Kaiser's Shirley to play in U.S. Army All-American Bowl
Kaiser High School linebacker Josh Shirley accepted a nomination on Monday to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, the premier high school all-star football game in the nation.
The 6-foot-3, 218-pound Shirley, rated the eighth-best outside linebacker in the country by rivals.com, is one of 90 players from across the country who will participate on Jan. 9 in San Antonio, Texas. In a few short months, Shirley will be playing in front of 35,000 at the Alamo Dome.
"It's all pretty overwhelming," Shirley said. "I just feel blessed to have been blessed with the ability to compete on this level. The talent there is going to be through the roof."
Shirley will make an announcement of his own at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, proclaiming at some point during NBC's national broadcast where he will play college football. The four-star recruit has narrowed the field to: USC, UCLA, Notre Dame, Miami, Cal, Tennessee, Washington and Arizona.
Shirley is the first from the Fontana Unified School District to be selected to the U.S. Army All-American game. In the nine years of the game's existence it has played host to players the likes of Adrian Peterson, Reggie Bush, Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow.
"Those are some elite names," Kaiser head football coach Phil Zelaya said. "This is a special accomplishment for him, for the school and for the school district. When they introduce him on national TV, it's going to say Fontana, California under his name. That means a lot."
The star power associated with the U.S. Army All-American Bowl was not lost on Shirley, who has been watching the game since he was very young.
"To be recognized on the level with some of these great players," Shirley said, "it's amazing."
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About Clay
Clay Fowler has been covering high school sports for six years in California and Texas. He was born in Dallas, attended the University of Texas and worked in Central Texas before joining the Daily Bulletin staff in 2006.
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Shirley is a really sweet kid and a total beast on the field. He absolutely dominated Thomas Carter and Cajon in Week 3.
Which ever university he chooses will be better for his admission.