Senior Bowl

Purdue's Eric Hunter threw two touchdown passes and Carlton Miles of Florida blocked a punt to set up another touchdown, leading the NFC to a 21-6 victory over the AFC in yesterday's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. The NFC stopped the AFC three times inside the 20 without giving up points. Hunter impressed NFL scouts with his passing and running, and even recovered a fumble to earn the game's MVP award. He competed 3 of 6 attempts for 62 yards, including touchdown passes of 13 yards to Rice's Trevor Cobb and 12 yards to Tony McGee of Michigan.

The swallows have Mission San Juan Capistrano as their annual retreat hangout. Whales target the warmth of the south Pacific. Whooping cranes annually put Canada's northwest territories in their rear-view mirrors and head for the Texas coast. To each his own. Every third week of January, NFL coaches, scouts and personnel directors migrate to this historic Gulf Coast city for one reason: Senior Bowl week. They have been coming here for 45 years now, outnumbering the parking meters, packing the bars and restaurants and covering this town like sidewalk for six days of what has become an unofficial coaches convention.

Michael Robinson's running helped the North record a 31-14 victory over the South in the Senior Bowl yesterday in Mobile, Ala. The showcase game for senior NFL prospects didn't include many highlights for the most heralded offensive stars. But Robinson displayed a running ability that could bode well for a possible position move after a strong season at quarterback for Penn State. He led two touchdown drives with his legs, not his arm, and gained 63 yards on nine carries despite a sack.

MOBILE, Ala. - When Jack Crawford arrived at Penn State in 2008, he had been playing football for just two years, had been living in this country for just three years, and yet great things were expected out of the London-born defensive end. When he was one of only three true freshmen to play that season - a rarity in State College - some even went so far as to predict that he would become the next Courtney Brown. Even Brown, an all-American as a senior, wasn't Courtney Brown until his junior season.

Only the name, jersey number, position and physical attributes have changed. In 1994, it was offensive lineman Tre' Johnson. In 1987, it was running back Paul Palmer. Before them came guard John Rienstra in '86 and safety Anthony Young in '85. This year, it is outside linebacker Lance Johnstone's turn to be referred to by NFL scouts and coaches as "the kid from Temple. " The relationship between a college player and an NFL club always starts out like that. Of the 100-plus players at the recent Senior Bowl workouts in Mobile, Ala., approximately 85 began the week as The Kid From (Somewhere)

MOBILE, Ala. - The Eagles' coaches and scouts spent all day Monday getting to the Senior Bowl site, a delay out of Philadelphia causing them to miss a connecting flight from Atlanta to Mobile. They rented four vans and drove the final 5 hours. Andy Reid decided to bail on the whole trip. (So no, the vans hadn't burned all their timeouts by the time they hit Montgomery.) The scouts, obviously, needed to get here, to watch a decent-sized chunk of the best talent in the upcoming draft work out all week.

Andre Caldwell scored on a 2-yard end around on the final play of the Senior Bowl yesterday, to cap a 14-play, 86-yard final drive and lift the South to a 17-16 win over the North. The Florida receiver took the handoff from Tennessee's Erik Ainge and plunged across the goal line. Ainge, who was invited to the all-star game after Louisville's Brian Brohm bowed out, took over at his own 14 with 2 minutes, 48 seconds left after the North was stopped on fourth down. He completed six passes and benefited from a pass interference call.

FAIRHOPE, Ala. - Juan Castillo is still a member of the Eagles coaching staff. Whether he's still the team's defensive coordinator even he couldn't say. "You got to go through Andy," Castillo said, deferring to head coach Andy Reid. "I'm just working," he added, explaining his presence at Senior Bowl practice on Monday. Castillo, making his first public comments since before the end of the season, was simply following protocol when he declined to comment on his current status with the Eagles.

On the heels of a memorable season that helped put Penn State back among the nation's elite college football programs and saw the advent of a more daring passing offense, wide receiver Derrick Williams is looking to make a statement at this week's Senior Bowl. The 6-foot, 194-pound Maryland native, who was the top recruit coming out of high school 4 years ago, is the lone Nittany Lion on the North team, which is being coached by Marvin Lewis and his Cincinnati Bengals staff. Williams and fellow seniors Deon Butler and Jordan Norwood are the top three receivers in Penn State history; Butler made his case to NFL scouts, coaches and general managers at last week's East-West Shrine Bowl, where he led the East with three catches for 69 yards.

It could be a coincidence. Or it could be a trend that helps you figure out who the Eagles are looking for with the 25th pick in Saturday's NFL draft. Call it the Senior Bowl theory. Since Tom Modrak and Andy Reid have been working together, they have selected a total of 10 players in the first four rounds of two drafts. Eight of those players had taken part in the Senior Bowl, the annual college all-star game in Mobile, Ala. The eight: Donovan McNabb, Barry Gardner, Doug Brzezinski, Damon Moore and Na Brown in 1999 and Todd Pinkston, Bobbie Williams and Gari Scott in 2000.

Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh made a critical remark about the New England Patriots in a radio interview on Tuesday, but later backtracked. Harbaugh told a Baltimore station that New England's championships "got asterisks now; it's been stained" while referring to the Spygate scandal of 2007. The Ravens later released a a statement from Harbaugh in which he said his "reference was to the perception out there that came as the result of the league's actions. " He said that he could have been clearer and that "I totally believe that the Patriot and Saint coaches and players earned those championships.

Eagles Day 3 Draft Picks BRANDON BOYKIN CB, Georgia, 5-9, 182 His stock fell because of concussion concerns and a broken leg at the Senior Bowl, but the athletic corner projects as a slot man who can contribute immediately as a dynamic punt and kick returner. DENNIS KELLY T, Purdue, 6-8, 321 The massive lineman flew under the radar despite starting at Purdue, but Howard Mudd sees someone he hopes to develop. MARVIN McNUTT WR, Iowa, 6-3, 216 Tall and productive, with 18 touchdowns the last three seasons, McNutt is a former quarterback still learning the finer points of receiving.

NFL NETWORK analyst Mike Mayock, a Newtown Square resident, will break down each position in advance of the draft for Daily News readers. Here is Part 8 with his take on the defensive tackles: BEST FLETCHER COX Mississippi State 6-4, 298 Arm: 34 1/2 40-yard dash: 4.79 225-bench: 30 Projected Rd.: 1 (picks 12-18) Mayock: "All of his measurables are at the top end. He's got long arms. We all went nuts on Dontari Poe at the combine, but this kid ran a sub-4.8 40. So the measurables are great and the tape is really good.

PENN STATE All-America defensive tackle Devon Still will attend the NFL Scouting Combine next week in Indianapolis and take part in drills, agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed. Still was a late withdrawal from the Senior Bowl with a sprained big toe. Still, from Wilmington, is projected to go in the top 15 picks, so missing the Senior Bowl should not hurt his draft stock. He had 55 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and 4 1/2 sacks as a senior and was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

MOBILE, Ala. - Michigan State's Kirk Cousins and Wisconsin's Russell Wilson threw touchdown passes to lead the North to a 23-13 victory over the South in the Senior Bowl on Saturday. Purdue kicker Carson Wiggs put it away with his third short field goal, a 28-yarder with 4 minutes, 11 seconds left in the showcase for senior NFL prospects. Boise State's Kellen Moore - who won a college-record 50 games as a starting quarterback - led that clinching 13-play drive that consumed 8:36 with the help of a running clock.

MOBILE, Ala. - When Jack Crawford arrived at Penn State in 2008, he had been playing football for just two years, had been living in this country for just three years, and yet great things were expected out of the London-born defensive end. When he was one of only three true freshmen to play that season - a rarity in State College - some even went so far as to predict that he would become the next Courtney Brown. Even Brown, an all-American as a senior, wasn't Courtney Brown until his junior season.

MOBILE, Ala. - Luke Kuechly isn't here. Dont'a Hightower, ditto. Those are the standout linebackers most fans have heard about, who figure to be targets if the Eagles, drafting 15th overall, select a linebacker in the first round for the first time since Jerry Robinson in 1979.

MOBILE, Ala. - The Eagles are deficient at linebacker and so, the thinking goes, they must select one in the first round of April's draft. But they are young there, and adding another novice to the starting lineup may not be the best course of action, not to mention it's something the Eagles never do. But the Eagles are aging on their defensive line, their younger cycle of linemen come with many a question mark, and the Eagles really like to draft at that position.

MOBILE, Ala. - One thing Howie Roseman did not project yesterday was arrogance. That's a word that critics of the Eagles' front office employ pretty often, and there have been times when it most certainly fit. But the general manager was pretty much the opposite of smug yesterday, in a 23-minute session with a reporter from the Daily News and a reporter from the Inquirer , between practice sessions at the Senior Bowl. Roseman left the defensive-coordinator situation for head coach Andy Reid, but he agreed that some of the team's judgments last offseason were mistaken.

FAIRHOPE, Ala. - Juan Castillo is still a member of the Eagles coaching staff. Whether he's still the team's defensive coordinator even he couldn't say. "You got to go through Andy," Castillo said, deferring to head coach Andy Reid. "I'm just working," he added, explaining his presence at Senior Bowl practice on Monday. Castillo, making his first public comments since before the end of the season, was simply following protocol when he declined to comment on his current status with the Eagles.