Rudolph returns

When he visited Hawaii in college, some folks thought Kyle Rudolph might be a Pro Bowl participant. Turns out they were just a little bit early.

"We were down in Waikiki and the people in the shops thought we were Pro Bowlers," Rudolph said of his trip to the islands for the 2008 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl as a Notre Dame freshman. "We said ‘No we’re just college kids and maybe one day we’ll be in the Pro Bowl.’ To be able to play in it, it’s awesome."

Rudolph, now a second-year tight end with the Minnesota Vikings, made his first appearance at Aloha Stadium with the Fighting Irish and caught four passes for 78 yards in a 49-21 win over Hawaii. He returned this week as one of the late additions to the NFC roster, stepping in for Atlanta’s Tony Gonzalez, who will miss the game due to injury.

Rudolph caught 53 passes this season for 493 yards and led the Vikings with nine touchdown catches. He said he got the call to fly out to Hawaii on Tuesday and arrived Wednesday afternoon.

"It’s very exciting, all kinds of emotions," Rudolph said. "It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little kid to come over and play in this game."

New look for Jackson

Tampa Bay wide receiver Vincent Jackson is making his third Pro Bowl appearance, but his first wearing NFC blue.

Jackson, who spent seven seasons with the Chargers, played for the AFC in last year’s game and caught four passes for 64 yards. He’ll line up on the other side on Sunday

"It’s pretty neat. You meet some different guys I get to watch quite a bit but don’t get to play (against) as much and have a good time," Jackson said.

Better late than never?

Chicago cornerback Tim Jennings intercepted Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson twice in 7-on-7 drills during the NFC practice at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Thursday.

Bears fans would say those picks came about two months too late.

Chicago and Seattle played one of the more pivotal regular-season games at Soldier Field on Dec. 2. The Bears led 14-10 late when Wilson engineered a 97-yard drive to score the go-ahead touchdown with 24 seconds left in regulation.

After the Bears tied it on a field goal to force overtime, Wilson capped off an 80-yard drive with a touchdown pass to win the game.

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Jason Kaneshiro and Billy Hull, Star-Advertiser