NFL Officiating Development
College all-star games will feature developmental officials scouted by NFL
The invitational bowl schedule continues with the East-West Shrine Bowl on Thursday and the Reese’s Senior Bowl on Saturday.
The invitational bowl schedule continues with the East-West Shrine Bowl on Thursday and the Reese’s Senior Bowl on Saturday. For these games, the NFL officiating department selects officials from its development program to officiate these collegiate all-stars.
The NFL’s Mackie Development Program — renamed two years ago for the late Wayne Mackie who spearheaded development initiatives as a former NFL official and executive — allows college football officials and NFL prospects to get extra training from the NFL and will work in NFL training camps during the summer months.
These invitational bowls are included, as it allows for these prospective new hires to take more snaps under the watchful eye of the NFL officiating department, to potentially move up the pipeline to join the NFL roster. The Hula Bowl was the first invitational bowl played this year on Jan. 13. Following this weekend, one game remains: the Legacy Bowl in New Orleans on Feb. 25.
Below are the crew rosters for each game, including notations for officials who are currently in the MDP, assignments to bowl games or conference championship games this season, and assignment to a spring pro football league in the past 3 years.
Hula Bowl
UCF FBC Mortgage Stadium, Orlando | Jan. 13
| R | Michael Vandervelde ✪ PRO |
|---|---|
| U | William Thomas MDP PRO CC |
| DJ | John Braun ★ |
| LJ | Jeremiah Harris ★ |
| FJ | Raymond Tate III ★ PRO |
| SJ | Larry Smith ★ MDP PRO |
| BJ | Wayne Johnson ★ |
| Alternate | Karina Tovar, Kris Loving |
East-West Shrine Bowl
Ford Center at The Star, Frisco, Texas | Feb. 1, 8 p.m. NFLN
| R | Mark Kluczynski |
|---|---|
| U | Ian Malepaei ★ |
| DJ | Jonathan May ★ |
| LJ | Jeff Hutcheon ★ |
| FJ | Krystle Apellaniz |
| SJ | Gabriel DeLeon ✪ MDP PRO |
| BJ | Courtney Brown ★ MDP |
| Alternate | Antony Little, Robert Richeson |
Senior Bowl
Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, Ala. | Feb. 3, 1 p.m. NFLN
| R | Scott Walker ★ |
|---|---|
| U | Brad Hudak ✪ PRO |
| DJ | Brian Perry MDP PRO CC |
| LJ | Derek Anderson ✪ MDP PRO CC |
| FJ | Karina Tovar ★ MDP PRO |
| SJ | Justin Larrew ✪ MDP PRO |
| BJ | Justin Staehr PRO CC |
| Alternate | Josh Aragon, Jeremy Epps |
HBCU Legacy Bowl
Yulman Stadium, New Orleans | Feb. 24, 4 p.m. NFLN
| R | Art Brown ★ |
|---|---|
| U | Sarah Fleming |
| DJ | Monique Washington PRO |
| LJ | Kristopher Loving Sr. ★ |
| FJ | Antonio Smith ★ CC |
| SJ | Jonathan Bullock ★ |
| BJ | Gregory Rattler Jr. CC |
| Alternate | David Lofton, Joseph Martinez |
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Anonymous
February 2, 2024 at 12:58 pm
A quick google of Sarah Fleming shows that she was doing high school in 2022. I’m not sure what standards NFL ref scouts are using, but if this is the same person as I googled I’m suspicious that there are other motives behind this inclusion.
phil griffin
February 19, 2024 at 6:28 am
outstanding job, last year by your staff.