Cowboys’ Lunda Wells, Aaron Whitecotton to coach in 101st East-West Shrine Bowl

The Dallas Cowboys will be front and center at the 101st edition of the East-West Shrine Bowl.

Cowboys tight ends coach Lunda Wells has been selected to serve as the West team’s head coach for the all-star showcase on Jan. 27, and joining Wells will be Cowboys defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton, who recently interviewed for the team’s vacant defensive coordinator position, and will serve in that role for the East team.

For the Cowboys, Wells and Whitecotton’s involvement offers a unique advantage, a chance to work closely with prospects throughout the week, build relationships, and get an early feel for how certain players learn, compete, and carry themselves in an NFL environment.

Dallas has dipped into the Shrine Bowl pool recently, selecting TE Luke Schoonmaker (2023) and WR Ryan Flournoy (2024) after both participated in the event.

Adding in Cowboys history to the week, former Dallas fullback Daryl “Moose” Johnston, who played in the event in 1989, is set to be inducted into the East-West Shrine Bowl Hall of Fame in early 2026.

“It was a huge confidence boost, it was one of the bigger opportunities I had coming out of Syracuse and getting into the NFL … I’ll always be indebted to the opportunity that was provided to me to be part of the East-West Shrine game,” Johnston said. “The questions NFL scouts had about me being a fullback, I was given a platform and a game to ease those concerns, and it was a tremendous experience.”

The East-West Shrine Bowl is one of the longest-running college football all-star games in the country, bringing together top draft-eligible seniors for a week of practices, meetings, and game action in front of NFL scouts, coaches, and front-office decision-makers. It’s a major evaluation stop on the road to the NFL Draft, and it also supports the mission of Shriners Children’s, with events centered around giving back and community impact.

“I think it’s what makes it such a special game, because it’s not just about football, it’s about these amazing young kids who are fighting things on a daily basis,” Johnston said. “I think it’s been a huge connection between those two platforms; it really ties it all together.”

The 2026 East-West Shrine Bowl is scheduled for Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, kicking off at 6 p.m. CT and airing on NFL Network.

Here is a look at the players for the West roster.

FIRST	LAST	POS	COLLEGE	JERSEY
Skyler	Bell	WR	Connecticut	1
Dontay	Corleone	IDL	Cincinnati	2
Ahmari	Harvey	CB	Georgia Tech	3
Malik	Benson	WR	Oregon	4
Tyreek	Chappell	CB	Texas A&M	7
Seydou	Traore	TE	Mississippi State	8
Jeff	Caldwell	WR	Cincinnati	9
Haynes	King	QB	Georgia Tech	10
Mark	Gronowski	QB	Iowa	11
Joe	Fagnano	QB	Connecticut	12
Eric	Rivers	WR	Georgia Tech	13
Miller	Moss	QB	Louisville	14
Ceyair	Wright	CB	Nebraska	15
Albert	Regis	IDL	Texas A&M	17
Eric	Gentry	LB	USC	18
Tommy	Doman	P	Florida	19
Miles	Scott	SAF	Illinois	20
Kaden	Wetjen	WR	Iowa	21
CJ	Donaldson	RB	Ohio State	22
Roman	Hemby	RB	Indiana	24
Demond	Claiborne	RB	Wake Forest	25
Domani	Jackson	CB	Alabama	26
Louis	Moore	SAF	Indiana	27
Trey	Smack	K	Florida	29
Ahmaad	Moses	SAF	SMU	30
Wesley	Bissainthe	LB	Miami (FL)	31
Jalen	Huskey	SAF	Maryland	32
Robert	Spears-Jennings	SAF	Oklahoma	33
George	Gumbs Jr	EDGE	Florida	34
Jimmy	Rolder	LB	Michigan	35
Jaylon	Guilbeau	CB	Texas	36
Riley	Nowakowski	FB	Indiana	37
Jackson	Kuwatch	LB	Miami (OH)	38
Austin	Brown	SAF	Wisconsin	39
Jake	Golday	LB	Cincinnati	41
Karson	Sharar	LB	Iowa	43
Dean	Connors	RB	Houston	44
Kaleb	Proctor	IDL	Southeastern Louisiana	48
Tyler	Duzansky	LS	Penn State	49
Malachi	Lawrence	EDGE	UCF	51
Brian	Parker II	IOL	Duke	53
Febechi	Nwaiwu	IOL	Oklahoma	54
Ar’maj	Reed-Adams	IOL	Texas A&M	55
Keyshawn	James-Newby	EDGE	New Mexico	56
Evan	Beerntsen	IOL	Northwestern	60
Riley	Mahlman	OT	Wisconsin	71
Garrett	DiGiorgio	OT	UCLA	72
Anez	Cooper	IOL	Miami (FL)	73
James	Neal III	OT	Iowa State	75
Pat	Coogan	IOL	Indiana	78
Fa’alili	Fa’amoe	OT	Wake Forest	79
Bauer	Sharp	TE	LSU	80
Emmanuel	Henderson Jr	WR	Kansas	81
Jaren	Kanak	TE	Oklahoma	82
Chase	Roberts	WR	BYU	88
J.Michael	Sturdivant	WR	Florida	89
James	Thompson Jr	IDL	Illinois	90
Aidan	Hubbard	EDGE	Northwestern	91
Ethan	Burke	EDGE	Texas	92
Tyreak	Sapp	EDGE	Florida	94
David	Gusta	IDL	Kentucky	95
Tyler	Onyedim	IDL	Texas A&M	96
David	Blay	IDL	Miami (FL)	98
Nyjalik	Kelly	EDGE	UCF	99

