Florida Gators Running Back Accepts Invite to East-West Shrine Bowl

The Gators now have two representatives in the 100th East-West Shrine Bowl

The Gators now have two reps in the Shrine Bowl / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Florida Gators running back Montrell Johnson Jr. has accepted an invite to the East-West Shrine Bowl. 

Gamebreaker💥

RB Montrell Johnson Jr. (@Trellll_3) from @GatorsFB has officially accepted his invite to the 100th East-West #ShrineBowl!#GoGators | #ShrineBowlWHOSNEXT 😎 pic.twitter.com/o7W7wmsAa1

— East-West Shrine Bowl (@ShrineBowl) December 17, 2024

He joins offensive lineman Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson as a fellow Gator participant. 

Heading into the Gasparilla Bowl on Friday, Johnson has rushed for 593 yards and six touchdowns in nine games this season. He missed time due to an injury he suffered in the 23-17 overtime loss to Tennessee. 

Two of his best games this season came after his return. In the 24-17 upset win over No. 9 Ole Miss, he rushed for a season-high 107 yards and a touchdown. He followed that up with 99 rushing yards and a touchdown in the 31-11 pounding of Florida State. 

The East-West Shrine Bowl is the longest-running college all-star football game. It’s been held since 1925 by Shriners International to benefit the Shriner’s Hospital for Children (also known as Shriners Children’s). 

The NFL is heavily involved in this game. They supply the coaching staffs for the two teams from among current league assistant coaches whose teams do not advance to the playoffs. The NFL also provides the game officials for the contest. 

According to the East-West Shrine Bowl website, more than 100 players from last year’s game signed with professional teams, and more than 70 made final NFL rosters last season. They added that since the game’s inception, 78 former players have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and More than 200 former players have been named to the College Football Hall of Fame.

Players are selected based on their potential to make NFL rosters. All 32 NFL teams take part in the player selection process. The general divide used to assign players to the East or West team is the Mississippi River. However, to ensure that the best players are selected for the game, it’s not a hard line. 

For example, the Gators had representatives on both teams in 2023. Linebacker Amari Burney played for the East while safety Trey Dean III and edge Brenton Cox played for the West.  

Think of it as more of a preference. Players must be college seniors and currently eligible to play for their school. All divisions are considered. The Gators get consideration and, hypothetically, so does the Division II West Florida Argonauts.