Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler was still trending on Twitter on Monday, a day after his game-saving interception in the New England Patriots’ 28-24 win over Seattle on Sunday night.

Butler also was hard to miss a year ago at the inaugural Medal of Honor Bowl in Charleston, a game that played no small part in Butler’s amazing rise from a Popeyes chicken restaurant employee to NFL player and Super Bowl star.

“I remember seeing him every day at practice,” says Austin Atkinson, the deputy director of player personnel for the Medal of Honor Bowl. “Every time he made a play — and he made a lot of them — he’d pound on his chest and yell, ‘Mr. D2! Mr. D2!’

“He was so proud of being from a Division II school. He was one of only a few Division II players we had in the game, and he was making plays all week.”

Medal of Honor Bowl coach Chan Gailey — now the offensive coordinator of the New York Jets — was so impressed with Butler, a 5-11, 190-pound cornerback from West Alabama, that he recommended him to Patriots coach Bill Belichick for a tryout. The Patriots signed Butler last May; he received no signing bonus.

Butler, from Vicksburg, Miss., began his college career at nearby Hinds Community College. Five games into his freshman season, he was dismissed from the program and worked at a Popeyes before getting a second chance at West Alabama.

Butler was twice an all-Gulf South Conference pick at West Alabama, and he picked off a pass in the first Medal of Honor Bowl. With the Patriots this season, he played 52 snaps on special teams and 184 on defense during the season. He didn’t get into the Super Bowl until the Patriots’ 32nd snap on defense, when Butler subbed in for Kyle Arrington as the nickel cornerback.

Butler was the defensive back victimized by a miracle catch by Seahawks’ receiver Jermaine Kearse, putting Seattle on the 5-yard line with a chance to win the game. Two plays later, Butler knifed in front of Seattle receiver Ricardo Lockette to pick off a slant pass at the goal-line with 20 seconds to play.

On ESPN radio Monday morning, talking heads debated whether the Medal of Honor Bowl alumnus had made the greatest play in Super Bowl history.

“It was just amazing to see a kid like that come out of nowhere and make the most of his opportunity,” Atkinson said.

Monday morning during Medal of Honor Bowl week is when the assembled NFL hopefuls are paraded before scouts and personnel experts. The players are measured and weighed and otherwise inspected to make sure they stack up to the demanding physical standards of pro football.

There were more than a few raised eyebrows when Nate Boyer was called to the scales.

“Really?” said Boyer, recalling the reaction with a chuckle. “This guy is a long-snapper?”

Of the more than 100 NFL prospects who will take the field Saturday in the Medal of Honor Bowl at Johnson Hagood Stadium, Boyer is by far the most unlikely.

It’s not just that at 5-10 and 197 pounds, the University of Texas graduate is a few inches and about 40 pounds shy of even the modest standards of an average NFL long-snapper.

There’s also the fact that at 34, he’s about 12 years older than his Medal of Honor Bowl teammates.

And then there’s Boyer’s summer job – Green Beret with the Texas National Guard and the Army’s Special Forces.

Boyer was deployed to Afghanistan over the last two summers, returning to Austin each August in time for football season. After walking on as a safety, Boyer earned a scholarship and the job as the Longhorns’ starting long-snapper, where he never had a bad snap. He learned how to long-snap by watching videos on YouTube, and practiced while he was deployed by snapping a football into a net or at a piece of plywood.

Boyer also saw his share of action on the battlefield. Last July, he was involved in a firefight in Afghanistan as part of a patrol of about a dozen Americans and 100 Afghan soldiers they had trained. Boyer can recall a bullet whizzing by his head, he said in an article by Yahoo Sports.

Before joining the military, Boyer worked on a fishing boat, trained as a firefighter, tried acting and volunteered at a refugee camp in Sudan. That last experience sparked his interest in the military.

During his Army career, Boyer was deployed many times into war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. The native of Dublin, Calif., was awarded a Bronze Star and was the first recipient of the Armed Forces Merit Award, an award also presented to Clemson receiver Daniel Rodriguez, another military veteran playing in the Medal of Honor Bowl.

