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The Senior Bowl -- A Look Back
At 57 Years Of Football Excellence
Seven more sellout crowds, including the
earliest sellout in the game's 57-year history, and the contest's most
talented rosters ever have highlighted the seven Senior Bowls of the 21st
century.
2000
NORTH 24, SOUTH 21
MVP: Chad Pennington, Marshall
NORTH COACH: George Seifert, Panthers
SOUTH COACH: Gunther Cunningham, Chiefs
TOP PLAYERS: Brian Urlacher, Chad Pennington, Shaun Alexander, John
Abraham, Mike Brown, Keith Bulluck, Julian Peterson
The North was led by the outstanding
play of quarterbacks Chad Pennington of Marshall and Chris Redman of
Louisville to score a 24-21 victory over the South in the 51st annual
Delchamps Senior Bowl, a contest which acheived the game's earliest
sellout in history on December 20, 1999. Pennington earned Over-all MVP
honors with an 11-14, 92-yard, one touchdown passing performance, while
Redman was 12-20 for 134 yards and led the North on its game-winning
fourth quarter drive which culminated in a 28-yard field goal by
Michigan State's Paul Edinger with 5:15 remaining to give them the
three-point win. The contest also featured the game's most talented
roster ever, as a record 102 players from the North and South squads,
including 14 first-rounders, were selected in the NFL Draft three months
later.
2001
SOUTH 21, NORTH 16
MVP: LaDainian Tomlinson, TCU
NORTH COACH: Bill Cowher, Steelers
SOUTH COACH: Mike Sherman, Packers
TOP PLAYERS: LaDainian Tomlinson, Adam Archuleta, Marcus Stroud,
Kendrell Bell, Kris Jenkins, Rod Gardner
The LaDainian Tomlinson Show ruled
Senior Bowl 2001, presented by Delchamps, as the TCU running back earned
Overall MVP honors with 88 yards rushing, 28 more receiving and a
touchdown to lead the South to a 21-16 victory over the North in front
of the game's seventh consecutive sellout crowd. A spectacular one-yard
TD run by Tomlinson and a five-yard touchdown scamper by Florida
quarterback Jesse Palmer staked the South to a 14-0 first quarter lead
which they never relinquished. The North was led by Maryland running
back LaMont Jordan, who ran for 62 yards and a touchdown, and Kansas
State's Jerrod Cooper blocked a South punt and ran it in for another
score, but the North couldn't muster much other offense and the South
had its first victory of the new millenium.
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LaDainian Tomlinson earned Senior
Bowl 2001’s Overall Most Valuable Player Award by rushing for 88
yards, adding 28 more receiving and scoring a touchdown in a stellar
performance to lead the South to a 21-16 victory.
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2002
SOUTH 41, NORTH 26
MVP: Antwaan Randle El, Indiana
NORTH COACH: Mike Holmgren, Seahawks
SOUTH COACH: Dave McGinnis, Cardinals
TOP PLAYERS: David Carr, Ryan Sims, Patrick Ramsey, Antwaan Randle El,
LeCharles Bentley, Javon Walker
The South scored its second straight
win in the series 41-26 in the 2002 Senior Bowl, presented by Food
World, led by the play of marquee quarterbacks David Carr of Fresno
State, Patrick Ramsey of Tulane and LSU's Rohan Davey, before another
sellout crowd in Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Indiana's electrifying Antwaan
Randle El became the first player from a losing team since 1969 to win
the game's MVP Award with a spectacular performance in a receiving/kick
return role as he caught two TD's, returned a punt 40 yards and made a
leaping 31-yard catch to set up a North field goal to win the honors.
Carr used an outstanding performance throughout Senior Bowl Week to
become the first player selected in the 2002 NFL Draft, while Davey
threw two touchdown passes and Ramsey led three second-half South
scoring drives for the South's fourth win in five years.
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Fresno State’s David Carr used an
outstanding performance throughout Senior Bowl Week 2002 to become
the first player selected in the NFL Draft, when he was chosen by
the expansion Houston Texans.
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2003
NORTH 17, SOUTH 0
MVP: Larry Johnson, Penn State
NORTH COACH: Dom Capers, Texans
SOUTH COACH: Marty Mornhinweg, Lions
TOP PLAYERS: Carson Palmer, Kyle Boller, Marcus Trufant, Andre Woolfolk,
Michael Haynes, Larry Johnson
Not even Heisman Trophy winner Carson
Palmer of USC could lead the South to victory in the 2003 Senior Bowl,
as the North's dominating defense pitched just the second shutout in the
game's 54-year history to win 17-0 in front of the game's ninth straight
sellout crowd in Ladd-Peebles Stadium. A pair of Penn State stars led
the way for the Yanks, as Defensive MVP Michael Haynes recorded a sack,
forced two fumbles and broke up a pass, and college football's premier
running back in 2002 -- Larry Johnson -- earned the game's overall MVP
Award. Trailing 10-0 in the fourth quarter, the South threatened to the
close gap after penetrating to the North eight- yard line. But Notre
Dame's Shane Walton stepped in front of a Chris Simms pass and raced a
Senior Bowl record 99-yards with the interception for a touchdown to
seal the North victory. The contest also featured one of the game's most
talented rosters ever. In addition to Palmer, who became the second
Senior Bowl player in as many years to be the first overall selection in
the NFL Draft, a record-tying 14 members of the North and South squads
were selected in the first-round of the draft three months later.
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Carson Palmer became the second
straight Senior Bowler to be the first player selected in the NFL
Draft when he was chosen first overall by the Cincinnati Bengals
following Senior Bowl 2003.
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2004
>> South Scores 28-10 Victory In 55th Annual Senior
Bowl
SOUTH 28, NORTH 10
MVP: Philip Rivers, N.C. State
NORTH COACH: Marvin Lewis, Bengals
SOUTH COACH: Marty Schottenheimer, Chargers
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N.C. State quarterback Philip Rivers earns game's MVP Award with 213-yard, two touchdown passing performance to help lead the South to victory.
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2005
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Frye Leads North To 23-13 Victory Over
South In 2005 Senior Bowl
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 Akron’s Charlie Frye was named
the 2005 Senior Bowl MVP in leading the North to a 23-13
victory.
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2006
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North Scores
31-14 Win Over South In 2006 Senior Bowl, Presented By Food World
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 Miami’s Sinorice Moss was named
the 2006 Senior Bowl MVP in leading the North to a 31-14
victory.
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