NFL players still among missing

Coast Guard narrows search after one boater rescued

? Clearwater, Fla. — The Coast Guard on Monday narrowed the search area for two NFL players and a third man missing since a weekend fishing trip off the Florida Gulf Coast after crews rescued a fourth man clinging to their capsized boat.

Survivor Nick Schuyler, a former University of South Florida player, told rescuers that the boat the four good friends were aboard was anchored when it flipped Saturday evening in rough seas, said Coast Guard Capt. Timothy M. Close. Schuyler, who was wearing a life vest, had been hanging onto the hull that a Coast Guard cutter discovered 35 miles off Clearwater.

The 21-foot boat belongs to Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, who, along with free-agent defensive lineman Corey Smith and former South Florida player William Bleakley, were missing.

The Coast Guard wouldn’t speculate on the men’s chances of survival, but Petty Officer Robert Simpson said their size and good health were advantages. Cooper, 26, is 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, and the 29-year-old Smith is 6-foot-2, 250 pounds. The 25-year-old Bleakley had played tight end.