Manitoba Bisons’ David Onyemata playing in prestigious American all-star football game

WINNIPEG — David Onyemata will add another chapter to his storybook football career on Saturday.

The Manitoba Bisons nose tackle has been selected to play in the 91st East-West Shrine Game on January 23 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Onyemata is just the fourth player in the Herd’s history to receive an invitation to the longest university all-star football game.

RELATED: Manitoba Bisons DL David Onyemata named conference player of the week

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“I am happy about the opportunity to attend the Shrine Game,” said Onyemata in a news release. “It is a tremendous honour. I will work hard to be ready and prepared for the game in January.”

Onyemata won the CIS award for the country’s top outstanding down lineman after racking up 50 tackles, five sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery this past season. The 23-year-old was also named a CIS First Team All-Canadian and a Canada West All-Star.

RELATED: Manitoba Bisons ready for second place showdown

Onyemata never saw a football game, let alone play in one, until he moved to Winnipeg from Nigeria four years ago to attend the University of Manitoba.

The three Bisons who previously played in the East-West Shrine Game are defensive lineman Jason Rauhaus in 1992, defensive lineman Izzy Idonije in 2003 and defensive tackle Evan Gill in 2014.

Kick off for the game is at 3 p.m Winnipeg time. You can watch the game on the NFL Network or listen live here.