After three airports, one rental car, two wrong turns, one bad navigator (my droid), and a surreal atmosphere, day one in Mobile, Alabama is over.
One, two, three...eight, nine...ten. I notice a large man in the seat next to my assigned one.
"Hey man, Josh Collacchi, eDraft.com"
"Hey, what's up?"
As we continued talking, I realized, without question that this man was participating in the 2014 Senior Bowl.
"Hey, are you playing in the Mobile?"
"Yes"
"Ahhh, let me guess, linebacker?"
"Tight End, Marshall"
"Gator Hoskins? Pleased to meet you"
Marshall Thundering Herd tight end Gator Hoskins sat next to me on the plane. That is Mobile for you ladies and gentlemen.
After we were settled into the hotel, Luke and I bolted over to another building to claim our credentials. Little did we know who we would see. In a span of four minutes, I saw Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie, a dozen Packers employees, the Jacksonville Jaguars coaching staff, Seantrel Henderson and Jalen Saunders, in addition to many others strolling around. We also saw former NFL player and current coach Mike Tice.
After watching these players check in and talk to NFL teams (filling out lengthy forms), we headed into a private press conference (about 15 media members and a ton of recording devices to listen to Fresno State Quarterback Derek Carr, Alabama linebacker Adrian Hubbard, and Northern Illinois safety (and Mobile native) Jimmie Ward.
Derek Carr expressed his exceptional interest in playing in the Senior Bowl, as he described remembering his brother playing in the same game 12 seasons ago. Carr was upbeat, and answered each question with a great attitude. Carr was asked "What do you want to improve on this week, specifically?". He replied "Everything, I do not have one thing that is a finished product, and want to continue to get better at playing this game in every way possible.”
Adrian Hubbard was another interesting interview. For those who do not know, Hubbard is a redshirt senior, who is eligible for the Senior Bowl. Hubbard was incredibly intellectual in his responses, discussing school, former coach Nick Saban, and that he was a student-first, and an athlete second “as it is at Alabama”. He mentioned being mentored by former Alabama pass rusher Courtney Upshaw, and how he has been helped through this “process” by his former teammates.
Rounding out the day was in the lounge of the hotel watching the NFL Championship games with fellow media members as players were still following up with NFL teams upstairs. Stay tuned for tomorrow night when we wrap up the first day of practices with exclusive content from the Reese’s Senior Bowl.