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Dillon Invited To Play in Senior Bowl
January 07, 2016 11:59 AM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Reese’s Senior Bowl has announced that West Virginia University senior safety KJ Dillon has been invited to participate in its prestigious game on Saturday, Jan. 30, at 1:30 p.m., at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama.
Dillon becomes the 50th WVU football player to play in the Senior Bowl since fullback Tommy Allman in the 1954 game. Dillon was an All-Big 12 second team selection in 2016. He finished with 55 tackles, including 7.5 tackles for loss, had eight pass breakups, two interceptions and forced a fumble.
West Virginia's Senior Bowl Participants
KJ Dillon and Nick Kwiatkoski make it 50 Mountaineers all-time to represent West Virginia at the Senior Bowl. There have been 10 participants since 2010.
KJ Dillon and Nick Kwiatkoski make it 50 Mountaineers all-time to represent West Virginia at the Senior Bowl. There have been 10 participants since 2010.
| Year | Player | Pos. |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Jarrett Brown | QB |
| 2010 | Selvish Capers | OL |
| 2011 | Noel Devine | RB |
| 2011 | Chris Neild | DL |
| 2011 | Jock Sanders | WR |
| 2013 | Joe Madsen | C |
| 2014 | Will Clarke | DL |
| 2014 | Charles Sims | RB |
| 2016 | KJ Dillon | DB |
| 2016 | Nick Kwiatkoski | LB |
Four other Mountaineers have been previously announced to participate in senior all-star games this year: linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski, offensive lineman Marquis Lucas, punter Nick O’Toole and linebacker Shaq Petteway.
Also playing in the senior bowl, Kwiatkoski was named an All-American First Team selection by ProFootballFocus and was an All-Big 12 first-team selection. He led the Mountaineers with 86 tackles, including three sacks, 10 tackles for loss, three interceptions, seven pass breakups, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.
Also playing in the senior bowl, Kwiatkoski was named an All-American First Team selection by ProFootballFocus and was an All-Big 12 first-team selection. He led the Mountaineers with 86 tackles, including three sacks, 10 tackles for loss, three interceptions, seven pass breakups, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.
Petteway will play in the inaugural Tropic Bowl on Jan. 17, at 1 p.m., at North Miami Athletic Stadium in Miami, Florida. This bowl game matches up the top NCAA FBS college football seniors to showcase their talents to NFL scouts.
Petteway was the 2016 Motel 6 Cactus Bowl Defensive Most Valuable Player. He was tied for second place in tackles for WVU with 64, including 3.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss. He also had three pass breakups.
Lucas and O’Toole will play in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 6 p.m., ET, at the Greater Los Angeles Area Stadium in Carson, California.
Lucas was a three-year starter for WVU at tackle and was part of the offensive line that paved the way for the Mountaineer offense to average 228.2 rushing yards per game, scored 34.0 points per game and 479.7 yards of total offense per game. O’Toole was an All-Big 12 first-team selection after leading the league and ranking No. 9 nationally in punting yards per game with 45.4. He also finished with 26 punts of 50 yards or more, placed 25 punts inside the opponents’ 20-yard line, had 15 result in a touchback and 18 that resulted in a fair catch.
West Virginia finished with an 8-5 overall record for the 2015 season and won the 2016 Motel 6 Cactus Bowl on Jan. 2 in Phoenix, Arizona.
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