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'Like it's something scripted': TCU RB gets a shot at national title in hometown

The senior running back said SoFi Stadium is a five-minute drive from where he grew up and his teammates have been asking him for food recommendations.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — It's like something out of a movie script. 

You get to play your final college game – for a national championship – in a brand new NFL stadium which lies merely minutes away from where you grew up. That's the reality for TCU running back Emari Demercado

Demercado went to high school at Downey High School, 17 miles away from SoFi Stadium where the CFP National Championship will be played between TCU and Georgia.

"For me, that's something special," Demercado said. "I've been walking around telling people like it's something scripted ... my last college game, I get to go right down the road from my house. It's just a surreal feeling, and I'm excited for it."

"It's literally a five-minute drive, it's that close," Demercado added.

Demercado went to Saddleback College his freshman year, then transferred to TCU in 2018. He redshirted in 2019 and has played for the Horned Frogs ever since. After college athletes were given an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 waiver, Demercado is in his final (and most productive) season with TCU.

Demercado is coming off the best game of his entire senior year, racking up 150 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries, including his 69-yarder at the end of the third quarter against Michigan.

Demercado has 622 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the season, plus one receiving touchdown for the Frogs.

TCU and Georgia will kick off from SoFi Stadium on Monday, Jan. 9, at 6:30 p.m. CST. 

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