MOBILE – The Reese's Senior Bowl released its Watch List on Thursday and it had three members of the Jacksonville State football team on it.
 
Defensive end Darius Jackson, cornerback Reggie Hall and running back Roc Thomas were all on the list of players to watch for college football's premier senior showcase event. The 2018 Reese's Senior Bowl will be played on January 27 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile.
 
The game annually features the country's best senior collegiate football players and top NFL draft prospects on teams representing the North and South that are coached by the entire coaching staffs of two National Football League teams. It will be televised on the NFL Network.
 
Three Gamecocks have competed in the Senior Bowl in its debut in 1950. Quarterback Dieter Brock was JSU's first Senior Bowler in 1974, followed by defensive lineman Jesse Baker in 1979. Running back Sean Richardson played in the 1994 game.
 
Jackson enters his senior season after earning OVC Defensive Player of the Year honors with high expectations. The Bessemer native was on every All-America Team in 2016, earning first-team honors from the Associated Press and the Walter Camp Football Foundation. He leads a Gamecock defense that returns eight starters from a unit that ranked fourth nationally in total defense, fifth in rushing defense and seventh in scoring defense.
 
Jackson was one of the nation's top pass rushers in 2016, leading the OVC and ranking 16th nationally in sacks per game with 0.83. He ended the season with 10 sacks and 15 tackles for a loss, both tops in the league. Through just three seasons in a Gamecock uniform, Jackson has already made his mark in the record books. He holds the school's career records for both sacks (20.5) and tackles for a loss (40.0) with one year of eligibility remaining.
 
Hall returns for the Gamecocks in 2017 after he earned Second Team All-OVC honors as a junior in 2016. The Opelika native started every game at cornerback last season and was a key component in one of the nation's top defenses. Playing on the opposite side of the field from Jaylen Hill, who is now with the Baltimore Ravens, Hall limited opposing wide receivers while helping JSU rank fourth nationally in total defense.
 
He notched 28 tackles as a junior, while also intercepting two passes and breaking up eight more. He returned one of those picks 88 yards for a touchdown at Eastern Kentucky, one of three interception returns for a score in the game. He was recently named to the Preseason All-OVC team for 2017.
 
Thomas was a First Team All-OVC and an OVC All-Newcomer performer in 2016, his first season with the Gamecocks. He ran for 782 yards and seven touchdowns in just nine games in his debut season, one that also saw him catch 16 passes for 301 yards and a score. He led the Gamecocks with a 6.2 yards per carry average, while averaging 10.8 yards per catch.
 
He finished second in the OVC in rushing yards per game in 2016, racking up 86.9 per outing. He stormed onto the scene in his first game at JSU, running for 72 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries and catching four passes for 53 yards in the season opener v. North Alabama. On the season, he had four 100-yard rushing performances, including a season-high 165 and three scores on just 10 carries at Murray State.
 
The No. 5 Gamecocks will open the season on Saturday in the Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff against No. 12 Chattanooga. The game will begin at 5:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN.