Indiana football: 7 Hoosiers named to Senior Bowl watch list

Every year, college football seniors are selected to play in an all-star game in late January, and in 2021, no Indiana football players were selected to play in the event. Hopefully, the Hoosiers should have at least one participant for the 2022 Senior Bowl as seven Indiana football players were named to the watch list.

Indiana football seniors named to the watch list are headlined by Tiawan Mullen (DB) and Cam Jones (LB), who are joined by Shaun Shivers (RB), Jaylin Williams (DB), Devon Matthews (DB), Luke Haggard (OL), and Matthew Bedford (OL).

Many NFL players have come from standing out at the Senior Bowl, along with playing very well their senior season, while the Senior Bowl MVPs from 2020 (Justin Herbert) and 2019 (Daniel Jones) are both starting quarterbacks in the NFL. The Hoosiers have not had a senior participate in the Senior Bowl since 2018, when Ian Thomas was one of three tight ends on the roster.

Which Indiana football players have the best chance to end up on the Senior Bowl roster?

Tiawan Mullen

The senior defensive back missed seven of the 12 games last season and, as the record can speak for itself, he was sorely missed by Tom Allen and the Hoosiers defense. Mullen had an outstanding 2020 season with three interceptions in just eight games and was the anchor of the defense with his versatility from the DB position. Mullen was named to the 2022 Bednarik Award Watch List, which is awarded to the best defensive player in college football, and he appears to be in line for an All-Big Ten season if the stars align.

Cam Jones

Jones is using his extra season of eligibility to put his name on the map and bring the Hoosiers back to relevance as one of the best defensive teams in the Big Ten. Jones finished last season with a career-best 60 total tackles (third most on IU) in his 10 games played. The linebacker has shown flashes of his abilities and has the chance to see his name on an All-Big Ten team this upcoming season if he can fill in the void left by Micah McFadden and lead the Indiana football defense back to high standing.