Tulane Green Wave Defenders Face Strong Power 4 Competition At Reese's Senior Bowl

Tulane Green Wave defensive backs will benefit from quality competition in their Reese's Senior Bowl teammates, especially skill players from the SEC.
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As the week of practice at the 2025 Reese's Senior Bowl kicks off, two Tulane Green Wave defensive backs have a valuable opportunity in Mobile, Al., to propel their NFL draft stock.

Cornerback Johnathan Edwards joined spear or safety Caleb Ransaw as a late addition to the American roster, marking the third season the Tulane football team has had two players in attendance at one of the most important events in college football.

While Edwards and Ransaw have different designations at cornerback and safety, they'll have considerable time on task together against impressive competition, particularly out of the SEC conference.

The Senior Bowl splits the players into two rosters; the National and American teams with teammates always being on the same roster. The American has 68 players as of Tuesday, and the makeup of skill players is a strong Power 4 group.

Of the 137 total players in Mobile, 112 are from Power 4 conferences. 54 of Edwards and Ransaw's American teammates are from the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC.

Edwards joined the Green Wave as a grad transfer from the FCS program Indiana State.

His journey is a prime example of the contrasting opinion that conferences or competition are less important than skills or traits, which NFL scouts are able to surmise and assess on lower-level rosters; six players at the Senior Bowl are from FCS, one from Division II and one from Canada.

However, what a player can put on tape matters when it's against quality competition. Solid film against high-level skill players, in particular, helps a prospect's case.

For the week of practice, Edwards and Ransaw will be tasked with covering wide receivers from the Big 12, Big Ten, and four SEC players from Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. Gators receiver Chimere Dike is familiar competition for the two defensive backs after facing him in the Gasparilla Bowl.

Players can change their NFL trajectory at the Reese's Senior Bowl.

Jha'Quan Jackson is a prime example after receiving a late invite last year to the showcase following an injury at the end of the season.

Jackson was relatively unknown until he made the most of his practice time there and shot up to the fifth round of the NFL draft, where he was taken by the Tennessee Titans.

All four players who attended the Senior Bowl for Tulane the last two years were drafted. Ransaw and Edwards have a strong chance to make lasting impressions against receivers of the caliber they'd have to shut down in the league.


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Maddy Hudak
MADDY HUDAK

Maddy Hudak is the deputy editor for Tulane on Sports Illustrated and the radio sideline reporter for their football team. Maddy is an alumnus of Tulane University, and graduated in 2016 with a degree in psychology. She went on to obtain a Master of Legal Studies while working as a research coordinator at the VA Hospital, and in jury consulting. During this time, Maddy began covering the New Orleans Saints with SB Nation, and USA Today. She moved to New Orleans in 2021 to pursue a career in sports and became Tulane's sideline reporter that season. She enters her fourth year with the team now covering the program on Sports Illustrated, and will use insights from features and interviews in the live radio broadcast. You can follow her on X at @MaddyHudak_94, or if you have any questions or comments, she can be reached via email at maddy.hudak1@gmail.com