2023 East-West Shrine Bowl: Eight Mountain West Players On All-Star Game Roster
The storied college football all-star game will feature eight Mountain West football players looking for a spot in the pro ranks.
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The stars are bright in Las Vegas.
The path to this year’s NFL Draft heads to the desert tomorrow night, when the East-West Shrine Bowl will take center stage and give eight Mountain West players an opportunity to showcase their skills for pro scouts.
That group will represent four different programs in the conference, led by Boise State and Fresno State with three players each. The Broncos will be represented by offensive tackle John Ojukwu, defensive back Tyreque Jones, and defensive tackle Scott Matlock. Ojukwu left the Broncos as a three-time all-conference performer, landing first-team honors in each of the last two seasons while playing a team-high 934 snaps and starting every game at left tackle in 2022, while Jones spent time in his collegiate career as both a safety and nickelback, contributing 157 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss,18 passes defended, and four interceptions in his six years with the team.
Matlock, meanwhile, earned a Shrine Bowl invitation after appearing in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl last week. He received rave reviews on the practice field ahead of that game, and for good reason: The Homedale, Idaho native twice earned second-team all-Mountain West recognition and did a little bit of everything for the Broncos, from piling up 11.5 career sacks to catching goal-line touchdowns on offense.
Running back Jordan Mims and wide receivers Nikko Remigio and Jalen Moreno-Cropper will take the field for Fresno State. All three were major contributors in the Bulldogs’ rise to the top of the Mountain West last fall, combining to contribute 4,234 all-purpose yards and 34 touchdowns for the Bulldogs. Mims finished second in the conference with 1,370 rushing yards, while Remigio and Moreno-Cropper were the only pair of Mountain West pass catchers to crack 800 receiving yards each on the same team.
San Jose State defensive end Viliami Fehoko will also appear in the game after becoming the Mountain West’s defensive player of the year in late November. He led the conference with 18 tackles for loss and 50 hurries while finishing third with nine sacks. Lastly, UNLV linebacker Austin Ajiake will get one last opportunity to play for the home crowd after leading the conference with 133 total tackles and collecting 11 tackles for loss, four sacks, and two interceptions.
The East-West Shrine Bowl is scheduled to kick off from Las Vegas’s Allegiant Stadium on Thursday, February 2, at 5:30 PM. It will be broadcast on the NFL Network.
