PISCATAWAY, N.J. – After competing at the Hula Bowl last weekend, Rutgers football product
Christian Izien earned an invitation to participate in the East-West Shrine Bowl. The game is set for Feb. 2 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and will broadcast on NFL Network.
The event is the longest running college all-star football game in the nation and benefits Shriners Children's and its mission to improve the lives of children by providing world-class specialty care, regardless of the families' ability to pay. Twenty-three Scarlet Knights have previously participated in past years, including Frank Burns (1949), Marco Battaglia (1996), Jeremy Zuttah (2007), Courtney Greene (2009), Desmond Wynn (2012),
Scott Vallone (2013), Keith Lumpkin (2016), Saquan Hampton (2019), Brendon White (2021), Jovani Haskins (2022), Isiah Pacheco (2022) and Billy Taylor (2022).
Picking up All-Big Ten recognition for the third consecutive season, Izien tied for second on the team with 84 tackles with five for loss, 1.5 sacks, four pass breakups and a blocked punt in 2022. That included double-digit stops versus Iowa (15) and at Boston College (10).
Overall, the New York native finished his career with 303 tackles to rank 13th in program history. Izien played in 50 games for the Scarlet Knights, starting the final 41 consecutively at defensive back, and recorded 23 passes defended and three fumble recoveries.
Izien claimed Co-MVP Defense at the team banquet this past season and earned Academic All-Big Ten status three times.
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