“This is a great opportunity for me and all these guys,” Boyer said of the bowl. “This week has meant a lot to me because of my background. It brings together two things that I love, the military and football. I’m always amazed at how much college football embraces the military and veterans.

“I tell these (players) here, they don’t realize what a huge thing college football is to soldiers who are deployed. We watch all the games, even though they are on at five in the morning. We’ll stay up all night to watch college football, if we don’t have a mission. We’ll all huddle around whatever TV we can find and watch.”

Rodriguez’s story was well known to bowl officials Cal McCombs and Austin Atkinson, who put together the rosters for this year’s game. But McCombs was not aware of Boyer’s story until he called a coaching friend in Texas who said, “Do you need a long-snapper?”

Now, Boyer is hoping an NFL team has the same need.

“If I can get an opportunity I will make the most of it,” said Boyer, who already has a job lined up as an intern with a Hollywood production company. “That’s how I live my life, and that’s what I’m into. If someone takes a chance on me, I’ll do everything I can to not let them down.”

Charleston is a big-time player in tourism, fine dining and epic history.

It’s just not a big-time sports town.

Not that’s there anything wrong with that.

Sure, Daniel Island has the Family Circle Cup, a high-profile event on the women’s pro tennis circuit. And Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course had the 2012 PGA Championship and the 1991 Ryder Cup. (More on our local athletic-mecca victories later in this column.)

But when the eyes of the nation’s sports fans turn to our state, it’s usually to watch telecasts of college football or basketball games in Clemson or Columbia.

At 2:30 p.m. Saturday, though, NBC Sports Network will carry a football game live from Johnson Hagood Stadium.

And if you’re already mourning the season’s looming end, why not get a final in-person dose of America’s most popular sport at the Medal of Honor Bowl?

After all, that second annual all-star spectacle will feature the best array of football talent at Johnson Hagood since Sept. 2, 1967.

That’s where and when I saw Miami linebacker Wahoo McDaniel kick a 27-yard field goal to lift the Dolphins to a 20-17 NFL exhibition victory over the New Orleans Saints. McDaniel also was a widely beloved pro wrestler who long and frequently graced Charleston’s County Hall with his devastating “Tomahawk Chop,”

No, there aren’t any likely high-round draft choices (or rasslers?) on Saturday’s American (under head coach Willie Jeffries of S.C. State fame) and National (under head coach Chan Gailey of Dallas Cowboys, Georgia Tech and Buffalo Bills fame) teams.

Yet the talent level significantly exceeds last year’s Medal of Honor Bowl. And that inaugural edition included three players who were drafted four months later – and 73 more who were invited to NFL camps as undrafted free agents.

Lest you underrate undrafted free agents and/or players from non-big-time football schools, consider that “America’s Team” (aka the Dallas Cowboys, aka Chris Christie’s Team) signed Tony Romo in 2003 as an undrafted free agent from Eastern Illinois.

Lest you underrate the in-state appeal of Saturday’s game, consider that while it will spotlight pro prospects from across the land, the rosters also include players from The Citadel, Charleston Southern, S.C. State, Furman, Coastal Carolina, Clemson and South Carolina.

And as a decorated (Bronze Star, Purple Heart) combat veteran, Clemson wide receiver Daniel Rodriguez is a particularly fitting participant.

More good reasons to attend the game: It benefits the Medal of Honor Museum and the Wounded Warriors of S.C. – and 15 recipients of our nation’s highest military honor are expected to attend.

But he wasn’t small

Back to Johnson Hagood:

Among the players who have competed there in my lifetime as Citadel Bulldogs before moving up to the NFL: John Small (Atlanta picked him as the school’s only first-round draft choice ever), Stump Mitchell, Travis Jervey (ex-Wando High star and one of the American team’s assistant coaches this week), Andre Roberts (now with the hapless Washington Redskins) and Cortez Allen (now with the playoff-ousted Pittsburgh Steelers).

Among the players who have competed there against The Citadel before moving up to the NFL: Terrell Owens of Chattanooga and the Dallas Cowboys; Dexter Coakley of Wando, Appalachian State and the Dallas Cowboys; Stanford Jennings of Summerville High and Furman; and J.J. Wilcox of Georgia Southern and now the Dallas Cowboys.

