Your Local Guide to the Bowl Season-The First 14 Bowls
There are 42 bowls with 236 local players on the rosters. This covers the first 14 bowls, from the Bahamas Bowl to the Armed Forces Bowl. Coverage for all the bowls is forthcoming. Stay tuned!
Here is your local player guide to the first 14 Bowls. We start with the Bahamas Bowl this Friday and continue through the Arms Forces Bowl next Thursday. Future editions coming soon will have the same great information for the rest of the bowls all the way to the National Championship. The NCAA provides a great list of bowls. You can see it here. Be sure to check for the time as you don’t want to miss kick off.
What I focus on in my Newsletter are all of the players who come from Missouri and Kansas high schools. There are a lot of them in the bowl games. And not just at the three local universities who are playing in a bowl. Over half the bowl teams, from coast to coast, have players from our backyard. Please keep in mind that when a player doesn’t get in a game during the year that it can be for a number of reasons including being redshirted, or having sustained an injury. Also, a player may not be present due to either entering the Transfer Portal or to limit the risk of injury prior to the NFL draft.
Reading and using this guide is a must if you care about local players competing on the big stage. Today I am featuring 24 of 236 local players who have the opportunity to go to a bowl game. Of those 24, 11 have transferred from the school at which they attended as a freshman. As the Transfer Portal becomes the new way of life, you need my Newsletter to know where they are. Also, in this small group, there are two who are on the Outland Trophy Watch List. The Outland goes to the nation’s best offensive lineman. Read on to see who is being watched.
Let’s see who is in this group of bowls.
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Friday, December 16 - The Bahamas Bowl - Miami (OH) vs Alabama-Birmingham
The Miami (OH) Redhawks have four local players:
No. 3 Keyon Mozee - Sophomore - RB - Lee’s Summit North
Keyon is the second leading rusher with 106 carries for 455 yards and 2 TD’s. He also has caught 2 passes for 6 yards.
No. 5 Brett Gabbert - Junior - QB - Christian Brothers
Brett has started 30 games as a Redhawk, but only 4 this year. He passed for 816 yards and 4 TD’s without an interception. Brett has entered the transfer portal.
No. 11 Corey Suttle - Sophomore RS - Defenseive Line - Jefferson City
Corey transfered to Miami (OH) from Iowa State following last year’s season. He played in all 12 games recording 30 tackles, 14 of those being solo. He had 6 sacks for a total of 41 yards in losses to go with his 3 quarterback hurries, a broken up pass, and an interception.
No. 17 TJ Rush - Freshman (RS) - Defensive Back - Trinity Catholic-St. Louis
TJ did not get in a game this year.
There are no local players on the Alabama-Birmingham roster.
Friday December 16 - The Cure Bowl - No. 24 Troy vs No. 25 Texas-San Antonio
The Troy Trojans have one local player:
No. 0 RaJae’ Johnson - Senior - Wide Receiver - Jennings
RaJae’ played at San Mateo JC prior to transferring to Troy. He was the second leading receiver this year with 34 receptions for 672 yards and 6 TD’s.
There are no local players on the Texas-San Antonio roster.
Saturday, December 17 - The Fenway Bowl - Cincinnati vs Louisville
There are no local players on the Cincinnati roster.
There are no local players on the Louisville roster.
Saturday, December 17 - The Celebration Bowl - Jackson State vs North Carolina Central
The Jackson State Tigers have four local players:
No. 3 Kevin Coleman, Jr. - Freshman - Wide Receiver - St. Mary’s-St. Louis
Kevin is having a productive freshman year. He has caught 25 balls for 210 yards and 3 TD’s. As a regular on the special teams, he has returned 10 kickoffs averaging 24.8 yards per return and has returned 8 punts, averaging 8.7 yards.
No. 22 Antonio Doyle, Jr. - Junior - Defensive Lineman - Lutheran North
Antonio has played in 6 games recording 7 tackles, 5 of which were solo. He had on tackle for an 8 yard loss and he recovered 2 fumbles.
No. 64 Deontae Graham - Junior RS - Offensive Lineman - Cardinal Ritter
Deontae arrived at Jackson State after transfering from Quincy University. He has played in 9 of the 12 games this year.
No. 96 Jelani Davis - Junior - Defensive Lineman - Ladue
Jelani transfered from Dodge City Community College following last season. He got into one game this year.
There are no local players on the North Carolina Central roster.
Saturday, December 17 - The Las Vegas Bowl - No. 14 Oregon State vs Florida
There are no local players on the Oregon State roster.
There are no local players on the Florida roster.
Saturday, December 17 - The LA Bowl - Washington State vs Fresno State
There are no local players on the Washington State roster.
There are no local players on the Fresno State roster.
