2018 East-West Shrine Game, NFLPA Collegiate Bowl: Big 12 Primer
Several former Big 12 players will get a chance to impress NFL scouts and play one final game at the East-West Shrine Game and the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl this weekend.
The East-West Shrine Game, to be played at 3 p.m. EST Saturday in St. Petersburg, Florida, will be broadcast on the NFL Network. It is one of the nation’s oldest collegiate all-star games. The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, in just its seventh year, is sponsored by the NFL Players Association and will be played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Saturday at 4 p.m. EST on Fox Sports 1.
Eight former Big 12 players are on East-West Shrine Bowl rosters. Oklahoma State center Brad Lundblade, West Virginia guard Kyle Bosch and Oklahoma State safety Tre Flowers will lace it up for the East Team.
Lundblade (6-foot-3, 300 pounds), a former walk-on, finished 2017 as an All-Big 12 First Team selection. Bosch (6-5, 298), a Michigan transfer who played three seasons for the Mountaineers, was a 2016 All-Big 12 First Team pick but played in only six games in 2017. Flowers (6-3, 200), a safety, earned a pair of All-Big 12 nods in his career (second-team in 2016 and first-team in 2017) as he finished his last season with the Cowboys with two interceptions.
The West roster features six Big 12 players. Oklahoma State tackle Zach Crabtree (6-7, 310) was a Big 12 Honorable Mention pick in 2017 after earning second-team honors in 2016. Texas Tech quarterback Nic Shimonek (6-3, 225) threw for 3,068 yards, 26 touchdowns and 7 interceptions last season as he secured All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection. Oklahoma wide receiver Jeff Badet (6-0, 178) rounds out the offense after a career that saw him catch 108 passes, 10 of which were for touchdowns.
Defensively Texas defensive lineman Poona Ford (5-11, 310), Iowa State linebacker Joel Lanning (6’2”, 230) and Kansas State long snapper Drew Scott are on the team. Ford was named the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year in 2017 after anchoring a defense that held seven teams to less than 100 yards rushing last season. Lanning was second in the Big 12 with 114 tackles and was a second-team All-Big 12 selection.
At the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl two Big 12 players are on the National Roster. West Virginia linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton (6-2, 230) was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection and finished his West Virginia career with 159 career tackles. Texas wide receiver Armanti Foreman (6-0, 210) had 86 career receptions for the Longhorns, including 11 touchdowns.
TCU quarterback Kenny Hill leads three Big 12 players on the American roster, all from TCU. Hill (6-1, 212) threw for more than 6,000 yards in two seasons with the Horned Frogs, leading them to two bowl games and a berth in the Big 12 Championship game in December. Two of his offensive linemen also made the American roster — tackle Mathew Pryor (6-7, 358) and guard Patrick Morris (6-3, 300).
The Senior Bowl is next weekend in Mobile, Alabama, with Heisman Trophy winner and Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, and Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph headlining the Big 12 players who have accepted invitations.
