The 2026 East-West Shrine Bowl takes centre stage in Frisco, Texas, bringing together 120-plus NFL hopefuls in a showcase that has been unveiling professional talent for over a century. But who are the top players on display in today’s game? PFSN’s CFB Impact scores highlight the very best at each position.
QB: Joe Fagnano, UConn
PFSN CFB QB Impact Score: 86.6
There was a moment last offseason when Joe Fagnano genuinely considered walking away from football. A devastating shoulder injury in 2023 had robbed him of what should have been his breakthrough season with UConn, and the path forward seemed uncertain.
Yet the seventh-year senior returned to produce the greatest individual quarterback season in Huskies history, finishing 285-for-413 for 3,448 yards, 28 touchdowns, and just one interception — a single-season record for efficiency at the programme.
Fagnano earned the New England Gold Helmet Award as the region’s Player of the Year and became a Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist while steering UConn to a 9-3 record. His lone interception is the fewest all-time for a UConn quarterback, and his 161.03 passer efficiency rating stands atop the school’s record books.
With a PFSN CFB QB Impact Score of 86.6 (16th nationally), Fagnano represents the rare late-blooming passer whose game tape and leadership qualities could intrigue NFL organisations looking for developmental depth at the position.
RB: Eli Heidenreich, Navy
PFSN CFB RB Impact Score: 80.5
The position designation may say “running back,” but Eli Heidenreich defies traditional categorisation.
Navy’s senior snipe became the first player in school history to surpass 200 receiving yards in a game when he erupted for 243 yards and three touchdowns against Air Force — his 82-yard catch-and-run earlier in the season against South Florida had already made him the programme’s all-time receiving yards leader.
He is just the second FBS player since 1956 to rush for 475-plus yards and record 925-plus receiving yards in the same season, joining Tavon Austin’s 2012 West Virginia campaign. Heidenreich finished 2025 with 499 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 77 carries while adding 51 catches for a school-record 941 receiving yards and six scores.
His 16 career receiving touchdowns are the most in Navy history.
PFSN’s CFB Running Back Impact Score of 80.5 places him 42nd, though that number fails to capture his unique skill set as a hybrid weapon. For NFL offensive coordinators seeking versatile chess pieces, Heidenreich’s film offers creative possibilities that transcend positional labels.
WR: Skyler Bell, UConn
PFSN CFB WR Impact Score: 85.0
When Skyler Bell transferred from Wisconsin to UConn ahead of 2024, skeptics wondered if the Bronx native could replicate his Big Ten production at an independent programme.
The answer came in emphatic fashion: Bell became the first consensus All-American in UConn football history and a Biletnikoff Award finalist, finishing the 2025 campaign with 101 receptions for 1,278 yards and 13 touchdowns — all school records.
Bell led the nation with seven 100-yard receiving games and ranked second nationally in receptions, yards, touchdowns, catches per game, and yards per game. His connection with Fagnano produced a passing attack that averaged 36.9 points per game, 15th-best in the country.
PFSN’s CFB WR Impact Score of 85.0 ranks him sixth nationally, a fitting reflection of a player who dominated statistical categories typically reserved for receivers at the sport’s most prominent programmes. His ability to separate and his consistency after the catch make him one of the most intriguing skill players at this year’s Shrine Bowl.
TE: Eli Raridon, Notre Dame
PFSN CFB TE Impact Score: 81.1
Eli Raridon was born to play football at Notre Dame. His grandfather served as a strength coach on the 1988 national championship team, and his father played offensive line in South Bend in the early 2000s.
Yet the 6’7″ tight end’s path to prominence was anything but inherited. He suffered two ACL injuries within ten months before ever establishing himself, the first during a high school basketball game and the second shortly after arriving on campus. Most players would have questioned whether the dream was worth the pain.
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Raridon answered by becoming Notre Dame’s leading receiver through the season’s first two games, hauling in five catches for 97 yards and a touchdown against Miami before adding 85 yards against Texas A&M.
His seven-reception, 109-yard performance against NC State marked a career day, and his 43-yard catch-and-run set up a critical score in the comeback effort against the Hurricanes.
PFSN’s CFB TE Impact Score of 81.1 ranks him 15th nationally — a number that may understate his upside given the injury context. For NFL teams seeking developmental tight ends with elite size and athletic traits, Raridon’s ceiling remains tantalising.
OL: Evan Beerntsen, Northwestern
PFSN CFB Player OL Impact Score: 93.5
Evan Beerntsen spent six seasons at South Dakota State, transforming from a high school tight end and defensive lineman into a two-time FCS national champion and Second Team FCS All-American at right guard.
That experience alone would be a compelling story. Yet when he followed offensive coordinator Zach Lujan to Northwestern for his final collegiate chapter, head coach David Braun and his staff discovered they had vastly underestimated what they were getting.
“He has exceeded expectations,” Braun told scouts midway through the season, and the numbers bear that out. Beerntsen started all 13 games for the Wildcats and was the only Big Ten interior lineman with 500-plus blocking snaps to surrender zero sacks or quarterback hits during the season.
His work helped facilitate a Northwestern rushing attack that ranked eighth in the Big Ten with 2,082 rushing yards. PFSN’s CFB Player OL Impact Score of 93.5 ranks him second nationally at his position — the quiet dominance of a player who has spent nearly a decade mastering his craft and now appears ready to translate it to the professional level.
