Tweet
GAME NOTES: The stars come out to showcase their talents this Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama as North meets South in the 55th- annual Senior Bowl. As is the custom, the teams will be coached by NFL coaches, hopefully preparing them for what might be forthcoming in the next few months as a good portion of these performers hope to take their talents to the next level. As the NFL's winningest active coach, Marty Schottenheimer and the rest of the staff of the San Diego Chargers will be doling out the assignments for the South squad, while Marvin Lewis and his staff, after an impressive first season with the Cincinnati Bengals, gets the right to call the shots for the North. In addition to Schottenheimer and Lewis, hundreds of NFL general managers, head coaches, scouts and various pro personnel will be on hand to check out what nearly 100 of the top seniors in the nation have to offer. The list of stars includes, but is not limited to, quarterbacks such as North Carolina State's Philip Rivers, the country's top-rated passer in 2003, as well as J.P. Losman of and Matt Schaub from Virginia for the South alone. The North will pick on the talents of John Navarre of Michigan, Washington's Cody Pickett and Josh Harris from surprising Bowling Green. Coming out of the backfield will be the likes of Chris Perry of Michigan, the Doak Walker Award winner and Heisman finalist, along with Thomas Tapeh of Minnesota and Michael Turner from Northern Illinois for the North. The South will see Arkansas' Cedric Cobbs, Shaud Williams of Alabama and Tulane record-setter Mewelde Moore taking hand-offs. While both offenses should be explosive, at least more so than last year's event, the defenses are nothing to sneeze at, with players such as Michael Boulware of Florida State and Keyaron Fox from Georgia Tech ready to showcase their wares. Although he didn't make it to his team's bowl game because of a suspension, Hawaii's Travis LaBoy, the Defensive Player of the Year in the Western Athletic Conference, should make things interesting for the North as he patrols the middle of the field. At any rate, all of the top schools are represented, from LSU and Oklahoma, to smaller institutions such as Montana State, McNeese State and Tusculum College. The South leads the overall series with 26 wins, while the North has registered 22 victories, with three ties along the way since 1950. There was also a three-year span in the series when the teams were known as the AFC and NFC (1991-93), with the former taking two wins. Last year's event saw the first shutout since 1990, as the North posted a 17-0 victory. Penn State representatives Larry Johnson (overall MVP) and Michael Haynes (North Defensive MVP) were the stars for the North, while Arnaz Battle was another standout for the North offense as well. The first game of this series was played in Jacksonville, Florida, while all subsequent meetings have taken place in Mobile.
For the North, it doesn't get much more exciting than Josh Harris who accounted for 830 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns for Bowling Green this year, along with completing close to 66.0 percent of his pass attempts for 3,813 yards and 27 scores, against only 12 interceptions. Navarre may have lost the Rose Bowl to USC this year, but that didn't stop him from becoming the Wolverines' all-time leader in passing touchdowns with 72, and passing yards with 9,254. However, making it a little easier on him was the fact that opposing defenses were forced to also pay attention to every move that Chris Perry made behind him. The star runner accounted for well over half the carries for Michigan and turned them into 1,674 yards and 18 touchdowns, becoming the first player in school history to bring home the Doak Walker Award. Pittsburgh's Larry Fitzgerald might not be eligible for this contest because of his age and year in school, but there are still plenty of talented receivers who can shred a defense, namely James Newsom of Oregon State who reeled in 81 balls this season for 1,305 yards. He was third in the nation in receiving yards per game and holds school records for career catches (210), leading to 3,515 yards and 20 scores. Protecting the skill players for the North will be an offensive line made up of representatives from Miami-Ohio (Jacob Bell), Illinois (Sean Bubin), Stanford (Kirk Chambers), Purdue (Nick Hardwick), Kansas State (Nick Leckey) and Ohio State (Shane Olivea and Alex Stepanovich).
With all the talent on the offensive side of the ball for both teams, it's easy to overlook the defensive stoppers who are out to put on highlight-film style hits. While that probably won't happen in this contest, you can be sure that everyone in attendance will know the legacy that each player left behind at his particular school. Most of the defensive linemen for the North fall into a range of about 6-3 to 6-4 in height and weight somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 pounds. Oregon State's Dwan Edwards falls right in line with those numbers after collecting 51 tackles, including 8.5 TFLs and three sacks for the Beavers this year. Noted as one of the strongest players at Oregon State, he'll be surrounded by similar players in Ohio State's Tim Anderson, Darrell Campbell of Notre Dame and Jordan Carstens from Iowa State, which means there will be few places for South running backs to take the ball. In the middle of the field will be one of the most dominating men at his position of late, Oklahoma's Teddy Lehman. The winner of the Butkus Award as the top linebacker in the nation, Lehman finished the year with 109 tackles, of which 17 came behind the line of scrimmage. If he were not imposing enough, the squad also has the luxury of turning to Bryan Hickman of Kansas State, Purdue's Niko Koutouvides or Grant Wiley of West Virginia. And should the North need the secondary to make stops, there might not be anyone better in the business than two other Oklahoma products in Brandon Everage and Derrick Strait. Although it's a Liberal Arts school with barely 1,500 students, Tusculum College is proud to be sending Ricardo Colclough to the game after he averaged one interception per contest through an 11-game season.
