Jenkins & Williams Receive Bowl Invites (East-West Shrine Game/Senior Bowl)

[Brad]

Courtesy USF

Jenkins & Williams Receive Bowl Invites

TAMPA, Fla. -- Senior cornerbacks Mike Jenkins and Trae Williams have received invitations to postseason senior bowls.

Both Bulls have been invited to play in the East-West Shrine Game at the University of Houston on Jan. 19. 

Jenkins has also been invited to play in the Under Armour Senior Bowl, which will be held at its annual home in Mobile, Ala., on Jan. 26.

Jenkins is a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, which is given annually to the top defensive back in college football.  He is eighth nationally with 12 pass breakups and also has two interceptions this season.  The Sarasota native is rated as the top senior cornerback in the draft and the ninth best senior prospect according to ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper.

Williams has more interceptions the last two seasons, 11, than every NCAA FBS player but two. He has four picks this year, after racking up seven as a junior. He also has 10 pass breakups, which ranks 13th nationally.  Williams was preseason Thorpe candidate and was heavily considered for the semifinal list.

Bill Gramatica is the only player in USF history to compete in the East-West Shrine Game (2000), while Andre Hall is the only Bull to play in the Senior Bowl (2005).

The Senior Bowl is the nation’s most unique football game and football’s premier pre-draft event, annually featuring the country’s best senior collegiate football stars and top NFL draft prospects on teams representing the North and South which are coached by the entire coaching staffs from two National Football League teams. Senior Bowl practices are also attended by over 700 general managers, head coaches, assistant coaches, scouts and other front office personnel from the 32 National Football League teams, making Mobile and the Senior Bowl the week-long host to a one-of-a-kind NFL Coaches Convention.

Every year since 1925, the East-West Shrine Game has been played to help raise money and awareness for Shriners Hospitals for Children, an international network of 22 pediatric specialty hospitals that provide care for children with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries and cleft lip and palate - all at no charge. To date, the game has helped raise more than $14 million and informed millions of people about the mission of this extraordinary philanthropy.

The 82nd East-West Shrine Game in 2007 included 37 players who were selected in the NFL Draft this past April, while an additional 51 players were later signed as free agent.

[Rocky Style]

Excellent news!

[Ruger7mmmag]

Sweet, my office is two blocks from Laad Stadium where practices are held every day during Senior Bowl week and I have attended every practice for the last two years which is a pretty cool sight to behold if you've never seen an NFL type practice.  Not too mention, I can't count how many OC and DCs I've gotten to chit chat with while watching the drills and hearing them discuss guys.  If you've never been, it's pretty cool and worth a trip up to see some time as you get to see kids from all programs competing side by side at the highest levels bc all the cameras are on them.

I heard the main Sr. Bowl guy say he was going to invite a few players from USF, but I figured it would be both CBs and maybe Ben Moffit.  I'll call in next time he's on the radio and see what else I can find out as he's on the radio once a week updating who they are looking at etc.

[MikeG]

Moffit deserves it as well imo-- perhaps there will be more invites later?

[ChiTownBull]

Yeah, I would have thought ben would have gotten at least one of the two invites.

[Matt]

a lot of senior LBs out there this year too.  hopefully Moffit gets the invite.

[Ruger7mmmag]

Yeah, they start inviting now, but invites go out all the way up to the week and even during the Senior Bowl week due to injuries or folks not being able to attend etc.  The official roster doesn't even get released until January 20th I believe so still a long ways to go.

[MikeG]

Is the Gridiron Classic still played?

[E.T.]

Will be nice to have some BULLS in these Sr Bowls.

[Jihme]

yea they MIGHT go to the NFL