NFL Japan announced Tuesday that eight Japanese players will be invited for next February's NFL Europe training camp for non-Americans in Tampa, Fla.
The eight are: former Kwansei Gakuen linebacker Rikiya Ishida, quarterback and Waseda University coach Kentaro Namiki, wide receiver and Ritsumeikan University coach Shoei Hasegawa, offensive lineman Masakazu Goda, wide receiver Michihiro Ogawa and defensive back Ryota Hori of the Onward Skylarks, current Ritsumeikan University wide receiver Yuji Otaki and ex-Ritsumeikan wide receiver Noriaki Kinoshita.
The players were chosen based on previous performances and also a testing combine, which was held on Sunday in Tokyo.
"Last season was disappointing," said Namiki, who played for the Cologne Centurions the past two years.
"I'd like to go to the NFL camp by any means this year," he said at news conference in Tokyo.