The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1493247
JAKE MOODY EARNS EAST-WEST SHRINE BOWL MVP HONORS Headlining Michigan's representation in the senior all-star games that began the 2023 NFL Draft process was kicker Jake Moody, whose perfect 4-of-4 outing helped the West team take down the East by a 12-3 score in the 98th annual East- West Shrine Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Feb. 2. For his efforts, Moody earned Offensive Most Valuable Player honors in the show- case. In his four attempts, he connected on a pair of field goals from 51 yards out and nailed two more attempts from 35 yards. "It's a dream come true," Moody told NFL Network's Mike Yam after the win. "I've got to give a shoutout to my holder and my snapper, [Oklahoma's] Michael Turk and [Penn State's] Chris Stoll. They did a great job. Made my job really easy. Shout out to the O-line as well. Blocking for me, that's not a fun job. I've got to give them all the credit in the world. They allowed me to do my job." The Shrine Bowl was a defensive slugfest, with the East and West squads combin- ing for just 427 yards of total offense and 2 turnovers each, making all of Moody's kicks that much more important. The 100-plus players in attendance were coached by the staffs of the Atlanta Fal- cons and New England Patriots. Moody's West squad was overseen by Patriots wide receivers/kickoff returners coach Troy Brown, who raved about the U-M kicker. "These guys came out and played hard. They prepared well all week long," Brown told Yam. "The bottom line is we just had to come out on top some kind of way. And these guys did it. Thank God we had a great kicker on our football team, too." Moody was joined by Michigan tight end Luke Schoonmaker on the West team. Schoonmaker attended but did not play due to a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder, an injury he dealt with at the end of the 2022 season and aggravated in the Fiesta Bowl against TCU. — Anthony Broome PHOTO COURTESY EAST-WEST SHRINE BOWL