Jan. 9, 2012
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By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Wrapping up the 2011 season as one of UCF's senior captains, middle linebacker Josh Linam will now represent the Knights in the annual East-West Shrine Game Jan. 21 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. The 87th edition of the game will air live on NFL Network at 4 p.m., and is the longest-running college all-star football contest in the country.
"I'm extremely honored and privileged to go out there and put on a good show for UCF. I'm excited to have fun and compete with some of the best players in the country," said Linam. "At UCF I learned a lot about hard work and putting it all out there for the team. The whole experience was great and I learned so much from head coach George O'Leary and everyone within the program. I made a lot of lifelong friends and I really enjoyed playing for UCF."
With Linam set to compete later this month, the Black and Gold has boasted at least one player in the East-West Shrine Game in each of the past three seasons. Offensive lineman Jah Reid and defensive end Bruce Miller, who are both now staring in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers, respectively, suited up in the 2011 game. And Torell Troup took part in the event in 2010 before being drafted by the Buffalo Bills.
A native of nearby Tavares, Linam appeared in 24 games his first two years as a Knight, however he received his first-collegiate start in 2010 and went on to start all 14 contests en route to helping UCF claim the Conference USA title, the school's first bowl victory (vs. Georgia in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl) and its first national ranking. Linam recorded 78 tackles as a junior with one interception, one forced fumble and 9.0 tackles for loss.
A two-time C-USA All-Academic Team and Capital One Academic All-District Team member, Linam collected 66 tackles, 10.0 tackles for loss, two interceptions and two forced fumbles in 12 games with 11 starts as a senior. For his career, Linam finished with 165 tackles, 20.0 tackles for loss, three sacks, three interceptions and three forced fumbles.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home for UCF's new online apparel store.