Senior moments: for 96 NFL draft prospects, Senior Bowl week is the ultimate job interview. For the more than 800 NFL types watching them, it's the ultimate hobnob opportunity

Sporting News, The, Feb 2, 2004 by Vinnie Iyer

"There's a lot of stuff going on, so the key is managing your time, getting rested and doing what you can to get the job done," Navarre says. For Colclough, a Division II speedster, the big adjustments are playing with and against much better talent and working to refine the raw athleticism that won him a Senior Bowl roster spot.

Most of the practice time is spent on passing, catching, footwork and tackling drills, but the action picks up near the end of the 90-minute sessions when offense meets defense and everyone brings it.

South wide receivers Ernest Wilford (Virginia Tech) and Devery Henderson (LSU) remain unfazed as they get smacked around by their own team's defensive backs. Henderson knows it's not personal. "With all those great players competing, you have to stay humble and keep the right attitude out there."

When practice is over, the rush is on for scouts and position coaches to set up individual meetings at the hotel with players they like, deepening the information gathering process.

"Along with their competitive spirit, we look at the tempo of how they play, which can carry them over height and weight," says Ravens scout Ron Marciniak.

Then there are the psychology tests and personality questionnaires, similar to a background check. Marciniak says once a team's group of scouts has evaluated a player, there is a cross-check system in place to help come to a consensus rating. "It's the ultimate job interview for them," he says.

The conclusion--and the beginning

Most of the scouts, coaches and team officials are long gone from Mobile by the time the game kicks off Saturday afternoon. The rooting interest of area fans is pretty much limited to players from Gulf Coast schools, and several fans stick with their overnight RV tailgating instead of entering Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

The game is the last chance for the players to have fun playing in a college football atmosphere. The Pro Bowl-like rules--limited blitzing, 4-3 fronts, vanilla coverage--keep the intensity from reaching the level of the midweek practices.

For NFL teams, the week has kicked off the busiest stretch in evaluating the league's future talent, with the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and pro day workouts just around the corner. The staffs of Schottenheimer and Lewis get a nice head start, and everyone else will play catch-up in reviewing tapes of Senior Bowl practices in the following week.

Schottenheimer says that a team shouldn't jump to conclusions about a player in such a short window, but he also says there is no better way of learning about someone than working with him in person. The South's prize pupil, Rivers, who got rave reviews from scouts and Schottenheimer for his maturity and arm strength, caps off the week by throwing two first quarter touchdown passes and winning game MVP honors in the South's 28-10 victory.

It was no coincidence running back Domanick Davis starred last year for the South and became a fourth-round steal for the Texans; the South was coached by Houston's Dom Capers. Schottenheimer's team certainly is in the market for a quarterback.