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Japanese-born Gyo Shojima makes history with UCLA

LOS ANGELES -- After spending about 15 minutes taking questions from a group of Japanese media members following UCLA’s spring game in April, Gyo Shojima seemed a little confused.

Did they come all the way from Japan just to talk to him?

“Uhhh, I believe so,” he said.

If you’ve never heard of him, Shojima wouldn’t blame you. He hadn’t appeared in a game for the Bruins until Saturday against UNLV when he is believed to have become the first Japansese-born player to appear in a FBS college football game.

“I don’t know if there’s a true way to really figure out if there was a Japanese football player before me,” he said.