By Russell V.
SouthernPigskin.com

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Andre Roberts is one of 15 players from the Southern Conference playing in the NFL, who’s had the biggest impact?

Some of you guys may or may not remember this, but my first article for Southern Pigskin was breaking down the SoCon draft picks in last year’s NFL draft. In honor of that (and moreso the playoffs which began last weekend), I have decided to take a look and see just how big an impact SoCon players have had in the NFL.

There are currently 15 players with SoCon ties playing in the league right now, though three of them went to schools that are no longer in the conference (bonus points to whoever can guess who the three are and what schools they went to).

To the surprise of pretty much nobody, Appalachian State has a conference-high three players currently in the league. Former Payton Award-winner and rookie Armanti Edwards has had a very difficult year (which may be a vast understatement). While trying to learn the wide receiver position, Edwards only saw playing time in three games, finishing the year with one rush for seven yards and going 1 for 1 passing for zero yards. It is real difficult to judge Edwards based on this season, since he was trying to learn a new position and Panthers head coach John Fox was never a big fan of Edwards. It is believed that Fox never played him as a way to get back at management for going with a youth movement in his final season with the team. Worst of all, Edwards will now be known around the country as the guy the Panthers traded their second round draft pick in this year’s draft to the Patriots for. Here’s hoping the Panthers’ new coach will be slightly nicer to Armanti.

Additional Mountaineer alumni in the league include Marques Murrell who’s with New England and two local legends, Jason Hunter and Corey Lynch. Hunter was the beneficiary of Elvis Dumervil’s injury, taking his OLB spot in the Denver Bronco’s 3-4 defense. He finished the year with career-highs in tackles (60), interceptions (1), games played in (16) and games started (14). Corey Lynch may be best remembered as the player who blocked Michigan’s late field goal attempt in the Mountaineers’ upset victory over the Wolverines years ago. Today, he is a safety with the Tampa Bay Buccanneers coming off a career year in 2010. In his third year in the league, he set career-highs in nearly every defensive statistic (games played in, games started, tackles, pass defended and interceptions). It is safe to say the future is looking bright for these former defensive stars.

After App, Furman and Chattanooga are tired for most players in the NFL with two apiece. The Paladins have former human wrecking ball Jerome Felton playing fullback with the Detroit Lions, where he continues to run over defenders (though now as a fullback) and defensive back William Middleton of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who, in his second year with the team, had a very solid year that saw him setting new career-highs in games started (3), tackles (47), sacks (1), interceptions (1) and pass deflections (1). (See a theme here with SoCon players setting new career-highs now that they are getting playing time?)

The Mocs have arguably the most famous SoCon alum in receiver Terrell Owens, who saw a resurgent season with the Cincinnati Bengals last year (and was pretty much the only highlight in an otherwise awful year). The future hall of famer finished with 72 catches for 983 yards and nine touchdowns and had two ridiculous games (10 catches, 141 yards and two TDs vs. the Steelers and 10 catches, 222 yards and a TD against the Browns). The other Moc in the NFL? Eldra Buckley, running back with the Philadelphia Eagles. Buckley has seen very limited playing time in his two years in Philly, compiling career totals of 36 carries for 111 yards and one touchdown.

Four SoCon teams have only one former player in the NFL: the Citadel (rookie receiver Andre Roberts – 24 catches, 307 yards, two touchdowns and a breakout game against the Cowboys), Georgia Southern (Pro Bowl kicker Rob Bironas), Samford (Pro Bowl cornerback and player who likes to make Andre Johnson angry, Courtland Finnegan, though the Bulldogs played in the Ohio Valley Conference when he was there) and Wofford (receiver Andy Strickland, who has been stuck on the Falcons’ practice squad).

That means that Elon and Western Carolina are the only Southern Conference teams who do not have a former player in the NFL. We’ll just how much that changes over the course of the year…if there are even any NFL games next year.