The Senior Bowl is just one step in the draft process, and since it’s held about 100 days from the draft, it’s tough to link up players and specific teams with much accuracy.Will the Panthers take any of the 110 players they watched in Mobile this week? They didn’t in 2014, but they drafted 11 in the four years before that.While it’s impossible to tell if any of this year’s Senior Bowl players will end up in Carolina, I wanted to share two stories that stuck out from the rest.

QUINTEN ROLLINS

He was supposed to be playing basketball somewhere in Europe, not football in Mobile.A four-year starter at point guard for Miami (OH), Quinten Rollins finished second in school history in steals (214) and fourth in assists (391). The NBA was a pipe dream, though, so he had been planning to play pro basketball overseas.[vc_row_inner no_margin=”true” padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px” border=”none”]His course changed when a scout from the Ravens suggested he join the Redhawks’ football team as a cornerback. Rollins hadn’t put a helmet on since high school, but he gave the sport another shot last spring.”When a basketball player goes into the football locker room, they kind of look at you like, ‘What are you doing here?'” Rollins recalled.And during his first few practices, the field wasn’t a comfortable place, either.”It was frustrating, honestly, because I’m a competitor,” Rollins said. “When I went out there and I wasn’t excelling, I expected to excel like I did in high school on the football field. I went out there that first practice, coming from basketball, you can’t really get physical with guys, and the receivers were just bullying me.”I’m like, ‘What’s going on? That’s not pass interference?’ It was just a different game. I had to adjust to it. Once I got my feet wet at the end of spring ball, I was ready to go.”[vc_column_inner width=”1/3”][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html]Not only did Rollins make the team, he became the best player on it. He was named the Redhawks’ MVP and MAC Defensive Player of the Year after racking up 72 tackles, 16 passes defensed and a conference-leading seven interceptions.That Ravens scout who recommended Rollins play football is now joined by scouts from across the league interested in the converted point guard. Many draft experts have pegged the 5-foot-11, 193-pounder as a first- or second-round prospect.Recent NFL history has been dotted with former basketball players, but most — like Chargers tight end Antonio Gates and former Chiefs and Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez — played offense. Rollins would be a rare crossover to defense, and while he still has a lot to learn, he also has plenty of room to grow.”Playing in space, I get impatient at times at the line, and I open up my hips too soon. I only played 12 games. A lot of these guys have been playing in the same system from high school into college. I only had one year. The more looks I get, the better I’m going to get at it,” Rollins said.”I really don’t know much. I’m still learning, and I feel like once I learn that, the sky’s the limit.”

LAKEN TOMLINSON

Classes at Duke are hard. Doing well in those classes while playing football is harder. Taking on a double-major, plus pre-med, while playing football at Duke is pretty much crazy.“The workload that I went through probably was a little tougher than most,” Laken Tomlinson said, making a drastic understatement.Tomlinson was a consensus All-American guard in 2014, he was on the All-ACC first team his last two years, and he made 52 straight starts while earning Academic All-ACC honors in each of his four seasons. In the classroom — along with the pre-med — he majored in psychology and evolution anthropology.What’s that?“It’s the study of monkeys. It’s the study of the evolution of the ape species to what we are today,” Tomlinson explained. “We did forensic evolution anthropology. We did all that stuff on cognitive evolution, morphological evolution, everything from primates to apes to humans.”[vc_row_inner no_margin=”true” padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px” border=”none”][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″]Yeah, Tomlinson isn’t a typical jock.While he studied evolution, he helped Duke evolve from a college football laughingstock to a proper program. The Blue Devils won three games during both his redshirt and freshman seasons. They then exploded for 25 wins in his final three years.“Duke did evolve, indeed,” Tomlinson said. “Obviously when I got in my first couple years, we struggled. I’m truly honored to be part of a program that made such a quick turnaround.”His story would be interesting enough based on the academics alone. But Tomlinson also has a background that’s somewhat similar to Michael Oher’s “The Blind Side.”Tomlinson grew up in Jamaica and moved to Chicago when he was 10. During his first year in America, he gained about 80 pounds and grew seven inches. When his smarts landed him in a mentoring program, he lived with the family of a Chicago-based attorney.It was his sister who suggested he try football. He thought she meant soccer. But once he started playing, he kept growing and getting better.[vc_column_inner width=”1/2”][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html]Like fellow Blue Devil Jamison Crowder, Tomlinson was one of the most impressive players during Senior Bowl practices. The 6-foot-3, 323-pounder, who appears to be an NFL-ready left guard, could eventually work his way into the second or third round.“I feel, especially in my run blocking, once I get a good fit, that’s my strongest position,” Tomlinson said. “I can work on my pass game a little bit more, where I can get my hands tighter so I can keep the defensive linemen under control.”Tomlinson one day plans to go to medical school. He wants to be a neurosurgeon. That day is likely an NFL career away.