Elon's All-America linebacker Chad Nkang was named Most Valuable Player of the Kai team in Sunday's Hula Bowl, one of the top all-star games for college football seniors. Details...
Nkang amassed nine tackles–one near the goal line–and a pass
deflection on his way to earning team MVP honors in the 2007
Cornerstone Bancard 61st Annual Hula Bowl All-Star Football Classic
Sunday night at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.
Nkang’s
Kai team (West) fell to the Aina squad (East) by an 18-10 margin. One
of the nation’s top all-star games of its kind, the Hula Bowl consisted
of 110 seniors – mainly from Bowl Championship Subdivision (formerly
known as NCAA Division I-A) programs – playing in their final college
football game.
Televised on ESPN, the Hula Bowl annually offers invited
college seniors an environment to showcase their talent in front of
scouts representing every National Football League team. The days
leading up to the game featured competitive practices also held at
Aloha Stadium, home of the NFL Pro Bowl. Players were evaluated by NFL
general managers, scouts and personnel directors at all of the
practices as well as the game.
A two-time Buck Buchanan Award finalist and two-time Southern
Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Nkang paced the SoCon and tied
for fourth in the nation with 11.6 total tackles per game in 2006. He
also led the league and tied for 15th in the country with 1.5 tackles
for loss per contest this past season.
Nkang led the Southern Conference in tackles per game each of
the past three seasons, averaging 12.5 total stops and 1.6 TFL for
those 33 starts.