Put aside the fact that the Wolfpack didn't finish the season as well as they would have hoped, and it was hard to argue that Philip Rivers was not one of the top three players at his position in the country this year. Rivers, a native of Alabama, was a unanimous choice for Player of the Year in the ACC and is now the NCAA record holder for most games started at quarterback with 51. Rivers completed a staggering 72 percent of his pass attempts and led Division I-A in pass efficiency with a mark of 170.49. To make things easier on him in this contest, Rivers will have at his disposal NC State teammate Jerricho Cotchery. A Birmingham local, the star wideout set school records for career receptions (200) and 100-yard games (15) during his time in Raleigh. The familiarity between the pairing should make for some interesting play selections, and with Wolfpack offensive lineman Sean Locklear watching Rivers' back, who knows what might develop downfield. Also getting his shots under center will be J.P. Losman of Tulane after he recorded the second-highest touchdown total in school history with 33 in 2003, while also leading Conference USA in passing and touchdowns along the way. Like Rivers, Losman will also see a familiar face in the huddle when he barks out the plays, as Mewelde Moore lines up behind him for running plays. Unfortunately, Moore might not be at the top of his game as he is still recovering from a broken hand that forced him to miss the last three games of the season. But not to worry as the South has a stable of solid ball carriers to rely on, especially Cedric Cobbs of Arkansas and Shaud Williams from Alabama. Cobbs averaged close to six yards per carry for the Razorbacks this past season, while Williams charged up close to 1,400 yards and 14 scores in his travels for the Tide.
The SEC placed a total of 22 players on the South roster this year, easily the most represented conference in all of college football, considering there were only 95 players invited to take part in the contest. The defensive line is nearly consumed by members of the SEC with players like Tommy Kelly of Mississippi State, LSU's Chad Lavalais, Bobby McCray of Florida and Auburn's DeMarco McNeil. UCLA actually has a pair of players traveling to the event as linemen, with Dave Ball and Rodney Leisle making the cut. In holding opponents to barely 16 ppg this year, Auburn relied heavily on its defense and players like Karlos Dansby and Dontarrious Thomas who finished one-two on the tackles list for the Tigers with 84 and 75 stops, respectively. Dansby also made 13 stops behind the line of scrimmage and was responsible for four forced fumbles to tie for the team lead. Not to be outdone, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets also have a pair of linebackers in the mix with Keyaron Fox and Daryl Smith suiting up. Fox produced a whopping 155 tackles, including 79 solo efforts, while Smith contributed 129 stops. The duo combined for 35 TFLs to make them one of the most feared tandems in the ACC. Another pairing that will have the North offense on its toes is Guss Scott and Keiwan Ratliff from Florida. While the Gators didn't have the sort of season that they are used to, and were defeated in their postseason bowl effort, players like Scott (91 tackles, five forced fumbles) and Ratliff (49 stops, nine interceptions, two fumble recoveries and four touchdowns) could not be blamed for the down year.
Last year didn't see much offense in this game, and there's no guarantee that it will turn out any different in 2004. But one can be sure that with so many people critical to every player's next step in attendance, there's bound to be some quality play on both sides of the ball. Since there seems to be nominal hitting in these games, the offense should have the edge. But then again, with so many players there to learn in just a few short days, the schemes will be simple and predictable so individual talent will have to rise and shine in deciding the winner.
Predicted Outcome: South 28, North 21
For the North, it doesn't get much more exciting than Josh Harris who accounted for 830 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns for Bowling Green this year, along with completing close to 66.0 percent of his pass attempts for 3,813 yards and 27 scores, against only 12 interceptions. Navarre may have lost the Rose Bowl to USC this year, but that didn't stop him from becoming the Wolverines' all-time leader in passing touchdowns with 72, and passing yards with 9,254. However, making it a little easier on him was the fact that opposing defenses were forced to also pay attention to every move that Chris Perry made behind him. The star runner accounted for well over half the carries for Michigan and turned them into 1,674 yards and 18 touchdowns, becoming the first player in school history to bring home the Doak Walker Award. Pittsburgh's Larry Fitzgerald might not be eligible for this contest because of his age and year in school, but there are still plenty of talented receivers who can shred a defense, namely James Newsom of Oregon State who reeled in 81 balls this season for 1,305 yards. He was third in the nation in receiving yards per game and holds school records for career catches (210), leading to 3,515 yards and 20 scores. Protecting the skill players for the North will be an offensive line made up of representatives from Miami-Ohio (Jacob Bell), Illinois (Sean Bubin), Stanford (Kirk Chambers), Purdue (Nick Hardwick), Kansas State (Nick Leckey) and Ohio State (Shane Olivea and Alex Stepanovich).
