Howard, Maggitt, Pearson on Senior Bowl Watch List

The trio join a field of 375 players on the initial watch list.

Aug. 19, 2015

MOBILE, Ala. — A trio of Tennessee football standouts were named to the watch list for the annual Reese’s Senior Bowl, as announced on Tuesday. Vol seniors Pig Howard,Curt Maggitt, and Von Pearson each appear on the initial list, which contains 375 players in total.

“The release of our watch list signifies the opening kickoff for the Reese’s Senior Bowl,” said Senior Bowl Executive Director Phil Savage in an official release. “We are looking forward to evaluating these prospects over the next several months in trying to find the 110 best players in America.”

A wide receiver, Howard enters his senior season on Rocky Top with 111 career catches in three seasons, ranking 13th all-time at Tennessee. Meanwhile, his streak of 33 consecutive games with a catch is the fourth-longest current streak in the NCAA. Howard led the Vols in both catches (54) and receiving yards (618) in 2014 while also rushing for 98 yards and two scores.

One of the nation’s top-returning pass rushers, Maggitt was an All-SEC performer last season after leading the team in sacks with 11.0. He has recorded a sack in five consecutive games, including 2.0 sacks in three of the last four. Maggitt also recorded 14.0 tackles for loss in 2014, tying for seventh in the conference in that category.

Earlier this summer, Maggitt was named to the Bednarik Award Watch List–a preseason watch list for the nation’s best defender–as well as the watch list for the Nagurski Trophy, which is awarded to the nation’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Another senior wideout, Pearson paced Tennessee with five receiving touchdowns last season. He ranked second on the team in both catches and receiving yards and recorded a career-high seven catches for 75 yards and a touchdown in the TaxSlayer Bowl win over Iowa.

A roster of 110 players will ultimately be selected to form the North and South squads for the nation’s premier all-star game in late January. The game will be played in Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama, on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 4 p.m. ET. The NFL Network will televise the contest.

As a conference, the SEC has the most players on the 2016 watch list with 80 total. The Big Ten is second with 58, followed by the Pac-12 (54), ACC (43), and Big 12 (25).