April 22, 2002

FURMAN'S WILL BOUTON, TRENT SANSBURY
SIGN NFL FREE AGENT CONTRACTS

GREENVILLE -- Furman linebacker Will Bouton and tight end Trent Sansbury have signed free agent contracts with the National Football League's Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals, respectively, the two players confirmed early Monday.

Bouton, a two-time All-America and Southern Conference Defensive Player-of-the-Year selection, totaled 141 tackles, 24 tackles-for-loss, and eight sacks in helping Furman to a 12-3 record, Southern Conference championship, and NCAA I-AA national runner-up finish in 2001. A Greenville native, he posted a school record 50 consecutive starts and finished his career ranked fifth on the school's all-time tackles chart with 445 stops. He will report to the Steelers' rookie mini-camp in Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Sansbury earned All-Southern Conference honors three times and tallied 44 receptions for 609 yards and two touchdowns in 2001. A three-year starter for the Paladins, the Lilburn, Ga., product caught 63 passes for 905 yards and seven touchdowns in his career. He will report to the Bengals' rookie mini-camp on May 3.

"We are very happy for Will and Trent and the opportunity they've earned to pursue their dreams of playing in the NFL," said Furman head football coach Bobby Lamb. "They were a tremendous credit to our program and university, and we certainly hope they will have the same impact with their new teams.

Both players received their undergraduate degrees from Furman in December: Bouton in philosophy and Sansbury in computing business.

Counting Bouton and Sansbury, Furman now has seven players in NFL camps, including Luther Broughton '97 (Chicago Bears), Orlando Ruff '99 (San Diego Chargers), John Keith '00 (San Francisco 49ers), Des Kitchings '00 (Indianapolis Colts), and Josh Moore '01 (Philadelphia Eagles).