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SEC To Send 22 Players To 2008
Under Armour Senior Bowl
League that went 7-2
in bowls and produced national champion for second straight year will
send 22 of its top senior NFL draft prospects to premier pre-draft
event.
 MOBILE, Ala. (January
10, 2008) --
The strength of the SEC in undeniable.
The league that went 7-2 in bowls and
produced college football’s national champion for the second straight
year will demonstrate another sign of its power by sending 22 of its top
senior NFL Draft prospects, more than any other conference, to the 2008
Under Armour Senior Bowl, officials announced on Wednesday.
In addition to five representatives from
LSU’s national champs, whose participation was announced on Tuesday, new
players from conference schools named to the roster include a trio from
Arkansas – running back Peyton Hillis, All-American offensive lineman
Robert Felton and defensive lineman Marcus Harrison; Tennessee tight end
Brad Cottam, Georgia kicker Brandon Coutu, and Vanderbilt All-SEC
offensive lineman Chris Williams.
Arkansas running back
Peyton Hillis |
Arkansas defensive lineman
Marcus Harrison |
They will join five players from Kentucky,
including quarterback Andre Woodson, three from Alabama, two from Auburn
and Mississippi State’s Titus Brown on the Senior Bowl’s South squad in
the January 26 contest.
One of the most versatile fullbacks in the
nation, Hillis excelled at both catching the ball out of the backfield
and paving the way for the team’s outstanding tailbacks Darren McFadden
and Felix Jones.
The 6-2, 243-pounder from Conway, Ark.,
was Arkansas’ leading receiver in 2007, catching 49 passes for 537 yards
and five TD’s, a school single season record for running backs. He led
all SEC running backs with 41.3 yards receiving per game.
Hillis also rushed for 347 yards during
the season, recorded 52 knockdown blocks and finished with career totals
of 959 rushing yards and five touchdowns, 1,195 receiving yards and 11
TD’s, and also returned kickoffs and punts during his career.
Felton anchored an offensive line that
helped Arkansas set a school record for rushing yards in a season with
3,725 and also allowed only 13 sacks in 13 games. He was a consensus
first-team All-SEC selection and earned a spot on the Associated Press
and Rivals.com second-team All-American squads.
A 6-4, 328-pounder from Houston, Texas, he
started at right guard in Arkansas’ first 11 games before moving to left
tackle against LSU and Missouri in the Cotton Bowl.
Arkansas All-American offensive lineman
Robert Felton |
Georgia kicker
Brandon Coutu |
Harrison was a second-team All-SEC
selection in 2007, a force in the interior of the Hogs’ defensive line
who excelled during the second-half of the season recording 13 tackles
against Auburn, 11 tackles and a sack against Ole Miss, seven against
South Carolina, eight against Tennessee, a team-high 12 against
Mississippi State and eight against LSU.
The 6-3, 307-pounder from Little Rock,
Ark., finished the season with 72 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and
seven quarterback hurries.
Cottam played in only four games in 2007
due to a wrist injury, catching five passes for 125 yards and a
touchdown. A massive 6-8, 270-pound tight end from Germantown, Tenn., he
caught 21 for 341 yards during his career.
One of the nation’s premier kickers with
an extremely powerful leg, Coutu, a 6-0, 200-pounder from Lawrenceville,
Ga., holds the highest career field goal percentage in school history
with .803, hitting on 53 of 66 attempts. His 273 career points is fourth
among kickers all-time at the school.
His 58-yard field goal against
Louisiana-Monroe in 2005 is the longest in SEC history without a tee,
and the third longest overall, and he was a perfect 114-114 on extra
points. He connected on 18-23 field goals in 2007, including a 53-yarder
in the Sugar Bowl which set a BCS bowl record.
Vanderbilt All-SEC offensive lineman
Chris Williams |
Tennessee tight end
Brad Cottam |
Williams was a first-team Coaches All-SEC
selection in 2007, becoming the first Commodore offensive lineman to
accomplish that feat in 23 years. A 6-6, 318-pounder from Glynn, La., he
is a dominant left tackle who allowed only one quarterback sack each of
the last two seasons while starting 33 straight games.
The 2008 Under Armour Senior Bowl will
kickoff at 3:00 p.m. on January 26, and the game will be nationally
televised by the NFL Network.
Tickets to the contest sell for $24, $18
and $12 each and are currently on sale at all area Food World stores,
selected Regions Bank branches, the Senior Bowl ticket office in the
Riverview Plaza Hotel in downtown Mobile, by calling 251-432-4109 or
ordered through the bowl’s website at
www.seniorbowl.com.
SEC Players In the 2008 Under Armour
Senior Bowl
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Alabama: Simeon
Castille, DB; Wallace Gilberry, DL; D.J. Hall, WR
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Arkansas:
Robert Felton, OL; Marcus Harrison, DL; Peyton Hillis, RB
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Auburn: Quentin
Groves, DL; Patrick Lee, DB
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Georgia:
Brandon Coutu, K
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Kentucky:
Keenan Burton, WR; Rafael Little, RB; Jacob Tamme, TE; Andre
Woodson, QB; Wesley Woodyard, LB
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LSU: Early
Doucet, WR; Jacob Hester, RB; Ali Highsmith, LB; Chevis Jackson, DB;
Craig Steltz, DB
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Mississippi State:
Titus Brown, DL
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Tennessee: Brad
Cottam, TE
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Vanderbilt:
Chris Williams, OL
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