Fresno State Athletics
Bulldog Football Notebook 1.1
1/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Jan. 23, 2015
By Jason Clay
jaclay@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State football team began its first day of winter training sessions with strength and conditioning coach Joey Boese on Thursday, but the topics of this Bulldog notebook are the Senior Bowl and Super Bowl.
• Recently graduated wide receiver Josh Harper is down in Mobile, Ala. showcasing his talents in front of all 32 NFL teams at the Senior Bowl this week. Harper is on the South roster and will be wearing his normal No. 3 uniform for Saturday's contest from Ladd-Peebles Stadium that kicks off at 1 p.m. PT and is televised on the NFL Network.
Harper finished his Bulldog career ranked second in school history in receptions (228) and touchdown catches (29).
• Safety Derron Smith, a team captain with Harper on the 2014 Bulldog team, also received an invite to the Senior Bowl. He however is unable to play in the game due to an injury. CB Curtis Riley, who was invited to play in last week's East-West Shrine game, was also held out due to injury. Both Smith and Riley are rehabbing with the goal of testing in front of NFL scouts at Fresno State's pro day on March 12.
• NG Tyeler Davison recorded three tackles in last week's East-West Shrine game. He became the ninth Bulldog to play in the East-West Shrine game since 2010. Harper is the fourth Bulldog to actually play in the Senior Bowl in the last three years. Along with Smith, Marcel Jensen also received a Senior Bowl invite last year, but was held out of the game with an injury.
• Former Bulldog offensive lineman Ryan Wendell, who was the 2004 WAC Freshman of the Year, is headed to his second Super Bowl with the New England Patriots. His first appearance in a Super Bowl was back in 2012 when his Patriots fell to the New York Giants.
Wendell becomes the fourth Bulldog to appear in multiple Super Bowls, joining OL Logan Mankins (Super Bowl's XLI and XLII with New England), TE Stephen Spach (Super Bowl's XLIII with Arizona and XLII with New England) and J.D. Williams (Super Bowls XXVIII, XXVII, XXVI and XXV with the Buffalo Bills).
In all, 21 former Bulldogs have reached the Super Bowl during their NFL careers.
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