With the Reese’s Senior Bowl week set to begin on Jan. 30th, I wanted to take some time and preview each position group. Jonathan Heitritter and I will be down in Mobile, Ala., covering the event live for the site. This is not meant to be a comprehensive dive into each player, but a foundation to know what to expect once practices get underway. This list will be based on the accepted invite list on the Senior Bowl website, which can and will change in the days leading up to the event.
As always, we will provide a deep dive into each player with draft profiles starting now, all the way up until the 2024 NFL draft on April 25.
The Senior Bowl will be a little different this season as they expanded eligibility to college juniors instead of the traditional seniors-only model.
Here are the position groups already covered:
Quarterbacks
Next up, the inside linebackers.
INSIDE LINEBACKER ACCEPTED INVITES
Tommy Eichenberg — Ohio State University
Age: 23.0
Year: Redshirt Senior (5th year)
Height/Weight: 6-2, 239 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 7th
Eichenberg played his entire collegiate career at Ohio State. He started playing significant snaps in his redshirt sophomore season appearing in all 13 games. In 37 games, he logged 268 total tackles, 151 solo tackles, 21 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two interceptions, five passes defensed, one forced fumble, and one defensive touchdown. His 77 solo tackles were the most in a season for Ohio State since Ryan Shazier’s 101 in 2013.
He was voted second-team All-American by several publications in 2022 and, and followed it up with a Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year award in 2023 given to Big Ten’s top linebacker. He served as a team captain his final two seasons with the team. In declaring for the draft, he opted out of his 2023 bowl game.
Cedric Gray — University of North Carolina
Age: 21.2
Year: Senior (4th year)
Height/Weight: 6-2.5, 235 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 9th
Gray spent his entire collegiate career at North Carolina, and appeared in all 12 games his true-freshman season. He was mostly a special teamer that season, but logged some snaps at ILB as well. He took off in his sophomore season, logging 99 total tackles, and progressed in his final two seasons from there. He led the entire ACC in solo tackles in 2022 with 82, which was also the second-most in the NCAA that season.
In 42 appearances, he logged 368 combined tackles, 198 solo tackles, 29 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, five interceptions, 13 passes defensed, and five forced fumbles. He was to the First-Team All-ACC list in 2022, and served as a team captain that season. The only time missed due to injury was a poked eyeball during the game against Clemson in 2023. He opted out of his bowl game to declare for the draft.
Payton Wilson — North Carolina State University
Age: 23.7
Year: Redshirt Senior (6th year)
Height/Weight: 6-4, 238 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 3rd
Wilson spent his entire collegiate career at NC State. He had a knee injury in high school that held him out of spring practice, and suffered another knee injury that required surgery that summer. In his redshirt freshman season, he led the team in tackles despite only starting one game and used that success as a springboard to start his final four seasons with the team. He suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in 2021 in the team’s second game.
In 47 games, he logged 402 total tackles, 202 solo tackles, 48 tackles for loss, 15 sacks, 13 passes defensed, seven interceptions, one forced fumble, and one defensive touchdown. In 2023, he was named the 2023 ACC Defensive Player of the Year and a Consensus All-American. He also won the Chuck Bednarik Award and the Butkus Award for college football’s best defensive player and linebacker respectively. His intriguing size and extensive experience will make him a sought after prospect, but he comes with an extensive injury history.
Jontrey Hunter — Georgia State University
Age: 23.6
Year: Redshirt Senior (6th year)
Height/Weight: 6-2, 240 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 19th
Hunter played his entire collegiate career at Georgia State, but only started his final two seasons. He appeared in 45 games across six seasons and had 234 combined tackles, 129 solo tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, three interceptions, eight passes defensed, seven forced fumbles, and one defensive touchdown. His seven forced fumbles are the seventh-most in Sun Belt conference history. He has no notable injury history.
Nathaniel Watson — Mississippi State University
Age: 23.4
Year: Redshirt Senior (6th year)
Height/Weight: 6-2, 245 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 21st
Watson was with Mississippi State for all six seasons. He received his first few starts in his sophomore season before taking over as a full-time starter for his final three seasons. In 57 games, he made 39 starts and logged 377 total tackles, 137 solo tackles, 35 tackles for loss, 21 sacks, two interceptions, and three forced fumbles. He had the most combined tackles and sacks in the SEC for the 2023 season with 137 and 10 respecitvely. His production increased over all three years that he started. He was named a third team 2023 AP All-American and was a finalist for the Butkus Award. He has no notable injury history.
Ty’Ron Hopper — University of Missouri
Age: n/a
Year: Redshirt Senior (5th year)
Height/Weight: 6-2, 221 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 11th
Hopper spent three seasons with the Florida Gators. He started three games in his redshirt sophomore season there before transferring to Missouri and starting 22 of 26 possible games. He finished his time in college with 209 total tackles, 133 solo tackles, 29 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, nine passes defensed, one interception, and two forced fumbles. Hopper was named to the Second-Team ALL SEC list in 2023 and was a finalist for the Butkus Award. An ankle injury held him out of the team’s final three games in 2023, including the Cotton Bowl against Ohio State.
Michael Barrett — University of Michigan
Age: 24.1
Year: Redshirt Senior (6th year)
Height/Weight: 6-0, 239 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 10th
Barrett spent all six years with Michigan. He first cracked the starting lineup as Michigan’s “Viper” linebacker in his redshirt sophomore season. He fell out of the starting lineup the following season before becoming a full-time starter his final two seasons. He appeared in 62 total games and started 33 of them. He logged 208 total tackles, 116 solo tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, four passes defensed, two interceptions, four forced fumbles, and one defensive touchdown. His three forced fumbles in 2023 were the second-most in the Big Ten. He also won the national championship with Michigan in 2023.
