At Senior Bowl, Central Michigan's Thomas Incoom fighting to prove production is legit

Mobile, Ala. — Coming into his draft year, Thomas Incoom's senior season at Central Michigan was everything he needed it to be.

The 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive lineman from Stone Mountain, Ga. came up with 56 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 18.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries, putting himself on a trajectory to be selected in this year's NFL Draft.

At this week's Senior Bowl, Incoom has but one goal: To prove the big-time production is legit, even if it came at a smaller school.

"Coming from the MAC, I'm an underdog, trying to prove to everybody that I'm part of the top of the defensive guys in this draft class," Incoom said after practice Tuesday. "It's pride. I'm just representing everybody, not just myself. (I'm) putting MAC schools on the board."

Going from college to the NFL is always a big step, no matter where a player comes from. That step gets a little bit bigger when he's coming from non-Power-5 competition.

But, if and when Incoom's NFL dreams do come true, it'll represent the second time he's leveled up in competition since graduating high school. Incoom joined Central at the start of 2021 as a transfer from Valdosta State, a Division II school. Despite the lack of hype around his Senior Bowl stay, he couldn't be feeling better.

"It's exposure, and I'm just soaking it in, blessed to be in this position," Incoom said. "I'm enjoying every day and every second of it."

After the first day of practices, things are sure to get ratcheted up — especially on the offensive and defensive lines, where everybody's dying to see who can beat whom in one-on-one drills. Incoom enters his second day looking to capitalize on the momentum he built during day one.

"Explosive. Never give up," Incoom said, describing his pass-rushing style. "I have limited reps, but I dominated every rep I had. And I'm going to show them I never quit. Whatever I got or whatever I face, I'm going to dominate and they're going to get the best out of me."

Musgrave returns

Oregon State tight end Luke Musgrave is looking to climb draft boards with his performance in Mobile this week, although he’s one of only a few players who are doing so without having played recently.

Musgrave, currently slotted as one of the draft’s best tight ends behind Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer, suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Beavers’ win over Fresno State on Sept. 11. Tuesday, the first day of Senior Bowl practices, was his first day of live reps in nearly five months.

“Yesterday was fun, although it was hard for me,” Musgrave said. “It was fun to get out there and run some routes again.”

Musgrave’s hype is in absence of truly stellar production at the tight-end position. He looked to be on his way to a breakout year — 11 catches for 169 yards and a touchdown over his first two games — before being taken out by the injury, which he said is the first he’s experienced in his football career “since Pop Warner.”

He’s, of course, looking to demonstrate his value this week, but also to show signs of improvement.

“One of my biggest issues kinda in the beginning of my career was I felt like I was so fast, I was running out of zones,” Musgrave said. “Speed is great when you’re in man coverage. But when you’re in zone, you gotta kinda find the zones and tempo those routes. Kinda like (Travis) Kelce-esque, noodling, finding zones. I’m trying to get better at that.”

Musgrave could be in play for one of the Lions’ second-round picks, depending on how volatile his stock is going into late April. There’s also a chance that Musgrave solidifies himself as a first-rounder before he departs from Mobile.

“I usually try to stay away from the outside noise,” Musgrave said. “I focus on myself. I got a lot to work on. … I deleted Twitter about a year ago. I still have my account. But I don’t have the app. Just kinda refocusing on myself and trying to get better every day for me.”

Extra points

... Texas running back Roschon Johnson left the Senior Bowl after breaking his hand on the first day of practices. He was replaced on the roster by Texas Tech rusher SaRodorick Thompson.

... Ohio State offensive tackle Dawand Jones, who had the most dominating performance of Day 1 in Mobile and was measured with the longest wingspan in Senior Bowl history, was a non-participant for the National Team on Wednesday.

According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, Jones was evaluated for an injury but has not yet pulled out of the game.

nbianchi@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @nolanbianchi