Several Aggies invited to play in postseason bowl games
Four members of the Utah State University football team will compete in postseason bowl games on Saturday.
Emmett White will participate in the East-West Shrine game, an annual showcase for college players hoping to play professionally. The game will be held at Pacific Bell Stadium in San Francisco.
Meanwhile, offensive linemen Jim Walker and Ed Powell, and linebacker Tony Newson will compete for the Utah/Colorado (UTCO) All-Stars in the inaugural Paradise Bowl being held at Hansen Stadium in St. George. UTCO will take on the West States All-Stars.
Both games feature players from some of the top schools in the nation. Utah State Head Coach Mick Dennehy believes the games will serve two purposes.
“It will be a good chance for these guys to go down and enjoy themselves and have some fun finishing up their college careers,” he said. “I also think that there will be some scouts there from pro teams to give these guys some exposure and give them a chance to land in an NFL camp.”
In the Paradise Bowl, the UTCO team, coached by NFL Europe’s Amsterdam Admirals Head Coach Bart Andrus, will have players from Utah State, Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, Idaho, Montana, Southern Utah, UNLV, University of Utah, Weber State and Wyoming. The West team will have players from Arizona, Arizona State, Cal-Davis, Eastern Washington, Fresno State, Oregon, Oregon State, Portland State, San Diego State, San Jose State, Simon Fraser, UCLA, USC and Washington State.
Dennehy sees these games as an opportunity for these players to achieve their goals, whether they be in or out of football.
“I’m real excited for the kids to have this opportunity and I’m sure that they will represent the school well,” Dennehy said.
The East-West Shrine game – which White will participate in – features top players from around the country. White is the third USU tailback in six years to compete in the all-star game.
The East-West Shrine game and the Paradise Bowl will kick off at 11:30 a.m. and noon (MST) respectively. The East-West Shrine Game can be seen on ESPN2 and the Paradise Bowl will be seen either live or on tape delay on Fox Sports Net.