Interviews from the 2020 East-West Shrine Game

January 17, 2020

by Noonefromtampa

[EDITOR’S NOTE: The Hog Sty was fortunate enough to obtain media credentials for one of our columnists for this year’s Shrine Game. Noonefromtampa took the opportunity to talk to a few draft prospects who could be future Redskins. The audio includes interviews with TE Mitchell Wilcox from the University of South Florida, CB Keith Washington II from West Virginia University, T Cameron Clark from UNC-Charlotte, and RB Tavien Feaster from University of South Carolina.]

 

Hello from the East-West Shine Bowl in Tampa, Florida! Friday was media day where the players and patients from the Shriners Hospitals for Children interacted in a series of events to demonstrate some everyday challenges that the patients face. Players and coaches were also available for interviews.

If you have seen any of the Shriners Hospitals for Children television commercials, you may be familiar with their spokesperson, Alec. Alec was the master of ceremonies for today’s events. One of the events was a wheelchair relay race between the East and West teams while the person in the wheelchair had to also hold on to a football. While the event was serious in its illustration of challenges people in wheelchairs face, it was fun to watch highly competitive athletes figures out how to carry the football and maneuver a wheelchair. Once one player figured out that putting the ball under his t-shirt worked, the technique was quickly adopted by all.

I was able to get one-on-one interviews with four players:

• Keith Washington II, CB, West Virginia
• Mitchell Wilcox, TE, South Florida
• Cameron Clark, T, UNC-Charlotte
• Tavien Feaster, RB, South Carolina

In addition to these the interviews, I was fortunate to run into another Redskins fan at the game. See if you can recognize him:

Yes, that is “Downtown” Charlie Brown, #87, the star Redskins wide receiver from 1982 to 1984. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1982 and 1983 before being traded to Atlanta in 1985. His Super Bowl ring is on his left hand in the bottom right of the photo.

Brown was gracious enough to take a few minutes to speak with me, and indicated that he was hopeful and positive about the recent Redskins’ organizational changes. When I mentioned that his name came up regularly during the season in conjunction with Terry McLaurin’s effort to best his rookie record for most receiving touchdowns, Charlie quickly reminded me, while smiling, that he set the record in just nine games during the strike shortened 1982 season. Terry had sixteen games to try and break his record but didn’t quite get there.

ABOUT THE EAST-WEST SHRINE BOWL

The East-West Shrine Bowl™ is the longest-running college all-star football game in the nation. An invitation to take part in the game is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the best collegiate football players in the country to showcase their talents as top NFL prospects. Since 1925, the game has benefited Shriners Hospitals for Children® and its mission to provide advanced care for children with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate. At Shriners Hospitals for Children, all care and services are provided regardless of the families’ ability to pay. For more information, please visit shrinebowl.com or follow them on social media at @Shrine_Bowl.