Philadelphia, PA – The FCS prospects at Saturday's Senior Bowl should hope to perform as well as others did in college football all-star showcases this past week.
Considering they are coming from smaller programs than the FBS level, FCS prospects tend to have to do a little bit more to get noticed by NFL scouts.
While a lot of evaluation is subjective during the buildup to the NFL Draft in late April, Charleston Southern cornerback Charles James came out of the weekend with something tangible, the Defensive MVP Award - as voted on by scouts in attendance - at the Raycom All-Star Classic in Montgomery, Ala.
Most notable for the undersized James was a crushing hit to break up a pass. He also deflected a pass that led to an interception and returned three kickoffs for 64 yards in the Stars squad's 31-3 loss to the Stripes.
Another cornerback, Appalachian State's Demetrius McCray, boosted his stock with a big game at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Carson City, Calif. He intercepted a pass and returned it 38 yards, broke up another pass, forced a fumble and had five solo tackles for the National squad in its 34-0 victory.
The big boys in the trenches may have helped themselves the most at the East- West Shrine Game in St. Petersburg, Fla. The National Football Post wrote that Princeton defensive end Mike Catapano had the best week of practices leading up to the game, using his quickness to dominate opposing offensive linemen.
The NFP also gave high grades to offensive linemen Terron Armstead of Arkansas- Pine Bluff and Earl Watford of James Madison.
Saturday's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., will include such top FCS players as Elon wide receiver Aaron Mellette, Cornell center J.C. Tretter, Harvard H- back/tight end Kyle Juszczyk, UT Martin defensive tackle Montori Hughes, Southeastern Louisiana cornerback Robert Alford, William & Mary cornerback B.W. Webb and Georgia Southern safety J.J. Wilcox.
The Texas vs. The Nation game will wrap up the all-star season on Feb. 2 in Allen, Texas.
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