For the opening possession of the 74th annual Senior Bowl, Fresno State’s Jake Haener is at quarterback for the Nationals, starting the first drive after a touchback on the kickoff.

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The National team won the coin toss and chose to receive. The American team will defend the south end zone. Minnesota center John Michael Schmitz, Florida State safety Jammie Robinson and UCF long snapper Alex Ward served as the captains for the American team. Stanford wide receiver Michael Wilson, Bowling Green defensive lineman Karl Brooks and VMI long snapper Robert Soderholm III came to midfield for the National squad.

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The Southern University marching band, also know as “The Human Jukebox,” handled the national anthem and will be on the field at halftime.

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The 74th annual Reese’s Senior Bowl will kick off at 1:30 p.m. CST Saturday with clear skies, a light east wind and a 60-degree temperature at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile. NFL Network is televising the game.

The all-stars are divided into American and National teams. The Nationals are wearing white jerseys and pants. The American are wearing orange jerseys and pants.

The American is the home team, at least in makeup. Twenty-seven of the American’s players came from the SEC. The National team’s lone SEC alumnus is Kentucky defensive back Keidron Smith.

The Americans have a Kentucky player, too – running back Chris Rodriguez, whose mother died last month. She had lupus. The disease’s awareness color is purple, and Rodriguez’s Kentucky helmet has a purple facemask for the game. It came from SEC rival LSU.

The Americans also have 10 of the 15 players from Alabama high schools and colleges in the game:

· Alabama defensive lineman DJ Dale (Clay-Chalkville)

· Alabama offensive tackle Emil Ekiyor Jr.

· Auburn defensive lineman Derick Hall

· Alabama defensive back DeMarcco Hellams

· Alabama tight end Cameron Latu

· Auburn linebacker Eku Leota

· South Alabama defensive back Darrell Luter Jr.

· Alabama offensive lineman Tyler Steen

· South Alabama wide receiver Jalen Wayne (Faith Academy/Spanish Fort)

· Alabama defensive lineman Byron Young

The National players with Alabama football roots include:

· Troy offensive lineman Jake Andrews (Stanhope Elmore)

· Maryland cornerback Jakorian Bennett (McGill-Toolen)

· Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham (Park Crossing)

· Troy linebacker Carlton Martial (McGill-Toolen)

· Appalachian State running back Camerun Peoples (Central-Clay County)

Latu won the award as the American team’s top tight end during the Senior Bowl practices this week as selected by the squad’s linebackers and defensive backs.

NFL scouts and talent evaluators chose Tulane running back Tyjae Spears of the American team as the top overall practice player.

The head coach for the National team is Patrick Graham, the defensive coordinator of the Las Vegas Raiders. The head coach of the American team is Luke Getsy, the offensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears.

For the first time, the Senior Bowl coaching staffs consist of assistants from around the NFL. Before this year’s game, a coaching staff from a single NFL team handled a Senior Bowl team.

The Senior Bowl assembled a quarterback set of Shepherd’s Tyson Bagent, TCU’s Max Duggan and Houston’s Clayton Tune for the American team and Louisville’s Malik Cunningham, Fresno State’s Jake Haener and BYU’s Jaren Hall for the National team.

However, Hall is not warming up with Cunningham and Haener, and the BYU quarterback appears to be one of several players who participated in the week of practices, but is not dressed for the game.

Hancock Whitney Stadium is serving as the site of the Senior Bowl for the third time. South Alabama opened its 25,450-seat stadium in the 2020 season. The first Senior Bowl was played at Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1950. The next 70 games were played at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, which is about 9 miles east of South Alabama’s facility.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.