Nary a player in Saturday’s Native American All-Star football game is likely to suit up for Haskell Indian Nations University this fall.

Next fall, though, could be another story.

“The game happens so late,” third-year HINU coach Eric Brock said, “that most of them have already decided where they’re going, but we do get some bounce-backs.”

Bounce-backs?

“We get a lot of kids who go off to college,” Brock said, “and then come in here a year later because the money wasn’t right or whatever. I call them bounce-backs.”

Brock said a couple of players who had participated in the first Native American All-Star football game in 2002 took redshirts for HINU last season.

Kickoff for the third annual game, pitting graduated high school seniors from the East and West, will be at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Haskell Stadium.

The selected players are scheduled to report this morning, then head for the practice fields this afternoon and evening. Sessions are scheduled for 2 and 7 p.m.

Carl Madison, a retired high school coach from Florida, will coach the West team for the third straight year. Madison’s teams won the first two games, also played at Haskell Stadium.

This year’s East coach was supposed to be Perry Beaver of Jenks (Okla.) High, but Beaver underwent quadruple bypass surgery three weeks ago and has been replaced by Antoine Jimmerson of Tulsa Washington High.

Three-a-day practice sessions are on tap for Wednesday and Thursday. Then Friday, the all-stars will work out in the morning and afternoon with a pregame dinner on tap Friday night.

In conjunction with the Native American All-Star game, Brock has announced the Fightin’ Indians’ 2004 schedule.

After playing nine games during each of Brock’s first two seasons, Haskell has expanded its slate to 11 games. The Indians, who compiled a 3-6 record in 2003, will open Aug. 28 at Waldorf, Iowa, College.

HINU will have six home games, starting with Trinity Bible College on Sept. 4. The Indians are a member of the Central States Football League, which has expanded to eight teams with the addition of Southern Nazarene and Texas College, a first-year school located in Tyler, Texas.

Homecoming will be Sept. 25 against Bacone College.