College Football: Breaking down top international stars from 2020
By John Scimeca
Matt Bergeron – OL, Syracuse (Canada)
Matt Bergeron, a Quebec native who is one of six Canadians on Syracuse’s roster from 2020, was named to the Freshman All-America team by ProFootball Focus in 2019. He has started 16 games in a row for the Orange after switching from right to left tackle midway through 2020, his sophomore season.
Lou Hedley – P, Miami, Fla. (Australia)
It’s a common trend in college football nowadays to find an outstanding punter from down under, but few have done it as well as the Miami Hurricanes and Lou Hedley in 2020.
Named as one of three finalists for the Ray Guy Award, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Australian native averaged 47.3 yards per punt in 2020. This average ranked second-best in the nation for the season. He finished with 19 punts of more than 50 yards in 2020.
Lando Grey – DL, San José St. (American Samoa)
Grey, a native of American Samoa (though yes, technically a part of the United States), helped anchor the Spartans’ defensive line en route to winning the 2020 Mountain West title. He finished the season with 18 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. He had previously served a two-year church mission and spent time in New Mexico, Nebraska, and California before joining San José St. During high school in American Samoa, he participated in baseball and track and field.
Amen Ogbongbemiga – LB, Oklahoma State (Canada)
The Calgary native who just declared for the NFL Draft totaled 180 tackles during the past two seasons for the Cowboys. He is also expected to go late in the 2021 NFL Draft. Ogbongbemiga led a much-improved Cowboys defense during the 2020 season that held its opponents to 13 or fewer points in four different games.
Jackson He – RB, Arizona State (China)
It would be impossible to compile a list of 2020 standout performances among college football’s international players without mentioning Jackson He, who is believed to be the first Chinese player to score a touchdown in an FBS game.
He rushed for a touchdown late for the Sun Devils in their 70-7 win against Arizona. The native of Shaoguan, China was all smiles during his postgame interview, too. The junior walk-on began playing football only five years ago.