Senior Bowl's Phil Savage wants a Junior Showcase
As the country's best senior college football players continue to try to impress NFL scouts and coach at the Reese's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, the game's executive director appears to be ready to venture into new territory.
Phil Savage, the color analyst for the Crimson Tide Radio Network, joined me and Lee Shirvanian on "The Opening Kickoff" on WNSP-FM 105.5 on Friday.
During his time, he shared his idea for a Junior Showcase.
Currently, in addition to the nation's top senior collegiate football players, the game allows for fourth-year junior graduates. Fourth-year junior graduates must have graduated by the December prior to the game to be eligible.
With that said, Savage wants to see a showcase, which would inform juniors where they stand when it comes to their pro prospects.
"We all know after the draft, the next day, people put out the way-too-early mock draft," Savage said. "And often times, that list is so inaccurate. Yes, the top names and recognizable names are there, but there are other names. And, people don't know who they are. Someone's graded a flash and said he's a first-rounder. Well, once that kid's name is in a mock draft in May of the previous year, it's going to be hard to convince them you're not really a first-rounder. No college coach is going to be able to do that."
Savage explained that the declaration date for juniors, in the middle of January, doesn't give coaches enough time to inform his players.
"The cat's out of the bag," he said, "because most of the juniors have already been hit up all season long all the way back to last summer."
What he's saying is it is a vicious cycle. After the draft, next year's mock comes out. A kid is on it and now he thinks he is a legitimate prospect. He gets attention, all before his junior season, essentially planting a seed in the player's head that he is better than he really is.
So, what is Savage's solution?
"There should be a Junior Showcase," he said. "I think they should bring 150 to 175 juniors that look like they have a reasonable chance of coming into the NFL," he explained. "Let everyone get a height and weight. Sit down and interview the young man. Say, 'Look, these are the things you need to work on. You know what? You are a legitimate prospect. You absolutely stay health. Have a great year. You'll be a top pick next year.'
"When 106 juniors come out and you know 35 or 40 of them won't be picked, you know there's a problem."
When asked if this is something the Reese's Senior Bowl would be interested in pursuing, Savage said "absolutely."
In fact, there are few entities better suited for a Junior Showcase.
"The Reese's Senior Bowl is probably the best ambassador of the sport because, as I have explained to people all week, we're not really competing against anybody," Savage said. "We're friends with everyone from the NFL to the college game to the agents to the media.
"We just want to see everyone do well."
Just as important, though, it would be in the best interest of those juniors willing to skip a senior season based on incomplete information.
"This is at least one way to get ahead of this, so they can hear from real NFL people who will shoot them straight," Savage said. "'Here's the reality. This is what you think it is? No. This is the real truth.'"
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