By Matt Weiner (@MattWeiner20) — Reporter
The East-West Shrine Bowl will be the final time offensive lineman Jack Snyder and tight end Derrick Deese Jr. will throw on the chin strap representing San Jose State.
Adjacent to the Pro Bowl, this game will be played on Feb. 3 in Las Vegas. It is similar to the Pro Bowl because the game is composed of top-tier competitors from around the country, though different as this game means curtains have closed on college careers.
One season of life for both Spartans ends as another reappears.
“I was doing some math with my teammates toward the end of the season and I will have been at San Jose State for a quarter of my life,” Snyder said. “So it’s definitely a bit of an adjustment being somewhere else having different teammates like that.”
Snyder has played 57 games for SJSU, starting in 52 of them. In 2020 and 2021, he earned first-team all Mountain West and Pro Football Focus named him the conference player of the year. The East-West Shrine Bowl will get him into the mindset of doing things he was never asked to do in his previous quarter-of-a lifetime of work.
“I’m going to be playing a bit of guard and maybe even some center.”
For Deese Jr., the son of former Super Bowl Champion Derrick Deese Sr. and 13 year pro in the NFL, this means something completely different.
“It’s getting kind of weird for me right now,” Deese Jr. said .“It’s all coming at me at once like my dreams are coming true that I hopefully will get to play on the big screen on Sunday’s.”
Deese Jr. and Snyder are close to showing up on televisions across the world and breaking the proverbial fourth wall. Always being so close to it has taken away the possible enigmatic aura that the NFL can bring for hopeful prospects.
“I have teammates that have gone on to the NFL. It’s taking away the starpower that people might have. I don’t really see myself being a star struck fan or anything like that, Deese Jr. said.
“If I turn a game on there’s a pretty good chance I’m going to know at least one or two playing which has made it feel more real … it’s not as big of a jump mentally.”
With current NFL coaches on staff for each team, the bowl is an opportunity to be an ocean of knowledge for Deese Jr. and Snyder as they look to soften the landing of the big jump.
“It’s always good to get a new set of eyes on your game,” Snyder said. “I’m looking forward to getting that different point of view and getting some good feedback there.”
Deese Jr. is carrying a similar mentality as he’s eager to learn as much as he can from the various people in attendance.
The East-West Shrine Bowl will serve as one of the big highlights of their pre-draft process. A game that straps on virtual-reality glasses for a week so they can see what a day in the life of their dream job might look like. One step closer to turning dreams into reality.