The NFL Draft is the lifeblood of NFL Draft Blitz, the completion of NFL roster-building every year, and the league pours millions of dollars into finding the right talent that fits their needs. For players, agents, or fans navigating the draft season, there isn’t a one stop source to go to for 2023 college football all-star circuit information. We wanted to provide that place.
For the over two thousand players who enter the draft cycle every year, there are several games where you can showcase your talent at a higher level then your tape may have shown. Not every player who enters will be going to the NFL – but all of these games listed will have scouts from several other leagues present. It’s all about cashing in on opportunity – there’s plenty of it here.
For players, agents representing players, or even just die hard fans, it’s often hard to find a one-track place to ensure that you get looked at by professional teams. Here at NFL Draft Blitz, we are giving that to you this year.
Here is the list of games that we reccomend you looking into this year:
- 12/11 FCS Bowl (Facebook)
- 12/17 HBCU Pigskin Showdown (12:00 on CNBC)
- 1/8 CGS Small School Invitational (Not televised)
- 1/8 Podyum Bowl (Not televised)
- 1/11 College Gridiron Showcase (Not televised)
- 1/14 Hula Bowl (11:00 on CBSSN)
- 1/21 Tropical Bowl (Facebook)
- 1/28 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl (NFLN)
- 2/3 Shrine Bowl (NFLN)
- 2/4 Senior Bowl (NFLN)
- 2/23 HBCU Legacy Bowl (NFLN)
FCS Bowl
The FCS Bowl is open exclusively to FCS, Division II, Division III, and FAIA prospects, giving them an elevated platform to showcase their skills in front of scouts from several professional organizations.
Gameday: December 11th, 2022
Week: December 8th-11th, 2022
Location: Daytona Beach, Florida
Website Link: https://www.fcsbowl.com
HBCU Pigskin Showdown
From the HBCU Pigskin Showdown website;
The 2022 HBCU Pigskin Showdown will help give professional exposure to some of the best college senior football players from historically black colleges and universities.
The participants in this event will be selected and invited by our scouting staff with the overall ratings and grades of each player in mind.
Players will participate in 4 pro-style practice sessions and an All-Star game while being evaluated by professional football league scouts. Scouts, coaches, and executives from the NFL and CFL have been invited to attend the HBCU Pigskin Showdown.
Our all-star event will also include an official measurement day that will focus on all the pertinent individual vitals that professional scouts will want to see.
Gameday: December 17th, 2022
Week: December 13th-17th, 2022
Location: Marion, Alabama
Website Link: https://www.hbcupigskinshowdown.com
CGS Small School Invitational
From the College Gridiron Showcase website;
The Small College Showcase is a college football all-star event for small college players from FCS, Division II, III, NAIA and select players from around the world, designed to get these players in front of NFL teams and other professional leagues. The players are selected by a panel of football experts. Players for this showcase will come in for 3 days and 2 nights to be evaluated by professional football league scouts. This event is the only event/showcase that provides this type of exposure!
The event is run as an OTA format, and showcases players through practices and a controlled scrimmage with professional coaches. Players will also perform individual and team drills, participate in 1-on-1s, attend meetings, and perform in front of professional scouts and executives.
Gameday: No Gameday
Week: January 6th-8th, 2023
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Website Link: https://cgsallstar.com/smallschool/
Podyum Bowl
From the Podyum Bowl website;
The Podyum All-Star Bowl is an elite collegiate all-star game held annually in Miami, Florida at the beginning of January. NFL, CFL, Indoor, and international scouts attend the 4-day event to evaluate the 100 elite prospects selected from all levels of the NCAA (FBS, FCS, DII, DIII, NAIA).
The Podyum All-Star Bowl is not only focused on providing athletes the opportunity to showcase their athletic ability, but also to provide athletes and families with the inside knowledge of what it takes to play professional football. Talks led by NFL agents, scouts, and trainers provide our athletes with the blue print of what they need to succeed.
Gameday: January 8th, 2023
Week: January 5th-8th, 2023
Location: Miami Beach, Florida
Website Link: https://www.showcase.thepodyum.com
College Gridiron Showcase
From the College Gridiron Showcase website;
The FIRST Major all-star event of the college football post-season, top college senior players, selected by a panel of football experts, will be invited to College Gridiron Showcase & Symposium to be held in Fort Worth, Texas. Since our 2015 inaugural event, more than 900 CGS participants have been offered pro opportunities. At the College Gridiron Showcase, scouts from 31 of the 32 NFL teams, CFL teams, and other professional leagues are on hand to evaluate and meet with our players. In total, participants have the opportunity to show their stuff to more than150 professional scouts! The first all-star event to implement an OTA format, CGS showcases players through practices and a controlled scrimmage with professional coaches. Players will also perform individual and team drills, participate in 1-on-1s, attend meetings, and, in many cases have the opportunity for personal interviews with scouts and executives.
