Scout's Eye - All-Star Game Invitations (Christmas Edition)

Cade Klubnik / QB / Clemson

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

As the year ends and college teams wrap up their seasons, NFL-caliber prospects are receiving invitations to the four major offseason All-Star games - Hula Bowl, American Bowl, East-West Shrine Bowl, and the Senior Bowl. The majority of the 257 draft picks in April will be participants in one of these bowl games .

The postseason player evaluation process is broken down to three parts - the postseason All-Star games, the NFL Scouting Combine, and the Pro Day circuit where NFL prospects work out for scouts and GMs and at an organized college team workout day on the school's campus. The more opportunities that a prospect gets to show his abilities to NFL team personnel, the better his chances of locking down an opportunity to play in the NFL. It's a long, arduous process that is meant to test the prospects' athleticism, football knowledge, intelligence, maturity, and stamina in the world's most visible jobs fair.

Draft Deadlines

The primary deadline for college underclassmen to apply for special eligibility and declare for the 2026 NFL Draft is Wednesday, January 14, 2026. Prospects whose team advances to the college football playoff national have an extended deadline of January 23, 2026. Underclassmen who decide to rescind their eligibility have until Friday, February 6, 2026 to withdraw from the NFL Draft. All upperclassmen who have exhausted their eligibility are automatically draft eligible.

The NFL Scouting Combine is scheduled to take place in Indianapolis from February 27 to March 2, 2026.

The 2026 NFL Draft is scheduled to take place from Thursday, April 23 to Saturday, April 25 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Hula Bowl Invitations

The 79th Hula Bowl is scheduled to kick off at 12 noon ET / 9 am PT on Saturday, January 10, 2026 from Deland, Florida. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network. 

The first college All-Star Game of the postseason, Hula Bowl participants are primarily lower level NFL prospects who grade out as late round draft prospects and high level undrafted free agents (UDFA). The top prospects invited include Arkansas WR O'Mega Blake and Toledo WR Junior Vandeross, BYU TE Carsen Ryan, Florida State OT Gunnar Hansen, Kansas center Bryce Foster, Western Michigan EDGE Nadame Tucker (who led the nation in sacks - 14.5- and TFL - 21), Nebraska LB Dasan McCullough, USC CB DeCarlos Nicholson, and safeties Xavier Nwankpa (Iowa) and DQ Smith (South Carolina).

