Brooks, Conyers play in East-West Shrine Bowl Thursday
January 30, 2025 | Football
Kickoff for the 100th East-West Shrine Bowl is slated for 7 p.m. on NFL Network
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech running back Tahj Brooks and tight end Jalin Conyers will wear the scarlet and black one final time Thursday when they take part in the 100th-annual East-West Shrine Bowl. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. from AT&T Stadium in Arlington with television coverage provided on NFL Network.
Brooks and Conyers have been in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex since this past Friday in preparation for the game, which is attended annually by NFL personnel from all 32 teams. The bowl has produced numerous future NFL standouts in its storied history, including several from Texas Tech such as Wes Welker (2003), Louis Vasquez (2008) and Cody Davis (2012), among others.
Both of Texas Tech's participants in last year's Shrine Bowl made considerable impacts on NFL rosters this season with Dadrion Taylor-Demerson appearing in all 17 games as a rookie for the Arizona Cardinals, while Tyler Owens was a key special teams contributor for a Washington Commanders organization that just played for the NFC title. Taylor-Demerson rose up draft boards a year ago thanks in part to his Shrine Bowl performance as the Cardinals selected the safety in the fourth round last April.
Brooks and Conyers have done their part in standing out in front of the scouts in attendance already this week as the Shrine Bowl announced Thursday morning they we were both selected to the West All-Practice Team. The team consisted of one practice standout per position with Brooks recognized for the running back room and Conyers as the lone tight end.
The accolade is not a surprise to Red Raider fans who watched Brooks tear through opposing defenses the past two seasons. Brooks developed into Texas Tech's all-time leading rusher over his time as a Red Raider, breaking Byron Hanspard's career rushing record late this past season en route to leading Texas Tech to its fourth-consecutive bowl appearance.
Brooks wrapped his career with 4,557 rushing yards after totaling 1,505 yards and 17 touchdowns in only 11 games this past season. Brooks became the first Red Raider and only the third Big 12 player in history to record multiple 1,500-yard rushing seasons in a career as he was the first power conference rusher to reach that mark in only 11 games or less since D'Onta Foreman of Texas in 2016. Brooks also set the Texas Tech single-season and career marks for 100-yard games with 11 as a super senior, giving him 23 for his career.
Conyers, meanwhile, took advantage of his lone season as a Red Raider, catching 30 passes for 320 yards and five touchdowns for a Texas Tech offense that was ranked fourth nationally in scoring (37.6 points per game) and ninth for both total offense (462.7 yards a game) and passing offense (296.7 yards a game). He finished tied for second on the team with seven total touchdowns after carrying eight times for 31 yards and two additional scores.
Conyers was able to display his athleticism in Texas Tech's offense as he regularly used his size to outmuscle smaller defensive backs. He used his speed and power as a Wildcat quarterback in short-yardage situations and then was a key catalyst to Brooks' successful season as the third-highest graded tight end in run blocking among power conference schools, according to Pro Football Focus.
The Shrine Bowl is the first of two all-star games featuring Red Raiders this week as offensive lineman Caleb Rogers will play in the Reese's Senior Bowl on Saturday. Rogers will be part of the National Team when the Senior Bowl kicks off at 1:30 p.m. on NFL Network.
