MOBILE, Ala. — Senior Bowl week in Mobile got a new twist in January 2020: for the first time, the game’s star players rolled through downtown in a Mardi Gras-style parade the night before the showcase, drawing an enthusiastic crowd along the route.
Theodore native and Florida running back Lamical Perine was among the players riding the route, and he said returning home for the week made the moment special.
“You know it’s Mardi Gras season, and to be able to do something like this and be back in my community, it’s just so great, honestly,” Perine said.
Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts proved equally popular with fans lining the street. One parade-goer, Cody Salis, came away with a souvenir tossed from the former Alabama and Oklahoma star himself.
“I actually saw Jalen Hurts. I got a MoonPie from him — I caught a MoonPie from his hand,” Salis said. “So basically I caught a pass from Jalen Hurts. It was a good time.”
The parade folded Senior Bowl week into Mobile’s Mardi Gras season, blending the city’s two biggest winter traditions as NFL draft prospects mingled with carnival crowds downtown.