Ben Cox – Former Brownwood Lion, and now former Kansas State Wildcat Matthew McCrane is receiving national attention from NFL scouts after playing in the 2018 East/West Shriners game this past weekend in Florida.

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McCrane’s father Steven, says Matthew is the first player in that game to be inducted into the Shriners organization the week of the game. His induction makes three generations of McCranes in the Shriners, and the fourth generation of Masons.

The Shriners are a fraternal fundraising group, and the game is their largest scale fundraiser benefitting children hospitals across the nation. “The game goes back to 1925” according to Steven, and the group has “helped over 1.3 million children” by providing medical care with no expenses to the patient.

Wayne McCrane, Matthews grandfather, was on the board at the Shriners Children’s Hospital in Houston for 9 years, and Steven worked for the Shriners Burns Institute for 2 years in Galveston.

The players for the Shriners game “visited the Shriners Children’s hospital in Tampa (on) Sunday before the game week started, (and) they were all blown away” says Steven. The slogan of the game is “It’s more than a game” and he said that each of the players realized that it truly wasn’t about them after that visit.

A former soccer player on several youth teams, including the Olympic Development Team, Matthew realized that the only way to take his athletic skills to the next level was to play football. Playing quarterback and wide receiver before filling in for an injured kicker his sophomore year, McCrane then stayed in the position for the rest of his time in Maroon and White.

Currently working to complete his Master’s degree, McCrane is still attending Kansas State and has less than 10 hours left for that degree. While he does plan to turn pro, McCrane does not expect to be selected in the Draft but a mini camp or free-agent deal is more likely.

McCrane has signed with sports agent Rob Roche, who is the agent for famed Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker. Roche was chosen, according to McCranes father, for his knowledge of special teams players as well as his experiences with Tucker.

The NFL Draft happens in April, and if McCrane does not get a call during the event, he should “expect the phone to ring with in an hour” afterwards with an invitation to a camp, according to Steven. Several teams have expressed interest, including the LA Rams and the Denver Broncos.

The Dallas Cowboys national scout even showed interest in McCrane’s workouts before the Shriners game.