Morstead To Play In Senior Bowl

SMU punter/kicker Thomas Morstead has accepted an invitation to play in the 2009 Senior Bowl on January 24th in Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The game will kick off at 6 p.m. (CST) and will be televised live by the NFL Network.

Morstead will leave SMU as one of the best punters to ever put on a Mustang uniform. He was a 2008 preseason All-Conference USA pick after leading the league and ranking eighth in the nation in punting average at 44.6 ypp in 2007. His 2008 average of 41.5 ypp ranked 30th in the nation. He downed 20 punts inside the 20 with only three touchbacks, and helped SMU rank 21st in net punting.

Morstead is the 25th Mustang to earn an invitation to the Under Armour Senior Bowl and first since Kevin Garrett in 2003. He will play on the South squad while in Mobile.

Based on his selection to the Senior Bowl, Morstead has elected not to play in the East-West Shrine Game.

The Senior Bowl is college football's premier pre-draft event, annually featuring the nation's best senior collegiate football stars and top NFL draft prospects on teams coached by NFL coaching staffs. Senior Bowl practices and game week festivities are attended by more than 800 general managers, head coaches, assistant coaches, scouts and other front office personnel from all 32 National Football League teams, making Mobile and the Senior Bowl the week-long host to a one-of-a-kind NFL Coaches Convention. For more information on the 2009 Senior Bowl please visit the bowl's website at www.seniorbowl.com.

Tickets for the 2009 Senior Bowl are currently available for purchase online at www.seniorbowl.com or by calling 251-432-4109.

SMU, the only Division I athletic program in Dallas, Texas, sponsors 17 sports and has been ranked as the top school in its conference for 10 of the last 11 years in the Director's Cup overall athletic rankings. More information about SMU and its coaches, student-athletes and teams is available at www.SMUMustangs.com.

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