Montana quarterback Brady Gustafson has accepted an invitation to play in the NFL Player’s Association Collegiate Bowl, one of the nation’s premiere college football all-star events.
Gustafson will join other NFL hopefuls at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl on January 21, 2017, at the Stub Hub Center in Los Angeles. Former NFL Coaches Jim Zorn of the Washington Redskins and Mike Martz of the (then) St. Louis Rams are slated to lead the two teams at this year’s Collegiate Bowl.
Montana senior quarterback Brady Gustafson/ by Brooks Nuanez
The 6-foot-7 passer is the fourth straight Grizzly to accept an invitation to the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in the last four years. Brock Coyle, now a starter with the Seattle Seahawks, was the first player from Montana at the event in 2014. Zack Wagenmann followed suit in 2015, and Jeremiah Kose played in the 2016 game.
“I’m honored that they would select me to play in this game and that they believe in me enough to think I can play at the next level,” said Gustafson. “I just want to go show what I can do. I look at it like a job interview and one of the many steps that could help me get a job at the next level.”
A nominee for the STATS FCS Walter Payton Award for the National Offensive Player of the Year, Gustafson is currently ranked as the nation’s No. 6 passer, averaging 309.4 yards-per-game. He threw for 300-plus yards in five of the nine games he played in this season, missing two games to injury.
The Billings native finished his career as a two-year starter at UM with 4,809 passing yards. With 2,785 yards this season he passed Jordan Johnson’s 2014 total (2,784) by a single yard to make 2016 the sixteenth-best single-season passing performance in school history.
The NFLPA announced Gustafson’s participation in this year’s event on Tuesday along with Georgia offensive lineman Tyler Catalina and Southern Methodist defensive back Darrion Millines. Also slated to play at this year’s Collegiate Bowl is Tennessee QB Joshua Dobbs and Ohio State wide receiver Dontre Wilson, among others.
In addition to NFL coaching, the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl provides draft-eligible players information on how to navigate the business of being a professional athlete. For one week, participants will receive an in-depth introduction to their future union.
The NFLPA, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, is the primary resource for players for information on the business of football and how to succeed in the NFL and in their post-football careers.
