Spanish Fort alumni Kris Abrams-Draine and DJ James were among the recent wave of accepted invites to the Senior Bowl set for Feb. 3, 2024, in Mobile. The pair of former Toro cornerbacks will reunite on the American Team and once again patrol the same defensive backfield.

Abrams-Draine, now with No. 10 Missouri, accepted his invite to the longest continuously running college all-star game on Monday, Nov. 20, and James, now at Auburn, officially accepted on Wednesday, Nov. 22. Both sat in the top five for passes defended among Southeastern Conference defenders where Abrams-Draine led the league with 12 and James was tied for fourth with 8 entering rivalry week.

Over 11 games, Abrams-Draine has also collected 47 total tackles between 36 solos and 11 assists, 2.5 tackles for loss, 4 interceptions for 9 return yards and 1 forced fumble. He’s also returned two kickoffs for 33 yards.

Also in 11 games played, James has recorded 34 total tackles between 28 solos and 6 assists, 3.5 tackles for loss and 2 interceptions for 3 return yards. He’s registered at least 3 tackles and 1 pass defended in each of the last three games.

After James was a preseason addition to the watchlists for the Chuck Bednarik Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Abrams-Draine was announced as a midseason addition to the Bednarik Award watch list and was also named to the Associated Press midseason All-America team.

The pair last played together in 2018 when Spanish Fort was in the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s state poll as a top-5 ranked team the entire season. They contributed to a pair of shutouts to open the postseason before the Toros fell to Wetumpka in the state quarterfinals.

Stay tuned for more coverage of the 2024 Senior Bowl and follow @GCMSportsAL on social media for immediate updates.