BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Football wide receiver Jerreth Sterns has accepted an invite to the 2022 East-West Shrine Bowl, it was announced Monday morning. The game will be played on Thursday, February 3 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev. and air nationally on NFL Network at 7 p.m. CT.
Sterns will be the eighth Hilltopper to play in the East-West Shrine Bowl, along with wide receiver Jared Dangerfield (2016), quarterback Brandon Doughty (2016), offensive lineman Cameron Clemmons (2015), defensive back Cam Thomas (2015), linebacker Zavius Boyd (2014), linebacker Andrew Jackson (2014) and running back Bobby Rainey (2012). All seven were either drafted or signed later in the process.
In 12 games this season, Sterns has 137 receptions for 1,718 yards and 14 touchdowns. His averages of 10.54 receptions and 132.2 yards per game lead all FBS receivers by 2.09 and 9.32, respectively, while his 14 scores are tied for third in the nation. The Waxahachie, Texas, native was voted an Associated Press Midseason All-American and was named a Semifinalist for both the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose and Biletnikoff Awards.
Sterns’ 137 receptions are the seventh-most in a single season in FBS history. The top three marks are 158 (East Carolina’s Zay Jones in 2016), 155 (Bowling Green’s Freddie Barnes in 2009) and 142 (Houston’s Manny Hazard in 1989). Meanwhile, his 1,718 yards are the 26th-most in FBS history; only four FBS receivers have ever reached the 1,900-yard plateau.
Former WKU wide receiver Taywan Taylor previously set the program records with 98 receptions for 1,730 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2016. Sterns made his 99th catch in the Hilltoppers’ ninth game this season in a 48-21 win over Middle Tennessee to pass Taylor’s mark.
For his collegiate career, Sterns has 357 receptions for 3,689 yards and 32 touchdowns in 40 games played at WKU (13) and Houston Baptist (27). He has 17 100-yard receiving games and 18 double-digit catch performances, including nine and eight, respectively, this season.
The fourth-year junior Sterns joins defensive end DeAngelo Malone and quarterback Bailey Zappe as Hilltoppers who will be playing in college all-star games this winter.
Malone and Zappe will play in the 2022 Senior Bowl on Saturday, February 5 in Mobile, Ala. The game will also air nationally on NFL Network, with kickoff at the University of South Alabama’s Hancock Whitney Stadium at 1:30 p.m. CT. Zappe became the first quarterback to accept his invitation on November 15, while Malone accepted his on November 20 following WKU’s 52-17 win over Florida Atlantic.
There have been eight previous Hilltoppers to participate in the Senior Bowl: quarterback Mike White (2018), tight end Deon Yelder (2018), offensive lineman Forrest Lamp (2017), wide receiver Taywan Taylor (2017), tight end Tyler Higbee (2016), running back Antonio Andrews (2014), tight end Jack Doyle (2013) and defensive back Joseph Jefferson (2002). All eight were either drafted or signed later in the process.
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