2025 Senior Bowl takeaways: TCU WR Jack Bech honors late brother, wins MVP after game-winning catch

The American Team defeated the National Team, 22-19, in a thrilling finish to the 2025 Reese's Senior Bowl on Saturday at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama.

Here are five takeaways from the 76th annual all-star contest, which capped off a week of events, including three days of practice, featuring 100-plus top prospects for the 2025 NFL Draft.

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1) Bech’s walk-off TD caps wild finish. The American Team trailed, 19-16, in the closing moments of the Senior Bowl, driving deep into the National Team’s end of the field. They were not playing for the tie.

On the final play of the game, Memphis QB Seth Henigan hit TCU WR Jack Bech for the game-winning touchdown to give the American Team a 22-19 victory -- one of the most dramatic and emotional Senior Bowl finishes we’ll ever see.

For Bech -- who was named MVP of the game -- the moment clearly weighed heavily. Bech’s brother, Tiger, was tragically killed in the New Orleans terror attack one month ago. Every Senior Bowl player wore a decal on their helmets this week in memory of Tiger, a former receiver and return specialist at Princeton.

Bech finished with a game-high six catches -- including a highlight-reel grab on a flea flicker -- for 68 yards and the game-winner.

“It’s simple,” Bech told NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero after the game. “My brother had some wings on me. He gave them to me, and he let that all take place.”

The 6-foot-1, 214-pound Bech was the best receiver in Saturday’s game, and he made his presence felt early in practices this week.

“He’s truly the MVP of the week,” American Team head coach Bubba Ventrone said of Bech. “Not only did he perform at an extremely high level every day, he’s an incredible person. He’s tough. Whoever gets that kid is lucky, extremely lucky to get him on their team.”

Bech said he immediately thought of his brother after the game.

“Just how proud he is of me," Bech said. "All a big brother wants to do in life is see his little brother succeed. He’s been my role model my whole life. The person I Iooked up to. The person I wanted to be.

“He was the best big brother I could have ever asked for. My whole goal the rest of my life is just to live his legacy.”

2) QBs Henigan, Leonard impress. It was an up-and-down day for the Senior Bowl quarterbacks, but a few put their best feet forward on Saturday.

Henigan led the game-winning drive, hitting Bech on the touchdown as time expired. The Memphis QB completed 12 of 14 passes for 132 yards -- all of it in the second half. Henigan led two fourth-quarter TD drives, showing some nice rhythm as a thrower.

Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard got the start for the American Team and came out looking sharp. He hit on his first six passes, throwing with accuracy and conviction, even manipulating his arm angle a few times.

Leonard took a sack to end his second drive but played fairly well overall.

Louisville’s Tyler Shough, who had been one of the more consistent passers during the week of practice, had some nice moments during the game, lacing a TD pass to Virginia Tech WR Da’Quan Felton and adding a two-point throw to Iowa State’s Jaylin Noel. But Shough also overthrew Bowling Green TE Harold Fannin Jr. in the end zone just before the half on a pass that was intercepted by Tulane’s Caleb Ransaw.

One of the highlights of the first half was the 39-yard flea flicker from Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart to Bech. The pass was slightly underthrown, but Bech adjusted beautifully and hauled in the jump ball. Dart ran it in for the score late in the drive, and his two-point pass to Arkansas’ Isaac TeSlaa was a beauty, tying the game at eight apiece.

Dart had trouble with under-center snaps during the week and wasn’t truly able to showcase his playmaking capabilities during practice. He also ran more times (four) than he threw it (1 of 3 passing) on Saturday, but his skill set popped a little.

Alabama's Jalen Milroe started the third quarter for the American Team, hoping to make some noise after a quiet week. He had a nice 7-yard scramble but was sacked twice on his first drive, leading to a missed field goal. On the next drive, with great protection, Milroe underthrew his open target by a few yards on third-and-9. Milroe later came back in and was taken down for a loss on a turnover on downs. It likely was not the week he had hoped for, but the NFL remains intrigued by his enticing tools.

3) Deep D-line class shows out. Coming out of the Senior Bowl practices, it became clear that the defensive line talent was the real bumper crop at the event -- and Saturday was no exception. A few of the big names who showed out during the week bowed out prior to Saturday’s game, but the next wave of talent stepped up in a big way.

