MOBILE — Because the South squad is packed with players from the SEC, they are expected to roll over the North squad in the 63rd annual Senior Bowl game at 4 p.m. Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
The SEC, which has won the past six BCS title games, has 20 players on the South roster. Actually 23, if you want to count the Texas A&M players. The Aggies and Missouri join the conference next season.
The North squad has a nice mix of players from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12.
“The SEC has definitely dominated the college landscape,” said North coach Leslie Frazier, head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. “It’s almost like they own the BCS. My hat is off to the SEC. They traditionally turn out a lot of players to our league. There are a lot of good players here representing the SEC playing on the South squad. It’s a chance for those guys to really show their talents to the rest of the league. I’m sure, come draft day, a lot of them will be drafted.”
Alabama, the reigning BCS champions, are represented by defensive end/linebacker Courtney Upshaw, defensive back DeQuan Menzie, tight end Brad Smelley and center William Vlachos.
Georgia has four players: cornerback Brandon Boykin, punter Drew Butler and offensive linemen Cordy Glenn and Ben Jones.
The SEC players are used to rugged battles.
“I would have to say Cordy Glenn,” Upshaw said when asked who was the toughest lineman he faced this week. “He’s most definitely one of the most dominating guys on that side of the ball.”
South coach Mike Shanahan believes his team is stacked with talent.
“I’ve been through a lot of different conferences as a collegiate coach, coaching for 10 years,” Shanahan said. “The SEC, I don’t know if there is any conference that can compete with it. There are always arguments. All of the conferences are very good, but the SEC, year-in and year-out, is the best.”
There are certain traits that separate SEC play from some of the other top conferences.
“The only thing that is consistent, is the speed,” Shanahan said. “You’re going to see a lot of speed in the SEC and a lot of pro players. That’s been going on for a while.”
Michigan defensive tackle Mike Martin has heard about the SEC’s superior speed and that the Big Ten is a plodding conference of behemoths.
“I like to hear that because being told that someone is better than me, that’s what fuels my fire,” Martin said. “There’s tons of talent in the SEC, but in the Big Ten, we stack up pretty well, too.”
The North roster has 18 players from the Big Ten.
There’s also a place for the small-school players in the Senior Bowl.
NFL star DeMarcus Ware (Troy) used the Senior Bowl to jump-start his career.
“We are so used to the smaller-school guys coming here and playing well that it shouldn’t be a surprise anymore,” NFL Network analyst Charles Davis said.
Whether a player is from Alabama or Appalachian State, the Senior Bowl is an opportunity to impress NFL teams. A poor showing could be costly.
“I won’t say that it’s held against him, but it’s definitely something that you pay attention to because you are thinking that you have the top players in the country here competing,” Frazier said.
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