Kentucky nose tackle Marquan McCall is flashing at Shrine Bowl

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Bully McCall — (Photo by Dr. Michael Huang | Kentucky Sports Radio)

Bully ball has arrived on the NFL Draft circuit. Out at the Shrine Bowl in Las Vegas, Marquan McCall is putting on a show for NFL scouts.

The senior out of Detroit played in 40 games during his four-year career at Kentucky with 11 starts. The former top-200 recruit in the class of 2018 finished his collegiate career with 57 tackles and 10 tackles for loss. However, his presence is more valuable.

Checking in at 346 pounds, McCall is a two-gap player that can plug holes and demand double teams at the point of attack. The zero technique is a creator for others on defense and has the play strength to potentially become a force at the next level.

The draft prospect appears to be making the most of his opportunity out in Las Vegas.

.@UKFootball DT Marquan McCall was absolutely throwing dudes in the DL/OL 1-on-1s during the first day of @ShrineBowl practice pic.twitter.com/ILQRYpuLC3
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) January 30, 2022

Day 1 @ShrineBowl East Team Standouts:

• Marquan McCall, DT, Kentucky
• Noah Elliss, DT, Idaho
• Bamidele Olaseni, OT, Utah
• Charleston Rambo, WR, Miami (FL)
• Kyle Philips, WR, UCLA
• Tyrese Robinson, IOL, Oklahoma
• Eyioma Uwazurike, DT, Iowa St.
— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) January 30, 2022

The Shrine Bowl is the longest-running college football all-star game and one of the first events that eventually kicks off draft season. On Thursday, an exhibition will be held, but players are looking to make an impact now.

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For Marquan McCall, this was a much-needed opportunity. Unfortunately, the injury bug arrived in 2021 and forced the senior to miss four full games and most of the win over Florida in October. However, once back in the lineup, McCall made a huge difference for the Wildcats and held up well against Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum in a marquee matchup at the Citrus Bowl.

Now McCall is looking to become Kentucky’s second consecutive nose tackle to be selected after the Dallas Cowboys picked Quinton Bohanna in the sixth round last year.

Currently, McCall is flashing some real playmaking juice. That could turn the former blue-chip recruit into a very valuable prospect as draft season rolls on.