The Reese's Senior Bowl: Phil Savage on the Jackrabbits
Wednesday started like any other ordinary workday. I was walking from one meeting to the next when I checked twitter and saw that Phil Savage, the Executive Director of the Reese's Senior Bowl, was going to be at the Jackrabbit practice Wednesday afternoon.
The Senior Bowl is a showcase for the best senior collegiate players in the country. It is the player's chance to showcase their talent against other NFL bound players and improve their draft stock. The game has been around since 1950 and has produced NFL stars including 17 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees, 15 players with at least one Super Bowl ring. Notable alumni include: Walter Payton, Joe Namath, Randall McDaniel, and Bo Jackson.
Phil Savage is a recognizable name because of his time with the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns. Savage is part of the team that assembled the Super Bowl 35 winning Baltimore Ravens. Savage is currently a color analyst for the Alabama Crimson Tide. He was gracious enough to give me about ten minutes of his time while we watched practice on Wednesday.
Here is the transcript of that conversation:
Q. FCS players seem to be having more of an impact on the NFL. Carson Wentz, David Johnson, and Zach Zenner are all recent success stories. What are you seeing?
Savage: From a recent Senior Bowl standpoint, we really try to target some of those "smaller school" players. Our event gives them a chance to get on the biggest of stages with the largest of schools. They get a chance to get evaluated and measured and compared by NFL teams. We've had a lot of success with FCS players and smaller schools in recent seasons. That's why I really wanted to get out here. I really try to go see a lot of our smaller school candidates in person because I want to try to forecast what is he going to look like in comparison to guys from Florida, USC, Tennessee, Alabama, or North Carolina.
Q. How many games and practices do you try to attend to evaluate players?
Savage: I usually make about 25 school visits per year and then I do the radio color for Alabama so I see their 12 opponents, sometimes it's 15 opponents, but you're guaranteed 12. I usually get a weeknight game on Thursday or the MAC will have a Tuesday or Wednesday night game. So ultimately I see about 40 teams in person over the course of the year. I have two staff members who help me. They see a certain number of players and they see a lot of players on Saturdays at games. We have some other guys around the country that go to games for us as well. We have our watch list that comes out August 24th with 400 names on it. We usually see about 300 of the 400 players in person.
Q. How many players do you narrow it down to?
Savage: We end up inviting 110 players. 55 for each roster; the North and South. We have some flexibility at certain positions. A couple years ago we had 8 quarterbacks. There were 15 quarterbacks drafted that year so we expanded it to 8 from its usual number of 6. Tight ends we typically have 6 but we have had 7 or 8 before.
Q. You mentioned that you like to give the small school players a chance. Are there any other characteristics you look for in a player?
Savage: I would say that with the way recruiting is now, a lot of the larger schools are having to commit to a player that is 14, 15, 16 years old. So the kids who are late bloomers are somewhat overlooked by the larger university so they end up going to a mid-major or an FCS school. It's (the Senior Bowl) just a function of them showing that they can compete with better competition. Usually you are just looking for a guy who dominates the action. I'll give you an example. So last year I'm watching the two defensive ends from Youngstown State. So I throw on the film and see this #86 from South Dakota State. I texted my staff, Patrick Woo, and said check and see on this #86 from South Dakota State and see if he's a senior. He said "No, no, no. He's a junior." So we made a mental note for next year. But he jumped out at a smaller level. We're looking for someone who can dominate obviously, but we're also looking for someone who has the right height, weight, and speed which are important because its a measurable type of game when you get to the NFL. The last part is the confidence, the intangibles, that "Yes, I played at the FCS level, but I can go do this."
Q. How has your role as a General Manager in the NFL helped prepare you for your role as the Executive Director of the Reese's Senior Bowl?
Savage: I would say it has definitely helped because of the contacts I have. I have a Rolodex of people in the NFL and across college football. We basically have a relationship with all 32 NFL teams and hundreds of colleges. One of the things I really enjoy about this is that I can call and email and say "Can I come in this day?" 99 out of 100 the answer will be "Yes." We see ourselves as a real ambassador for the sport and presenting a real opportunity for players to make that transition to the NFL. Typically we have 85-90 players drafted into the NFL out of our game. Everyone else is signed out of the game. If you can make it to that stage, you are assuring yourself a spot in an NFL training camp.
I joked with Savage about coming back on November 4th for the Dakota Marker game, but that is also the day of the 'Bama vs. LSU game.
It appears that Savage was impressed with what South Dakota State offered in personnel and in facilities as he sent out a series of tweets after he left.
Other notes from Wednesday's practice include:
Go Jacks!
-Matt
On way to Brookings, SD this morning, looking forward to seeing practice @GoJacksFB later today. #SouthDakotaState @seniorbowl— Phil Savage (@SeniorBowlPhil) August 9, 2017
The Senior Bowl is a showcase for the best senior collegiate players in the country. It is the player's chance to showcase their talent against other NFL bound players and improve their draft stock. The game has been around since 1950 and has produced NFL stars including 17 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees, 15 players with at least one Super Bowl ring. Notable alumni include: Walter Payton, Joe Namath, Randall McDaniel, and Bo Jackson.
