College Football 2007 All Star Games - Review

Senior Bowl
North-27
South-0
Overall MVP: Tony Hunt Penn State
South Offensive MVP: OL Ben Grubbs Auburn
South Defensive MVP: LB Patrick Willis Ole Miss
North Offensive MVP: QB Drew Stanton Mich State
North Defensive MVP: DB Leon Hall Michigan
My Small School MVP: Michael Coe DB Alabama State

This seasons Senior Bowl can be summed up in three words; rainy, sloppy and boring. You know the game is "one-sided" when the best they could come up with for the South's Offensive MVP was an Offensive Lineman. Ohio State's Heisman QB Troy Smith failed to open eyes, going 5 of 15 with a TD, he was clearly overshadowed by QB's Ty Palko (Pitt) and Drew Stanton (Mich State). Tony Hunt (Rb, Penn State) looked pretty solid out there and there were big hits from Leon Hall (DB, Mich), Pat Willis (Ole Miss) and David Harris (Mich, LB). The most impressive player in my opinion, had to be Louisville DT Akobi Okoye. This kid is big (6-2 312), very quick, very strong and super athletic. Oh and he's only 19 years old ... yeah he IS a Senior. Needless to say he's extremely bright as well. He played in every game as a 16 year old freshman, at a Division I school! Just amazing. Well anyway, the Senior Bowl welcomed two small school guys this season (that's two more than last year); TE Ben Patrick (6-4 270 Delaware I-AA) and DB Michael Coe (6-1 190 Alabama State I-AA). Coe handled himself very well, making 2 tackles and the games only INT on a good play to pick off Drew Stanton in the endzone.

East/West Shrine
West: 21
East: 3
Offensive MVP: QB Jeff Rowe Nevada
Defensive MVP: DL Daniel Bazuin Central Michigan
My Small Offensive School MVP: Steve Baylark RB Massachusetts
My Small Defensive School MVP: LB Kyle Shotwell Cal Poly

The 2007 East/West Shrine Game was for the most part a one-sided affair, but it continues to prove to be a great showcase for those small school players. The highlight of the day was Offensive MVP QB Jeff Rowe from Nevada, he passed for 115 yards and tossed two TD passes.
UMass RB Steve Baylark looked very strong out there gaining 33 yards and a TD. He's big, runs hard and is very talented. Two of the best WRs in the small ranks led the East in receiving; All-Time I-AA receiving leader David Ball (UNH) had 80 yards on 3 grabs and speedy all-purpose guy Jacoby Jones (Lane) made 4 catches for 57 yards. A few DBs looked pretty quick out there, including Michael Coe of Alabama State (who runs a 4.5/40), Travarous Bain (Hampton) and Darren Stone (Maine). Cal Poly LB Kyle Shotwell led the West team with 7 tackles and Brown LB Zak DeOssie had 4 tackles and looked athletic and aware out there; Hampton LB Justin Durant also had 4 tackles. Michael Allan of DIII Whitworth made a name for himself with impressive special teams play.

Small School Players on the Rosters:
Travarous Bain DB 6’0 175 Hampton
David Ball WR 6’2 200 New Hampshire
Daren Stone DB 6’3 216 Maine
Michael Coe DB 6’1 190 Alabama State
Alonzo Coleman RB 5’11 205 Hampton
Steve Baylark RB 6’0 225 Massachusetts
Zak DeOssie LB 6’4 240 Brown
Justin Durant LB 6’2 230 Hampton
Doug Free OL 6’7 302 Northern Illinois
Chris Best OL 6’4 305 Waterloo
Ben Patrick TE 6’4 270 Delaware
Bo Smith DB 6’2 190 Weber State
Kyle Shotwell LB 6’1 235 Cal Poly
Jordan Rempel OL 6’6 310 Saskatchewan
Michael Allan TE 6’7 264 Whitworth
Jacoby Jones WR 6’4 210 Lane College

Hula Bowl
Aina 18
Kai 10
LB Chad Nkang Elon, MVP of the Kai team
QB Wil Proctor Clemson, MVP of the Aina team
My Small School Offensice MVP: RB Justice Hairston Cent. Conn. State
My Small School Defensive MVP: Chad Nkang OLB Elon

This game had it's moments; MVP QB Wil Proctor's (Clemson) clutch 2-point conversion pass,
CB Ramzee Robinson of Alabama's game sealing 44 yard INT return for a TD, the up's and down's of Boise State QB Jared Zabransky (16 yard TD pass, a big game turning fumble, thefinal deep pass of the game knocked away by Sergio Gilliam of Clemson). That pretty much sums up the Hula Bowl. As for the small school players; the man of the day was obviously Chad Nkang of Elon. At only 5'11" 220 he showed that you don't need size to make plays. He was named Kai MVP after making 9 tackles and a pbu. Other notables were Harvard C Frank Fernandez who so some action and looked good (despite being in on the Zabransky fumble) and Aina's leading rusher Justice Hairston (Cent. Conn. State). Also, I'm intrigues by the invitation of Illinois State Long Snapper Jake Weber, that really tells you something about his abilities.

