12/19/05

FIRST ANNUAL MAGNOLIA GRIDIRON ALL-STAR CLASSIC:

Jackson, Mississippi -- There was a time not too long ago that NFL scouts came from far and wide to evaluate prospects the week leading up to Christmas, but that venue has ceased to exist the past few years, leaving many non-bowl game seniors and smaller school players without a final game to impress NFL teams. Well, today there is an innovative game concept that will allow prospects from Division I-A programs to participate in a contest against a small school roster comprised of Division I-AA, Division II and other players in the first annual Magnolia Gridiron All-Star Classic, which will be played in Jackson, Mississippi. The actual game will be played at Memorial Stadium, the home field for Jackson State, on Saturday, December 24th, starting at 11AM, while the practices will be done at Millsaps College, a local area complex with a brand new Field-Turf surface.

"All these players need an all-star game, so with the Gridiron, Blue-Gray and HBCU games not being played, that is roughly 200 players without a chance to impress the scouts", explained Darry Alton, the CEO of the Las Vegas All-American Classic, who has spear-headed the effort to get this new game off and running, while still locating the talent for his early January contest, which has given players such as Tony Romo (Dallas), Arlen Harris (St. Louis), Roderick Green (Baltimore) and Joshua Cribbs (Cleveland), the opportunity to showcase their talents in front of nearly 500 scouts, since the game's inception four years ago.

"(I) believe that this game will allow the same kind of opportunity that the Blue-Gray used to provide… another chance for the bigger games to take a closer look at some quality talent, and maybe a handful will then receive invites to one of those January games", said one long-time NFL scout, who said the practices should provide ample time to evaluate the roughly 90 prospects that will make their way to Jackson, Mississippi.

Alton has secured members of the Kentucky Wildcats and Northwestern State Demons coaching staffs to run the sidelines for the respective teams with Demons head coach Scott Stoker and Wildcats offensive coordinator Joker Phillips providing the players a solid group of coaches from which to learn from during the practices. December 22nd will be a critical day for all of the prospects as a full-practice pitting the Division I-A all-stars against their smaller school rivals will highlight the day. "This is what the scouts want to see and what the players need in order to help improve their standing… so it's as simple as giving everyone what they want to see", boasts a confident Alton, who has made it clear that he has the best interest of both the players and NFL scouts at heart when trying to make this new game takeoff so quickly.

There will be three days of practice, an official NFL weigh-in day, as well as plenty of interviews, paper work and questionnaires for the players to fill out in their free time. A regional cable provider has agreed to televise the game, which will give them a territory of about 12-18 states, primarily in the south, but in future years an agreement with a major network would seem likely if the first contest comes off smoothly.

A full game day roster, as well as additional details on the game will be made available later this week, as the excitement grows towards the first annual Magnolia Gridiron All-Star Classic. Please contact darry@lvaac.com or call their office at (435) 673-6402.