CHICAGO - The University of North Carolina's Giovani Bernard and Sylvester Williams will participate in the 2013 Quicken Loans All-Star Football Challenge, an exciting skills competition featuring college football's brightest stars. The 15th annual program is scheduled to air Saturday, Feb. 2, at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and will have encore airings on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. ET on Feb. 3 and noon ET on Feb. 17. ESPN will also air an encore at 4 p.m. ET on April 14.
Individual events in the 2013 Quicken Loans All-Star Football Challenge include: The Quicken Loans QB Accuracy Competition, Skechers GoRun Hands Competition, Mercedes-Benz Lineman Strength Challenge, Obstacle Course and Speed Kick. To conclude the program, the players will be divided into two teams for The Quicken Loans Team Competition.
Bernard suffered an injury that sidelined him for 2010, but he bounced back in a big way rushing for 1,253 yards in 2011 and 1,228 yards in 2012. In two seasons of competition, the draft eligible sophomore got to the end zone 31 times and was named to the All-ACC first team in 2011 and 2012. ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. rated Bernard the best running back in the 2013 NFL Draft.
Williams gave up on his football dreams and went to work at a manufacturing plant, but decided to give the game one last chance and enrolled at Coffeyville Community College. The defensive tackle then transferred to UNC where in two years he was dominant, racking up 96 tackles and 8.5 sacks. The senior was honored this year with a spot on the All-ACC first team.
The participants in the 2013 Quicken Loans All-Star Football Challenge are:
Quicken Loans QB Accuracy
EJ Manuel - Florida St
Ryan Nassib - Syracuse
Mike Glennon - NC State
Jordan Rodgers - Vanderbilt
Obstacle Course
Alec Ogletree - LB - Georgia
Giovani Bernard - RB - UNC
TJ McDonald - S - USC
Khaseem Greene - LB - Rutgers
Skechers GoRun Hands Competition
Matt Elam - S - Florida
Kenny Vaccaro - S - Texas
Cordarrelle Patterson - WR - Tennessee
Robert Woods - WR - USC
Mercedes-Benz Lineman Strength Challenge
Sylvester Williams - DT - UNC
Sam Montgomery - DT - LSU
Damontre Moore - DE - Texas A&M
Alex Okafor - DE - Texas
Speed Kick
Dustin Hopkins - FSU
Caleb Sturgis - Florida
Brett Maher - Nebraska
Brett Baer - Louisiana-Lafayette
Alumni of the All-Star Football Challenge include three Heisman Trophy winners (Ron Dayne, Troy Smith and Jason White) and 46 first-round NFL draft picks, such as: Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Santana Moss, Matt Ryan, Von Miller Vernon Davis, Joe Flacco, Donovan McNabb and Edgerrin James.
For more information on the 2013 Quicken Loans All-Star Football Challenge, follow us on Twitter (@AllStarFBall) and like our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/AllStarFootball).
About Quicken Loans Inc.
Detroit-based Quicken Loans Inc. is the nation's largest online home lender and the country's third largest retail home mortgage lender. The company closed a record $70 billion of volume across all 50 states in 2012. Quicken Loans generates loan production from web centers located in Detroit, Cleveland and Scottsdale, Arizona. The company also operates a centralized loan processing facility in Detroit, as well as its San Diego-based One Reverse Mortgage unit. Quicken Loans ranked #1 in customer satisfaction among all home mortgage lenders in the United States by J.D. Power and Associates in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
Quicken Loans has ranked among the top-30 companies on FORTUNE Magazine's annual "100 Best Companies to Work For" list for 10 consecutive years. It ranked in the top-15 of Computerworld magazine's "100 Best Places to Work In Technology" for eight years in a row, ranking in the top-5 in 2012. The company recently moved its headquarters and more than 7,000 of its 8,000-plus team members to downtown Detroit. For more information about Quicken Loans, please visit quickenloans.com, on Twitter at @QLnews, and on Facebook at facebook.com/QuickenLoans.
About Intersport
Since 1985, Intersport has been an award-winning innovator and leader in the creation of sports and entertainment based marketing platforms. Intersport provides turnkey solutions for global brands by combining two award-winning divisions: Sponsorship & Event Marketing and Television & Digital Media. Intersport owns and operates seven annual live television events: All-Star Football Challenge, College Home Run Derby, College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships, Hockey City Classic, National High School Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships, Women's Basketball Tip-Off Classic and the Under Armour All-America High School Football Game. To learn more about Intersport, log on to www.intersportnet.com, like us on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/IntersportBuzz) or follow us on Twitter (@IntersportBuzz).
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