Syracuse’s Jamal Custis, Chris Slayton highlight East-West Shrine Game

The college football season is over, but it’s not the last you’ll see of some of your favorite Syracuse Orange football players. This past weekend, seniors Jamal Custis and Chris Slayton both suited up in the East-West Shrine Game in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Though the West squad won 21-17, the East team still put on an admirable show. Custis ended up starting at wide receiver for the East, catching four passes for 55 yards and putting his obvious size advantages to use against fellow players with NFL aspirations. Slayton wound up with a tackle and one QB hurry on his end.

The East began slow on offense, shut out 14-0 in the first half, and facing a 21-0 deficit before the mid-way point of the third quarter. However, Purdue QB David Blough connected with Georgia’s Terry Goodwin on two straight TDs to tighten the game up a bit. Utah’s Matt Gay (sure, whatever, “geography”) added a late field goal, but the East was never able to close the gap completely.

Custis and Slayton were just the latest in a long line of Orange players to participate in the game, too. Last year, SU had three different players in the game: Jordan Martin, Parris Bennett and Jamar McGloster were all part of the East team.

We’ll see if these sort of performances from the two seniors have any impact on NFL Draft talk as the Scouting Combine draws closer. We’ll have more on that once invites go out.