Senior Bowl springboard: Illinois S Kerby Joseph and 15 other NFL prospects looking to ascend in Mobile

Every year, the Senior Bowl serves as a springboard opportunity for lesser known prospects to boost their NFL Draft projection in the eyes of NFL evaluators.Terry McLaurin went to a high profile school (Ohio State) and was productive (19 career touchdown catches) in college. But it was at Senior Bowl practices and one-on-one drills where his draft stock really took off. McLaurin showed off his route-running prowess and speed, which bumped him from the mid-to-late rounds to the top-100 picks.Last year, Quinn Meinerz was a late call-up to the Senior Bowl as a possible late-rounder, but the Division III standout shined in Mobile and wound up in the third round on draft weekend.This year, one of the players who could surprise and put his name in the top-100 conversation is Illinois safety Kerby Joseph.The son of Haitian immigrants, Joseph grew up playing football in the Orlando city leagues and blossomed at defensive back in high school. He signed with Illinois and spent his first three years as a reserve defensive back and special teamer who also saw offensive reps at wide receiver to get on the field as a junior. He cracked the starting lineup as a senior free safety and responded in a big way, leading the team with five interceptions and accounting for a turnover in seven of 12 games in 2021.Joseph went from afterthought to draftable prospect very quickly for NFL scouts. He credits his late rise to becoming a student of the game.“I locked in and bought into everything,” Joseph told The Athletic. “I bought into what the coaches were teaching me and what they were trying to get me to see. I just used what they taught me and used my natural born athleticism to make plays.”Something clicked for Joseph. He started to recognize and rectify past mistakes.