NFLPA Collegiate Bowl 2015: Schedule and Players to Watch in All-Star Contest
The national championship was won, the confetti fell, and the college football season came to an end.
However, the football is long from over for some of the nation's top NFL draft prospects, with a number of all-star contests on the immediate horizon. One of those games is the 2015 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, where invited players will have the chance to improve their draft stocks under the tutelage of experienced coaches.
Mike Holmgren and Mike Martz will be on opposite sidelines in Saturday's game and will attempt to pass along some of their knowledge to the prospects.
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.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Here is a look at the essential information for the contest before looking at a couple of the top players to watch.
2015 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl
When: Saturday, January 17, 2015
Where: StubHub Center, Carson, California
Start Time (ET): 4 p.m.
TV: ESPN2
Team Rosters
| QB Jerry Lovelocke (Prairie View) | QB Jameill Showers (UTEP) |
| QB Rakeem Cato (Marshall) | QB Brandon Bridge (S. Alabama) |
| QB Cole Stoudt (Clemson) | QB Andrew Hendrix (Miami Oh.) |
| RB Prince-Tyson Gulley (Syracuse) | WR Geremy Davis (UConn) |
| RB Joe Bergeron (Texas A&M C) | RB Ross Scheurman (La.-Lafayette) |
| RB Marcus Murphy (Missouri) | RB Ricky Seale (Stanford) |
| RB Kenny Williams (Texas Tech) | RB Malcolm Agnew (So. Illinois) |
| FB Paul Lasike (BYU) | RB Jahwan Edwards (Ball St.) |
| G Jarvis Harrison (Texas A&M) | RB Terell Watson (Azusa Pacific) |
| G Al Bond (Memphis) | FB Channing Fugate (E. Kentucky) |
| C Joe Townsend II (Vanderbilt) | C Nick Easton (Harvard) |
| OT Sean Donnelly (Tulane) | G Chad Slade (Auburn) |
| G Antoine Everett (McNeese St.) | OT Cole Manhart (Neb.-Kearney) |
| OT Micah Hatchie (Washington) | OT Jake Rodgers (E. Washington) |
| G Takoby Cofield (Duke) | OT Kyle Roberts (Nevada) |
| OT Cody Clay (Azusa Pacific) | OT Quinterrius Eatmon (USF) |
| OT Darrell Williams (USF) | G Marcus Reed (Fayetteville St.) |
| OT Malcolm Bunche (UCLA) | G Mitchell Bell (La. Tech) |
| TE Westlee Tonga (Utah) | G Tom Farniok (Iowa St.) |
| WR Kaelin Clay (Utah) | WR Chris Conley (Georgia) |
| TE Brian Volger (Alabama) | WR Demarco Robinson (Kentucky) |
| WR Anthony Johnson (West Texas A&M) | WR Rodney Whitehead (FAU) |
| WR Bradley Marquez (Texas Tech) | WR Nick Harwell (Kansas) |
| WR Mario Alford (West Virginia) | TE Devin Mahina (BYU) |
| WR Vernon Johnson (Texas A&M C) | TE Cameron Clear (Texas A&M) |
| TE Eric Tomlinson (UTEP) | WR Dawan Scott (Miami Oh.) |
| WR Javess Blue (Kentucky) | WR Tony Jones (Northwestern) |
| WR Jake Kumerow (Wisconsin-Wh.) | WR DeAndre Carter (Sacramento St.) |
| - | TE Corey Simmons (Northwestern St.) |
| CB Troy Hill (Oregon) | CB Cody Riggs (Notre Dame) |
| CB Anthony Jefferson (UCLA) | CB Al-Hajj Shabazz (West Chester) |
| CB Johnathan McKnight (Arizona) | CB De'Ante Saunders (Tennessee St.) |
| CB Terell Floyd (Louisville) | CB Travell Dixon (Washington) |
| CB Deshazor Everett (Texas A&M) | DB Emmanuel Johnson (Southern Miss.) |
| CB Donald Celiscar (W. Michigan) | CB Jimmy Jean (UAB) |
| DB Erick Dargan (Oregon) | DB Keeston Terry (Pittsburg St.) |
| DB Tony Bell Jr. (UT-Martin) | CB Chris Dunkley (USF) |
| DB Cedric Thompson (Minnesota) | DB Ace Clark (W. Carolina) |
| DB Ryan Murphy (Oregon St.) | DB Jourdon Grandon (Arizona) |
| LB Jabral Johnson (Oregon St.) | LB Terrance Plumber (UCF) |
| LB Michael Doctor (Oregon St.) | LB Braylon Mitchell (Arkansas) |
| LB John Timu (Washington) | LB D.J. Welter (LSU) |
| LB Josh Keyes (Boston College) | LB Zaire Anderson (Nebraska) |
