Ole Miss defensive end Cedric Johnson has an older brother, so he had a quality instilled in him growing up that is a bedrock characteristic for NFL players.

“Me and my brother,” Johnson said, “that competition has always been there.”

But Cephus Johnson III’s contribution to Cedric Johnson’s journey to the Reese’s Senior Bowl hasn’t been limited solely to his brother’s formative years because big brother already is where little brother hopes to go.

Cephus Johnson spent his rookie NFL season as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ practice squad in 2023, and the wide receiver signed a reserve/future contract last week to stay with the team.

“He’s helped me a lot in preparing myself for the scouts,” Cedric Johnson said. “Those conversations, telling me this is going to be the longest year of my life, so I’m getting prepared for that. He’s prepared me a lot, and then just growing up through the years always competing, just having that competitive factor to me, so I think he’s done a lot.”

Saturday’s Senior Bowl is a homecoming game for Cedric Johnson, who was an All-State defensive lineman for Davidson High School in 2019.

“It’s been great to be home, seeing all the familiar locations, being downtown,” Johnson said. “I used to go to school down here when I was younger. I used to go to Heart of Mary. It’s great. I got to go home Sunday, got to get a great meal from my mom, so it was a great feeling. …

“I’m comfortable here and excited to be back in Mobile. Honestly, of course the game was important to me. As I was younger, going to the Senior Bowl, and even in high school, going to games. In high school when I was being recruited by Ole Miss, they picked some of the top (high school) prospects of 2020 to come to the Senior Bowl game — the Senior Bowl future stars. We had access to the field and all that kind of stuff. It was a special moment for me, and it’s great to be here. It’s a dope feeling.”

But being a Senior Bowl future star and a Senior Bowl star are different, Johnson said he had learned.

“It’s a lot more hard work than I thought,” Johnson said. “I thought they were just having fun on a Saturday. But it’s a lot of work going on, talking to these scouts, these practices. It’s a lot of work. That’s definitely the difference. Looking on the outside in, you’re thinking we’re all just having fun. But it’s a grind.”

As did his older brother, Davidson High School helped get him to the Senior Bowl, Johnson said, by “preparing me as a player, to even be a recruit for Ole Miss or be a recruit that was looking at certain colleges I could to go to. I feel like they put me in a good position there, getting me enough exposure to coaches, talking to coaches for me. I feel like they just prepared me the right way.”

After four years at Ole Miss, where he received the Chucky Mullins Courage Award this season, and a week at the Senior Bowl, Johnson figures NFL scouts “know everything they want to know already, it’s just a matter of putting that final package together, show them what they’re going to get, show them what they’re going to invest their money in. I feel like they know I’m a great person, a great leader. They can see that with the Chucky Mullins Award. And I feel like they know what they’re getting on the field — great pass-rusher ability — and I just want to keep getting my run defense a lot better.”

Johnson will play for the American team in the 75th annual Reese’s Senior Bowl, which kicks off at noon CST Saturday at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile. NFL Network will televise the game.

Tickets for the contest can be purchased online.

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