The 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl will kick off at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb.1 at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Ala., and can be streamed on NFL Network.
