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GOLD & BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 4 50 everything you want in a football play- er. He is one tough dude and a great person. He has that motor, but he can turn it off and be a really great person and a really nice guy. It takes a special guy to do that." COMINGS AND GOINGS R After 11 seasons in the NFL, following a football career started as a walk-on at Purdue, Nick Hardwick called it quits. The San Diego center announced his retirement following a '14 season in which he played only 16 snaps be- fore suffering a neck stinger that side- lined him the rest of the year. And, as it turns out, the rest of his career. "The Hardwick family was built on hard work, toughness and respect," Hardwick said at a retirement press conference Feb. 3. "And I hope I've shown that." He has. Hardwick is beloved in San Diego, by the organization, longtime quarterback Philip Rivers and the fans. Hardwick started as a rookie in 2004, and left the field only due to the occasional injury. "Nobody has played this game with such enthusiasm, passion and love as he has," Chargers president Dean Spanos said. "It's infectious, and it's going to be difficult to replace that." R Last season was Kyle Orton's last, as well. But rather than have a gathering to discuss his thoughts about leaving the game, the quarterback slipped away quietly. "I just have been going at it for 10 years and it's just a family decision and I've decided to get home and be a dad and call it a day," Orton said. Orton, a 2005 draftee of Chicago, played with five organizations during his 10-year career, the last being Buf- falo. In 12 games for the Bills in '14, Orton had seven victories, leading them to their first winning season since 2004. R Linebacker Shaun Phillips was released by Indianapolis on Feb. 16, his second organization of 2014. The veteran played the first half of the sea- son in Tennessee. The 33-year-old played nine sea- sons in San Diego and one in Denver before splitting time last year. R Tight end Dustin Keller missed the last two seasons after suffering a massive knee injury in August 2013 with the Dolphins. Keller, who tore the ACL, MCL, PCL and dislocated the knee, had a couple of tryouts in training camp last sea- son, but wasn't yet physically ready to come back. R Anthony Spencer is a free agent following his comeback season in Dal- las. After missing much of 2013 due to microfracture surgery in his knee, Spencer returned to play in 13 games, as a reserve, in 2014. Spencer was franchise tagged twice by the Cow- boys, making about $19 million over two seasons, but the knee injury pre- vented a long-term deal then. Dallas has not indicated whether it plans to re-sign the nine-year veteran. j PLAYING ON SUNDAYS The following is a look at former Boilermakers, their roles and their statistics for the 2014 season. Green Bay Packers #99 DT Bruce Gaston; Reserve: Was not active for any games this season #96 LB/DE Mike Neal; Starter/Reserve: 33 tackles, 4.5 sacks (three starts) Atlanta Falcons #37 CB Ricardo Allen; Reserve: Was not active for any games this season Buffalo Bills #18 QB Kyle Orton; Starter: 287-of-447 for 3,018 yards, 18 TDs / 10 int., for an 87.8 QB rating in 12 games (12 starts) Carolina Panthers #99 DT Kawann Short; Starter/Reserve: 39 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 2 passes defended, 1 FF in 16 games (nine starts) Dallas Cowboys #93 DE Anthony Spencer; Reserve: 22 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 1 pass defensed, 1 FF in 13 games Indianapolis Colts #55 LB Shaun Phillips; Reserve: 24 tack- les, 2 sacks in 16 games (five in Indianap- olis; 11 in Tennessee) New England Patriots #50 DE Rob Ninkovich; Starter: 62 tackles, 8 sacks, 2 passes defensed, 1 int. in 16 games (16 starts) New Orleans Saints #9 QB Drew Brees; Starter: 456-of-659 passing for 4,952 yards, 33 TDs / 17 int., for a 97.0 QB rating (16 starts) Philadelphia Eagles #67 G/T Dennis Kelly; Starter/Reserve: Played in three games (three starts) Seattle Seahawks #56 DE Cliff Avril; Starter: 23 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 passes defensed, 1 FF (16 starts) San Diego Chargers #61 C Nick Hardwick; Starter: Played one game (one start) Tampa Bay Buccaneers #64 OT Kevin Pamphile; Starter/Reserve: Played in seven games (two starts) Tennessee Titans #31 S Bernard Pollard; Starter: 27 tackles, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed in five games (five starts) Washington Redskins #91 LB Ryan Kerrigan; Starter: 64 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 1 pass defensed, 5 FF (16 starts) Others DE Greg Latta (Denver injured reserve) WR Greg Orton (New England injured reserve)