George Gumbs accepts invite to East-West Shrine Bowl
George Gumbs Jr. began his college career as a walk-on receiver at Northern Illinois. He will end it as a solid NFL prospect playing EDGE in the East-West Shrine Bowl. Gumbs, a Florida Gators senior, on Wednesday accepted an invitation to play in the prestigious all-star game, which is Jan. 27 in the metro Dallas area.
Gumbs spent two seasons with the Gators. In 2025, he was UF’s starting EDGE in 10 games and played 402 snaps (345 defensive and 58 special teams). He finished with 31 tackles (14 solo), 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and 4 quarterback hurries. Gumbs was second on the team in tackles for loss.
Here’s a look at the UF players headed to postseason all-star games.
Player | Bowl Game | Position | Years at UF | Games started at UF | Key numbers | Accolades |
| Jake Slaughter | Panini Senior Bowl | Center | 2021-25 | 33 | 748 offensive snaps with a PFF pass block grade of 87.1 (2025) | -All-American (2024) -1st-team All-SEC (2025) -Rimington Finalist (2025) |
| Caleb Banks | Panini Senior Bowl | Defensive Line | 2023-25 | 24 | 8.0 TFL, 4.5 sacks over 16 games in 2024, ’25 | -Chuck Bednarik Watch List (2025) -Bronko Nagurski Watch List (2025) |
| Austin Barber | Panini Senior Bowl | Offensive tackle | 2021-25 | 38 | 750 offensive snaps with a PFF run block grade of 82.2 (2025) | -All-SEC Third Team (2025) -Outland Trophy Watch List (2025) |
| Tommy Doman | East-West Shrine Bowl | Punter | 2025 | 12 | 50 punts, 44.04 average | -PFF 2025 All-SEC Team |
| Trey Smack | East-West Shrine Bowl | Placekicker | 2022-25 | 37 games as UF’s primary PK | 53 of 64 (long of 56 yards and 10 makes of 50-plus) | Lou Groza Semifinalist (2023, ’25) All-SEC Third Team (2025) |
| George Gumbs Jr. | East-West Shrine Bowl | EDGE | 2024-25 | 13 at UF | 14.5 tackles for loss as a Gator | SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll (2024) |