Artis-Payne To Play in Prestigious Senior Bowl, Named to All-SEC First Team

Former Allan Hancock College star Cameron Artis-Payne has earned a golden opportunity to prove he belongs in the National Football League. The Auburn running back has accepted an invitation to play in the 2015 Senior Bowl, the annual bowl game kicks off a lengthy NFL Draft process. It annually features the country's best senior collegiate football stars and top NFL draft prospects on teams representing the North and South which are coached by the entire coaching staffs from two NFL teams.

The Senior Bowl will be on Saturday, January 24, 2015, at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The game will air on the NFL Network and start at 1 p.m. PST. More than 500 Senior Bowl participants are currently active in the NFL, including DeMarcus Ware, Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick. The Senior Bowl practice sessions are attended by hundreds of general managers, head coaches, assistant coaches, scouts and other front office personnel from the 32 NFL teams.

Artis-Payne leads the SEC with 1,482 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns to go with 12 catches for 129 yards. He is the the first Auburn running back to make the trip to Mobile since Ben Tate played in the 2010 Senior Bowl, a game that helped him become a second round pick.

He was named to the All-SEC First Team Offense at running back on Monday by the Associated Press.

Artis-Payne was an All-American at Hancock and owns nearly every rushing record at the college, including most career rushing yards (3,412), most career touchdowns (43), most rushing yards in a single-season (2,048) and most touchdowns in a single-season (25).

Auburn faces Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida on New Year's Day. It will kick off at 9 a.m. California time, in Raymond James Stadium on ESPN2. No. 19 Auburn is 8-4, while No. 18 Wisconsin is 10-3.