Bracken Plays in National Bowl Game in Miami
MIAMI, Fla. --- Moravian College senior linebacker Kevin Bracken participated in the 2014 National Bowl Game presented by East Preps on Sunday, December 7 on Ocean Bank Field at Florida International University.
MIAMI, Fla. --- Moravian College senior linebacker Kevin Bracken participated in the 2014 National Bowl Game presented by East Preps on Sunday, December 7 on Ocean Bank Field at Florida International University.
Bracken, who wore is customary number 48 for the game, was part of the Red Team for the game, making one tackle in the third quarter while seeing time on the second team defense as well as special teams. The rosters were made up of NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA players with Bracken as the only representative from the Centennial Conference.
The players arrived in Miami on Thursday, December 4 and began to prepare for the game on Friday morning. They went through a scout combine measurement session for the more than 40 scouts including 11 National Football League and five Canadian Football League Teams in attendances.
Bracken would go though one on field practice on Friday afternoon and evening meetings before two practices on Saturday.
"The first practice was just helmets with a lot of agility work to see how athletic the competition was from the point of the coaches," Bracken said. "I thought that was good because it played to my benefits. That is where I really kinds of shined. I started out as the sixth middle linebacker and by the end of the practice; I was up to the second string."
The game kicked off at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday with Bracken on the second string defense. Each of the four strings would play a series in the first quarter with Bracken rotating on the field the rest of the game as a coach's decision.
"I had a blast playing in the game," commented Bracken. "There were a lot more Division II players than I expected but I thought I should what I could do."
Even though he had a chance to play in an All-Star game, Bracken will remember his Moravian teammates.
"Definitely the senior class this year will stick out in my mind here at Moravian," Bracken stated. "Going back to high school, I was in a graduating class of about nine football players, but to come to Moravian and have a senior class of 23 is absurd. We made it through all four years together even going through some struggles and hardships. These guys are my best friends, we concord through the struggles and stuck together through losing seasons that usually have people drop off the team. So the 23 of us hanging together for four years is the best memory I will have."
The National Bowl Game showcases All-American and All Conference seniors from around the Nation that travel to the game from over 30 states representing over 400+ Division 2,3, and FCS schools. Players travel to the game from as far as Texas, Arkansas, Oregon, Colorado, Michigan, Utah, South Dakota and more. The National Bowl is the elite and only current post-season all-star game to focus on players below D1/FBS that get the opportunity to play in front of several NFL and CFL scouts. The National Bowl is presented by East Preps LLC and founded by its Michael Quartey Esq., also a Professor of Sports Law at Holy Family University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The game was played at Birney J. Crum Stadium in Allentown the first three years before moving to FIU in 2013.
For more information on the National Bowl Game, visit http://www.nationalbowl.org/.
