For many players, the bowl season is the final chance to show NFL scouts what they have on the field before months of interviews and workouts in shorts. For fans, it's the last chance to take a look at the prospects that will make up the majority of the 2014 NFL Draft.
On Thursday, there is just one bowl games: The Sugar Bowl. Here are the prospects that should be paid the most attention:
Sugar Bowl - Oklahoma vs. Alabama, 8:30 p.m.
# | Player | Pos. | Height | Weight | Proj. via NFLDraftScout.com | |
BAMA | 32 | C.J. Mosley | LB | 6-2 | 232 | 1st |
BAMA | 71 | Cyrus Kouandjio* | OT | 6-5 | 310 | 1st |
BAMA | 6 | Ha Ha Clinton-Dix* | S | 6-1 | 208 | 1st-2nd |
BAMA | 10 | A.J. McCarron | QB | 6-3 | 214 | 2nd |
OU | 14 | Aaron Colvin | CB | 6-0 | 192 | 3rd |
OU | 8 | Jalen Saunders | WR | 5-9 | 157 | 4th |
BAMA | 49 | Ed Stinson | DE | 6-3 | 292 | 4th-5th |
BAMA | 13 | Deion Belue | CB | 5-11 | 183 | 4th-5th |
OU | 64 | Gabe Ikard | C | 6-3 | 298 | 5th-6th |
BAMA | 83 | Kevin Norwood | WR | 6-1 | 195 | 6th |
* Junior
** Draft-eligible sophomore
Whenever the Alabama Crimson Tide are on the field, you can rest assured that there will be NFL talent worth watching and the 2013 team is no different. At the helm of the offense is senior quarterback A.J. McCarron, who everybody seems to have an opinion of, one way or another.
In three seasons as a starter, McCarron has led the Crimson Tide to two BCS National Championships and was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2013, but there are questions of how much he deserves credit for the team's success. In seven games in his senior season, McCarron has finished with fewer than 200 yards passing, avoiding mistakes and letting the run game dominate for the Alabama offense.