Even before the final play, Saturday’s 76th Reese’s Senior Bowl had a little bit of everything.
The weather was gorgeous for any day, but particularly for Feb. 1 in Mobile — sunny and 64 with a touch of wind. The game was a sellout for the second straight year, with most of the crowd of 25,000-plus at Hancock Whitney Stadium lingering for the entire afternoon.
There was even a marriage proposal in the stands. (She said yes.)
On the field, there were two touchdown passes thrown by running backs and four successful two-point conversions. The end result was a 22-19 victory for the American team, which rallied from 11 points down in the final 12 minutes.
But the capper was the winning touchdown, a 2-yard, fourth-and-goal pass from Seth Henigan of Memphis to Jack Bech of TCU as time expired. The play will live forever in Senior Bowl lore because of the recipient, Bech, whose older brother, Tiger, was among those killed in the Bourbon Street terror attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Eve.
Bech wore the No. 7 in Saturday’s game in honor of his brother, who wore the same number during his career as a receiver at Princeton. In addition, every Senior Bowl player on both teams wore a “7″ decal on the back of their helmet throughout the week.
“It was 4th and 2, then I looked up at the play clock, and there were 7 seconds left on the board before the play started,” Bech said. “The play clock was at 17 seconds, and my brother was like, ‘watch this, you’re about to get 7, too.’
“… Everything was happening quick. I saw the seven up on the board. … I felt covered, honestly. And then I kept running, and I saw Seth just kind of lean over and toss the ball to me.”
Bech was named the game’s Most Valuable Player after catching six passes for 68 yards and the game-winning score. Henigan — the fourth of four quarterbacks on Saturday for the American team — was Offensive Player of the Game after completing 12 of 14 passes for 132 yards.
Henigan led the game-winning drive, which covered 87 yards on 12 plays in the final 2:32. He completed 10 of 11 passes for 85 yards on the possession, including connections of 25 yards to Alabama tight end CJ Dippre and a pair of 9-yarders to running back Jarquez Hunter of Auburn.
“We practiced the two-minute drill on one of the practice days, so we knew what protections we were getting too,” Henigan said. “I was just trying to hurry everyone up and the receivers, the backs, the tight ends, they all did a great job of knowing where they were on the field and getting vertical when they’re inside the numbers or getting out of bounds when get the ball outside the numbers. So it’s just really kudos to the playmakers making plays.”
UCLA defensive end Oluwafemi Oladejo claimed Defensive Player of the Game honors by collecting two of the National team’s seven sacks. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak in the Senior Bowl for the National team, which had won all four previous meetings since the game moved to Hancock Whitney Stadium from Ladd-Peebles in 2021.
Quarterback Riley Leonard of Notre Dame, a Fairhope native, started for the American and completed 6 of 7 passes for 54 yards. Alabama’s Jalen Milroe played most of the third quarter and part of the fourth, completing 3 of 5 passes for 21 yards. Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart played the second quarter, completing 1 of 3 passes for 39 yards and rushing for a TD.
“I thought this week was an outstanding week, getting to know and meet a lot of great people, coaching staff, offensive players, defensive players, players from all around the country,” Milroe said. “But one thing that was unique, that we all jelled together for one week. And so I thought that was a great thing. It was also fun to compete again one last time for the next step. And so it’s good that we got the win as well.”
Trick plays figured into both teams’ first score of the game. The National scored on the game’s opening drive, with running back Ollie Gordon of Oklahoma State pulling up and throwing 32 yards to Jayden Higgins of Iowa State in the end zone.
The National went for two, with Dillon Gabriel of Oregon throwing to tight end Elijah Arroyo of Miami to make it 8-0 with 9:48 left in the first. That score stood until the American team got into the end zone, moments after its defense got a fourth-down stop and Dart entered the game.
On his first snap, Dart handed off to running back Trevor Etienne of Georgia, who turned and pitched the ball back to the quarterback. Dart then hit Bech for 39 yards to the 7.
Two plays later, Dart bulled his way into the end zone on a 7-yard scramble. Dart then found receiver Isaac TeSlaa of Arkansas for two points and an 8-8 tie with 9:19 remaining in the half.
Both teams turned the ball over in the final two minutes of the half, with Dart fumbling the ball away after hard hit by defensive end Landon Jackson of Arkansas. Collin Oliver recovered at the American 35-yard line.
The National team could not score again, however, as safety Caleb Ransaw of Tulane — a former Sparkman High School standout — stepped in front of Tyler Slough’s pass in the end zone for an interception with 30 seconds left in the half. The National also missed a scoring chance earlier in the quarter, while kicker Ryan Fitzgerald of Florida State was wide right on a 57-yard field goal attempt.
Fitzgerald connected on a 39-yard field goal with 32 seconds left in the third quarter to put the National on top 11-8. After Henigan mishandled an exchange from center moments later, the National scored its second touchdown.
Shough found De’Quan Felton of Virginia Tech on a 1-yard touchdown pass, capping a five-play, 24-yard drive. He then hit Iowa State’s Jaylin Noel for two points and a 19-8 lead with 12:40 remaining.
The American scored quickly to get back in the game, using another trick play shortly after Henigan found Georgia’s Arian Smith for 32 yards to the 25. Henigan then flipped the ball back to UCF running back RJ Harvey, who hit a wide-open Tai Felton of Maryland for the score.
