Tag: Central Michigan

Iowa football targeting Central Michigan DT

Iowa football has a target on the board up front for potential DL help.

The Iowa Hawkeyes continue to identify transfer portal targets that could be great fits moving forward into the 2025 college football season.

At the end of last week, Iowa hosted Central Michigan defensive tackle Jonah Pace.

Pace visited the Nebraska Cornhuskers before making the trek to Iowa City to check out what the Hawkeyes might have to offer.

247Sports’ Allen Trieu revealed that news. Pace is set to take other visits this week before making a decision.

Pace will have one final season of eligibility remaining and would potentially factor in within the interior of the Hawkeyes’ defensive line.

A three-star signee to Central Michigan in the 2021 signing class, Pace was ranked as Illinois’ 71st-ranked player per 247Sports.

Pace enjoyed his best collegiate season during this most recent campaign. The 6-foot-5, 285 pound defensive lineman racked up 34 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, six quarterback hurries, four sacks, two pass breakups, one forced fumble and blocked kick.

Pace also registered 17 tackles, one sack and one tackle for loss with the Chippewas during the 2023 season.

In its defensive interior, Iowa expects to return Aaron Graves and Jeremiah Pittman who combined for 49 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and six sacks.

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Ex-Iowa QB reentering NCAA transfer portal

The former Iowa QB is reentering the transfer portal.

Former Iowa quarterback Joe Labas is reentering the NCAA transfer portal.

After spending three seasons in Iowa City, Labas departed the Hawkeyes’ program following the 2023 season.

Labas transferred to Central Michigan where he started the first six games of the 2024 season before suffering a season-ending arm injury on Oct. 12 against Ohio.

Labas directed a pair of last-minute, game-scoring drives for the Chippewas in wins over Ball State and San Diego State.

Labas completed 58.8% of his passes for 1,114 yards and seven touchdowns against seven interceptions. Labas threw for 275 yards in the comeback win over San Diego State.

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“First and foremost, I’d like to thank God for blessing me with the talents, opportunities, and guidance that have brought me this far.

“To my coaches, teammates, and the entire staff, thank you for your belief and trust in me to be the starting quarterback for Central Michigan and helping me grow both as a player and a person.

“With the current uncertainty surrounding the program, I have decided to enter the transfer portal with 1-2 years of eligibility to explore all potential opportunities for my future. This is not an easy decision, and want to be clear that CMU holds a special place in my heart.

“I look forward to what the future holds, and the path God has for me,” Labas wrote in his social media announcement.

Labas initially signed with Iowa in the Hawkeyes’ 2021 class. According to 247Sports, Labas was a four-star signee, the nation’s No. 28 quarterback and the No. 13 player from Ohio.

The 6-foot-4, 210 pound quarterback played in and started just one game while at Iowa. That came in Iowa’s 21-0 TransPerfect Music City Bowl win over Kentucky to close the 2022 season.

Labas completed 14-of-24 passes for 139 yards with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Hawkeye tight end Luke Lachey.

Labas will have one final season of collegiate eligibility at his next transfer destination.

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Central Michigan’s Jim McElwain under NCAA investigation for Connor Stalions’ presence on sideline during Michigan State game

The NCAA is investigating CMU’s Jim McElwain for his potential involvement in Connor Stalions being on the sideline of a game against MSU last season

We have another update in the long saga of Connor Stalions. On Monday, it was reported by Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports that Central Michigan head coach Jim McElwain is currently being investigated by the NCAA for his potential involvement in Connor Stalions being on the Central Michigan sideline during a 2023 game against Michigan State.

It was reported back in August that the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations that was sent to Michigan confirmed that Stalions was in fact on Central Michigan’s sideline in that game.

McElwain previously stated he had no knowledge of Stalions being on the sidelines.

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Notre Dame Baseball Drops Mid-Week to Central Michigan

Mid-week blues for the Irish…

The following is courtesy of the Notre Dame athletic department:

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame (20-19) fell short in a midweek matchup against Central Michigan (14-27), 2-0.

It was a quiet day for the Irish bats, with INF Simon Baumgardt recording the sole hit. On the mound, the Irish used five arms, recording a combined six strikeouts. Starting RHP DJ Helwig tied his career-high, pitching three complete innings. RHP Keenan Mork (1-1) bore the loss. Altogether, Notre Dame gave up just three hits on the day.

Notre Dame is set to face No. 8 Wake Forest at home in a weekend series beginning on Friday, April 26 at 6:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ACCNX.

