No. 31 – Arizona Cardinals | |||||||||||
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Position: | Running back | ||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
Born: | Inglewood, California, U.S. | January 20, 1999||||||||||
Height: | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||
Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||
High school: | Downey (Downey, California) | ||||||||||
College: | Saddleback (2017) TCU (2018–2022) | ||||||||||
Undrafted: | 2023 | ||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Emari Demercado (born January 20, 1999) is an American football running back for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Saddleback before transferring to TCU and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cardinals after the 2023 NFL draft.
Early years
[edit]Demercado grew up in Inglewood, California going to middle school at Century Community Charter School in the heart of Inglewood. He also attended Downey High School. He committed to play college football at Saddleback College, a junior college in Mission Viejo, California.[1] He is of Jamaican descent.[2]
College career
[edit]Demercado played one year at Saddleback, rushing for 1,026 yards, and 15 touchdowns. He also brought in 54 receptions for 443 yards and two touchdowns.[3] On May 6, 2018, Demercado committed to Texas Christian University (TCU).[4][5] Demercado would play for five years at TCU. During his time as a Horned Frog he racked up 1,615 rushing yards, and 10 touchdowns on the ground, averaging 4.8 yards per carry, and through the air he caught 40 passes, for 277 yards, and a touchdown.[6] Demercado's best season occurred in 2022 where he recorded 121 carries for 681 yards and six touchdowns; he also had 13 catches for 65 yards and a touchdown.[7] Demercado had a breakout game in TCU's first playoff game where he rushed for a career high 150 yards, he also added on a run got 69 yards and a touchdown on the ground.[8][9] Demercado also rushed for 59 yards in the National Championship Game.[10]
After the season Demercado declared for the 2023 NFL draft.[11]
Professional career
[edit]Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 ft 9+3⁄8 in (1.76 m) |
213 lb (97 kg) |
32+5⁄8 in (0.83 m) |
9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) |
4.44 s | 1.58 s | 2.56 s | 4.15 s | 7.00 s | 32.0 in (0.81 m) |
9 ft 11 in (3.02 m) |
19 reps | |
All values from Pro Day[12] |
After not being selected in the 2023 NFL Draft, Demercado signed with the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent.[13][14][15] On August 29, 2023, the Cardinals announced that he had made the initial 53-man roster.[16] In Week 5 against the Bengals, he had his first professional rushing touchdown in the 34–20 loss.[17] He appeared in 14 games and made two starts in the 2023 season. He finished with 58 carries for 284 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns to go with 21 receptions for 119 receiving yards in his rookie season.[18]
References
[edit]- ^ "Emari Demercado". ON3. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
- ^ Gershman, Zach (October 27, 2023). "BJ Ojulari Representing Not Only Cardinals, But Nigeria". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
- ^ "Emari Demercado (RB) - Saddleback". Saddleback College Athletics. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
- ^ Triebwasser, Melissa (May 6, 2018). "TCU Football adds to class of 2018 with JUCO RB Emari Demercado". Frogs O' War. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
- ^ Holland, EJ (May 6, 2018). "TCU lands commitment from JUCO RB Emari Demercado". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
- ^ "Emari Demercado College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
- ^ "2022 TCU Horned Frogs Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
- ^ "Downey High alum Emari Demarcado reaches big stage in college football championship". The Downey Patriot. January 9, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
- ^ "TCU vs Michigan Box Score". ESPN. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
- ^ "Georgia vs TCU Box Score". ESPN. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
- ^ Hodges, Russell (January 16, 2023). "TCU RB Emari Demercado declares for the 2023 NFL Draft". Frogs O' War. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
- ^ "2023 NFL Draft Scout Emari Demercdo College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
- ^ Urban, Darren (May 1, 2023). "ASU's Kyle Soelle Highlights Cardinals Undrafted Free Agent Class". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
- ^ Cox, Seth (May 3, 2023). "Meet the Undrafted Free Agents: Arizona Cardinals add intriguing running back prospect in Emari Demercado". Revenge of the Birds. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
- ^ Fawkes, Sion (April 30, 2023). "Arizona Cardinals could have struck gold with Emari Demercado". RasingZona.com. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
- ^ Urban, Darren (August 29, 2023). "The Initial 53, And Knowing The List Will Change". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
- ^ Gershman, Zach (October 8, 2023). "After James Conner Injury, Emari Demercado Gets The Call". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
- ^ "Emari Demercado 2023 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
External links
[edit]- Career statistics and player information from Yahoo! Sports
- Arizona Cardinals bio
- Saddleback Bobcats bio
- TCU Horned Frogs bio