QB

Blake Shapen / Mississippi State

Braylon Baxton / Southern Mississippi

Kyron Drones / Virginia Tech

RB

Jaden Nixon / UCF

Myles Montgomery / UCF

Dean Connors / Houston

Kevon King / Norfolk State

Coleman Bennett / Kennesaw State

Davon Booth / Mississippi State

WR

Camden Brown / Georgia Southern

Will Pauling / Notre Dame

Junior Vandeross / Toledo

EJ Horton / Purdue

Chandler Brayboy / Elon

Octavian Smith / Maryland

O'Mega Blake / Arkansas

TE

Hudson Habermehl / UCLA

JT Byrne / Georgia Tech

Dan Villari / Syracuse

Brandon Frazier / Auburn

Louis Hansen / UCONN

Carsen Ryan / BYU

OT

Shiyazh Pete / Kentucky

Corey Robinson / Arkansas

Rasheed Miller / Louisville

Enrique Cruz / Kansas

Micah Pettus / Florida State

Gunnar Hansen / Florida State

Jack Walsh / Wyoming

Alex Wollschlaeger / Kentucky

Bruno Fina / UCLA

IOL

Gavin Gerhardt / OC / Cincinnati

Evan Beernsten / OG / Northwestern

Bryce Foster / OC / Kansas

Caden Barnett / OG / Wyoming

Josh Gesky / OG / Illinois

Melvin Priestly / OG / Illinois

Kalib Fortner / OG / Army

Jordan White / OC / Vanderbilt

EDGE

Nathan Voorhis / Ball State

Wesley Bailey / Rutgers

Nadame Tucker / Western Michigan

IDL

Bernard Gooden / LSU

Tommy Dunn / Kansas

Gabriel Rubio / Notre Dame

LB

MacArthur Harris / USF

Dasan McCullough / Nebraska

AJ Pena / Rhode Island

Devon Williams / Minnesota

Jordan Crook / Arizona State

Jackson Kuwatch / Miami, Oh

Jonathan Vaughns / UCLA

CB

DeCarlos Nicholson / USC

Phillip Dunnam / UCF

Toriano Pride / Missouri

Joshua Eaton / Michigan State

Jaden Rios / Texas State

Karon Prunty / Wake Forest

Josh Moten / Southern Mississippi

Kani Walker / Arkansas

S

Malik Spencer / Michigan State

Jacob Thomas / James Madison

Robert Spears-Jennings / Oklahoma

Xavier Nwankpa / Iowa

Jalen Stroman / Notre Dame

DQ Smith / South Carolina

Gavin Gibson / North Carolina

Specialists

Jeff Yurk / P / Elon

Ben Mann / LS / Boston College

Gabriel Nwosu / P / Penn State

American Bowl

The inaugural American Bowl, which effectively replaced the now defunct Tropical Bowl, is scheduled to kick off at 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT on Thursday, January 22, 2026 from Lakeland, Florida. The game will be broadcast on NFL Network. 

The American Bowl participants are primarily lower level NFL prospects who grade out as late round draft prospects and high level undrafted free agents (UDFA). The top prospects invited include Cincinnati WR Cyrus Allen, Arizona State TE Chamon Metayer, Maryland OT Alan Herron, LSU EDGE Patrick Payton, IDL Landon Robinson of Navy and Aaron Graves of Iowa, SMU safety Isaiah Nwokobia, and Western Kentucky punter Cole Maynard, son of long time NFL punter Brad (NY Giants).

QB

Jalon Daniels / Kansas

Dequann Finn / Miami, Oh

Jack Strand / Minnesota State-Moorhead

RB

Star Thomas / Tennessee

Kentrell Bullock / South Alabama

Barika Kpeenu / North Dakota State

WR

Chase Roberts / BYU

Anthony Smith / ECU

Max Tomczak / Youngstown State

Nick DeGennaro / James Madison

Cyrus Allen / Cincinnati

Gabriel Benyard / Kennesaw State

DT Sheffield / Rutgers

TE

Matt Hibner / SMU

Chamon Metayer / Arizona State

Khalil Dinkins / Penn State

Miles Kitselman / Tennessee

OT

Jeff Persi / Pittsburgh

Alan Herron / Maryland

Trevonte Sylvester / Louisville

Paul Rubelt / UCF

IOL

Tomas Rimac / OG / Virginia Tech

Kobe Baynes / OG / Kansas

Austin Leausa / OG / BYU

Garrett DiGiorgio / OG / UCLA

Henry Lutovsky / OG / Nebraska

Delby Lemieux / OG / Dartmouth

Connor Tollison / Missouri

James Brockermeyer / OC / Miami, Fl

Jaren Kump / OC / Utah

EDGE

Patrick Payton / LSU

TJ Guy / Michigan

Aidan Hubbard / Northwestern

Eric Hunter / Morgan State

Eddie Walls / Houston

Jaden Dugger / Louisiana

Dayon Hayes / Texas A&M

IDL

Aaron Graves / Iowa

Damon Payne / Michigan

Jahmeer Carter / Virginia

Tyre West / Tennessee

Kody Huisman / Virginia Tech

Landon Robinson / Navy

LB

Jack Dingle / Cincinnati

Namdi Obiazor / TCU

Bangally Kamara / Kansas

Karson Sharar / Iowa

Mac Harris / South Florida

CB

Jaylon Guilbeau / Texas

DJ Harvey / USC

Andre Fuller / Toledo

Nasir Bowers / Toledo

Jarod Washington / South Carolina State

Ayden Garnes / Arizona

Avery Smith / Toledo

De'Shawn Rucker / South Florida

S

Isaiah Nwokobia / SMU

Ricardo Hallman / Wisconsin

Daylan Carnell / Missouri

Brylan Green / Liberty

Nick Anderson / Wake Forest

Skyler Thomas / Oregon State

Specialists

Kansei Matsuzawa / K / Hawaii

Cole Maynard / P / Western Kentucky

Wes Pahl / P / Oklahoma State

Rocco Underwood / LS / Florida

East-West Shrine Game

The nation's oldest postseason all-star game, the 101st edition of the  East-West Shrine Game is scheduled to kick off at 7 pm ET / 4 pm PT on Tuesday, January 27, 2026 from Frisco, Texas. The game will be broadcast on NFL Network

The East-West Shrine Game participants are primarily midround prospects that should get drafted between the third and sixth rounds of next April's draft. The top prospects invited include QBs Cade Klubnik (Clemson) and Haynes King (Georgia Tech), RB Demond Claiborne (Wake Forest), WR Jordyn Tyson (Arizona State), TE Eli Raridon (Notre Dame), OT Caleb Tiernan (Northwestern), OG Ar'maj Reed-Adams (Texas A&M), EDGEs Caden Curry (Ohio State) and Max Llewellyn (Iowa), LBs Harold Perkins (LSU) and Red Murdock (Buffalo), and safety Louis Moore (Indiana).

