2024 Draft Notebook: Recapping the Hula Bowl
The Hula Bowl established a baseline for some interesting prospects who fringe draft-able and would fill needs for the Titans.
The 2024 Hula Bowl is in the books. While I, personally, think it’s an important game to monitor, I also acknowledge that not everyone is going to be interested in this rabbit hole of the draft cycle. It may have taken me six hours to get through an hour’s worth of actual game time from watching, rewinding, watching a different player, rewinding, and watching third player, etc. etc.. But, I know that I’m a lunatic and not everyone will even know what the Hula Bowl is. I make no apologies for it. I do the work so you don’t have to. But, I do bring this up to give you all fair warning - this is going to be a sickos post. We’re diving deep into the draft pool, and there are probably a few names I’ll mention that you will never read again. This one’s for the diehards.
The Hula Bowl is one of the first (if not the first) of these college all-star games that really get us going into draft season. I’d say it’s probably the third tier bowl behind the Senior Bowl and the Shrine Bowl. It features a lot of fringe talent, many of whom probably won’t even be drafted. But, if you’re a fan of the UFL or CFL, it paints this game in a more meaningful light. The game probably would’ve been a lot more important to Titans fans if Mike Vrabel was still the head coach given how many undrafted free agents he played week in and week out, but I digress.
I’ve been keeping an eye on this game because it’s important for a couple of different reasons. For one, you need depth in the NFL. Not every man on your roster is going to be a first round talent, but you need capable guys who can hold the fort down when injuries, suspensions, or poor play inevitably arise. That depth comes from leaving no stone unturned in your scouting process. While there may be an Isaiah Pacheco type that comes out of this game every year, for the most part, these are the guys who are going to be filling depth and developmental roles on NFL rosters.