2024 Tropical Bowl Top Defensive/Special Teams Performers
The Tropical Bowl is an annual post-season college football all-star game in Orlando, Florida that showcases some of the top college football seniors to NFL/CFL scouts and GM’s who travel from around the globe to the event.
Today we feature the top defensive and special teams performers from the week of practice and the game. For further details, film, contact info, and more testing information please refer to player’s profiles on the ALL22 scouting app, or contact Samit Bariana or Noah Budenaers.
To sign up for ALL22, please contact Derek Sawyer at dsawyer@all22.org
Top Performers
IDL Levi Drake Rodriguez - Texas A&M University-Commerce (2022-23) / Southwestern Assemblies of God University (2020-21)
Height: 6014v | Weight: 297v | Hand: 10 1/8v | Arm: 33 4/8v | Wing: 79 6/8v
Career Stats: 24 GP* | 142 TOT | 70 SOLO | 72 AST | 21 TFL* | 14.5 SCK | 2 FF | 3 FR | 1 BLKD
Athletic Awards:
2023:
Pro Football Focus (PFF) FCS All-America team
Southland Conference Football First Team All-Conference Defense
Video:
Player snapshot: Slightly undersized IDL that plays much bigger than he is. Plays with an angry motor that linemen struggle against. Effectively uses strong hands and quick hip movement to shed OL. Shows nice closing burst to finish plays. He had a dominant week that led him to being named the Overall Tropical Bowl MVP.
CB Al Blades Jr. - Duke University (2023) / University of Miami (2018-22)
Height: 6000v | Weight: 197v | Hand: 9 2/8v | Arm: 31 3/8v | Wing: 76v
Career Stats: 56 GP | 138 TOT | 87 SOLO | 51 AST | 2 TFL | 4 INT | 24 PBU
Athletic Awards:
2023: All-ACC Honorable mention
Video:
Player snapshot: A well-built boundary corner with impressive grip strength. Shuts down receivers regularly through contact at the LOS. He will lose speedy receivers at times from Off coverage, but he makes up ground with impressive closing burst.
IDL Kylen McCracken - Marshall University (2023) / Ohio University (2018-22)
Height: 6024v | Weight: 312v | Hand: 10v | Arm: 33 4/8v | Wing: 81 2/8v
Career Stats: 40 GP | 44 TOT | 11 SOLO | 33 AST | 2 TFL | 1 SCK | 1 PBU
Athletic Awards: N/A
Video:
Player snapshot: A sturdy IDL who utilizes his long arms to stand up OL. Stays firm at the LOS with good contact balance and a wide stance. Keys the runner with sharp eyes and sheds effectively to redirect to the ball. Finishes with a powerful wrap and some nastiness to knock runners back. Will struggle with quick runners and miss in space. His great week got him the Tropical Lineman MVP award.
CB Malik Dunlap - Texas Tech (2021-23) / North Carolina State University (2018-20)
Height: 6022v | Weight: 215v | Hand: 8 7/8v | Arm: 31 4/8v | Wing: 76 2/8v
Career Stats: 52 GP | 117 TOT | 87 SOLO | 30 AST | 3.5 TFL | 1 SCK | 4 INT | 1 INT TD | 33 PBU | 1 FR
Athletic Awards:
2023: All-Big 12 Honorable mention
2022:
All-Big 12 Second Team by the conference coaches
All-Big 12 Third Team by Phil Steele Magazine
Video:
Player snapshot: A long and athletic CB that is not afraid to get physical. He shows good patience to not bite at release fakes. Uses his strength to pin WR’s to the boundary with the speed to stay in phase. Maximizes his reach at the catch point to thwart passes up high. An impressive outside corner for most schemes.
Subscribe to the ALL22 Global Scouting Network Substack to view the remaining players, including more top performers, high career producers, import targets with positional versatility, and intriguing non-Americans.