Saturday, April 27, Notre Dame and Wake Forest will play at 7 p.m. ET on ACC Network, and the series finale will be Sunday, April 28 at Noon ET on ACCNX.

Former Notre Dame linebacker heads back to native Michigan

All the best to him as he returns to his home state…

Former Notre Dame linebacker Nolan Ziegler entered the transfer portal a day after the Irish dismantled Oregon State in the Sun Bowl.

Ziegler was graded as a four-star prospect as a 2022 recruit out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. He missed significant time this season as he worked through mental health issues.

The good news is Ziegler appears to have gotten through the worst of the situation, and he is returning to his home state to continue his college football career.

Ziegler announced on Thursday that he has accepted the offer from Central Michigan and will play college football there in 2024.

All the best to Ziegler who was very open about growing up a Notre Dame fan during his recruitment.

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Michigan State football adding walk-on transfer LS Aiden DeCorte from CMU

Michigan State football adding walk-on transfer LS Aiden DeCorte from CMU

Michigan State football added another player from the transfer portal on Friday, this time, a walk-on. Long snapper Aiden DeCorte will join the Spartans.

DeCorte spent last season with Central Michigan. He was rated as a 4-star long snapper when at Jackson High School. He entered the portal on December 1st.

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Notre Dame linebacker Jack Kiser will return in 2024

Good news.

Amidst all the talk of Notre Dame players leaving via the transfer portal, it’s nice to hear about someone coming back for once. [autotag]Jack Kiser[/autotag] announced on social media Wednesday that he is returning to the Irish for the 2024 season. While it wasn’t the most flashy such announcement ever made, the important thing is the Irish are getting the linebacker for another season:

Kiser already has surpassed his career high this season with 59 tackles, good for third on the team. He also has one sack, one tackle for loss, one interception and one forced fumble. The 10 tackles he had against Central Michigan are a career high.

With the Irish already looking different for both the Sun Bowl and the 2024 season, a little continuity on the defensive side of the ball should help. After all, somebody needs to help let the incoming freshmen and transfers know what playing for Notre Dame is all about.

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Vols offer Central Michigan safety transfer

Tennessee football offers Central Michigan safety transfer.

Central Michigan junior safety Trey Jones entered the NCAA transfer portal on Monday.

Tennessee offered a scholarship to Jones on Wednesday.

“Blessed to receive an offer from Tennessee,” Jones announced.

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound defensive back appeared in 44 games from 2019-23 at Central Michigan. He recorded 188 tackles, 9.5 tackles for a loss, three interceptions, eight pass deflections, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one block.

Jones went to Central Michigan from Wetumpka High School in Wetumpka, Alabama.

Student-athletes can enter the NCAA transfer portal from Dec. 2 until Jan. 2, 2024. Players can also enter the NCAA transfer portal from April 15-30, 2024.

READ: Updated Tennessee football NCAA transfer portal tracker

Social media reacts to Tobias Merriweather’s 35-yard touchdown catch

Nice catch.

Notre Dame is finding itself in a fight it likely didn’t anticipate having against Wake Forest. The Deacons are proving to be a formidable opponent for the Irish, and they’ll have to make sure that changes in the second half. For now though, there are some good things about the first half to talk about. Specifically, there’s this 35-yard touchdown pass from [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] to [autotag]Tobias Merriweather[/autotag] to put the Irish up, 14-7:

This is Merriweather’s second touchdown of the season and his first since scoring against Central Michigan two months ago. He has played in every game this season but has found limited success. This touchdown has to feel like a relief for the sophomore receiver, who hopefully will have more opportunities to succeed in the future.

Social media reacted to Merriweather’s touchdown and probably didn’t anticipate that he would be the one to catch a pass like that coming in:

REPORT: NCAA joining investigation for man who was on sideline during CMU vs. Michigan State football game

NCAA joining investigation for man who was on sideline during CMU vs. Michigan State football game

Internet detectives have had a great time this past month, as more pictures, theories, and investigations open up around the now infamous Connor Stalions, a staffer at Michigan football who is embroiled in an alleged sign-stealing conspiracy.

The latest plot twist is around the appearance of a still unidentified man in glasses and a hat on the Central Michigan sideline during the CMU vs. Michigan State football game this year.

Central Michigan has already said that they are investigating who that man was and what he was doing on the sidelines during the game, and now, the NCAA will join that investigation.

While nothing is confirmed yet, the insinuation here would be that Michigan staffer Connor Stalions was present on the CMU sideline with an intent to record the MSU sideline signals during the game.

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