2023 Tropical Bowl Standouts
Tropical Bowl Recap: Players to Watch
If you know anything about me, it’s that I love deep sleepers in the NFL Draft. The deeper the better. There were some guys I already had my eye on going into the 2023 Tropical Bowl, and some new names that jumped out. Without further ado, let’s take a look at some players I’m interested in.
Exree Loe, West Virginia, LB
Loe is a safety who moved to linebacker at West Virginia. There’s no buzz around Loe for the 2023 NFL Draft which I find surprising. Loe is an extremely solid tackler, which is nice to see from a converted safety. He’s also got experience in coverage being a former safety. While he’s a little undersized at 6’0” and 215 lbs, Loe is around the size of a Will linebacker. However, he could add a few pounds to make himself more versatile.
Jacob Gall, Baylor, C
Gall was Baylor’s starting center the past two seasons. This was after three seasons at the University of Buffalo where he had the honor of snapping the ball to my number one guy, Tyree Jackson. Gall has put together three great years in a row. I believe he will be one of the Tropical Bowl participants who is taken in the NFL Draft, though likely on day 3.
Tyler Tate, Millersville, DL
The classic small school player with big school talent. He played college football at Millersville in Pennsylvania. Let’s take a look at his last two seasons. Tate put up 11 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss in 2021. In the 2022 NCAA season, Tate had 6.5 sacks and another 15.5 tackles for loss. He followed this up by playing in the FCS Bowl and being named the overall MVP. Tate then played in the Tropical Bowl and again stood out against bigger school talent. He’s 6’3” 265 lbs, perfect size for a 4-3 defensive end.
Joshua Samuel, Austin Peay, RB
Samuel is an interesting running back coming out of Austin Peay. His career started at Western Kentucky, where he sadly missed out on playing with my other boy Bailey Zappe. After Western Kentucky, he went to Jackson State for two years before finishing out at Austin Peay. This wasn’t his best season, but he showed plenty in previous seasons for me to be interested. He started off the Tropical Bowl scrimmage by going 75 yards for a touchdown on the first play. Samuel is a 5 plus yard per carry guy with home run potential.
Celestin Haba, Texas A&M Commerce, DL
Haba was far under the radar before the Tropical Bowl. He’s from Texas A&M Commerce, a school not getting a lot of national press. Haba spent the week dominating offensive tackles and putting a hurting on opposing quarterbacks. He’s quick and has quality pass rushing moves. He also stands 6’2” 258 lbs. Like fellow defensive end Tyler Tate, he’s 4-3 defensive end size with impressive athleticism.
Jeremiah Nelson, Kutztown, RB
Another running back, this time from Kutztown. Jeremiah Nelson is a much bigger boy though. He’s 5’10” 265 lbs. There’s plenty of film of him running over defenders. However, surprisingly, it’s not tough to find him running away from secondary members as well. I also really like his balance. Nelson keeps his feet working when breaking tackles. His size allows him to pass protect effectively. You may be worried that a running back of his size isn’t a big playmaker. I’d ask Slippery Rock their opinion. Nelson put up 223 yards, averaging almost 10 yards a carry against them. He was also named Offensive MVP of the Tropical Bowl. I’m excited about a running back with his size and speed combo.
