Pro Bowl talents fill three of five slots on latest I-Bowl all-time team group
JOURNAL SPORTS
The pivotal figure in the most memorable Independence Bowl, the 2000 “Snow Bowl,” is among the next five standouts announced on the bowl’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.
Hitting the middle of the top 50 list with Monday’s group of five, a media panel spotlighted three future Pro Bowl stars with an aggregate total of 13 appearances in the NFL’s all-star game among the group of players filling slots 30 through 26.
This group includes one player from the game’s first decade and two players from the 1990s and 2000s:
No. 30 – Flozell Adams (OT, Michigan State, 1995) Another player who played for Nick Saban in an Independence Bowl, Adams is one of the greatest offensive linemen to play in Shreveport’s bowl game. An imposing 6-foot-7 and 335 pounds, he was a three-year starter at Michigan State. His first year as a starter was the 1995 Independence Bowl season, when he earned honorable mention All-Big Ten. He propelled himself into being one of the best offensive linemen in the country the next two years – earning second-team All-Big Ten in 1996 and first-team All-Big Ten, first-team All-American and Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year in 1997. He was also a semi-finalist for both the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award in 1997. Adams was drafted in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys and played from 1998 through 2009 for the Cowboys and in 2010 for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was a five-time Pro Bowler and second-team All-Pro in 2007.
No. 29 – Rocky Calmus (LB, Oklahoma, 1999) Calmus is one of the most decorated linebackers to play in the Independence Bowl, as he helped lead Oklahoma to Shreveport in 1999 – the year before he was a staple of the Sooners’ defense that went on to win the 2000 BCS National Championship. Born in Tulsa and starring at Jenks High School, where he helped start a run of six straight Oklahoma 6A state championships, Calmus recorded five tackles against Ole Miss in the 1999 Independence Bowl – the last college football game of the millennium on December 31, 1999. He was a three-time All-Big 12 selection – second-team in 1999 and first-team in 2000 and 2001. The 2000 National Championship season was when his college career really skyrocketed. Along with being first-team All-Big 12, he was also named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and a consensus All-American. Calmus followed up that tremendous season with another one in 2001, being named a consensus All-American a second straight season and earning the Butkus Award and Jack Lambert Trophy. Chosen in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft, he played in the league from 2002-05.
No. 28 – A.J. Green (WR, Georgia, 2009) A seven-time Pro Bowl selection, Green is one of the most prominent players to play in the Independence Bowl over the past 20 years. He caught six passes for 57 yards for Georgia in their 44-20 victory over Texas A&M in the 2009 Independence Bowl. He stepped on campus in Athens in 2008 and made an immediate impact, posting 963 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on 56 receptions – all freshman records at Georgia. Leading the SEC in receiving yards, he was named first-team All-SEC and SEC Freshman of the Year. He followed up posting two more seasons of 50-plus receptions, 800-plus receptions and 15 total TDs, which earned him first-team All-SEC and first-team All-American in 2009 and second-team All-SEC and first-team All-American honors in 2010. Green was the first wide receiver selected in the 2011 NFL Draft, going to the Cincinnati Bengals with the fourth overall pick. Over the next 12 years, he became one of the best wide receivers of his era – earning seven Pro Bowl berths and being named second-team All-Pro twice. He compiled 10,514 receiving yards and 70 TDs on 727 receptions and posted 1,000-plus yards receiving in six of his first seven seasons in the NFL.
No. 27 – Otis Wilson (LB, Louisville, 1977) Wilson is one of the original group of greats to play in the Independence Bowl, lining up for UL in the second edition of the game in 1977. No defensive statistics were recorded, but he was impressive enough to be the 1977 Defensive Player of the Game in a 24-14 loss to Louisiana Tech. Wilson was a three-year starter from 1977 to 1979 and is Louisville’s second all-time leading tackler (484 career tackles) and fifth in program history in tackles-for-loss (32). He earned first-team All-American honors in 1979, and he is a member of the Louisville Cardinals Ring of Honor. One of the first Independence Bowl alumni to be drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft, Wilson was selected by the Chicago Bears with the 19th overall pick in 1980. He turned himself into a force for one of the greatest defenses in NFL history – the ‘85 Bears. The premier pass rusher recorded 10.5 sacks in 1985 on the way to winning Super Bowl XX. He made his lone Pro Bowl appearance and was named second-team All-Pro. Recording 38 sacks and 10 interceptions in his career, Wilson was named one of the 100 greatest Bears of All-Time and was inducted into the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013.
No. 26 – Ja’Mar Toombs (RB, Texas A&M, 2000) Toombs put on a performance for the ages in one of the most memorable games in college football bowl history – the 2000 Snow Bowl. He carried the ball 35 times for 193 yards and three TDs, earning Offensive Player of the Game honors. His 193 rushing yards still rank third in Independence Bowl history, and his three rushing touchdowns in a single game are tied for second in the bowl record book. His 25-yard touchdown run to open overtime would be possibly the most memorable moment in Independence Bowl history if not for the ensuing extra point being blocked by fellow All-Time Team member Willie Blade and returned for two points by Mississippi State. Toombs compiled 1,638 yards from scrimmage and 27 TDs in three years for the Aggies and was named second-team All-SEC in 2000.
The next five players (Nos. 25- 20) will be announced Thursday as the bowl continues to commemorate a half-century of existence.
The first 20 players on the Independence Bowl’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, previously announced:
No. 31 – Willie Blade (DT, Mississippi State, 2000), No. 32 – Scott Thomas (S, Air Force, 1983 & 1984), No. 33 – Chad Hennings (DT, Air Force, 1984), No. 34 – Dameyune Craig (QB, Auburn, 1996), No. 35 – Geno Atkins (DT, Georgia, 2009), No. 36 – Rondell Mealey (RB, LSU, 1997), No. 37 – Rolando McClain (LB, Alabama, 2007), No. 38 – Weldon Brown (CB, Louisiana Tech, 2008), No. 39 – Andre Smith (OT, Alabama, 2006 & 2007), No. 40 – Tiki Barber (RB, Virginia, 1994), No. 41 – Puka Nacua (WR, BYU, 2021), No. 42 – Gary Kubiak (QB, Texas A&M, 1981), No. 43 – Seneca Wallace (QB, Iowa State, 2001), No. 44 – Todd McClure (C, LSU, 1995 & 1997), No. 45 – Gary Anderson (K, Syracuse, 1979), No. 46 – Booger McFarland (LB, LSU, 1995 & 1997), No. 47 – Tremaine Edmunds (LB, Virginia Tech, 2015), No. 48 – Bill Musgrave (QB, Oregon, 1989), No. 49 – Larry Anderson (DB, Louisiana Tech, 1977) and No. 50 – Lorenza Baker (LB, Louisiana Tech, 1990).