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Editor's note: This is the fourth in a series of diary/blog submissions, accompanied by videos and still photos Rock Sports Information Director Bob McComas will file to chronicle the activities of Brandon Fusco as the first-ever SRU football student athlete to participate in the Under Armour Senior Bowl, the premier postseason football game for aspiring NFL draft prospects.

MOBILE, Ala. -- To say Brandon Fusco has made a good showing during workouts for the 2011 Under Armour Senior Bowl would be a huge understatement. Everyone at SRU should be, and I'm sure are, very proud of the effort he put forth this week and the first-class manner in which he's represented our university.

As we chronicled in yesterday's diary, he impressed his position coaches with his work ethic. Cincinnati Bengals assistant head coach/offensive line coach Paul Alexander and offensive quality control coach Kyle Caskey spoke glowingly about the former Rock standout.

Thursday, we had a chance to speak with two of Fusco's teammates on the North squad for Saturday's nationally-televised game. They also had some very nice things to say about Fusco.

“Right off the bat, he's a great guy,” said Ricky Stanzi, a quarterback from Big Ten Conference member Iowa. “He's a great worker and does a great job communicating with everyone.

“It's so important at our two positions, him playing center and me playing quarterback, that everyone's on the same page. He's done a great job getting guys into the huddle and establishing order, which makes my job a lot easier.

“He's done a tremendous job … he's been a pleasure to work with,” Stanzi added.

Fusco is part of an offensive line that has a definite Big Ten flavor (two players from Wisconsin and one each from Indiana and Michigan in a group of nine), so we asked Stanzi how the 6-foot-4, 300-pound Fusco would rank in that fraternity.

“Look at his size and the way he carries himself. There's no doubt in my mind he could play anywhere, not just the Big Ten but any other big conference,” Stanzi said. “He's does a tremendous job with his leadership and his size and his ability. His skills would easily translate to playing in the bigger conferences, so I don't have any reason to think he wouldn't have been successful there.”

When it's all said and done, the “what-if's” really doesn't matter, Stanzi said. “He's made a name for himself and he's here and that's all that matters now.”

One of Fusco's offensive linemates, Wisconsin All-America performer John Moffitt, wasn't quite as liberal with his words, but still conveyed appreciation for Fusco's performance this week.

“He's a good center,” the Badgers guard said. “He's done really well. I like him a lot and I like to play next to him.”

Click on the link above to hear the complete video interviews with Stanzi and Moffitt, as well as Fusco's own evaluation of his performance in the first four days of workouts for this year's Senior Bowl.

Thursday was the final true workout in preparation for Saturday's game, which will be televised live by the NFL Network with kickoff set for 4 p.m. Eastern time. Both the North and South squads will hold light “walk through” practices Friday morning at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, the site of the game.

Following Friday's walk through sessions, the players will turn their attention to meeting their fans. A visit to the USA Children's and Women's Hospital in Mobile is scheduled for the early afternoon, followed by the Coca-Cola Meet the Players event in the late afternoon.

We will bring you a report from the walk through, visit to the hospital and the Meet the Players event Friday evening or possibly not until Saturday morning. We request your patience and understanding on the lateness of the postings.

We had hoped to be able to provide you with video of the practices throughout the week, but those plans were negated by an exclusivity clause in the contract with the NFL Network. With only a few rare exceptions, media and coaches were only permitted access to the field at the conclusion of each workout. We attempted to shoot some video early in the week from locations behind the fences that surround the field but we did not have the proper equipment to do so and decided the images we got would have been indistinguishable.

As the time winds down to game day, we want to say what a privilege it has been to provide you with the updates from Mobile. A huge shoutout to SRU Assistant Sports Information Director Jon Holtz for coordinating everything back at The Rock.

Until we talk tomorrow … GO ROCK!!

Bob McComas
Sports Information Director