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Boston College All-American QB
Ryan Heads Group Of Seven Senior Bowlers Among Friday's Bowl Teams
The ACC Player of the
Year and Johnny Unitas Award winner will be joined by two Eagles
teammates, a pair from Oregon State, and one each from Houston and
Maryland in this year’s event.
MOBILE, Ala. (December
28, 2007) --
Boston College’s electrifying senior quarterback Matt Ryan, a first-team
All-American, the ACC Player of the Year and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm
Award winner, heads a group of seven players from Friday’s bowl teams
who have accepted invitations to the 2008 Under Armour Senior Bowl,
officials have announced.
Joining Ryan in this year’s Senior Bowl
will be a pair of Boston College teammates – All-ACC offensive lineman
Gosder Cherilus and defensive back DeJuan Tribble –- who will battle
Michigan State in the Champs Sports Bowl.
Boston College All-American quarterback
Matt Ryan
Also headed to Mobile in action on Friday
will be a pair of All-American stars from Oregon State – offensive
lineman Roy Schuening and kicker Alexis Serna, the 2005 Lou Groza Award
winner; Maryland’s All-ACC defensive tackle Dre Moore; and Houston’s
All-CUSA receiver Donnie Avery.
Ryan was undoubtedly one of college
football’s most exciting players in 2007, a big, rifle-armed quarterback
who led Boston College to a number two national ranking during the
regular season, a final 10-3 record and a spot in the ACC Championship
Game.
Boston College All-ACC offensive lineman
Gosder Cherilus
On December 3, he was name the winner of
the prestigious Unitas Award, presented annually to the nation’s top
senior quarterback, an award that not only takes into account a player’s
performance on the field, but also values his character, citizenship and
integrity.
Named the first-team quarterback on the
AFCA All-American team, the 6-5, 221-pounder from Exton, Pa., set school
single season records with 28 touchdowns and 3,953 passing yards in
2007, breaking the old marks set by Boston College legend Doug Flutie in
his Heisman Trophy-winning season of 1984.
Boston College defensive back
DeJuan Tribble
Starting fast for new head coach Jeff
Jagodzinski, he threw for 408 yards and five touchdowns in the season
opener against Wake Forest, helped his team win its first eight games
and cemented his legend in school history by leading the Eagles to two
touchdowns in the final 2:05 of their come-from-behind 14-10 victory
against Virginia Tech.
He had nine 300-yard passing games during
the season, including other top single game performances such as a
435-yard effort against Georgia Tech, a 415-yard, two-touchdown game
against Florida State, a 421-yard, three-TD effort against Maryland, and
a 369-yard, three-touchdown game against Miami.
Oregon State All-American offensive lineman
Roy Schuening
A first-team All-ACC selection as a junior
in 2006 when he threw for 2,942 yards and led the ACC in passing yards
and total offense, Ryan currently ranks third all-time in school history
in passing yards with 8,759 and TD passes with 53.
Both Cherilus and Tribble were second-team
All-ACC selections in 2007. Cherilus is one of the nation’s top NFL
Draft prospects at tackle, a 6-7, 318-pounder from Somerville, Mass.,
while Tribble, a 5-9, 190-pounder from Cincinnati, Ohio, recorded 33
total tackles, four interceptions, eight pass breakups and one forced
fumble despite missing the final two games of the regular season due to
a knee injury.
Oregon State All-American kicker
Alexis Serna
Schuening, whose Beavers will battle
Maryland in the Emerald Bowl, was named to the first-team All-American
squads selected by both ESPN.com and Pro Football Weekly. The 6-4,
320-pound native of Pendleton, Ore., was also a first-team All-Pac-10
selection this season and has started a school-record 49 straight games.
Serna won the Groza Award, presented to
the top kicker in college football, as a sophomore in 2005, and has
recorded a school-record 380 total points during his career which ranks
second all-time in Pac-10 history. He needs eleven points in the Emerald
Bowl to break the conference mark.
Maryland All-ACC defensive tackle
Dre Moore
The 5-8, 170-pounder from Fontana, Cal.,
has also hit on 80 field goals during his career, tops among all active
NCAA place kickers and a school record, and has made a Pac-10 record 141
consecutive extra points.
A strong, quick defensive tackle, Moore
was a first-team All-ACC selection in 2007 who leads the Terrapin
defense with six sacks and ranks second with 8.5 tackles for loss. A
6-4, 311-pounder from Charlotte, N.C., he also leads all Maryland
defensive linemen with 59 total tackles.
Avery, whose Cougars will take on TCU in
the Texas Bowl, was a first-team All-Conference USA selection who led
the conference in receptions per game (6.75) and yards per game (111.3),
hauling in 81 passes for 1,336 yards. His per game yardage average also
ranked fourth in the nation.
Houston All-CUSA wide receiver
Donnie Avery
An excellent kick returner who averaged
28.2 yards per return and accounted for an impressive 146.7 all-purpose
yards per game, the 5-11, 190-pounder from Houston, Texas, was also a
second-team Phil Steele All-American selection.
The 59th annual Under Armour Senior Bowl
is scheduled for Saturday, January 26, 2008. 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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