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2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl Standouts from National Team

Inclement weather conditions almost prevented the media from attending the first day of practices at Hancock Whitney Stadium for the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.

But the weather held up, for the most part, and players from the National and American teams came out and showcased their talents.

Out of the 134 participants in this year’s Senior Bowl, here are three players that made a good first impression on the National team.

(Make sure you also check out my recap video of three standout players from the American team practice.)

Oklahoma State WR Tylan Wallace

As soon as the National team went to the one-on-one portion of practice, Tylan Wallace proved he was going to be a tough matchup for any defensive back. He started his day winning his first two reps in one-on-one drills and beat California cornerback Camryn Bynum twice in this session.

Throughout the practice, Wallace demonstrated his excellent route running ability, especially at the top of his route where he consistently created separation from the defender.


For the practice reps that I watched, Wallace didn’t drop a single catchable pass thrown his way and displayed good hands for each of the drills.

On one of the passes that wasn’t on target, Wallace still showed his ability to stop on a dime and change direction, like he does on this rep where the defensive back falls on the comeback route.

When the National team went to 11-on-11s for the first time, Wallace was one of the three starting wide receivers in the lineup, along with Michigan’s Nico Collins and Western Michigan’s D’Wayne Eskridge.

Wallace also was taking some reps at punt returner throughout the day.

Oregon CB Thomas Graham Jr.

Oregon cornerback Thomas Graham Jr. isn’t the biggest guy. On Monday’s weigh-ins he came in at 5-foot-10, 193 pounds. But the way he pressed opposing wide receivers at the line of scrimmage and played with overall physicality on the first day of practice proved that size isn’t everything.

Regardless if it was during team, 7-on-7 or one-on-one drills, Graham was frequently in good coverage and had a few pass breakups throughout the day.

Here is a good rep from Graham against Arizona State wide receiver Darby Frank. Graham breaks on Frank’s route and closes the throwing window, forcing an incompletion.


After practice ended, Graham was also one of three defensive backs who stayed afterwards to work on their footwork and backpedal.


Between the National and American team practices, Graham was easily the most impressive defensive back on the day.

Western Michigan WR D’Wayne Eskridge

The National team was stacked with talent at the wide receiver position, but Western Michigan’s D’Wayne Eskridge was one of the standouts from the first practice.

Eskridge’s ability to start and stop and then accelerate to full speed is one of the reasons opposing defensive backs had a tough time covering the 5-foot-9, 188-pound wide receiver.


In one-on-one drills, Eskridge also showed some good route running and a quick first step when cornerbacks tried to play press coverage.


For the entire practice, there wasn’t a single time where I saw the ball get into his body. He whipped his head around quickly for each pass and displayed he is a natural hands-catcher.

Nicholas Moreano

Nicholas Moreano is a sports multimedia journalist and the Bears beat reporter for The Chicago Audible. He has a master's degree in Communication from DePaul University and obtained his bachelor's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Iowa.

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