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Penn State All-American LB
Connor, Five Other Top Draft Prospects In Action In Saturday's Bowls
Headed To 2008 Under Armour Senior Bowl
Nittany Lions’
Bednarik Award winner will be joined by talented duos from Wake Forest
and Texas A&M and Mississippi State’s Titus Brown.
MOBILE, Ala. (December
29, 2007) --
Another great linebacker from Penn State is headed to the National
Football League.
Before doing so, however, Dan Connor, a
consensus first-team All-American, the 2007 Bednarik Award winner and
the school’s all-time leading tackler, will have two more important
stops along the way.
The first will be in San Antonio in
Saturday’s Alamo Bowl when Penn State takes on Texas A&M, while the
second will be in Mobile as a member of the North squad participating in
the 59th annual Under Armour Senior Bowl, game officials have announced.
Penn State All-American linebacker
Dan Connor
Connor will be joined on the Senior Bowl
roster by five other outstanding NFL Draft prospects whose teams will
also be in action in Saturday’s bowl games.
They include an outstanding duo from Wake
Forest – consensus first-team All-American center Steve Justice and
defensive lineman Jeremy Thompson; a pair of stars from Texas A&M in
All-Big 12 center Cody Wallace and defensive lineman Red Bryant; and
Mississippi State’s All-SEC defensive end Titus Brown.
Connor added the latest chapter to Penn
State’s amazing linebacker legacy, finishing his illustrious career with
410 total tackles to break the all-time school record of 372 set by Paul
Posluszny, a former Butkus Award winner and 2007 Senior Bowler.
Wake Forest All-American center
Steve Justice
Named to the first-team All-American
squads selected by the Associated Press, Walter Camp and ESPN.com,
Connor was also named the recipient of the 2007 Bednarik Award,
presented annually to the best defensive player in college football.
"Playing in the Senior Bowl is a great
honor,’ said Connor. “The top seniors in the country will be there, and
I've heard a lot of great things about the Senior Bowl from Paul (Posluszny)
and (former Penn State quarterback) Mike Robinson."
A total of 12 Penn State players have
participated in the Senior Bowl over the past four years, an impressive
collection of talent that includes first-round draft picks such as
defensive linemen Michael Haynes and Tamba Hali; offensive lineman Levi
Brown, the fifth overall selection in the 2007 draft; and a pair of
Senior Bowl game MVP’s in running backs Larry Johnson in 2004 and Tony
Hunt in 2007.
Wake Forest defensive lineman
Jeremy Thompson
The 6-3, 233-pound native of Wallingford,
Pa., leads the Big Ten with 136 tackles for an 11.3 per game average
that ranks seventh in the nation. His 14.0 tackles for loss and 6.5
sacks also rank second on the team.
One of three finalists for the Butkus
Award, he was also a semifinalist for the Walter Camp Player of the Year
and Rotary Lombardi awards, and joined Dennis Onkotz, Shane Conlan,
LaVarr Arrington and Posluzny as the only Nittany Lions linebackers who
have earned first-team All-American honors two straight years.
Justice, whose Deamon Deacons will take on
Connecticut in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, was also a consensus
first-team All-American selection in 2007, being named to the first-team
Associated Press, AFCA, CBSSports.com and ESPN.com teams.
Texas A&M All-Big 12 center
Cody Wallace
A 6-4, 284-pounder from Port Orange, Fla.,
the two-time first-team All-ACC pick and Rimington Award finalists also
received the ACC’s prestigious Jacobs Blocking Trophy awarded annually
to the conference’s top offensive lineman.
Thompson, a 6-5, 264-pounder from
Charlotte, N.C., leads the Wake Forest defense with 6.5 sacks, recorded
42 total tackles, and was a finalist for the 2007 National Sportsmanship
Award.
Wallace joined Justice as a Rimington
finalist in 2007. A 6-4, 294-pounder from Cuero, Texas, he was a
first-team team All-Big 12 selection who was named the Big 12’s
Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year and has started 36 consecutive games
for the Aggies.
Texas A&M defensive lineman
Red Bryant
A punishing blocker, he averaged nearly 15
knockdown blocks per game, graded out at 87 percent on 890 scrimmage
snaps in 2007 and had just two mental errors in 12 games for an
incredible 99.8 assignment success rate.
A massive, hard-nosed interior run
stopper, the 6-5, 324-pound Bryant recorded 45 total tackles, six for
loss, a sack, a forced fumble, blocked a kick and recorded a safety
during an outstanding senior campaign.
One of the SEC’s premier pass rushers,
Brown led the Bulldogs’ outstanding defense with 13.5 tackles for loss
and eight quarterback sacks to go along with his 40 total tackles as
Mississippi State earned a berth in Saturday’s Liberty Bowl against
Central Florida.
Mississippi State All-SEC defensive end
Titus Brown
A second-team All-SEC selection by both
the Associated Press and the league’s Coaches, the 6-3, 250-pound native
of Tuscaloosa, Ala., has recorded 167 total tackles, 37 for loss, and 18
quarterback sacks while playing in 43 of a possible 46 games during his
career.
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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