2026 East-West Shrine Bowl, East Team-practice recap | Photo Gallery
4 min read
Louisiana LB Jaden Dugger (6'5, 240) uses his 85-inch wingspan to lock up former Texas and Cal TE Jack Endries in a special teams drill on Day 2 of the East practices. Dugger's 125 tackles, 4 QB sacks and 13 TFLs in 2025 were all career-highs for the former Georgetown Hoyas safety.
The 2026 East-West Shrine Bowl’s featured three productive practice periods for the East Team. Each practice had different stars take hold of draft stock during the three-day period. We review notes from several different positional groups from the week of activity.
DBs, TEs, WRs..(some notes)
- Former Georgia and Texas A&M WR Noah Thomas flashed an ability to separate down the field versus NC State’s Devon Marshall (see photo gallery below). Marshall’s hands were a bit busy down the field at various points during the week, but the former Villanova corner’s competitiveness stood out. Thomas needs work on definition getting in-and-out of pass patterns
- LSU’s Zavion Thomas (5’10, 196) has enough bulk to potentially contend for reps as a slot receiver. He uses hesitation well to set up patterns and routinely separated on option patterns. His lower body strength as a return threat shined at both LSU and Mississippi State (3 career return TDs-PR, 2 KORs). It certainly helps his cause
- Toledo CB Avery Smith competed favorably both outside at cornerback and inside at the nickel back spot. The former high school QB did not demonstrate elite recovery speed on every vertical concept. Conversely, he did close air on routes that broke away from him in coverage. Over the last two seasons, the second-team All-MAC corner broke up 25 passes
We recap the rest of the East week’s notes in our photo gallery review.
In a one-on-one pass rush drill, Oklahoma DE Marvin Jones, Jr. (6'4, 257) attempts to get underneath Penn State OT Nolan Rucci (6'8 310). Rucci's father, Todd, was a former NFL player for the New England Patriots and his mother, Stacy, was an All-American field hockey star. Both parents went to Penn State. Rucci began his career at Wisconsin with brother, Hayden, a current NFL player.
As Texas OG DJ Campbell (No. 51 pictured) pulls on the play action pass, Clemson QB Cade Klubnik drops back behind the protection of Notre Dame OT Aamil Wagner (pictured blocking LSU's Patrick Payton). Despite inconsistent ball placement, Klubnik completed a number of high-level throws during the week.
Incarnate Word receiver Jalen Walthall pins a football on the helmet of NC State CB Devon Marshall during a WR-DB one-on-one period on Day 1 of the 2026 East-West Shrine Bowl. Walthall -a former Texas Class 5A state triple jump champion- began his career at Hawaii. He posted 22 TD receptions over the last two seasons at Incarnate Word.
Georgia WR Noah Thomas attempts to gain separation from NC State's Devon Marshall on a corner route on Day 1 of the East Team's practice session. Marshall -a Villanova transfer- tied for the national lead with 18 passes defensed in 2025. Thomas -a former 400-meter sprinter at the prep level (47.84 second personal-best) finished his career with 89 receptions (19 TDs) at two different stops (UGA, Texas A&M).
During a special teams drill on Day 2 of the East practices, Notre Dame TE Eli Raridon (No. 9 pictured) sinks his hips to block LSU LB Harold Perkins, Jr. Raridon -who was very tough to cover one-on-one during the week- played his best against the Fighting Irish's top opponents this past season. Despite not catching a touchdown, he put up a 109-yard performance against NC State and had 97 yards receiving vs. Miami, Fla. In addition, Raridon caught four passes for 85 yards against Texas A&M in Week 2 of the 2025 campaign.
About Author