QB

Cade Klubnik / Clemson

Haynes King / Georgia Tech

Joe Fagnano / UCONN

RB

Robert Henry / UTSA

Chip Trayanum / Toledo

Max Bredeson / FB-TE / Michigan

Demond Claiborne / Wake Forest

Roman Hemby / Indiana

Kentrell Bullock / South Alabama

WR

Jordyn Tyson / Arizona State

Bryce Lance / North Dakota State

Eli Heidenreich / Navy

Antonio Williams / Clemson

Chris Hilton / LSU

Zavion Thomas / LSU

Aaron Anderson / LSU

Kendrick Law / Kentucky

Jeff Caldwell / Cincinnati

De'Zhaun Stribling / Ole Miss

J. Michael Sturdivant / Florida

Jalen Walthall / Incarnate Word

TE

John Michael Gyllenborg / Wyoming

Eli Raridon / Notre Dame

Dallen Bentley / Utah

Seydou Traore / Mississippi State

OT

Caleb Tiernan / Northwestern

Chris Adams / Memphis

James Neal / Iowa State

Fa'alili Fa'amoe / Wake Forest

Aamil Wagner / Notre Dame

Riley Mahlman / Wisconsin

IOL

Logan Taylor / OG / Boston College

Giovanni El-Hadi / OG / Michigan

DJ Campbell / OG / Texas

Jager Burton / OC / Kentucky

Ar'maj Reed-Adams / OG / Texas A&M

Anez Cooper / OG / Miami, Fl

Pat Coogan / OC / Indiana

Dillon Wade / OG / Auburn

EDGE

Anto Saka / Northwestern

Caden Curry / Ohio State

Wesley Williams / Duke

Max Llewellyn / Iowa

George Gumbs / Florida

Malachi Lawrence / UCF

Nyjalik Kelly / UCF

Vincent Anthony / Duke

Quintayvious Hutchins / Boston College

Patrick Payton / LSU

Ethan Burke / Texas

Anthony Lucas / USC

IDL

Brandon Cleveland / North Carolina State

Darrell Jackson / Florida State

Dontay Corleone / Cincinnati

Albert Regis / Texas A&M

Caleb Proctor / SE Louisiana

Tyler Onyedim / Texas A&M

James Thompson / Illinois

Landon Robinson / Navy

LB

Red Murdock / Buffalo

Lander Barton / Utah

Harold Perkins / LSU

Eric Gentry / USC

Kaleb Elarms-Orr / TCU

Aiden Fisher / Indiana

CB

Julian Neal / Arkansas

Ahmari Harvey / Georgia Tech

Tyreek Chappell / Texas A&M

S

Louis Moore / Indiana

Myles Rowser / Arizona State

Ahmad Moses / SMU

Dalton Johnson / Arizona

Specialists

Jack Stonehouse / P / Syracuse

Tommy Doman / P / Florida

Dominic Zvada / K / Michigan

Trey Smack / K / Florida

Tyler Duzansky / LS / Penn State

Senior Bowl

The premiere college All-Star game is the Senior Bowl which is played on Saturday, January 31, 2026 at 2:30 pm ET / 11:30 am PT.from Mobile, Alabama and televised on the NFL Network.

The Senior Bowl participants are overwhelmingly the best declared juniors and seniors available for the NFL Draft. Most, but rarely all, first round draft picks played in the Senior Bowl with the notable exception of the best QBs who typically opt-out of participating. The top prospects participating in Mobile and are potential first round picks include RBs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton (Penn State), WRs Germie Bernard (Alabama), Caleb Douglas and Reggie Virgil (Texas Tech), TE Tanner Koziol (Houston) and Sam Roush (Stanford), OTs Isaiah World (Oregon), Max Iheanachor (Arizona State), and Austin Barber (Florida), center Jake Slaughter (Florida), EDGEs TJ Parker (Clemson), David Bailey (Texas Tech), and Dani Dennis-Sutton (Penn State), IDL Caleb Banks (Florida), LB Jacob Rodriguez (Texas Tech), and CB Hezekiah Masses (California).

