FRISCO, Texas (JMU Athletics) – Former James Madison wide receiver Nick DeGennaro has been selected to the East-West Shrine Bowl, which will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 27 from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
The game, now in its 101st installment and benefiting Shriners Children’s, will kick off at 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast nationally on NFL Network.
DeGennaro will play for the East Team and wear #18.
This past season, DeGennaro started 13 of 14 games at receiver for the Dukes. He made 28 receptions for 500 yards with five touchdowns, averaging 17.9 yards per catch. He also had a 50-yard completion and a five-yard rush on the year.
DeGennaro turned in a pair of 100-yard, two-touchdown receiving performances in 2025, which included 106 yards versus Old Dominion and 101 yards at Texas State. The latter game was highlighted by a career-long, 76-yard touchdown grab.
In his final collegiate game, DeGennaro had a season high in catches and total yards while producing JMU’s first touchdown in a College Football Playoff game. He finished the outing at Oregon with five catches for 90 yards while completing a 50-yard pass and rushing for five more to tally 145 yards.
DeGennaro transferred to JMU for the 2025 season from Richmond (2022-24) and Maryland (2020-21), capping his college career with 193 receptions for 2,544 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns in 56 career outings.
He becomes just the fifth player in JMU history to play in the East-West Shrine Bowl, joining Jamree Kromah (2023), Jimmy Moreland (2018), Dean Marlowe (2014) and Earl Watford (2012). In each instance those players would go on to play in the NFL.
— JMU Athletics —