Phil Savage is a recognizable name because of his time with the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns. Savage is part of the team that assembled the Super Bowl 35 winning Baltimore Ravens. Savage is currently a color analyst for the Alabama Crimson Tide. He was gracious enough to give me about ten minutes of his time while we watched practice on Wednesday.
Here is the transcript of that conversation:
Q. FCS players seem to be having more of an impact on the NFL. Carson Wentz, David Johnson, and Zach Zenner are all recent success stories. What are you seeing?
Savage: From a recent Senior Bowl standpoint, we really try to target some of those "smaller school" players. Our event gives them a chance to get on the biggest of stages with the largest of schools. They get a chance to get evaluated and measured and compared by NFL teams. We've had a lot of success with FCS players and smaller schools in recent seasons. That's why I really wanted to get out here. I really try to go see a lot of our smaller school candidates in person because I want to try to forecast what is he going to look like in comparison to guys from Florida, USC, Tennessee, Alabama, or North Carolina.
Q. How many games and practices do you try to attend to evaluate players?
Savage: I usually make about 25 school visits per year and then I do the radio color for Alabama so I see their 12 opponents, sometimes it's 15 opponents, but you're guaranteed 12. I usually get a weeknight game on Thursday or the MAC will have a Tuesday or Wednesday night game. So ultimately I see about 40 teams in person over the course of the year. I have two staff members who help me. They see a certain number of players and they see a lot of players on Saturdays at games. We have some other guys around the country that go to games for us as well. We have our watch list that comes out August 24th with 400 names on it. We usually see about 300 of the 400 players in person.
Q. How many players do you narrow it down to?
Savage: We end up inviting 110 players. 55 for each roster; the North and South. We have some flexibility at certain positions. A couple years ago we had 8 quarterbacks. There were 15 quarterbacks drafted that year so we expanded it to 8 from its usual number of 6. Tight ends we typically have 6 but we have had 7 or 8 before.
Q. You mentioned that you like to give the small school players a chance. Are there any other characteristics you look for in a player?
Savage: I would say that with the way recruiting is now, a lot of the larger schools are having to commit to a player that is 14, 15, 16 years old. So the kids who are late bloomers are somewhat overlooked by the larger university so they end up going to a mid-major or an FCS school. It's (the Senior Bowl) just a function of them showing that they can compete with better competition. Usually you are just looking for a guy who dominates the action. I'll give you an example. So last year I'm watching the two defensive ends from Youngstown State. So I throw on the film and see this #86 from South Dakota State. I texted my staff, Patrick Woo, and said check and see on this #86 from South Dakota State and see if he's a senior. He said "No, no, no. He's a junior." So we made a mental note for next year. But he jumped out at a smaller level. We're looking for someone who can dominate obviously, but we're also looking for someone who has the right height, weight, and speed which are important because its a measurable type of game when you get to the NFL. The last part is the confidence, the intangibles, that "Yes, I played at the FCS level, but I can go do this."
Q. How has your role as a General Manager in the NFL helped prepare you for your role as the Executive Director of the Reese's Senior Bowl?
Savage: I would say it has definitely helped because of the contacts I have. I have a Rolodex of people in the NFL and across college football. We basically have a relationship with all 32 NFL teams and hundreds of colleges. One of the things I really enjoy about this is that I can call and email and say "Can I come in this day?" 99 out of 100 the answer will be "Yes." We see ourselves as a real ambassador for the sport and presenting a real opportunity for players to make that transition to the NFL. Typically we have 85-90 players drafted into the NFL out of our game. Everyone else is signed out of the game. If you can make it to that stage, you are assuring yourself a spot in an NFL training camp.
I joked with Savage about coming back on November 4th for the Dakota Marker game, but that is also the day of the 'Bama vs. LSU game.
It appears that Savage was impressed with what South Dakota State offered in personnel and in facilities as he sent out a series of tweets after he left.
Enjoyed being @GoJacksFB today! Thanks Coach Stig and staff! $90M worth of awesome facilities! pic.twitter.com/siQao5W9v6— Phil Savage (@SeniorBowlPhil) August 10, 2017
The @GoJacksFB program is serious about winning! Indoor facility, plus largest scoreboard in FCS! pic.twitter.com/PZDQ1eUEi0— Phil Savage (@SeniorBowlPhil) August 10, 2017
Other notes from Wednesday's practice include:
- On punt return: Adam Anderson, Marquise Lewis, Jake Wieneke and Cade Johnson all fielded punts while Coach Arnheim threw bags in the air to district them.
- Kick return featured: Cade Johnson and Jacob Brown working with the #1 unit, followed by Adam Anderson, Mikey Daniel.
- The team spent a lot of time working on kick and punt coverage. There was good energy and the three units were running from place to place. It was a very active session!
- The defensive end position appears to really be creating some depth. The veterans look really good and the younger players are also following in line. I'm excited to see what they can do in live action this year.
- In the seven on seven, there were a number of passes that were slightly off target or droped by the wide receivers. Things just did not seem in sync like they have in previous sessions.
- The annual Culver's burger eating champion was freshman Daniel Callender.
— Olanda James, MS (@OJames_FBOpsRec) August 10, 2017
Go Jacks!
-Matt
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