Anderson, King Selected To Participate in The Villages Gridiron Classic
12/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 29, 2004
Winston-Salem, N.C. - Outgoing Wake Forest seniors Jason Anderson and Eric King have been selected to compete in the The Villages Gridiron Classic. The Villages Gridiron Classic, now in its eighth year, will be played at The Villages Polo Stadium, in The Villages, Fla., on Saturday, January 15, 2005. Kickoff is slated for 11:00 a.m. (EST) for the nationally televised contest on ESPN2.
King was a two-time All-ACC cornerback for the Old Gold and Black, including a first team selection as a junior. The native of Woodstock, Md., started 10 games and led the team with 11 pass break-ups to rank fourth in the ACC in that category. King tied for third on the team with 5.5 tackles for loss and tied for second on the team with two sacks. He forced two fumbles to tie for the second in the ACC. King started 41 straight games until an injury kept him out of the Miami game on Nov. 20.
Anderson suffered through an injury-plagued senior season, but still leaves Wake Forest as the school's all-time leader in yards per reception and sixth in career receiving yards. The native of Charlotte, N.C., finished his career with 115 receptions, 2,066 yards and 15 touchdowns. His best performance in 2004 was a seven-catch, 159 effort in the season opener at Clemson, including an 85-yard touchdown reception, tying for the longest scoring catch in Wake Forest history.
As the nation's fastest growing college all-star game, The Villages Gridiron Classic will feature coaches Frank Beamer of Virginia Tech and Jim Tressel of Ohio State as head coaches for the game, while coaches from the NFL Europe will serve as co-head coaches and assistants for the game. Players will spend a week in Orlando preparing for the game, where they will practice in front of professional scouts from all 32 NFL teams.
The Villages Gridiron Classic has seen 130 alumni of the game drafted into the NFL, while more than 275 players have signed NFL contracts as free agents. The game's alumni include NFL players Daunte Culpepper (Minnesota), Darren Howard (New Orleans), Brad Meester (Jacksonville), Erron Kinney (Tennessee) and Rock Cartwright (Washington).