Jan 22 2009
Senior Bowl gives Bears chance to shine
Saturday night, two Golden Bears will get a chance to make an even bigger name for themselves in front of NFL scouts and personnel at the Under Armour Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. This entire week has been a showcase of most of college football’s top talent that will be available at the 2009 NFL Draft in April.
Performing well here could elevate a player from a late third-round pick all the way up to a first-round selection. That’s why this week is so important for Cal’s Alex Mack and Zack Follett.
If there was any doubt about Mack prior to the week, he’s erased all of them. Coming into the week, he was nobody’s top center prospect, but going into Saturday’s game he’s re-established himself as the nation’s top guy. While anything can happen from now until the draft, it’s a good bet that he’ll be the first center taken off the board.
Follett has had a more uphill battle coming into the week. With the South squad starting all three of USC’s linebackers, they’ve taken a little of the limelight at the linebacker position. Playing in the middle for the Senior Bowl, Follett has been able to make up ground on those rated higher and has even leapfrogged many who was originally thought to be better than him.
The practices, for the week, have now ended and they’ll be putting the final touches on the gameplan Friday. Even with the great performances that both players have put in this week, they still have to play well when the lights go on Saturday. Judging by what we’ve seen from them at Cal, that should only help their draft status more.
