Senior Bowl Website

ELON, N.C. -- Having arrived in Mobile, Ala., over the weekend, Elon wide receiver Aaron Mellette has begun his preparations for Saturday's Senior Bowl.

Mellette has been placed on the North team which will be coached by the staff of the Oakland Raiders, including head coach Dennis Allen.  The team's first practice will come at 3:30 p.m. EST on Monday afternoon.

"I am honored to have the opportunity to play in the Senior Bowl," said Mellette.  "This is a great opportunity for me to display my skills and show that I can play with these guys."

Monday's schedule begins with a scouting weigh-in in the morning.  Both teams will practice in the afternoon before a player/media night aboard the battleship USS Alabama.  Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday will all conclude with NFL teams interviewing players.

Tuesday's practice will come early for Mellette and the North squad, as the group will hit the field at 10:30 a.m. EST.  Following a news conference, the players will attend the AT&T Seafood Jubilee.

Another morning practice awaits on Wednesday and will be followed by the PNC Bank Senior Boil.  That evening will see an FCA Rally.

Both teams will practice again on Thursday morning before a banquet is held that night.  

After walk through on Friday morning, there will be meet the players event at the Mobile Convention Center that begins at 4 p.m. EST.

Saturday brings game day for Mellette who will be facing off with some of the top senior players in the nation.  The game is set to kick at 4 p.m. EST and will be televised live on the NFL Network.

Mellette was a first-team All-Southern Conference selection by both the league's coaches and media members and placed eighth in the voting for the Walter Payton Award which is presented annually to the top player in the Football Championship Subdivision.  The Sanford, N.C., native concluded the season with a league-leading 108 points and 18 receiving touchdowns.  The TD catches are tied for the second-most ever in a single season in SoCon history.  In his senior year, Mellette caught 97 passes for 1,398 yards.  He led the SoCon and ranked second nationally in both receptions per game (8.82) and receiving yards per game (127.09) following the regular season.  He eclipsed 100 receiving yards in eight of Elon's 11 contests, including matching career-highs with 237 yards and three touchdowns against Appalachian State on Oct. 6.  Mellette posted a six-game span in which he caught at least two touchdowns.

Following his senior season, Mellette collected All-America honors from The Associated Press, Walter Camp Football Foundation, American Football Coaches Association, The Sports Network/Fathead.com and College Sporting News.  The later of those honors was announced on Jan. 21.

For his career in the maroon and gold, Mellette posted 4,254 receiving yards, 304 receptions, 44 touchdown catches and 23 100-yard games.  All of those numbers rank second in both Elon and Southern Conference history.

The Senior Bowl is the nation's most unique football game and is football's premier pre-draft event, annually featuring the country's best senior collegiate football stars and top NFL draft prospects on teams representing the North and South.  The teams are coached by the entire coaching staffs from two National Football League teams.  Senior Bowl practices are attended by over 800 general managers, head coaches, assistant coaches, scouts and other front office personnel from the 32 NFL teams.

Last year, all 109 participants in the Senior Bowl signed with NFL teams with 82 players being drafted.  The 2012 game produced eight first-round picks as well as 16 second-rounders.

The only other Elon player to appear in a football all-star game at the NCAA Division I level was linebacker Chad Nkang who earned team MVP honors at the 2007 Hula Bowl.  Nkang was a seventh-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars that year.