Jacksonville State guard Clay Webb is seeking to play in the NFL in 2025, not wrestle in WWE or AEW. But the former Oxford High School standout credits wrestling with his opportunity to play professional football.

“I think every offensive lineman should be a wrestler,” Webb said on Wednesday in Mobile, where he’s practicing for Saturday’s Reese’s Senior Bowl. “All the movements that you make as an offensive lineman are strengthened through wrestling. I feel like I wouldn’t have been nearly as successful if I had not been a wrestler.”

Webb anchored Oxford to the AHSAA Class 6A wrestling championships in 2017 and 2018. He did not end up being a state champion in football (due in part to Clay-Chalkville, which knocked the Yellow Jackets out of the Class 6A playoffs in third-round games in 2017 and 2018) despite an outstanding collection of accolades.

A three-time first-team selection for the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s Class 6A All-State squad, Webb won the ASWA Class 6A Lineman of the Year Award and received recognition as an Under Armour All-American and All-USA selection by USA Today in 2018.

But Webb’s football career didn’t continue on that trajectory in college with Georgia, and after three seasons with the Bulldogs, Webb transferred to Jacksonville State in 2022.

With the Gamecocks, Webb regained his footing, and in 2024, the Football Writers Association of America chose him as a second-team All-American.

“I think just getting around the guys at Jacksonville State,” Webb said, “as well as the coaches like Rick Trickett and Rich Rodriguez kind of helped push me in the right direction, where I needed to go.”

That direction led Webb to Mobile for the annual gathering of the NFL to evaluate some of the game’s top prospects in a week-long job interview.

“I’d like to show people that even though I am from a smaller school, I deserve to be here,” Webb said.

NFL talent evaluators also will likely be paying close attention to Webb’s performance in the one-on-one pass-protection drills during the American team’s practices at Hancock Whitney Stadium.

During Webb’s time as the Gamecocks’ left guard, Jacksonville State had one of the nation’s most prolific rushing attacks. In the 2024 season, only Army piled up more yards on the ground than JSU. The Gamecocks got there by running the football on about two-thirds of their snaps.

“Pass protection was a little bit more rare at Jacksonville State,” Webb said after Wednesday’s practice, “but I feel like I can handle it. The one-on-ones, I think I did pretty well on.”

An offensive tackle in high school, Webb also has been showing the NFL scouts that he can handle center during the Senior Bowl reps.

Three Oxford High School alumni played in the NFL during the 2024 season – linebackers Kwon Alexander and K.J. Britt and defensive back Bobby McCain. Webb remembers when he and Britt were lifting partners in high school and thinks the players who have traveled the road to the pros from Oxford can serve as examples, but, ultimately, he has to find his own way to the NFL.

“I just try to keep to myself in terms of what I need to focus on,” Webb said. “I could imagine and watch the other guys be successful, but I just need to work on myself.”

The Reese’s Senior Bowl kicks off at 1:30 p.m. CST Saturday at Hancock-Whitney Stadium in Mobile. NFL Network will televise the game.

But there’s more to the Senior Bowl than the game. The remaining activity schedule includes:

Thursday

Senior Bowl practices (open to public):

National team, Hancock Whitney Stadium, 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

American team, Hancock Whitney Stadium, noon-2 p.m.

USA Health Doc Rock, Soul Kitchen, 6:30 p.m.

Friday

Saints Cheer Krewe clinic, Jaguar Training Center, noon-3 p.m. (Open to high school-aged cheerleaders and dancers. Cost is $75.)

Friday Night Street Party (downtown Mobile) with player parade at 6 p.m. and free concert featuring Eli Young Band and Sammy Kershaw at 7 p.m. in Cathedral Square

Saturday

Senior Bowl Fan Fest (free), south lawn of Hancock Whitney Stadium, 10:30 a.m.

Legacy Tailgate HBCU Experience (free), south end of Jaguar Training Center, 10:30 a.m.

Path to the Draft players walk, outside Hancock Whitney Stadium, 11 a.m.

Reese’s Senior Bowl, 1:30 p.m. at Hancock Whitney Stadium, featuring performances by Jaguar Marching Band and Saints Cheer Krewe.

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