Shimonek’s late TD lifts West over East

WEST 14, EAST 10

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — For J.T. Barrett, playing in the 93rd East-West Shrine game was more about showing what type of leader he is than impressing statistically.

“I think, at the end of the day, I wanted to show I could command the offense,” the Big Ten’s career total yardage leader said Saturday.

“I think that’s part of who I am, and at quarterback that’s what you need,” Barrett added. “I was able to do it at Ohio State, and I think I did a pretty good job this week of commanding the offense and owning it.”

Texas Tech’s Nic Shimonek threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Houston’s Steven Dunbar with 1:23 remaining to give the West a 14-10 victory.

Barrett completed a 30yard pass to move the East into West territory, however his bid to pull off a comeback ended with four consecutive incompletions.

Wisconsin safety Natrell Jamerson returned Barrett’s early fumble 68 yards for the West’s other TD in the nation’s longest running college all-star game.

Barrett amassed 12,697 yards and accounted for 147 TDs in four seasons at Ohio State.

He wasn’t impressive statistically Saturday in trying to show he has what it takes to make a successful transition from a college spread offense to a pro-style system. The former Buckeyes star did, however, shrug off his first-quarter turnover to throw a 4-yard scoring pass to Slippery Rock’s Marcus Martin that put the East ahead 10-7.

Northern Iowa’s Daurice Fountain had three catches for 61 yards and set up Barrett’s TD throw to Martin, the NCAA Division II sack leader and 2017 lineman of the year, with a 30-yard punt return and a 16-yard reception.

Arkansas State had two players compete for the West team, tight end Blake Mack and defensive lineman Ja’Von Rolland-Jones, who played at linebacker Saturday. Mack caught one pass for 9 yards, while Rolland-Jones had a half-sack on Memphis quarterback Riley Ferguson.