Ford and O’Connell set to impress at Hula Bowl
1/13/2023 6:44:00 PM | Football
Two Montana Grizzlies will take the first steps toward their professional careers on Saturday when All-Americans Patrick O'Connell and Justin Ford take the field for Team Kai at the 77th annual Hula Bowl all-star game.
This year's Hula Bowl will be played in Orlando, Florida, at "the Bounce House," the University of Central Florida's FBC Mortgage Stadium, in front of over 200 professional scouts and a nationwide audience on CBS Sports Network. Kickoff from Orlando is set for noon eastern, 10 a.m. mountain time.
For O'Connell and Ford, two of just three Big Sky Conference players and just 21 FCS players selected to compete, the experience represents more than just another chance to play. It's a week-long emersion study in pro football life.
Since arriving in Florida on Monday, the pair have had the chance to prove themselves on the field alongside some of the top players in the game, hailing from blue-blood programs like Ohio State, Penn State, Washington, and Texas. They'll also get to show out against some of the best in the FCS, like Walter Payton Award Winner Lindsey Scott Jr. of Incarnate Word.
Not only that, the Hula Bowl has given them networking opportunities, financial literacy training, social activities like bowling, and a chance to learn the deep history of the Hula Bowl at the Hall of Fame banquet.
"It's been a great environment. It's been a really fun week getting to know guys from other programs, hearing stories from their teams and understanding how they run their programs," said O'Connell.
"But really, just practicing every day has been the most fun. It's been interesting to start all over and re-learn everything with a new team. It's an interesting process."
O'Connell was a finalist for the Buchanan Award as a junior and led the Big Sky in both sacks and tackles for loss for a second-straight season as a senior, despite missing the bulk of three games with injury. The linebacker from Kalispell finished his career at UM among the all-time leaders in both categories with 28.5 sacks and 45 TFLs.
With all that experience under his belt, he says he feels right at home among his peers in Orlando.
"I think going against these guys has made me better and also made me realize that I'm right there with the best of them," O'Connell adds.
"It's pretty awesome we get to compete every single day and it's all you can ask for to play in front of hundreds of scouts. You're obviously going to play at your best, and that's what everyone's out there doing. So, it's pretty fun to compete against a lot of really good players."
Ford is a two-time consensus All-American cornerback who led the NCAA in interceptions as a junior with nine. He received the ultimate sign of respect from opposing coaches as a senior, and didn't get the ball thrown his way. Of the 229 completed passes by the Grizzlies' opponents this season, just 12 of those passes were caught by Ford's man.
He says he's not going to put too much pressure on himself when he takes the field tomorrow but just continue to do what put him in the Grizzly record books.
"Just trying to have fun and live in the moment," said Ford.
"Hopefully, I get the ball thrown my way, and I can make some plays on it, but I just want to go out and have fun.'
Montana has a long history of representatives at the Hula Bowl, with five previous attendees at the game, four of which went on to professional careers.
David Kempfert was the first Grizzly picked in 1997, followed by Grizzly Sports Hall of Famer Brian Ah Yat in 1999. Raul Pacheco was also selected in 1999, followed by Cory Proctor in 2004 and Kroy Biermann in 2008.
This year's Hula Bowl will be played in Orlando, Florida, at "the Bounce House," the University of Central Florida's FBC Mortgage Stadium, in front of over 200 professional scouts and a nationwide audience on CBS Sports Network. Kickoff from Orlando is set for noon eastern, 10 a.m. mountain time.
For O'Connell and Ford, two of just three Big Sky Conference players and just 21 FCS players selected to compete, the experience represents more than just another chance to play. It's a week-long emersion study in pro football life.
Since arriving in Florida on Monday, the pair have had the chance to prove themselves on the field alongside some of the top players in the game, hailing from blue-blood programs like Ohio State, Penn State, Washington, and Texas. They'll also get to show out against some of the best in the FCS, like Walter Payton Award Winner Lindsey Scott Jr. of Incarnate Word.
Not only that, the Hula Bowl has given them networking opportunities, financial literacy training, social activities like bowling, and a chance to learn the deep history of the Hula Bowl at the Hall of Fame banquet.
"It's been a great environment. It's been a really fun week getting to know guys from other programs, hearing stories from their teams and understanding how they run their programs," said O'Connell.
"But really, just practicing every day has been the most fun. It's been interesting to start all over and re-learn everything with a new team. It's an interesting process."
O'Connell was a finalist for the Buchanan Award as a junior and led the Big Sky in both sacks and tackles for loss for a second-straight season as a senior, despite missing the bulk of three games with injury. The linebacker from Kalispell finished his career at UM among the all-time leaders in both categories with 28.5 sacks and 45 TFLs.
With all that experience under his belt, he says he feels right at home among his peers in Orlando.
"I think going against these guys has made me better and also made me realize that I'm right there with the best of them," O'Connell adds.
"It's pretty awesome we get to compete every single day and it's all you can ask for to play in front of hundreds of scouts. You're obviously going to play at your best, and that's what everyone's out there doing. So, it's pretty fun to compete against a lot of really good players."
Ford is a two-time consensus All-American cornerback who led the NCAA in interceptions as a junior with nine. He received the ultimate sign of respect from opposing coaches as a senior, and didn't get the ball thrown his way. Of the 229 completed passes by the Grizzlies' opponents this season, just 12 of those passes were caught by Ford's man.
He says he's not going to put too much pressure on himself when he takes the field tomorrow but just continue to do what put him in the Grizzly record books.
"Just trying to have fun and live in the moment," said Ford.
"Hopefully, I get the ball thrown my way, and I can make some plays on it, but I just want to go out and have fun.'
Montana has a long history of representatives at the Hula Bowl, with five previous attendees at the game, four of which went on to professional careers.
David Kempfert was the first Grizzly picked in 1997, followed by Grizzly Sports Hall of Famer Brian Ah Yat in 1999. Raul Pacheco was also selected in 1999, followed by Cory Proctor in 2004 and Kroy Biermann in 2008.
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