The 2024 Senior Bowl will provide an opportunity for NFL draft prospects to prove themselves on the largest pre-draft stage. Kentucky linebacker Trevin Wallace plans on taking full advantage. Wallace recently spoke exclusively with the Senior Bowl and Draft Network to discuss his motivation for accepting his invitation to compete in Mobile, Alabama.
Wallace also discussed what he's striving to prove to NFL general managers and scouts in attendance at the Senior Bowl, playing the physical linebacker position, how he’d write his own scouting report, and more. Let's get to know Wallace better ahead of his journey to the Senior Bowl.
JM: Where were you when you found out about your Senior Bowl invite and what was your initial reaction?
Trevin Wallace: I was training at EXOS in Pensacola when I found out about my invitation. Crazy enough, my teammate at Kentucky Andru Phillips is also playing in the Senior Bowl this year. Dru told me congratulations and I didn’t know what he was talking about (laughs). It’s not my birthday today? I didn’t do anything special today, so what are you talking about?
I was like bro, there’s no way I’m playing in the Senior Bowl?!? Andru Phillips broke the news to me. It was wild. I was so shocked and surprised. Wow, I have a chance to do what some of the great linebackers and players have done at the Senior Bowl.
JM: That’s an amazing story. What motivated you to accept the Senior Bowl’s offer?
Trevin Wallace: The Senior Bowl can be very helpful to your pre-draft stock. I’m going to receive an opportunity to interview with all 32 teams in the league. It’s a week-long process that’s going to show the teams who Trevin Wallace really is.
JM: What are you hoping to prove to NFL general managers, coaching staffs, and scouts in attendance in Mobile?
Trevin Wallace: I want to show the scouts that I can play linebacker at an extremely high level. I’ve received good feedback from the scouts. I’m always working to improve my eye discipline. I want to showcase that my eye discipline has gotten a lot better.
I’m also excited for the pass-rushing drills, those one-versus-one opportunities against running backs in pass protection drills. That's what I want to show the scouts.
JM: How would you describe your skill set in your own words? Self-scout yourself.
Trevin Wallace: I’d say I’m very athletic and fast. I have great sideline-to-sideline speed. I’m among the most athletic linebacker prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft. If I’m writing my own scouting report, I have to address some of the cons as well. I’m working on my eye discipline. I have to do a better job not drifting in coverage. I also have to get off blocks a little quicker.
JM: We love your honesty. If you had to compare yourself to a current NFL linebacker, who would you choose and why?
Trevin Wallace: I watch a lot of Fred Warner. He’s so athletic. He’s always running sideline to sideline. He always puts his best foot forward and gives his all to the team.
JM: One thing that popped on tape to me this year was the step forward you took making plays behind the line of scrimmage. You had a career-high 8.5 tackles for loss and a career-high 5.0 sacks. Where did that production come from?
Trevin Wallace: It came from Kentucky linebackers coach Brad White. Coach White and I talked about that heading into the season. I played more lateral in previous years. Coach White taught me to play more downhill.
I accepted that challenge. I understood exactly where he was coming from. I had to play with more decisiveness. That played a big factor. I was always thinking about getting downhill. He told me even if you’re not sure, go downhill. It was about creating better habits. That led to better tackles for loss and sack production.
JM: It sure did. What’s your favorite aspect of playing the linebacker position?
Trevin Wallace: I love being a vocal leader. I love it. That’s my favorite aspect of it. I want my teammates to look up to me and trust me. Having that leadership ability to where people trust you, that means a lot on the football field. Playing the middle linebacker position, we’re the quarterback of the defense.
You need to have teammates around you that trust you. You yourself, you have to “want to” lead. You need to have that “want to” about yourself. I’ve learned from others as well. You can be a leader at middle linebacker while also learning from others.
JM: I love that. Talk to me a little about playing in coverage. You talked about drifting a little too much at times. How do you generally feel about your coverage abilities?
Trevin Wallace: I’m good in coverage. I’m getting better every single day. There’s always room for improvement. Sometimes I’ll be watching the film with my coaches and I made a good play, but what if I didn’t drift? Maybe I could have had an interception instead of just forcing an incompletion, or making a tackle. It’s the little things.
We played a lot of man coverage this season at Kentucky. I got better at playing man coverage as a result. I’m looking forward to getting more reps in man-to-man looks.
JM: Fun question before I let you go, Trevin. What’s on the pregame playlist?
Trevin Wallace: My pregame playlist? It might sound crazy to you. This is how my pregame playlist goes. When I’m first sitting there, I listen to church music to calm me down. Everybody gets the jitters before running out of that tunnel. I listen to church music to calm me down. I have to thank the man above first and foremost. He blessed me to be in this position. I listen to church music.
When I’m walking around the field pregame, I listen to R&B. That’s how I set the vibes. Then I have a third playlist that has uptempo rap music right before we exit the tunnel. That gets my blood flowing.
JM: At the end of the week, what does a successful Senior Bowl look like for Trevin Wallace?
Trevin Wallace: A successful Senior Bowl means I crushed the interview process. It means I gave my all no matter the circumstances, which is exactly what I’m going to do. I’m going to play every rep at 110%. I want the coaches to know that even if I made a mistake, my effort made up for it.
