FRISCO, Texas — Former UTSA standouts Shad Banks Jr. and Robert Henry Jr. are set for the 101st East-West Shrine Bowl, which will be played Tuesday, Jan. 27, at Ford Center at The Star. The game will kick off at 6 p.m. and be televised live on NFL Network.
Banks, who played in the Hula Bowl earlier this month in Florida and recently received an invitation for this game, paced the Roadrunners in several defensive categories in his first and only season at UTSA. The North Shore High School product and TCU transfer registered team highs with 94 total tackles, 56 solo stops, three interceptions and three fumble recoveries. He added 7.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two pass breakups, a pair of quarterback hurries and one forced fumble en route to being named to the All-American Conference First Team at linebacker. He logged three games with double-digit tackles including a season-high 11 in the 17-16 road triumph over Colorado State.
Henry became the third Roadrunner to crack the 1,000-yard barrier on the ground this past fall, rushing for 1,045 yards and nine touchdowns on 151 attempts, good for an average of 6.9 yards per carry. An honorable mention All-American by Phil Steele and first-team all-conference running back last season, he posted five 100-yard games in 2025 highlighted by a season-high 177 on only 16 totes against eventual College Football Playoff participant Texas A&M. Despite missing two games due to an injury, the Lumberton, Mississippi, native also had six plays from scrimmage of 70-plus yards, including five rushes, last season. His 1,045-yard output puts him third on UTSA’s single-season list.
This marks the second year in a row that UTSA has been represented in the East-West Shrine Bowl, as Joe Evans and Zah Frazier, a fifth-round NFL Draft pick by the Chicago Bears, were invited to last year’s game. David Morgan II (2016) and Joshua Cephus (2024) also have been selected for the East-West Shrine Bowl.
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