| LB Damien Wilson (Minnesota) | LB Cameron Lynch (Syracuse) |
| LB John Tavai Jr. (USC) | LB Stephon Sanders (SMU) |
| LB Chase Williams (Virginia Tech) | DE LaDarius Owens (Auburn) |
| DT Cameron Botticelli (Minnesota) | DE Kendall Montgomery (Bowling Green) |
| DT Olsen Pierre (Miami) | DE Marcus Rush (Michigan St.) |
| DE Dan Pettinato (Arizona) | LB Kyle Woestmann (Vanderbilt) |
| DE Andrew Hudson (Washington) | DT Leon Orr (Florida) |
| DT Ethan Farmer (North Carolina) | DT Quayshawne Buckley (Idaho) |
| DE Brock Hekking (Nevada) | DE Diaheem Watkins (UAB) |
| DT Kalafitoni Pole (Washington St.) | DT Chuka Ndulue (Oklahoma) |
| DE Zach Wagenmann (Montana) | DT DeShawn Williams (Clemson) |
| P Mike Sadler (Michigan St.) | K Jeremiah Detmer (Toledo) |
| K Josh Lambo (Texas A&M) | P Patrick Carney (New Mexico Highlands) |
| LS Alex Freeman (Texas A&M) | LS John Sheperdson (California) |
Note: Game rosters are courtesy of the NFLPA official site.
Prospects to Watch
Cornerback Troy Hill, Oregon
Oregon's Troy Hill was thrown into the spotlight in the initial College Football Playoff this season when star cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu was lost for the season to a torn ACL before the semifinal against Florida State.
Hill helped keep the Seminoles' star wide receiver, Rashad Greene, in check with only 59 yards and zero touchdowns on six catches. What's more, Ohio State's top deep threat, Devin Smith, only caught one pass in the national championship game—although it went for 45 yards.
Hill's late-season production was partially a result of top-notch experience throughout the year, as Oregon defensive coordinator Don Pellum noted, via Tyson Alger of The Oregonian:
"You have to have confidence in your ability and confidence in the system. He's been on the other side of Ifo. He got challenged early on. He got a lot of action. He didn't see it as, 'Uh oh, they're attacking.' He saw it as, 'This is an opportunity to prove what I can do.'
"
Now, Hill will have the opportunity to continue the individual momentum he has from his extended role late in the season in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. An impressive performance here will help solidify Hill as a serious draft candidate in the eyes of some coaches who may not have paid as much attention to him while scouting Ekpre-Olomu.
No pressure or anything.
Quarterback Rakeem Cato, Marshall
The term "video-game numbers" was invented to describe the box score of Rakeem Cato's games this season. He threw for a ridiculous 3,903 yards and 40 touchdowns and added 482 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on the ground. Amazingly, Cato threw for more yards in his sophomore and junior seasons than he did in his senior campaign in 2014.
All-star games like this are more important for players like Cato who played at schools that are not in the Power Five conferences because they have to prove to doubters that the inflated numbers aren't simply the result of easy competition.
Marshall played in Conference USA this season and didn't exactly face an SEC, Big Ten or Pac-12 type of schedule. That's not even mentioning the fact that Marshall's offense is a wide-open spread attack that virtually begs the quarterback to put up big numbers.
Perhaps the best thing about this entire process is the invaluable experience Cato is picking up, as Anish Shroff of ESPN pointed out:
These types of games are more like the cherry on top of the sundae that is the career body of work for these players. We have the tendency to overreact to them one way or the other, but Cato rarely got the chance to impress against elite competition during his career.
Now, he has one before the draft.
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