This Florida football player got an invite to the Hula Bowl
It was not exactly a spectacular season for Florida football’s defensive unit in 2021, but despite some poor overall performances, there were still some players who stood out for their outstanding efforts. Among those on this year’s Gators squad was defensive tackle Antonio Valentino, who earned an invitation to the Hula Bowl, a once-annual all-star game hosted in UCF’s Bounce House this year.
Valentino came to Florida by way of the transfer portal from Penn State last offseason, where he went by his former surname, Shelton. The 6-foot-3-inch, 312-pound redshirt senior made good use of his final year of eligibility in Gainesville, starting in eight of the 12 games he played in while amassing 23 total tackles — three of them for a loss, including a sack — along with five quarterback hurries. His presence on the defensive line was seen as “stalwart” by the Hula Bowl’s social media team.
The @NFL scouts better be ready for the stalwart interior DL power and instinctive run stopping from @FloridaFootball DT Antonio Valentino @_groovy55. @DraftDiamonds are found at the #HulaBowl @SAGECards @draftguyjimmy @scott_nfl @SEC #GreatToBeAFloridaGator pic.twitter.com/wBcv0c6t0M
— Hula Bowl (@Hula_Bowl) December 22, 2021
This year’s Hula Bowl will be played on Jan. 15, 2022, at the aforementioned Bounce House in Orlando, Florida. The event dates back to 1946 when it was first established, though the inaugural game was not played until Jan. 5, 1947. Originally, the matchup featured a team comprised of college players from the continental United States against a local Hawaiian Islands team. In 1960, it morphed into a collegiate all-star game that would only invite NCAA student-athletes.
The game was played in the Hawaiian islands until 2008 when the series went dormant, then revived again in 2019 — once again in the Pacific archipelago — for a 2020 and 2021 game, before moving to Central Florida for this year’s game. According to the official website, the Hula Bowl plans on remaining in Florida for the foreseeable future, inviting NCAA college football players from all divisions, along with international players from Japan, Canada, Australia, and the UK.
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