ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

We've had the East-West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl.

But we're still not through with college all-star games yet. The Texas vs. the Nation All-Star game Saturday in El Paso will showcase many Big 12 players who can help their draft cause with a big performance.

Most of the players at the El Paso game are ticketed as second-day draft choices or potential free agents. That's why strong efforts in workouts this week or in Saturday's game can help their cause so much.

Thirteen Big 12 players are set to participate in the game, which will be telecast on the CBS College Sports Network beginning at 3 p.m. ET and also be available online.

Organizers have grouped all of the Big 12 players on the Texas roster. Here's a look at those players who will be playing, with their uniform numbers in the game in parenthesis.

Texas roster -- Texas RB Chris Ogbonnaya (No. 3), Texas A&M CB Danny Gorrer (No. 4), Missouri QB Chase Patton (No. 14), Texas A&M P Justin Brantly (No. 16), Texas DE Henry Melton (No. 37), Kansas LB James Holt (No. 42), Nebraska LB Cody Glenn (No. 43), Texas LB Rashad Bobino (No. 44), Texas A&M DE Cyril Obizor (No. 49), Missouri T Colin Brown (No. 61), Nebraska T Lydon Murtha (No. 76), Nebraska DT Zach Potter (No. 98), Kansas State DE Ian Campbell (No. 99).

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

After struggling through a disappointing 4-8 season that was Texas A&M's worst since 2003, coach Mike Sherman has redoubled efforts in his first full recruiting season with the Aggies.

Sherman has seen some strong results with increased athleticism from several top early commitments, most notably breakaway running back Christine Michael from Beaumont, Texas -- the program's first five-star recruit at the position in the past decade.

Michael's arrival is important as the Aggies lose Jorvorskie Lane and Mike Goodson opted to declare for the NFL draft as a junior. The Aggies have little experience at the position as sophomores-to-be Cyrus Gray and Bradley Stephens and Keondra Smith will likely be battling Michael for immediate playing time. Any improvement would be noticeable after the Aggies ranked 114th nationally in rushing last season.

The Aggies' passing game looks in good shape with the return of quarterback Jerrod Johnson, freshman receiver Jeff Fuller and redshirt freshman receiver Ryan Tannehill. There's a need for an upgrade in the offensive line considering last season's struggles and the fact that starting tackle Michael Shumard, starting guard Lee Grimes and starting center Kevin Matthews all will be seniors in 2009.

The defensive line will take a hit as starting defensive ends Michael Bennett and Cyril Obizor and top substitute Amos Gbunblee all were seniors last season. But the development of freshman tackles Eddie Brown and Tony Jerod-Eddie will make the need less immediate inside.

An upgrade is also needed in the secondary after the Aggies lost starting cornerback Arkeith Brown and rover Devin Gregg and the top two substitutes at the position as seniors. And it behooves the Aggies to develop some young players quickly with starting cornerback Jordan Pugh and starting free safety Jordan Peterson both entering their senior seasons in 2009.

The Aggies ranked no better than 108th in any of the four major defensive statistical categories as they finished with losses to all of their South Division rivals for the first time in school history. So an immediate upgrade of defensive talent is mandatory after those struggles.