Halfway Checkpoint: Beavs on the Senior Bowl Watchlist
Assessing Oregon State's 11 Senior Bowl Candidates
Oregon State football received a significant endorsement before the season started by the Reese’s Senior Bowl scouting team. When the official 2024 Senior Bowl Watchlist came out on August 23rd, 11 Beavers found their names on the list of candidates who could earn the all prestigious invitation to Mobile, AL for the first week of February.
An invite to the Senior Bowl can be a game-changer for any NFL Draft candidate. The week of practices in Mobile draws the eyes of the entire NFL scouting community. It’s not crazy to say a good week of practice can earn a prospect millions.
Earning a spot on the watchlist is an achievement in itself and this year’s list speaks to the progress Oregon State has made in the last few seasons. OSU is one of 26 total schools who notched 10+ names on the list, and their total of 11 came up just one shy of programs like Ohio State and Texas, and one more than programs like Alabama and Washington (for context, Ole Miss topped the list with 20 players named to the watchlist).
Halfway through the season, things are starting to shake out and the NFL Draft sickos (a community I’m proud to be part of) are starting to fire up the mock draft machines to make sure all systems are ready to go come Draft SZN.
So how many of their beloved Beavs can Beaver Nation hope to see get the official invite to Mobile? Well, that answer could be tough to swallow for Oregon State fans. I’m optimistically predicting four invites to come OSU’s way. That may be disappointing on its face, but Oregon State hasn’t had three players make the trip to Mobile since 1969 when John Didion, Bill ‘Earthquake’ Enyart, and Jon Sandstrom received invites.
Oregon State has had two players receive invites in the same season four times since the turn of the millennium:
2023—Luke Musgrave, TE & Rejzohn Wright, DB
2015—Sean Mannion, QB & Steven Nelson, DB
2013—Jordan Poyer, DB & Markus Wheaton, WR
2009—Andy Levitre, OL & Keenan Lewis, DB
It is a product of Jonathan Smith’s success for the team to be so well represented on the watchlist, but the list is 720 names deep. The rosters for both the American and National teams at last year’s Senior Bowl totaled 128 players. It’s a special event for a reason, and one that is not easy to get into.
It’s also not an exact science. The scouting team in charge of filling out the game has to think like an NFL team approaching the draft. The game itself and the invitation might feel like a celebration of college football excellence, but at the end of the day it’s a job interview and not a party. All kinds of things factor into why the final rosters shake out the way they do and superior college football players are often left out in favor of prospects who might translate better to pro systems.
Here are the 11 Oregon State players named to the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl Watchlist along with some context on why and why not they might win a ticket to Mobile.
Taliese Fuaga, OL
Fuaga has the best chances of all the Beavs of seeing his name on the final list by virtue of the fact that he was just named to the Senior Bowl’s Midseason All-American Team. Only five offensive linemen total earn such an honor so if Fuaga remains healthy, Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy can write his name down in pen.
https://x.com/BeaverFootball/status/1712280451656908992?s=20
Speaking of Nagy, the boss of the whole show made a point to publicly praise Fuaga and fellow watchlist o-linemen Joshua Gray and Jake Levengood ahead of the San Diego State game.
An element of the season that has surprised nobody is Oregon State’s offensive line is dominant once again and Fuaga is a big reason why.
Terry’s prediction: Shoe-in. 100%. Start getting a table ready for him, Dreamland BBQ!
Jake Levengood, OL
Re: Oregon State's offensive line is dominant once again and Jake Levengood is a big reason why.
Levengood also has the advantage of playing center. A position traditionally valued higher than guards and a position that continues to flummox NFL personnel departments. Teams are constantly on the hunt for quality centers and OSU has a good one in Levengood. He’s in a good position right now to be a hot commodity come Draft SZN.
Terry’s prediction: In, not as comfortably as Fuaga at this point, but playing center puts him over the edge, giving Oregon State multiple OL invites.
Joshua Gray, OL
Re, re: Oregon State’s offensive line is dominant once again and Joshua Gray is a big reason why.
Gray has an excellent shot at earning an invite to Mobile and Nagy has already confirmed the Senior Bowl has an NFL Starter grade on Gray.
Few CFB fans realize Oregon State went 10-3 last year and all those wins should correlate soon to more @BeaverFootball prospects getting drafted. Green Bay Packers took @seniorbowl alum TE Luke Musgrave at No. 42 overall last April and we think returning LT Joshua Gray also has chance of hearing his name called on Day 2 this draft cycle. Gray (6043v, 306v), who has 33 career starts, is an ideal zone scheme fit because of what he can do on wide stretch perimeter runs. His smaller-man fluidity and body control makes him one of best space blockers in 2024 OL class and earned him one of highest overall run block grades in CFB last year from @PFF (85,3)
@shuagray is also one of most flexible and agile OL we saw during junior tape study with consistent ability to get pad-under-pad as run blocker and reactively mirror in pass pro. While he plays primarily left tackle for Beavs, most NFL scouts will project Gray inside to due to lack of ideal length (32 arm). Senior Bowl has an NFL starter grade on Gray heading into the fall. - Jim Nagy
Nagy also posted that Senior Bowl staff sees both Fuaga and Gray as NFL starters.
