2026 Senior Bowl: Event Overview and Player Invites

The Draft Starts in Mobile

The Senior Bowl remains the premier college football all-star event and the official first step in the NFL Draft process. For more than 76 years, Mobile, Alabama, has served as the permanent home of the game, making it the longest continually running all-star showcase in football and a foundational evaluation stop for NFL decision-makers.

The 2026 version will be played on Saturday, January 31, 2026, at Hancock Whitney Stadium, home of the University of South Alabama. Coverage will air nationally on NFL Network, with additional radio coverage via Fox Sports Pensacola and SiriusXM. Fan Fest activities will take place earlier in the day, leading into a 1:30 PM CT kickoff in Mobile.

NFL-Driven Roster Construction and Evaluation Model

The Senior Bowl reaffirmed its standing as the league’s most trusted all-star event with the release of its initial 130-plus accepted invitations for the 2026 game. While late additions and roster movement are expected as the process unfolds, the core roster is largely set heading into Senior Bowl week.

Under the direction of Drew Fabianich, the Senior Bowl roster is built to mirror an NFL draft board rather than a traditional all-star selection model. Fabianich, a longtime NFL evaluator with nearly two decades of experience helping construct draft boards at the professional level, utilizes a positional vertical board approach—stacking prospects round by round in the same manner NFL teams evaluate their own classes.

That philosophy continues to translate directly to draft outcomes. The 2025 Senior Bowl produced 106 NFL Draft selections, accounting for 41% of all drafted players, including seven first-round picks and 50 selections in the first three rounds. As a result, NFL front offices consistently treat Senior Bowl week as an extension of their draft rooms, with heavy general manager, head coach, and coordinator presence throughout practices and meetings.

Senior Bowl by the Numbers

The Senior Bowl’s impact on the NFL Draft remains unmatched among postseason all-star events:

• 47 more Top-3 Round selections than any other All-Star Game

• 100% of NFL teams selected at least one Senior Bowl participant

• 99% of 2025 participants were drafted or signed as undrafted free agents

As former NFL head coach Jon Gruden has stated, Mobile has become a proving ground for professional opportunity:

Best of the Best, From Every Level

The 2026 Senior Bowl roster includes athletes from every level of college football, bringing together the nation’s top draft-eligible prospects to form the National and American teams. From Power Five programs to Group of Five and FCS standouts, the event offers a unified evaluation environment designed to identify players who can translate to the NFL level.

What follows is a position-by-position breakdown of accepted player invites, providing a clear view of how the 2026 Senior Bowl roster is shaping up as the NFL Draft process begins in Mobile.

Quarterback

• Luke Altmyer, Illinois

• Taylen Green, Arkansas

• Garrett Nussmeier, LSU

• Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt

• Cole Payton, North Dakota State

• Sawyer Robertson, Baylor

  
  

Running back

• Kaytron Allen, Penn State

• Jonah Coleman, Washington

• Rahsul Faison, South Carolina

• Seth McGowan, Kentucky

• Jam Miller, Alabama

• Le'Veon Moss, Texas A&M

• Adam Randall, Clemson

• Nick Singleton, Penn State

• J'Mari Taylor, Virginia

• Mike Washington Jr., Arkansas

  
  

Wide receiver

• Aaron Anderson, LSU

• Vinny Anthony II, Wisconsin

• Lewis Bond, Boston College

• Romello Brinson, SMU

• Barion Brown, LSU

• Deion Burks, Oklahoma

• Josh Cameron, Baylor

• Kevin Coleman Jr., Missouri

• KC Concepcion, Texas A&M

• Caleb Douglas, Texas Tech

• Malachi Fields, Notre Dame

• Jordan Hudson, SMU

• Ted Hurst, Georgia State

• Caullin Lacy, Louisville

• Ja'Kobi Lane, USC

• Elijah Sarratt, Indiana

• Brenen Thompson, Mississippi State

• Reggie Virgil, Texas Tech

• Harrison Wallace III, Mississippi

  
  

