SENIORBOWL.com :: News Room

NFL clubs feature more Senior Bowlers than ever before, and 14 former Senior Bowl quarterbacks earn starting nods on opening weekend.

The record total of 578 former Senior Bowlers currently in the NFL includes future Pro Football Hall of Famers such as Brett Favre of the Packers, rookie stars such as Patrick Willis of the 49ers, and current superstars such as 2006 NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson of the Chargers.

It’s what the Under Armour Senior Bowl is all about and based on the rosters of the 32 National Football League teams at the start of the 2007 season, it’s a description more accurate than ever before.

A record 578 former Senior Bowl players made the active, 53-man rosters which started the season, a group which not only includes many of the game’s biggest stars, but also 76 players from the 2007 contest who made active rosters as rookies for their new clubs.

Much of the Senior Bowl’s recent legacy of success also lies in annually featuring the nation’s best senior quarterbacks each year in Mobile, success that was further evidenced on opening weekend as 14 former Senior Bowl players started at quarterback for their NFL teams.

That list includes perennial Pro Bowlers such as Donovan McNabb of the Eagles, Brett Favre of the Packers and Carson Palmer of the Bengals, as well as rising stars such as Philip Rivers of the Chargers, Jay Cutler of the Broncos and Jason Campbell of the Redskins.

But veteran superstars are not the only Senior Bowl success stories so far in the NFL in 2007, as several rookies from the 2007 contest are already making their presence felt in the league and more will undoubtedly make major impacts as the season goes on.

In addition to the 76 Senior Bowl rookies who made active rosters, several have already earned starting spots for their new clubs.

That list includes first-round draft picks such as Patrick Willis, who made 11 tackles, nine solo, and forced a fumble in his first NFL game, and defensive linemen Amobi Okoye of the Texans and Adam Carriker of the Rams, while Bills linebacker Paul Posluszny had ten tackles.

Six Senior Bowl offensive linemen earned starting nods as rookies on opening weekend, including three left tackles – Levi Brown of the Cardinals, the fifth player chosen in the draft, Joe Staley of the 49ers and Tony Ugoh of the Super Bowl Champion Colts, while kicker Mason Crosby of the Packers connected on a 52-yard field goal and also hit a game-winning 42-yarder in the game’s final seconds to give the Packers a 16-13 win.

The list of 578 Senior Bowlers in the NFL also includes many of the game’s biggest stars. For example, each of the past two Most Valuable Players in the NFL are Senior Bowl alums, as Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander won the honor in 2006 and San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson won the award following a record-breaking 2006 campaign.

In addition, the past two NFL Defensive Players of the Year are also former Senior Bowlers. Miami Dolphins’ defensive end Jason Taylor, a 1997 Senior Bowl performer, won that honor in 2006, while Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, a 2000 Senior Bowl, won that award in 2005.

The NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2006 was also a Senior Bowler, as former Alabama star DeMeco Ryans of the Houston Texans led the entire NFL in tackles last season with 128, and 24 former Senior Bowl players made the rosters for the 2007 NFL Pro Bowl game.

The San Francisco 49ers, whose coaching staff has coached the Senior Bowl South team each of the past two years, lead all NFL teams with the most former Senior Bowlers on its roster with 25. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have coached a Senior Bowl team two the last three years, the Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks all had 23 former Senior Bowl players on their opening day 53-man rosters.

This year’s showcase of future NFL stars is scheduled for Saturday, January 26, 2008. For further information and tickets, visit the bowl’s website at www.seniorbowl.com.