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July 8, 2009

NUSports.com
WildcatReport.com

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Big Ten Conference announced today the 33 student-athletes scheduled to attend the 2009 Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon, held Tuesday, July 28, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

Northwestern University will be represented by three of its leading seniors at this year's Big Ten Football Media Day and Kickoff Luncheon: quarterback Mike Kafka (Chicago, Ill./St. Rita), safety Brad Phillips (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional) and defensive end Corey Wootton (Rutherford, N.J./Don Bosco Prep).

The annual event, which also features all 11 conference head coaches, begins at 10 a.m. CT with the players and coaches autograph and photo session for fans attending the luncheon. The luncheon is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. CT with comments from all 11 coaches and returning All-Big Ten wide receiver Eric Decker of Minnesota, who will speak on behalf of the players in attendance.

The list of student-athletes scheduled to attend includes 17 former All-Big Ten selections, including nine first-team honorees from a year ago. The list also includes three standouts who were recognized as their respective teams' Most Valuable Players last season.

Scheduled to attend from last year's All-Conference first team are Illinois' Arrelious Benn, Indiana's Jammie Kirlew, Michigan's Zoltan Mesko, Michigan State's Greg Jones, Minnesota's Decker, NU's Wootton, Penn State's Daryll Clark and Jared Odrick and Wisconsin's Garrett Graham. Benn, Kirlew and Wootton were named MVPs of their respective teams following the conclusion of last season.

Also among the list of attendees are eight players who received either second-team or honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition in the last two years: Illinois' Juice Williams, Iowa's Pat Angerer and A.J. Edds, Michigan State's Brett Swenson and Blair White, Northwestern's Brad Phillips, Ohio State's Kurt Coleman and Penn State's Sean Lee, who was a second-team pick in 2007 before missing last year with an injury.





The Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon annually draws some of the most interesting and talented names in college sports. The list of former Kickoff Luncheon attendees includes coaching legends like Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes, along with each of the Big Ten's Heisman Trophy winners in the last 38 years -- Archie Griffin, Desmond Howard, Eddie George, Charles Woodson, Ron Dayne and the conference's most recent winner, Troy Smith. In all, over 700 of the conference's finest players, more than 50 head coaches and nearly 42,000 supporters have made the Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon a yearly stop in their preseason college football schedules.

PLAYERS ATTENDING 2009 BIG TEN KICKOFF LUNCHEON

Illinois
Arrelious Benn *, Jr., WRL
Doug Pilcher, Sr., DL
Juice Williams *, Sr., QB

Indiana
Ben Chappell, Jr., QB
Jammie Kirlew *, Sr., DE
Will Patterson, Sr., LB

Iowa
Pat Angerer *, Sr., LB
A.J. Edds *, Sr., LB
Tony Moeaki, Sr., TE

Michigan
Stevie Brown, Sr., LB/S
Zoltan Mesko *, Sr., P
Mark Ortmann, Sr., LT

Michigan State
Greg Jones *, Jr., LB
Brett Swenson *, Sr., PK
Blair White *, Sr., WR

Minnesota
Garrett Brown, Sr., DT
Lee Campbell, Sr., LB
Eric Decker *, Sr., WR

Northwestern
Mike Kafka, Sr., QB
Brad Phillips *, Sr., S
Corey Wootton *, Sr., DE

Ohio State
Jake Ballard, Sr., TE
Kurt Coleman *, Sr., DB
Doug Worthington, Sr., DE

Penn State
Daryll Clark *, Sr., QB
Sean Lee *, Sr., LB
Jared Odrick *, Sr., DT

Purdue
Joey Elliott, Sr., QB
Mike Neal, Sr., DT
Keith Smith, Jr., WR

Wisconsin
Garrett Graham *, Sr., TE
Jaevery McFadden, Sr., LB
O'Brien Schofield, Sr., DL

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