Lindstrom, Sebastian Accept Invitations to Play in East-West Shrine Bowl
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)
Publisher
First it was center Alec Lindstrom. Then it was cornerback Brandon Sebastian.
Both accepted invitations to play in the 2022 East-West Shrine Bowl, which is back after a one-year COVID-19 hiatus and will take place on Feb. 3 in Las Vegas.
The East-West Shrine Bowl is the longest-running pre-draft all-star game in the country. It’s in its 97th year, and, like the Senior Bowl, gives NFL prospects one last chance to showcase their play in a game atmosphere before the draft process really gets underway.
Lindstrom is rated as the fifth-best center among 2022 NFL prospects, according to ESPN Draft Analyst Todd McShay. His longtime colleague, Mel Kiper Jr., on the other hand, has the veteran center ninth on his position rankings list.
Regardless, Lindstrom was named a Rimington Trophy finalist as well as a second-team AP All-American, not to mention that he became just the fifth Eagle to earn multiple All-ACC first-team honors. It’s pretty good company. The others are quarterback Matt Ryan, offensive tackle Anthony Castanzo, linebacker Luke Kuechly and running back AJ Dillon.
Although he was penalized four times and botched a few snaps, most notably mistiming a shotgun delivery at Clemson that resulted in a game-ending fumble, Lindstrom did post his highest Pro Football Focus offensive grade (73.4) of his Eagles career in 2021. His PFF pass blocking grade (86.4) was tied for sixth among all centers as he allowed only one sack and seven pressures.
Sebastian was a fourth-year starter at cornerback this season. And, despite missing three games with a knee injury that he suffered at Louisville, he was tied for first in the ACC with four picks. That comes a year after he was tied for 12th nationally in passes defended (11).
Sebastian has had a handful of highlight-reel plays during his illustrious BC career. The first was a game-changing interception in the second half at Virginia Tech when he was a redshirt freshman that helped the Eagles ascend to No. 17 in the AP Poll and lock up “College GameDay” for the first time since 2009. Last year, he took a Travis Etienne fumble 97 yards to the house at then-No. 1 Clemson, staking BC to a 21-7 lead. Then, this season, he made the game-sealing pick in overtime against Missouri.
Shortly after coming down with the interception, Sebastian dropped the football and pointed to his forearm, where he wears his “Jordan Strong” wristband to honor his oldest brother Jordan, who died from colon cancer at the age of 24 in October 2017.
While Sebastian’s PFF defensive grades have gone down over the years, he turned in his most impressive season by some metrics in 2021. For instance, he allowed just one passing touchdown (previous career low was four in 2019) and was penalized once (previous career low was eight penalties in 2018 and 2020).
Sebastian gave up 20 receptions on 36 targets this year, yielding a reception percentage of 55.6%, according to PFF.
The West Haven, Connecticut, native is not listed in the top 10 of either McShay or Kiper’s position rankings.
Sebastian received All-ACC honors for the first time in his Eagles career this year, making the third team.
