DICK VERMEIL On All Access Football

ALL ACCESS FOOTBALL FRIDAY SHOW! JANUARY 30th, 2008 * 8:00-10:00 PM EST

Every Friday Night on the All Access Football Radio Channel, in affiliation with Blog Talk Radio.

The Two Hour show will be hosted by Rodney Towe with analysts Daniel Mogollon (College Football Insiders Founder/NFL Draft Bible President) and NFL Draft BibleCFI Senior Writer Ralph Mancini

WHAT'S ON TAP:

• Special Guest Super Bowl winning head coach DICK VERMEIL
• Boston College TE RYAN PURVIS, who will be playing in the Texas vs. the Nation game
• NFL Draft Bible Super Scout KELRON SYKES, Small School Insider JOSH BUCHANAN and Draft Guys CECIL LAMMEY and SIGMUND BLOOM call in from the Texas vs. the Nation game
• Fantasy Five: Ones To Watch - Five Sleeper Running Backs for 2009
• Scott Daniels of the Legal Line joins us to discuss a potentially game-breaking

*** LISTEN HERE ***

*Join our chat or call-in with your questions: 347.945.6275

*Missed It Live? Shows are archived 15 minutes upon conclusion of each episode here

Exclusive: Draft Journal II - Andy Schantz, LB

Jan. 18th

Dear Journal,

My training regiment is continuing as usual. I am lifting and running pretty much every day of the week.

The biggest thing for me personally is to get my weight up and keep my flexibility and speed. That is the biggest thing I have been honed into while training. I want to put good quality weight on. I have pretty much hit everything on my body equally. I want to be proportional. Don't want to have a huge upper body and bird legs so I am focusing on everything so that I am well put together.

Next week I will start getting into game mode because I leave on the 25th for the Texas vs. the Nation all-star game.

I am just trying to keep my sleeves rolled up and do the work I need to be doing. The Texas vs. the Nation game will be a good opportunity. I am just getting ready for that and looking forward to the opportunity.

Sincerely,

Andy Schantz, LB, Portland State

Exclusive: Draft Journal II - Jason Boltus, QB

Jan. 17th

Dear Journal,

Training started this week the same as last week, but the intensity went up a little bit. We are getting new players week by week. New challenges everyday with the workouts and I feel I will be better prepared for the all-star game and combine. I am trying to get better everyday and get my timing down with the faster receivers so it won’t be such an adjustment going to the Texas vs. the Nation game.

We have mostly been working on flexibility to prevent injuries and on explosiveness because it helps you throw the ball better and have your feet under you. With the routes, I have been getting used to the speed of the receivers and timing on the comebacks and sideline routes. It has definitely been beneficial.

I leave Sunday for the Texas vs. the Nation game and hope to have a good week of practice.

Talk to you next week!

Sincerely,

Jason Boltus, QB, Hartwick

Exclusive: Draft Journal II - Roger Allen, OG

Jan. 17th

Dear Journal,

With the Texas vs. the Nation game drawing closer we have been focusing more on position specific drills.

I finally met the position coach I am working with. His name is Don Lawrence and he coached with the Bills line and in NFL Europe as a head coach and position coach there. He has been working with us on pulls and down blocks as well as drive blocks. Just giving us the added tidbits you might hear from an NFL coach but you wouldn't hear in college. We have been able to work on some of the drills we would be doing at the combine so we are preparing for all of that. I am just trying to get as much of a leg up as I can on my competitors and elevate myself to a high draft status. I am excited for this game to come up and I am looking forward to competing and going against the best.

My fellow players from XAM all are going to the Texas vs. the Nation game. There is a linebacker from Notre Dame (Maurice Crum) and offensive tackle from Penn State (Gerald Cadogan) and we are all going. Over these couple weeks we have gotten close so I am excited to play with these guys.

I am looking forward to competing and I found out this is the only bowl game that has a ring. I am hoping to come away with one of those to add to my collection.

Talk to you next week for my Texas vs. the Nation Daily Diary

Sincerely,
Roger Allen, OG, Missouri Western

Player Diary: Jason Boltus, Hartwick

By JASON BOLTUS (as told to Josh Buchanan)

I have been working out with Antone Smith, Greg Carr, a couple receivers from Georgia, one from Gardner-Webb, a transfer from Ohio State that went to a FCS school, a DB from Youngstown State, UMASS, and Akron. There is also a receiver from Vanderbilt and Urbana Ohio as well. There are linemen from USC, LSU, Georgia, Tennessee, Purdue, Clark Atlanta, and a bunch of schools.