Here is a look at the players for the East roster.

FIRST	LAST	POS	COLLEGE	JERSEY
Zavion	Thomas	WR	LSU	0
Cade	Klubnik	QB	Clemson	2
Robert	Henry Jr	RB	UTSA	3
Avery	Smith	CB	Toledo	4
Cole	Wisniewski	SAF	Texas Tech	5
Darrell	Jackson Jr	IDL	Florida State	6
Harold	Perkins Jr	LB	LSU	7
Lander	Barton	LB	Utah	8
Eli	Raridon	TE	Notre Dame	9
Behren	Morton	QB	Texas Tech	10
Jarod	Washington	CB	South Carolina State	12
Chris	Hilton	WR	LSU	13
Chip	Trayanum	RB	Toledo	14
Anthony	Lucas	EDGE	USC	16
Kendrick	Law	WR	Kentucky	18
DeMonte	Capehart	IDL	Clemson	19
DeVonta	Smith	CB	Notre Dame	20
DQ	Smith	SAF	South Carolina	21
Mason	Reiger	EDGE	Wisconsin	22
Kentrel	Bullock	RB	South Alabama	23
Myles	Rowser	SAF	Arizona State	24
Brent	Austin	CB	California	25
Garrison	Grimes	LS	BYU	26
Devon	Marshall	CB	NC State	27
Eli	Heidenreich	RB	Navy	28
Marcus	Allen	CB	North Carolina	29
Andre	Fuller	CB	Toledo	30
Taurean	York	LB	Texas A&M	31
Jaden	Dugger	LB	Louisiana	32
West	Weeks	LB	LSU	33
Jalen	Walthall	WR	Incarnate Word	36
Bishop	Fitzgerald	SAF	USC	39
Jack	Stonehouse	P	Syracuse	41
Red	Murdock	LB	Buffalo	42
Dalton	Johnson	SAF	Arizona	43
Brandon	Cleveland	IDL	NC State	44
Bryan	Thomas Jr	EDGE	South Carolina	46
Max	Bredeson	FB	Michigan	48
Pete	Nygra	IOL	Louisville	50
DJ	Campbell	IOL	Texas	51
Dillon	Wade	IOL	Auburn	52
Micah	Morris	IOL	Georgia	56
Giovanni	El-Hadi	IOL	Michigan	58
Aamil	Wagner	OT	Notre Dame	59
Chris	Adams	OT	Memphis	60
Diego	Pounds	OT	Ole Miss	61
Jager	Burton	IOL	Kentucky	62
Jayden	Williams	OT	Ole Miss	70
Travis	Burke	OT	Memphis	78
Keagen	Trost	OT	Missouri	79
Colbie	Young	WR	Georgia	81
Jack	Endries	TE	Texas	84
Dillon	Bell	WR	Georgia	86
Lake	McRee	TE	USC	87
De’Zhaun	Stribling	WR	Ole Miss	88
Dallen	Bentley	TE	Utah	89
Jackie	Marshall	IDL	Baylor	90
Marvin	Jones Jr	EDGE	Oklahoma	94
Dominic	Zvada	K	Michigan	95
Landon	Robinson	IDL	Navy	96
Wesley	Williams	EDGE	Duke	97
Gary	Smith III	IDL	UCLA	98
Patrick	Payton	EDGE	LSU	99