Dec. 17, 2008

Conference USA will be represented by six players from its schools in the NFL's annual Pro Bowl on Sunday, February 8 in Honolulu, Hawai'i. Four of these standouts played in the conference as recently as 2004.

Former UCF wide receiver Brandon Marshall of the Denver Broncos and Memphis kicker Stephen Gostkowski of the New England Patriots were both named as starters for the AFC.

Marshall is tied for fifth in the league with 88 receptions, rolling up more than 1,000 receiving yards for the second straight season. Marshall's 18 catches against San Diego in Week 2 is tied for the second-highest game total in NFL history and set the Broncos club record.

Gostkowski has been successful on 30-of-33 field goals (90.9 percent) this season, and has hit all 34 of his extra point tries for a total of 124 points. His 30 successful field goals are tied for the most in the NFL and stand two shy of the Patriots' single-season record of 32 (Tony Franklin, 1986) with two games to play. Gostkowski's 90.9 percent accuracy rate leads the AFC and stands as the second highest in franchise history.

Former East Carolina RB Chris Johnson joins Hall of Fame rusher Earl Campbell as the only rookies in Titans franchise history to make the Pro Bowl. Tennessee's first-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft ranks second in the AFC and sixth in the NFL with 1,159 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. He ranks second in the AFC with 1,418 yards from scrimmage and fifth in the AFC with 62 first downs. Johnson is tied for sixth in the AFC with nine total touchdowns.

Also named as a reserve for the AFC was former Southern Miss QB Brett Favre, the only one of the five standouts that did not actually play in Conference USA. In his first season with the New York Jets, the future Hall of Famer leads the NFL's third-ranked scoring offense as the Jets have averaged more than 27 points a game. He is completing 67.6 percent of his passes and he has topped the 3,000-yard passing mark for the 17th consecutive season. This will be Favre's 10th Pro Bowl appearance.

Conference USA's NFC representatives were Atlanta WR Roddy White, an All-American performer at UAB and Philadelphia CB Asante Samuel, a star DB at UCF.

White became the first Falcons receiver to post back-to-back 1,000 yards seasons since 1998-99 and the first player in team history to register back-to-back 1,200-yard campaigns. Currently, he ranks second in the NFL in receiving yards (1,310) and is on pace to set a new franchise record in receiving yards for a season (1,497) while breaking career highs in receptions and touchdowns. He also ranks second in the NFL in third down receptions (28) and leads the league in third down receiving yards (504).

Samuel has been named to the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive season after earning the honor with the New England Patriots last year. Samuel has evolved into one of the league's top cover men, recording an NFL-best 23 interceptions since the start of the 2006 season. This season he is tied for second in the NFC in interceptions and tied for the NFL lead in passes defensed with 24. Just Monday night he contributed a critical play for the Eagles as he returned a Ken Dorsey pass 50 yards for a touchdown to help seal Philadelphia's 30-10 win over Cleveland that kept the Eagles alive in the playoff chase.

Pro Bowl selections are based on an equally-weighted vote of NFL players, coaches and fans. The 2009 Pro Bowl will air on NBC at 4:30 p.m. ET on February 8.