SMU WR Proche to play in Shrine Bowl, also named Biletnikoff semifinalist
SMU wide receiver James Proche had a Monday morning loaded with positive news to add to his growing football resume.
On Friday, the East-West Shrine Bowl announced that SMU linebacker/safety Pat Nelson accepted his invitation to play in the 95th rendition of the all-star game featuring some of the nation's top college seniors.
Monday morning, it was announced that one of Nelson's teammates on the offensive side of the ball would be joining him Jan. 18 in St. Petersburg, Florida. The bowl announced that wide receiver James Proche also has accepted an invitation to compete.
Proche has had a memorable senior season for the Mustangs. After SMU's win over East Carolina, a game where he had 14 catches for 167 yards and two touchdowns, he became the all-time leader in career receiving touchdowns with 36, passing Emmanuel Sanders (34 from 2006-09). Proche also has nine straight games with a receiving touchdown, which also is a program record.
Proche leads the nation in receptions with 88, and his 8.8 catch-per-game average also ranks No. 1 in the country. He ranks fourth in the nation in receiving touchdowns with 12, and he's in the top 10 in receiving yards with 1,008.
Proche is on the watch list for the Maxwell Award, Biletnikoff Award, Paul Hornung Award, Touchdown Club of Columbus Award and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award. With at least two games remaining on SMU's schedule -- not including a bowl-game appearance and a possible appearance in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game if the chips fall correctly -- Proche will have a chance to break a few more SMU records.
He has 13 career 100-yard receiving games. Three more would tie him with Sanders for first all-time. Additionally, Proche has 3,732 career receiving yards; he needs 60 yards to pass Sanders for the No. 1 spot in that category.
Proche has 278 career receptions. He needs eight to pass Sanders for the all-time lead. Additionally, Proche, SMU's punt return specialist, has 4,744 career all-purpose yards. He needs 156 total yards to break a record that's stood for more than four decades. Arthur Whittington accumulated 4,899 all-purpose yards from 1974-77.
The East-West Shrine Bowl will take place at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. It is dubbed the nation's longest running college all-star football game, with the first game taking place on Dec. 26, 1925, in San Francisco.
Proche named a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist
Proche's list of accolades grew one more Monday morning, as he was named one of 12 semifinalists for the 2019 Biletnikoff Award. The award recognizes the nation's most outstanding FBS receiver in college football.
Proche joined players like Alabama's Jerry Jeudy and DeVonta Smith, Oklahoma's CeeDee Lamb and LSU's Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson on the list. Semifinalists were selected by the highly distinguished Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee.
The Biletnikoff Award winner will be named live at The Home Depot College Football Awards, televised on ESPN on Dec. 12.