In the ever-evolving world of professional football, the importance of power at the point of attack and being able to manhandle opposition is becoming the norm again, after years of teams trying to get smaller and faster to offset prolific passing attacks.

The sheer size of those in attendance at this year's Senior Bowl is staggering. More importantly, some of the biggest are the absolute best players on the field, if Monday's practice sessions are any indication.

Ohio State offensive tackle Dawand Jones is the largest of the bunch after measuring in at 6'8" and 375 pounds. Jones awed onlookers as he towered over most his teammates with vines for arms. In fact, scouts in attendance measured him with a pterodactyl-like 89.5-inch wingspan—which is the longest ever recorded at the event.

Just being big isn't a golden ticket to being an NFL lineman, though.

Jones shows nimble feet for a player his size and knows how to use his length to his advantage. Some rough edges must be smoothed out regarding his technique. Yet defenders must learn how to circumnavigate the right tackle prospect based purely on the fact he's a walking planetoid.

While Jones impressed as part of the National squad, Florida's O'Cyrus Torrence looked the part of a first-round prospect and Bleacher Report's top-rated guard prospect with the American team. The 6'5", 337-pound consensus All-American proved nearly impossible to overcome in pass protection when he set his anchor. But Torrence isn't simply a straight-line mauler. He did well reaching defenders in the run game and moved well when zone blocking.

Maybe the most impressive group, as a whole, came from a unlikely source.

The defensive tackles in Mobile, Alabama, aren't a heralded group, but they performed very well during the first day of practice.

Bowling Green's Karl Brooks looked like a natural when working exclusively along the interior. For the Falcons, Brooks often moved up and down the line based on the team's scheme, including plenty of snaps on the edge or as a 5-technique. The 303-pound defender's quickness was too much for some of the opposing guards to handle throughout the day.

Much like Brooks, Northwestern's Adetomiwa Adebawore shifted inside and thrived. He's a natural 3-technique, though he's undersized at 6'2" and 285 pounds. The collegiate end can find a home in the right system if he's used correctly.

Wisconsin's Keeanu Benton doesn't have the same problem. He's a nose tackle/1-technique through and through. The 6'3", 314-pound interior offers a jolt with his hands, but with enough quickness to win one-on-one reps as a pass-rusher.

This group would look even better if Baylor's Siaki Ika, who's generally graded as the class' best nose tackle, chose not to opt out of the event. Even without him, the potential to get bigger and stronger along the interior should be point of emphasis coming out of this year's Senior Bowl.

Other Notes

- National team running backs Evan Hull (Northwestern) and Camerun Peoples (Appalachian State) looked like the two best ball-carriers on the field. Hull showed impressive footwork in a short area to quickly get in and out of cuts. He also flashed a burst a couple of times, while pulling away from the pack. Peoples, meanwhile, brings an excellent combination of size and length at 6'1" and 215 pounds. The non-Power 5 product showed good fluidity when carrying the ball and running routes, as well as holding up in pass protection.

- Charlotte's Grant Dubose and Michigan's Ronnie Bell stood out among the wide receivers. Dubose has a thickener frame (6'2", 204 lbs.) yet ran well and showed very good body control in his routes. He also provides a wide catch radius and has strong hands to pluck ball out of the air. Bell is a more fluid player, who flashed good twitch and speed to stretch the field. He sinks his hips well and gets out of breaks quickly to create separation.

- Three American team's defensive backs looked the part. Alabama's Demarcco Hellams and Florida State's Jammie Robinson were all over the field today. Miami's Tyrique Stevenson had a very good day as well. He showed the necessary speed to match all receivers step for step and the competitive nature to come out on top during each rep.

- Position switches appear in order for North Dakota State's Cody Mauch and Alabama's Emil Ekiyor Jr. Mauch, who become a consensus FCS All-American left tackle, made the move inside to left guard, where he spent all of Tuesday's practice. Ekiyor is making the transition to center after spending the last three seasons as a starting guard for the Crimson Tide.

- A lackluster group of quarterbacks held back both offenses through Monday's practice sessions. As such, multiple skill position performers weren't highlighted to their full capabilities.

Shrine Bowl Overflow

More than one all-star event is taking place this week. In Las Vegas, Bleacher Report's scouting department is also on-site. The actual Shrine Bowl will take place 8 p.m. Thursday at Allegiant Stadium.

A year ago, names such as Brock Purdy, Isiah Pacheco, Cordell Volson, Jelani Woods and Chigoziem Okonkwo are turned heads at the even a year ago.

The following five prospects emerged as biggest winners throughout the week's practices, according to B/R's scouts in attendance:

- WR Jadon Haselwood, Arkansas

- EDGE Yasir Abdullah, Louisville

- EDGE B.J. Thompson, Stephen F. Austin

- DL Dante Stills, West Virginia

- CB Kei'Trel Clark, Louisville

5 Questions with Princeton WR Andrei Iosivas

B/R: You were born in Hawaii and grew up on the islands, how did you land all the way on the East Coast at Princeton? AI: "I started playing football when I was five years old. Coming out of high school, I always had a good grade point average, but my father was always really hard on me academically. He always stressed Stanford or the Ivy League.

"But I didn't produce a lot at the high school level. Our program featured a run-heavy offense. I didn't get the ball thrown to me a lot. I was always athletic but I was still really raw. I did go to a Stanford camp, and they offered me a preferred walk-on spot. Then, I toured the Ivy League. Princeton and Dartmouth pretty much offered me on the spot, and I couldn't turn down Princeton.

B/R: A move of that distance must have been extremely difficult. Did you suffer from culture shock upon arriving on campus? AI: "Big time. My freshman year turned into a huge culture shock. The move, the culture shock and the academics at that level caused me to post a 2.5 GPA during my first semester. I've always held myself to a high academic standard, so that was really bad for me. But it's been much higher every since." B/R: As a dual-sport athlete, who excels in the heptathlon and set the NCAA record for the 200-meter in said event, has there ever been any aspirations of pursing that avenue instead of football?

AI: "I was always really good at track. If I really wanted to go that route, I'd be training for the Olympics right now. Football is the path that I'm taking. This is my first love and it's what I want to do."

B/R: Are scouts pressing about football being your No. 1 priority?

AI: "Definitely. They don't have to look any further than me being here [in Mobile] right now instead of training for the Olympics." B/R: As someone who's set track records at the collegiate level and led his conference in both receiving yards and touchdowns catches, what will the Senior Bowl help you prove? AI: "I want to show that I have the physical tools and skill set to be great. If I can hone into one thing and focus on football, I believe the sky is the limit."

Bleacher Report scouts Cory Giddings, Matt Holder and Derrik Klassen contributed to this notebook.