This week, LSU defensive lineman Ali Gaye and defensive back Jay Ward have taken part in college football’s most prestigious senior all-star game, which is the Reese’s Senior Bowl. Both LSU defenders will wrap up the week in Mobile by playing in today’s game that will be played at South Alabama’s Whitney Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:30 P.M. on NFL Network.
Personnel from all 32 NFL teams will be there to scout some of the best collegiate talent for the upcoming NFL Draft. Both Gaye and Ward hope to put on a good showing today in order to improve their draft stock.
Both LSU players will be teammates one final time representing the Tigers for the American Team. The American Team is led by Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and coaches that are representing the Bears, Patriots, and Falcons.
Both Gaye and Ward played pivotal roles in the Tigers winning the SEC West in year one under Brian Kelly.
As a team captain, Gaye finished his last season with 36 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks. In his LSU career, he had 87 tackles, 18.0 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
Ward had a great senior season as well after having 60 tackles, four pass breakups, 2.5 tackles for loss, and an interception. His best performance of the season came in the Tigers’ first SEC win of the season against Mississippi State in which he earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors with a career-best 11 tackles to go with 1.5 tackles for loss, an interception and a pass breakup. The versatile defensive back played multiple positions in the secondary at LSU and finished with 164 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 6 interceptions.
LSU has a rich history of having its players in the Senior Bowl. Dating back to 1951, over 130 former LSU Tigers have played in the game including five Senior Bowl Hall of Famers (Jim Taylor, Bert Jones, Kevin Mawae, Kyle Williams, and Kevin Faulk).
The last 11 LSU players that have played in the Senior Bowl were all drafted including the previous four players from last year’s game in Damone Clark, Neil Farrell Jr., Ed Ingram, and Chasen Hines.
Jay Ward and Ali Gaye look to add their names to the list when the NFL Draft starts on April 27th in Kansas City.
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