Among the high school seniors in the 2010 NUC (National Underclassman Combines) All-World Gridiron Classic at Johnson Hagood: 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel (aka “Johnny Football”) and 2014 Heisman winner Marcus Mariota.

Among the coaches who have trod the Johnson Hagood sidelines …

Frank Howard (Clemson); Tom Nugent (VMI before going to Florida State and Maryland); Billy Murphy (Memphis State); Marvin Bass (South Carolina); Red Parker (The Citadel before Clemson); Thad “Pie” Vann (Southern Mississippi); Jim Carlen (West Virginia before Texas Tech and South Carolina); Lou Holtz (William & Mary before N.C. State, the New York Jets, Arkansas, Minnesota, Notre Dame and South Carolina); Bobby Ross (The Citadel before Maryland, Georgia Tech, the San Diego Chargers and Army); and Dick Sheridan (Furman before N.C. State).

A man-to-man tradition

Beyond football, John Kresse’s triumphant 1979-2002 tenure at the College of Charleston rates a special spot in local sports lore. His Cougars won nearly 80 percent of their games, the 1983 NAIA title and reached four NCAA tournaments with consistently tenacious defense.

In baseball, The Citadel won 1990 College World Series game, and the College of Charleston almost made it to the 2014 College World Series.

And the Charleston RiverDogs (pro baseball), Charleston Battery (pro soccer) and South Carolina Stingrays (pro hockey) all make this a much livelier sports town.

So show TV viewers Saturday that folks around here will show up to see future NFL players, help worthy causes and honor true heroes.

So what if it’s supposed be a bit chilly (near 50) by our spoiled standards?

That’s a lot warmer than it will be in Green Bay on Sunday when Romo leads “America’s Team” to a playoff victory over the Packers.

And you can count on S.C. State’s “Marching 101″ band to heat up Johnson Hagood on Saturday.

Frank Wooten is assistant editor of The Post and Courier. His email is wooten@postandcourier.com.

On the night of Nov. 1, Alabama-Birmingham kicker Ty Long made a 24-yard field goal with three seconds left in the game, lifting his Blazers to a 31-28 win over Florida Atlantic.

It was a great night for the Blazers, their fifth win of the season pushing them closer to their goals of a winning record and a bowl game after the team went just 2-10 in 2013.

But that night, Long and his teammates noticed a tweet from former UAB great Roddy White, an Atlanta Falcons receiver and James Island Charter High School graduate.

“Help me save UAB football,” White posted on his Twitter account.

It was the first serious indication for Long and his teammates that their football program was in immediate jeopardy.

“We had no idea what was going on,” Long said this week. “We were like, ‘What is he talking about?’ But Roddy knew a lot of stuff before we did.”

As it turned out, White was right; UAB shuttered its football program on Dec. 2. The Conference USA school became the first FBS school to drop football since Pacific in 1995.

That means that at the Medal of Honor Bowl on Saturday, Long and UAB teammates J.J. Nelson and Hunter Mullins will be among the last Blazers to wear a UAB helmet in a game. It’s something they don’t take lightly.

“The hard part is, we feel like (the administration) doesn’t want us there,” said Long, a senior from Roswell, Ga. “But we are going to make it clear that we are still here. I’m proud to say I’m from UAB and proud to wear that helmet this week. We want more people to know what happened and for people to support us.”

As rumors around the program grew during the season, the players began to feel they could save Blazers football if they could win enough games. The Blazers defeated Southern Miss by 45-24 on Nov. 29 to win their sixth game and become bowl eligible for the first time in 10 years.

“That was a weird feeling,” said Mullins, a senior punter from Tallassee, Ala. “Everybody was jumping and down, excited because we had won our sixth game. But I was thinking, is that enough? I didn’t know if it was enough to save our program.”

The Blazers did not receive a bowl invitation, and that Southern Miss game turned out to be their last – maybe ever.

“The season went really well,” said Nelson, a senior receiver from Midfield, Ala. “We wish we could have won a few more games, but coming from two wins, we could not have done much better than we did. I guess it wasn’t enough.”

