A new national champion has been crowned. The College Football Playoff is in the books. And bowl season is 100 percent toasted. Now is when prospects begin their pro turns.

The 2026 NFL Draft comes closer into view at Tuesday’s East-West Shrine Bowl. The oldest all-star game in college football invites seniors to cut tape and show their talents. Here’s what viewers should know ahead of the 101st exhibition.

How to watch the East-West Shrine Bowl

The coastal contest was first held in 1925 at Ewing Field in San Francisco. Proceeds were donated to the local Shriners Hospitals for Children. More than a century later, this game still partners with the pediatric network. Fans, family and scouts fill the stands, while NFL assistants coach the rosters.

Clemson’s Cade Klubnik is under center for the East. He drew Heisman Trophy hype in the preseason, but wound up well short of those standards. Klubnik averaged around 245 passing yards per game and finished with a modest 16 touchdowns to six interceptions in a dozen starts. Perhaps he can recover a bit of that shine with confident drives in Frisco. The East also has QB Behren Morton, who guided the Texas Tech offense in its 12-win standout season. Morton led the Big 12 in completion rate, good on 66 percent of his throws.

The East’s defense boasts draft risers like Florida State’s Darrell Jackson Jr. The 6-foot-5 interior lineman is a scouting target for The Athletic’s Dane Brugler. There’s additional interest around Harold Perkins Jr., the LSU linebacker with off-ball and edge skills. He recorded four sacks and three picks in his final season in Baton Rouge.

One of the West quarterbacks to watch is Mark Gronowski, a transfer from South Dakota State to Iowa in 2025. He won 58 total games across his FCS and FBS career, the most of any college quarterback in NCAA history. The versatile Hawkeye topped the Big Ten in scrimmage touchdowns with 17 and even had a receiving score against USC. The West’s offense includes Oregon wideout Malik Benson, who balled out in the CFP’s first round, and Wake Forest running back Demond Claiborne, who combined for 23 TDs in his last two seasons.

Oklahoma safety Robert Spears-Jennings suits up for the West defense. He was a member of Bruce Feldman’s annual Freaks List back in August, praised for his propulsion and playmaking.

Marquice Williams leads the East squad. He’s been the Atlanta Falcons’ special teams coordinator since 2021. He was a head coach at last year’s Shrine Bowl and was nominated for the gig again this year. Connor Senger (Arizona Cardinals, pass game specialist) is the East’s offensive coordinator. Aaron Whitecotton, who spent this past season as the defensive line coach with the Dallas Cowboys, is the DC.

Lunda Wells matches Williams as the coach on the West sideline. He became Dallas’ tight ends coach in 2020, and he helped Jake Ferguson break out in 2025. Sean Mannion (Green Bay Packers, quarterbacks coach) is Wells’ OC; Terry Joseph (New Orleans Saints, secondary coach) coordinates the defense.

Distinguished East-West alum range from Tom Brady to Lawrence Taylor. The Shrine Bowl Hall of Fame got two new entrants last year: Eddie George, the Ohio State RB who won the 1995 Heisman Trophy, and Andrew Whitworth, a national champion OT at LSU who became a Super Bowl victor with the Los Angeles Rams.

This year, Daryl “Moose” Johnston will be inducted. The Syracuse fullback played in the 1989 Shrine Bowl, before the Cowboys drafted him in the second round that spring. Johnston won three Super Bowls in the Dallas backfield, paired with Emmitt Smith. He now partners up with Kevin Kugler, providing NFL color commentary in the Fox booth.

The Tuesday action is live on NFL Network, with streaming available for NFL+ subscribers as well. Mike Yam leads the booth as play-by-play voice. Bucky Brooks and Isaiah Stanback join him for analysis. Jane Slater reports from the sideline.

From the NYT archive
Josh Norman in the 2012 Shrine Bowl

“Not many fans know about Josh Norman. Being a small-school cornerback from Coastal Carolina doesn’t exactly put you in the college football spotlight. It’s why an event like the Shrine Game is so important. Norman is making a name for himself in St Petersburg, Fla., this week with standout performances every day in practice.

Norman comes across as very confident but also fun-loving, and he seems to take that fun onto the field — he can often be seen playing air guitar between snaps.” — Cecil Lammey

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