The Reese's Senior Bowl is one of the premier scouting components of the NFL Draft process, highlighting the best senior players throughout the country who are all looking to bring their career to the next level. Among the North and South rosters this year stand three D2 football alum, each at a different position.
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Tiffin quarterback Antonio Pipkin, Lindenwood linebacker Connor Harris, and Kutztown offensive lineman Jordan Morgan are the esteemed athletes included in the festivities this season. While we will eventually get to full draft profiles of each player later on as the draft approaches, it is the perfect time to see what the Senior Bowl could bring these three players as they look to go pro.
Check below for a breakdown of each player, and follow along to NFL Draft coverage here at HERO Sports until the draft in Philadelphia in late April.
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Antonio Pipkin, QB | Tiffin
2016 Stats: 2,534 Passing Yards, 25 TD | 757 Rushing Yards, 7 TD
Career Stats: 10,940 Passing Yards, 88 TD | 2,207 Rushing Yards, 25 TD
2017 Positional Ranking: Mel Kiper Jr. (10) | Matt Miller (20, 341 overall) | CBS Sports (20, 397)
The Dragons' single-season record holder in passing yards and passing touchdowns, Pipkin may be an unheralded name to most D2 fans, based solely that the GLIAC gets a lot of attention towards Grand Valley and Ferris State.
A lot of signal-callers are present at the Senior Bowl this season, but every player gets a shot to show their stuff. If Pipkin can show even one team that he has some ability to move the ball down field consistently, then we could see Tiffin represented yet again in the NFL, following former receiver Nate Washington.
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Jordan Morgan, OG | Kutztown
2017 Positional Rankings: Matt Miller (15, 276 overall) | CBS Sports (9, 132)
The best offensive lineman in D2 is likely the most likely player in D2 to get drafted this season, as Morgan comes from a PSAC conference that has sent many linemen to the league in the past five to ten years. Also, it doesn't hurt that Andre Reed happened to be a KU Bear once too.
Morgan became the first lineman to win the PSAC East Player of The Year award in 2016, and he never missed a start in his four seasons. While he was primarily the left tackle along the Bears' line, his size gives the move to guard a lot of credence and should allow him to be successful wherever he lands come draft weekend.
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Connor Harris, LB | Lindenwood
2016 Stats: 138 Tkls, 2 INT, 1 Sack
Career Stats: 633 Tkls, 6 INT, 8.5 Sacks
2017 Positional Rankings: Matt Miller (25, 288 overall) | CBS Sports (6, 127)
The all-time leader in tackles in every division of NCAA play, Harris could be a late-round pick who blossoms into a super special teams player during his first couple of seasons. The closest comparison I can think of for the Lindenwood product would be Tyler Matakevich, former linebacker for Temple who was a tackling machine during his collegiate days.
Linebackers are one of the deepest positions every year in the draft, and middle linebackers continue to be a need for a handful of teams who need some coverage or run-stopping help in the middle of their front seven. Harris could ball out come January 28 during the Senior Bowl, and help raise his stock to a potential sixth or seventh round selection.