MOBILE, Ala. - As practices continue to take place here at Hancock Whitney Stadium in preparation for the Senior Bowl on Saturday, the fact-finding mission that is the scouting process for the NFL Draft also continues to build.
For the Steelers' scouting department, this is the time of year where their hard work throughout the season starts to pay dividends.
But it also makes for some very long days.
"We have our schedule for the Senior Bowl, but we have our own personal schedules, too," Mark Sadowski, the Steelers' Director of Player Scouting, said Wednesday. "A lot of us, we get up super early and watch tape before practices. A lot of it is juniors coming out and the previous all-star games. A lot of us were at the East-West (Shrine) Game prior, and that game hasn't happened yet.
"So, we went there and then came here on Sunday. A lot of that tape of that practice has started to come in, so we'll get up early and watch that before we head over here for this practice. Here, we're pretty non-stop. We come in the morning for practice. We stick around and we meet after practice as a staff to go over who stood out and who didn't, kind of focused on that, so Coach (Mike) Tomlin and (GM) Omar (Khan) can see what we're all seeing. After that, we get a little break for dinner and then we're in interviews the rest of the night. Then, it goes back to the personal schedule of watching more tape."
With hundreds of prospects available each year, it's a daunting process that continues to build until the NFL Draft is held at the end of April.
Lolley is a Contributing Writer/Editor and co-host of "SNR Drive" on Steelers Nation Radio. His opinions do not reflect the views of the Steelers organization.
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The Senior Bowl, one of the premier college all-star games, gives the scouting staffs of all 32 teams an opportunity to see some of the best prospects in college football all on the same field.
It also provides the Steelers' coaching and scouting staff the chance to begin the process of getting to know players beyond watching them on tape.
Individual interviews take place each day between players and team staff, and teams also get a chance to watch how players interact on the field, as well.
The Steelers have the added bonus of having assistant offensive line coach Isaac Williams coaching the American team's offensive line, as well, which provides further insight.
For the team's coaching staff, this is really the first opportunity for them to begin the process of getting to know the prospects.
"Essentially, our scouting staff expands when they get involved," said Steelers Director of College Scouting, Dan Colbert. "For example, here we've got Isaac Williams on the field and he's gotten some intimate knowledge throughout the week. That's all valuable. That's not something we can necessarily get off film or at the (NFL Scouting) Combine. The interviews help us get to know the prospects a little better.
"(The coaches) can really help us match the schematics to the player. As scouts, we're more focused on what he's capable of athletically. They understand more what the coaches are telling them to do. We might like a player athletically, but he might not necessarily fit schematically. He might just not be a fit for us. That's kind of the last piece of the puzzle that helps us."
It's all part of the process of building a "Steelers Draft."
The scouts and coaching staff come together and build the board, refining things throughout the process until they come to a consensus.
At an event such as the Senior Bowl, the area scouts take on new roles, as well, focusing on specific positions rather than simply following the players from their area of expertise.
"This time of year, we start to break it down by positions. Each scout will take a group and kind of be an expert as we go through these all-star games," Colbert said. "We like to get waves of reports into the system. The area scouts will still be the experts on the players they scouted throughout the fall, but it's all about checks and balances and getting different parts into the system at different times. We'll have scouts doing positions and tanking the guys they saw during the season.
"That just kind of helps us stack the board. It helps with the tiebreakers. If you're an area scout, you don't necessarily see the whole country, but if you do it by position, you can see the top 20 linebackers, for example. You're not really looking at the guys you scouted any longer, you're looking at a position. It's a new report into the system that tells us if a guy is elevating. We don't overreact to that stuff, but it's a check."
What players do at these all-star games matter. But it's just another step in the process that will eventually culminate with the next Steelers' draft class.
"It's still all the start of the process. This is one extra little tool to all of it," Sadowski said. "Obviously, the meat of it is what they did during the season. When we do get our coaches involved, they will watch all of the game tape, as well. This is another cherry on the top, so to speak. It's a reward for many of these players.
"It helps us if it's a smaller school guy, to come here and compete against the 'big boys.' The guys from the non-Power 5s can come and make a name. The great thing about all of that is how hands on Coach Tomlin is. He's really amazing. How he knows about all of these college guys when he's so locked in on our team during the year, he comes in ready to roll. He's boots on the ground, 'Tell me about this guy or talk to me about that guy.' That all trickles down through his staff. We really don't give our coaches guys that don't fit that vision that comes through Coach and Omar."
• Those watching the Senior Bowl practices this week or the game on Saturday might recognize some familiar names.
For example, this year's Senior Bowl includes wide receivers Brenden Rice and Luke McCaffrey, both of whom are on the National team.
Rice's father is none other than Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice, while McCaffrey is the son of former NFL wide receiver Ed McCaffrey and the younger brother of current 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey.
Brenden Rice played collegiately at USC after transferring from Colorado. He caught 45 passes for a team-best 791 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2023.
McCaffrey, meanwhile, began his career as a quarterback at Nebraska before transferring to Rice and switching to wide receiver.
He led the Owls with 68 receptions for 963 yards and 12 touchdowns this season.
Needless to say, both receivers understand this process perhaps a little better than most.
"You've got to stay grounded within all of this mess," Rice said. "There's a lot of commotion going on and distractions that can happen each and every day, and you have to make sure you put your best foot forward, because the NFL is a job. At first, you were playing for fun.
"At the same time, now you're playing for a job. … This is some people's careers, so you've got to go ahead and take it seriously."
