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Weekend's Bowls To Feature
Pair Of 2008 Under Armour
Senior Bowlers
Two of the fastest
and most explosive offensive players in college football in 2007 – East
Carolina All-American running back Chris Johnson and New Mexico All-MWC
wide receiver Marcus Smith – will play in the 2008 contest.
MOBILE, Ala. (December
21, 2007) --
Fans watching this weekend’s college football bowl games will have the
chance to see two of the nation’s fastest and most explosive offensive
performers – East Carolina All-American running back/kick returner Chris
Johnson and New Mexico’s All-MWC wide receiver Marcus Smith – who will
also be bringing their talents to the 2008 Under Armour Senior Bowl,
officials have announced.
Johnson, whose East Carolina Pirates will
take on Boise State in Sunday’s Hawaii Bowl, is a first-team Pro
Football Weekly All-American selection who ranks as the nation’s active
leader in career all-purpose yardage and kickoff return yardage.
He leads Conference USA in kickoff return
average at 28.5 per game, and has set or tied 11 school records and two
CUSA marks for kickoff returns and KOR yardage during the season.
East Carolina All-American running back
Chris Johnson
Johnson, whose tremendous breakaway speed,
quickness and elusiveness has enabled him to become one of the top
senior running back prospects in this year’s draft, has rushed for 1,200
yards and 16 touchdowns, caught 34 passes for 496 yards and five more
scores, and returned 30 kickoffs for 856 yards and a touchdown to
account for 2,552 all-purpose yards this season.
He also has the top three all-purpose
yardage performances in college football this season, topped by a
408-yard effort against Memphis which saw him rush for 301 yards.
The 5-11, 200-pound native of Orlando,
Fla., was a first-team All-CUSA selection as both a kick returner and
running back this season, and now has 5,613 all-purpose yards during his
career.
Smith enjoyed a spectacular senior season,
leading the Mountain West Conference in both catches with 86 and
receiving yards with 1,039 to earn first-team All-MWC honors.
"I feel privileged to be selected to play
with the best of the best,” said Smith shortly after Thursday’s team
practice in preparation for today’s game. “I just want to go out there
and play well and represent New Mexico football in a big time game.
We've had quite a bit of recent success in the Senior Bowl with Brian
Urlacher, Ryan Cook and Hank Baskett, who are all in the NFL right now,
and I want to carry on that legacy."
New Mexico All-MWC wide receiver
Marcus Smith
He needs just three catches in Saturday’s
New Mexico Bowl match-up with Nevada to break former Senior Bowler
Terrence Mathis’ single season school record of 88 set in 1989, while
his yardage total ranks seventh all-time in school history.
A 6-2, 214-pounder from San Diego, Cal.,
with blazing speed, he is also an outstanding kick returner, as well,
averaging 23.2 yards per kickoff return this season and ranks sixth
all-time in school history with 3,637 all-purpose yards.
He currently ranks fourth all-time in
school history with 148 career catches, while his 1,987 receiving yards
is seventh.
An outstanding sprinter who also competed
on New Mexico’s track team, he and former USC Heisman Trophy winner and
current New Orleans Saints star running back Reggie Bush were the top
sprinters in the San Diego area during their prep careers, with each
earning head-to-head victories over the other in their track rivalry.
The 59th annual Under Armour Senior Bowl
will be played on January 26, 2008, at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile.
Kickoff is at 3:00 p.m. (CST). The game and its week-long practice
sessions will be televised live by the NFL Network.
Tickets sell for $24, $18 and $12 each and
can be purchased at all area Food World stores, selected Regions Bank
branches, by calling 251-432-4109 or ordered through the bowl’s website
at www.seniorbowl.com.
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