With the Reese’s Senior Bowl week set to begin on Jan. 30, I wanted to take some time and preview each position group. Jonathan Heitritter and I will be down in Mobile, Ala., covering the event 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 — we have already started posting them — all the way up until the 2024 NFL Draft on April 25.
The Senior Bowl will be a little different this season as eligibility has been expanded to college juniors instead of the traditional seniors-only model.
Here are the position groups already covered:
Quarterbacks
Inside Linebackers
Interior Offensive Linemen
Offensive Tackles
SAFETIES ACCEPTED INVITES
Evan Williams — Oregon
Age: N/A
Year: Redshirt Senior (5th year)
Height/Weight: 6-1, 205 pounds
PFF Position Rank: unranked
Williams spent his first four seasons at Fresno State before transferring to Oregon for his final season. He started five games as a true freshman at Fresno State and was a full-time starter from that point forward other than missing two games in the COVID-shortened 2020 season with a leg injury. He finished his time in college with 45 starts and logged 308 total tackles, 214 solo tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 14 passes defensed, four interceptions, and four forced fumbles. He was named Phil Steele All-Mountain West second team in 2022 as well as by the coaches and media. In his final season at Oregon, he had 82 total tackles and 4.5 sacks. He was named All-Pac-12 second team. He was a three-time team captain at Fresno.
Kitan Oladapo — Oregon State
Age: 23.3
Year: Redshirt Senior (6th year)
Height/Weight: 6-1, 217 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 16th
Oladapo spent all six seasons at Oregon State. He did not crack the starting lineup until his third season but started almost every game over his final three. He started 39 total games in Corvalis and logged 249 total tackles, 146 solo tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, 23 passes defensed, three interceptions, and two forced fumbles. He earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors in 2023 and first-team AP All-Pac-12 in 2022. He has no notable injury history. He played in his 2023 bowl game despite declaring for the draft.
Josh Proctor — Ohio State
Age: 24.8
Year: Redshirt Senior (6th year)
Height/Weight: 6-2, 205 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 17th
Proctor spent all six seasons at Ohio State and appeared in 42 games with nine total starts. He was an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick in 2020. He logged 112 total tackles, 75 solo tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 14 passes defensed, three interceptions, and one defensive touchdown.
Malik Mustapha — Wake Forest
Age: N/A
Year: Senior (4th year)
Height/Weight: 5-11, 207 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 9th
Mustapha began his time in college at Richmond before transferring to Wake Forest for his final three seasons. He saw the field a lot in his first season at Wake Forest but logged zero starts. He started all 22 games over his final two seasons. He logged 175 total tackles, 105 solo tackles, 15 tackles for loss, four sacks, seven passes defensed, three interceptions, and four forced fumbles. He was second-team AP All-ACC in 2023. He served as a team captain in his final season. He underwent surgery to treat a torn ACL from the Demon Deacons’ 2022′ bowl game.
Beau Brade — Maryland
Age: N/A
Year: Senior (4th year)
Height/Weight: 6-1, 210 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 8th
Brade spent all four seasons at Maryland, a special teamer and backup until 2022. He started 25 games over his final two seasons. He logged 177 total tackles, 115 solo tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, one sack, 11 passes defensed, three interceptions, and three forced fumbles. He was named a team captain in 2023 and was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection in 2022 and ’23. As a captain, Brade opted to play in Maryland’s bowl game despite already accepting his invite to the Senior Bowl. He missed one game in 2023 with an undisclosed injury.
Sione Vaki — Utah
Age: N/A
Year: Sophomore (2nd year)
Height/Weight:
PFF Position Rank: 4th
Vaki, a member of the Mormon faith, went on a two-year mission prior to joining the Utah football team. He started five games in his first season in 2022 before starting 12 games in his final season. In 17 total starts, he logged 92 total tackles, 71 solo tackles, 12 tackles for loss, two sacks, five passes defensed, one interception, and one forced fumble. He also played running back and took snaps out of wildcat. He had 42 career carries for 317 rushing yards and 11 receptions for 203 yards. He scored five total touchdowns on offense. He was a finalist for the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year and a 2023 AP All-Pac-12 second team selection. He has no notable injury history. He opted out of his 2023 bowl game to prepare for the draft.