QB

Sawyer Robertson / Baylor

Taylen Green / Arkansas

Diego Pavia / Vanderbilt

Cole Payton / North Dakota State

Luke Altmyer / Illinois

RB

Mike Washington / Arkansas

Seth McGowan / Kentucky

Adam Randall / Clemson

Kaytron Allen / Penn State

Jam Miller / Alabama

Jonah Coleman / Washington

Nicholas Singleton / Penn State

Rahsul Faison / South Carolina

Le'Veon Moss / Texas A&M

J'Mari Taylor / Virginia

WR

Josh Cameron / Baylor

Ted Hurst / Georgia State

Skyler Bell / UCONN

Caullin Lacy / Louisville

Caleb Douglas / Texas Tech

Reggie Virgil / Texas Tech

Barion Brown / LSU

Malachi Fields / Notre Dame

Romello Brinson / SMU

Elijah Sarratt / Indiana

Germie Bernard / Alabama

TE

Tanner Koziol / Houston

Michael Trigg / Baylor

DJ Rogers / TCU

Joe Royer / Cincinnati

Sam Roush / Stanford

Nate Boerkircher / Texas A&M

Justin Joly / North Carolina State

Josh Cuevas / Alabama

OT

Austin Barber / Florida

Alex Harkey / Oregon

Blake Miller / Clemson

Max Iheanachor / Arizona State

Isaiah World / Oregon

Dametrious Crownover / Texas A&M

Drew Shelton / Penn State

JC Davis / Illinois

Jude Bowry / Boston College

Trey Zuhn / Texas A&M

IOL

Keylan Rutledge / OG / Georgia Tech

Fernando Carmona / OG / Arkansas

Sam Hecht / OC / Kansas State

Jeremiah Wright / OG / Auburn

Jake Slaughter / OC / Florida

Beau Stephens / OG / Iowa

EDGE

Zion Young / Missouri

Jack Pyburn / LSU

Keyron Crawford / EDGE-LB / Auburn

Romello Height / Texas Tech

TJ Parker / Clemson

Dani Dennis-Sutton / Penn State

Derrick Moore / Michigan

David Bailey / Texas Tech

Logan Fano / Utah

Gabe Jacas / EDGE-LB / Illinois

Cashius Howell / Texas A&M

R. Mason Thomas / Oklahoma

Cian Slone / North Carolina State

IDL

Cameron Ball / Arkansas

Caleb Banks / Florida

Rayshaun Benny / Michigan

Zane Durant / Penn State

Lee Hunter / Texas Tech

Deven Eastern / Minnesota

Tim Keenan / Alabama

Domonique Orange / Iowa State

Chris McClellan / Missouri

Nick Barrett / South Carolina

Jeffrey M'ba / SMU

Bryson Eason / Tennessee

Gracen Halton / Oklahoma

LB

Jake Golday / Cincinnati

Jack Kelly / BYU

Deontae Lawson / Alabama

Jacob Rodriguez / Texas Tech

Justin Jefferson / Alabama

Xavian Sorey / Arkansas

Keyshaun Elliott / Arizona State

Owen Heinecke / Oklahoma

Kaleb Elarms-Orr / TCU

Scooby Williams / Texas A&M

CB

Hezekiah Masses / California

Collin Wright / Stanford

Chris Johnson / San Diego State

Charles Demmings / Stephen F. Austin

TJ Hall / Iowa

Ephesians Prysock / Washington

Jalen McMurray / CB-S / Tennessee

Thad Dixon / North Carolina

Chandler Rivers / Duke

Tacario Davis / Washington

Will Lee / Texas A&M

S

VJ Payne / Kansas State

DeShon Singleton / Nebraska

Bud Clark / TCU

Emmanuel McNeil-Warren / Toledo

Michael Taaffe / Texas

Jakobe Thomas / Miami, Fl

Zakee Wheatley / S-CB / Penn State

Treydan Stukes / S-CB / Arizona

AJ Haulcy / LSU

Jalon Kilgore / South Carolina

Specialists

Ryan Eckley / P / Michigan State

Drew Stevens / K / Iowa

Luke Basso / LS / Oregon

Will Ferrin / K / BYU

David Bailey / EDGE / Texas Tech

SNS

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