It’s Texas vs. The Nation week

What, you thought the college all-star games were over? Think again as practice for the third-tier contest began on Monday.

Here’s what you need to know: The game is on Saturday at noon (ET) | Rosters

This may or may not be on television. I recall the game last year being on CBSC. However, my DirecTV doesn’t go that far into the future and the site for this game is terrible and doesn’t say.

There isn’t a throng of draft sites providing information from practices. As such, get what you can from Cecil Lammey of Draft Guys. Russ Lande of Sporting News is also there, find his archives here. Chad Reuter of CBS Sports (aka NFL Draft Scout) has a preview here.

Perrilloux is without question the most intriguing player in this year’s game. A blue chip recruit when he arrived at LSU, Perrilloux had several off-field issues and was dismissed. As a sophomore at LSU, Perrilloux had occasional moments of greatness, including a three-touchdown game against Middle Tennessee. Perrilloux is an athletically gifted quarterback who could be as good as any in this class. That is, of course, if he keep his past demons in check.

Jared Veldheer | OT | Hillsdale
Veldheer may be a size/athleticism project player, but his measurables are amazing intriguing. He’s listed by Hillsdale (Division II) as 6-foot-9 and 330 pounds with a 40-yard dash time of 4.90 seconds. Everything that’s been said about Veldheer is that he’s a powerful mountain of a man who is extremely raw. Give him a good offensive line coach and look out.

Donald Jones | WR | Youngstown State
Jones was a late addition to the Senior Bowl last week and reportedly had a couple solid days of practice. He was originally set to attend Mississippi following junior college, but ended up with Youngstown State. He’s got good size at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds. Jones is known to have very good field awareness but his catching mechanics needs some refinement.

Sam Shields | CB | Miami (Fla.)
Shields arrived at Miami as one of the top wide receiver recruits in the nation. After three years of average play on offense, Shields moved to cornerback for his senior year. Playing cornerback, he looked as you’d expect – rough with enough athleticism get by. He’s a bit of a project, but is incredibly fast. For a cornerback he has good size at 6-feet, 190 pounds. Miami says he runs the 40-yard dash in 4.20 seconds. While that’s an overstatement, Shields is clearly a blazer.

George Johnson | DE | Rutgers
Johnson was a four-year starter and motivational leader for Rutgers. What relegated Johnson to a third-tier all-star game is a career hampered by injuries, including back and ankle problems. As a senior, Johnson had 6.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss. While some of his athletic limitations might relegate him to being a backup, his leadership skill is a big plus.