Javon Bullard — Georgia
Age: 21.4
Year: Junior (3rd year)
Height/Weight: 5-11, 195 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 5th
Bullard spent all three seasons at Georgia. He saw action as a true freshman but didn’t receive his first starts until 2022. He finished with 22 total starts and logged 114 total tackles, 80 solo tackles, eight tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, eight passes defensed, and four interceptions. He was a second-team AP All-SEC selection in 2023. He played in his 2023 bowl game prior to declaring for the draft. He had a minor ankle injury in 2023 and sustained a shoulder injury in the 2022 national championship game. He won the national championship in 2021 and 2022. In the 2022 championship game, he had two interceptions and was named the defensive MVP.
Tykee Smith — Georgia
Age: 22.9
Year: Redshirt Senior (5th year)
Height/Weight: 5-11, 205 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 6th
Smith started his career at West Virginia but transferred to Georgia in 2021 after his first two seasons. He started eight games as a true freshman and was named a Freshman All-American by PFWA that year. The following year he earned third-team AP All-American honors after making nine starts. He dealt with an injury suffered in preseason camp in his first year at Georgia and didn’t see the field much when he returned. In his final two seasons he started 16 games. In 33 starts, he logged 212 total tackles, 140 solo tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, 12 passes defensed, eight interceptions, two forced fumbles, and one defensive touchdown. He was named second-team All-SEC by coaches in 2023 and won two national championships with Georgia. He played in the Bulldogs’ 2023 bowl game before declaring for the draft.
Jaden Hicks — Washington State
Age: N/A
Year: Junior (3rd year)
Height/Weight: 6-3, 212 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 7th
Hicks spent all three seasons at Washington State, appearing in one game as a freshman. In his second year he appeared in 13 games and started the final 11 on his way to being named a third-team Freshman All-American. He started 23 total games and logged 155 total tackles, 94 solo tackles, eight tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 10 passes defensed, three interceptions, one forced fumble, and two defensive touchdowns. He has no notable injury history.
Kamren Kinchens — Miami (Fl.)
Age: 21.3
Year: Junior (3rd year)
Height/Weight: 6-0, 205 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 1st
Kinchens spent all three seasons at Miami and received five starts as a true freshman. He played his best football as a sophomore, starting all 12 games on his way to being named a first-team AP All-American. He was on his way to another stellar season before a head/neck injury held him out of two games in 2023. He started 27 total games and logged 162 total tackles, 99 solo tackles, five tackles for loss, one sack, 15 passes defensed, 11 interceptions, two forced fumbles, and two defensive touchdowns. He opted out of his 2023 bowl game to prepare for the draft.
Cole Bishop — Utah
Age: N/A
Year: Junior (3rd year)
Height/Weight: 6-2, 207 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 10th
Bishop spent all three seasons at Utah. He started six games as a true freshman and received All-Pac-12 honorable mention honors. He started 29 total games over three seasons and logged 197 total tackles, 117 solo tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, 12 passes defensed, three interceptions, and a forced fumble. He was a 2023 Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist and was a three-time all-conference honor recipient. A nagging injury held him out of the starting lineup for the first four games of his freshman season, and he missed one game in 2023 due to an undisclosed injury. He opted out of his 2023 bowl game to prepare for the draft.
Jaylin Simpson — Auburn
Age: N/A
Year: Redshirt Senior (5th year)
Height/Weight: 6-1, 178 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 12th
Simpson spent all five seasons at Auburn, starting his first game as a cornerback in his second season. He was a reserve corner the following year in 2021 before taking over as a rotating starter there in 2022. In 2023 he moved to safety and was named a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist. In his final season at safety, he logged 36 total tackles, 28 solo tackles, and four interceptions. In total, he had 116 total tackles, 89 solo tackles, four tackles for loss, 14 passes defensed, seven interceptions, and one defensive touchdown. He missed two games to injury in 2020 and two games to injury in 2021.
