Pair of Rutgers seniors accept all-star showcase invitations
DT Sheffield and Jett Elad might both be out of college eligibility, but they aren’t done repping Rutgers Football just yet. The Scarlet Knights are both will have a chance to showcase their skills on the gridiron one last time, in the hopes that they can impress some scouts, coaches, general managers, and whoever else makes the decisions at the NFL level.
Both Sheffield and Elad have accepted invites to participate in the annual Hula Bowl, but only Elad will be playing that one, as Sheffield also was invited to the American bowl and will play there instead.
For both Elad and Sheffield, their time with the Scarlet Knights was short, as both were Transfer Portal additions last offseason.
Elad joined Rutgers following a few seasons at UNLV, and immediately earned one of the starting safety spots. In his lone year with the Scarlet Knights, Elad had a team-high 80 total tackles and a team-high two interceptions to go along with three tackles for loss and a fumble recovery, while earning Honorable Mention All-Big Ten from the coaches and was also a Cornish Trophy finalist.
Sheffield has bounced around a bit throughout his career, going from JUCO to Washington State to North Texas and now Rutgers. Last year with the Mean Green is where he career really took off, hauling 66 receptions for 822 receiving yards and a team-high 11 touchdowns. A year later with the Scarlet Knights, Sheffield hauled in 44 receptions for 577 yards and four more scores.
What will the games take place?
The Hula Bowl is one of the older post-collegiate all-star games that has been taking place since the 1940s. It was named the Hula Bowl originally because of the game previously being played in Hawaii, but has since been moved to Florida in recent years. This year’s game will take place in Orlando, Florida on January 11th. 2026, with kickoff set for 12:00pm ET on CBS.
As for the American Bowl, this is the first year of its existence. According to the bowl’s website, the game will support active military and veteran communities through the Military Thriving Initiative. The bowl has partnered with Zero Mils and Soldiers to Sidelines to have 10 on-field coaches who are considered military veteran “soldier coaches” and each will have an additional two military vets to serve as “soldier ops”. The initiative is meant to help veterans gain valuable experience, and connections to grow in their post-military careers. This game is set to take place on January 22nd, 2026 down at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida, with kickoff set for 8:00pm on the NFL Network.
💬 Wondering what other Rutgers fans are saying?
Head to The Round Table and jump into the discussion →
