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Thursday's Holiday Bowl To
Feature Senior Bowlers
Griffin and Pollak
Texas’ All-American
safety Marcus Griffin and Arizona State’s All-Pac-10 offensive lineman
Mike Pollak will play in Mobile.
MOBILE, Ala. (December
27, 2007) --
Two more outstanding NFL Draft prospects who will play in the 2008 Under
Armour Senior Bowl will be on opposite sides of the ball during
Thursday’s Pacific Life Holiday Bowl, bowl officials have announced.
Texas’ first-team All-American safety
Marcus Griffin will represent the Longhorns in the 59th annual contest,
set for January 26 in Mobile, while Arizona State will send first-team
All-Pac-10 offensive lineman and Pat Tillman Valor Award winner Mike
Pollak.
Griffin, whose twin brother, Michael, was
a first-round pick who played in the 2007 Under Armour Senior Bowl and
currently starts at cornerback as a rookie for the Tennessee Titans, was
named to the first-team ESPN.com All-American squad this season.
Texas All-American safety
Marcus Griffin
Marcus Griffin also continues the
Longhorns’ impressive recent tradition of top defensive backs in the
Senior Bowl. Michael Griffin was joined by another first-round pick in
last year’s Senior Bowl, Aaron Ross, who has started at cornerback
throughout this season for the New York Giants. Texas’ Cedric Griffin
was a second-round pick in 2006 and starts for the Minnesota Vikings,
while Nathan Vasher, one of the Chicago Bears’ starting cornerbacks,
played in the 2004 Senior Bowl.
"I'm very excited to have the opportunity
to play in the Senior Bowl,” said Marcus Griffin shortly after a recent
Longhorns’ practice in preparation for the Holiday Bowl. “There have
been so many great players that have used the Senior Bowl as a launching
point for great pro careers. Texas has had a few defensive backs play in
the game over the past couple of years, including my brother Michael,
and they told me about what a great experience it was and how much fun
they had being there. In fact, Michael still keeps in touch with a bunch
of the guys he got to know there."
A first-team All-Big 12 pick this season,
the 6-0, 202-pound native of Austin, Texas, currently leads the
Longhorns with 97 total tackles to go along with three interceptions,
five pass break-ups, a forced fumble and a fumble during his outstanding
senior campaign.
An very athletic, hard-hitting safety who
finished second on the team with 90 tackles in 2006, he returned one of
his interceptions 91 yards for a touchdown against Baylor, which marked
the third-longest interception return in school history and the longest
in 71 years.
Arizona State All-Pac 10 offensive lineman
Mike Pollak
Griffin, who posted five double-digit
tackle games during the season, has posted 229 total tackles, three
tackles for loss, four interceptions, eight pass break-ups, three forced
fumbles and two fumbles recoveries during his career.
"I'm looking forward to meeting a lot of
the other great players from around the country and getting to know them
on a personal level,” said Griffin. “I'll also get a chance to compare
myself athletically to those guys and see where I stand heading into the
draft. It should be a great experience."
Pollak, a 6-4, 292-pounder from Tempe,
Ariz., was a first-team All-Pac-10 selection at center in 2007.
An emotional and vocal team leader who was
also named captain in 2007, he received numerous team awards at its
post-season banquet including the prestigious Pat Tillman Valor Award,
named for the former Arizona State player who was killed during active
military duty in Afghanistan.
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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