OTTAWA (CIS) – Addison Richards, a wide receiver from the University of Regina, has been selected to represent CIS football in the 90th edition of the prestigious East-West Shrine Game on Saturday, January 17, 2015 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. EST, live on NFL Network. The game will also be live online as a streaming radio broadcast produced by the EWSG Radio Network, which can be accessed on game day at www.shrinegame.com/en/GameWeek.
The longest running university all-star game in the United States, the Shrine Game has been played annually since 1925 to raise funds for Shriners Hospitals for Children and to raise awareness about the expert orthopedic, burn, spinal cord injury rehabilitation, as well as cleft lip and palate care, available to patients and families through the 23 Shriners Hospitals for Children in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Since 1985, CIS has been represented annually at the event which features over 100 all-stars, primarily from NCAA institutions. Two CIS players have made the trip every year, with the exception of 1985 (1), 2008 (4) and 2012 (3).
The impressive list of past CIS standouts invited to the Shrine Game includes current NFL linemen Akiem Hicks of the New Orleans Saints and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif of the Kansas City Chiefs, who starred for the Regina Rams and McGill Redmen, respectively; former NFLers Mike Schad (Queen's), Randy Chevrier (McGill), Dan Federkeil (Calgary), Samuel Giguère (Sherbrooke) and Israel Idonije (Manitoba); as well as Hec Crighton Trophy winners Don Blair (Calgary), Kojo Aidoo (McMaster), Jesse Lumsden (McMaster) and Andy Fantuz (Western).
Highlighting the list of NFL greats who have participated in the event are Tom Brady, Dick Butkus, Larry Csonka, John Elway, Brett Favre, Walter Payton, Gale Sayers, Roger Staubach and Kellen Winslow. Coaches include Paul "Bear" Bryant, Jerry Glanville, June Jones, Don Shula, Steve Spurrier and Dick Vermeil.
More than 70 Shrine Game alumni have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Richards, a local product from Regina, joins an elite group of Rams standouts to be selected for the Shrine Game, including former CFL great Jason Clermont (2002), multiple CFL all-star Brendon LaBatte (2008), CFLer Jordan Cisco (2010), as well as Hicks (2012), who current starts at defensive end for New Orleans.
Following a modest start to his university career that saw him catch seven passes in 10 league matches over his first two campaigns, Richards had a breakthrough season in 2013 meriting second-team all-Canadian status after he hauled in 46 balls for 614 yards in only seven games. This fall, the 6-foot-5, 205-pound science major improved to the first all-Canadian team after he set a school record with 55 receptions in eight contests, led the nation with 916 yard and scored six touchdowns as part of the top-rated passing offence in CIS (394.5 yards per game).
Also an East West Bowl participant last spring, Richards was listed at No. 11 by the CFL Scouting Bureau in September and moved up to No. 9 in the December ranking.
"Addison is a very deserving nominee for the Shrine Game," said Rams head coach Frank McCrystal. "He has the size, strength and speed to compete with the top US college players."
In St. Petersburg, Waud and Richards will suit up for the East and West, respectively, and will get a chance to play for a pair of high-profile coaches.
The East team will be led by Mike Singletary, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998 following a remarkable playing career with the Chicago Bears. A two-time All-American at Baylor University, the linebacker was named to 10 Pro Bowls in 12 seasons with Chicago and helped the Bears capture Super Bowl XX in 1986. Singletary's coaching career got underway in 2003 as a linebackers coach with the Baltimore Ravens. He then joined the San Francisco 49ers in 2005 as the assistant head coach/linebackers coach and was handed the reins midway through the 2008 season, holding the post until the end of the 2010 campaign. From 2011 to 2013, he was an assistant head coach/linebackers coach for the Minnesota Vikings.
Another former NFL bench boss, Jim Zorn, will be in charge of the West troops. A gifted quarterback, Zorn enjoyed a 12-year playing career in the NFL (Seattle, Green Bay, Tampa Bay) and the CFL (Winnipeg), earning a second-team All-Pro selection in 1978 and being named to the Seattle Seahawks Ring of Honor. He started his coaching career at the college level with Boise State (1988-1991), Utah State (1992-1994) and Minnesota (1995-1996) before making the jump to the pro ranks in 1997 as an assistant with the Seahawks. Following a three-year stint with the Detroit Lions (1998-2000) and a return to Seattle (2001-2007), he became head coach of the Washington Redskins for two seasons in 2008 and 2009. He has since been quarterbacks coach with the Baltimore Ravens (2010) and the Kansas City Chiefs (2011-2012).
NOTE: The East won the 2014 East-West Shrine Game 23-13 but the West leads the all-time series 47-37-5.
For all the information on the 2015 East-West Shrine Game: www.shrinegame.com
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Every year, over 11,500 student-athletes and 700 coaches from 56 universities and four regional associations vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca or follow us on:
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