It was a was cold, but beautiful day in Mobile, Alabama, an excellent start to the 2026 Senior Bowl. After a harrowing day of travel thanks to Winter Storm Fern messing up flights and causing both of us to have to rebook and adjust on the fly, we were glad to put those headaches behind us and watch some young men in pads have the biggest job interview of their lives.
Here’s what we saw on the ground at Day 1 of the Senior Bowl.
Less Steelers representation than normal
JB: Steelers general manager Omar Khan is usually a mainstay in Mobile
during Senior Bowl week, but missed practice today to help introduce his new head coach Mike McCarthy to the media for the first time. Whether or not Khan, Weidl, and McCarthy show up to Mobile at all this week is still up in the air, but given Pittsburgh’s history of taking players who participate at the Senior Bowl I would be shocked to see no major Steelers brass show up.
RP: Though he is no longer part of the team, we did see former Steelers defensive line coach Karl Dunbar working with the defensive line group in his Steelers hoodie. Dunbar was with the Steelers for eight seasons, and we hope he gets another opportunity in the league.
The Quarterbacks underwhelm
JB: It doesn’t look like a good year to need a quarterback, and unfortunately for the Steelers, it seems like that may just be what they need the most. If you were hoping for someone to step up and separate themselves from the rest of the pack in Mobile that certainly did not happen on day one of practice. North Dakota State quarterback Cole Payton made arguably the best throw of the day, turning his hips to make a left-handed throw rolling to his right on a ball that traveled 50 yards in the air.
RP: I second Joey’s note about the passers. It isn’t a particularly strong class at the position, and that really shows at the Senior Bowl.
LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier is the biggest name here, but after shutting down his season early due to injury, it was clear he was still shaking off some rust today.
Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia had arguably the best command of the huddle on the field today, but that’s probably his strongest trait. Measuring in at 5’9, Pavia’s stature is going to be hard for scouts to get over. He was easily the smallest guy on the field today, and he threw every ball on a line. At one point, a coach on the field yelled out “That’s a TV timeout,” after a Pavia pass led a receiver into heavy traffic, implying that the receiver would have been getting treated by the medical staff had this been an actual game. Pavia also had some hiccups on reps under center.
Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson and Arkansas’ Taylen Green have all the physical tools, but consistency is still their bugaboo. Throwing against air, the ball pops out of Green’s hand in a way that is noticeably different from the rest of the group, with Robertson not far behind. Still, Green holds onto the ball too long for my like, and Robertson short-armed and dirted several passes.
Illinois’ Luke Altmyer got a lot of run today during drills for the National team, but to my eye he looks frantic out there and just seems to be constantly pressing. The same could be said for North Dakota State’s Cole Payton. Payton did have the impressive throw we highlighted above, but on the whole his throws seemed to lack NFL juice.
Pitt LB Kyle Louis showed coverage skills
JB: Louis measured in at 5’11 and 224 pounds, with a thin build for a linebacker. I think it would be plausible for Louis to potentially be used as a box safety in the NFL given his phenomenal coverage skills. Today in practice he lined up at linebacker just like he did at Pitt and was all over the place. He made perhaps the most impressive defensive play of the day when he jumped a route intended for Penn State running back Nick Singleton. Given the lack of depth at both linebacker and safety for the Steelers, he is a name to monitor especially given the Steelers history of taking a liking to guys they are familiar with.
RP: Louis also had a good rep against the other Penn State running back, Kaytron Allen, during a Backs-on-Backers drill, delivering one of the rare collisions that rang out through the stadium on a day where the drills were intentionally not heavy on contact. Later, Louis was seemingly beat on a fade route by Clemson’s Adam Randall, but the Pittsburgh linebacker displayed some impressive recovery speed and got his arms up at just the right moment to break up the pass. Louis’ smaller size showed up a bit at times when taking on blocks in one-on-one drills, but he also was able to knife into the backfield on run plays during 11-on-11s. Overall a solid day.
The Linebackers might be the deepest position in the draft
JB: Not only was Kyle Louis a standout today, guys like Jacob Rodriguez justified why he received legitimate Heisman Trophy consideration. Nobody seemed like they could block Rodriguez today. Arizona State’s Keyshaun Elliott was another guy who made his presence felt with several PBU’s during practice. There seems to be a good set of backers with good coverage skills in Mobile, something the Steelers could desperately use.
RP: Beyond Rodriguez and Louis, I thought Oregon’s Bryce Boettcher and Arizona State’s Keyshaun Elliott had solid days too. They didn’t pop athletically in quite the same way as Rodriguez and Louis, but both were constantly around the ball and performed well in coverage drills.
Bits and bobs:
JB: The big receivers had good days. USC’s Ja’Kobi Lane looked like a much more fluid route runner than I remember seeing this past season. Georgia State’s Ted Hurst had the catch of the day, mossing a defender in the endzone after being blanketed for his entire route.
RP: I think the running back class might be stronger than initial reactions to this class might have you believe. Arkansas’ Mike Washington Jr. is a player that has intrigued me with his size, burst, fluid movement, and soft hands as a pass catcher.
Kaytron Allen continues to impress me more than his highly touted teammate Nick Singleton. I’ll be keeping an eye on Virginia’s J’Mari Taylor, Indiana’s Kaelon Black, and Oklahoma’s Jadyn Ott as the week goes on.
RP: Lastly, we didn’t get a great look at the trenches today as the defensive and offensive lineman were off in their own corner for most of the practices. We’ll effort to get over there in the coming days. The same could be said for the defensive backs, who we only really got to see a bit of during the 11-on-11s. San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson was noticeably one of the faster players on the field today, and he was clocked at a top speed of 19.78 mph, the top speed recorded in the National team’s practice.
Be sure to follow our coverage of the Senior Bowl all week here on Behind the Steel Curtain. Get in the comments and let us know which players you’re impressed by, and if there are any players you want us to cover.
