2017 Senior Bowl: 5 players to watch
By John Buhler
The 2017 Reese’s Senior Bowl will be on Saturday, Jan. 28 in Mobile. Here are the five players to keep an eye on in this college football all-star game.
On Saturday, Jan. 28, the 2017 Reese’s Senior Bowl will be underway at Ladd Peebles Stadium in Mobile. This glorified exhibition between a collection of college football’s finest players has been an annual tradition in South Alabama since the early 1950s.
The Senior Bowl is a great opportunity for mid-level prospects to improve their NFL Draft stock. It is also mutually beneficial for two NFL franchises annually. Two teams get the privilege to get a leg up on scouting all these players before they enter the NFL Draft.
This year, the Chicago Bears and the Cleveland Browns will get to coach the two squads in the Senior Bowl. John Fox’s Bears staff will coach the North team. Hue Jackson’s Browns staff will coach the South team.
With a ton of talent on display in Mobile, it will be hard to keep track of who’s performing well. To keep things simple, here are five players to watch in the 2017 Reese’s Senior Bowl on Saturday.
Nathan Peterman
Quarterback, Pittsburgh Panthers
While there are possibly as many as four quarterbacks going in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, not one of them is a senior. That being said, there are a handful of senior quarterbacks that will impact NFL rosters in the mid-to-late round of the 2017 NFL Draft. One of those guys is Pittsburgh Panthers senior signal caller Nathan Peterman.
Peterman had a strong last two years of college ball playing for Pat Narduzzi’s Pittsburgh program. He initially went to Pittsburgh to reconnect with offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, who recruited him to the Tennessee Volunteers in 2012. Chaney left for the Georgia Bulldogs in 2016, but Peterman still flourished quarterbacking the Panthers.
As a senior, Peterman led the highest scoring offense in Pittsburgh history. He completed 60.5 percent of his passes for 2,855 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. Peterman proved his Tennessee doubters wrong, emerging as one of the better pocket passers in the ACC as an upperclassman.
Being able to complete over 60 percent of his passes helps Peterman project as an NFL backup. He seems to have a thirst for knowledge at the position. Since both the Bears and Browns need help at quarterback, maybe either team will target him in the middle of the 2017 NFL Draft to aid in their search for a franchise quarterback?