Tight end

• Nate Boerkircher, Texas A&M

• Will Kacmarek, Ohio State

• John Michael Gyllenborg, Wyoming

• Joshua Cuevas, Alabama

• Justin Joly, N.C. State

• Tanner Koziol, Houston

• DJ Rogers, TCU

• Sam Roush, Stanford

• Dan Villari, Syracuse

  
  

Offensive linemen

• Austin Barber, Florida

• Jude Bowry, Boston College

• Parker Brailsford, Alabama

• Fernando Carmona Jr., Arkansas

• Kage Casey, Boise State

• Dametrious Crownover, Texas A&M

• JC Davis, Illinois

• Gennings Dunker, Iowa

• Jalen Farmer, Kentucky

• Alex Harkey, Oregon

• Sam Hecht, Kansas State

• Max Iheanachor, Arizona State

• Delby Lemieux, Dartmouth

• Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon

• Keylan Rutledge, Georgia Tech

• Drew Shelton, Penn State

• Jake Slaughter, Florida

• Beau Stephens, Iowa

• Logan Taylor, Boston College

• Carver Willis, Washington

• Jeremiah Wright, Auburn

• Trey Zuhn III, Texas A&M

  
  

Defensive line

• Rueben Bain, Jr, Miami

• Cameron Ball, Arkansas

• Caleb Banks, Florida

• Nick Barrett, South Carolina

• Rayshaun Benny, Michigan

• Zane Durant, Penn State

• Bryson Eason, Tennessee

• Deven Eastern, Minnesota

• Gracen Halton, Oklahoma

• Lee Hunter, Texas Tech

• Tim Keenan III, Alabama

• Jeffrey M'Ba, SMU

• Chris McClellan, Missouri

• Domonique Orange, Iowa State

• Vincent Anthony Jr., Duke

• David Bailey, Texas Tech

• Keyron Crawford, Auburn

• Dani Dennis-Sutton, Penn State

• Logan Fano, Utah

• Romello Height, Texas Tech

• Quintayvious Hutchins, Boston College

• Gabe Jacas, Illinois

• Max Llewellyn, Iowa

• Akheem Mesidor, Miami

• Derrick Moore, Michigan

• LT Overton, Alabama

• T.J. Parker, Clemson

• Jack Pyburn, LSU

• Cian Slone, N.C. State

• Nadame Tucker, Western Michigan

• Zion Young, Missouri

  
  

LINEBACKER

• Bryce Boettcher, Oregon

• Kendal Daniels, Oklahoma

• Kaleb Elarms-Orr, TCU

• Keyshaun Elliott, Arizona State

• Owen Heinecke, Oklahoma

• Jack Kelly, BYU

• Kyle Louis, Pitt

• Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech

• Xavian Sorey, Arkansas

• Scooby Williams, Texas A&M

  
  

CORNERBACK

• Tacario Davis, Washington

• Charles Demmings, Stephen F. Austin

• Thaddeus Dixon, North Carolina

• Daylen Everette, Georgia

• TJ Hall, Iowa

• Davison Igbinosun, Ohio State

• Chris Johnson, San Diego State

• Will Lee III, Texas A&M

• Hezekiah Masses, Cal

• Jalen McMurray, Tennessee

• Julian Neal, Arkansas

• D'Angelo Ponds, Indiana

• Ephesians Prysock, Washington

• Chandler Rivers, Duke

• Treydan Stukes, Arizona

• Collin Wright, Stanford

  
  

SAFETY

• Bud Clark, TCU

• Jalon Kilgore, South Carolina

• AJ Haulcy, LSU

• Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Toledo

• VJ Payne, Kansas State

• Kamari Ramsey, USC

• DeShon Singleton, Nebraska

• Genesis Smith, Arizona

• Michael Taaffe, Texas

• Jakobe Thomas, Miami

• Zakee Wheatley, Penn State