Dec. 20, 2005

by Bill Scott, USF Sports Information -

 FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- University of Saint Francis (Ind.) quarterback Chris Bramell has been invited to play in the first Magnolia Gridiron All-Star Classic on Sat., Dec. 24 in Jackson, Miss.

    Bramell (Indianapolis / Franklin Central H.S.) quarterbacked the Cougars to two consecutive NAIA Football Championship Series National Championship Games and was named the 2005 Mid-States Football Association Mideast League Player-of-the-Year.

    "I was really surprised when coach (Kevin) Donley told me I'd been invited and it's a great opportunity," Bramell said. The 6-foot-5, 240-pound senior will fly to Jackson, Miss., on Tuesday to start working out for the game on Saturday. He reported that his elbow feels fine despite taking a hit last Saturday in the Cougars' 27-10 loss to Carroll College in the NFCS title contest in Savannah, Tenn.

   Bramell finished his career at USF No. 2 in total offense and No. 3 in the MSFA with 9,074 yards. He passed for 7,256 yards, also No. 2 at USF and No. 5 on the MSFA career list. He threw for 2,236 yards this season, completed 55 percent of his passes and connected for 20 TD passes this season giving him 66 for his USF career.

   Bramell added 609 yards rushing to the USF offense this season and led the Cougars in rushing TDs with 14. He finishes his career with 1,818 yards rushing, a USF quarterback record, and 31 rushing TDs.

   "We are very pleased that Chris is getting this opportunity, a first for the USF football program," said Donley, who has just completed his eighth year in the eight-year history of the program at USF.

   The Magnolia Gridiron All-Star Classic give NFL scouts a chance to watch and evaluate prospects from NCAA Division I-A programs to participate in a contest against players from NCAA Division I-AA, Division II and now NAIA schools. The teams will practice will be done at Millsaps College, an area complex with a brand new Field-Turf surface. 

   "All these players need an all-star game, so with the Gridiron, Blue-Gray and HBCU games not being played, that is roughly 200 players without a chance to impress the scouts," explained Darry Alton, the CEO of the Las Vegas All-American Classic, who has spear-headed the effort to get this new game off and running, while still locating the talent for his early January contest, which has given players such as Tony Romo (Dallas), Arlen Harris (St. Louis), Roderick Green (Baltimore) and Joshua Cribbs (Cleveland), the opportunity to showcase their talents in front of nearly 500 scouts, since the game's inception five years ago.

  "(I) believe that this game will allow the same kind of opportunity that the Blue-Gray used to provide . . . another chance for the bigger games to take a closer look at some quality talent, and maybe a handful will then receive invites to one of those January games", said one long-time NFL scout, who said the practices should provide ample time to evaluate the roughly 90 prospects that will make their way to Jackson, Mississippi.

  Alton has secured members of the Kentucky Wildcats and Northwestern State Demons coaching staffs to run the sidelines for the respective teams with Demons head coach Scott Stoker and Wildcats offensive coordinator Joker Phillips providing the players a solid group of coaches from which to learn from during the practices.  December 22nd will be a critical day for all of the prospects as a full-practice pitting the Division I-A all-stars against their smaller school rivals will highlight the day.

   "This is what the scouts want to see and what the players need in order to help improve their standing... so it's as simple as giving everyone what they want to see", boasts a confident Alton, who has made it clear that he has the best interest of both the players and NFL scouts at heart when trying to make this new game takeoff so quickly.

There will be three days of practice, an official NFL weigh-in day, as well as plenty of interviews, paper work and questionnaires for the players to fill out in their free time.  A regional cable provider has agreed to televise the game, which will give them a territory of about 12-18 states, primarily in the south, but in future years an agreement with a major network would seem likely if the first contest comes off smoothly.

Click here to read more about the Magnolia Gridiron All-Star Classic.