Here are the former Wisconsin football players to watch during the East-West Shrine Bowl
The East-West Shrine Bowl's Eric Galko spoke with Badger Observer earlier this month to discuss which Badgers are playing in this prestigious all-star game.
University of Wisconsin football fans should notice their favorite school is well-represented at one of the top college all-star games this week.
And these invites shouldn’t be taken lightly with all the evaluations Eric Galko takes in.
East-West Shrine Bowl practices have already started down in Frisco, Texas, that once again feature some of the best college players who are looking to impress NFL personnel. Eight former Badgers — four who finished their collegiate time at Wisconsin, four who didn’t and excelled elsewhere — were among those invited to this year’s game that has a 6 p.m. CT kickoff Tuesday inside the Ford Center at the Star.
There’s plenty that goes into the process of tracking players for multiple seasons, according to Galko, who’s director of football operations and player personnel of the East-West Shrine Bowl. Heck, his team already has on-going assessments of players for next year’s game.
“It’s a good mix between NFL clubs we work with, from formal meetings with some NFL teams,” Galko said. “There’s talking to scouts on the road who do a great job, to our scouting staff and a mix of area scouts and cross-check scouts.
“But at the end of the day, it ends up being my call to figure out who the best players are, who NFL teams want to see at the Shrine Bowl. So it’s a team effort, and it takes over a year for every draft class, and we love to do it.”
The Shrine Bowl practice observations from media have already started to roll in on social media. Badger Observer spoke with Galko on Jan. 15 about what he saw from three Badgers who ended their time at Wisconsin (safety Austin Brown, offensive lineman Riley Mahlman, outside linebacker Mason Reiger) and three who moved on (wide receiver Skyler Bell, fullback Riley Nowakowski and defensive lineman James Thompson Jr.) — and what warranted their invite to the heralded all-star game.
Please note: This conversation took place before tight end Lance Mason and offensive lineman Nolan Rucci were announced as participants, so Badger Observer didn’t have a chance to speak with Galko about them.
Outside linebacker Mason Reiger
Measurements, as provided by the East-West Shrine Bowl: 6 foot 4, 245 pounds
