Et tu, Brute?
It’s one thing to enter the transfer portal, it’s entirely another to join a rival school. It’s even another thing if that rival school is Ohio State.
While it’s rare, it happens. Star offensive lineman Justin Boren transferred to the Buckeyes after longtime head coach Lloyd Carr left. As far as other rivals, Ben VanSumeren transferred from Michigan football to rival Michigan State.
Now there’s another.
Joey Velazquez is a reserve linebacker and special teams player who also plays for the Wolverines baseball team. And while Velazquez is headed home, it’s a shot across the bow as the Columbus native has transferred to Ohio State.
Joey Velazquez, a two-sport athlete at Michigan, is transferring to Ohio State. A school spokesman tells @MLive that Velazquez, a Columbus-area native, has been participating in winter workouts with the football team. https://t.co/5AAw9VHYcR
— Aaron McMann | MLive.com (@AaronMcMann) February 12, 2024
Velazquez did not travel with the team to the Rose Bowl or national championship games unlike some of the other outgoing transfers. Certainly, his move to the rival Buckeyes won’t ingratiate many of his now former teammates given the rivalry.
His biggest claim to fame on the football field was forcing a huge turnover in Week 5 of 2021 at Wisconsin.