Tag: Bowl

MOBILE, Ala. — A highlight-reel play at a Senior Bowl practice can put a draft prospect on everyone’s radar, lift his draft stock or elevate him to a new level, still months before picks are made in April.

For Jack Bech, it also helped him grieve.

The play was a long throw from Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe down the right sideline, perhaps a bit underthrown. Bech, a 6-foot-2 receiver from TCU, came back, turned around and made a leaping catch with two defenders on him.

He did it wearing an orange No. 7 jersey, not the No. 18 he wore at TCU while enjoying a breakout 2024 season, with 62 catches for 1,034 yards and nine touchdowns.

This week, he’s wearing his brother’s number.

Martin “Tiger” Bech, 27, a former Princeton receiver and New York stockbroker, was killed in the Bourbon Street attack in New Orleans in the early hours of New Year’s Day, one of 14 victims as a man drove a truck through a crowd. This week is the first time Jack has had the chance to return to the normalcy of football, playing in the showcase game for NFL prospects.

“Me and my family have definitely felt all the love and support from everybody, and it’s really helped us try to make the most out of this situation,” said Bech, who is from nearby Lafayette, La., and will have 30-plus family members and friends cheering for him at Saturday’s game.

Bech (rhymes with “mesh”) isn’t the only Senior Bowl player who will pay tribute to Martin at the game. Every player on both teams will have a sticker on the back of his helmet, with the number 7 in orange-and-black tiger stripes.

Bech also has a more permanent reminder of his brother. As he talked to reporters on the field after practice, he took the jersey off, showing a pair of new tattoos. The first, on his collarbone under his left shoulder, reads “7 To Heaven” in script, and over his heart, he has in Roman numerals the dates of his brother’s birth and death: “I.XVIII.MCMXCVII-I.I.MMXXV.”

“I’ve got angel wings on me,” Bech said when asked about wearing his brother’s number. “I’ve got the greatest guardian angel of them all, pulling me to where I am now. This was his last test for me, knowing if I can get past this, anything that’s thrown at me will be nothing compared to this.”

Jack Bech shows reporters the tattoos on his chest that he got in remembrance of his slain brother. 

It has been a difficult month for Bech, dealing with the sudden loss of his brother, but it’s also given him a new sense of gratitude for the time he has, for the privilege to play the game he loves, knowing how quickly things can be taken away. This week is his best chance to convince the NFL he’s talented enough to continue playing on Sundays this fall and beyond.

“I’m so blessed to be in a position to be in front of these teams, so I love this,” Bech said. “I wake up every morning and I thank God for putting me in this position, to make the most of every opportunity I get.”

Bech is seen as a mid-round draft prospect, with physical play, sharp route-running and the skill to make contested catches in the air like the one he made Wednesday. Catching passes is a family business — Jack and Martin’s uncle, Brett, played receiver at LSU and for three seasons with the Saints from 1997-99.

A year ago, Bech wasn’t on the radar of the NFL or the Senior Bowl, having totaled four touchdowns in his first three years of college, including two at LSU. But he emerged in a big way, especially in the second half of the season, totaling 647 yards and six touchdowns in the final five games. In TCU’s season finale, he caught a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to give the Horned Frogs the lead for good in a win over Stanford. That led to him declaring as an underclassmen for the draft, and Saturday is his big chance to introduce himself to the NFL.

“I want teams to know there’s a high level to my game speed. I can stretch the field,” he said. “I know the game super well, all the little nuances, being able to attack coverages. No matter who steps in front of me, I don’t flinch and give it my best every time.”

Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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