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East West Shrine Game 2013: A.J. Francis accepts invite

Maryland's A.J. Francis received an invite to play in the 2013 East-West Shrine Game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

By Jay Asser
Geoff Burke

As a late addition, Maryland's A.J. Francis tweeted that he has accepted an invitation to play in the 2013 East-West Shrine Game. The contest is an all-star game with players from each side of the country facing off.

This season for the Maryland Terrapins, Francis made 42 tackles, including 8.5 for loss. He also recorded 3.5 sacks and blocked three kicks. For his performance, the defensive lineman was named to the All-ACC team as an honorable mention.

Francis joins his teammate and fellow member of Maryland's defensive line, Joe Vellano, who will also play in the contest. Vellano finished the season with 61 tackles, six sacks and was named as a first-team All-ACC selection for the third-straight year.

The Terrapins struggled in 2012, losing six-straight to end the season after beginning their campaign with four wins in the first six games.

The East-West Shrine Game will take place at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg on Jan. 19.

Photographs by cstreet.us, thelastminute, turtlemom nancy , fesek, kthypryn, justinwright, sue_elias, pointnshoot, and scrapstothefuture used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.