The four players who repped the MAC at the Senior Bowl get another chance to shine in front of NFL scouts and media in Indianapolis.
The college football all-star circuit is over, but there’s still a lot to learn about the latest crop of NFL Draft prospects over the next three months. The next step for 329 of those potential future stars is the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, set to take place once again in the Circle City at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana from February 24- March 3, 2025.
As far as the MAC is concerned, there will be four names to keep an eye on, double last year’s total of two prospects. Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin Jr., Toledo defensive tackle Darius Alexander, Western Michigan cornerback Bilhal Kone and Toledo safety Maxen Hook have all formally accepted invitations to football’s most famous work convention.
Coincidentally, all four players invited to this year’s Combine were also invited to play in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama— with several turning heads throughout the week of activities.
Fannin Jr., one of the draft’s youngest prospects at 20 years old, was a standout do-it-all player for the Falcons over three seasons, blooming into form in 2024. By season’s end, Fannin Jr. broke the NCAA record for receiving yards and receptions by a tight end in a single season (111 catches, 1,555 yards) and hauled in 11 touchdowns. It was a performance good enough to lead all passcatchers in 2024 and earned Fannin Jr. an All-American first-team bid— BGSU’s first in program history.
Alexander has been the anchor of the Toledo defensive line since the departure of Desjuan Johnson two seasons ago, playing his way into all-MAC honors in both campaigns (third-team in 2023, second-team in 2024.) Last season saw Alexander notch career bests in total tackles (40) and tackles-for-loss (eight), while also picking up 3.5 sacks. Alexander also has eight batted passes and a pick-six to his name as a starter, and was widely considered one of the Senior Bowl’s best prospects earlier this month after a monster week of practices.
Kone was a surprise addition to the Senior Bowl roster but soon proved his muster, securing a starting spot at cornerback before an injury sidelined him prior to the game. Despite never being selected to an all-MAC team in his two seasons of service, Kone fits the mold of a prototypical NFL corner at six-foot-two, 190 lbs. and finished the 2024 season with 70 tackles, nine pass breakups, one interception, and two fumble recoveries. At Indiana State in 2022, Kone had 34 total tackles, six pass breakups and a fumble recovery in eight contests before a season-ending injury.
Hook made the decision to return to Toledo in 2024 despite interest from NFL scouts and it paid off handsomely, as he became a four-time all-MAC honoree and a three-time first-team all-MAC honoree in 2024 after a campaign which saw him accumulate 107 tackles, a TFL, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, four pass break-ups and two interceptions. Over his five-year career, Hook brought in 356 tackles, 7.5 TFLs, two sacks, seven interceptions and 22 pass break-ups. Hook was another prospect who drew interest at the Senior Bowl and had seen work as both a field and box safety prior to an injury which forced him out of the last day of practice and the game on Saturday.
Alexander will be the first MAC player to take to the Lucas Oil Stadium turf, working with the defensive linemen and linebackers on Thursday, February 27th.
The other three MAC participants (Fannin Jr., Kone, Hook) will participate in on-field exercises on Friday, February 28th.
All live coverage will be provided by NFL Network, with the broadcast on both days starting at 3 p.m. Eastern time.