Tag: CFL

Former Ohio State receiver gets another NFL shot

Former Ohio State receiver gets another NFL shot #GoBucks

We have been covering the rise of former Ohio State football star, Austin Mack, in the Canadian Football League and we are happy to see he is getting another shot in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons. For Buckeye fans who don’t remember, Mack was a former four-star recruit who started to see the field regularly as a true sophomore, but his career was always limited due to injuries. The former standout left Ohio State with 79 career receptions for 1,050 yards and six touchdowns.

Mack just completed his first season in the CFL after spending time with the New York Giants, Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers in the NFL and boy did he thrive up North. He finished the season earning All-CFL honors after snagging 78 receptions for 1,154 yards and four touchdowns during his first season in the CFL.

I was a bit shocked to see Mack get another shot in the NFL considering he is 26 years old, but he has always had a reputation for being one of the hardest workers in the locker room and has the ideal size at 6-foot, 2-inches. We wish Mack good luck at his next stop!

Broncos worked out 8 players (including 7 from the CFL) last week

The Broncos worked out eight players last week, including seven from the CFL.

The Denver Broncos worked out eight players last Friday, including seven players from the Canadian Football League.

The Broncos worked out cornerback Anthony Brown, wide receivers Samuel Emilus and Kian Schaffer-Baker, defensive back Evan Holm, defensive lineman Mustafa Johnson and linebackers Jonathan Jones, Darius Williams and Josh Woods.

Brown (30) has spent time with four NFL teams, most recently on the New York Jets’ practice squad this season.

Emilus (26) has played for the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders since 2022, totaling 1,097 receiving yards last season.

Schaffer-Baker (25) has played for the Roughriders since 2021, hauling in 98 receptions for 960 yards and five touchdowns in 2023.

Holm (25) has played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers since 2022, recording 64 tackles, two interceptions and two sacks last season.

Johnson (24) has played for the Montreal Alouettes since 2022. He won the Grey Cup (Canada’s Super Bowl) and earned CFL East All-Star recognition in 2023.

Jones (26) has played for the Toronto Argonauts since 2022, winning the Grey Cup in his first season with the team.

Williams (25) has spent time with three CFL teams, most recently with the Ottawa Redblacks in 2022.

Woods (25) has played for the BC Lions since 2021, totaling 45 tackles and two interceptions last season.

These players are likely candidates to sign reserve/future contracts with the Broncos after the 2023 season.

Jaguars bring in 2 CFL defensive players for workouts

The Jaguars tried out a couple of CFL defensive players Friday, but haven’t signed either.

The Jacksonville Jaguars hosted defensive back Carthell Flowers-Lloyd and linebacker Gary Johnson Jr. for workouts Friday.

Flowers-Lloyd, 25, played for the Canadian Football League’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats during the 2023 season and recorded 31 tackles. Prior to his professional career, Flowers-Lloyd played at Eastern Michigan before transferring and finishing his collegiate career at Stony Brook.

Johnson, 27, is a CFL veteran who played three seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders before joining the Ottawa Redblacks for the 2023 season. In 22 games over four seasons, he’s recorded 33 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble.

As a linebacker with the Texas Longhorns, Johnson recorded 150 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles in 26 career games. He briefly spent time with Washington in 2019, joining the team as an undrafted free agent during training camp.

Both Flowers-Lloyd and Johnson have starred on special teams in the CFL. The Jaguars previously mined the CFL’s talent pool and signed quarterback Nathan Rourke, who has spent the majority of the 2023 season on the practice squad.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Chad Kelly named CFL’s Most Outstanding Player

Our old friend Chad Kelly was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player after scoring 31 touchdowns in the 2023 season.

Former Denver Broncos quarterback and Mr. Irrelevant of the 2017 NFL draft Chad Kelly was named the Canadian Football League’s Most Outstanding Player of the 2023 season last week.

Kelly, who plays for the Toronto Argonauts, showed tremendous production worthy of the award this season. He completed just shy of 69% of his passes for 4,123 yards and 23 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. Kelly also rushed 41 times for 248 yards and eight touchdowns this season.

Although Kelly’s season ended in the Eastern Finals of the  CFL playoffs, it was a memorable season for the 29-year-old quarterback.

Perhaps Kelly can use his postseason finale as fuel that maybe the Most Outstanding Player can go along with a Grey Cup in 2024. Although he completed a respectable 21 of 36 passes in the Eastern Finals, he only threw one touchdown and tossed four interceptions. While it isn’t all the way fair to say his play led to the Argonauts’ 38-17 loss to the Montreal Alouettes, it’s a safe bet to say it didn’t help. Nevertheless, Kelly’s season ended with a MOP trophy in his trophy case and for now, that will have to do.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=482983128]

Adam Korsak is up for some big CFL honors

Adam Korsak is impressing in the Canadian Football League.

A first season in the Canadian Football League is going along quite well for Adam Korsak. The former Rutgers football punter is off to a strong start to his professional career in the CFL.

Korsak, who won the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top punter in his last season at Rutgers, has picked up where his college football career left off. He has had a good first for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

As a rookie, he has averaged 47.9 yards per punt and had a 90-yard punt in Week 3.

His impressive performance throughout his season has seen Korsak be nominated for two pretty big awards in the CFL Not a bad start to his professional career for the former Rutgers punter:

 

At Korsak’s alma mater, things are going along well.

[lawrence-related id=31510,31502]

Flynn Appleby, in his first season as Korsak’s replacement, is averaging a solid and steady 41.8 yards per punt.

