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Another Gator headed to the Hula Bowl

On3 imageby:Keith Niebuhr•01/01/25•

On3Keith

Trikweze-Bridges-Florida-Gators
Florida Gators safety Trikweze Bridges. (Maddie Washburn/UAA Photo)

One more Florida Gators senior football player is headed to the Hula Bowl. Defensive back Trikweze Bridges has officially accepted an invitation to play in the all-star game, the bowl posted Wednesday on X. He will join three teammates —  receivers Elijhah Badger and Chimere Dike, along with running back Montrell Johnson Jr. — in the game.

The Hula Bowl takes place in Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 11 at UCF’s FBC Mortgage Stadium. It features top seniors and will draw scouts from the NFL, UFL and CFL.

Bridges, a transfer from Oregon, appeared in every game this season for the Gator. He started the last seven regular-season contests (three at safety, four at corner). Bridges led the team with 69 tackles (37 solo) while adding 1 tackle-for-loss, 6 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles and 1 interception. In the end, he finished with a 72.1 PFF grade in the regular season.

Bridges then had a tackle and an interception in Florida’s bowl win over Tulane.

The Background on the Hula Bowl

“The Hula Bowl was established in 1946 as the Hula Bowl All-Star Football Classic game. When the inaugural game was played on January 5, 1947, the teams were composed of mainland college players versus a local Hawaiian Islands team; primarily made up of graduates of Leilehua High School in Wahiawa, Hawaii. The teams played a two-game series every January until 1951. It was then, that the format was changed to allow NFL Players to join the Hawaiian All-Stars in an effort to create a more competitive game,” the Hula Bowl site reads.

“Starting in 1960, the Hula Bowl game was established as an All-Star game that would only invite college players from schools across the US. The teams were divided into two teams, one team from those colleges located in the Eastern and Western United States. The teams were then split into “Aina and Kai ” teams, the Hawaiian words for Land and Water.

“Throughout its tenure, the game was historically played at the Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 1998, the mayor of Maui County requested that the Organizers of the Hula have the game moved to the Island of Maui. Beginning that year, the game was held at the War Memorial Stadium in the town of Kahului.

“In 2006, the Hula Bowl was returned back to its historic home on the beautiful island of Oahu. The game remained on Oahu until the 2008 game.

Trikweze Bridges and his Gator teammates are headed to Orlando

“There has been overwhelming support to bring the game to Florida at the UCF FBC Mortgage Stadium in 2022. The community has extended a gracious and warm welcome as the organizers have been planning the games return again in January 2025.

“Following this strongly supported return, the game will be featured in January each year in Florida. This year, the game will include NCAA college football players from all divisions, along with international players from Japan. In addition, the game will always include Polynesian players with historic ties to the Islands.”

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