KENT, Ohio — Despite the snow blanketing the ground on the Kent State campus, thoughts of palm trees, leis and hula skirts abound. The visions of paradise came courtesy of the NFL, which announced on Wednesday that former Golden Flashes Josh Cribbs, Antonio Gates and James Harrison were all named starters on the AFC Pro Bowl team.

With three selections (all of whom were undrafted free agents), Kent State trails only Miami (Fla.) — which has five — in terms of honorees. A total of seven other schools have two representatives headed for Hawaii on Feb. 10.

Cribbs, who leads the NFL with 1,637 kickoff return yards, is averaging 30.9 yards on 53 returns for the Cleveland Browns, taking a pair back for touchdowns to tie for the league lead. KSU’s all-time leader in attempts (1,123), completions (616), passing yards (7,169), total yards (10,839) and touchdowns (41), he also tallied 3,670 rushing yards from 2001-04 to rank third in school annals. Twice in his standout career with the Flashes, he totaled 1,000 yards both passing and rushing. This is his first Pro Bowl selection.

Meanwhile, Gates is making his fourth consecutive trip to Honolulu as a standout for the San Diego Chargers. He is tied for the lead among all NFL tight ends with nine touchdowns while making 68 receptions for 898 yards. Gates actually played basketball for the Golden Flashes, earning honorable mention All-America honors from the Associated Press after averaging 20.6 ppg and 7.7 rpg as a senior in 2002-03. The previous season, he played a large roll in KSU’s run to the Elite 8.

Like Cribbs, Harrison will be making his first appearance in the Pro Bowl. The Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker leads the AFC in forced (7) and recovered (3) fumbles, is eighth in sacks (8.5) and 15th in tackles (89). A standout on the Flashes defense from 1999-01, he ranks third in school history with 15 sacks while his 42 tackles for loss stands fifth. Harrison led KSU with 106 tackles in 2000 and went on to record 12 sacks the next year — the second-best total in school history.

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Media Contact:
Alan Ashby, 330-672-8419, aashby2@kent.edu