BOULDER ? University of Colorado senior kicker and All-American Mason Crosby was selected as one of the 100 top NFL draft prospects and will participate in the 2007 Under Armour Senior Bowl this week in Mobile, Alabama.
Crosby will play on the Senior Bowl’s North squad, which is being coached by Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden and his staff.
The players will have one practice per day during Senior Bowl Week, Jan. 22-26, capped off by the 58th annual Under Armour Senior Bowl game on Saturday, Jan. 27. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. MDT in Mobile’s Ladd-Peebles Stadium and the contest will be nationally-televised by the NFL Network.
The Senior Bowl is considered football’s premier pre-draft event, annually featuring the country’s best senior NFL draft prospects on teams representing the North and South that are coached by the entire coaching staffs from two National Football League teams. The Senior Bowl is also attended by over 700 NFL coaches, scouts and other front office personnel each year.
The South squad will be coached by San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Nolan and his staff.
In 2006, 15 Senior Bowl players were chosen in the first-round of the NFL Draft, and over 90 percent of the Senior Bowl players are chosen in the draft each year.
Crosby has also accepted an invitation to be a part of the ESPN College Football All-Star Challenge in Miami. The event is a skills and drills challenge that will feature some of the best college football players in the country. Quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and kickers will participate in the competition.
Miami happens to be the location in which Crosby drilled a 58-yard field goal against the Hurricanes in 2005. The kick was the longest field goal in NCAA history at sea level without the use of a kicking tee.
The event will be taped on location at the Orange Bowl and will air on ESPN Saturday, Feb. 3, at 2:00 MDT.
Several other seniors were also selected for postseason bowls. Offensive guard and Draddy Trophy finalist Brian Daniels played in the East-West Shrine Game, helping the West beat the East 21-3; linebacker Thaddaeus Washington and offensive lineman Bryce MacMartin were selected to play in the Hula Bowl, although Washington did not travel to the game because of an injury; center Mark Fenton was slated to play in the Las Vegas All-Star Classic before the game was cancelled; defensive end Walter Boye-Doe played in the Magnolia Gridiron All-Star Classic; cornerback Lorenzo Sims Jr. played in the Inta Juice North-South All-Star Classic.
