- Venue
- Ladd–Peebles Stadium
- City
- Mobile, AL
- Team
- Senior Bowl
My visit to Ladd–Peebles Stadium came on January 24, 2015, for the Senior Bowl. Every January, the top college seniors in the country come to Mobile for a week of practices in front of NFL scouts, coaches and general managers, and the week ends with the game itself. My tickets were complimentary from the City of Mobile, so I got to see a class of future NFL players up close without paying a dime.
The North beat the South 34-13. The South struck first on a 19-yard touchdown run by Northern Iowa’s David Johnson, who went on to become a star running back in the NFL. The North answered with a field goal and then a touchdown pass from Oregon State’s Sean Mannion to Notre Dame’s Ben Koyack, and the game was tied 10-10 midway through the third quarter.
From there, the North pulled away. Minnesota’s David Cobb scored on a 4-yard run to make it 20-10, and Yale’s Tyler Varga added two fourth-quarter touchdown runs to put the game away. Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah was named the game’s MVP after leading all rushers with 73 yards.
A few other names from that afternoon went on to be familiar on Sundays. Baylor’s Bryce Petty and Alabama’s Blake Sims played quarterback for the South, Auburn’s Cameron Artis-Payne carried the ball for the South, and LSU’s La’el Collins played on the offensive line for the North.
The game started in the late afternoon and finished under the lights, and my photos follow it from the last of the daylight into the night.