I got down here at WPI in Atlanta two weeks ago. I have been working on stretching and technique in the 40-yard dash, pro agility, and the 3-cone drill. I am training with the receivers and defensive backs. I am able to keep up with them well, so that is good. They are pushing me too so I will get better.

We have been throwing with receivers here to get ready for the Texas vs. Nation game. I am real excited about that and I feel I can improve my stock with a good game. It gives people a chance to look at me against a higher level from D3. I have been working hard.

I have a combine invite and I am real excited about that. It gives me a chance to workout in front of several scouts from all 32 NFL teams and interview with them. I will get to compete with the best of the best and that is all I really want.

COACHING MATCH-UP NEARLY 20 YEARS IN THE MAKING!

El Paso, Texas -- The 3rd annual Texas vs. the Nation All-Star Challenge will pit a pair of the most successful college coaches in terms of post-season bowl game records as returning Texas head coach Gene Stallings carries a career bowl game record of 7-1, including last year's victory over the Nation squad into this year's contest.

Meanwhile, Nation team's head coach Howard Schnellenberger kept his un-defeated bowl game streak alive with a 24-21 win over Central Michigan in last night's Motor City Bowl. Coach Schnellenberger is now 6-0 all-time in bowl games and will be looking to add to that streak when he arrives in El Paso, Texas next month.

Now what could make this match-up even more dramatic? In 1991, the Alabama Crimson Tide faced off against the Louisville Cardinals... and you guessed it the game pitted two former Alabama football decedents as Coach Stallings was the leader of the Crimson Tide while Coach Schnellenberger walked the sidelines for the Cardinals. The outcome was a 34-7 win for the Cardinals, the only post-season game blemish on Coach Stallings career record.

However, Coach Stallings may already add a second all-star game win to his resume since he is also scheduled to coach the West roster in the East-West Shrine Game in three weeks. Stallings' career record includes wins in the Sugar Bowl (1993), Gator Bowl (1994) and Blockbuster Bowl (1992) while at Alabama and the Cotton Bowl (1967) back when he was the head coach at Texas A&M.

His Alabama team would win the first-ever Bowl Coalition National Championship with their 1993 Sugar Bowl win over the University of Miami.

Coach Schnellenberger is widely credited with recruiting NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath to Alabama in 1961. He won three National Championships while serving as Bear Bryant's offensive coordinator at Alabama and then went on to a Super Bowl title with the Miami Dolphins in 1972, serving as offensive coordinator for the NFL's only un-defeated team in league history under legendary head coach Don Shula.

Interestingly enough the University of Miami was the place where Coach Schnellenberger is most-known for his collegiate head coaching success as he won a National Championship when his Hurricanes defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers 31-30 in the 1984 Orange Bowl.

Tickets are on sale now for the January 31st, 2009 contest between two of Bear Bryant's former prized pupils and as much as these two men have in common it is their differences that will make this year's game one of the most anticipated in all-star games in history.

EXCLUSIVE: 3rd Annual All-Star Challenge

El Paso, TX -- The evaluation and selection process for this year's 3rd annual Texas vs. the Nation All-Star Challenge has continued to grow and be enhanced by our developing relationship with the NFL, NCAA institutions and the great progress our game has made in just a short two-year period of time.

Last year alone 102 players received opportunities to participate in NFL training camps, so our goals for the 2009 contest to eclipse that number and find even more prospects earn roster spots next summer.

To that end if a Texas college or Texas born-and-raised athlete does not have the same type of NFL grade that someone in the region (Midwest/West) has acquired as of the final date of our evaluation process the highest rated or graded prospect on our player board will be rewarded the position.

The intent of the game will always remain the same, although the balance of keeping the contest competitive and increasing the overall talent level of the game are also our priority so that the city of El Paso can be proud of the game they are hosting.

Head Coach Gene Stallings will once again command the Texas team, while former NFL and highly-successful college head coach Howard Schellenberger, the current head coach at Florida Atlantic and himself a former disciple of the Bear Bryant coaching tree will head up the Nation squad.

Our rosters are coming together quickly with a number of All-Americans, top-rated prospects and players that will be on BCS Bowl game participants already signed up.
The game week will begin on Sunday, January 25th as players, scouts, coaches and media arrive at our new headquarters, the Camino Real Hotel in downtown El Paso. CBS College Sports Television will air the game live on the afternoon of Saturday, January 31st.

Please stay tuned for more information over the coming weeks. All invited players are reminded to update or approve your current travel arrangements with Bret Phillips at bret@texasvsnation.com.