Small School Players on the Rosters:
David Jones DB 6-0 190 Wingate University
Justise Hairston RB 6-1 217 Central Connecticut State
Arkee Whitlock RB 5-10 200 Southern Illinois University
Jake Weber LS 6-3 235 Illinois State University
John Polk FB 6-0 230 University of San Diego
Zac Herold TE 6-5 260 University of Nebraska-Omaha
Laurent Robinson WR 6-2 201 Illinois State University
Micah Johnson WR 6-2 180 South Dakota State University
Neal Bainbridge P 6-3 194 South Dakota State University
Chad Nkang OLB 5-11 220 Elon University
Frank Fernandez OC 6-2 290 Harvard University

Las Vegas Classic
Well, the Classic was cancelled this season. So there's nothing to report, but here are rosters anyway.

Small School Players on the Rosters:
OL Davis, Corey 6'4 / 325 James Madison
DT Harrison, Larry 6'1 / 300 Texas College/Michigan
QB Horvath, Phil 6'3 / 215 Northern Illinois
C Jewell, Ryan Youngstown State
TE Jones, Braden 6'3 / 250 Southern Illinois
DE Jones, Edgar 6'4/ Southeast Missouri
HB Pittman, Jamaal Jackson State
QB Rascati, Justin 6'2 / 215 James Madison
RB Rembert, Pierre 6' / 215 Illinois State
FS Barsi, John UC Davis
QB Grant,Jon 6'2 / 200 UC Davis
DE Jackson, Martin 6'3 / 265 Alcorn State
WR Jolla, Akieem 6'2 / 195 New Mexico State
WR Kays, Tony 6 / 190 UC Davis
FB Mayes, Ruben 6'1 / 250 Grambling State
QB Nelson, Aries 6'2 / 225 Mississippi Valley State
RB Race, Germaine 5'11 / 225 Pittsburg State
CB Smith, Bo 6' / 190 Weber State
WR Timmons, Tyrone 6'3 / 210 Mississippi Valley State

Magnolia Gridiron Classic
IA-32
IAA-14
MVP: DE Edgar Jones Southeast Missouri
My Small School Defensive MVP: WR Anthony Merritt North Alabama
My Small School Defensive MVP: DE Edgar Jones SE Missouri

The Gridiron Classic is a fantastic showcase for I-AA players. The dominating player of the day just happened to come from the I-AA team. DE Edgar Jones of SE Missouri was a maniac out there. He was nearly unstoppable making 5 solo tackl;es, 4 sacks and 2 pbu's. Big bruising RB Jamal Pittman of Jackson State rushed for one of the Red teams TDs (also caught 4 passes for 34 yards) while Tennessee-Chattanooga RB Eldra Buckley ran for the other score (37 yards rushing). One of the best plays of the game happened on a botched extra point when Memphis punter Michael Gibson tossed a 2-point conversion. A couple of I-AA DBs had great days, including Vincent Dancy (Jackson State), Toney Edison from Nicholls State (who also had a reception for 18 yards from RB Pittman) And Jackson State DB Carlton Brown who had a big pick off of Syracuse QB Perry. QB Aries Nelson of Miss Valley State led the Red with 67 yards rushing and also passed for 97 yards, but the I-AA standout QB was Coastal Carolina's Tyler Thigpen. He looked very sharp completing 10-17 passes for 91 yards. WR Carl Berman (Indiana State) led the Red team with 3 catches for 73 yards. The Green team (although mostly I-A players) did include a few DII athletes, most notably WR Anthony Merritt from North Alabama (led the Green with 4 receptions for 69 yards) and the dominating DE Alton Pettway (Albany State).

