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Top defensive performers and draft risers from Senior Bowl practices

See which college football stars helped their draft stock this week.
Ryan Young|
Texas Tech defensive tackle Lee Hunter created a lot of buzz at Senior Bowl practices this week in Mobile, Alabama.
Texas Tech defensive tackle Lee Hunter created a lot of buzz at Senior Bowl practices this week in Mobile, Alabama. | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

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Texas Tech Red RaidersMichigan WolverinesTCU Horned FrogsPittsburgh Panthers

More than 100 college football stars convened in Mobile, Alabama, this week for the Senior Bowl to showcase themselves in front of NFL scouts, coaches and general managers.

It's just the start of the long pre-draft buildup that will continue with the NFL Scouting Combine, college programs' pro days, one-on-one team visits/interviews, etc., but the Senior Bowl can be a launching point for players looking to vault their draft stock.

There were plenty of highlights and draft prospects who helped themselves over the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday practice sessions ahead of the game Saturday (2:30 p.m. ET on NFL Network).

Here are five on the defensive side who caught our eye.

Not surprisingly, Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez has been one of the stars of the Senior Bowl week in Mobile, Alabama.
Not surprisingly, Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez has been one of the stars of the Senior Bowl week in Mobile, Alabama. | Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Texas Tech LB Jacob Rodriguez

When doesn't Jacob Rodriguez make an outsized impression?

The Texas Tech star linebacker was on the fringe of the Heisman Trophy race by the end of a superlative senior season in which he totaled 128 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, a sack, 4 interceptions, 6 pass breakups and led college football with 7 forced fumbles. Not to mention scoring 2 rushing touchdowns on offense.

Rodriguez is the only player since 2005 to record at least 5 forced fumbles, 4 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries in the same season, and he deservedly won the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Butkus Award and the Lombardi Trophy as the most decorated defensive player in college football.

Well, Rodriguez continued to command the spotlight this week at Senior Bowl practices -- to the surprise of nobody.

True to form, Rodriguez had both a forced fumble and an interception during Wednesday's practice session.

If scouts have questions about how Rodriguez's size (6-foot-1, 233 pounds) translates to playing linebacker in the NFL, he may have answered some questions this week while standing out against a field of talented draft prospects.

TCU S Bud Clark

Bud Clark's career production at TCU commands attention, but the Horned Frogs weren't in the College Football Playoff picture or prime national television spotlight as much, so Clark seized his opportunity this week to show NFL teams how he piled up those numbers.

Clark had 15 interceptions, 2 returned for touchdowns, 21 passes defended, and 201 tackles over the last four seasons at TCU, clearly establishing himself as one of the top playmakers at the safety position in college football.

And those ball skills were on full display this week in Mobile.

That might have been the defensive play of the week, but it was just one of many highlights for Clark.

He's considered a likely Day 2 pick in the NFL draft and could prove to be a steal for whichever team lands him.

Texas Tech DT Lee Hunter

Hunter was a central part of Texas Tech's dominant defensive line that helped the Red Raiders finish second among Power 4 teams in total defense (258.3 YPG), first against the run (68.14 YPG), fifth in tackles for loss (7.5 per game) and sixth in sacks (2.93 per game) on the way to the College Football Playoff.

Hunter, who played the previous three seasons at UCF, seized the bigger spotlight in 2025 while tallying 41 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble, which is substantial production from an interior defensive line spot.

Texas Tech defensive tackle Lee Hunter has sent his draft stock soaring at the Senior Bowl this week.
Texas Tech defensive tackle Lee Hunter has sent his draft stock soaring at the Senior Bowl this week. | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

He then built on that momentum this week in Mobile. NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah suggested Hunter may have pushed his way into the first round of the draft.

Michigan EDGE Derrick Moore

After solid production the previous two years, Moore delivered a career-best season as a senior at Michigan with 10 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 3 pass deflections. He ranked top-10 nationally in sacks per game (0.83).

So Moore was already very much on the radar of NFL talent evaluators entering the week, and he took full advantage of that.

The 6-foot-3, 254-pound Moore finished with 21 sacks over four seasons at Michigan and had a stretch this season with three consecutive games of 2 sacks (vs. Washington, Michigan State and Purdue).

ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. had Moore ranked as the seventh-best outside linebacker (he separates edge rushers into OLBs and DEs) before this week. It will be interesting to see how much Moore's dominant Senior Bowl week boosts his draft projections.

Pittsburgh linebacker Kyle Louis was one of the big winners from Senior Bowl practices in Mobile, Alabama, this week.
Pittsburgh linebacker Kyle Louis was one of the big winners from Senior Bowl practices in Mobile, Alabama, this week. | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

Pittsburgh LB Kyle Louis

Here's a name that didn't get a lot of attention during the season but sure did this week in Mobile.

Over the last two seasons at Pittsburgh, linebacker Kyle Louis racked up a combined 182 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, 6 interceptions, 6 pass breakups and 2 forced fumbles.

After being listed at 6-foot-1 on Pitt's roster, Louis actually measured in at 5-foot-11 6/8 and 224 pounds at the Senior Bowl, but he played bigger than that in practices this week while generating significant buzz with plays like these.

Here's what Jeremiah, NFL.com's draft analyst, said about Louis after watching him this week: "He might lack prototypical NFL linebacker size, but he’ll be a great fit as a Will ‘backer or big nickel at the next level. He’s excellent in coverage and can fire into gaps to disrupt run plays. I like where Louis’ stock is trending."

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Ryan Young
RYAN YOUNG

Ryan Young joins CFB HQ On SI after 15 years as a college football beat writer, including the last seven years in Los Angeles covering the USC Trojans for Rivals. He previously covered Florida and Coastal Carolina after four years at the Kansas City Star. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland.

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