Indiana Linebacker Tegray Scales Has Accepted Invitation to East-West Shrine Game

Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

It was announced on Saturday afternoon that Indiana's All-American linebacker Tegray Scales has accepted an invitation to the East-West Shrine Game in St. Petersburg, Florida on January 20, 2018. IU has had a long history of sending both players and coaches to participate in the postseason exhibition game. Scales is the 58th player to participate in the East-West Shrine Game. IU has also sent four coaches, Bill Ingram as a head coach in 1925 and '27, John Pont as an assistant in 1968 and head man in 1970, Lee Corso in 1983 as an assistant coach and Bill Mallory as an assistant coach in 1989 and head coach in 1992. Scales marks the fifth-straight Shrine Game that will feature an IU player (Ted Bolser '14, Collin Rahrig '15, Nate Sudfeld '16, Ralph Green in '17). Scales finished his IU career making 325 tackles, 46 tackles for loss, 18 sacks and eight interceptions in 48 games during his time in Bloomington.

Here is a little bit about the game from the East-West Shrine Game website:

"The East-West Shrine Game has come a long way from its humble beginnings in San Francisco. Prior to 1925, the East-West Shrine Game was a baseball game held several times between the Islam Shriners (presently Asiya Shriners) and the Elks. While the game raised money for each of their respective charities, Shriners team captain E. Jack Spaulding thought there must be a way to generate more exposure for the organizations, and came up with the idea of replacing the baseball game with football. He determined that an all-star football game, featuring the best college players competing against one another, might be more successful, and the concept of the East-West Shrine Game was born, with all net proceeds from the game benefiting Shriners Hospitals for Children.

On December 26, 1925, at San Francisco’s Ewing Field, the top college football players from the East and West coasts came together in an exciting match-up of extraordinary talent, and the Shriners hosted the very first college all-star football game in the nation, before an audience of 25,000 fans — the largest crowd in the ballpark’s history. The game raised $25,000, which was donated to Shriners Hospitals for Children — San Francisco. The game has continued to benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children throughout its 90-plus year history."