Shepherd Accepts Senior Bowl Invite, Heeney Selected for East-West Shrine Game

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas cornerback JaCorey Shepherd has accepted an invitation to play in the 2015 Senior Bowl, football’s premier senior showcase event, while linebacker Ben Heeney will suit up in the East-West Shrine Game, the nation’s longest-running college all-star game.
 
Shepherd, who took home first-team All-Big 12 honors in 2014, is the first Jayhawk chosen to play in the Senior Bowl since Nate Dwyer in 2001. He finished his senior season with a Big 12-leading 19 passes defended, which also ranked fourth in the NCAA.
 
A Mesquite, Texas, native, Shepherd will travel to Mobile, Alabama for the 65th edition of the Senior Bowl, which will take place at Ladd-Peebles Stadium at 3 p.m. (CT), on Saturday, Jan. 24. The game and every practice during the week leading up to the game will be televised live on the NFL Network.
 
Heeney will head to St. Petersburg, Florida for the 2015 East-West Shrine game, which is in its 90th year in existence. Created in 1925 by Shriners, the game is dedicated to raising awareness and support for Shriners Hospitals for Children.
 
Heeney, who finished the season ranked second in the Big 12 Conference with 127 total tackles, will be the first Jayhawk to play in the game since both Tanner Hawkinson and Bradley McDougald represented Kansas in the 2013 game. A first-team All-Big 12 honoree in 2014, Heeney will suit up for the West team.
 
The East-West Shrine game will take place on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 3 p.m. (CT), at Tropicana Field. The game and several practice throughout the week leading up to the game will be televised live on the NFL Network.
 
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