Tulane Football’s Tanzel Smart Readies for Senior Bowl, NFL Future

Reese’s Senior Bowl Coverage

MOBILE, Ala. – Former Tulane football standout Tanzel Smart is set to represent the Green Wave one more time this week, playing for the South squad in the 2017 Reese’s Senior Bowl.

College football’s senior showcase event takes place Saturday, Jan. 28 at 1:30 p.m. CT at Ladd-Peebles Stadium with live coverage on the NFL Network.

Smart is the 46th player in school history to represent Tulane in the Senior Bowl and the first since Ryan Grant in 2014. The two-time, first-team All-American Athletic Conference and All-Louisiana Sports Writers Association selection anchored a Green Wave defensive unit that finished the regular season ranked third in The American in total defense at 364.5 yards per game.

Before Smart and his South teammates take on the North team, the players are scheduled to conduct three days of practices and meetings, beginning Tuesday, Jan. 24. All three days of practices will be carried live on the NFL Network beginning each day at Noon CT.

Leading up to this week, Smart has been hard at work at the Tom Shaw Performance Enhancement facility at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando. He said he has been pleased with his progress and feels ready to display his skills in front of the bevy of NFL scouts.

“It’s been very beneficial to me, learning a lot of speed techniques,” said Smart. “And you know the d(efensive)-line coach there, Pete Jenkins, is the d-line guru, as they say. He has a lot of understudies. Everyone who coached me in college was an understudy of his. I’m learning a lot and getting a lot of wisdom.”

The Baton Rouge, La., native looks to translate his wisdom to the practice field and in the meeting rooms during the week and culminate with an eye-popping performance on Saturday.

“It’s a just a blessing to get down here. It all seems surreal,” said Smart. “I want to open some minds and play at a higher level against all these other guys who come from top schools. I want to raise my stock some more. This is a big week for me and the time is here.”

This is also the last time Smart will don his Tulane helmet and represent the Green Wave on the gridiron after a four-year career that saw him play in 48 career games, closing his time wearing the Olive and Blue with 36 consecutive starts. Reflecting on his time on the uptown campus, Smart said it is important to represent his university and his family well as he pursues his dreams of playing in the NFL.

“I feel like it’s a big thing to play hard for my family and Tulane because they made me. Tulane is where I come from and my family is where I come from. It’s very important for me to do well because it reflects on my university and my family.”

Following his time in Mobile, Smart plans to return to Orlando and the Tom Shaw facility to continue his training with the hopes of an NFL Combine invitation coming soon. The 2017 NFL Scouting Combine is scheduled for Feb. 28-March 6 in Indianapolis.