The nation’s best senior football players were on hand in Mobile, Ala., for the 57th annual Senior Bowl. The game was played in front of the Senior Bowl’s 12th straight sellout of 40, 646 fans.
The North obtained an easy 31-14 win behind the arm of Clemson quarterback Charlie Whitehurst and the legs Penn State play-caller Michael Robinson. Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher coached the North team, while San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Nolan led the South. Although the South lost, Miami (Fla.) wide receiver Sinorice Moss won the game’s MVP award, with three receptions for 45 yards, one touchdown, and a 27-yard run on a reverse play.
The game brought the close to a week of practice sessions for the 100 top senior NFL Draft prospects, who were under the eyes of over 800 coaches, scouts and office personnel from the NFL. During the practice the players were hoping to improve their draft stock. Looking to further prove their cases for top 10 considerations were Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler, Memphis running back DeAngelo Williams and Virginia offensive lineman D’Brickashaw Ferguson.
Both teams struggled out the gate. The North opened the game with an interception while the South was forced to punt. The South scored first on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Croyle to Moss. The North bounced back, scoring off a 15-yard pass from Whitehurst to Colorado tight end Joe Klopfenstein.
The score was 17-7 in favor of the North at halftime. The North scored on their first drive of the second half, a one-yard touchdown run from Virginia Tech running back Cedric Humes. This score capped off a string of 24 unanswered points for the North. The South did not score again until the fourth quarter off a 17-yard touchdown pass from UAB quarterback Darrel Hackney to Auburn wide receiver Devin Aromashodu with 14:17 left to play. The North put the game away on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Cutler to Arizona State wide receiver Derek Hagan.
The South’s ground attack was shut down. Jerious Norwood ran for seven yards on four carries as the South only gained 47 rushing yards total.
The North’s Offensive MVP was Whitehurst, completing seven passes on nine attempts for 90 yards. Robinson, who played quarterback for Penn State, was used as a running back for the game. He rushed for 63 yards on nine carries and one for three passing for nine yards.
Jay Cuter, arguably the best quarterback in the game, was six for 19 for 69 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Jerome Harrison from Washington State ran for 51 yards on 11 carries. The South’s offensive MVP was DeAngelo Williams. He ran for 31 yards on three carries and had two receptions for 28 yards. Alabama QB Brodie Croyle was six of 11 for 77 yards and one interception. Georgia’s D.J. Shockley was two of seven for 13 yards and an interception.
The defensive MVP’s were Georgia Tech linebacker Greg Wilkinson for the South and Tamba Hali, Penn State defensive end for the North. Wilkinson had four tackles and a sack, and Hali had two of the North’s five sacks and two more tackles.