Nine members of the Crimson Tide's 2011 BCS Championship football team have received invitations to the NFL Scouting Combine, including six players from the Tide's top-ranked defense. National Football Scouting, the organization that operates the annual Scouting Combine for the NFL,

that have received invitations to the event on Tuesday.

Included on the list were seven Tide seniors and two juniors: safety Mark Barron, defensive tackle Josh Chapman, wide receiver Darius Hanks, linebacker Dont'a Hightower, cornerbacks Dre Kirkpatrick and DeQuan Menzie, wide receiver and return specialist Marquis Maze, running back Trent Richardson and linebacker Courtney Upshaw.

Chapman

that he expects to attend the combine to compete in the bench press and to interview with NFL teams, but will be limited after recently undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL.

The NFL Scouting Combine will take place Feb. 22-28 in Indianapolis and will be televised live on the NFL Network.