Shrine Bowl Takeaways: USC Eric Gentry Can’t Help But Stand Out, WPIAL Stars Shine

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Shrine Bowl Takeaways: USC Eric Gentry Can’t Help But Stand Out, WPIAL Stars Shine
2026 NFL Draft USC LB Eric Gentry Pittsburgh Steelers Shrine Bowl
USC linebacker Eric Gentry at Shrine Bowl practice on Jan. 23, 2026. — Courtesy East-West Shrine Bowl

FRISCO, Tx. — Typically, college football teams don’t let things like Eric Gentry happen. Even in a field full of genetic freaks, Gentry, a USC linebacker, stands out in the crowd, not just for his personal physique, but its fit with the position that he plays. Gentry checked in at 6-foot-6 3/8 and 221 pounds here at the 2026 East-West Shrine Bowl, with 34 1/4-inch arms.

That’s a 10.0 height grade at Relative Athletic Score — the tallest player in the history of that database. He’s also a 1.54 out of 10 in terms of weight. So he’s one of the skinniest players in the entire database, as well.

That usually doesn’t happen. Gentry is taller than all but three players at the shrine bowl. All are offensive tackles. He’s taller than every edge rusher, every tight end, wide receiver and defensive back. And at 221 pounds, he weights less than three of the quarterbacks that are here.

Usually, somewhere along the way, someone will decide that he’s bester of at one of those other positions. His RAS height and weight scores at strong safety (10/9.64), free safety (9.99/9.84), wide receiver (9.99/9.54) and cornerback (10/9.99) are all among the best possible.

Even with a transfer from Arizona State to USC, that never happened. Gentry looks out of place at linebacker. He’s a half a foot taller than Miami (Ohio) linebacker Jackson Kuwatch. The two of them lined up next to one another look almost ridiculous.

But it hasn’t stopped him from being plenty productive, though. Having a 6-foot-6 player in the middle of the defense can be quite a bear to deal with, as Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski found out on back-to-back plays on Saturday.

Gentry is currently projected as a late day three pick, but I could see that rising after his performance this week.

🏈 In last year’s draft class, Tyler Shough was a player with a long injury history and a seven-year college career that came out of nowhere in the pre-draft process to end up a second-round pick.

If there’s an analogue in this year’s class, it might be Joe Fagnano. A Williamsport, Pa. native, Fagnano played seven collegiate seasons around some injuries, starting at Maine before transferring to UConn.

He has NFL size at 6-foot-2 3/4, 223 pounds and threw for 3,448 yards and 28 touchdowns compared to one interception. In a quarterback class that lacks big names, he’s one to keep an eye on.

🏈 Iowa’s Kaden Wetjen is another undersized receiver that is an interesting projection to the next level. He’s 5-foot-8 3/4 and played mostly kick returner at Iowa. He’s definitely fast enough to play in the NFL. The real question is finding an offense that can use his skillset. Here he is lined up in the slot, catching a touchdown from Fagnano.

🏈 Georgia Tech wide receiver Eric Rivers is not big guy at 5-foot-9 3/4, but he has played a lot of outside receiver with the Yellow Jackets. He showed off why he’s been able to do that on Saturday, with an elite release for a rare deep ball touchdown.

🏈 Someone finally found J. Michael Sturdivant. After getting open all day on Friday but the ball being delivered wildly all around, he worked an in-breaker to the middle of the field against Cover 2 for a big play. There are plenty of playmakers at wide receiver here in Frisco.

🏈 Caden Barnett passes the vibe check. The Wyoming guard is a bit undersized, but anybody that shows up with his gut hanging out, sprinting down the field after his running backs, get a passing grade in my book.

🏈 Slippery Rock’s Joe Cooper, after mostly working at left guard on Friday, got some work at right tackle today. He played left tackle in college.

🏈 The offensive line-defensive line 1-on-1s were run sets for the West Team and two edge rushers really stood out for their physicality. UCF’s Malachi Lawrence was delivering some pad-popping blows, while Central Michigan’s Michael Heldman actually sent an offensive lineman flying. 

🏈 Maryland safety Jalen Huskey seems to always be around the football, and he made a pair of nice pass breakups on Saturday, one in a goal-line drill.

🏈 CJ Donaldson did not have the year he was probably looking for at Ohio State after transferring from West Virginia, losing out on the lion’s share of the carries to freshman Bo Jackson. But he looks good in this setting, especially showing off his vision in finding cut-back lanes.

🏈 Miami linebacker Wesley Bissainthe practiced on Saturday after skipping Friday’s session following the short week after his national title game appearance. Cincinnati DT Dontay Corleone, Georgia Tech CB Ahmari Harvey, Kentucky DT David Gusta and Alabama IOL Jaeden Roberts all did not practice on Saturday for the West Team.

🏈 I haven’t seen a Jalon Daniels pass that has especially wowed me, but I like his aggressiveness when he decides to run with the ball.

🏈 Mt. Lebanon’s Eli Heidenreich played what is essentially a slot wide receiver position at Navy. He’s playing running back here. He is a very polished receiver for that position, making some folks look silly in 1-on-1 drills.

🏈 The one guy who locked him down? Another WPIAL product, Penn Hills’ Jaden Dugger. Dugger also had an interception on the day. If not for Gentry, Dugger himself would be drawing attention for his size at linebacker at 6-foot-4 5/8 and 240 pounds.

🏈 One of the biggest risers of the week for me has been Texas tight end Jack Endries. He put up good numbers at Cal in 2023 and 2024 and I thought he might make a big impact for Arch Manning he way he had for Fernando Mendoza. But he finished with just 346 yards.

I’m not sure how Texas didn’t make better use of him this season, because he looks great here, always getting open and always catching the ball. Endries suffered an injury late in Saturday practice.

🏈 Wisconsin edge rusher Mason Reiger was so obviously created in the same factory that built T.J. Watt and Nick Herbig. I don’t think the Steelers will draft another edge rusher this year, but I didn’t think they would last year, either. Reiger is long and lanky at 6-foot-4, 245 pounds, but still has the bend to turn the corner, as he did to Penn State tackle (and former Badgers teammate) Nolan Rucci.

Rucci has been very good in pass protection drills through two days, playing both left and right tackle.

🏈 Texas Tech safety Cole Wisniewski keeps catching my eye. Nothing eye-popping, just a whole bunch of solid plays. The same goes for Utah linebacker Lander Barton from the East Team.

This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Shrine Bowl Takeaways: USC Eric Gentry Can’t Help But Stand Out, WPIAL Stars Shine

Related Headlines

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos