Former App State wide receiver Tony Washington will play in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Carson, Calif., on Saturday.
The bowl, which was founded in 2012, gives prospective NFL players a chance to showcase their talents in front of professional scouts and fans.
Last year, nearly 100 scouts, including representatives from every NFL team, watched the game and conducted post-game interviews with players.
The 2013 bowl was ESPN’s highest-rated collegiate program on game day.
Washington will play for the American team which will be coached by former Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals head coach Dennis Green.
Last season as a senior, Washington appeared in all 12 games for the Mountaineers while catching 64 passes for 939 yards – good for first in the SoCon.
Washington ranks eighth in App State history in career receptions with 139 and ninth in receiving yards with 1,837.
He is also App State’s all-time leader in kickoff return yardage with 1,289 and average yards per return with 23.4.
Washington will be the second Mountaineer to appear in an all-star game this post-season after Jamal Londry-Jackson suited up for the FCS Senior Scout Bowl in Myrtle Beach, S.C., in December.
Other than Washington and Londry-Jackson, eight former App State players have appeared in postseason all-star games in the past four years, including Daniel Kilgore and Travaris Cadet, who both were on NFL playoff rosters this season with the San Francisco 49ers and the New Orleans Saints, respectively.
In last year’s Collegiate Bowl, former App State defensive back Demetrius McCray played for the national team, recording an interception, a forced fumble, a pass break-up and five solo tackles as his team won 34-0.
McCray was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the seventh round in the 2013 NFL draft.
The Collegiate Bowl will kickoff at 6 p.m. Saturday and will be televised live on ESPN2.
Story: Cory Spiers, Sports editor