Five Gators in Senior Bowl Saturday

Five Florida Gators made the trip to Mobile, Alabama for the 2020 Senior Bowl. Running back Lamical Perine, wide receivers Van Jefferson and Tyrie Cleveland, and defensive ends Jonathan Greenard and Jabari Zuniga will showcase their skills one last time at Ladd-Peebles Stadium before April’s selection ceremony.

This weekend, these five Gators will join NFL Draft prospects from across the nation in the annual all-star game.

Van Jefferson

Jefferson has been showing out in this week’s Senior Bowl practices. According to Austin Gayle, a reporter with Pro Football Focus, he was named “Receiver of the Week” by Senior Bowl Director Jim Nagy.

“Oh man, he’s been fantastic. Very crafty route runner. Great at the release. Great at the route stem,” said Austin Gayle,  Pro Football Focus reporter. “He’s really impressed me as a route runner. The dude has legit speed. He’s a very fast wide receiver. I think Van Jefferson has helped him stock a ton.”

Jefferson has been putting out his best work since the beginning of the week.

#Gators WR Van Jefferson already putting that elite footwork to work at the #SeniorBowl pic.twitter.com/z1vmAu2RSU

— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) January 21, 2020

Tyrie Cleveland

Tyrie Cleveland was added to the South Team as an alternate after several other players declined the invitation. Although late to the game, Cleveland is showing the world what he’s made of.

“This guy is legit very, very fast and teams are going to covet that. Teams want fast receivers like him,” said Gayle. “I’d like to see him get better as a route runner, improve at a consistency point. But, his wins are special because he is that fast.”

In this tweet, Cleveland shows off his elite speed.

YES!! My guy Tyrie Cleveland received a late invite to the Senior Bowl and him and his Florida teammate Van Jefferson are cooking fools! Don’t sleep on the kid pic.twitter.com/lHYm5Oe2Ak

— Chris Mallee (@mallee_chris_24) January 22, 2020

Defensive ends

Jabari Zuniga had an up-and-down senior season, missing seven of Florida’s games with a lingering ankle sprain. Although, he shined enough on the field to earn himself an invite to Mobile and, in turn, give teams more film to evaluate.

One-on-one drills are going to be key for both Greenard’s and Zuniga’s success. Greenard’s 10 sacks and 16 tackles in 2019 say this shouldn’t be hard for him.

Showtime

These Gators have a huge stage this weekend to show teams, fans and scouts what they’re made of. A big week in Mobile can give any draft prospect the chance to be a first-round pick, if they earn it.

The game is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 25 at 2:30 p.m. on the NFL Network.