With all the talent on the offensive side of the ball for both teams, it's easy to overlook the defensive stoppers who are out to put on highlight-film style hits. While that probably won't happen in this contest, you can be sure that everyone in attendance will know the legacy that each player left behind at his particular school. Most of the defensive linemen for the North fall into a range of about 6-3 to 6-4 in height and weight somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 pounds. Oregon State's Dwan Edwards falls right in line with those numbers after collecting 51 tackles, including 8.5 TFLs and three sacks for the Beavers this year. Noted as one of the strongest players at Oregon State, he'll be surrounded by similar players in Ohio State's Tim Anderson, Darrell Campbell of Notre Dame and Jordan Carstens from Iowa State, which means there will be few places for South running backs to take the ball. In the middle of the field will be one of the most dominating men at his position of late, Oklahoma's Teddy Lehman. The winner of the Butkus Award as the top linebacker in the nation, Lehman finished the year with 109 tackles, of which 17 came behind the line of scrimmage. If he were not imposing enough, the squad also has the luxury of turning to Bryan Hickman of Kansas State, Purdue's Niko Koutouvides or Grant Wiley of West Virginia. And should the North need the secondary to make stops, there might not be anyone better in the business than two other Oklahoma products in Brandon Everage and Derrick Strait. Although it's a Liberal Arts school with barely 1,500 students, Tusculum College is proud to be sending Ricardo Colclough to the game after he averaged one interception per contest through an 11-game season.
Put aside the fact that the Wolfpack didn't finish the season as well as they would have hoped, and it was hard to argue that Philip Rivers was not one of the top three players at his position in the country this year. Rivers, a native of Alabama, was a unanimous choice for Player of the Year in the ACC and is now the NCAA record holder for most games started at quarterback with 51. Rivers completed a staggering 72 percent of his pass attempts and led Division I-A in pass efficiency with a mark of 170.49. To make things easier on him in this contest, Rivers will have at his disposal NC State teammate Jerricho Cotchery. A Birmingham local, the star wideout set school records for career receptions (200) and 100-yard games (15) during his time in Raleigh. The familiarity between the pairing should make for some interesting play selections, and with Wolfpack offensive lineman Sean Locklear watching Rivers' back, who knows what might develop downfield. Also getting his shots under center will be J.P. Losman of Tulane after he recorded the second-highest touchdown total in school history with 33 in 2003, while also leading Conference USA in passing and touchdowns along the way. Like Rivers, Losman will also see a familiar face in the huddle when he barks out the plays, as Mewelde Moore lines up behind him for running plays. Unfortunately, Moore might not be at the top of his game as he is still recovering from a broken hand that forced him to miss the last three games of the season. But not to worry as the South has a stable of solid ball carriers to rely on, especially Cedric Cobbs of Arkansas and Shaud Williams from Alabama. Cobbs averaged close to six yards per carry for the Razorbacks this past season, while Williams charged up close to 1,400 yards and 14 scores in his travels for the Tide.
The SEC placed a total of 22 players on the South roster this year, easily the most represented conference in all of college football, considering there were only 95 players invited to take part in the contest. The defensive line is nearly consumed by members of the SEC with players like Tommy Kelly of Mississippi State, LSU's Chad Lavalais, Bobby McCray of Florida and Auburn's DeMarco McNeil. UCLA actually has a pair of players traveling to the event as linemen, with Dave Ball and Rodney Leisle making the cut. In holding opponents to barely 16 ppg this year, Auburn relied heavily on its defense and players like Karlos Dansby and Dontarrious Thomas who finished one-two on the tackles list for the Tigers with 84 and 75 stops, respectively. Dansby also made 13 stops behind the line of scrimmage and was responsible for four forced fumbles to tie for the team lead. Not to be outdone, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets also have a pair of linebackers in the mix with Keyaron Fox and Daryl Smith suiting up. Fox produced a whopping 155 tackles, including 79 solo efforts, while Smith contributed 129 stops. The duo combined for 35 TFLs to make them one of the most feared tandems in the ACC. Another pairing that will have the North offense on its toes is Guss Scott and Keiwan Ratliff from Florida. While the Gators didn't have the sort of season that they are used to, and were defeated in their postseason bowl effort, players like Scott (91 tackles, five forced fumbles) and Ratliff (49 stops, nine interceptions, two fumble recoveries and four touchdowns) could not be blamed for the down year.
Last year didn't see much offense in this game, and there's no guarantee that it will turn out any different in 2004. But one can be sure that with so many people critical to every player's next step in attendance, there's bound to be some quality play on both sides of the ball. Since there seems to be nominal hitting in these games, the offense should have the edge. But then again, with so many players there to learn in just a few short days, the schemes will be simple and predictable so individual talent will have to rise and shine in deciding the winner.
Predicted Outcome: South 28, North 21
Comment