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DE Aaron Schobel (2001 - present) | 6'4", 243 lbs

Notable Achievements: Two-time Pro Bowl selection, Second Team All-Pro (2006)

Aaron Ross Schobel was born on September 1, 1977 in Columbus, Texas. He went on to earn All-District honors at Columbus High School at both outside linebacker and tight end.  He posted 105 tackles during his senior year and proved to be a prolific receiver, pulling down 70 receptions for 1,299 yards over his final two seasons.  Following his stellar high school career, Schobel went on to attend Texas Christian University (where he was a teammate of LaDainian Tomlinson). As a Horned Frog, Schobel developed into one of the nation's best defenders by his senior season. He graduated as the school's all-time leader in sacks with 31.0 and in tackling yardage for loss with 315.  Schobel earned First Team All-WAC honors in each of his final three seasons (1998-2000), and was named the WAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2000.  Following a great career at TCU, the Buffalo Bills made Schobel a second-round pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, No. 46 overall.  He has developed into one of the better defenders in Bills history during his eight seasons as a pro.

Career Highlights
Schobel is one of the more under-appreciated defensive players in team history, with a quality all-around game, albeit with some questionable pass rushing skills.  Although many Bills fans, including yours truly, have never considered him an elite pass rusher, his consistency and overall production speaks volumes.

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Wolford was one of the best linemen in Bills history. (photo source)

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OT Will Wolford (1986-1992) | 6'5", 294 lbs

Notable Achievements: Two-time Pro Bowl Selection

William Charles Wolford was born on May 18, 1964 in Louisville, Kentucky. He attended St. Xavier High School in Louisville, where he was honorable mention All-State in basketball, before heading to Vanderbilt University.  He played for the Commodores from 1982 through 1985, where he played left guard and right tackle before earning All-SEC honors in his senior year.  He was also named captain of the team in 1985 and played in the Senior Bowl that season.  The Bills made Wolford the No. 20 overall pick in the 1986 NFL Draft; he would spend the next seven seasons as the team's starting left tackle. He played in the team's first three Super Bowl appearances before leaving for Indianapolis in free agency.  Wolford spent three seasons with the Colts and another three with the Steelers before retiring; he was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.

Career Highlights
After being an immediate contributor at Vanderbilt - where he earned Freshman All-American honors in 1982 - Wolford was also an immediate contributor for the Bills.  The Bills had traded second and fourth round picks to the San Francisco 49ers to move into the first round to select Wolford:

On draft day of that year, the San Francisco 49ers were preparing to make their first-round pick, the 20th overall; Will and Jude were watching the draft on TV when the telephone rang. It was the Bills calling for Wolford. "Would you be interested in playing for us?" asked a voice.

"I'd be interested in playing for anybody," Wolford replied.

"I went crazy," Wolford says. "I couldn't believe it." Jude looked over and teased, "Buffalo? Where's that?"

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Joe Ferguson had a long career as the Bills' starting quarterback. (photo source)

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QB Joe Ferguson (1973-1984) | 6'1", 195 lbs

Notable Achievements: Bills Wall of Fame

Joseph Carlton Ferguson, Jr. was born on April 23, 1950 in Alvin, Texas.  He went on to star for Woodlawn High School in Shreveport, Louisiana and was recruited by the University of Arkansas.  Ferguson lettered with the Razorbacks from 1970-1972 and went on to set numerous school passing records. He finished his college career as the school leader in passing attempts (611) and was second in completions (327), yards (4,431) and touchdowns (24). He also set a handful of individual game records.  He was named Southwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year following the 1971 season and elected to play in the North-South Shrine Game and the Hula Bowl after his senior season.  He was voted to the Razorbacks' All-Decade Team ('70s) and All-Century Team, inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1994, inducted into the UofA Sports Hall of Honor in 1993 and named a SEC Football Legend in 1995. He later coached quarterbacks at the school from 1997-2000.

After his storied career at Arkansas, the Bills selected Ferguson with a third-round pick in the 1973 NFL Draft (No. 57 overall).  He went on to have a long career with the Bills, before playing three season with the Detroit Lions (1985-1987), two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1988-1989), and one game with the Indianapolis Colts in 1990.  He would later join the San Antonio Texans of the Canadian Football League at the age of 45 in 1995.  Ferguson's career in Buffalo was marked with some outstanding play along with some terrible performances during some of the leanest years in Bills history.

