Wiggins, The Nation Fall to Texas in All-Star Game

[February 04, 2008]  EL PASO, Texas -- Illinois State's Isaiah Wiggins was on the short end of a 41-14 loss in the second annual Texas vs. The Nation All-Star Challenge Saturday night, but the week leading up to the game and the game itself had the Redbird offensive lineman feeling pretty good about his performance.

"I thought I played well tonight," said Wiggins. "I had a real tough day of practice on the first day, but I bounced back and finished strong, including my performance tonight. The first day, it just took me a while getting used to the center position again, getting used to different quarterbacks and playing in the shotgun."

Wiggins logged 30 snaps during the game, all at center, splitting time with Kentucky's Eric Scott.

Wiggins and the team were held scoreless offensively, as both The Nation's touchdowns were the result of special team touchdowns. The Nation was held to 189 yards of total offense, including 65 rushing yards. Of Wiggins' 30 plays on the field, The Nation had 14 rushing plays and 16 passing plays.

Former Southern Illinois quarterback Nick Hill was one of the three quarterbacks Wiggins protected Saturday in the Sun Bowl.

"It was good to play with someone from the Gateway, and it was good to play with and against players from so many different levels," said Wiggins. "Everyone out here is an athlete and everyone is good -- that's something I will take with me. It was a great week, and I learned a lot."

[Text from file received from Todd Kober, assistant athletics director, media relations, Illinois State University]