The Reese’s Senior Bowl will be wrapping up practices in two weeks from now, so it’s time to start preparing for one of the offseason’s biggest events. Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers always have a large presence in Mobile, Ala., and this year should be no different as they were unfortunately bounced in the first round of the playoffs yet again. To prepare for the event, I will highlight some of the position groups that the Steelers are projected to have interest in for the 2025 NFL Draft. Today, we will be previewing Senior Bowl quarterbacks.
At least one of the Steelers’ assistant coaches will be involved in the event this year. Last year it was assistant OL coach Isaac Williams and the year before that it was DBs coach Grady Brown. It’s probably no surprise that the Steelers invested in those position groups at the top of the last two drafts. Could WRs coach Zach Azzanni or QB coach Tom Arth be next? That would be a strong indication of what they are trying to accomplish at or near the top of the draft.
The Senior Bowl accepted invite list is constantly evolving with players entering last minute and others backing out due to injury or a variety of other reasons. I will focus on the QBs who are confirmed as of Jan. 16.
As always, our team will provide deep dives into each player with scouting reports starting now, all the way up until the draft on April 24.
QUARTERBACK ACCEPTED INVITES
Jalen Milroe — Alabama
Age: 22.1
Year: 4
Height/Weight: 6-2, 225 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 4th (69th overall)
Milroe’s tenure as Alabama’s quarterback was unusually tumultuous for that program with Nick Saban benching him at the start of the 2023 season. The 2024 season, with a new head coach, was the first time Alabama has had at least four losses since 2007. That being said, Milroe has an impressive arm to push the ball down the field and the mobility to be a true dual threat. He’s shown too many flaws to be in the first-round mix, but there’s some potential to be developed into a quality starter in the second round or so.
In four seasons, he completed 426-of-663 passes for 6,016 yards, 45 TDs, and 20 INTs. His TD:INT ratio took a hit in 2024 while his rushing totals went up. He has 375 rushing attempts for 1,577 yards and 33 touchdowns in his career. He was a two-time captain for the Crimson Tide. He also won the 2024 William V. Campbell Trophy, better known as the “Academic Heisman.”
Tyler Shough — Louisville
Age: 25.3
Year: 7
Height/Weight: 6-5, 225 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 11th (186th overall)
Shough finished his college career in Louisville, but he started with Oregon with a stop at Texas Tech in between. He has been in college football for seven years, making use of redshirt, and COVID eligibility. He played in his most games with Louisville in 2024 and had the most productive year of his career in return.
Overall, Shough completed 599 of his 951 attempts in college for 7,820 yards, 59 TDs, and 23 INTs. He also had 246 rushing attempts for 733 yards and 11 TDs. He is more of a pocket passer, but he has some mobility to his game, too. He was a captain with Texas Tech in 2023.
Riley Leonard — Notre Dame
Age: 22.3
Year: 4
Height/Weight: 6-4, 216 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 6th (101st overall)
Leonard is one of two QBs who have accepted Senior Bowl invites and are going to be playing in the CFP championship game just a week before the event starts. We will see what that means and whether he shows up in Mobile.
He spent three seasons with Duke before transferring to ND for 2024. In four seasons, he’s completed 629 passes on 991 attempts for 7,056 yards, 43 TDs, and 18 INTs. He also has 396 rushing attempts for 2,090 yards and 35 TDs. He definitely falls into the dual-threat category and has plenty of mobility. Leonard was a team captain in 2023 and 2024 for Duke and ND.
Will Howard — Ohio State
Age: 23.3
Year: 5
Height/Weight: 6-4, 235 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 5th (97th overall)
Like Leonard, Howard is in the CFP championship game. We will see if he ends up making it to Mobile with a tight turnaround.
Howard started his college career with Kansas State before transferring to Ohio State. Things weren’t looking great for Ohio State after a 13-10 loss to the struggling Michigan Wolverines, but they battled back and have a great shot at winning the championship game, thanks in large part because of Howard’s play.
In five seasons, Howard has completed 750 of his 1,181 attempts for 9,565 yards, 81 TDs, and 35 INTs. He also has 315 rushing attempts for 1,090 yards and 26 TDs. He has enough mobility to be considered a dual threat. It’s encouraging to see him playing his best football in his final season with clear progression over the last three years. He was responsible for 40 TDs this season (and counting).
Jaxson Dart — Ole Miss
Age: 21.7
Year: Redshirt Senior 4
Height/Weight: 6-2, 225 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 13th (203rd overall)
Dart started his collegiate career at USC before transferring to Ole Miss for the last three seasons. He is the youngest QB in the Senior Bowl group so far, and one of the more interesting prospects to watch. I have seen his projected draft slot anywhere from Day 2 all the way until late Day 3.
He is a gunslinger and excels at pushing the ball down the field. He might have the best deep ball in this class, which counts for something. He was in contention for several awards this season and ended up being All-SEC first team along with an honorable mention All American. He led the SEC and was No. 3 in all of college football in passing yards this season.
Dart completed 852 of his 1,307 passing attempts for 11,970 yards, 81 TDs and 27 INTs in four years. He also had 393 rushing attempts for 1,541 yards and 14 TDs. He has enough mobility to be considered a dual threat, but the best part of his game is the arm talent.
Dillon Gabriel — Oregon
Age: 24.1
Year: 6
Height/Weight: 6-0, 200 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 3rd (68th overall)
Gabriel played at both UCF and Oklahoma before making his way to Oregon for the 2024 season. He helped Oregon to the Big Ten Championship over Penn State and threw an impressive four touchdowns in that game against arguably the best defense in the country. He is the most prolific passer of this Senior Bowl group by a long shot and one of the best in college football history.
He completed 1,376 of his 2,111 attempts for a whopping 18,722 yards and 155 TDs and 32 INTs in his six years. He also had 424 rushing attempts for 1,209 yards and 33 touchdowns. That makes 188 TDs that he was responsible for in college. He is the NCAA’s all-time leader in total touchdowns and second all-time in passing yards.
Playing in three different systems with three different teams also gives him a small leg up, like it did last year with Bo Nix and his multiple offenses, as Gabriel prepares for the NFL. The downside is that he’s undersized, doesn’t have the biggest arm, and he’s already over 24 years old. He is more of a pocket passer but has enough mobility to extend plays and gain yards on the ground.
