2025 Senior Bowl Post-Game Stats and Recap

Harold Fannin Jr. and Darius Alexander were both starting contributors in what was ultimately a National Team loss.

The National Team, which led the Senior Bowl for much of Saturday afternoon at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama, found themselves having to defend their endzone up 19-16 in the last minute of the game from an American Team side which had gained momentum after a series of defensive stops in the fourth quarter.

A win was not meant to be for the team in white, as Memphis quarterback Seth Hanigan rolled out and found TCU wide receiver Jack Bech in the back of the endzone with no time left on the clock to give the orange-clad American team the 22-19 victory in walk-off fashion.

The National Team (which rostered all four Mid-American Conference representatives) got on the scoreboard first, as Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon tossed a pass towards Iowa State wide receiver Jayden Higgins to get the touchdown on a halfback toss pass play and Gabriel would find Miami [FL] tight end Elijah Arroyo on the out route to put the score at 8-0.

After some stuttering on offense to start the contest, the American Team would find their scoring stride on a redzone rushing touchdown from Mississippi quarterback Jaxson Dart— who threw a conversion pass to Arkansas receiver Issac TeSlaa to tie the game up late in the second quarter.

The 8-8 score would hold until the waning moments of the third quarter, as Florida State kicker Ryan Fitzgerald would convert from 39 yards to give the National Team an 11-8 lead.

The fireworks started in the fourth quarter, as Utah linebacker Junior Tafuna would force Memphis quarterback Seth Hanigan to fumble on the opening possession, allowing the National Team an opportunity to score on offense.

Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough made up for an earlier interception intended for BGSU tight end Harold Fannin Jr. in the first half by tossing a nice touchdown to Virginia wide receiver Da’Quan Felton to extend the lead to 19-8.

The American team offense would take it from there, scoring 14 points in the game’s last 10 minutes to take away a victory, thanks in part to a double pass of their own from UCF running back RJ Harvey to Maryland wide receiver Tai Felton and a conversion pass from Hanigan to TeSlaa.

Bech would win game MVP honors after logging six receptions for 68 yards and the walk-off game-winning touchdown.

The Mid-American Conference only had two players on the field in Saturday’s contest, with Toledo defensive lineman Darius Alexander and Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin Jr. both collecting starts for the National team.

(Toledo safety Maxen Hook and Western Michigan defensive back Bilhal Kone were declared out pre-game due to injuries suffered during practice week. If you’d like to see more in-depth analysis of all four players and how they performed in Mobile this week, you can check out our article from Thursday night here. )

Both Fannin and Alexander were highlighted as “impact players” at the start of the NFL Network broadcast for the National Team, a sign they got a lot of attention from media and scouts over the week.

Fannin finished the afternoon as the National Team’s leading receiver, with four catches (on five targets) and 25 receiving yards on the day— though he nearly scored a touchdown late in the game on an eight-yard reception where he reached for the pylon.

Fannin was instrumental in the offensive attack, seeing time at in-line tight end, move/slot tight end and on special teams as a protector, and won several seal blocks in-game from both tight end positions.

Darius Alexander played at both the defensive tackle and edge spots, showing good run game instincts early on the game with a tackle-for-loss on Kansas running back Devin Neal, as well as a later no-gain stop on Georgia running back Trevor Etienne.

Alexander also got a few pressures on American Team QBs in the game, including on the penultimate play of the game to force an incompletion— but was also the primary defender on Jack Bech the very next play to end the contest.

The NFL Scouting Combine is the next step, with activities set to start the last weekend of February in Indianapolis, Indiana. As of publication, Fannin Jr. is the only MAC player confirmed to have received an invitation.

Alexander, Hook and Kone are all expected to compete in their respective Pro Days.