McSurdy, two more Griz to compete in all-star game

This Saturday three Griz football players won’t be taking the field in their usual University of Montana attire to play football.

Seniors Charles Burton, Caleb McSurdy and Jon Opperud will be sporting new uniforms because they were selected to compete in the first annual Players All-Star Classic in Little Rock, Ark., in War Memorial Stadium.

Justin Vanfulpen, one of the founders and coordinators of the game, said the reason for the game was to fill the void left after the annual Texas vs. Nation game. The contest switched locations and changed its name to the NFLPA Bowl.

The Players All-Star Classic will comprise a number of rosters, splitting 112 players in a North versus South format. The players are a collection of talented athletes from all levels of college football who are rated as prospects for the 2012 NFL Draft. All three players from UM will be suiting up for the North team.

Scouts from most NFL teams attend the game in hopes of analyzing NFL prospects. For players, that means days chock-full of interviews with NFL team representatives, dinners with professional agents and plenty of practicing.

For offensive tackle Opperud, being selected for the game is another step toward reaching his lifelong goal of one day playing in the NFL — an opportunity he didn’t think he’d have otherwise by only playing in the Big Sky Conference for four years.

“Playing at an FCS school, a lot of scouts say I don’t play against a lot of speed,” Opperud said. “That’s the stereotype you always hear.”

McSurdy and Burton were unable to be reached for comment. Yesterday, McSurdy announced via Facebook that he has been invited to partake in the NFL combine. There, he’ll be joined by former teammate defensive back Trumaine Johnson. The Grizzlies sent two of their players to the combine in 2008: running back Lex Hilliard and defensive end Kroy Biermann. Now Biermann starts for the Atlanta Falcons and Hilliard is a back-up running back for the Miami Dolphins.

The All-Star game will be played at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

erik1.anderson@umontana.edu