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College all-star games are used as an NFL officiating pipeline
The NFL officiating department has worked with the invitational all-star games to handpick the officials they want to evaluate for development and for potential future hires.
Since the termination of NFL Europe in 2007, the NFL lacked a way to evaluate prospective officials. That all changed in 2013 with the creation of the development program. Officials in this program typically officiate games during the NFL preseason and then return to their respective collegiate conferences for the regular season.
The NFL officiating department has worked with the invitational all-star games to handpick the officials they want to evaluate for development and for potential future hires. This year there are four games to evaluate officiating talent: the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, the East-West Shrine Bowl, the Reese’s Senior Bowl, and the inaugural HBCU Legacy Bowl. The years each official has been in the Officiating Development Program and/or worked an invitational all-star game are listed in the rosters below.
NFLPA Collegiate Bowl
| Name | ODP Seasons | NCAA Conf. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R | Duane Heydt | 2019-2021 | ACC |
| U | Frank Villar | 2020-21 | Pac-12 (R) |
| DJ | Josiah Ford | ACC | |
| LJ | Cat Conti | 2015 | Mountain West |
| FJ | Alonzo Ramsey | 2019-21 | Big 12 |
| SJ | Jeff Shears | 2021 | ACC |
| BJ | Tyree Walton | 2021 | Big 12 |
East-West Shrine Bowl
We requested the crew for this game, but did not receive the roster. Official statistics showing the officials was not posted by the game’s media staff, so we obtained the following from our sources:
| Name | ODP Seasons | NCAA Conf. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R | Bryan Banks | 2020-21 | Big Ten |
| U | Brandon Cruse | 2018-21 | Big 12 (R) |
| DJ | Max Causey | 2018-21 | Pac-12 |
| LJ | Brian Sakowski | 2020-21 | Pac-12 |
| Deep | Lo Van Pham | 2018-21 | Big 12 |
| Deep | Martin Hankins | 2018-21 | SEC |
| Deep | Jacques Hooper | 2018-21 | ACC |
| Deep | Glen Fucik | 2018-21 | SEC |
The deep officials rotated throughout the game.
Reese’s Senior Bowl
| Name | ODP Seasons | NCAA Conf. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R | Alex Moore | 2021 | ACC |
| U | Mike Morten | 2014-18, 20-21 (former NFL LB) | ACC |
| DJ | Derek Anderson | 2020-21 | Big 12 |
| LJ | Robin DeLorenzo | 2017-21 | Big Ten |
| FJ | Tuta Salaam | 2020-21 | Big 12 |
| SJ | Raymond Daniel | 2018-21 | Big Ten |
| BJ | Joe Johnson | 2017-21 | Pac-12 |
| ALT | Daniel Young | 2021 | Big 12 (BJ) |
HBCU Legacy Bowl
| Name | ODP Seasons | NCAA Conf. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R | Tuta Salaam | 2020-21 | Big 12 |
| U | Marcus Woods | 2019-21 | ACC |
| DJ | Carlos Owens | 2021 | Big 12 |
| LJ | Brian Perry | 2019-21 | ACC |
| FJ | LaShell Nelson | 2016-21 | Big Ten |
| SJ | Sean Petty | 2021 | SEC |
| BJ | Tra Boger | 2019-21 | SEC |
| Alt | Henrietta Powell | 2021 | MEAC |
