Talk about improving your draft stock. That is what both Dan Lefevour and Brandon Graham did on Saturday afternoon at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, AL.

At first glance, you might not have recognized Lefevour when he entered the game in the third quarter. Lefevour, who played for the North team, was lining up under center in a pro-style offense, instead of in a spread offense like he did at CMU. His first pass attempt was nearly intercepted and his first series was a three-and-out.

On his next drive, Lefevour was looking at a third-and-8 from the South team's 27-yard line. Instead of being under center, Lefevour was in his familiar spread formation. Seeing no one open downfield, Lefevour did what he did time and time again as a Chippewa - he used his legs to scramble for nine yards and, more importantly, a first down. Two plays later from the one-yard line, Lefevour found a hole on the right side of the offensive line, running in for the one-yard score. That put the North team up 24-13.

In addition to rushing for a touchdown, Lefevour threw a 32-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to Cincinnati receiver Marty Gilyard to put the North team up 31-13, which ended up being the final score.

After the game, Lefevour was named the Most Outstanding Player on the North squad. His final stats: 5-10 passing for 97 yards and one touchdown, 12 rushing yards and a touchdown. According to draft analysts prior to the Senior Bowl, Lefevour was a projected fifth to seventh round selection. After his performance, Lefevour is being projected drafted as a fifth-round selection. Not too bad for a guy who played in the MAC conference, one of the "mid-major" conferences in college football.

Lefevour may have been voted as the most outstanding player from the North, but the MVP of the game went to Brandon Graham.

Graham, who played four years at the University of Michigan, finished the game with two sacks and one forced fumble. Although Graham, a defensive end, only stands at 6'1", 265 lbs, his speed and bull-rush mentality off the line of scrimmage makes him tough to block for any offensive lineman. Graham was constantly double-teamed by the opposing team while he played at Michigan. The South team had no answer for Graham, which led to his two sacks and forced fumble.

Graham was projected as a late first to early second round pick before the Senior Bowl. However, after his performance, Graham is projected to go somewhere between the middle to end of the first round of the draft.

Not every senior that played in the Senior Bowl improved his draft stock; most notably Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. The former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback struggled all game long, fumbling the ball twice and completing only eight passes for 50 yards. The throws that Tebow missed were underthrown or very inaccurate. Tebow is projected to go somewhere in the third or fourth round, but a team may take him earlier in the first or second round.

Both Lefevour and Graham are now training for the NFL combine, which will take place in Indianapolis from Feb. 24-March 2. Depending on their performance in Indy, both Lefevour and Graham could see their draft stocks rise even higher.

Photo by Michael Mulholland

By Jerry Taylor