With 13 interceptions as a defensive back at Riverside the last two seasons, Deven Frilling has opened a lot of eyes with his play.
He hopes to open even more eyes Monday when he participates in the Blue- Grey All-American Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
The game begins at 1 p.m. inside the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It can be streamed on ESPN3.
“I just want to go down there and ball out,” said Frilling, who will play safety for the North team. “I don’t have a lot of college offers right now, so hopefully I can get some exposure and get some more offers.”
The Blue-Grey All-American Bowl was first played in 2013. It has included numerous players that have went on to play in the NFL, including the Kansas City Chiefs’ Byron Pringle and the Jacksonville Jaguars’ James Robinson.
There are now three Blue-Grey games, with Monday’s being the last of the three this year. The others were played Dec. 20 and Jan. 10, both at the the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium.
“This is a cool opportunity for Deven and we are proud of everything he has accomplished,” said Riverside head football coach Bryce Hodge. “He was four-year varsity letter winner for us and this is a result of all of his hard work and dedication to the game of football.”
In order to be selected for the game, players must attend tryout events. Frilling competed at a combine last summer in the Cincinnati Bengals’ Paul Brown Stadium. Based on his performance, he was then invited to play in the All- American Bowl.
For those playing in one of the Blue-Grey games, they must pay for travel expenses and some other game fees, but they get the opportunity to play in an NFL stadium and can test themselves against players from around the country.
“I am looking forward to going against some other really good players,” said Frilling. “I come from a Division VII school, so I want to show I can compete with kids from bigger schools. It’s a great opportunity for me.”
Frilling made an impact at Riverside from day one. He was a four-year varsity performer and stood out on both sides of the ball.
He earned first-team all-league and alldistrict defensive honors as a junior and senior.
As a junior, Frilling picked off eight passes en route to being named first-team Division VII all-Ohio.
This past fall, Frilling grabbed five more interceptions as he repeated as a first-team all-state pick.
In addition to his play on defense, Frilling was a big part of the Pirates’ offense.
He was a second-team Three Rivers Conference selection on offense as a wide receiver this fall with 36 catches for 561 yards and four touchdowns.
“Deven is a special kid and a special football player,” said Hodge. “He never came off the field. He was so important to both our offense and defense that we couldn’t afford to take him off the field.”
With his help, Riverside advanced to the regional semifinals the last two years. While Frilling hopes to continue his success on the gridiron at the college level, he said he will always hold fond memories of playing for the Pirates.
“It’s been great,” he said. “The community was behind us the whole time and we always had great support. I am definitely going to miss playing for Riverside.”