Of his 32 punts, Appleby has landed 13 inside the 20-yard line. Only one of Appleby’s punts has been a touchback.

Former Ohio State football star nominated for CFL award

Former Ohio State football star, Austin Mack nominated for @CFL Most Outstanding Player Award #GoBucks #CFL

Ohio State football is always well-represented up north in the Canadian Football League, but this year a former Buckeye really shined. The Montreal Alouettes nominated former Ohio State receiver Austin Mack for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player of the Year award.

Every team in the CFL nominates one player from its squad for the award and the winner is announced on Nov. 16. Mack is in his first season in the CFL after spending time with the New York Giants, Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers in the NFL.

Typically players making the transition from the American game to the CFL need time to adjust, but Mack wasted no time. He leads Montreal with 78 receptions for 1,154 yards. Most Buckeye fans will remember Mack from his days in Columbus.

Mack was a former four-star recruit who started to see the field regularly as a true sophomore, but his career was always limited due to injuries. The former standout left Ohio State with 79 career receptions for 1,050 yards and six touchdowns.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Josh Keatley on X.

Ex-Broncos QB Chad Kelly shining in CFL, still hoping for NFL comeback

Ex-Broncos QB Chad Kelly has led the Toronto Argonauts to a 6-0 record in the CFL while scoring 13 touchdowns (8 passing and 5 rushing).

Former Denver Broncos quarterback Chad Kelly has had an excellent start to the 2023 Canadian Football League season with the Toronto Argonauts.

Kelly has led the Argos to a perfect 6-0 record while completing 104-of-148 passing attempts for 1,530 yards and eight touchdowns against four interceptions. Kelly has also rushed 20 times for 109 yards and five scores on the ground in the CFL this year.

Kelly, who was cut by the Broncos after he was arrested on suspension of criminal trespassing in October 2018, is still hoping for another chance in the NFL. He played just one snap — a kneel-down — during his brief stint in Denver.

“Getting a little taste of one snap in the NFL, it’s almost like the biggest tease of all teases, right?” Kelly said in a recent interview with ESPN. “You’re just there to kneel the ball down, not even there to actually run a play or hand it off. I definitely have just learned to take every moment for what it is and enjoy where you’re at in this present moment and understand the capabilities and things that you could endure throughout the life and just be able to approach every day like it’s your last.”

The nephew of Jim Kelly, Chad has had tryouts with multiple NFL teams since being cut by the Broncos and he had a brief stint with the Indianapolis Colts before getting an opportunity in the CFL. If his impressive performances in Canada continue, perhaps the 29-year-old quarterback will get another chance in the NFL down the road.

Up next for Kelly and the Argonauts is a showdown with the Calgary Stampeders on Friday, Aug. 4 at 7:00 p.m. MT on CFL+.

[vertical-gallery id=620142]

Heisman winner Johnny Manziel to open bar in College Station in the fall

Johnny Manziel is bringing a new social spot to College Station with plans to open a bar on Northgate

Texas A&M legend Johnny “Football” Manziel and four others will be opening a bar/nightclub in College Station. The bar will be named “Johnny Manziel’s Money Bar” in the famous Northgate area, where generations of Aggies enjoyed food, shopping, and nightlife a few steps away from campus. There is a live website but minimal information outside of business hours and an estimated grand opening date.

Location and timing mean a lot when opening a business. They have an excellent location that should be ready to open to coincide with his Netflix documentary and the start of football season. It almost seems too easy, and I expect it will be a popular spot to hang out for a few years.

After a rollercoaster ride over the past ten years for Manziel, it’s good to see him using his name and likeness after being unable to be a part of this NIL wave.

Good luck to Johnny and his team; we hope they succeed in Aggieland.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=7]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01fvdd4pnb49trk727 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=]

ChatGPT ranks top 10 running backs in Notre Dame history

How do you feel about this list?

We recently put AI writing tool ChatGPT to the test and had it list what it believed was Notre Dame’s top 10 quarterbacks. The list surely caused some debate for some readers, but guess what? We’re going to cause you to think again by having it generate its list of the top 10 running backs in program history.

Some of you might disagree with what ChatGPT says, and others might even say the list is too short. However, the point of this is to make you think and spark discussion. Also, even though ChatGPT has not been updated since September 2021, it’s a safe assumption that no one on the Irish since then has played well enough to have a place on this list with the possible exception of [autotag]Kyren Williams[/autotag]. Just out of curiosity though, would you include him?

Anyway, without further adieu, here’s the list with ChatGPT’s descriptions of each player. Some entries have been edited for clarity and updates:

Former Rutgers punter Adam Korsak is now leading the CFL in punting

Former Rutgers football star Adam Korsak is having a strong season in the CFL so far.

Adam Korsak has had a strong first season of professional football, with this past weekend’s game in the CFL the latest example. The former Rutgers football punter put together a stat line reminiscent of his time in the Big Ten.

In his Saskatchewan Roughriders 33-31 loss to the Calgary Stampeders, Korsak had six punts for 312 yards, averaging 52 yards per punt. One of the punts landed inside the 10-yard line.

It was a strong showing from Korsak, especially on the larger CFL field, to be able to showcase his leg strength.

Through the first five weeks of the CFL season, Korsak is leading the league with an average of 50.9 yards per punt. He is averaging 37.3 net yards per punt, which is fifth-best in the CFL.

 

Korsak won the Ray Guy Award last year as the nation’s top punter (he was a finalist for the award in 2022).

He went undrafted in this spring’s NFL draft.

[lawrence-related id=28438,28432]