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University of Minnesota Athletics
Three Gophers To Play In January Showcase Games
12/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Hendrick Ekpe, Mitch Leidner and Jonah Pirsig have accepted invitations to play in post-collegiate games in January. Ekpe will play in the Tropical Bowl, while Leidner and Pirsig will compete in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.
The Tropical Bowl will be played in mid-January in Daytona Beach, Fla., and will be held at Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium. The 2017 NFLA Collegiate Bowl will be played on Jan. 21, 2017, at the Stub Hub Center in Los Angeles.
Ekpe has played in 48 career games for the Gophers and has made 62 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. He has played his best football in the Maroon and Gold as a senior. This year, he has notched 27 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and forced two fumbles.
Leidner has seen action in 46 career games and has passed for 7,158 yards and also rushed for 1,469 yards. He has thrown for 35 touchdowns and rushed for 33 scores and is the only Minnesota quarterback to reach both of those numbers. In 2016, he has passed for 2,040 yards and seven touchdowns and has also rushed for 340 yards and 10 scores. Leidner and the Gophers averaged 30.3 points this season, which is Minnesota's sixth most productive offense since 1955.
Pirsig has played in 42 games for Minnesota, which includes nine this season. This year he has blocked for an offense that has averaged 30.3 points and one that has rushed for 2,237 yards and 33 scores (most since 2005). In 2015, he protected for an offense that passed for 2,793 yards (most since 2008) and 15 touchdowns (most since 2010). He blocked for an offense in 2014 that rushed for 2,801 yards (most since 2005) and 32 touchdowns.
It was previously announced that Jalen Myrick would play in the East-West Shrine Game.
