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A pair of WSU Cougars are hoping to forward their NFL Draft prospects today when they play in the NFLPA Bowl in Carson, California.
Wide receiver Dom Williams and defensive lineman Destiny Vaeao will play for Team National, led by former St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz, against Team American, led by former Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren.
Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. PT from the StubHub Center, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2. You can also watch the game online via WatchESPN.com and the ESPN mobile app.
In many ways, the real work for these games comes in the practices, where scouts can get an up close view of the prospects. But the game itself is certainly an opportunity to create some buzz.
This game -- in just its fifth year -- has typically featured some pretty fringe NFL prospects. But Vaeao is a guy who has the eye of a number of draft experts, including CBSSports.com's Rob Rang.
"He’s a naturally powerful player who’s quicker than a lot of Polynesian players," Rang told The Seattle Times. "They have the reputation of being strong, powerful guys, and he’s that. He’s learning to use his hands better, he locates the football well and plays hard.
"That power is going to intrigue teams from the 4-3 to the 3-4 alike. There’s a belief out there that he has a lot of untapped potential."
Rang believes Vaeao could be a fourth or fifth round pick in the upcoming draft, which means there's a pretty good chance he'll be a topic of extended conversation during the broadcast.
Meanwhile, Rang characterized Williams as a guy who will need to show more consistency in order to separate himself from other receivers with similar size and skill sets.
"He’s a long strider with some speed, but I see a lot of drops on film," Rang said. "You have to throw out the numbers given how much WSU throws the ball, and just watch the film and you see a lot of drops. A lot of receivers in this class have similar speed and size. He just has to catch the ball more consistently."
It often can be hard for receivers to stand out in these games, given their all-star nature -- Williams has only been practicing with his team's quarterbacks for a few days. Beyond that, poor quarterback play in this game last year made it a painful game to watch.
However, Williams will have former TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin throwing to him at least some of the time, and that's great news. Boykin threw for nearly 3,600 yards and completed 65 percent of his passes for 31 TDs last season.
Below are the full rosters. Go Cougs!
Team National |
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33 | Josh | Atkinson | CB | Azusa Pacific |
9 | Andrew | Baggett | K | Missouri |
21 | Adairius | Barnes | CB | Louisiana Tech |
64 | Adrian | Bellard | OT | Texas State |
2 | Trevone | Boykin | QB | Texas Christian |
52 | Jatavis | Brown | LB | Akron |
25 | Donte | Deayon | CB | Boise State |
98 | Vontarrius | Dora | DE | Louisiana Tech |
23 | DeAndre | Elliott | CB | Colorado State |
28 | Kelvin | Fisher Jr. | DB | UTEP |
63 | Paul | Flores | OT | Azusa Pacific |
79 | Kyle | Friend | OG | Temple |
50 | Quentin | Gause | LB | Rutgers |
36 | Antonio | Glover | DB | Georgia Southern |
38 | Travis | Greene | RB | Bowling Green |
76 | Lars | Hanson | OT | Sacramento State |
90 | Tylor | Harris | DT | Wake Forest |
87 | Temarrick | Hemingway | TE | South Carolina State |
93 | Calvin | Heurtelou | DT | Miami-FL |
86 | J.P. | Holtz | TE | Pittsburgh |
26 | Don | Jackson | RB | Nevada |
11 | Matt | Johnson | QB | Bowling Green |
94 | Lenny | Jones | DE | Nevada |
74 | Ufomba | Kamalu | DE | Miami-FL |
