Video
Photo Gallery: Walk through and hospital visit
Photo Gallery: Meet The Players event

Editor's note: This is the fifth in a series of diary/blog submissions, accompanied by videos and still photos Rock Sports Information Director Bob McComas will file to chronicle the activities of Brandon Fusco as the first-ever SRU football student athlete to participate in the Under Armour Senior Bowl, the premier postseason football game for aspiring NFL draft prospects.

MOBILE, Ala. -- Attention all Rock fans: Pay attention during the halftime ceremonies of Saturday's Under Armour Senior Bowl telecast on the NFL Network.

The Rock's Brandon Fusco will be presented his 2010 Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award during the game's intermission. Don Harris, president of the Manheim (Pa.) Touchdown Club, the sponsor of the award, will be on hand to make the presentation.

No one will be prouder during that time than Steve and Debbie Fusco, Brandon's parents, who arrived in Mobile late Thursday.

I also know Rock head coach George Mihalik, who was in town for the first three days of workouts, offensive coordinator Vic Campagna, offensive line coach Joe Walton and the rest of the Green and White staff and alumni/fan base are also justifiably proud of Brandon.

I have to admit, I am also very proud, both in my role as SRU's SID and as the national chair of the Upshaw Award selection committee. It will be a great personal and professional honor to see “one of my own” receive the award.

Final day of preparation -- The highlights of Friday's schedule were the annual trip by the Senior Bowl players to the USA Children's and Women's Hospital and the Meet the Players event that followed at the Mobile Convention Center.

Those events followed a 60-minute “walk through” practice session by each team at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, the site of Saturday's game.

The visit to the hospital tugged on the heart strings of all the players, as well as the rest of us who were part of that event.

The visit by the Senior Bowl players “helps bring a little of the outside world into the hospital,” Brenda White, a Child Life Specialist at the hospital said. “Part of our job here is to make the kids stay as normal as possible and having players the kids have seen on TV or hopefully we someday see in the NFL come visit brightens their day.”

The ear-to-ear smiles of the patients “made my day,” Fusco said. “It touched my heart.

“Coming here makes you appreciate your life and what God has given us. I really feel for these kids. Some of these kids are really sick … I wish them the best.

“It was an honor to come here,” he added. “I'm glad I did.”

The complete video interviews with Brenda White and Brandon and some footage from the visit to the Children's and Women's Hospital, can be viewed by clicking on the link at the top of this page.

We will add video from the Meet the Players event on Saturday.

We will close out our coverage of this year's Senior Bowl, and specifically Brandon Fusco's involvement in the festivities, with video interviews and footage, a photo gallery and a closing blog from game day later Saturday.

Again, a huge shoutout to Assistant Sports Information Director Jon Holtz for coordinating the video, photo gallery and diary/blog features, as well as the Brandon Fusco Central web page.

I'll close today's diary/blog with some notes of interest for those who may not already know or have forgotten these tidbits of information:

• Fusco will be part of the North squad led by Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis and his coaching staff. The South team is led by Chan Gailey and the Buffalo Bills staff.

• Like Fusco, Lewis is a WPIAL (Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League) product. He's a graduate of Fort Cherry High School and former assistant coach for both the University of Pittsburgh (1990-91) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (linebackers coach 1992-95).

• Fusco is the first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference player to participate in the Senior Bowl since Indiana offensive lineman Leander Jordan played in the 2000 game.

• Fusco is only the fourth PSAC player to ever participate in the Senior Bowl. He joins Jordan, former Kutztown linebacker John Mobley (1996) and ex-Bloomsburg offensive lineman Eric Jonassen (1992) in that elite group. That bodes well for Fusco's chances of landing a job in the NFL. Jordan and Mobley each went on to play in eight NFL seasons while Jonassen was a five-year NFL player.

• We would be remiss if we didn't point out that neither Clarion product Reggie Wells, an offensive lineman on the Arizona Cardinals' 2008 Super Bowl team who is now with the Philadelphia Eagles, nor Bloomsburg's Jahri Evans, an All-Pro offensive lineman with the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints, played in the Senior Bowl.

• Fusco, one of only three NCAA Division II players invited to this year's Senior Bowl, will be one of 27 All-America performers participating in the game.

• Fusco is one of nine All-America offensive linemen in the game. That group includes North squad linemates Gabe Carimi of Wisconsin, who received the Outland Trophy as the top Division I offensive lineman in the nation; Carimi's Wisconsin teammate, John Moffitt, Boston College's Anthony Castonzo and Colorado's Nate Solder (Big 12 Conference Lineman of the Year). The South squad includes All-America offensive linemen Rodney Hudson from Florida State, TCU's Jake Kirkpatrick, Mississippi State's Derek Sherrod and Auburn's Lee Ziemba.

Until we talk again … GO ROCK!!

Bob McComas
Sports Information Director