By Southern Pigskin Staff
SouthernPigskin.com

Follow us at Twitter.com/SouthernPigskin.  Become a fan at the SouthernPigskin.com Facebook Page

It’s Senior Bowl week in Mobile, Alabama where the top NFL prospects have gathered to show their talents.

Mobile, AL. (Jan. 23)—Under Armour Senior Bowl Week kicked off in earnest Sunday with the arrival of the remaining top senior college football players to the Renaissance Riverview Plaza Hotel in downtown Mobile. Players underwent physicals, filled out questionnaires and then met with their respective coaching staffs on Sunday. The Cincinnati Bengals will be coaching the North squad this week, while Buffalo will head up the South.

The first official rosters were also announced on Sunday and among the new additions was South Alabama wide receiver Courtney Smith. Smith is USA’s first ever Senior Bowl invitee after reeling in 58 catches for 1,065 yards and 10 touchdowns over the course of his two year career with the Jaguars. He played an instrumental part in leading the Jags to a perfect 17-0 record in the school’s first two seasons of college football.

Joining Smith as new additions to the roster Sunday were Maryland running back Da’Rel Scott, Nebraska defensive back Eric Hagg and Miami defensive back DeMarcus Van Dyke. Scott and Hagg will play for the North squad, while Van Dyke will suit up for the South.

“This is a great day for us because we spend all year evaluating, communicating, and getting to know players and families,” Senior Bowl President and CEO Steve Hale said. “Getting to know them in person and their competitive spirit and their decisions they have to make. They don’t have to be here. We chose them, and they chose us. These are the guys that want to maximize their opportunities and value going into this year’s draft. You can tell by the way they play the game.”

Sunday was also the first day that some of the players had a chance to meet with the media. Among those that did so were Washington quarterback Jake Locker and Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller. Both Locker and Miller are widely considered to be high draft picks this spring and both hope to use the Under Armour Senior Bowl to solidify that status.

“I’m excited to be here,” Locker said. “It’s another opportunity to come and compete against some of the guys I’ve watched over the years. It’s a chance to get to know them and interact with them and talk to some of the guys who are going through the same process. I’m really excited about it. I’m looking forward to it, and it should be a lot of fun.”

“I’m excited to be here and play with the best across the nation,” Miller said. “It’s a privilege to be invited here by the Senior Bowl Staff. It’s a thrilling experience for me.”

Under Armour Senior Bowl Week continues Monday with the National Scouting Weigh-In in the morning followed by the first practice sessions of the week. Both teams will hit the field at 2:45pm (CT) tomorrow, with the South working out at Fairhope Municipal Stadium and the North practicing at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. All practices are free and open to the public.

Tickets for the 2011 Under Armour Senior Bowl are currently available for purchase at the Senior Bowl ticket office (151 Dauphin Street), online at seniorbowl.com or by calling (251) 432-4109.

Follow the Senior Bowl on twitter: twitter.com/seniorbowl Become a fan on facebook: facebook.com/seniorbowl

About the Senior Bowl

The Senior Bowl is college football’s premier pre-draft event, annually featuring the nation’s best senior collegiate football stars and top NFL draft prospects on teams coached by NFL coaching staffs. Senior Bowl practices and game week festivities are attended by more than 800 general managers, head coaches, assistant coaches, scouts and other front office personnel from all 32 National Football League teams, making Mobile and the Senior Bowl the week-long host to a one-of-a-kind NFL Coaches Convention. For more information on the 2011 Under Armour Senior Bowl please visit the bowl’s website at seniorbowl.com.

North Roster:

95 Allen, Pierre DL 6-5 / 265 Nebraska
46 Ballard, Christian DL 6-5 / 297 Iowa
45 Beal, Jeremy DL 6-3 / 267 Oklahoma
73 Brewer, James OL 6-8 / 331 Indiana
23 Brown, Jalil DB 6-1 / 205 Colorado
80 Brown, Vincent WR 6-0 / 195 San Diego State
8 Burney, Kendric DB 5-9 / 190 North Carolina
68 Carimi, Gabe OL 6-7 / 327 Wisconsin
21 Carmichael, Rashad DB 5-11 / 186 Virginia Tech
20 Carter, Quinton DB 6-1 / 200 Oklahoma
74 Castonzo, Anthony OL 6-7 / 308 Boston College
25 Forbath, Kai K 6-0 / 191 UCLA
40 Foster, Mason LB 6-2 / 242 Washington
92 Fua, Sione DL 6-2 / 306 Stanford
79 Fusco, Brandon OL 6-5 / 305 Slippery Rock
28 Hagg, Eric DB 6-2 / 210 Nebraska
17 Harris, Dwayne WR 6-0 / 205 East Carolina
20 Helu Jr., Roy RB 6-0 / 220 Nebraska
90 Henery, Alex P 6-2 / 175 Nebraska
44 Herzlich, Mark LB 6-4 / 244 Boston College
51 Homan, Ross LB 6-0 / 227 Ohio State
24 Hunter, Kendall RB 5-8 / 200 Oklahoma State
5 Jarrett, Jaiquawn DB 6-2 / 202 Temple
53 Jones, Greg LB 6-1 / 240 Michigan State
97 Jordan, Cameron DL 6-4 / 283 California
10 Kaepernick, Colin QB 6-6 / 225 Nevada
84 Kendricks, Lance TE 6-4 / 241 Wisconsin
91 Kerrigan, Ryan DL 6-4 / 263 Purdue
69 Kowalski, Kevin OL 6-4 / 299 Toledo
26 Lefeged, Joe DB 6-0 / 205 Rutgers
10 Locker, Jake QB 6-3 / 230 Washington
48 Marecic, Owen RB 6-1 / 244 Stanford
24 Marsh, Curtis DB 6-1 / 193 Utah State
55 Matthews, Casey LB 6-2 / 235 Oregon
44 McNeill, Mike TE 6-4 / 235 Nebraska
70 Moffitt, John OL 6-5 / 323 Wisconsin
7 Murray, DeMarco RB 6-1 / 207 Oklahoma
54 Paea, Stephen DL 6-1 / 311 Oregon State
25 Paul, Niles WR 6-1 / 220 Nebraska
1 Pettis, Austin WR 6-3 / 201 Boise State
71 Pinkston, Jason OL 6-4 / 305 Pittsburgh
52 Schilling, Stephen OL 6-5 / 308 Michigan
33 Scott, Da’Rel RB 5-11 / 200 Maryland
22 Searcy, Da’Norris DB 6-0 / 215 North Carolina
16 Smith, Lee TE 6-6 / 267 Marshall
78 Solder, Nate OL 6-9 / 315 Colorado
12 Stanzi, Ricky QB 6-4 / 230 Iowa
96 Williams, Ian DL 6-2 / 305 Notre Dame
48 Wilson, Lawrence LB 6-1 / 226 Connecticut
2 Young, Titus WR 5-11 / 175 Boise State
54 Yount, Christian DS 6-1 / 243 UCLA

