MOBILE, Ala. — UTSA seniors Spencer Burford and Tariq Woolen have been invited to play in the Reese's Senior Bowl, which is scheduled for Feb. 5, 2022, at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Ala. The game will be televised live on NFL Network at 1:30 p.m.
Burford and Woolen join Marcus Davenport as the only Roadrunners to be invited to play in the Reese's Senior Bowl and the first to have the opportunity to participate in a postseason all-star game since the first-round draft pick and current New Orleans Saints defensive end did so at the 2018 Reese's Senior Bowl.
Burford has started nine games on the offensive line this season, eight at left tackle, to help UTSA to an 11-0 record and No. 15 national ranking. According to Pro Football Focus, he has yet to allow a hit on the quarterback and has surrendered only one sack in 578 offensive snaps this season. He has helped pave the way for an offense that is averaging 439.6 yards per game, including a ground attack that is paced by Sincere McCormick's 1,215 rushing yards and seven 100-yard performances. The San Antonio Wagner High School product owns 40 career starts and has played in 42 contests as a Roadrunner, earning second-team All-Conference USA honors in 2020 and honorable mention recognition as a sophomore in 2019.
Woolen has made starts at cornerback in all eight games he has been available for this season. The Fort Worth native has registered 23 total tackles, 15 solo stops, 2.5 tackles for loss, three pass breakups, one interception and a quarterback hurry. He has helped the Roadrunners emerge as one of the top defenses in the nation when it comes to forcing turnovers with 20 to rank 18th in the FBS and in rushing defense, ranking 10th nationally by allowing a league-best 101.7 yards per game. A former wide receiver who made the position switch late in the 2019 campaign, he landed at No. 6 out of 101 players on Bruce Feldman's Freaks List after posting testing numbers that included 11 feet, five inches in the broad jump and a time of 4.34 seconds in the 40-yard dash in which he hit 23.33 miles per hour.
The Senior Bowl has produced over 55 players that went on to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The game is unique among college all-star games as the teams are coached by NFL staff. Former MVPs of the game include the likes of Dan Marino, LaDainian Tomlinson, Dak Prescott and Justin Herbert.
-UTSA-
