'03 Fiesta Bowl Revisted

[Kirkendall]

Of the 43 players who started for Ohio State or Miami in 2003 Fiesta Bowl three are still in school. And out of the 40 who could be in the pros, 36 are on NFL rosters as training camps open this week. That's 90 percent. Close enough.

"Remarkable," said Robert Reynolds, a former OSU linebacker now with the Tennessee Titans.

"Unique," said Floyd Reese, the Titans' general manager.

"Pretty special," said Duke Tobin, Cincinnati Bengals director of player personnel.

"Ridiculous," said Ivan Maisel, college football reporter for ESPN.com.

Anyone who watched that game must have realized that two great teams were involved. OSU won 31-24 in overtime to claim the national championship.

Most people probably understood that a lot of the players would end up in the NFL. The two schools are traditional pro football factories, after all.

But to have so many players prove to be pro caliber from a single game? It might be unprecedented.

"When you have that many guys to look at, the tape is moving very slow," Tobin said. "You're watching dang near every position. Obviously, not all of them came out in one year, but you were aware of the young guys playing and playing well.

"Those two schools at that particular time were overproducing."

The only four eligible starters not in the NFL are guard Bryce Bishop and fullback Branden Joe from Ohio State and guard Sherko Haji-Rasouli and safety Maurice Sikes from Miami.

Of those, Joe might still get a free-agent contract, and Haji-Rasouli is playing in the Canadian Football League.

The starters did not have a monopoly on NFL futures. Fifteen of the substitutes in that game now are in the pros, as well.

That makes 51 future pros in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl so far, out of the 101 who played.

"It seems like every game we play now, there is either somebody I played with or against in the Fiesta Bowl who is on the other team," Reynolds said. "And that's pretty neat."

Expect that number to go up, too. While several current pros might get cut in the next year, 23 of the Fiesta Bowl players are still in school.

They include NFL locks such as Ohio State's A.J. Hawk, Nate Salley, Bobby Carpenter, Rob Sims and Nick Mangold, to name a few.

[AMC]

Of the 43 players who started for Ohio State or Miami in 2003 Fiesta Bowl three are still in school. And out of the 40 who could be in the pros, 36 are on NFL rosters as training camps open this week. That's 90 percent. Close enough.

"Remarkable," said Robert Reynolds, a former OSU linebacker now with the Tennessee Titans.

"Unique," said Floyd Reese, the Titans' general manager.

"Pretty special," said Duke Tobin, Cincinnati Bengals director of player personnel.

"Ridiculous," said Ivan Maisel, college football reporter for ESPN.com.

Anyone who watched that game must have realized that two great teams were involved. OSU won 31-24 in overtime to claim the national championship.

Most people probably understood that a lot of the players would end up in the NFL. The two schools are traditional pro football factories, after all.

But to have so many players prove to be pro caliber from a single game? It might be unprecedented.

"When you have that many guys to look at, the tape is moving very slow," Tobin said. "You're watching dang near every position. Obviously, not all of them came out in one year, but you were aware of the young guys playing and playing well.

"Those two schools at that particular time were overproducing."

The only four eligible starters not in the NFL are guard Bryce Bishop and fullback Branden Joe from Ohio State and guard Sherko Haji-Rasouli and safety Maurice Sikes from Miami.

Of those, Joe might still get a free-agent contract, and Haji-Rasouli is playing in the Canadian Football League.

The starters did not have a monopoly on NFL futures. Fifteen of the substitutes in that game now are in the pros, as well.

That makes 51 future pros in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl so far, out of the 101 who played.

"It seems like every game we play now, there is either somebody I played with or against in the Fiesta Bowl who is on the other team," Reynolds said. "And that's pretty neat."

Expect that number to go up, too. While several current pros might get cut in the next year, 23 of the Fiesta Bowl players are still in school.

They include NFL locks such as Ohio State's A.J. Hawk, Nate Salley, Bobby Carpenter, Rob Sims and Nick Mangold, to name a few.

Looking back the talent in that game WAS unbelievable...

I like putting that game in once in awhile....The Hurricanes were so smug...

And that WAS pass interference in the end zone!

[cj4mvp85]

i will always remember that game i have it on DVD and watch it once in a while!!it is a great game!!!!GO BUCKS!!!!!!!!!also that stat is amazing 51 players already in the nfl from that game and still more to come!!WOW!!!

[EdwardG]

It was only the greatest game in football history.

[cincy9275]

i agree that was the best championship game ever played