South Roster:

81 Acho, Sam DL 6-3 / 260 Texas
82 Aiken, Danny DS 6-4 / 255 Virginia
18 Allen, Anthony RB 6-0 / 229 Georgia Tech
57 Bailey, Allen DL 6-4 / 285 Miami
35 Black, Ahmad DB 5-9 / 189 Florida
60 Boling, Clint OL 6-5 / 315 Georgia
3 Brown, Curtis DB 6-0 / 184 Texas
17 Bynes, Josh LB 6-2 / 235 Auburn
77 Carpenter, James OL 6-5 / 300 Alabama
9 Clay, Charles RB 6-3 / 235 Tulsa
14 Dalton, Andy QB 6-3 / 220 TCU
27 Devine, Noel RB 5-8 / 180 West Virginia
85 Dial, Preston TE 6-3 / 237 Alabama
4 Etheridge, Zac DB 6-0 / 213 Auburn
87 Gates, Edmond WR 6-1 / 200 Abilene Christian
76 Gilbert, Marcus OL 6-5 / 320 Florida
12 Gilchrist, Marcus DB 5-11 / 190 Clemson
86 Hankerson, Leonard WR 6-3 / 205 Miami
17 Henry, Chas P 6-3 / 222 Florida
62 Hudson, Rodney OL 6-2 / 282 Florida State
56 Irving, Nate LB 6-1 / 231 NC State
30 Jasper, Josh K 5-11 / 160 LSU
99 Jenkins, Jarvis DL 6-4 / 315 Clemson
8 Johnson, Ronald WR 6-0 / 185 USC
84 Kerley, Jeremy WR 5-10 / 192 TCU
66 Kirkpatrick, Jake OL 6-3 / 305 TCU
20 Locke, Derrick RB 5-9 / 190 Kentucky
65 Love, DeMarcus OL 6-5 / 315 Arkansas
46 McCarthy, Colin LB 6-2 / 240 Miami
2 McDaniel, DeAndre DB 6-1 / 215 Clemson
12 McElroy, Greg QB 6-3 / 225 Alabama
90 McPhee, Pernell DL 6-4 / 285 Mississippi State
40 Miller, Von LB 6-3 / 243 Texas A&M
91 Neild, Chris DL 6-2 / 301 West Virginia
61 O’Dowd, Kristofer OL 6-5 / 300 USC
29 Patrick, Johnny DB 6-0 / 190 Louisville
7 Ponder, Christian QB 6-3 / 227 Florida State
15 Powell, Bilal RB 6-1 / 215 Louisville
42 Reed, Brooks DL 6-3 / 262 Arizona
1 Salas, Greg WR 6-2 / 210 Hawaii
11 Sheppard, Kelvin LB 6-3 / 240 LSU
79 Sherrod, Derek OL 6-6 / 305 Mississippi State
6 Smith, Courtney WR 6-5 / 230 South Alabama
88 Stocker, Luke TE 6-6 / 253 Tennessee
98 Taylor, Phil DL 6-4 / 340 Baylor
53 Thornton, Cedric DL 6-4 / 295 Southern Arkansas
16 Van Dyke, DeMarcus DB 6-1 / 185 Miami
59 Watkins, Danny OL 6-4 / 310 Baylor
50 White, Chris LB 6-4 / 245 Mississippi State
45 Williams, D.J. TE 6-2 / 251 Arkansas
34 Wright, K.J. LB 6-4 / 250 Mississippi State
24 Wright, Shareece DB 5-11 / 185 USC
73 Ziemba, Lee OL 6-8 / 319 Auburn