HONOLULU - For the second time in as many weeks, former Northwest and Kentucky cornerback Brandin Echols has been invited to another college football showcase.

Late Thursday afternoon, the Hula Bowl announced on its social media that it has extended an invitation to Echols to compete in the annual all-star game, scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 31 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.

Echols was previously invited to the East-West Shrine Bowl, which will take place through a series of virtual workouts for NFL scouts.

A native of Southaven, Echols played in all 10 of Kentucky's games this fall, tallying 47 total tackles, two tackles-for-loss and two pass breakups. His career stats with the Wildcats include 101 total tackles, 11 passes defended, 4.5 tackles-for-loss, two forced fumbles and a sack. 

Echols was also named to the Reese's Senior Bowl Top 250 before the start of the 2020 season, joining former Northwest teammate and Ole Miss defensive lineman Tariqious Tisdale.

Prior to his time in Lexington, Echols was part of a strong secondary unit at Northwest from 2017-18 and boasted first team All-MACJC and All-Region 23 honors, before earning second team NJCAA All-American accolades in 2018. He posted 83 total tackles during his two seasons in Senatobia, along with 17 pass breakups and nine interceptions.

Echols was one of many Northwest defensive backs to sign or walk-on at the Division I level, a list that includes former teammates Joshua Norwood (West Virginia), Marlon Character, Jr. (Louisville), Jerrick Reed II (New Mexico), Devin Rockette (South Alabama), Malik Sanders (UMass/Mississippi State) and Chris Stamps (Middle Tennessee).

The Hula Bowl was started in 1946 and this year's event will include NCAA players from all divisions, along with international players from Japan, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. In addition, the game also includes Polynesian players with historic ties to the Hawaiian Islands.