Mariani is Pro Bowl bound

The dream just keeps getting better for former Havre High star Marc Mariani.

On Tuesday afternoon, Mariani received one of the most exciting phone calls he's gotten in some time. On the other end was his Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher informing the rookie from Montana that he was selected to represent the AFC in the 2011 Pro Bowl. Mariani was selected to be the return specialist for the AFC in the NFL's elite all-star game which will take place Jan. 30 in Honololu, Hawaii.

Mariani, the Titans' 2010 seventh-round draft pick (222nd overall selection), leads the AFC and ranks third in the NFL with a 12.9-yard punt return avg. He also ranks fourth in the AFC and 10th in the NFL with a 25.2-yard kickoff return average. He is the only player in the NFL to return both a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown in 2010 and is just the second Titans/Oilers player to do so in the same regular season (Billy Johnson, 1975 and 1977). He collected his first career score with a 98-yard kickoff return against Denver and was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week after posting an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown against Washington.

Last week at Kansas City, he broke a 47-year old franchise record by surpassing Bobby Jancik's 1963 total of 1,317 kickoff return yards. Mariani also has accumulated the second-highest total of return yards on punts and kickoffs in franchise history. He trails only Derrick Mason's 1,794 yards in 2000. Since the team moved to Tennessee, Mariani is the fourth Titans' rookie to be named to the Pro Bowl.

Mariani is one of four rookies that were selected to the Pro Bowl this year and only one of two Titans who will be making the trip. Tennessee defensive end Jason Babin is the other. He will also represent Montana in the Pro Bowl for the second straight year. Last year, Miami Dolphins and former Griz kicker Dan Carpenter made the trip.

Mariani and the Titans will wrap up the regular season on Sunday with a road game at Indianapolis.