Small School Players on the Rosters:
CB Caldwell, Demarea 6'2 / 192 Southern Arkansas
LT Capizzi, Jason 6'9 / 315 Indiana of PA.
DT Harrison, Larry 6'1 / 300 Texas College
WR Merritt, Anthony 5'11 / 203 North Alabama
SS Onatolu, Kenny 6'2 / 225 Nebraska-Omaha
DE Pettway, Alton 6'3 / 258 Albany State
WR Stanley, Derek 5'11 / 183 Wisconsin-Whitewater
WR Thompson, Phoenix 6'2 / 195 Belhaven
OLB Wallace, Tavarski 5'11 / 230 Adrian College
OLB Baldwin, Johnny 6'2 / 225 Alabama A&M
LT Bender, Jacob 6'6 / 305 Nicholls State
WR Berman, Carl 5'10 / 165 Indiana State
CB Brown, Carlton 5'11 / 190 Jackson State
CB Brown, Roger 6' / 190 Delaware
RB Buckley, Eldra 5'10 / 198 TN-Chattanooga
WR Bugg, Patrick 6'5 / 215 Eastern Kentucky
TE Carter, Justin 6'5 / 250 Texas College
SS Dancy, Vincent 6'2 / 215 Jackson State
RT Dishmon, Tavares 6'3 / 300 Kentucky State
FS Edison, Toney 6' / 205 Nicholls State
LT Governor, Derrek 6'4 / 310 Grambling State
DT Grennan, Keith 6'6 / 305 Eastern Washington
K Hall, Jim 6'3 / 208 Southeastern Louisiana
OLB Hardiman, Demoris 6'2 / 225 Southeastern Louisiana
RT Hirst, Joe 6'7 / 300 Montana State
WR Hoffman, Lorenzo 6'6 / 216 Alabama State
WR Jackson, Chris 6'2 / 205 Millsaps College
CB Jackson, Codera 5'9 / 180 Youngstown State
MLB Jackson, Markeseo 6'1 / 230 Tennesee-Martin
DE Jones, Edgar 6'4 / 250 Southeast Missouri
WR Kiser, Roosevelt 5'9 / 165 Florida A&M
MLB Leake, Darius 6'2 / 245 Morgan State
DT Lockhart, Kevin 6'1 / 305 Alabama A&M
RG Matherson, Justin 6'4 / 295 TN-Chattanooga
DT McDaniel, Renard 6'3 / 315 Missouri State
OLB Mohring, John 6' / 230 Georgia Southern
DE Murrell, Marques 6'2 / 240 Appalachian State
QB Nelson, Aries 6'2 / 225 Mississippi Valley State
SS Parish, Freddie 6'1 / 205 Stephen F. Austin
DE Peterson, Gregory 6'5 / 275 North Carolina Central
RB Pittman, Jamal 6'2 / 240 Jackson State
RG Pousson, Brent 6'4 / 300 McNeese State
RB Pruitt, Greg 5'9 / 200 North Carolina Central
DE Queen, Ed 6'2 / 270 Northwestern State
LG Rueter, Jonathan 6'5 / 275 Eastern Illinois
CB Sims, Rayvon 5'9 / 185 Tennesee-Martin
WR Spiller, Charlie 5'11 / 190 Alcorn State
DT Shumake, Elbert 6'2 / 316 Pikeville College
CB Sims, Rayvon 5'9 / 185 Tennesee-Martin
WR Spiller, Charlie 5'11 / 190 Alcorn State
LG Tatum, Wyatt 6'4 / 290 Southern
FS Teal, Quinton 6'1 / 195 Coastal Carolina
QB Thigpen, Tyler 6'3 / 220 Coastal Carolina
C Usry, Donald 6'3 / 307 Southeastern Louisiana
RB Washington, Brian 5'10 / 205 Southern Illinois
FB Williams, Kenneth 5'9 / 250 Alcorn State
OLB Woodard, Kenneth 6'2 / 220 Jackson State
C Wright, Ryan 6'3 / 285 Dixie State

Aztec Bowl
USA-28
Mex-7
MVP: QB Andy Collins Occidental
My Small School Offensive MVP: QB Andy Collins Occidental
My Small School Defensive MVP: DE Dustin Hertel DePauw
My Team Mexico MVP: Punter Hector Garza (7att, 52y/p, 69 long, 2 inside/20)

They can't fund the Las Vegas Classic or the Cactus Bowl, but they continue to put on the Aztec Bowl .. go figure. Occidental QB Andy Collins got the MVP nod, passing for 142 yards, tossing a 54 yard TD pass and breaking some game records. Augustana FB Mike Guzman showed some versatility, he caught that 54 yard pass and also rushed for 34 yards. DePauw’s DE Dustin Hertel had a monster day on defense, leading the USA with 9 stops, 3tfl, 2 sacks and a FF. Tom Arcidiacono of Union (NY) led USA with 59 rushing yards and a TD, while John Carroll WR Joe Konrad led the team with 3r, 56 yards and a TD. Also looking sharp out there was Punter Ben Scott of Johns Hopkins, he averaged 42.9y/p, had 61 yard boot and placed 2 inside the 20. Jack Junker (LB, Muskingum) showed big play ability, he was all over the field making 6 tackles, tfl, sack, FF and had blocked punt.

