BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The East-West Shrine Bowl released its Shrine Bowl 1,000 list Wednesday with six WKU Football players making the cut.
Defensive back Kahlef Hailassie, defensive lineman Brodric Martin, wide receiver Jaylen Hall, quarterback Jarret Doege, kicker Brayden Narveson and offensive lineman Rusty Staats all made the cut on the initial list.
The Shrine Bowl 1,000 is a comprehensive list of the top-1,000 all-star game eligible players at the FBS, FCS, Division II, Division III and NAIA level. Every year, about 1,000 all-star game eligible players are drafted, signed after the draft, or attend a rookie mini-camp, and the Shrine Bowl’s aim is for the Shrine Bowl 1,000 to serve as a look into the scouting process and begin to preview players from schools who are all-star game eligible who may be invited to the 2023 East-West Shrine Bowl and 2023 NFL Draft class.
Hailassie, Martin, Narveson and Staats all made significant contributions to WKU’s successful 2021 season which resulted in a Conference USA East Division Championship and Boca Raton Bowl Championship.
On the defensive side of the ball, Hailassie totaled 57 tackles, including three for loss, while intercepting two passes and breaking up an additional five. Martin compiled 31 tackles with 4.5 for loss and 2.5 sacks. He also recovered one fumble. Offensively, Staats anchored a WKU offensive line unit in 2021 that produced record-breaking numbers. Led by Staats, the Hilltoppers allowed only 17 sacks throughout the season which ranked 12th nationally and second in Conference USA. This enabled quarterback Bailey Zappe to pass for 5,967 yards and 62 touchdowns in 2021, both of which set NCAA single-season records at the FBS level. Narveson led a dynamic special teams unit by connecting on 23-of-29 field goals with a long of 53, and making all 72 of his PAT attempts.
Hall and Doege have yet to see time for the Hilltoppers after transferring from Western Michigan and West Virginia, respectively.
The full East-West Shrine Bowl 1,000 list can be found here.
The Tops will take the field for the first time in 2022 on Aug. 27 when they kick the season off against Austin Peay at 11 a.m. CT.
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-@WKUSports-
