Dec. 11, 2017
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. -- Auburn seniors Braden Smith, Tre' Williams, Tray Matthews, Daniel Carlson and Ike Powell have all received and accepted invitations to play in the Reese's Senior Bowl.
Smith and Williams, two of the team's three captains this season, waited until Tuesday before accepting their invitations. Smith started all 13 games at right guard, extending his streak to 40 consecutive starts dating back to 2014. Williams played in 10 games at linebacker this season and finished with 46 tackles and 2.5 sacks. The Mobile native will be returning to his hometown to play in the Senior Bowl.
Matthews finished with 53 tackles, one sack, one interception and one fumble recovery. The senior safety, who played his freshman year at Georgia, has amassed over 200 tackles during his college career. He led Auburn with 76 stops a year ago.
Carlson, a three-time Lou Groza Award finalist, became the SEC's all-time leading scorer this season. He made 21 of his 28 field-goal attempts, and his 117 points are tops among all SEC players. His career mark of 90 made field goals is No. 2 all-time, and he's never missed an extra-point attempt (195) during his four-year career with the Tigers.
Powell has been the team's starting long snapper since 2015 and has appeared in 43 career games.
In last year's Senior Bowl, Auburn was represented by Robert Leff, Montravius Adams and Johnathan Ford.
Invite accepted! Been watching this game for a LONG time, finally get to play in my hometown one more time! ÃÆ'¢Ãƒâ€¦"Ã…'🏾🖐🏾ÃÆ'¢Ãƒâ€¹Ã…"🏾 ITS TIME! pic.twitter.com/slZ1HJzwi0
-- Tre' Williams (@Trew30_) December 12, 2017
Accepted my invitation to the @seniorbowl !! Very thankful 🙌🏾 pic.twitter.com/5U7PeyuEXu
-- TriggaTray (@Trigga_Tray28) December 9, 2017
Excited to represent Auburn University at the 69th annual Reese's Senior Bowl!! Looking forward to turning this dream into a reality!! #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/VbY0SYgeJW
-- Daniel Carlson (@DanielCarlson38) December 8, 2017
Just accepted my invite for the 69th Reese's Senior Bowl! Thank you @SeniorBowlPhil @seniorbowl pic.twitter.com/ru2yUWpiBB
-- Ike Powell (@Ike_Powell60) December 8, 2017
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf