by Michael Bonnette, Associate AD/Sports Information Director
BATON ROUGE -- A record 41 former LSU football players will be on active NFL rosters when the 2009 season kicks off on Thursday night.
The 2009 NFL season starts on Thursday when the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Tennessee Titans in a game that will feature two former LSU players – Kevin Mawae, who is the starting center for the Titans and Ryan Clark, who is a starting safety for the Steelers.
In addition to the 41 Tigers on active NFL rosters, LSU has another four players on NFL practice squads and two players on the injured reserve. The total of 47 former Tigers on NFL rosters to start the season is the most in school history.
Twenty-five of the former Tigers are listed as starters for their NFL team, which includes a group of four starters for the Kansas City Chiefs (Glenn Dorsey, Tyson Jackson, Rudy Niswanger and Dwayne Bowe).
Nine members from last year’s LSU football team have made NFL rosters with five of those players being on the active squad. Those Tigers from last year’s LSU football team on active NFL rosters include: Tyson Jackson (Chiefs), Ricky Jean-Francois (49ers), Quinn Johnson (Packers), Herman Johnson (Cardinals), and Curtis Taylor (49ers).
Darry Beckwith (Chargers), Brett Helms (Texans), and Tremaine Johnson (Vikings) are on the practice squad, while Demetrius Byrd (Chargers) is on injured reserve.
Of the 41 former Tigers on active rosters, 22 played under current LSU coach Les Miles.
The following is a list of former LSU players who are currently in the NFL:
| Name |
Team |
Pos. |
| Joseph Addai |
Indianapolis Colts |
RB |
| Eric Alexander |
New England Patriots |
LB |
| Darry Beckwith * | San Diego Chargers | LB |
| Dwayne Bowe | Kansas City Chiefs |
WR |
| Demetrius Byrd ** | San Diego Chargers | WR |
| Ryan Clark |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
FS |
| Michael Clayton |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
WR |
| Craig Davis | San Diego Chargers |
WR |
| Glenn Dorsey | Kansas City Chiefs |
DT |
| Early Doucet | Arizona Cardinals |
WR |
| Alan Faneca |
New York Jets |
G |
| Kevin Faulk |
New England Patriots |
RB |
| Matt Flynn | Green Bay Packers |
QB |
| Randall Gay |
New Orleans Saints |
CB |
| Howard Green | New York Jets |
DT |
| Jarvis Green |
New England Patriots |
DL |
| Brett Helms * | Houston Texans | C |
| Devery Henderson |
New Orleans Saints |
WR |
| Jacob Hester | San Diego Chargers |
RB |
| Ali Highsmith | Arizona Cardinals |
LB |
| Tyson Jackson | Kansas City Chiefs | DE |
| Bradie James |
Dallas Cowboys |
LB |
| Ricky Jean-Francois | San Francisco 49ers | DT |
| Brian Johnson | Baltimore Ravens | G |
| Herman Johnson | Arizona Cardinals | G |
| Quinn Johnson | Green Bay Packers | FB |
| Tremaine Johnson * | Minnesota Vikings | DL |
| Donnie Jones |
St. Louis Rams |
P |
| LaRon Landry | Washington Redskins |
S |
| Nate Livings |
Cincinnati Bengals |
G |
| Kevin Mawae |
Tennessee Titans |
C |
| Todd McClure |
Atlanta Falcons |
C |
| Rudy Niswanger |
Kansas City Chiefs |
C |
| Stephen Peterman |
Detroit Lions |
G |
| Josh Reed |
Buffalo Bills |
WR |
| Mark Roman |
San Francisco 49ers |
S |
| Robert Royal | Cleveland Browns |
TE |
| JaMarcus Russell | Oakland Raiders |
QB |
| Marcus Spears |
Dallas Cowboys |
DE |
| Craig Steltz | Chicago Bears |
S |
| Curtis Taylor | San Francisco 49ers | S |
| Justin Vincent * | Pittsburgh Steelers |
RB |
| Corey Webster |
New York Giants |
CB |
| Andrew Whitworth |
Cincinnati Bengals |
G |
| Kyle Williams |
Buffalo Bills |
DT |
| Keith Zinger |
Altanta Falcons |
TE |
