Trio of Miami Hurricanes stars surprised the NFL Draft community at the Senior Bowl as they impressed all week long
Now that the 2025 Reese's Senior Bowl practices are all wrapped up the NFL Draft season is officially well underway. Some surprising stars have begun to rise after this week. Other players saw their 2025 NFL Draft stocks take a hit.One school saw all of their players largely succeed throughout the Senior Bowl week, shocking […]
Now that the 2025 Reese's Senior Bowl practices are all wrapped up the NFL Draft season is officially well underway. Some surprising stars have begun to rise after this week. Other players saw their 2025 NFL Draft stocks take a hit.
One school saw all of their players largely succeed throughout the Senior Bowl week, shocking much of the NFL Draft community present in Mobile, AL. The Miami Hurricanes dominated with a talented player in almost every offensive position group. Nearly no other school could boast that (except for Oregon). Let's dive into the talented trio who impressed all week long.
Xavier Restrepo, Wide Receiver
Xavier Restrepo finished his Miami career with the most receptions and receiving yards recorded by any player in school history. He was a consensus All-American wide receiver. Restrepo was clearly one of the best receivers coming into Senior Bowl week already, but he impressed even more than expected.
When plays broke down in 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 Restrepo would always look to help out his quarterback by running to space–or in the case of the play above–to the back of the end zone where he scored. Restrepo is a clearly savvy veteran wide receiver who is ready make an impact at the next level. It's no surprise that he spent most of the week just cooking defensive backs in one-on-ones too.
Restrepo utilized his speed well to burst down field on the first and second days of practice, but even in tighter quarters in the red zone face-offs he demonstrated his advanced route running techniques and coordination to finish any kind of play. Restrepo firmly cemented himself as a day two 2025 NFL Draft pick.
Elijah Arroyo, Tight End
There might not have been a steeper rise for any prospect at the Senior Bowl that Elijah Arroyo. He spent all three days just stomping on the competition in one-on-ones. Not a single defensive back seemed to be able to slow him down.
Whether he was working inside leverage on something underneath or pushing downfield with his speed Elijah Arroyo showcased elite athleticism and playmaking abilities. He just got in the zone, stayed there, and destroyed the competition all week long.
Arroyo's week of domination culminated in a dominant receiving touchdown followed by an immediate punting of the football completely out of the stadium. He was playing with ferocity, excitement, and definitely didn't mind getting his teammates pumped up throughout each and every practice.
After spending much of his college career injured, Arroyo finally stayed healthy for 2024 and immediately became one of the best tight ends in the country. If he continues to rise there's a real chance he lands as early as the second round in the 2025 NFL Draft now that he's answered any critics he may have had with a strong Senior Bowl showing.
Damien Martinez, Running Back
Damien Martinez, the running back transfer from Oregon State, had a strong Senior Bowl performance as well. Martinez weighed in a little bit lighter than some agents and scouts thought he might (below 230 pounds), but that just allowed him to show off his nice burst and long speed (as you can see on the run below).
The running game is a bit different in Senior Bowl practices as teams don't engage in full tackling, but Martinez was always hitting his intended gap hard, finding ways to break free with his speed.
The one area where NFL teams can get a more complete assessment of a running back's skill set is in pass protection. By that measure of running back play Martinez may have been the best at the Senior Bowl. He had no problem standing up players who were much larger than him, which plenty of NFL teams will love.
Damien Martinez looks like the real deal at running back. Strength, balance, speed, receiving chops with pass pro ability. He has it all. Martinez still needs to test well at the NFL Combine in a month, but if he does he very well might sneak into day two of the 2025 NFL Draft.
We'll be back with more Miami Hurricanes coverage here at A to Z Sports all year long! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!