College All-Star Games
COLLEGE ALL-STAR GAMES
East-West Shrine Game
Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010, 3:00 pm EST
TV: ESPN2
Location: Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida
Web Site: shrinegame.com
Game format:
East vs. West, loosely split by the Mississippi River. Geography may be superseded by the need to balance teams by position.
Prospect success:
Approximately half of the participants are typically drafted, most selected after the second round.
Coaches:
West: Marty Schottenheimer, former NFL head coach
East: Romeo Crennel, Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordiantor
Top prospects participating:
| Pos. | Name | School | Ht. | Wt. | 40 | Projection |
| DT | Lamarr Houston | Texas | 6-2 | 300 | 4.93 | 2 |
| OT | Kyle Calloway | Iowa | 6-7 | 315 | 5.28 | 2-3 |
| SS | T.J. Ward | Oregon | 5-10 | 201 | 4.56 | 2 |
| C | J.D. Walton | Baylor | 6-3 | 305 | 5.19 | 3 |
| DT | Arthur Jones | Syracuse | 6-3 | 295 | 5.04 | 3 |
| CB | Devin Ross | Arizona | 5-10 | 176 | 4.43 | 4-5 |
| WR | Freddie Barnes | Bowling Green | 6-1 | 206 | 4.56 | 5-6 |
Under the radar prospects to watch:
John Skelton, QB Fordham
Torrell Troup, DT, Central Florida
Senior Bowl
Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010, 4:00 pm EST
TV: NFL Network
Location: Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Alabama
Web Site: seniorbowl.com
Game format:
North vs. South. Southeast and southwest region colleges fill the South team. The North team includes all other players. Geography may be superseded by the need to balance teams by position.
Prospect success:
About 80 percent of participants will be drafted, including most of the seniors selected in the top three rounds.
Coaches: Selected by the league office; teams with the worst records but are not in transition and decide to accept the invitation.
North:
South:
Top prospects participating:
Official North-South team rosters are not available at this time, but some names have been released.
| Pos. | Name | School | Ht. | Wt. | 40 | Projection |
| DT | Ndamukong Suh | Nebraska | 6-4 | 302 | 5.02 | 1 |
| FS | Taylor Mays | USC | 6-3 | 235 | 4.47 | 1 |
| OT | Trent Williams | Oklahoma | 6-5 | 318 | 5.30 | 1 |
| WR | Brandon LaFell | LSU | 6-3 | 206 | 4.54 | 1 |
| DT | Jared Odrick | Penn State | 6-4 | 298 | 5.05 | 1 |
| OLB | Sergio Kindle | Texas | 6-4 | 255 | 4.66 | 1-2 |
| QB | Tim Tebow | Florida | 6-3 | 245 | 4.68 | 1-2 |
Texas vs. the Nation
Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010, 2:00 EST
TV: CBS College Sports TV
Web Site: www.texasvsthenation.com
Game format:
Texas vs. the Nation. Texas team comprised of players hailing from Texas or playing for Texas colleges, while the Nation team includes everyone else.
Prospect success:
Approximately 20-25 percent of participants will be drafted, mostly in the late rounds with 5-10 in the top 150.
Coaches:
Texas: Bill Bates, former All-SEC pick at Tennessee and NFL special teams ace.
Nation: Howard Schnellenberger, Florida Atlantic head coach, former NFL offensive coordinator
Top prospects participating:
Full Texas/Nation team rosters not available at this time but a few invitations have been announced.
| Pos. | Name | School | Ht. | Wt. | 40 | Projection |
| DE | Austen Lane | Murray State | 6-6 | 258 | 4.65 | 2-3 |
| OT | Jared Veldheer | Hillsdale | 6-8 | 321 | 4.89 | 4-5 |
| DE | Jammie Kirlew | Indiana | 6-2 | 259 | 4.84 | 5 |
| QB | Tim Hiller | Western Michigan | 6-4 | 234 | 4.98 | 7-FA |
| OLB | Justin Cole | San Jose State | 6-3 | 240 | 4.68 | 5-6 |
ALL-STAR GAME RULES
Special rule changes for all-star games, some for safety reasons and others to keep the game simple as the teams have very limited practice time, include:
- no empty backfields for the offense (at least one running back lined up behind the QB),
- no motion or shifting on offense
- no trips (more than two receivers on a side)
- no blitzing/rushing of more than five players on defense,
- no fake punts/field goals or rushing of kickers/punters (except for a botched snap), and
- no bump-and-run or use of two-deep defensive coverages (restricted to man-only or one free safety).
These rules do get "bent," if not completely broken, if the game is close at the end and the coaching staffs play to win.
