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MOBILE, Ala. – Arkansas’ Feleipe Franks threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Mississippi tight end Kenny Yeboah in the fourth quarter of the Senior Bowl to help seal the National Team’s 27-24 victory over Team USA Saturday.
Franks, a transfer graduate from Florida, set up the scoring connection for the West Division of the Southeastern Conference with a 29-yard completion to Dez Fitzpatrick of Louisville. Fitzpatrick had six catches for 90 yards in the demonstration game for the senior prospects and NFL graduates.
North Carolina running back Michael Carter also had a big game. Carter scored on a 12-yard run late in the third quarter to help the National Team regain the lead after a comeback led by Kellen Mond.
Jamie Newman then completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Trevon Grimes with 49 seconds left for Team USA. The former Wake Forest quarterback, who transferred to Georgia but retired before the season, set him up with a 35-yard completion at Quintin Morris.
Mond was the game’s most valuable player. Fitzpatrick was the offensive player of the game and Tulane’s defensive lineman Cam Sample was the defensive player of the game.
The game was first played at the new Hancock Whitney Stadium in southern Alabama, with Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores leading the national team and Carolina’s Matt Rhule coaching the American team. It has also moved from the traditional North versus South format.
Franks completed 9 of 16 passes for 122 yards. Carter averaged 8.0 yards per carry in his last season with the Tar Heels, and wasn’t far in the All-Star game.
He gained 60 yards on eight carries and had two catches for 15 yards.
Mond, the Texas A&M quarterback, delivered a pair of touchdown passes in the third quarter to help erase a 13-0 halftime deficit. Mond even converted a two-run play with a rush and another with a pass, after 15-yard touchdowns to Amari Rodgers of Clemson and 14-yard touchdowns to Josh Palmer of Tennessee.
Mond had 141 of 173 yards in the third. But his SEC West counterpart Franks arrived in the final quarter.
Newman conceded 10 of 14 passes for 118 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
The US team was deprived of two of the Alabama national champion’s biggest offensive weapons. Quarterback Mac Jones got dressed and warmed up, but didn’t play after injuring his left ankle in Thursday’s final practice session.
“My ankle was still itching a bit,” Jones, who is a potential first-round pick, said on NFL Network. “I didn’t want to take big risks.”
Tailback Najee Harris withdrew from the game after training on Tuesday and Wednesday with a lingering ankle injury from the national title match earlier in January.
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