The oldest and widely considered the most respected post season collegiate bowl game is the East – West Shrine Game.
The Shrine Game showcases some of the nation’s top graduating seniors and prospects for the National Football League.
Played consecutive years since 1925, 2010 will be no different.
This year the game will be played in downtown Orlando, Fla., at the Citrus Bowl.
The reason for being considered by many one of the most respected post season bowl games has nothing to do with the players or coaches it draws.
The purpose of the game is to help the Shriners Hospitals for Children.
The game is played to raise funds and increase awareness about the orthopedic, burn, spinal cord injury rehabilitation, cleft lip and palate care available to patients and families at no cost through the 22 locations of Shriners Hospitals for Children.
Before even stepping foot on the practice field with their new teammates, the players take a visit to the Tampa location of the Shriners Hospital for Children.
There they spend six hours getting to know the patients and learning exactly why they are playing in the game, to help ensure these children continue to research quality treatment at no cost to them.
Following their visit to the Shriners Hospital for Children each side has five practices before the game on Saturday.
The practices were open to the public, as well as the media and scouts (both from the NFL and the Canadian Football League).
Romeo Crennel is the Head Coach for the East team.
Marty Schottenheimer will be his counterpart, coaching the West team.
Notable players participating in the Shrine Game on the East team are:
Daryll Clark (Quarterback, Penn State)
Andre Dixon (Runningback, Connecticut)
Freddie Barnes (Wide Receiver, Bowling Green)
Greg Hardy Jr. (Defensive Lineman, Mississippi)
Kion Wilson (Linebacker, USF)
Chris Chancellor (Defensive Back, Clemson)
Notable players participating in the Shrine Game on the West team are:
Matt Nichols (Quarterback, Eastern Washington),
Keith Toston (Runningback, Oklahoma State),
Emmanuel Sanders (Wide Rreciever, SMU),
Earl Mitchell (Defenseive Lineman, Arizona)
Reggie Carter (Linebacker, UCLA)
Jamar Wall (Defensive Back, Texas Tech).
The full lineups along with sponsorships links can be found on the official website shrinegame.com.
The scheduled kick-off time is 3:00 p.m. and the game will be televised live on ESPN2.
Kyle Bennett can be reached at minaret.sports@gmail.com.