Adam Zagoria
Special to Rivals High

The two former Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks will coach against each another June 7 in the New Jersey vs. Northeast All-Star Classic at Rutgers Stadium. Simms will coach the New Jersey team and Theismann the Northeast. The game will be broadcast live on the Fox affiliate in New Jersey.

"It's going to be fun just having a chance to coach against somebody you respect and appreciate so much," said Theismann, a native of South River, N.J., who now resides in Virginia. "[Simms] has me on Jersey tenure, so that's how he wound up [coaching] the Jersey guys."

Added Simms: "The problem with Joe coaching the football team is that he'll want to play. He still thinks he can do it. I know I can't, so I'm going to coach."

This is the 12th year of this event, which was previously known as the Governor's Bowl and later the New York-New Jersey All-Star Classic. The game features 45 of the top players from each state.

Because the Garden State players won the last three games, and eight of the first 11, executive director Marty Yudichak overhauled the matchup to feature New Jersey players against those from a number of other states.

"The last 11 years we've played New York," Yudichak said. "However, we felt we had this opportunity to expand the game after 11 years into New Jersey vs. the Northeast. This year in 2008-09, New Jersey is tracking to have over 80 Division I football players. And with that being said, we embarked on this new broader format."

Yudichak bumped into Simms, the MVP of Super Bowl XXI, at Parisi's Speed School in New Jersey several months ago. Simms, 53, attended last year's game and the two began talking about how Simms might become involved in this year's event.

Once Simms was on board, Yudichak looked for someone else to match his star power. Theismann, 59, said he was "honored" to be a part of it.

Both former quarterbacks want to see a wide-open, offensive-oriented game.

"You look at teams like Florida, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, the way they throw the football around, we've entered an era of football at all levels where the game has opened itself up tremendously," Theismann said. "You've got big runs because everybody's playing pass. You've got big passes because you've got wonderful skilled-position athletes."

Theismann said he's excited about coaching in the event because he never played in any all-star games when he was in high school.

"I'm a product of the New Jersey high school football system, and I'm ever thankful for the teachings that I had at the high school level and the effort and the time the coaches put in," said Theismann, who played in Rutgers Stadium during his high school years. "But it's nice that we expand it a little bit so that other coaches that do the same thing will be recognized."

Yudichak said each coach would have 10 assistants, with six coming from a local pool of high school coaches and four being chosen by the head coaches.

"Phil already has his coaches picked out," Theismann joked. "He's forced me to start an early search for my coaching staff."

Said Yudichak: "When you have the opportunity to go coach with Joe Theismann and Phil Simms, when I tell people that, they're like, 'When do I need to be there? How do I get on that staff?' "

Theismann sees the game as a chance for elite players to not only test themselves against top competition but also to make lasting friendships.

"It's not just learning about Xs and Os," Theismann said. "It's learning about how someone else prepares. It's learning about a different type of a system. It's learning about comprehension. It's learning about teammates. I guarantee you, once these young men play in this game, there will be friendships created that will carry well past this game and well past their college careers."

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