Tennessee QB Ainge added to Senior Bowl roster
Tennessee quarterback Volunteers Erik Ainge and Auburn tight end Cole Bennett have been added to the South roster for the Senior Bowl.
Senior Bowl President Steve Hale said Ainge and Bennett were invited because injury and illness forced
Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm and Notre Dame tight end John Carlson to drop out.
He said Brohm had been battling a lower leg injury since the Rutgers game and it hadn't healed as well as expected. "I know it's disappointing for Brian because he trained very hard to be here," Hale told the Press-Register.
Carlson fell victim to food poisoning recently, losing 17 pounds in eight days, Hale said.
To fill the vacancy created by Carlson's loss, Missouri tight end Martin Rucker moved from the South team to the North team, and Bennett was named to the South team.
The South team will also be without Auburn defensive end Quentin Groves, who was invited to play. Groves won't participate because of a shoulder injury suffered in his team's
Chick-fil-A Bowl win over Clemson on Dec. 31, Hale said.
Erik Ainge, who was 25-of-43 passing for 365 yards and two touchdowns in Tennessee's win over Wisconsin Badgers in the
Outback Bowl, said he was excited to get invited to Saturday's game.
The reason: The players get evaluated by NFL personnel.
"Any time you can see a player throw the ball in person, it's more valuable," Ainge said. "And showing what I can do is why I'm here."
Joining Ainge as South team quarterbacks are Hawaii's Colt Brennan and
Kentucky's Andre' Woodson. For the North, the quarterbacks are
Michigan's Chad Henne,
Southern Cal's John David Booty, and Delaware's Joe Flacco.
Like Ainge, Bennett relishes the opportunity to perform for NFL personnel and show how he can work in a system other than the one used by Auburn.
"I just wanted an opportunity and this is a great opportunity to show people what I can do and the way I'm capable of playing," said the 6-foot-4, 258-pound tight end.
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