HONOLULU, Hawaii - For former Tiger Jermon Bushrod, a fifth-year tackle for the New Orleans Saints, Sunday night will be special because he will be playing in his first-ever Pro Bowl. A 2007 graduate of Towson, Bushrod is one of five Saints who will be playing for the National Football Conference all-stars when the Pro Bowl kicks off at 7 p.m. on Sunday night. The game will be televised on NBC.

But, like many other Pro Bowlers who are in Hawaii, he would rather be in Indianapolis preparing for Super Bowl 47.

The Saints, who won the NFC South, entered the playoffs as one of the top contenders to win the Super Bowl. After beating Detroit in the first round, the Saints dropped a 36-32 heart-breaker to San Francisco. The Saints, who had a regular season record of 13-3, were eliminated two games shy of the Super Bowl.

As a result, Bushrod joins quarterback Drew Brees, tight end Jimmy Graham, guard Jahri Evans and Carl Nicks in the Pro Bowl. All five played a key role on the Saints' offense that led the NFL with 467.1 total yards and 334.2 passing yards.

Although Bushrod is thrilled to be making his first appearance in the Pro Bowl, he admits the disappointment is "always gonna stick in the back of your mind because we fell short of the ultimate goal."

But he said it helps to realize that a lot of other teams came up short, too. He said he really appreciated the postgame speech by Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis after the Ravens' own heartbreaking loss this past weekend where he told his teammates that this is something teams have to go through. He said Brees and the Saints' coaches preach a similar message.

"Teams fall short. It's gonna happen every year. And it definitely still stings a little," Bushrod said. "But you've got to stick together as a team and remember there's always next year. ... We're too blessed to be down for too long."

Bushrod said he thinks it's important to have some down time before the Saints get back to their offseason conditioning program in the spring and their first practice sessions in May.

"You need to let your emotions calm down, you need to rest physically and mentally," Bushrod said. "But then you're definitely looking forward to that challenge year in and year out."

Bushrod, a four-year starter at Towson from 2003 to 2006, is the third former Tiger football player to play in the Pro Bowl, joining Sean Landeta and David Meggett as Towson players in the Pro Bowl.