MOBILE, Ala. – Former University of South Alabama defensive standouts Jake Johnson and B.J. Scott have accepted invitations to participate in the 2013 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, it was announced Tuesday.
An all-star game featuring top draft-eligible seniors, the contest will kick off at 5 p.m. (CST) on Saturday, Jan. 19 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and will also be available online via WatchESPN, while on Thursday prior to the event ESPNU will feature four hours of coverage from team practices.
The squads — which have yet to be determined — will be coached by former NFL head coaches Herm Edwards and Dick Vermeil.
The only player in the Sun Belt Conference to average more than 10 tackles per game, Johnson was a first-team all-league selection after posting school season records with 131 total stops and 15 tackles for loss. He paced the Jags in tackles in seven games and was credited with a double-figure stop total on five occasions in the fall, collecting a season-high 15 against both Florida International and Middle Tennessee in the final home game of his career. A 6-foot-1, 240-pound native of Fredericksburg, Va., Johnson also made 14 stops at North Carolina State before posting 10 the following week at nationally-ranked Mississippi State.
In three seasons, Johnson finished with 245 tackles, 25½ stops for loss and nine sacks to go along with a pair of forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two passes broken up.
Scott — who is 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, and hails from Prichard, Ala. — was chosen honorable mention all-Sun Belt after recording 84 stops including six behind the line of scrimmage, two interceptions, three other passes broken up and a pair of forced fumbles. He concluded his time in the USA program by leading the Jaguars with a career-best 12 tackles — all unassisted — at Hawai’i, which marked the fourth time in 2012 and seventh in two seasons that he collected 10 or more stops. Scott also accomplished the feat with 10 tackles in the MSU contest, and he was credited with 10 stops in the Jags’ first-ever SBC victory over Florida Atlantic on Oct. 20.
He totaled 132 stops in two years at USA, breaking up nine passes while forcing three fumbles, also averaging 29 yards per kick return.
Courtney Smith is the only other individual in program history to be invited to participate in a postseason all-star contest after playing in the 2011 Senior Bowl.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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