In the weeks since the program was disbanded, many UAB players have found new schools to attend, but coach Bill Clark has yet to find a new job.

“A lot of guys have found a spot to play, but some have not and that’s what stinks,” Long said. “It’s hard to see guys you played with, guys you are friends with, and now they are struggling.”

Newspaper reports have questioned the financial numbers UAB used in dropping football, and many in Birmingham rallied to the Blazers’ support.

“The response has been awesome,” Mullins said. “It shows that people see the work we put in. I think a lot of UAB fans are thinking, this should not be happening to our team. We should have been better fans.”

Some are holding out hope that this story is not over.

“In my personal opinion, it will come back,” Long said. “A lot of the numbers they said are not true, and it’s been proven they are not true. The whole time it was going on, we wanted to keep it positive. We were not trying to riot or anything. We were just standing up for what we believe in and what we love.”

Notes

. Singers Lt. Col. Mike Corrado and John Ford Coley will join the S.C. State Marching Band during the halftime show of the Medal of Honor Bowl on Saturday at Johnson Hagood Stadium. Corrado, an active duty Marine, is known for his song “Stand.” Coley, a Lowcountry resident and half of the duo “England Dan and John Ford Coley” will sing “God Bless America.”

. Events for fans to attend this week include the Gridiron Greats panel discussion Thursday at Seacoast Church in Mount Pleasant. Ticket information is at www.mohbowl.com.

. Former Clemson standout quarterback Tajh Boyd and ex-South Carolina two-sport athlete Bruce Ellington will be at the pregame Tailgate FanFest on Saturday in the stadium’s parking lot from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. The duo will meet and greet with fans, take pictures and sign some autographs. There is no admission charge to the Tailgate Fanfest.

. Medal of Honor Bowl chairman Tommy McQueeney said a solid turnout for Saturday’s game is vital for the event’s first year on TV. The game will be shown on NBC Sports Network. Fans have a chance to win a Mercedes Benz at the game, and a donation of $20 will earn fans a chance at a Super Bowl VIP package. See www.mohbowl.com for details.

When Mike Sellers was forced to leave The Citadel two years ago, a part of him thought his football career was over.

Sellers was an FCS All-American as a center for the Bulldogs, a prime mover in The Citadel’s 7-4 season in 2012 and a major reason for Bulldogs optimism during spring practice in 2013. But in February 2013, word came down that Sellers would be forced to leave The Citadel just before his senior year, accused of a violation of the military school’s honor code.

The news plunged Sellers into depression. The Fort Dorchester High School graduate had just celebrated the birth of a son; now it seemed as if his football career and a chance at a college degree might be done.

“After that happened, I went through a really down period,” Sellers says now. “I just had my son, and now I was going to have to leave my family and all my friends, leave all the coaches I had developed close connections with. It was hard.”

With the encouragement of his father, Sellers decided to continue his career at Winston-Salem State, a Division II school in Winston-Salem State, N.C. After sitting out the 2013 season, Sellers started at center for the Rams last season, playing well enough to earn an invitation to Saturday’s Medal of Honor Bowl all-star game at Johnson Hagood Stadium.

Ironically, Sellers found himself back at The Citadel on Monday, dressing in the Bulldogs’ locker room and working out in front of NFL scouts on The Citadel’s practice field.

“It’s really kind of bittersweet,” Sellers said. “I really wanted to stay here and graduate from The Citadel. But being back here and seeing a lot of old friends and getting to play in this game, it’s really a blessing.”

The big question for Sellers this week is finding a position where he can fit in pro football. At The Citadel, Sellers was a 6-0, 290-pound center with a quick first step and a mean streak. But that’s not big enough to project as an offensive lineman in the NFL, where the average lineman is about 6-5 and 310 pounds. At the NFL Scouting Combine last year, the shortest lineman stood 6-2; the lightest weighed 299 pounds.

That’s why Sellers will spend time at H-back, fullback, linebacker and tight end this week.

“That will be hard, but that’s what I need to do,” said Sellers, who now weighs about 265 pounds. “I feel like I can play center at the next level, but a lot of scouts say they like me at fullback. Whatever they like me at, that’s where I’ll play.”