44 | Jeremiah | Kose | LB | Montana |
91 | Kyle | Kragen | DE | California |
95 | Tyler | Kuder | DT | Idaho State |
15 | Ricardo | Louis | WR | Auburn |
78 | Marquis | Lucas | OG | West Virginia |
56 | Mike | Matthews | OC | Texas A&M |
92 | Helva | Matungulu | DT | Western Carolina |
45 | Boomer | Mays | LB | Northern Illinois |
10 | Nick | O'Toole | P | West Virginia |
12 | Ammon | Olsen | QB | Southern Utah |
83 | Devon | Price | WR | Ohio Northern |
51 | Luke | Rhodes | LB | William and Mary |
75 | Dominique | Robertson | OT | West Georgia |
34 | Winston | Rose | CB | New Mexico State |
55 | James | Ross | LB | Michigan |
89 | Alonzo | Russell | WR | Toledo |
85 | Beau | Sandland | TE | Montana State |
58 | Ian | Seau | LB | Nevada |
19 | Canaan | Severin | WR | Virginia |
37 | Patrick | Skov | FB | Georgia Tech |
31 | CJ | Smith | CB | North Dakota State |
41 | A.J. | Stamps | DB | Kentucky |
57 | Nathan | Theus | LS | Georgia |
88 | Mike | Thomas | WR | Southern Miss |
81 | Bryce | Treggs | WR | California |
97 | Destiny | Vaeao | DT | Washington State |
77 | Torian | White | OG | Hampton |
32 | Brandon | Wilds | RB | South Carolina |
24 | Frankie | Williams | DB | Purdue |
67 | Donovan | Williams | OG | Louisiana-Lafayette |
80 | Dom | Williams | WR | Washington State |
22 | Remound | Wright | RB | Stanford |
Team American |
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47 | Akil | Blount | LB | Florida A&M |
48 | Ben | Braunecker | TE | Harvard |
72 | Sam | Carlson | OT | Colorado State |
12 | Tekemian "Rashon" | Ceaser | WR | Louisiana-Monroe |
27 | Marqui | Christian | DB | Midwestern State |
78 | Clay | DeBord | OG | Eastern Washington |
32 | Makinton | Dorleant | CB | Northern Iowa |
34 | Trayion | Durham | FB | Kent State |
51 | Ejiro | Ederaine | LB | Fresno State |
19 | Lachlan | Edwards | P | Sam Houston State |
50 | Reid | Ferguson | LS | LSU |
17 | Devin | Fuller | WR | UCLA |
98 | Reggie | Gilbert | DE | Arizona |
21 | Jacobi | Green | RB | Richmond |
77 | Darrell | Greene | OG | San Diego State |
73 | Davanté | Harris | OT | Appalachian State |
41 | Jesse | Hayes | LB | Wisconsin |
38 | Mike | Hilton | DB | Mississippi |
91 | Farrington | Huguenin | DE | Kentucky |
30 | Prince Charles | Iworah | CB | Western Kentucky |
26 | Darius | Jackson | RB | Eastern Michigan |
53 | Deon | King | LB | Norfolk State |
88 | Jordan | Lambert | WR | Ball State |
33 | Richard | Leonard | CB | Florida International |
15 | Devin | Lucien | WR | Arizona State |
74 | Ryan | Mack | OT | Memphis |
11 | Zach | Matics | K | Appalachian State |
76 | Garrick | Mayweather | OG | Fordham |
87 | Max | McCaffrey | WR | Duke |
18 | Mekale | McKay | WR | Cincinnati |
81 | Jaydon | Mickens | WR | Washington |
36 | Doug | Middleton | DB | Appalachian State |
96 | Greg | Milhouse | DT | Campbell |
62 | Aaron | Morris | OG | Mississippi |
75 | Aaron | Neary | OG | Eastern Washington |
24 | Sharrod | Neasman | CB | Florida Atlantic |
55 | Andrew | Ness | OC | Northern Illinois |
57 | Reggie | Northrup | LB | Florida State |
31 | Will | Parks | DB | Arizona |
92 | Kyle | Peko | DT | Oregon State |
82 | Joshua | Perkins | TE | Washington |
95 | Dalyou | Pierson | DE | Iowa State |
22 | Jhurell | Pressley | RB | New Mexico |
29 | Jimmy | Pruitt | CB | San Jose State |
13 | Stephen | Rivers | QB | Northwestern State |
44 | Elandon | Roberts | LB | Houston |
71 | Pearce | Slater | OT | San Diego State |
58 | Myke | Tavarres | LB | Incarnate Word |
93 | Greg | Townsend Jr. | DE | USC |
90 | Taniela | Tupou | DT | Washington |
23 | Marteze | Waller | RB | Fresno State |
28 | Charles | Washington | CB | Fresno State |
7 | Travis | Wilson | QB | Utah |
6 | Josh | Woodrum | QB | Liberty |
99 | Antwaun | Woods | DT | USC |