Lights, camera, action. The East-West Shrine game — the first major college football all-star game of the NFL draft season — kicks off Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando.
While most of the more than 200 NFL scouts and team officials that attended practices this week are expecting to identify most of their potential early round picks at next week’s Senior Bowl in Alabama, a number of players in the Shrine game are looking to boost their profiles for the NFL Draft.
“There are gems to be found here every year,” Paul Burmeister of the NFL Network told FanHouse.
The East-West Shrine game is the nation’s oldest senior All-Star game, played every year since 1925. It’s also the first of two All-Star games, followed by Senior Bowl next Saturday in Mobile, Ala.
Both are regarded as vital interviews and auditions for players looking to impress. All 32 NFL teams are expected to have scouts in attendance Saturday, including several general managers and head coaches.
And for the first time, the NFL Network will broadcast the Shrine game. Coverage starts at 3:30 p.m. with a special edition of NFL Total Access.
Burmeister, who has been in Orlando for nearly a week in preparation for the showcase, has been impressed by the talent level. Additionally, nearly 40 players from the non-automatic qualifying schools were selected to participate.
“Those are the players who have a healthy chip on their shoulder, who want to line up against the best and say, ‘Alright, I belong with you, on the college level and also on the next level.”
That list is headlined by quarterback Pat Devlin of Delaware. A 6-foot-4, 220-pound transfer from Penn State, Devlin has drawn comparisons to former Blue Hen standout Joe Flacco.
Flacco transferred to Delaware from Pittsburgh in 2006 and shined for two years in the Football Championship Subdivision before being drafted 18th overall by the Baltimore Ravens in 2008. Devlin passed for 3,032 yards and 22 touchdowns this past season, playing primarily out of the shotgun.
“I think we’re two different guys, really,” Devlin told the Associated Press.
“I didn’t watch film on him and say ‘Oh, I want to be what he is.’ He’s a guy that has superhuman arm strength. I never tried to step into his shoes or anything. I just tried to play within the offense we had at Delaware and be efficient.”
Other players across the board looking to make a favorable impression include North Carolina defensive tackle Marvin Austin.
Austin entered the season regarded as one of the top interior defenders in the 2011 draft class, but missed all of his senior year after being dismissed from the program for violations of NCAA agent benefits.
Austin has expressed regret, telling the media “I messed up a fantastic situation. It was my fault.”
Of course, the Shrine game represents far more than football.
Proceeds from the game — estimated in upwards to $1 million — will benefit the Shriners Hospitals for Children, an international pediatric specialty health care system.
Players earlier in the week visited Shriners Hospitals for Children in Tampa, giving them an opportunity to witness first-hand the mission they are supporting by playing in the game.
Burmeister and Co., meanwhile, will make a quick escape from Orlando. The NFL Network will broadcast the Senior Bowl, with coverage beginning with a 90-minute practice show on Monday at 3:30 p.m.
“I really delight in the time leading up to these games because you get to know what all these kids are about,” Burmeister said.
“It’s also a lot of fun to watch these guys compete.”
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