MOBILE, Ala. – The Virginia Tech linebacker duo of Dax Hollifield and Alan Tisdale has been named to the 2023 Reese's Senior Bowl watch list, as announced by the organization on Wednesday.
The two veterans combined for 176 total tackles last fall and for 111 total tackles in 2020, and both are expected to be key cogs on defense for first-year head coach Brent Pry this season.
Hollifield (6-1, 245) is coming off a year of owning a team-high 88 tackles (40 solo) in 13 games and being named a nominee for the Charlotte TD Club Defender of the Nation Award last season. The senior started 12 games at middle linebacker and also led the team with 9 TFL and 4.5 sacks. He averaged 7.3 tackles per game to rank ninth in the conference. The Shelby, North Carolina native was tabbed a captain for the Hokies last week and is one of seven players.
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Tisdale (6-3, 225) started all 13 games in 2021, finishing fourth on the team with 84 tackles (44 solo). The redshirt senior registered nine tackles, including 0.5 TFL, and recovered a fumble at West Virginia on Sept. 18. Tisdale led the team with 12 tackles at Georgia Tech on Oct. 30 and had a career-high 2.5 TFL, too. Tisdale has registered at least 50 total tackles and four TFLs in each of the last three seasons for the Hokies.
The Reese's Senior Bowl is the nation's most prestigious college all-star game, as it annually serves as the first step of the NFL Draft process. The 2022 edition of the game produced a record-tying 106 total selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, representing 40 percent of the entire NFL draft, including 45 of the top 100 players selected.
This year's Reese's Senior Bowl will be held on Feb. 4, 2023 at South Alabama's Hancock Whitney Stadium and air on the NFL Network.