Saturday, December 17 - The Lending Tree Bowl - Rice vs Southern Mississippi
The Rice Owls have two local players:
No. 47 Thomas Tholen II - Sophomore RS - DS - St. Thomas Aquinas
Thomas transfered to the Owls from Butler Community College. He played in four games this year and was placed on the Conference-USA’a Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
No. 91 Ikenna Enechukwu - Junior RS - Defensive End - Ruskin
Ikenna started all 12 games this year. He has 13 tackles, of which 15 were solos. He has 8.5 tackles for loss for a total of 35 yards. The Ruskin grad is on the Wuerfel Trophy Watch List, which recognizes players for their community service. Likewise he has been nominated for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. Ikenna is also on the Outland Trophy Watch List which is awarded to the nation’s best defensive linemen. All of that is on top of four years of being on the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
The Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles has one local player:
No. 2 Eric Scott, Jr. - Senior - Defensive Back - Basehor-Linwood
Eric transferred to Southern Miss from Butler County Community College. He played in 11 of the Golden Eagles’s 12 games. He has recorded 25 tackles with 17 of them being solos. Twice he tackled for a loss, totaling 8 yards. He broke up 3 passes and intercepted 2 passes.
Saturday, December 17 - The New Mexico Bowl - SMU vs BYU
There are no local players on the SMU roster.
The BYU Cougars have on local player:
No. 91 Earl Tuioti-Mariner - Senior - Defensive Lineman - Washburn Rural
Earl played in 10 games this year. He recorded 11 tackles, of which 4 were solos. He also is credited with a quarterback hurry.
Saturday, December 17 - The Frisco Bowl - Boise State vs North Texas
There are no local players on the Boise State roster.
The North Texas Mean Green has two local players:
No. 9 Ja’Mori Maclin - Freshman RS - Wide Receiver - Kickwood
Ja’Mori transfered to the Mean Green from Missouri. He has caught 16 passes for 380 yards and 2 TD’s. The former Pioneer also averaged 20.67 yards with his 3 kickoff returns.
No. 10 Jace Ruder - Junior - Quarterback - Norton
Jace transferred to the Mean Green after three years at North Carolina. He has yet to see the field for North Texas
Monday, December 19 - The Myrtle Beach Bowl - Marshall vs UConn
The Marshall Thundering Herd has two local players:
No. 1 Charlie Gray - 6th Year - Linebacker - Bonner Springs
Charlie transferred to Marshall from Butler County Community College. This year he is the second leading tackler on the team with 66 tackles, including 29 solos. He has 7.5 tackles for loss for a total of 27 yards. His 2.5 sacks resulted in losses of 16 yards for the opponents. While defending he hurried the passer 7 times, broke up 2 passes and intercepted 2 passes. Following the regular season this year, Charlie was named the Marshall Outstanding Defensive Performer for the Thundering Herd.
No. 90 Esaias Carpenter - 6th Year - Defensive Lineman - Wichita Northwest
Esaias transferred to Marshall from Butler County Community College. This year he has 3 tackles, combining for a tackle for loss, and has 1 quarterback hurry.
There are no local players on the UConn roster.
Tuesday, December 20 - The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl - Eastern Michigan vs San Jose State
The Eastern Michigan Eagles have three local players:
No. 8 Cam’Ron McCoy - Freshman - Quarterback - St. Mary’s-St. Louis
Cam-Ron graduated from high school early and enrolled at Eastern Michigan at the beginning of the last spring semester. He went to class and played two sports. While participating in spring football, the former Dragon also played on the Eagle baseball team. A pitcher, he played in four games while starting one on the mound. This Fall, Cam’Ron got into 2 games where he carried the fall 3 times for 9 yards.
No. 31 Brady Pohl - Senior - Kicker - Liberty North
Brady transferred to Eastern Michigan from Oklahoma State. He has seen action in 12 games. Brady has kicked off 66 times this year. He recorded a touchback 28 times.
No. 73 Joshua Anderson - Freshman - Offensive Lineman - Westminster Christian Academy
Joshua has not seen the field in his freshman year.
There are no local players on the San Jose State roster.
Tuesday, December 20 - The Boca Raton Bowl - Liberty vs Toledo
The Liberty Flames have one local player:
No. 55 Brendan Schlittler - Junior RS - Offensive Lineman - Eureka-MO
Brendan is a returning Phil Steele Postseason All-Independent Team member. This year He was placed on the Phil Steele Preseason All-Independent First Team. Brendan is also on the Outland Trophy Watch List, which is given to the nation’s best interior lineman.
The Toledo Rockets have one local player:
No. 59 Martez Poynter - Freshman RS - Defensive Tackle - Trinity Catholic-St. Louis
Martez has seen the field in 9 games this year. He has five tackles, on being a solo. He combined with another Rocket for a 1 yard tackle for loss.
Wednesday, December 21 - The New Orleans Bowl - South Alabama vs Western Kentucky
There are no local players on the South Alabama roster.
There are no local players on the Western Kentucky roster
Thursday, December 22 - The Armed Services Bowl - Baylor vs Air Force
The Baylor Bears have two local players:
No. 30 Michael Allen - Freshman - Safety - Blue Valley
Michael has not seen the field during his freshman year.
No. 85 Kaian Roberts-Day - Freshman - Running Back - Festus
Kaian has not seen the field during his freshman year.
There are no local players on the Air Force roster.
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