FRISCO — Shriners Children’s, the NFL, and the Dallas Cowboys hosted the 99th annual East-West Shrine Bowl at the Ford Center at the Star on Thursday night.
The game allowed many college football players to showcase their abilities to NFL talent evaluators in a live game setting, which the West won 26-11.
Here are a few players who stood out for each team:
East
Anthony Gould, WR, Oregon State
Gould had the most explosive play of the game for the East team, returning a punt 80 yards in the third quarter, breaking tackles, spinning his way through traffic, and displaying his breakaway speed.
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Dallin Holker, TE, Colorado State
Holker had a great week in practice and continued it with a three-catch, 28-yard performance on Thursday. He continued to boost his draft stock, drawing a comparison to Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle from a teammate earlier this week.
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Mo Kamara, DE, Colorado State
Kamara was another Colorado State player who boosted his draft stock this week. While he did not register a sack, he had one tackle for loss (TFL) and was a constant nuisance to the West’s offensive line.
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David Ugwoegbu, DL, Houston
The converted linebacker and transfer from Oklahoma displayed a consistent, physical presence on the defensive interior throughout the game and had three tackles — a sack and two TFLs — to go with one QB hurry.
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Devin Leary, QB, Kentucky
Leary’s stats do not jump off the page, but he made some great throws and displayed the best arm strength on the East team.
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West
Frank Gore Jr., RB, Southern Mississippi
His name alone leaves a lot to live up to, but Gore Jr. may have been the best offensive player on the field. He broke off a 49-yard touchdown run to open the scoring, made fluid cuts, and finished the game with 87 yards and a touchdown on just six carries to earn Offensive MVP honors.
“I showed that I’m a playmaker,” Gore Jr. told The Dallas Express postgame. “[I have] Great vision, great feet, all the things that I put on my college film that [show] I could do it with among the best.”
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Taulia Tagovailoa, QB, Maryland
Another player with NFL bloodlines, Tagovailoa, entered the week with question marks and did not have great practice performances. However, on Thursday night, he played the best of any quarterback, throwing for 142 yards and engineering an 80-yard touchdown drive, finishing with a two-yard touchdown run.
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Blake Watson, RB, Memphis
Watson had a quietly great week and continued to display quickness, burst, and versatility with 46 rushing yards and 65 receiving yards out of the backfield.
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Grayson Murphy, DL, UCLA
The Dallas native and former UNT player had a terrific game with two sacks, two TFLs, and three QB hurries.
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Jarius Monroe, DB, Tulane
Monroe had the game’s only interception and was named Defensive MVP.
