Northwestern NFL Draft prospects: Dean Lowry at East-West Shrine Game, Dan Vitale preparing for Senior Bowl, more

Dean Lowry, one of eight 2015 Northwestern Wildcats that are training to play football professionally, has had a strong week of practices at the East-West Shrine game in Tampa, Fla.

Lowry, a defensive end, played in 48 games during his four years at Northwestern, starting 34 of them. He's one of Northwestern's top two NFL prospects along with superback Dan Vitale, who will play fullback at the next level.

Thursday marks Lowry's final day of practices in Tampa, and through three days, he's impressed some scouts and analysts. Mike Mayock called him a "lunch pail guy," and other positive reviews have been rolling in.

Here's one full scouting report from Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net:

Dean Lowry/DE/Northwestern: Lowry doesn't wow scouts with great speed or an overpowering style but his intelligent brand of football is impressive. He's had moments making plays behind the line of scrimmage and also beat opponents in one-on-one drills. Yet it's the instincts and ability to diagnose plays which really stands out. Lowry does the little things well such as setting the edge or remaining disciplined with assignments. One such example was during full scrimmage when Lowry beat the block of the offensive tackle and rather than mindlessly rush up the field, he correctly diagnosed the play and turned to chase down the speedy Keenan Reynolds from behind.

Lowry will play for the East team in the Shrine Game on Saturday (3 p.m. CT, NFL Network).

Nick VanHoose was also invited to the Shrine Game, but was forced to miss out with a finger injury that also caused him to miss the Outback Bowl. VanHoose is in the latter stages of his recovery.

Elsewhere, Dan Vitale is preparing for Senior Bowl practices, which begin next week. The Wednesday and Thursday practices can been seen on ESPNU. The game takes place on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 1:30 p.m. CT (NFL Network).

The following former Northwestern players are also currently training, and are expected to work out at Northwestern's Pro Day, which will be held in Evanston on March 8:

Deonte Gibson
Traveon Henry
Garrett Kidd
Zack Oliver
Miles Shuler

More to come over the next few weeks and months on Northwestern's draft prospects.