Roster:
Andy Collins QB 6-1 212 Occidental
Jake Robbins FS/SS 5-11 195 Texas Lutheran
Kam Kniss QB 5-10 195 North Central
Chris Barnette WR 6-0 190 Guilford
Kyle Pearson WR 6-3 205 Luther
Jeremy Wolff AP 6-1 225 UW-River Falls
Robert Rodriguez CB 5-8 165 Christopher Newport
Mario Harris FS/CB 5-8 180 Wesley
Kyle Gearman WR 6-4 205 St. John's (MN)
Walner Belleus CB 5-10 180 Dubuque
Craig Haywood SS 5-10 196 King's (PA)
Byron Westbrook CB 5-11 195 Salisbury
Mike Soules SS 5-10 215 Trinity (CT)
Tyler Schultz SS 6-0 200 Hamline
Cody Childs RB 5-10 225 UW-Stevens Point
Ben Scott P 6-3 205 Johns Hopkins
Steve Teeples CB 6-1 165 UW-La Crosse
Tom Arcidiacono RB 6-0 200 Union (NY)
Mike Guzman RB 5-9 205 Augustana (IL)
Aaron Lewis SS 5-11 200 Carnegie Mellon
Ben Bollard FS 6-2 185 Central (Iowa)
Bob Forstrom PK 5-7 170 St. Norbert
Mark Carlisle LB 6-2 230 Thomas More
Jack Junker LB 6-1 220 Muskingum
Keith Heimerl DE/DT 6-3 260 Rowan
Matt Lawless LB 6-0 240 Mount St. Joseph
David Blount DE 6-2 240 Hanover
Chad Glover DE 6-0 215 East Texas Baptist
Kirby Carr LB 6-1 215 Bethel (MN)
Dustin Allen DT 5-9 230 Trinity (Texas)
Sean Crowley LB 6-1 230 Curry
Brett Monnat OT/OG 6-3 275 Ithaca
Rob McCullough OT 6-5 295 Linfield
Adam Feit OG 6-2 260 Springfield
Chris Kenney C 6-2 295 Williams
Rick Drushal OT 6-4 300 Wooster
Kevin Harrigan OG 6-3 285 Delaware Valley
Adam Haas DT 6-1 260 Cortland State
Paul Williams OG 6-1 285 Hampden-Sydney
Ted Londot OT 6-5 290 Wittenberg
Tyler Ledyard DT 6-3 240 Concordia-Moorhead
Chris Teter OT 6-0 275 Wash. & Jefferson
Ryan Stearrett TE 6-2 255 Dickinson
Joe Danielson WR 6-6 210 UW-Platteville
Andrew Neumann TE 6-4 250 Augsburg
Joe Konrad WR 6-2 195 John Carroll
Dustin Hertel DE 6-3 230 DePauw
Jason Trusnik DE 6-4 245 Ohio Northern

East Coast Bowl
North-26
South-24
My Small School Offensive MVP: QB Josh Brehm Alma
My Small School Defensive MVP: Edwin Piner

This was the most exciting game of them all. It was very close and featured big hits, big passes, big runs and long Field Goals. These kids played thier hearts out. The game was decided on a huge hit by 6'2" 220lb DB Jasper Johnson of Central Arkansaswho caused a fumble that led to the game winning TD with no time left. QB's Anthony Doria (Morgan St, 166y and 2TDs) and Josh Brehm (Alma) traded off impressive plays. Brehm was very impressive going 20-28 for 240 yards and 2TDs, with no INTs. There were numerous clutch grabs from receivers Michael Caputo (St. Francis, 5r-89y-TD), Derrick Baker (Norfolk St, 3r-97y-TD), Lance Johnson (Catawba, 8r-189y) and Renard Stevens (West Liberty, 4r-48y-2TDs). TE Steven Kennedy (6'2" 235) from Lindenwood also had a productive day making key catches. Bryant RB Lorenzo Perry looked quick out there, rushing for 30 yards and catching 5 passes for 34 yards.