Tyrice Knight — The University of Texas at El Paso
Age: n/a
Year: Redshirt Senior (6th year)
Height/Weight: 6-2, 235 pounds
PFF Position Rank: unranked
Knight played two seasons at Independence Community College and redshirted his first season there. He then transferred to UTEP for his final four seasons. He got the opportunity to start in his redshirt sophomore season and finished with 31 starts. He logged 390 total tackles, 215 solo tackles, 32 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, 16 passes defensed, two interceptions, and four forced fumbles. He was named to All-Conference USA’s second team in 2022 and 2023 and led the conference in total tackles with 140 in 2023. He has no notable injury history.
Marist Liufau — University of Notre Dame
Age: 22.9
Year: Redshirt Senior (5th year)
Height/Weight: 6-2.25, 239 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 5th
Liufau spent all five seasons with Notre Dame. He saw the field as a true freshman, but made his first three starts in his sophomore season. An ankle injury held him out of his entire junior season in 2021, but he was a full-time starter and missed no time to injury in his final two seasons. He made 28 total starts in 55 total games played and logged 117 total tackles, 55 solo tackles, 12 tackles for loss, four sacks, three passes defensed, one interception and one forced fumble. He was a Butkus Award finalist in 2023. Liufau declared for the draft and opted out of his 2023 bowl game.
JD Bertrand — University of Notre Dame
Age: 23.7
Year: Redshirt Senior (5th year)
Height/Weight: 6-1, 233 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 6th
Bertrand played his whole collegiate career at Notre Dame. He became a full-time starter in his redshirt sophomore season and started 35 total games. He logged 267 total tackles, 156 solo tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, nine passes defensed, and two forced fumbles. He was given the William V. Campbell Trophy in 2023, given to college football’s player that shows the best combination of academics, community service, and on-field performance. Bertrand served as a team captain in his final two seasons. He had a minor surgery for cleanup on a wrist injury suffered in 2022 last offseason.
James Williams — University Of Miami
Age: 20.9
Year: Junior (3rd year)
Height/Weight: 6-5, 215 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 11th (as Safety)
Williams played all three years at Miami. He made seven starts during his true-freshman season. He is one of the players benefiting from the expanded eligibility this season for the Senior Bowl to include juniors. He started 29 of his 33 games, and logged 162 total tackles, 106 solo tackles, two tackles for loss, 13 passes defensed, four interceptions, and three forced fumbles. PFF had him ranked as a safety, though he is listed as a linebacker on the Senior Bowl roster. He played about half of his snaps aligned deep as a safety and half as a box defender. He missed the final two games of his 2021 season with a groin injury.
Trevin Wallace — University of Kentucky
Age: n/a
Year: Junior (3rd year)
Height/Weight: 6-2, 241 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 15th
Wallace spent all three years at Kentucky. He received his first start in his true-freshman season and earned a spot on the All-SEC Freshman Team. He started six more the following year. In his junior season, he started 11 games and missed one with a shoulder injury. As a junior, he is also benefiting from the Senior Bowl’s new format. In 18 starts, he racked up 166 total tackles, 93 solo tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, three interceptions, one pass defensed, and two forced fumbles.
Jalyx Hunt — Houston Christian University
Age: n/a
Year: Senior (4th year)
Height/Weight: 6-4, 248 pounds
PFF Position Rank: unranked
Hunt spent three years at Cornell and spent two seasons at Houston Christian. Cornell canceled its 2020 season due to COVID-19, so he technically has two more years of eligibility remaining. He made just one start at Cornell, but instantly took over as the starter at HCU. He started all 11 games in his first season there and was named second-team all-Southland Conference. He logged 87 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks, and three forced fumbles that season. HCU’s stats aren’t the easiest to find, and the team website currently has nothing listed for 2023. He was listed as a safety at Cornell and a DE/LB at HCU, though the Senior Bowl has him listed as an off-ball linebacker. He is the first HCU player to ever get an invite to the Senior Bowl.
Jaylan Ford — University of Texas
Age: 22.1
Year: Senior (4th year)
Height/Weight: 6-3, 242 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 12th
Ford spent all four seasons with Texas. He played in all 10 games his true-freshman season as a special teamer. He received his first two starts the following year before becoming a full-time starter his final two seasons. He started 29 of 49 games and logged 287 total tackles, 142 solo tackles, 27.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, four passes defensed, six interceptions, and four forced fumbles. His 119 tackles in 2022 were the second most in the Big 12 conference. He was named first-team All-Big 12 in 2022 and 2023 and third-team AP All-American in 2022. He has no notable injury history.
Edefuan Ulofoshio — University of Washington
Age: 24.0
Year: Redshirt Senior (6th year)
Height/Weight: 6-1, 236 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 8th
Ulofoshio played six seasons with Washington. He received his first starts as a redshirt freshman. He started 27 games, and missed half of 2021 and most of 2022 due to bicep and knee injuries. He logged 251 total tackles, 153 solo tackles, 15 tackles for loss, seven sacks, one interception, five forced fumbles, and one defensive touchdown. He was named third-team AP All-American in 2023 and was a Butkus Award finalist. He was a part of the UW team that lost in the national championship game in 2023 against Michigan.
