Sept. 4, 2007

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Two former Villanova University football standouts have been named to NFL practice squad rosters. Safety Raymond Ventrone, who played at Villanova from 2001-04, was named to the New York Jet practice squad, while center Christian Gaddis earned a spot on the Buffalo Bills practice squad. Gaddis played at Villanova from 2002-06.

Ventrone spent his first two seasons in the NFL as a member of the New England Patriots. He was on the Patriot practice squad in 2005 and he spent the 2006 campaign on the Patriots Physically Unable to Perform List. In 35 career games at Villanova, Ventrone tallied 251 total tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 11 pass break-ups, five forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and two quarterback sacks. In addition to being named first team All-Atlantic 10 in 2003, he earned 2003 GTE/CoSIDA District II Academic All-American honors. He also garnered Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team distinction in 2002, 2003 and 2004. At the 2005 Villanova University Senior Student-Athlete Banquet, Ventrone was named the Male Senior Student-Athlete of the Year.

Gaddis started 33 consecutive games at center for the Wildcats from 2004-06. As a senior in 2006, he served as team captain and garnered first team All-Atlantic 10 accolades. In 2006, he helped the Villanova offense average 337.8 yards of total offense per game, including 143.3 rushing yards per contest and 194.5 passing yards per game.

With the addition of Ventrone and Gaddis, Villanova currently has four players under contract in the NFL. Running back Brian Westbrook is in his sixth season with the Philadelphia Eagles, while wide receiver Brian Finneran is in his eighth year with the Atlanta Falcons. Finneran will miss the 2007 season due to a knee injury.