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I for one have been surprised that Branden Oliver hasn't gotten more chatter among college seniors looking to jump to Sundays in the all. While Alex Neutz secured a position in the NFLPA Bowl, and Khalil Mack turned down a week at the Senior Bowl, UB's third star hadn't been getting much love.
It seems, however, that BO will get a chance prior to UB's pro day to show his stuff, as @ShaunDoesDraft is reporting that the running back will be invited to the College All Star Bowl:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Check that, Branden Oliver getting College All Star bowl invite now. Congrats to Branden</p>— Shaun (@ShaunDoesDraft) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShaunDoesDraft/statuses/426907397324431360">January 25, 2014</a></blockquote>
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I don't know much about Shaun, other than to say that he's been pumping BO's tires for much of the season, and seems to know quite a bit about the non power conferences. Earlier in the month he seemed surprised that Oliver had not yet secured an invite to one of the postseason games.
The College All Star Bowl is only in its second year of existence, but is played on the campus of Furman University in South Carolina. This year it will be played on February 14th and broadcast on CBS Sports Network at 6:00 PM Eastern. The Bowl so far has attracted commitments from BCS conference players as well as players from lower division schools such as Liberty, Saginaw Valley State, and Ferris State.
Happily the story doesn't end with BO for Buffalo fans. If you read through that list, you'll see that Okoye Houston is listed as attending the game. While Oliver's invite is hypothetical on Twitter, Houston is confirmed by the game itself to be attending. The Safety started for three years after getting time as a freshman. Three other MAC student-athletes will also be playing in the game.
Best of luck to Okoye and Branden as they continue to show their stuff to the NFL.