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DE Phil Hansen (1991-2001) | 6'5", 278 lbs.

Notable Achievements: Division II Hall of Fame, North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame

Phillip Allen Hansen was born on May 20, 1968 in Oakes, North Dakota.  He grew up on his family's 4,000-acre farm and attended Oakes High School.  He became a two-time all conference selection in high school, playing on the defensive line, the offensive line, at LB and at RB.  After high school he stayed in his home state, attending North Dakota State University, and became one of the best defensive players in Division II history.  While at NDSU, he helped lead the Bison to a pair of national championships in 1988 and 1990.  He was the anchor of a very good defense for three seasons and earned All-American honors twice, while the team went 42-7-1 during his tenure, including a pair of undefeated 14-0 seasons when they won the national title.

Hansen matched the school record with 41 sacks and set a school record with 32 career pass break-ups.  He also earned plenty of accolades for his play.  Hansen was named All-North Central Conference and the league's Most Valuable Player twice during his career.  He played in three college all-star games following his senior season - the East-West Shrine game, the Blue-Gray Football Classic, and the All-American Classic.  He was also named to the NCAA Division II "Team of the Quarter Century," where he was the top vote-getter among defensive linemen.  Finally, he was named Small College Defensive Lineman of the Year by the NFL Draft Report after his final season.  These honors, along with his excellent play on the field, opened the eyes of many NFL draft scouts.  The Bills were lucky enough to grab Hansen with their second round pick in 1991, the No. 54 overall selection.  He would go on to play 11 seasons for the team and retired as one of the best defensive ends in team history.

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via www.remembertheafl.com

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TE Ernie Warlick (1962-1965) | 6'3", 235 lbs.

Notable Achievements: 4-time AFL All-Star Selection (1962-1965), Member of Bills 25th Anniversary Team, Member of the AFL Hall of Fame

Ernie "Big Hoss" Warlick was born on July 21, 1932 in Washington, DC.  He starred in college at North Carolina Central University from 1949-1951, where they participated in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the Division II conference for the historically African-American institutions.  In his final two seasons with the Eagles, Warlick earned All-CIAA honors and was named first team All-American.  He was also a star basketball player for the school, and was a teammate of future NBA Hall of Famer Sam Jones.  Warlick finished his career as the top scorer and leader in field goals and free throws made (since passed) in school history.  Because of his athletic success at NCCU, he was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 1984 and the CIAA Hall of Fame in 2005.

Warlick went undrafted in the NFL, but was drafted into the military following college (Warlick info starting on page 26).  He had signed a contract with the Rams for $3,500, but had to join the Air Force.  He spent some time on his Air Force base playing football with 13 other future pros on the team, including future Bills teammates Tommy O'Connell and Don Chelf.  Upon his discharge, an executive from the Canadian Football League went to him and offered him $8,000 to play up in Canada, which he happily accepted over the Rams deal.  An NFL rule didn't allow him to sign with any other team, so after proving himself in Canada, Warlick signed with the Bills in the AFL for $10,000 and a $500 signing bonus.  Lou Saban had gone to Washington to recruit Warlick to the Bills and Warlick signed on the spot, despite having never met Saban before.

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Brian Moorman is the man, and he levitates. (photo source)

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P Brian Moorman (2001-present) | 6'0", 172 lbs

Notable Achievements: 2x Pro Bowl Selection (2005, 2006), 2x First Team All-Pro (2005, 2006), 3x Pro Bowl Alternate (2002, 2004, 2007), Member of Bills 50th Anniversary Team

Brian Donald Moorman was born in Wichita, Kansas on February 5, 1976.  He graduated from Sedgwick High School in Sedgwick, Kansas where he lettered in football, track and basketball. Proving himself to be a great athlete, Moorman was a three-time state hurdle champion and an all-state selection in football and basketball.  Following his tremendous high school athletic career, Moorman went on to become a Gorilla, playing collegiately at Pittsburg State in Kansas, the same school that crackpot actor Gary Busey played football at.  During his four years in college, Moorman earned All-American honors in each season becoming the first player in school history to achieve such a feat.  He was named first team All-Conference in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association each season, as well.

