Kaden Dixon, Beau Perez Were First Selected in 1st Annual Gridiron Football All-American Bowl Game Draft

To start off our coverage of what was a great week, all the players that were participating in the Gridiron Football All-American Bowl Game packed Westdale Middle School to see which team they will be representing. The two teams are Team East and Team West.

Team East, led by head coach CJ Maiden, would be drafted by former LSU quarterback and state championship winning head coach Marcus Randall while Team West, led by head coach Mike Bennett, would be drafted by Gridiron Football CEO Andy Bryson.

Kicking off the draft, Andy Bryson selected Kaden Dixon as his first overall pick. Dixon, who signed with Northern Arizona, had a highly prolific career with the Center Roughriders as he ran for 4,560 yards and 61 touchdowns on 590 carries including 2,200 yards and 33 touchdowns his junior season. At 6’0, 200 pounds, the Center, Texas native has the perfect blend of size and speed as an every down back.

Despite Andy drafting a running back with his number one overall pick, his early picks were defensive heavy as he picked nine defensive players in his next 17 picks including Foster High School (Richmond, TX) DE CJ White, Escambia High School (Pensacola, FL) DB Tadarius Wright, and Escambia High School (Pensacola, FL) DT Ryan McVay within the first five selections.

Meanwhile, on the other hand, you knew that Marcus was going to go offensive heavy as he selected a quarterback with his first team pick and that was Jesuit High School (New Orleans, LA) QB Beau Perez, who has all the physical measurables to be a great quarterback at the next level standing at 6’5, 225 pounds. Marcus also picked four offensive players in his next six selections including Peabody Magnet High School (Alexandria, LA) WR Dartavian Depass, Episcopal High School (Baton Rouge, LA) RB Braeden George, Lake Arthur High School (Lake Arthur, LA) WR Ray Levi, and University Lab High School (Baton Rouge, LA) WR Granville Anderson II.

This would set up a fascinating matchup featuring a strong Team West defensive unit against a strong Team East offensive unit.

It was a fun and entertaining draft as both Andy and Marcus went back and forth on why they drafted the better team, but bragging rights would be played right on the field to see which GM drafted the better team at the end of the week.

After all the players got drafted on the first day, it was time for a nice relaxing evening as players from all over the country including Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Florida, Missouri, and even Canada got to know each other while playing billiards and hanging out at the hotel lobby. Not only the seniors, but the junior high players that were participating in the junior high All-American Bowl Game got the chance to get interviewed by the staff of Gridiron Football, 446 Sports, and John Eads from WAFB about the opportunity to play in this incredible game on Saturday, December 30th.

Watch below to see the whole draft!

To take a look back at a fun first day to kickoff the Gridiron Football All-American Bowl Game Week festivities, take a look at the pictures that were taken by Jason Saucier!