Syracuse football: updates from the Shrine Bowl and Senior Bowl

LeQuint Allen- stock up!

It was a successful week for the group of Syracuse Orange alums who participated in the East-West Shrine Bowl and Senior Bowl.

Several players received recognition for their practice performances and have built momentum heading towards the NFL Combine.

After a strong week, Kyle McCord decided not to play in the Shrine Bowl game. McCord stood out enough to move into Mel Kiper, Jr’s top 5 QB list as draft season ramps up. He is also 5th on the QB rankings of ESPN’s Jordan Reid, who said this about the Orange standout

McCord was the best quarterback to work out at the Shrine Bowl. After seeing him up close, McCord’s arm is stronger than I thought, but he also can throw with touch. He has continued to help himself and could be drafted earlier than expected. I have a Round 4 grade on McCord but after talking to multiple scouts at the all-star event, he could hear his name called as early as the end of Day 2.

Two of McCord’s targets had strong weeks in Dallas as Oronde Gadsden and Jackson Meeks opened more eyes with their showings in workouts. Meeks was the only member of the Orange to compile any statistics in the Shrine Bowl game as he had two receptions for 13 yards. Gadsden, Fadil Diggs and Alijah Clark all played but were all held off the stat sheet.

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

At this weekend’s Senior Bowl, LeQuint Allen capped his week in Mobil with four carries for 10 yards and one reception for 8 yards. Allen’s work has pushed him to the #3 running back on Kiper’s position rankings. A couple months ago we wondered if Allen might get selected, and now there’s a chance he could be a Day 2 pick.

Linebacker Justin Barron had one tackle in the Senior Bowl game, but with the importance placed on versatility in today’s game, expect him to be getting a lot of attention from NFL teams.

Looks like we’ll have a lot of Draft news to cover leading up to April 24th when Round 1 will be held.