Tag: CFL

Former Ohio State safety Tyvis Powell signs to play in Canadian Football League

Tyvis Powell inking a deal in Canada!

Former Ohio State safety Tyvis Powell will look to continue his professional football career north of the border. Powell has signed a contract with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League.

Powell played for the Buckeyes from 2013-2015 where he recorded 195 total tackles and eight interceptions. The most famous pick of his career came during his freshman season in the final seconds against Michigan. Powell slid in front of a Wolverine receiver to secure the victory for OSU.

The former safety was also named a captain during the Bucks 2015 national championship season. He was even named the defensive MVP in the win over Oregon in the College Football Playoff championship game.

Powell went undrafted in the 2016 NFL draft after leaving Ohio State early. He spent four seasons bouncing around the league and the last game the safety played in was in 2018 with the San Francisco 49ers. He appeared in seven games with the Niners, with six total tackles.

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Looking back at Ed Chlebek, the last Jets QB to wear No. 2

Zach Wilson will be one of only two Jets quarterbacks to wear No. 2 on his jersey.

Zach Wilson joined an exclusive collection of Jets when he picked the No. 2 jersey.

Only six other Jets have worn that number. Only one of them was a quarterback.

Ed Chlebek was the only other Jets quarterback with No. 2 on his jersey, and he saw action in only one game with New York. Chlebek completed two of his four passing attempts for five yards in a 48-0 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 16 of the 1963 AFL season.

Chlebek moved on to the Grand Rapids Blazers of the United Football League, which folded in 1964. Chlebek then played in the Continental Football League and the Atlantic Coast Football League, both of which folded by 1973.

Chlebek was a prolific college quarterback. He threw for 2,290 yards at Western Michigan and was inducted into the school’s sports Hall of Fame.

Chlebek went into coaching soon after his professional career ended. He started as an assistant at Notre Dame and coached Joe Montana. Chlebek then took on head coaching jobs at Eastern Michigan, Boston College and Kent State. He accumulated an overall record of 26-51.

He finished his coaching career in the Canadian Football League as an offensive coordinator for the Toronto Argonauts – who won the Grey Cup with him in 1983 – and the Oklahoma Outlaws of the United States Football League in 1984.

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CFL announces it will return to play in 2021

CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie says the league plans to play in 2021 with a Dec.12 Grey Cup

After a year completely scuttled by the COVID-19 pandemic, the CFL announced Wednesday it plans to have a 2021 football season.

Commissioner Randy Amrbosie said via a release the league will kick off its regular season Aug. 5.

This is the second news the CFL has made in recent weeks. The league was recently topic of a report that suggested it could form some sort of partnership with the third-time fledgling XFL in the future.

As part of the new schedule, the Grey Cup will be played Dec.12 in Hamilton, Ont.

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Per Ambrosie: 

“We will play CFL football in 2021.
“Our revised target date to start our regular season is August 5. To facilitate a 14-game season, for our players, fans and partners, we are re-scheduling the Grey Cup to December 12 in Hamilton, Ontario.
“I say ‘target date’ because our plans are subject to the state of COVID-19 across the country. A so-called ‘third wave’ in some provinces is forcing us today to postpone the start of our regular season, which had been scheduled for June 10.
“So, what must be in place for us to kick off on August 5? Two things. 1. The approval of public health officials across the country of our plans for protecting the health of our players, coaches, and ultimately our fans, so a 2021 season is safe. 2. Permission from governments to host a significant number of fans in the stands, in a significant number of venues at the start of the season, and in the rest of our venues soon after that, so a 2021 season is financially tenable for our clubs.”

Dwayne Johnson plotting interleague play between XFL and CFL

Dwayne Johnson is a big thinker. The mogul and actor is reported to be working on a plan to blend the XFL and CFL.

A run for President of the United States seems to be on stronger footing for Dwayne Johnson than a reported plan for his XFL and the CFL.

According to Front Office Sports, Johnson — with business partner Dany Garcia — is working to blend the XFL and CFL. That’s not the actual news.

What is would be the possibility of interleague play between the leagues.

Per FOS.com:

Here’s how it could work, a source told Front Office Sports: Both leagues would play their regular seasons — there could be “interleague” games, similar to MLB — and once the respective XFL and CFL champions are crowned, they’d face off in an interleague championship game.

There could also be an “All-Star Game” pitting players from both leagues. The long-term objective: the merger of the two pro football leagues.

Not quite sure what the football fans North of the border are going to think of such an idea given the history of the Grey Cup, which dates to 1909.

FOS was unable to get a comment out of either the XFL or CFL.

The CFL just missed a year due to the pandemic. The XFL made it through five weeks in its second run before Vince McMahon declared bankruptcy for the league, which lasted one year in its first incarnation in 2001.

 

Former Saints DB Delvin Breaux retires from the CFL

Delvin Breaux announced his retirement, following an 8-year professional football career with the NFL’s Saints and CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats

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Former New Orleans Saints cornerback Delvin Breaux announced his retirement on Wednesday, following an 8-year career in pro football that included three seasons with his hometown Saints and five years in the Canadian Football League’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Breaux, 31, quickly became a fan-favorite in New Orleans owing to his background as a hotly-recruited high school prospect whose college career was taken from him in a serious neck injury. The Saints named him their Ed Block Courage Award winner in 2015, though his run with them ended with another frustrating injury.

