Wisconsin Football: Natrell Jamerson shines in East-West Shrine Game
Wisconsin football senior safety Natrell Jamerson was awarded the defensive most valuable player award in Saturday’s East-West Shrine Game.
The Wisconsin Badgers’ 2017 season had one final exclamation point on Saturday as three seniors suited up in Wisconsin gear one last time as they took part of the annual and 93rd edition of the college football East-West Shrine Game in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The West team, full of Badgers on defense in safety Natrell Jamerson and linebackers Alec James and Leon Jacobs, took home the win after a late touchdown put the West on top and gave them a 14-10 victory over the East
With just three total touchdowns in the game, one came on the defensive side as Jamerson took a ball fumbled by Big Ten rival quarterback and Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett of the East back 68 yards for a touchdown.
As the East drove down the field, Barrett was hit on a third and short play, causing the ball to bounce backwards and into the hands of Jamerson, who scooped and ran back for the score. During the run back, a cool Badgers moment was had as Jamerson was escorted to the end zone by fellow teammate Alec James.
SCOOP AND SCORE!
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) January 20, 2018
The West gets on the board first with a defensive TD!
📺: #ShrineGame | ONLY on NFL Network https://t.co/1nQF6FfDMF
With the first score of the game, the West went up 7-0 and was able to grab the lead late following a touchdown grab by Houston’s Steven Dunbar with just over a minute to play.
Following the game, Jamerson was awarded the game’s defensive MVP — the second Wisconsin defensive back to win the award in the last three years as Badgers safety Michael Caputo won it in 2016.
The game’s offensive MVP was awarded to Northern Iowa’s Maurice Fountain, who caught three passes for 61 yards. While Fountain does not have any ties to the University of Wisconsin, he is a Madison native, attending high school at James Madison Memorial High School on the city’s west side.
Congratulations to the 2018 East-West #shrinegame Most Outstanding Players!
— East-West Shrine Bowl (@ShrineBowl) January 20, 2018
Offensive MVP East #10 Daurice Fountain @northerniowa
Defensive MVP West #12 Natrell Jamerson @UWMadison #mvps #mvp @Trellionn12 @reece_jmm pic.twitter.com/cEqgb0HI7G
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Jamerson will look to use this outstanding performance to demonstrate his playmaking ability as he prepares for the upcoming NFL Draft this spring.