DB Willie Byrd of Miles College came up big for the South, making a key gaol line INT. As did DB Rashod Moulton (Ft. Valley State), making a pick before the half and returning it 22 yards to lead to a TD. LB Taz Wallace (Adrian) and LB Kevin Jones (St. Augustine) both had 10 tackles a piece and DT Edwin Piner (Howard) was dominating making 4 tackles and 4 sacks.

Indiana State PK Kyle Hooper connected on 42 and 49 yard FGs, besting his career high of 47 yards.

Roster:
Chris Turner WR 6-4 220 Wagner
Derrick Baker WR 5-7 175 Norfolk St.
Lorenzo Perry RB 5-7 185 Bryant
Justin Rummell QB 6-4 230 Earlham
Kyle Hooper K 5-10 160 Indiana St.
Chad Talley P 6-0 194 Virginia Union
Catlyn Clark DB 5-8 185 Morgan St
Anthony Doria QB 6-1 205 St. Francis
Rashad Barksdale DB 6-1 205 U at Albany
Aharon Kiett DB 6-1 182 Kean
Derrick Simmons DB 5-11 200 Montclair St
Joey Berry DB 6-2 185 Shenandoah
Wendell Johnsonn RB 6-0 185 Fairmont St.
Michael Radon DB 6-1 210 Missouri St
Madison Miller DL/OLB 6-4 235 Indiana St.
John Marano LB 5-10 240 Fairmont St.
Dan Adams SS/OLB 5-10 215 Holy Cross
Damion DeRosia DL 6-5 320 Saginaw Valley
Taz Wallace ILB 6-2 230 Adrian
James Riker DE/LB 6-1 240 Valparaiso
Mike Klobucher LB 6-1 245 Ferris St
Andre Coleman DL 6-4 290 U at Albany
Richard Ranglin OL 6-2 310 Central CT St.
Andrew Schoepfer OL 6-4 290 Holy Cross
David Zimmerman OL 6-4 313 Lebanon Valley
Devon Douglass DL 6-1 285 Central CT St.
Jacob Hobbs OL 6-4 325 U at Albany
Zach Snyder OL 6-5 310 Clarion
Bill Holter OL 6-3 320 St. Francis
Evan Prall WR 5-11 180 East Stroudsburg
Prince Prempeh WR 6-3 185 Marist
Jonathan Allen TE 6-3 235 Norfolk St.
Michael Caputo WR 5-11 180 St. Francis
Edwin Piner DL 6-3 295 Howard
Terrance Lee DE 6-3 250 Concord
Jasper Johnson DB 6-2 220 Central Arkansas
Soane Taliauli, Jr. DB 5-10 208 Ft. Valley St.
Josh Brehm QB 6-3 225 Alma
Chris Barnette WR 6-0 190 Guilford
Drew Rucks WR 6-2 225 Charleston-Southern
Collin Drafts QB 6-3 205 Charleston
Marcus Jefferson DB 5-11 185 Albany St
Rashod Moulton DB 5-11 200 Ft. Valley St.
DeShawn Baker RB 6-0 225 SC State
Willie Byrd DB 6-3 193 Miles College
Nathaniel Queen RB 5-10 203 Bowie St
Terrence Stafford DB 5-11 195 Bowie St.
Darius Leak LB 6-2 245 Morgan St
Alex Buzbee DE 6-3 248 Georgetown
Robin Gamble DE 6-5 280 Miles College
Aaron Knight DL/LB 6-2 250 Virginia St
Kevin Jones LB 6-2 210 St. Augustine
Dorian Petersen LB 6-0 243 Bucknell
Eric Crosby OLB 6-3 210 Albany St.
Cliff Louis OL 6-8 310 Morgan St
Travis Frazier P/K 6-5 235 Guilford
Phil Jordan DT 6-3 270 CharlestonSouthern
Jamar Foulks OL 6-4 340 Mansfield
Jermaine LaFate OL 6-4 335 Virginia St
Clyde Reed OL 6-6 275 SC State
David Gladney DL 6-1 280 Lindenwood
Patrick Murray OL 6-4 318 Truman St
Justin Jones OL 6-6 320 Central Arkansas
Jake Larson WR 6-1 175 U of Montana Western
Lance Johnson WR 6-0 196 Catawba
Renard Stevens WR 6-5 220 West Liberty
Steven Kennedy TE 6-2 235 Lindenwood
Alton Pettway DE 6-3 258 Albany St.
Jeffrey Nweke DL 6-5 285 Ft. Valley St

Cactus Bowl
Cancelled