NEW ORLEANS – Four Sun Belt football alumni improved their NFL Draft stock by posting most valuable player (MVP) efforts during the collegiate all-star game season.
Southern Miss junior running back Frank Gore Jr. was named the Offensive MVP of the East-West Shrine Bowl after accumulating 87 yards on six carries—punctuated by a 49-yard touchdown scamper to open the scoring in a 26-11 West Team victory. Louisiana redshirt senior running back Jacob Kibodi led the East Team with 35 rushing yards on three attempts, while Troy senior defensive lineman Richard Jibunor amassed four tackles and a tackle for loss for the East Team.
Georgia State redshirt senior quarterback Darren Grainger completed 5-of-12 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown to earn the American Team Offensive MVP nod at the Trillion Tropical Bowl. Marshall graduate student defensive lineman Kylen McCracken was dubbed the Overall Lineman MVP after carding a tackle for the American Team in a 17-17 tie.
Marshall senior linebacker Eli Neal was honored as the Team Kai Defensive MVP following a 24-17 Team Kai win in the Caribe Royale Orlando Hula Bowl.
The Troy tandem of junior running back Kimani Vidal and junior defensive lineman Javon Solomon led the way among Sun Belt alumni participants at the Reese’s Senior Bowl. Vidal rushed for 26 yards on six carries and Solomon posted a pair of tackles to contribute to a 16-7 National Team win.
Sun Belt standouts featured in each of this year’s four collegiate all-star games.
The Sun Belt has produced multiple NFL Draft selections in 20-of-22 drafts since it began sponsoring football in 2001, including a conference-record nine alumni selected in the 2023 NFL Draft. Three of the Sun Belt's five highest NFL Draft totals have come over the past four seasons with seven selections in 2020, six picks in 2022 and a conference-record nine draftees in 2023.
The Sun Belt has produced six-or-more draft picks on five occasions all-time (2010, 2012, 2020, 2022 & 2023). The conference's four-year total of 26 NFL Draft selections from 2020-23 is the largest four-year tally in conference history, surpassing the prior record of 22 from 2010-13.
Each of last year’s conference-record nine draft picks earned NFL roster spots, with eight seeing game action during the 2023-24 regular season.
Senior Bowl
Travis Glover, Georgia State (RS Sr., OL – Vienna, Ga.)
Jontrey Hunter, Georgia State (RS Sr., LB – Tampa, Fla.)
Ethan Driskell, Marshall (RS Sr., OL – Louisville, Ky.)
Rasheen Ali, Marshall (Jr., RB – Cleveland, Ohio)
Carter Bradley, South Alabama (Sr., QB – Jacksonville, Fla.)
Javon Solomon, Troy (Jr., DL – Tallahassee, Fla.)
Kimani Vidal, Troy (Jr., RB – Marietta, Ga.)
East-West Shrine Bowl
Jamree Kromah, James Madison (RS Sr., DL – Glenarden, Md.)
Jacob Kibodi, Louisiana (RS Sr., RB – Baton Rouge, La.)
Nathan Thomas, Louisiana (RS Jr., OL – New Orleans, La.)
Frank Gore Jr., Southern Miss (Jr., RB/AP – Miami, Fla.)
Richard Jibunor, Troy (Sr., DL – Delta State, Nigeria)
Tropical Bowl
Nick Ross, App State (Sr., DB – Marietta, Ga.)
Thurman Geathers, Arkansas State (RS Sr., DL – Acworth, Ga.)
Clayton Isbell, Coastal Carolina (Super Sr., DB – St. Charles, Ill.)
Khadry Jackson, Georgia Southern (5th Yr., LB – Orlando, Fla.)
Darren Grainger, Georgia State (RS Sr., QB – Conway, S.C.)
Jarius Reimonenq, James Madison (Sr., DB – Hattiesburg, Miss.)
Peter LeBlanc, Louisiana (Sr., WR – New Iberia, La.)
Neal Johnson, Louisiana (Sr., TE – Mesquite, Texas)
Tyrone Howell, ULM (6th Yr., WR – Idabel, Okla.)
Kylen McCracken, Marshall (Gr., DL – Cleveland Heights, Ohio)
Leroy Thomas II, Old Dominion (RS Sr., OL – Stafford, Va.)
Dell Pettus, Troy (Sr., DB – Harvest, Ala.)
Gunnar Watson, Troy (Sr., QB – Butler, Ga.)
Hula Bowl
Travis Glover, Georgia State (RS Sr., OL – Vienna, Ga.)
Eli Neal, Marshall (Sr., LB – Memphis, Tenn.)
Dalton Tucker, Marshall (RS Sr., OL – Paris, Ky.)
Carter Bradley, South Alabama (Sr., QB – Jacksonville, Fla.)
Richard Jibunor, Troy (Sr., DL – Delta State, Nigeria)
Reddy Steward, Troy (Sr., DB – Decatur, Ala.)