Football | January 14, 2020

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan running back LeVante Bellamy, center Luke Juriga and tight end Giovanni Ricci have accepted invitations to the East-West Shrine Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla., and began practices for the event Monday. This year's game will kick off Saturday at 3 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field with additional workouts taking place in the stadium on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
 
NFL Network will provide exclusive live coverage of the game with Andrew Siciliano, Daniel Jeremiah, Charles Davis and Kimberly Jones providing insight and analysis. A live edition of NFL Total Access will follow Saturday's game at approximately 6 p.m. on NFL Network.
 
In addition to airing on NFL Network, the East-West Shrine Bowl can be streamed live through the NFL and NFL Network apps on smartphones, tablets, PCs and connected TV devices. Access is available for NFL Network subscribers through participating TV providers. For more information, go to NFL.com/watch.
 
The trio makes it 15 Broncos to earn invitations to the East-West Shrine Bowl. Bellamy, Juriga and Ricci join John Keenoy (2018) as invitees from the Tim Lester Era.
 
Bellamy, from Indianapolis, Ind., was voted the 2019 Mid-American Conference Vern Smith Leadership Award winner as the league's most valuable player and the MAC Offensive Player of the Year. The Doak Walker Award semifinalist tied for the national lead with 23 rushing touchdowns and ranks 10th in the country with 1,472 yards rushing this season. Bellamy's 23 rushing TDs are tied for fourth most in MAC single-season history. On the WMU career charts, Bellamy finished fourth on the all-time rushing yardage list with 3,720 and fourth on the rushing touchdown ledger with 35.
 
Juriga, who started all 52 games of his career, helped the Bronco offense rank 18th nationally in fewest sacks allowed per game (1.38), 24th in third-down conversion percentage (.453), 25th in total offensive yards per game (445.7), 28th in rushing yards per game (205.1) and 30th in points per game (33.1). Juriga, an Aurora, Ill., native, was named a MAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete for the first time in his career in 2019. He also repeated as a first team all-MAC selection.
 
Ricci, a product of Loveland, Ohio, finished the 2019 season with 51 receptions for 642 yards (12.6 ypc) and eight touchdowns. A John Mackey Award semifinalist, Ricci stood tied for third nationally among tight ends with his eight scoring grabs while tying for the top spot among all receivers in the MAC in touchdown receptions. Ricci tied for seventh among all league players with 31 receptions resulting in first downs. He also ranked second in the league with 19 catches on third down.
 
Last week, the NFL announced several initiatives in partnership with the 2020 East-West Shrine Bowl. The strengthened enhancements are designed to continue growing the game through the development of personnel and increasing engagement with players through all levels of their athletic life cycle. To learn more about the East-West Shrine Bowl, visit https://www.shrinegame.com/.
 
Western Michigan East-West Shrine Bowl Invitees
1966       Bob Rowe, DT
1969       Mike Siwek, DT
1986       John Offerdahl, LB
1987       Mark Garalczyk, DT
1995       Tom Nütten, OT
2004       Jason Babin, DE
2006       Greg Jennings, WR
2013       Alex Carder, QB
2013       Dann O'Neill, OT
2016       Willie Beavers, OT*
2017       Zach Terrell, QB
2019       John Keenoy, C
2020       LeVante Bellamy, RB; Luke Juriga, C; Giovanni Ricci, TE
 
* Selected, but did not participate
 
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