SENATOBIA – In what has become a usual routine for the holiday season, this year's 2019-20 Football Bowl Subdivision slate of bowl games will feature 13 former Northwest football standouts.

First up is former Ranger receiver and current Kent State student-athlete Keshunn Abram, who will compete with the Golden Flashes in the Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl on Friday, Dec. 20 against Utah State. The battle will be televised on ESPN2 at 6:30 p.m. Central time.

Abram (Southaven, Miss./DeSoto Central HS) has played in eight games this season for Kent State (6-6, 5-3 MAC), reeling in eight receptions for 97 yards and a touchdown. His best outing came against Bowling Green on Sept. 21, where he finished with four catches for 76 yards and his only touchdown of the season. 

Former Ranger defensive tackle Devonte Lloyd will get his chance to shine on Saturday, Dec. 21 in the Cure Bowl, as Liberty University (7-5) will face Georgia Southern in Orlando. The game will be shown at 1:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.

Lloyd (Meridian, Miss./Meridian HS) has played in four games for the Flames this season, a program that is led by Tate County native and former Northwest baseball student-athlete Hugh Freeze (1989-90).

After helping Memphis to the 2019 AAC championship, redshirt junior linebacker Keith Brown Jr. and the 17th-ranked Tigers are set to take on No. 10 Penn State in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on Saturday, Dec. 28 in Arlington, Texas. The game will kickoff at 11 a.m. on ESPN from AT&T Stadium.

Splitting time on defense and special teams, Brown (Madison, Miss./Madison Central HS) has played in all 12 games this season, returning five kicks for 37 yards and compiling six tackles with a quarterback hurry. The former MACJC and NJCAA All-Academic honoree missed all of the 2018 season due to injury.

Another former Ranger will get his shot at leading his team to a national title, as former two-time NJCAA All-American offensive lineman Damien Lewis will guide his top-ranked LSU Tigers against No. 4 Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 28. Hosted by Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the game is scheduled for a tentative 3 or 7 p.m. timeslot on ESPN. Should LSU win, the Tigers would face off against the winner of #2 Ohio State and third-ranked Clemson for the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, Jan. 13 in New Orleans.

Lewis (Canton, Miss./Canton HS) has been lauded throughout his career in Baton Rouge as a staple of the Tigers' offensive line, starting in all 26 games over the last two seasons at offensive guard. Recently, Lewis helped LSU (12-0) to a dominant 50-7 victory against Georgia in the 2019 SEC Championship game and was named as a first team All-SEC offensive lineman by SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic.

Monday, Dec. 30 will feature three former Rangers facing off against each other in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl in Nashville. Receiver JaVonta Payton and offensive lineman Matt Stanic will take the field for Mississippi State (6-6, 3-5 SEC), while defensive back Marlon Character, Jr. lines up on the opposite sideline for Louisville (7-5, 5-3 ACC). The game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. kickoff on ESPN.

Formerly regarded as the top-ranked receiver in the NJCAA for 2018, Payton (Nashville, Tenn./Hillsboro HS) has played in all 12 games this season, accounting for 108 yards on seven receptions and three kick returns for 56 yards. Payton has also accrued stats on the defensive side of the ball, totaling 13 tackles on the year. 

After seeing action in 11 games last season, Character (Atlanta, Ga./Grady HS) has compiled 26 total tackles, a sack and a pass breakup. His best performance of the season came in a Nov. 23 victory against Syracuse, where he finished with 10 total tackles. 

New Year's Eve will feature a trio of Rangers in bowl games, starting with Kentucky defensive back Brandin Echols in the Belk Bowl against Virginia Tech. Set for an 11 a.m. kickoff from Charlotte, the game will be shown on ESPN.

A former NJCAA Second Team All-American, Echols (Southaven, Miss./Southaven HS) has found a home in the Wildcats' (7-5, 3-5 SEC) starting lineup, collecting 52 total tackles , nine PBU, 2.5 TFLs, two forced fumbles and a sack. His breakout effort came in a loss at Mississippi State on Sept. 21, where he totaled 10 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.

At 1 p.m. Central, linebacker Adonis Thomas (Atlanta, Ga./Central Gwinnett HS) and the Florida State Seminoles (6-6, 4-4 ACC) will take on Arizona State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl in El Paso. The matchup will be televised on CBS. Thomas has seen limited action in 2019 with three tackles in seven games.

Georgia State (7-5, 4-4 Sun Belt) defensive lineman Tahji Gilbert will lead his team in the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl against Wyoming at 3:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. Gilbert (Morton, Miss./Morton HS) has seen increased playing time late in the season, competing in four games with a tackle recorded in matchups against ULM and Georgia Southern.

Closing out the list of bowl-bound Rangers is quarterback Jack Abraham, tailback Kevin Perkins and receiver Demarcus Jones, who will lead Southern Miss (7-5, 5-3 C-USA) into the Lockeed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Saturday, Jan. 4 against Tulane. The game is set for a 10:30 a.m. kickoff in Fort Worth on ESPN.

As one of the top passers in the nation last season with a 79.3 completion percentage, Abraham (Oxford, Miss./Oxford HS) has continued to light up the Golden Eagles' offense, despite battling injury over the last month. Abraham has completed 258 of his 382 passing attempts, yielding 3,329 yards and 18 touchdowns. The redshirt junior had his best performance in a 47-42 victory against Troy on Sept. 14 with 463 passing yards, following that effort up with three passing touchdowns against UTEP and North Texas in back-to-back weeks. 

After appearing in eight games for 179 rushing yards in 2018, Perkins (Tunica, Miss./Rosa Fort HS) has emerged as one of the primary backfield options for USM as a redshirt junior, rushing for 548 yards and three touchdowns on 102 attempts. Against UAB on Nov. 9, Perkins tallied a season-best 94 yards which included a 79-yard rush.

Despite seeing limited action this season, Jones (Vicksburg, Miss./Warren Central HS) has played in three games for USM, earning a solo tackle against Rice on Oct. 26.

Although USM's opponent, Tulane, doesn't feature any current Northwest players, the Green Wave are led by offensive coordinator and former Northwest quarterback Will Hall. A native of Amory, Miss., Hall was a two-time NJCAA All-American in 1999 and 2000 under legendary head coach Bobby Franklin and continues to hold numerous passing records, including most passing yards in a season (3,982; 2000), most passing yards in a game (602/514 vs. EMCC/Holmes; 2000), most passing touchdowns in a season (48; 2000) and most passing touchdowns in a game (nine vs. EMCC; 2000).