THE FLATS – Four Georgia Tech football alums – defensive backs Tariq Carpenter, Tre Swilling and Juanyeh Thomas and wide receiver Kyric McGowan – have all recently accepted invitations to participate in college football all-star games later this month. Carpenter and Thomas will play in the Hula Bowl on Jan. 15 in Orlando, Fla., McGowan will suit up for the Tropical Bowl, which will also be held on Jan. 15 in Orlando, and Swilling will participate in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, which will be played on Jan. 29 in Pasadena, Calif.
Combined with offensive lineman Devin Cochran accepting an invitation last month to participate in the East-West Shrine Bowl on Feb. 3 in Las Vegas, a total of five Yellow Jackets are currently slated to participate in all-star games this year, which is Georgia Tech’s most since eight Jackets accepted invites following the 2013 season.
Carpenter (52 games, 41 starts, 223 tackles, four interceptions), Swilling (41 games, 40 starts, 100 tackles, two INT) and Thomas (47 games, 33 starts, 215 tackles, four INT) combined to appear in 140 games, make 114 starts and record 538 tackles and 10 interceptions in their collegiate careers. Swilling was named honorable-mention all-ACC as a sophomore in 2019 and Thomas earned freshman all-America recognition as a kick returner in 2018, when he set five school records as a returner.
In his lone season as a Yellow Jacket after transferring from Northwestern, McGowan led Tech and ranked among the top 60 nationally with seven touchdown receptions in 11 games. His 37 receptions were tied for tops on the team while his 467 receiving yards and 12.6-yard average ranked third on the squad.
Most importantly, Carpenter, Swilling and Thomas all earned bachelor’s degrees from Georgia Tech while Cochran and McGowan, who graduated from Vanderbilt and Northwestern, respectively, before arriving at Tech as graduate transfers, are on pace to receive master’s degrees from the Institute.
Details for the Yellow Jackets’ respective all-star games are as follows:
Hula Bowl (Tariq Carpenter and Juanyeh Thomas) – Saturday, Jan. 15 at noon ET; Orlando, Fla. (UCF Bounce House Stadium); TV: CBS Sports Network
Tropical Bowl (Kyric McGowan) – Saturday, Jan. 15 at 4 p.m. ET; Orlando, Fla. (Camping World Stadium); TV: Varsity Sports Network
NFLPA Collegiate Bowl (Tre Swilling) – Saturday, Jan. 29 at TBA; Pasadena, Calif. (Rose Bowl); TV: NFL Network
East-West Shrine Bowl (Devin Cochran) – Thursday, Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. ET; Las Vegas, Nev. (Allegiant Stadium); TV: NFL Network
Georgia Tech Football All-Star Game Participants
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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