East-West Shrine Game: Meet The Teams

Meet The Teams Of The 2017 East-West Shrine Game

This weekend the East-West Shrine Game, the nation’s first college all-star football game, will kickoff and feature some of college football’s best athletes.

In 1925 the game was created by the Shriners to support Shriners Hospitals for Children. Each year, players and coaches visit the local Shriners Hospitals for Children during game week to meet and interact with patients and understand the importance of the game.

The game is a turning point for athletes who want to pursue a career in the NFL. Last year more than 90 players, who played in the East-West Shrine game, signed with professional teams and more than 70 made final NFL rosters.

This year there are players from all over the country getting ready to suit up and show off their talents in a game that will be widely watched by NFL scouts and coaches.

East Roster:

West Roster:

Who To Watch

Joe Williams, RB, Utah: In a strange twist of events, Williams briefly retired from football at the start of the 2016 season. He then returned to light up the Utes offense. He finished the year, even with his brief exit, with 1,407 yards and 10 touchdowns rushing. Williams also managed to finish the season with 107 receiving yards off of nine catches.

Cooper Rush, QB, Central Michigan: Despite a 6-7 record, Rush has been a big contributor to the Chippewas success this year. He was just shy of 13,000 passing yards and 90 touchdowns for his career. Though he has 55 interceptions, his 6-3, 230 pound build is ideal for an NFL quarterback. Rush finished with the 2016 season with 3,540 yards and 23 touchdowns.

Gunner Kiel, QB, Cincinnati: The Notre Dame transfer has battled multiple issues leading up to his senior year. Kiel was the nation’s No. 1-rated prep quarterback while in high school and after transferring to UC in 2013, he started almost every game for UC in 2014 and 2015. Since then he has had a series of setbacks as the fifth-year senior was sent to the bench as a third-string QB at the start of the 2016 season. After fighting a handful of injuries and getting healthy, Kiel ended the 2016 season with 804 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions in only five of the 2016 season games, which included only one win against East Carolina. Still Kiel is a guy who doesn’t give up and could be a surprising play-maker in this weekend’s East-West Shrine game.

Steven Taylor, LB, Houston: The Cougars had high expectations at the start of the season with a win against Oklahoma and still finished the year with an impressive 9-4 record despite falling to some conference teams, one being Navy, a game Taylor was suspended for. Taylor was part of the Cougars success with his 18.5 sacks and 30.5 tackles for loss over the past two seasons. The 6-1, 225-pound athletic defender has the ability to make stops behind the line of scrimmage.