Alumni Bowl Game Recap

     After Michigan defeated Washington in the National Championship, we'll take a minute to recap the bowl seasons that Prep Football Alumni had this season. Working backwards by date, here is how each Marauder in a major bowl game fared in December.

    On December 30th, 2 marauders were in action in bowl games. Ayir Asante, '19, a Holy Cross alum and graduate transfer, took the field with Wyoming vs. Toledo in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl in Tucson, AZ. Asante had a quiet game, but came up huge down the stretch with a 26 yard reception on the last drive of the game. The catch came from Wyoming's own end zone and ignited the game winning drive in a 16-15 win. Also in action on the 30th was Champ Long, '23, a freshman QB at Maryland. Champ did not play in the game, but Maryland rolled past Auburn, 31-13, in the Music City Bowl (Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN).   
    
      Next up is Ohio State vs. Missouri in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 29th. In a game played in AT&T Stadium in North Arlington, Senior Cody Simon, '18 started at LB and recorded a season-high 12 tackles (6 solo/6 assist). Cody finished the season with 57 total tackles and has publicly committed to returning to OSU for next season. Freshman Jayden Bonsu, '23 did not appear in the game, which the Buckeyes lost 14-3.

     On December 28th, Rutgers headed to the Pinstripe Bowl (Yankee Stadium) to play Miami University. The Scarlet Knights defeated the Hurricanes, 31-24. Alumni Fitzroy Ledgister, '23 and Stanley Dennis II, '19 did not play in the game. Stan was selected to his 3rd Academic All-Big Ten team this season (2023, 2022, 2021) while Fitzroy made his first appearance on the Academic All-Big Ten team in 2023.

     Boston College RB coach Savon Huggins, '11 & defensive lineman George Rooks, '21 were also in action on the 28th. The Eagles took on SMU in the Fenway Bowl in Boston. The game was won by Boston College, 23-14, in a game that Coach Huggins saw the Eagles rush for 265 yards. Rooks, a redshirt Sophomore transfer from Michigan, was out for the game and unable to play. George was a starter all season and finished the season with 29 total tackles, 2.5 TFLs, and 1.5 sacks. Look for Rooks to have a monster year in 2024!

     Coach Joe Dailey, '03 spent this season as an Offensive Analyst with Kansas after coaching the WRs with the Carolina Panthers in 2022. The Jayhawks traveled to Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ for the Guaranteed Rate Bowl vs. UNLV. Kansas won a shootout 49-36. The Jayhawks offense exploded for nearly 600 total yards and 450 passing. Finally, CJ Wesley, '22 and Howard took on Florida A&M in the Cricket Celebration Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. CJ finished the season with 8 tackles and a sack after appearing in 6 games during the 2022 season as a freshman. Howard came up short vs. Florida A&M and lost the game 30-26.

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