FCS National Bowl Rosters

Game Archive Highlights

HAMILTON – Postseason all-star games are a showcase for the best of college football to display their wares for professional coaches and scouts.
 
Or, as was the case with Colgate senior Kevin O'Connell, simply an opportunity to play one more game.
 
O'Connell participated in the recent FCS National Bowl in Miami, catching two touchdown passes and having a terrific experience promoting the Colgate brand of football to teammates from the NCAA Division I FCS, Division II and III levels.
 
Scouts from 11 NFL teams were on hand, as were Canadian Football League and Arena League representatives. Measurements were taken, routes were run – the event had elements of a pro day or a mini NFL Combine. But most importantly, it was a chance to pull on the pads and wear a uniform perhaps one final time.
 
The White team defeated O'Connell's Navy team, 41-28. O'Connell's head coach was Mike Stock, who spent 26 years on the collegiate level and 17 years in the NFL – most recently with the Green Bay Packers from 2006-08.
 

O'Connell, who wore No. 86 in the game, sat down Friday with GoColgateRaiders.com for a quick Q&A about the trip south.
 
How did you do in the game?
O'Connell: "I had two catches for two touchdowns. One was actually a play that we run here quite a bit, just a little pop pass over the middle. The middle of the field opened wide up and it was about a 15-yard touchdown. The other one was a play-action on the goal line. They hit me in the back of the end zone."
 
How were the teams divided?
O'Connell: "I'm not really sure; they may have just picked. I ended up on a team that wasn't really tight-end focused – we had upwards of 10 or 12 receivers, and everybody had to get playing time.
 
"We did a lot of the same things I did here, with the inside zone read and stuff like that. It was a different experience to get thrown in and learn an offense in a day-and-a-half. It's something I've never had to do, but it actually worked out. There were no mistakes from an organizational standpoint or anything on the field.
 
"I also got to play some special teams, which I had done here. I played on kickoff return and punt coverage, and I had two tackles on punts."
 

When did you arrive in Florida?
O'Connell: The game was Sunday and my dad and I flew in Friday morning. We got measured by scouts Friday at 2 o'clock – height, weight, hand-width, all that kind of stuff. And then we had practice around 5 o'clock for about 3½ hours; it got dark so it wasn't too hot.
 
We woke up the next morning and had a meeting for the offense, and then practiced again for about four hours. We were supposed to have two practices, but our coach wanted to do one long padded practice instead. We did a competition thing at the end between the offense and the defense, and I scored twice during that too."
 
Did you know any of other players?
O'Connell: "There were no Patriot League players there. There was a kid from Robert Morris who went to a high school from near my hometown. There was a kid from Wagner who we played against in the playoffs my sophomore year. He was a long-snapper, so I don't remember him from the game, but we had a brief conversation about the game and he was a nice guy. And there was a kid from Delaware. He had played his four years and then taken a fifth year to complete his school. This year was his fifth year, so he didn't play in the game down there but he was at the game.
 
"There were kids from all over the place – San Diego, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama. It was a very cool experience to be dumped into that cultural shock of all those different people."
 
What was your lasting impression?
O'Connell: "It was a very cool experience. I played with a lot of players from all over the country. There was a forum with a sporting agent to introduce you to the process of after college, but that's not why I went down there – to get looked at. I went to play another football game. My dad and my family and I thought it was a great opportunity to play one more time. It was like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I couldn't pass up."