Many NFL scouts jump on the opportunity to visit the annual East-West Shrine game, which features many college players looking to improve their stock heading into the NFL Draft. On January 22, 2011, the game in its 86th year will kickoff at 4p.m. with former NFL head coaches Dan Reeves and Wade Phillips coaching each squad.
While none of the 34 players drafted last year that played in the East-West Shrine game were drafted in the first round, the game does feature many players drafted in later rounds. In terms of the Bengals, center Reggie Stephens played in last year's East-West Shrine game while Morgan Trent, Clinton McDonald and Augustus Parrish played in 2009.
Alfie Crow, the editor for Big Cat Country (SB Nation's Jacksonville Jaguars blog), took notes of teams visiting with players after practices. And according to Alfie, the Bengals were found chatting with Illinois guard Randall Hunt. In the early rankings on Scout Inc's evaluation of players heading into the 2011 NFL Draft, Hunt ranks as the 45th best offensive guard with a rating of 30. This is bound to shift considering there's Combines, Pro Days and exhibition games to go through the four months before the draft.