Jan. 9, 2006

The 2006 All-American Football Classic in Las Vegas, Nev. January 14 will serve as a chance for 2005 Rawlings-NAIA Football Player of the Year Tyler Emmert of Carroll College (Mont.) and Pikeville College (Ky.) standout Antwan Marsh to showcase their talents to scouts and the country. 

The Classic, held at the Universtiy of Nevada Las Vegas' Sam Boyd Stadium, will showcase 100 of the top college student-athletes from around the country in an East vs. West format.   Kick-off is set for 2:30 p.m. (Montain) and the game will air live on CSTV.

Emmert and Marsh will definately be in the minority as 85 percent of the all-stars are graduating seniors from NCAA Division I programs.

"These all-star games provide student-athletes with a chance to showcase their skills for the pro scouts and I'll do my best to take advantage of that," said Emmert, who will leave for Las Vegas on Sunday for the week's activities. "Coming from a small school I have nothing to lose, so I'm going to give it my best."

Ending a storybook career, Emmert has set national records and won three consecutive national championships.  A three-time NAIA First Team All-America selection, Emmert was named the Rawlings-NAIA National Player of the Year twice, in 2003 and in 2005.  He was injuried in the middle of the season during Carroll's first title campaign in 2002.

The senior will go down as the most accurate quarterback to ever play in a college football game. He finishes his career completing 70.4 percent of his passes to become the first quarterback with at least 1,000 pass attempts to top 70 percent. Chris Hatcher of NCAA Division II Valdosta State (1991-94) was the previous record holder completing 69.0 percent of his passes.

Emmert also etched his name in the NAIA record books as perhaps the best quarterback in NAIA history, having accumulated 13,979 total career yards.  He finished his four years with 110 touchdown passes, just three shy of the record, and passed for more than 11,000 yards.  

Marsh led Pikeville to its best season ever, qualifying for the NAIA FCS for the first time in the program's five-year history.  Marsh was named the Mid-South Conference East Defensive Player of the year for the East division.

Marsh averaged seven tackles per game as Pikeville posted a 7-3 record.  Marsh had three interceptions, forced two fumbles and had five pass break-ups during his senior campaign.

The Inaugural All-American Classic played on January 22, 2005, was not the first time the all-star game had been played. Before moving to Las Vegas and changing the name, the game was played in 2002 and 2003 in St. George, Utah, and broadcast on Fox Sports Net as the "Paradise Bowl."