UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – Saginaw Valley State University senior linebacker Micah Cretsinger was selected to the East-West Shrine Bowl 1000 list. The East-West Shrine Bowl will be played inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys on January 30, 2025.
"It's always cool for guys to get an opportunity to play in a game like that, it is a big deal," said head football coach Ryan Brady. "I am very happy for Micah."
The Shrine Bowl 1000 features the best senior college football players in the country and is chosen through NFL feedback and scouts' conviction on a player's NFL potential.
The Jackson, Michigan native joins 14 other NCAA Division II players and is the only GLIAC representative on the list.
"It means a lot. I have put a lot of hard work even to be put on the list. There are a lot of things I have to keep doing and improving on daily so I can make it to these kinds of bowls," said Cretsinger. "It has been an honor. I truly cannot put into words what this means to me."
The Shrine Bowl 1,000 selection comes on the heels of Cretsinger being chosen to the D2Football.com Elite 100 Watch List on the First-Team Defense just last week. The Jackson, Michigan native, looks to have another great year in 2024. Cretsinger had a monster season one year ago with two first-team All-America honors (Associated Press and American Football Coaches Association), D2CCA All-Super Region 3 First-Team, and first-team All-GLIAC. He tied the NCAA Division II record with four interceptions returned for a touchdown (vs. Grand Valley State 9/30/2023, at Davenport 10/28/2024, vs. Northern Michigan 11/4/2023, at Michigan Tech 11/11/2024). He was the first player in the GLIAC to achieve that feat, and only the fifth player in DII history to meet that mark (the last occurrence came in 2011). The senior standout led the team in tackles with 100 and had 3.5 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, and four pass breakups. His eight interceptions are tied for the most in the GLIAC and ranked second in all of NCAA DII, half of his picks came against Northern Michigan in the home finale where he broke a 17-year-old school record for interceptions in a single game.
The Cardinals kicked off Fall camp with practice number one this afternoon. The 2024 season starts with a road game against Winona State on Thursday, September 5 at 8:00 p.m. (ET).