Gameday: None
Week: January 7th-11th, 2023
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Website Link: https://cgsallstar.com
Hula Bowl
From the Hula Bowl website;
There has been overwhelming support to bring the game to Florida at the UCF FBC Mortgage Stadium in 2022. The community has extended a gracious and warm welcome as the organizers have been planning the games return again in January 2023.
Following this strongly supported return, the game will be featured in January each year in Florida. This year, the game will include NCAA college football players from all divisions, along with international players from Japan, Canada, Australia, and the UK. In addition, the game will always include Polynesian players with historic ties to the Islands.
We are truly pleased to be having our 77th annual Hula Bowl in January! We hope that you will join us this year for our 2023 Hula Bowl in Florida!
Inception: 1946
Gameday: January 14th, 2023
Week: January 10th-14th, 2023
Location: Orlando, Florida
Website Link: https://www.hulabowl.com
Tropical Bowl
From the Tropical Bowl website;
The SPIRAL Tropical Bowl is a premier FBS Division I level College Football All Star Game played in Orlando, Florida annually in mid January at Camping World Stadium during SPIRAL “Bowl Week”. The SPIRAL Tropical Bowl showcases the top college football seniors to NFL scouts and GM’s who travel from around the country to the event. The weekend is focused on scouting, teaching, and football. The Inaugural 2016 game was held at FIU and spent a some time at Daytona Municipal Stadium & Spec Martin Stadium before landing in Orlando with the support of Mayor Buddy Dyer, The City of Orlando, Camping World Stadium, and Kissimmee Sports. Over 350 Tropical Bowl alumni have gone on to the NFL since it’s inception. SPIRAL Tropical Bowl President & Owner Michael Quartey states, “We look forward each year to bringing the best college football players from around the country to Orlando.”
Inception: 2016
Gameday: January 21st, 2023
Week: January 16th-21st, 2023
Location: Orlando, Florida
Website Link: https://www.tropicalbowl.com
Dream Bowl
From the Dream Bowl website;
The Dream Bowl is a College Football All-Star Showcase of the best FCS, D-II, and D-III players from across the country. The game and the series of events held over Martin Luther King Weekend are a celebration of the excellence, commitment, and sacrifice made by the players and their families.
The Dream Bowl treats seniors to a real bowl game experience. The Dream Bowl provides first-class accommodations, meals, and facilities for the players, along with a full weekend of football and social-related activities for their friends and families, which will create a lifetime of memories for their collegiate send-off game.
Inception: 2016
Gameday: January 22nd, 2023
Week: January 19th-22nd, 2023
Location: Little Elm, Texas
Website Link: https://www.dreambowl.net/home
NFLPA Collegiate Bowl
The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl is sanctioned by the NFL Players Association, and is considered in the same tier as the Shrine Bowl is held in. Previously, until the 2022 games were played, the Collegiate Bowl and the Shrine Bowl were held in the same week. While the Shrine Bowl has begun to distance itself as the clear #2 in the race, the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl is still respectable and produces many NFL players every year.
Inception: 2012
Gameday: January 28th, 2023
Week: January 23rd-28th, 2023
Location: Pasadena, California
Website Link: http://collegiate.nflpa.com
East-West Shrine Bowl
The Shriner’s East-West Shrine Bowl has long been regarded as the second-tier all-star game in the circuit, second only to the Senior Bowl. While it came first, the game was formerly held in Fort Petersburg, Florida, until the 2022 game. At some point over the last thirty years, prospects began attending the Senior Bowl more and it fell to second place. The staff there is currently working to bring back the previous status of the game, intending to make it the top-tier game in the all-star circuit.
Inception: 1925
Gameday: February 3rd, 2023
Week: January 30th-February 3rd, 2023
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Website Link: https://shrinebowl.com
Senior Bowl
The Senior Bowl is widely regarded as the premier all-star game in the NFL circuit, as all 32 NFL teams descend upon Mobile, Alabama, every year to scout and meet with the best senior prospects entering the NFL Draft. It’s a very well-regarded event and has the most prominent brand behind it.
Inception: 1950
Gameday: February 4th, 2023
Week: January 31st – February 4th, 2023
Location: Mobile, Alabama
Website Link: https://www.seniorbowl.com
HBCU Legacy Bowl
The HBCU Legacy Bowl is presented by the Black College Football Hall of Fame, and strives to showcase the most talented prospects NFL-bound from any HBCU school in the country. The game is broadcast on NFL Network and is an excellent source of exposure for HBCU athletes. It’s a game backed by legendary and current black NFL players, including players like Patrick Mahomes, Doug Williams, Bobby Wagner, Jameis Winston, James Harris, Aaron Donald, Art Shell, and Mel Blount.
Inception: 2022
Gameday: February 25th, 2023
Week: February 20th-25th, 2023
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Website Link: https://www.hbculegacybowl.com
