Feb. 2, 2006
Five Notre Dame football players enjoyed productive appearances in various All-Star games during the month of January as the Irish were represented well in the Hula Bowl, East-West Shrine Game and Senior Bowl.
Notre Dame wide receiver Maurice Stovall (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Carroll HS) competed at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, AL. After a week of scrutiny by NFL scouts, Stovall received rave reviews for his practice performances before making one catch for nine yards for the North team in the game won by his North squad, 31-14, on Saturday, Jan. 28.
Notre Dame linebacker Corey Mays and placekicker/punter D.J. Fitzpatrick were significant contributors as their East team defeated the West, 10-7, in the 60th Annual Hula Bowl on Jan. 21. Fitzpatrick (Granger, IN/Marian HS) connected on a 36-yard field goal in the first quarter (his only attempt of the game) and added an extra-point following a second-period touchdown to provide the final margin of victory for the East. He also punted once for 45 yards. Mays (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park HS) recorded a game-high six tackles (three solo stops), as he started at middle linebacker for the East and served as one of four team captains for the East squad.
Linebacker Brandon Hoyte (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial HS) and offensive guard Dan Stevenson (Barrington, IL/Barrington HS) represented the Irish at the 81st annual East-West Shrine Game held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on Jan. 21. While Stevenson was a significant contributor to the East's 412-yard offensive output in the game, Hoyte was credited with two tackles for the East team in a 35-31 loss to the West.