Proving his athleticism off the football field, Moorman also put together an incredible track career.  He was named to the All-Conference team in each of his four years, for both indoor and outdoor track.  He earned first team All-American honors in the 400 meter hurdles from 1997-1999.  Most impressively, Moorman was the 400m National Champion from 1997-1999.  Off the field/track, he was a six-time Academic All-American, for both sports. He still holds the school record for yards per punt (43.97 yards) and in the 110m hurdles (13.81 seconds), and was named to the football program's 100th Anniversary Team in 2003.  Moorman graduated as the most decorated male athlete in school history, and as a result, will be inducted into the Pittsburg State Athletics Hall of Fame on September 4 for his football and track accomplishments.  Despite all his athletic achievements, Moorman went undrafted in 1999.

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Former Bills TE Pete Metzelaars, one dude who enjoyed the 80's. (photo source)

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TE Pete Metzelaars (1985-1994) | 6'7", 254 lbs.

Notable Achievements: Retired as the all-time leader in games played by a TE (235), Member of Bills' 50th Anniversary Team

Peter Henry Metzelaars was born on May 24, 1960 in Three Rivers, Michigan. After graduating from Portage Central High where he was the starting quarterback on the football team and the starting center on the basketball team, Pete went on to star as a two-sport athlete at Wabash College.  He played for former Kansas State and current Ball State head coach Stan Parrish at Wabash. As was the case for much of his career, Metzelaars proved he was a hard-working overachiever that never took anything for granted when he was getting ready to go to college:

"I wasn't a standout, all-star kind of guy. I had some success, but not great success in high school so I wasn't getting recruited by any big-name schools and getting full-ride scholarship offers. It just came down to what I thought was going to be best for me and the best education I was going to get."

He was a standout at Wabash, both on the field and on the court, earning the nickname "The Wabash Cannonball".  After being recruited as a 190-pound quarterback, Metzelaars grew into a prototypical tight end.  He finished his career with 77 catches for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns, and was named first team All-American in 1981.  He was much more prolific on the hardwood where he still holds a number of Wabash records.  He is currently second in school history with 1,976 points scored and first with 1,176 rebounds, having finished his career averaging 19.2 points and 11.4 rebounds per game.

Quite the athlete, that Metzelaars.

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Joe Devlin was one of the best, and most under-appreciated, linemen in Bills history. (Getty Images)

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OL Joe Devlin (1976-1989) | 6'5", 261 lbs.

Notable Achievements: Member of Bills' 25th Anniversary Team

Joseph Gregory Devlin was born in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania on February 23, 1954. After graduating from Great Valley High School in Malverne, PA, Devlin went on to attend the University of Iowa.  He developed into an All-Big Ten and first team All-American lineman by his senior season.  The Bills selected Devlin in the 2nd round of their very solid 1976 NFL Draft, with the No. 52 overall pick.  The pick was obtained from the Cardinals in exchange for super-bust Walt Patulski.  Devlin picked up a pair of starts at right tackle during his rookie season in place of incumbent starter Donnie Jones.  He slid into the starting lineup the next year and was a mainstay for well over a decade.  Devlin's cousin, Mike Devlin, also played for the Bills, backing up Kent Hull from 1993-1995.

Career Highlights
For a man who spent almost a decade and a half as a starter along the Bills offensive line, Joe Devlin has gone down as one of the most under-appreciated, but excellent offensive linemen ever to don a Bills uniform.  He never made a Pro Bowl, but it's not because he wasn't a good, sometimes great, player.  Simply put, he was a victim of playing on bad teams; the prototypical good player for a bad team.  In Devlin's 14 years with the Bills, the team finished with a winning record just 4 times, making the playoffs in each of those seasons.  Who knows how many Pro Bowls and other recognition Devlin might have received if the teams he played for weren't so poor?

Devlin spent the 1977-1988 seasons as the team's starting right tackle.  He ended up missing the 1983 season, but just five other games during his career, and was an absolute rock for the team.  While the team suffered through some of its worst seasons, especially on the offensive side of the ball, Devlin helped lead the way for a handful of 1000-yard rushers.  Terry Miller in 1978, Joe Cribbs in 1980 and 1981, Greg Bell in 1984, and Thurman Thomas in 1989 were all aided by the blocking efforts of Devlin and his line mates.

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