Wednesday’s second practice session of the 2025 Senior Bowl was littered with competitiveness and intensity. One player who was at the forefront of the physicality displayed was Texas defensive lineman Barryn Sorrell. A string of reps between Sorrell and LSU offensive tackle Emery Jones Jr. was arguably the highlight of the American Team session.
Sorrell won the first rep by shedding Jones Jr. en route to the quarterback. The LSU blocker claimed victory on the follow-up by running the rusher up the arc. Sorrell later won the tiebreaker by bull-rushing Jones Jr. directly into the quarterback’s pocket.
It was a run of action that summarizes what makes Mobile so special.
THIS is what makes Mobile unique. Three reps, good on good of Emory Jones v Barryn Sorrell. Volume UP. pic.twitter.com/TMSKJRHU62
— Ryan Fowler (@_RyanFowler_) January 29, 2025
Sorrell was a routine standout during the second practice session. The versatile Texas defender is an athletic specimen who can defeat offensive linemen with a deep and complex pass-rush arsenal. Would-be blockers who aligned opposite him in pass protection learned that the hard way on Wednesday.
At Texas this past season, Sorrell was alignment-versatile while showcasing range and an innate ability to be a disruptive pass rusher. Sorrell displays rare closing speed when finishing around quarterbacks. He is relentless when penetrating backfields with a red-hot motor that's always revving. Those traits, first identified on tape throughout the season, were evident in Mobile on Wednesday.
When Sorrell lacks elite explosiveness off the snap, an area of his game that requires improvement, he evens the score with heavy hands when engaging with blockers one-on-one. Sorrell’s interest in pursuing the football gives him a "want-to" that ranks near the top of the 2025 NFL Draft edge-rushing class, an unteachable personality trait that holds water with evaluators. NFL scouts have noted that attitude in Mobile, and believe it to be genuine.
Nobody is questioning Sorrell’s passion for the game.
The No. 55 overall prospect in our pre-Senior Bowl top 100 rankings, Sorrell helps make up a loaded edge class that could produce upward of seven selections in April’s first round. Thus far in Mobile, Sorrell has established himself as a potential day-two selection, offering a prospective team that didn't draft one with a top-32 pick terrific value later.
Showcasing consistent improvement, Sorrell tallied a career-high six sacks and 44 tackles (matching a previous personal best) this past year. It was an appropriate, expected follow-up to respectful 2022 (5.5 sacks) and 2023 (4.0) campaigns. His 11 tackles for loss were also a career-high, showing an enhanced ability to make plays behind the line of scrimmage. The yearly gains have been incremental, but noticeable.
Sorrell is versatile, athletic, rangy, and physical with a red-hot motor that loves to compete. It’s the type of skill set that shines brightly in Mobile on an annual basis, and Sorrell is taking complete advantage of his Senior Bowl opportunity. Whoever drafts the New Orleans, Louisiana native is getting an instant contributor who will fight for immediate snaps as a rotational defensive lineman at worst.
As his reps versus Jones Jr. highlighted, Sorrell doesn’t take losing a rep lightly.