Running pass routes is definitely something new for Sellers, who did play fullback at Fort Dorchester.

American Team offensive coordinator Cam Turner played with Sellers for one season at The Citadel.

“He’s going to be a utility guy for us,” said Turner, the quarterbacks and receivers coach at Florida International. “We’re going to try to move him around and see what we can do with him. We’ll see if he can block at the point of attack on run plays, and then get him out in the flat and see if he can catch the ball.

“He’s strong, he’s athletic. We’ll move him around and then let the scouts do their job and see where he fits.”

For now, Sellers is just happy to have a second chance to show that he can fit somewhere.

“I’ve learned a lot,” he said. “Bad things happen, mistakes happen. But you just have to keep going.”

Notes

Most of the Medal of Honor Bowl players with local ties are on the American Team along with Sellers. Citadel players Jake Stenson (running back) and Justin Oxendine (defensive end) are on coach Willie Jeffries’ American squad, along with linebackers Gabe Middlebrook of Charleston Southern and Michael Gruber of Dorchester Academy and Brevard College.

N.C. State defensive tackle Thomas Teal had to pull out of the Medal of Honor Bowl with an eye injury. He’s been replaced by tackle Brandon Smith of Division II Miles College.

Events for fans to attend this week include the Heroes Luncheon for The Wounded Warriors of S.C. on Tuesday and the Gridiron Greats panel discussion on Thursday. Ticket information for both events is at www.mohbowl.com.

Former Clemson standout quarterback Tajh Boyd and former South Carolina two-sport athlete Bruce Ellington will be at the pregame Tailgate FanFest on Saturday in the stadium’s parking lot from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.

The duo will meet and greet with fans, take pictures and sign some autographs. There is no admission charge to the Tailgate Fanfest.

Medal of Honor Bowl chairman Tommy McQueeney said a solid turnout for Saturday’s game is vital for the event’s first year on TV. The game will be shown on NBC Sports Network.

Fans have a chance to win a Mercedes Benz at the game, and a donation of $20 will earn fans a chance at a Super Bowl VIP package. See www.mohbowl.com for details.

The second annual Medal of Honor Bowl will feature 38 players from SEC and ACC schools, including two from Clemson and at least one South Carolina Gamecock.

Two players from The Citadel, running back Jake Stenson and defensive end Justin Oxendine, and Charleston Southern linebacker Gabe Middlebrook also are on the all-star game’s rosters, released Wednesday.

Clemson cornerback Garry Peters and wide receiver Daniel Rodriguez had previously committed to the game, set for 2:30 p.m. Jan. 10 at Johnson Hagood Stadium. South Carolina safety Brison Williams also will play, and bowl officials say a second Gamecock could be added to the roster.

The American and National team rosters, made up of draft-eligible college football players from around the country, include 20 players from the ACC, with 15 of the 16 member schools represented thus far. There are 18 SEC players on the rosters, including Florida linemen Max Garcia and Chaz Green.

Quarterbacks in the game include Tyler Murphy of Boston College, Jake Waters of Kansas State, Terrance Broadway of Louisiana Lafayette, Gary Nova of Rutgers and Ryan Williams of Miami.

Other local players of note include ex-Citadel center Mike Sellers, now a 6-0, 265-pound lineman at Winston-Salem State. The Fort Dorchester High School product will play H-back and running back in the Medal of Honor Bowl.

Also playing is former Dorchester Academy standout Michael Gruber, a Division II All-American linebacker at Brevard (N.C.) College. Gruber, 6-3 and 240 pounds, finished his career as Brevard’s all-time leading tackler. Linebackers Gary Wilkins of Furman and Quinn Backus of Coastal Carolina also were selected.

Also Wednesday, the Medal of Honor Bowl announced that former Citadel and NFL player Travis Jervey and NFL Hall of Famer Chris Doleman have been added as assistant coaches. Doleman replaces Hall of Famer Elvin Bethea, who had to withdraw from the game for family reasons.

Doleman played for the Vikings, Falcons and 49ers and was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2012.

Players are set to report Sunday for a week of practices. The game will be televised nationally by NBC Sports Network.

