Jan. 24, 2002

LAS VEGAS - Two former UNLV football players will take part in nationally televised postseason all-star games Saturday.

Third-team All-American cornerback Kevin Thomas is only the second Rebel ever to be invited to the prestigious Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., along with Ickey Woods who played in the event after the 1987 season. Thomas, who set a school and league record last fall with seven interceptions, also led the nation with three defensive touchdowns en route to being named Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

The native of Sacramento, Calif., will wear No. 27 on the North squad, which will be coached by Seattle Seahawks head man Mike Holmgren. Thomas is one of seven MWC players in this year's game. The Senior Bowl will be shown live on ESPN beginning at 2 p.m. PST.

Further south and earlier in the day, another Rebel will get to play in his home state as Ahmad Miller will suit up in the Fourth Annual Rotary Gridiron Classic in Orlando, Fla. The defensive tackle from Bradenton, Fla., will play for Team Florida, which is made up of players from, or who attended schools located in, the Sunshine State. Miller is the second Rebel to play in the game along with former running back Jeremi Rudolph, who starred in the event a year ago.

Lindy Infante will coach Team Florida while Team USA will be coached by Barry Switzer. Four other players from MWC schools are on this year's Team USA roster. The Gridiron Classic also will be shown live by ESPN beginning at 11 a.m. PST from the Florida Citrus Bowl. UNLV broke a school record this year by having players invited to five postseason games, including the Blue-Gray Classic, the East-West Shrine Game and the inaugural Paradise Bowl played earlier this month.