LSU’s Sai'vion Jones (6-5, 289) made several plays in the backfield early in the game, including two big tackles for loss. He also pressured Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel on a near pick by Georgia’s Smael Mondon Jr. late in the first quarter. Then Jones just missed a sack in the third quarter, beating Texas Tech’s Caleb Rogers off the snap, with Ole Miss’ Princely Umanmielen cleaning it up.

Arkansas’ Landon Jackson, who had a tough first day of practice but rallied throughout the week, finished strong with a good outing. His strip sack late in the first half, going right around Alabama A&M’s Carson Vinson to knock the ball away from Dart, gave the ball back to the National Team.

Central Arkansas’ David Walker, who had 39 sacks in 45 college games, opened eyes during the week with his short, thick frame, consistently working his way into the backfield. That carried over in the game, batting down a Dart pass right before the half and sacking Milroe for a 7-yard loss on third down.

Utah’s Junior Tafuna (two sacks, recovered fumble) and Oluwafemi Oladejo (two sacks) also stood out.

4) Gordon, Harvey lead RB group -- including with their arms. It’s often hard for running backs to stand out in Senior Bowl practices, especially the bigger backs. It’s just the nature of the event, where they don’t truly go with full contact during the week.

The game, however, is a different story. And Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II and UCF’s RJ Harvey weren’t about to be denied their moments. Each back threw for a touchdown in the game, as well as standing out in other ways.

The 6-1, 233-pound Gordon was one of the early offensive stars for the National Team, with some nice runs on the opening drive. Then he unleashed a shocking halfback pass to Iowa State’s Jayden Higgins for a 32-yard TD.

All-star game rules are a little different, and gimmicky stuff isn’t usually allowed. But the throw was a beauty, and no one was taking it away from Gordon. He finished with nine rushes for 33 yards, even with a 4-yard loss where he had no shot of making anything out of it. He added a 3-yard catch in the red zone and ran hard in his limited chances, putting a positive finish on his week.

Harvey was the shortest back at this year’s Senior Bowl at a shade under 5-8, but his 207-pound build allows him to run through contact. He authored the longest run in the game at 15 yards in the third quarter, and he matched Gordon’s passing brilliance with a 25-yard TD pass to Maryland’s Tai Felton, cutting the National lead to 19-16 in the fourth quarter. Harvey finished with four rushes for 24 yards.

The game’s other backs were mostly held in check. But Gordon and Harvey both showed out in unexpected ways.

5) More standouts! A few of the top talents had nice flash moments. Higgins hauled in a beautiful TD and was among the best receivers at the event all week. Fannin improved with each day of practice and had some nice grabs in a four-catch outing. Miami’s Elijah Arroyo -- who might be creeping into the Round 1 discussion -- had a two-point catch in a brief but impressive day.

A few lesser-known talents also stood out on offense. Arkansas WR Isaac TeSlaa had a quietly solid week, and he had a few nice moments in the game with 19- and 16-yard receptions, along with a two-point conversion. He’s a smooth mover for a 6-2, 217-pound wideout.

It was a tough game for a lot of the offensive lineman, but Arizona’s Jonah Savaiinaea stood out at right guard in the second half. He made a nice trap block on a run play and appeared to get off the ball very quickly. Savaiinaea also played some tackle in practice and moved well for his 339-pound frame.

There were standouts on defense outside of the defensive linemen as well.

Georgia safety Dan Jackson made one of the practice plays of the week with a big hit on Bech in the end zone, breaking up a would-be TD pass. On Saturday, Jackson made plays in all four quarters, but his highlight was a pass breakup in traffic on Virginia Tech WR Jaylin Lane, who impressed all week.

Iowa safety Sebastian Castro had a forced fumble in the first half (even though the runner appeared down) and made a big fourth-down stop on Milroe, forcing a turnover on downs.

Notre Dame LB Jack Kiser deserves special mention after completing a long season with the Irish, losing in the national-title game but still coming out and showing up all week at the Senior Bowl. Size questions may plague him a bit, but Kiser had two interceptions during the week of practice and was very active early on Saturday, finishing with five tackles in a nice showing.