Medal of Honor Bowl rosters

American Team

Quarterbacks: Chris Bonner, Colorado State-Pueblo; Jake Waters, Kansas State; Terrance Broadway, Louisiana Lafayette; Tyler Murphy, Boston College.

Running backs: Akeem Hunt, Purdue, Prince-Tyson Gulley, Syracuse; Jake Stenson, The Citadel; Tony Creecy, N.C. State; Mike Sellers, Winston-Salem State.

Wide receivers: J.J. Nelson, Alabama-Birmingham; Cam Worthy, East Carolina; Curry Sexton, Kansas State; R.J. Harris, New Hampshire; Glenn Coleman, Florida Atlantic; Kyle Prater, Northwestern.

Tight ends: Jack Tabb, North Carolina; Steven Borden, Kentucky.

Linemen: Jake Smith, Louisville; Junior Salt, Utah; Garrett Frye, Ga. Southern; Chris Jasperse, Marshall; Ian Silberman, Boston College; Terrence Jones, Troy; Kendall Lamm, App State; Blaine Causell, Mississippi State; Rob Crisp, N.C. State; Quinterrius Eatmon, South Florida.

Defensive linemen: Zack Allen, Wake Forest; Justin Oxendine, The Citadel; Ryan Mueller, Kansas State; Nigel Crawford, St. Augustine; Thomas Teal, N.C. State; Terry Williams, East Carolina; Angelo Blackson, Auburn; Alfy Hill, Winston-Salem State.

Linebackers: Reshard Cliett, S. Florida; Quinn Backus, Coastal Carolina; Michael Gruber, Brevard; Gabe Middlebrook, Charleston Southern; Edwin Jackson, Ga. Southern; Norkeithus Otis, North Carolina.

Defensive backs: Ibraheim Campbell, Northwestern; Terry Johnson, Florida A&M; Will Brown, Missouri S&T; Merrill Noel, Wake Forest; Jacob Hagen, Liberty; Ace Clark, Western Carolina; Jamerson Love, Mississippi State; Justin Halley, Florida International.

Specialists: K Ty Long, Alabama-Birmingham; LS Charlie Coggins, East Carolina; P Hunter Mullins, Alabama-Birmingham.

National Team

Quarterbacks: Gary Nova, Rutgers; Ryan Williams, Miami; Kevin Rodgers, Henderson State.

Running backs: Kevin Parks, Virginia; Mike Burton, Rutgers; Brandon Wegher, Morningside.

Wide receivers: Kenny Cook, Gardner-Webb; David Frazier, Miami (Ohio); Issac Blakeney, Duke; Daniel Rodriguez, Clemson; Malcome Kennedy, Texas A&M; Demetrius Wilson, Arkansas.

Tight ends: C.J. Uzomah, Auburn; Khari Lee, Bowie State.

Offensive linemen: Austin Gund, Richmond; Torrian Wilson, Central Florida; Matt Rotheram, Pitt; Caleb Farris, Va. Tech; Chaz Green, Florida; Brey Cook, Arkansas; Max Garcia, Florida; David Wang, Va. Tech; Cameron Jefferson, Arkansas.

Defensive linemen: Brock Hekking, Nevada; Joe Drummond, Army; Kristjan Sokoli, Buffalo; Jordan Williams, Tennessee; Terrell Hartsfield, Cincinnati; Vince Taylor, Vanderbilt; Shaq Riddick, West Virginia; Jasper Coleman, William & Mary; Caushaud Lyons, Tusculum.

Linebackers: Andrae Kirk, Florida Atlantic; Tank Jakes, Memphis; Serderius Bryant, Mississippi; Gary Wilkins, Furman; Paul Quessenberry, Navy; Thurston Armbrister, Miami.

Defensive backs: Garry Peters, Clemson; Cariel Brooks, Adams State; Brison Williams, South Carolina; De’Vante Bausby, Pittsburgh State; Tevin Mitchel, Arkansas; Jermaine Whitehead, Auburn; Keenan Lambert, Norfolk State.

Specialists: P Kyle Christy, Florida; K Will Conant, Air Force; LS Nate Boyer, Texas.