Terry’s prediction: Gray makes it in. They’re going to need the biggest booth at Dreamland…
Heneli Bloomfield, OL
Re, re, re: Oregon State’s offensive line is dominant again and Heneli Bloomfield is a big reason why.
What does it say about OL Coach Jim Michalczik that every single one of his starters who is eligible for the Senior Bowl made the watchlist for the Senior Bowl? He is a gem.
Could the Senior Bowl do the unthinkable and invite four members of one offensive line to the party in Mobile?
Terry’s prediction: No, I mean they could, but likely won’t. Georgia won the National Championship and they had four players total last year. If all four go then Michalczik should get a statue outside of Reser Stadium immediately. Bloomfield is deserving, but I have him on the outside looking in.
D.J. Uiagalelei, QB
Uiagalelei really seemed to turn in a corner in OSU’s 52-40 win against Cal, but he’s going to need to have more games just like that if he wants to crack the final list of signal callers going to the Senior Bowl. DJU is one of 48 quarterbacks on the watchlist and last year’s rosters had a total of seven.
It’s also a big year for the quarterback position and there are some big names on the list, including conference rivals Bo Nix, Michael Penix, Cam Rising, and Cam Ward.
Terry’s prediction: It’s a longshot at this point, but not impossible. The East-West Shrine Game is definitely in the cards.
Deshaun Fenwick, RB
Nagy mentioned Fenwick as a player the Senior Bowl is watching closely ahead of the Utah game on September 29. Fenwick fits the bill of a ball carrier NFL teams should be interested with his big frame, punishing style, and nose for the goal line.
Of course, Fenwick had his least productive game as a Beaver in that Utah game, but Nagy noted how dominant he looked against Washington State and also mentioned Fenwick’s nice hands, which were on display in pregame warmups.
As someone who has been begging for Oregon State to utilize their running backs more in the passing game, I appreciate that final bit from Nagy.
Terry’s prediction: On the bubble, but out. I currently see him as one of the first four out rather than last four in. Injuries and players returning to school could flip it.
Silas Bolden, Anthony Gould, and Jesiah Irish, WRs
I’m grouping all of the receivers together because after careful consideration I think we’ll arrive at the same unfortunate answer for all three, which is also why I have a hard time believing DJ will get an invite. The Beavs just aren’t going to throw enough to give the scouting team the tape they need to pull the trigger on any one of them.
Irish is the most traditional player in the mold of an NFL possession receiver of the three. His emergence the last two games has been huge for OSU and he certainly has some juice in terms of pro potential. I think it’s just going to be too little too late for him to earn the invite.
Bolden and Gould are electrifying athletes and threats to score every single time they touch the ball. They also offer offensive versatility and the ability to contribute in the return game. The latter of which could be their ticket to flying up draft boards the way the fly up and down the field.
Terry’s prediction: It’s a tough pill to swallow, but I’m guessing Oregon State goes 0-for-3 in the pass-catching department. If Oregon State’s offense looks more like it did against Cal the rest of the year, which would obviously also help DJU’s odds of getting an invite, then there’s a chance. Wide receiver is just such a deep position as 96 different collegiate receivers made the watchlist.
Andrew Chatfield Jr., DL
Chatfield Jr is having a massive year for Oregon State and is giving the Beavs a pass rushing presence they’ve been in desperate need of. Chat likely projects to an outside linebacker at the next level. He’s listed as a DL on the watchlist and it will be interesting to track what position he’s perceived at throughout the process.
Chat has been great for Trent Bray’s defense in 2023, but I think an invite is just too high of a mountain to climb.
Terry’s prediction: Outside looking in. He’s another terrific East-West Shrine Game candidate.
Kitan Oladapo, DB
It was a bit of a surprise to me that Oladapo didn’t declare for the draft after last season. On a recent episode of the Zone 6 podcast, Oladapo said he was “projected anywhere from the third to fifth (rounds),” which is a pretty impressive grade given it was his first season as a starter and the safety position isn’t traditionally valued with first round grades very often. I love him as a prospect and I think scouts will fall in love with him during the draft process.
Oladapo earned Preseason All-Pac 12 2nd Team honors from college football guru Phil Steele, who also listed him as a Top 10 draft eligible strong safety going into 2023. His blend of size, speed, strength, and energy make him a complete player that NFL defensive coordinators should salivate over come draft time. He also received feedback directly from NFL scouts last year when he tested the draft process waters before ultimately deciding to return to Corvallis.
Terry’s prediction: “Turn Mobile orange,” is a popular phrase come Senior Bowl week. The man with the illustrious orange share can help in that initiative in addition to wreaking havoc on the field. Oladapo’s in.
Conclusion: Oregon State makes a little bit of history sending more players to the Senior Bowl than ever before in Fuaga, Gray, Levengood, and Oladapo. See you guys at Dreamland.
The 2024 Senior Bowl will be played on Saturday, February 3 at Hancock Whitney Stadium at the University of South Alabama. The game will be broadcasted on NFL Network at 10 a.m. PT.