Kris Abrams-Draine has three of his Missouri teammates with him at the Reese’s Senior Bowl this week. D.J. James has three of his Auburn teammates with him at Mobile’s annual all-star game.

Abrams-Draine and James also were teammates, but it’s been more than five years since they most recently played together in Spanish Fort’s 21-17 loss to Wetumpka in the third round of the AHSAA Class 6A playoffs on Nov. 23, 2018.

The players are together again on the American team for Saturday’s Senior Bowl.

“It’s good,” Abrams-Draine said of the reunion. “When he was on my team, he was a class before me, but we never got to play on the same side of the ball, so we’re doing it now, and I think it’s an amazing feeling.”

In 2018, Abrams-Draine was an All-State wide receiver and James was an All-State defensive back.

“We used to compete in practice every day,” James said. “We gave each other some good work. But he decided to move to the dark side, which I feel like is the right side.”

Abrams-Draine played in five games as a wide receiver in 2020 for Missouri before transitioning to cornerback. Abrams-Draine said he’s at his best position now, “but I think if I had still been playing receiver, I think I would have been one of the best receivers, too.”

Both players credited Spanish Fort for having them ready for college football, which led to their return to Coastal Alabama as Senior Bowlers as they prepare for the pros.

“They prepared me the right way for college,” Abrams-Draine said. “The stuff we were doing in the weight room and conditioning, when I got to college, it was a little bit easier because I was already used to it coming from the type of program like that.”

James played three seasons at Oregon before returning to his home state for two seasons as an Auburn cornerback.

“Just being coached by great coaches, coach (Ben) Blackmon, coach Tony Stonicher,” James said about his time with the Toros. “Those guys are great guys, great coaches. Coach Stonicher used to have me in the film room when I was young because he felt like I was going to be a great player, so he used to have me in the film room, had me learning football, and I feel like that helped me a lot going into my college career.”

Spanish Fort High School will host a Toro Day for Abrams-Draine and James from 9 to 10 a.m. CST Friday.

Abrams-Draine also was an All-State selection in 2017 and 2019 – both times in the athlete slot. He won the Class 6A Back of the Year Award as a senior.

In his final prep season, Abrams-Draine moved to quarterback during the campaign and helped Spanish Fort reach the state-championship game by rushing for more than 1,000 yards just in the postseason games.

Abrams-Draine said the 2019 playoffs had two of his strongest memories of Spanish Fort football. The Toros’ rally from a 10-point third-quarter deficit to defeat Opelika 27-24 in the semifinals as Abrams-Draine ran for 295 yards and three touchdowns is one kind of memory. Spanish Fort’s 14-13 loss to Oxford in the championship contest is another, particularly since Abrams-Draine sustained a torn meniscus in the game.

James has a “favorite memory” of Spanish Fort football, too – when his second interception of the game sealed a 20-13 victory with Eastern Shore rival Daphne on the doorstep of scoring.

The players also have memories of the Senior Bowl.

“I grew up watching it,” Abrams-Draine said. “I used to always go to it when I had time growing up before I went to college.

“I remember KJ Maye, when he came down – he was a Mobile guy – how much support he got at that game.”

A Murphy High School standout, Maye played in the 2016 Senior Bowl after four seasons as a wide receiver at Minnesota.

Abrams-Draine also is hoping to have that local support in Saturday’s game. James, Ole Miss defensive end Cedric Johnson (a former Davidson High School standout) and South Alabama quarterback Carter Bradley also will be eligible for a crowd-favorite cheer at Hancock Whitney Stadium on Saturday.

“It means a lot,” James said, “just being back home, being able to play in front of my family, being able to play with a former teammate as well. It means a whole lot.”

James also went to the Senior Bowl as a kid and, like Abrams-Draine, relates to a former Mobile prep wide receiver.

“Jaylen Tolbert, he was there a couple of years back,” James said. “He made a big impact in his draft stock coming here, just showing people that he could play on any level, because he went to South Alabama but he was always a good wideout.”

The Dallas Cowboys selected the former McGill-Toolen standout in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

NFL scouts and personnel decision-makers have watched three days of practice and used an extensive interview process to get to know the prospects for the 2024 NFL Draft in Mobile this week.

The all-stars will compete in the 75th annual Reese’s Senior Bowl at noon 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.

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