In the first drill of Tuesday’s Reese’s Senior Bowl practice, Jalen Wayne realized he might have an advantage over his fellow American team receivers.

The Senior Bowl practice and game take place at Hancock Whitney Stadium, Wayne’s home field as a South Alabama Jaguar the last three years. He didn’t have to learn any of the stadium’s quirks and intricacies because he already knew them.

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“I was talking to some of the receivers in my group (Tuesday) when we were starting practice,” Wayne said. “The turf’s a little slick to them. They’re used to grass playing in the SEC or wherever. So I was just telling them different ways to cut on it, how you’ve got to position your feet. It’s a little different.”

Wayne and former South Alabama cornerback Darrell Luter are both playing in this year’s Senior Bowl, the first time since 2010 the Jaguars have had more than one participant. USA has had a player in three straight Senior Bowls now, after linebacker Riley Cole in 2021 and wide receiver Jalen Tolbert last year.

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Like Tolbert, Wayne grew up in the Mobile area. He attended Faith Academy before transferring to Spanish Fort for his senior football season.

“I’ve got a lot of people out here watching me, supporting me,” Wayne said. “I’m just grateful for everybody being here, watching me experience this, but I’m just still trying to take advantage of every opportunity. I don’t want to sit here, be satisfied just with getting here.”

Luter, who is originally from Hattiesburg, Miss., played three seasons at South Alabama after transferring in from Pearl River Community College. He was a first-team All-Sun Belt Conference pick as a junior in 2021, when was among the country’s leaders in pass breakups with 10.

Luter was limited somewhat by a hand injury in 2022, but managed to play in every game for the Jaguars. He’s now fully healthy and enjoying one final week in the Hancock Whitney Stadium locker room, if not the same locker.

“I had to switch lockers from where I was at on (South Alabama) game day,” Luter said with a laugh. “But it’s still close. … It means a lot to be here and to be able to represent South Alabama and show where I came from, the knowledge and the skillset that (South Alabama coaches) put into me. It means a lot to be able to show my ability and the things they instilled in me.”

Wayne (6-foot-2, 211 pounds) hopes to continue a long line of South Alabama pass-catchers who have made it to the next level. Tight ends Wes Saxton and Braedon Bowman both got into a handful of games last decade, while wide receiver Kawaan Baker was a seventh-round pick of the New Orleans Saints in 2021.

Tolbert went in the third round to the Dallas Cowboys last year, after being named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year as a senior. Wayne broke some of Tolbert’s records at South Alabama, but also said he learned by example from his old teammates and took the advice of Jaguars head coach Kane Wommack, offensive coordinator Major Applewhite and receivers coach Michael Smith.

“Coach Wommack, coach Applewhite and coach Smitty (Smith) sat me down and told me ‘yo, if you take this seriously, you can do everything your friend is doing,” said Wayne, who caught 58 passes for 815 yards and a school-record nine touchdowns in 2022. “It’s real humbling to be out here doing it and being able to experience. I just want to keep taking advantage, take that next step.”

Luter (5-11, 191) was essentially a no-star recruit out of both high school and junior college, and didn’t even start at South Alabama until his second year in the program. He blossomed under the tutelage of former Jaguars cornerbacks coach Dwike Wilson, who is now at Southern Miss.

Should Luter make it to the NFL, he’d be just the second South Alabama defensive player to do so. Safety Jeremy Reaves has spent the last four seasons with the Washington Commanders, and in 2022 was named a first-team All-Pro on special teams.

“I haven’t gotten to know him personally, but I follow everything he does on the field and on social media,” Luter said. “He’s just so humble. His personality is great. His charisma is great. That’s definitely a person I look up to.”

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Reese’s Senior Bowl American team practice

Though they’ll be teammates on Saturday, Wayne and Luter are essentially competing against each other in practice this week. The one-on-one drills between receivers and defensive backs are among the most-anticipated and heavily scrutinized parts of Senior Bowl week by NFL talent-evaluators.

Of course, Luter and Wayne went up against each other hundreds of times in South Alabama practices and scrimmages the last three years. Though there might be more at stake this week with the whole world watching, Luter said he’s trying to take the same approach as always against his teammate.

“Hey, at the end of the day, I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do,” Luter said. “And I know Jalen feels the same way. If you practice hard, it will translate to the field.”

• Troy linebacker Carlton Martial, a Mobile native, sat out of Wednesday’s National team practice due to back spasms, he told AL.com. Martial said his back began to tighten up after Tuesday’s practice, but hoped to participate on Thursday and in Saturday’s game.

The 2023 Reese Senior Bowl kicks off at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Hancock Whitney Stadium, with television coverage via NFL Network. For ticket information, visit SeniorBowl.com/tickets