Iowa EDGE Accepts First Invitation To East-West Shrine Bowl

After spending all four years with the Iowa Hawkeyes, Iowa native Max Llewellyn accepted his invite to the East-West Shrine Bowl. A few of his teammates have accepted invites to the Panini Senior Bowl, but Llewellyn is the first to represent Iowa in this one.

The Hawkeyes loved having a strong EDGE rusher around for four seasons. While he was relatively quiet in his first two seasons, he had huge years in 2024-25. 11.5 of his 14 career sacks came in his junior and senior seasons.

Coming off a career year with 23 total tackles and six sacks, Llewellyn knew accepting this invite could help get him to the next level. Come January 27, Hawkeyes fans will have a chance to watch Llewellyn, and hopefully more of their own compete in Frisco, TX.

What is The East-West Shrine Bowl?

Invitation Accepted@HawkeyeFootball Edge Max Llewellyn (@maxllewellyn34) is East-West Shrine Bowl bound! ⭐️#Hawkeyes | #ShrineBowlWHOSNEXT 😎 pic.twitter.com/5ixSmg6y8L
— East-West Shrine Bowl (@ShrineBowl) December 15, 2025

For those who haven't heard of this "Bowl Game", it's no joke. The best of the best have had a chance to play in this game including the likes of Tom Brady, John Elway, and Eddie George.

Ultimately, their social media account perfectly explains the importance of this game, "The East-West Shrine Bowl is the longest running college all-star football game in the nation. The event gives top college players a chance to showcase their talents to NFL scouts and a national television audience."

For any Iowa fans in the Texas area, tickets start at just $26. It's the perfect chance to hopefully not only see a few Hawkeyes in action, but potentially a few players that are going to make it big at the next level.

Max Llewellyn's Push For The NFL Draft

Max Llewellyn: the play of a lifetime
Kaleb Johnson: can't quite clear John Nestor pic.twitter.com/fBVut4AJqB
— Mitch Fick (@MCFick) November 30, 2024

With 61 career total tackles, Llewellyn knows he has a chance to make it to the NFL. He's consistently been one of the most talked about players on this Hawkeyes defense. Eight of his nine pass deflections came in these past two seasons as he also forced three fumbles in that span.

Just over 60% of Llewellyn's career tackles are solo. In fact, he had 27 solo tackles in these past two seasons which is more than the number of assisted tackles he's had in all four years with the Hawkeyes.

While Llewellyn is only the first Iowa player to be invited, one would have to assume more are on their way. Whether it's this game of the Panini Senior Bowl, it's great to see so many Hawkeyes being represented in the national spotlight.

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