Frisco, Texas – Perhaps the coolest day of the week arrived Wednesday as the 99th East-West Shrine Bowl opens for the first time Thursday at 7 p.m. at Ford Center. and current Texas State football head coach Steve Sarkisian have been inducted into the Shrine Bowl Hall of Fame.
Sarkisian, a BYU quarterback, played in the 1997 game, and Smith, a University of Utah wide receiver, played in the 2001 game. Unfortunately, Sarkisian mostly remembers being intercepted by a defensive lineman. But for Smith, a former five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, his memories of playing in the East-West Shrine Bowl are rather unique, as he was inspired by the late Gil Brandt, who served as the Cowboys' first vice president of player personnel for 29 years. cite the name of He recently passed away on August 31, 2023 at the age of 91.
Smith, who went from the tough streets of Los Angeles to Santa Monica Junior College and then Utah State, explained how he ended up playing in the East-West Shrine Bowl by chance, despite not being invited. .and he
He wasn't even invited to the Senior Bowl, letting this year's players know that they don't think they deserve to be paid to play this game.
As the story goes, Kansas State wide receiver Quincy Morgan “decided he didn't need to come here,” Smith explained. “So, God, rest your feet. Gil Brandt called my agent and said, 'Hey, Steve, does he want to play?'
“Now, 23 years later, I look back and realize how many seconds I was sloppy back then, but if I hadn't been lucky enough to have that opportunity, I would never have had the opportunity for other people to see that.” So for me, I was an understudy, but I took the opportunity to take over the stage as an understudy.”
He became a third-round pick of the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday, going on to a 16-year NFL career, 13 of which were spent in Carolina, and a member of the Panthers' Hall of Fame.
And remember, two years ago now, Super Bowl quarterback Brock Purdy played in the Shrine Bowl and became San Francisco's final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Kansas City running back Isaiah Pacheco also played in that game. And look where they are now. There's also Buffalo's 2023 first-round draft pick, WR Zay Flowers.
plus. Notable NFL players inducted into the East-West Shrine Bowl Hall of Fame include Cowboys Hall of Famer Randy White, Gale Sayers, Brett Favre, Dan Pastorini, Doug Williams, Jerry Kramer, and Larry.・Includes NFL stars such as Csonka.