But he overcame that adversity to chase opportunities in the CFL, where he went on to earn recognition as a three-time All-Star with a spot on the league’s first All-Decade Team. Breaux put together quite a career for himself north of the border, and he’s rightfully being celebrated for it.

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CFL-XFL merger brings back former Ohio State player memories

The news of the CFL and XFL merging brings up memories of several former Ohio State players that carved out a name in one of the leagues.

A lot has happened since the arrival of the second version of the XFL last season. Since it folded due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the most famous man in the world, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has now purchased the company. Apparently the former WWE superstar and CFL player had big plans with the most recent announcement of the league merging with the Canadian Football League.

The CFL has been around for over 60 years and their formula of three-down chaos has been consistently successful, which is the exact opposite of the XFL who has had two separate tries almost two decades apart. With that said, the COVID-19 pandemic put a huge strain on the CFL. It had to cancel its 2020 season, which has almost put the league in jeopardy. Teaming up with a wealthy “The Rock” might be the juice the league needs to keep the train chugging along.

All of this news about spring football returning and the merger of these alternative leagues forced me to think about all of the former Ohio State Buckeye legends who suited up for these two leagues and below are some of the more notable names.

 

Falcons to sign Raiders starter, former Saints safety Erik Harris

The Athletic reports that the Atlanta Falcons will sign Las Vegas Raiders free agent Erik Harris, a former New Orleans Saints safety.

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The Athletic’s Vic Tafur reports that the Atlanta Falcons will sign Erik Harris, a safety who some Saints fans might remember. Harris made the jump from the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats (where he became a friend and teammate of former Saints cornerback Delvin Breaux) to the NFL, initially competing for snaps in New Orleans. He became a starter with the Las Vegas Raiders, and now he’s back in the NFC South — this time suiting up with the dirty birds.

And that shouldn’t surprise anyone. The Falcons have many holes on their defense, including safety, where Harris has shown he can help out and at least compete for the starting job. He’ll be joining former Saints personnel executive Terry Fontenot in Atlanta, too; Fontenot worked as director of pro scouting in the past and was a big part in bringing Harris to the NFL in the first place.

So while this doesn’t guarantee Harris will feature in any games with the Saints, there’s a good chance he gets on the field while Fontenot continues to rebuild the Falcons from the ground up. He’s working with few resources in either draft picks or salary cap room, so Harris could very well end up playing a key role in Atlanta. With two games scheduled against the Saints, it’s possible he gets in position to make a play against his old team.

XFL, CFL discussing working together

Could the XFL and CFL wind up going into business together? Sounds like it is a realistic possibility.

It figured Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s time in the CFL would pay off one day.

The actor, mogul, former WWE star, and football player was once a Calgary Stampeder for a couple of months. It didn’t work out too well and as the well-known story goes Johnson had seven bucks to his name after being cut.

Fast forward to 2021 and on Wednesday, it was announced the CFL and third-time fledgling XFL are discussing a business arrangement for the 2022 season.

XFL chairwoman/owner Dany Garcia, Johnson’s business partner, weighed in, too.

“Since we first acquired the XFL, we have focused on identifying partners who share our vision and values on and off the field,” Garcia said. “A vision filled with opportunity, innovation and the highest level of entertainment value for the benefit of our athletes, fans and communities. The CFL has expressed that similar sentiment and jointly we recognize a great opportunity to build exciting innovative football experiences that make the most of each league’s unique strengths.”

Both leagues saw their 2020 seasons wrecked by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CFL canceled its entire campaign while the XFL, run by Vince McMahon, got through five weeks before the WWE boss filed for bankruptcy and shut things down due to the pandemic.

 

 

CFL linebacker Wynton McManis signs reserve/future deal with the Saints

The New Orleans Saints signed a reserve/futures contract with Calgary Stampeders linebacker Wynton McManis, adding him to the 2021 roster.

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The New Orleans Saints have shifted gears and begun signing players to reserve/future contracts to add to their 2021 roster, with the first being former linebacker Wynton McManis, per the NFL wire. McManis won the CFL Grey Cup with the Calgary Stampeders in 2018, having gone north of the border after signing with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted rookie out of Memphis back in 2016.

If the name sounds familiar, it’s because McManis has signed with the Saints before. The Olive Branch, Miss. native joined them for the final week of training camp last summer after New Orleans released veteran linebacker Nigel Bradham and once the CFL canceled its 2020 season in light of to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s some of what I wrote of him at the time:

That said, he has the skills to make a splash. McManis broke out in 2019 with 15 starts and 86 combined tackles, including nine stops on special teams. He cut his teeth in the CFL with his efforts in the game’s third phase, having paced the league with 25 special teams tackles in 2018. If he’s going to earn a spot on the Saints roster, it’ll come with big moments in the kicking game.

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Former Michigan State Football linebacker Chris Frey Jr. re-signs with Hamilton Tiger-Cats of CFL

Former Michigan State linebacker Chris Frey Jr. is heading back to the Canadian Football League in 2021.

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After an absence from the sport of football, former Michigan State Football linebacker Chris Frey returned to the gridiron in the Canadian Football League for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2019. It looks like his time on the field isn’t done yet, as he announced on New Year’s Day that he will be returning to the team in 2021.

Frey played four seasons with MSU from 2013-17, recording 193 tackles and 7 sacks over that time. He received a preseason tryout with the Carolina Panthers in 2018 before being cut and taking a brief hiatus from the sport.

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