Cactus Bowl Features D-II's Best

KINGSVILLE, TX - Tonight's 2010 Valero Cactus Bowl will feature some of the best players Division II has to offer.

Among the participants are six players from the two teams that met in the national championship. Northwest Missouri State's RB LaRon Council, DE Sean Paddock, and FS Myles Burnsides will play for the West, while Grand Valley State's QB Brad Iciek, WR Blake Smolen, and OT Nick McDonald will take the field for the East.

Other notable participants for the East are Carson-Newman's RB Buck Wakefield, Delta State's LB Lardester Hicks-Green, Saginaw Valley State's LB John Jacobs, and Shippensburg WR Mike Harris.

Players to watch from the West include host school Texas A&M-Kingsville's QB Billy Garza, Central Washington's WR Johnny Spevak, West Texas A&M's OT J'Marcus Webb, and Abilene Christian's SS Major Culbert.

Noticeably absent from the roster is 2009 Harlon Hill winner Joique Bell from Wayne State University. It is unclear whether Bell was invited and declined or was overlooked by the selection committee.

Bell will be playing in the 2010 Senior Bowl on January 30 in Mobile, Alabama. Although not listed on the Bowl's website roster, Senior Bowl staff confirmed his addition to the roster today. The Senior Bowl also confirmed that Bell is the only Division II player currently on the roster.

The nation's biggest player, Jerome Dunbar, a 350-pound guard from Virginia Union will anchor the East's offensive line, which averages 305 pounds.

The West's O-line averages a near identical 304 pounds, but the defensive lines are where the differences catch the eye. The West averages 285 versus the East's 267. That gives the West a decided advantage with a nearly 40-pound per player edge on opposing lines.

The East will have to compensate for the size disadvantage with their traditional power: speed.

Buck Wakefield is one of the fastest players in the nation, regardless of division. A true NFL prospect, his speed and elusiveness combined with the shifty moves provided by Grand Valley State's do-it-all player WR Blake Smolen should be an adequate equalizer for the East.

Additionally, Smolen will benefit from his long-established relationship with Grand Valley State's QB Brad Iciek, who joins Arkansas Tech's Nick Graziano as signal-caller for the East.

For most of these players, this will be the last time they put on a helmet and take the field. With a handful of exceptions, most of these players will not go on to the NFL or CFL.

That won't diminish the accomplishments they have achieved over their careers as the nation's elite Division II players.

The Cactus Bowl kickoff is set for 7:35 PM (EST).