One last college football hurrah for Anthony Gould
Ex-Oregon State, West High star to play Thursday in East-West Shrine Bowl
Former Oregon State and West Salem High School star Anthony Gould declared for the NFL draft at the conclusion of 2023 Beaver season. He did not participate in OSU’s Sun Bowl loss to Notre Dame. But he does get one last chance to shine on the collegiate field before entering the National Football League Draft in April.
The 99th annual East-West Shrine Game is being held February 1 in Frisco, Texas at the Ford Center of the Star—the long-time practice facility for the Dallas Cowboys.
The Shrine Bowl has been held at a long list of locations since it began in 1925. Over the last two years, the participants played in Las Vegas. Games have also been played in Florida at several stadiums, as well as other facilities in Texas, and in San Francisco and at Stanford University. Last year’s contest in Vegas drew just over 12 thousand fans.
The East-West designation doesn’t necessarily connect players with the regional location of their college. Gould and OSU running back Deshaun Fenwick are both on the East team roster.
The players are assigned to the teams as part of specific offensive and defensive schemes used to assess the talents of all participants and to provide data to NFL teams looking for promising draft picks. Fellow Beaver alum Teagan Quitoriano also took part in the contest as a tight end in Vegas in 2022. Quitoriano is still on the roster of the NFL’s Houston Texans, after undergoing reparative surgery in December.
A small crowd will be on hand again on February first due to the restricted size of the facility. The game is slated to be shown on the NFL Network—in Salem, channel 729 on Comcast Cable, and channel 212 on DIRECT TV.
Gould had a fantastic career at Oregon State, especially as a punt returner. The Sporting News named Gould a first team all-American after the 2022 season, and had the return honors repeated by other smaller, but nationally recognized publications.
Gould’s best year as an OSU return man was in 2022, when he recorded 256 yards on 14 returns (18.3/return)—and scored a pair of touchdowns. He was also a reliable receiver in the offensive system of Coach Jonathan Smith, with better than 1300 yards on 84 receptions with six TDs over three seasons. Gould also carried the ball on jet sweeps during his three seasons.