Ejiro Ederaine, two other Fresno State football players compete in NFLPA all-star game
Fresno State’s Ejiro Ederaine was among the leading tacklers but his Team American fell to Team National 18-17 on Saturday at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Carson.
Ederaine, an outside linebacker from Corona, had three tackles in the annual showcase for NFL Draft-eligible players, televised on ESPN2 from the StubHub Center. He led Fresno State with 99 tackles this past season.
Bulldogs defensive back Charles Washington had two tackles and running back Marteze Waller, a 1,000-yard rusher in 2015 and one of five in program history to total 3,000 in a career, ran twice for 6 yards.
Missouri kicker Andrew Baggett stole the show, kicking six field goals, including a 22-yarder early in the fourth quarter to lift Team National team to the win.
Baggett’s winner with 13:48 remaining came three plays after Kyle Kragen of Cal recovered Travis Wilson’s fumble on the American 10. For Kragen, it was his third sack of the game.
Mike Martz, a former Fresno State tight end and later a Bulldogs assistant who went on to glory as the offensive guru during the St. Louis Rams’ run to the championship of Super Bowl XXXIV, said his National coaching staff made it a point to showcase how things are done at the professional level.
“A lot of these players will have opportunities in camp whether they’re drafted or as free agents,” Martz said. “What we tried to afford them is the opportunity to see how a week of NFL practice is run. We tried to teach them the skills they'll need if they go to a team. How to handle everything. How to go to a meeting. Where to sit in a meeting.”
Martz coached Team National for the second year in a row; Team American was led by former Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren.
NFLPA Collegiate Bowl
American | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 17 |
National | 0 | 9 | 3 | 6 | — | 18 |
First Quarter
Amer — FG Matics 36, 8:50.
Amer — Green 4 run (Matics kick), 6:00.
Second Quarter
Nat — FG Baggett 42, 14:54.
Nat — FG Baggett 50, 9:21.
Amer — Mickens 12 pass from Rivers (Matics kick), 2:31.
Nat — FG Baggett 42, :44.
Third Quarter
Nat — FG Baggett 39, 3:36.
Fourth Quarter
Nat — FG Baggett 24, 14:12.
Nat — FG Baggett 23, 11:02.
Amer | Nat | |
First downs | 16 | 14 |
Rushes-yards | 28-33 | 31-137 |
Passing | 207 | 115 |
Comp-Att-Int | 21-31-0 | 12-27-1 |
Return Yards | 77 | 55 |
Punts-Avg. | 2-54.5 | 2-39.5 |
Fumbles-Lost | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Penalties-Yards | 6-52 | 4-29 |
Time of Possession | 30:58 | 29:02 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — American, Pressley 5-22, Jackson 4-12, Green 4-6, Waller 2-6, Durham 2-3, Rivers 4-(minus 4), Wilson 5-(minus 5), Woodrum 2-(minus 7). National, Calton Greene 14-55, Wilds 4-39, Wright 7-37, Boykin 3-7, Skov 1-5, Olsen 1-(minus 1), Quinn Johnson 1-(minus 5).
PASSING — American, Rivers 11-17-0-96, Wilson 7-10-0-66, Woodrum 3-3-0-45, team 0-1-0-0. National, Olsen 7-13-0-71, Quinn Johnson 4-11-0-38, Boykin 1-3-1-6.
RECEIVING — American, J.Williams 5-53, Mickens 3-49, Perkins 3-32, McCaffrey 2-29, Jackson 2-13, Durham 1-9, Lewis Fuller 1-9, McKay 1-8, Braunecker 1-3, Green 2-2. National, Louis 3-37, D.Williams 1-22, Price 1-16, Treggs 1-15, Calton Greene 1-10, Skov 1-9, Hemingway 1-7, Thomas 1-0, Wright 2-(minus 1).
This story was originally published January 23, 2016 at 9:01 PM with the headline "Ejiro Ederaine, two other Fresno State football players compete in NFLPA all-star game."