EDGE: Keyshawn James-Newby, New Mexico
PFSN CFB EDGE Impact Score: 85.6
The journey from Montana Tech NAIA to FBS conference-leader in sacks is not a path many players travel, but Keyshawn James-Newby never seemed particularly interested in convention.
The Helena, Montana, native enrolled at Montana Tech to become a civil engineer but quickly discovered football demanded his full attention after posting nine sacks as a sophomore and earning Frontier Conference first-team honours.
When Jason Eck offered him a spot at Idaho, James-Newby made the leap to FCS and then followed Eck again to New Mexico for his final season at the FBS level.
The transition proved seamless. James-Newby led the Mountain West with 8.0 sacks and finished second in the conference with 13.0 tackles for loss, becoming the first Lobo to earn All-America honours since Marcus Hayes in 2009.
His 2.5-sack performance against New Mexico State and dominant showing at Boise State (3.0 TFLs, two sacks) demonstrated the kind of disruptive ability that translates across levels of competition.
PFSN named him a Third Team All-American, and his CFB EDGE Impact Score of 85.6 (sixth nationally) reflects a pass rusher whose motor and first-step quickness have proven effective regardless of opposition.
DT: Aaron Hall, Duke
PFSN CFB DT Impact Score: 84.5
Aaron Hall has been the anchor of a Duke defensive front that helped transform the Blue Devils into one of college football’s most consistent programmes. The Durham native grew up across town from Wallace Wade Stadium and has witnessed the culture shift firsthand, resulting in 35 wins in his four-year span, the most in programme history.
As a two-time team captain, Hall understands his role extends beyond statistics; he is tasked with occupying blockers, holding the point of attack, and allowing teammates to make plays behind him.
Yet Hall’s individual production has been noteworthy in its own right. He earned Honorable Mention All-ACC honours in 2024 after recording 41 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks from the interior. His experience — 39 career games with 13 starts, over 1,000 career snaps — provides the foundation for his PFSN CFB DT Impact Score of 84.5 (ninth nationally).
His combination of anchor strength, motor, and intelligence makes him a valuable prospect for NFL teams seeking interior linemen who can hold up against the run while generating occasional interior pressure.
LB: Caden Fordham, NC State
PFSN CFB LB Impact Score: 84.8
When Caden Fordham suffered a season-ending ACL injury during a midseason practice in 2024, his career trajectory seemed uncertain at best. He was leading NC State in tackles at the time, playing his first season as a full-time starter, and suddenly faced months of rehabilitation with no guarantee of what awaited on the other side.
What awaited was the most dominant linebacker season in Wolfpack history in over a decade. Fordham returned to earn First-Team All-ACC honours and AP Third-Team All-American recognition while leading all Power Four programmes with 130 tackles.
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He recorded eight double-figure tackle performances, including 15-stop games against both No. 8 Georgia Tech and Florida State — his family’s school, where his father played offensive line, and his younger brother is committed.
Fordham capped his career with MVP honours at the Gasparilla Bowl, returning an interception 55 yards to the two-yard line to set up a touchdown in the 31-7 victory over Memphis.
PFSN’s CFB LB Impact Score of 84.8 ranks him ninth nationally, a fitting placement for a player whose comeback story and production make him one of the draft class’s most compelling defensive prospects.
CB: Andre Fuller, Toledo
PFSN CFB CB Impact Score: 90.3
Andre Fuller’s path to the Shrine Bowl runs through Arkansas Pine Bluff, where a 95-yard interception return for a touchdown against Grambling State announced his arrival on the national stage.
The SWAC Defensive Player of the Week honour that followed was merely a preview of what was to come once he joined Toledo and made the transition from safety to cornerback under the tutelage of a secondary that produced NFL talent in Quinyon Mitchell and Chris McDonald.
The 6’2″, 202-pound corner earned First-Team All-MAC honours in 2025 after ranking fourth in the conference with 11 pass deflections. His willingness to tackle, evidenced by a career-high nine stops and a tackle-for-loss in the regular season finale against Central Michigan, makes him a complete corner in an era where too many defensive backs shy away from contact.
Fuller’s PFSN CFB CB Impact Score of 90.3 places him 11th nationally, a position that reflects both his ball skills and his physical presence at the catch point.
SAF: Miles Scott, Illinois
PFSN CFB SAF Impact Score: 94.5
Miles Scott’s journey from unheralded walk-on wide receiver to team captain and All-Big Ten safety is the stuff that makes college football so compelling.
When head coach Bret Bielema saw something in the Dolton, Illinois, native and offered him a scholarship alongside a position switch, neither could have predicted just how transformative that decision would become.
Scott didn’t just make the transition work; he mastered it, using his receiver’s understanding of route concepts and ball skills to become one of the most instinctive defensive backs in the Big Ten.
His 2025 campaign validated every ounce of faith Bielema placed in him. Scott led the Fighting Illini and ranked tenth in the conference with three interceptions while posting 59 total tackles, 47 of which were solo. His career-high two-interception performance in the rivalry win over Northwestern served as a fitting punctuation mark on his time in Champaign.
PFSN’s CFB SAF Impact Score of 94.5 places him second nationally at his position — a remarkable testament to a player who arrived on campus without a scholarship and leaves as one of the most well-rounded safeties in the 2026 NFL Draft class.
