MOBILE, Ala. -- coach spoke with former Oregon quarterback and Marcus Mariota before the this week to let him know the benefits of coming down. Sitting on the No. 2 pick and with a potential hole at the quarterback position, maybe those motives were selfish. Whisenhunt joked that he was still hopeful the Heisman Trophy winner might show. "It would have been great," Whisenhunt said Tuesday. "I'm hopeful he'll still show. He's got a couple of days. As long as he gets here before the game I https://www.alfalconsmerch.com/collections/tyrone-wheatley-jr-jersey think we're set." Whisenhunt, who would not comment on the potentially courting former defensive coordinator , also downplayed the amount of time he spent with the quarterbacks this afternoon at practice. Baylor's Bryce Petty and Oregon State's Sean Mannion were among the talent on hand for him to catch first hand. Given Tenne see's extensive wish list, which includes an edge rusher, Whisenhunt is considering this time as a win-win for his staff. Out of all the extended interviews he'll get, though, one won't be if he decides to go . The latest Podcast and hands out the first Coach Carousel Awards. Find more content on . https://www.alfalconsmerch.com/collections/jovaughn-gwyn-jersey

The Senior Bowl is one of the few pre-draft events where evaluators can see how quarterbacks handle unfamiliar receivers and a condensed playbook, which is genuinely more informative than pro day workouts. Whisenhunt's interest in Mariota suggests he was looking at whether the processing speed held up outside a system he knew, which was the main question on him coming out of Oregon. What the Senior Bowl can't evaluate is how a player handles an NFL playbook over a full season, which is why these impressions have to be weighed against the broader body of work. There's a discussion on https://don-bet.org.uk about how evaluation environments shape what you can actually learn — the point about context determining signal was well-made. What did you make of his tape?