Tag: CFL

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.

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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.

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Broncos offseason roster: No. 49, ILB Alex Singleton

Alex Singleton dominated the CFL before getting a real opportunity in the NFL. He later joined the Broncos and emerged as a key player.

Broncos Wire’s 90-man offseason roster series continues today with a look at fifth-year inside linebacker Alex Singleton, No. 49.

Before the Broncos: Singleton (6-2, 240 pounds) has had quite a football journey. After playing college football at Montana State, he went undrafted in the 2015 NFL draft and signed with the Seattle Seahawks as a college free agent. He went on to spend time on the practice squads of the New England Patriots and Minnesota Vikings as a rookie.

After his first season in the NFL, Singleton was drafted by the Calgary Stampeders with the sixth overall pick in the 2016 CFL draft and the linebacker decided to play in Canada. Singleton went on to earn CFL All-Star recognition in 2017 and 2018. He was named the league’s Defensive MVP in 2017 and won a Grey Cup (Canada’s Super Bowl) in 2018.

After three seasons in the CFL, Singleton returned to the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019. He appeared in 42 games in Philly from 2019-2021, earning 19 starts. Singleton totaled 137 tackles in his final season with the Eagles in 2021.

Broncos tenure: Denver signed Singleton to a one-year deal in 2022 and he was originally expected to serve as a key special teams player while getting rotational snaps on defense. Singleton ended up starting 12 games at inside linebacker due to injuries at the position and he led the Broncos with 163 tackles. After an impressive first season in Denver, Singleton was rewarded this offseason with a three-year contract extension.

Chance to make the 53-man roster: Singleton is a lock to make the team and he will likely start next to Josey Jewell as one of the team’s top two inside linebackers in 2023.

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Former Alabama TE Jahleel Billingsley set to sign with the CFL’s Calgary Stampede

Former Alabama TE Jahleel Billingsley headed to the CFL

Former Alabama and Texas tight end, Jahleel Billingsley, is set to sign a contract with the CFL’s Calgary Stampede where he will primarily play as a wide receiver and potentially kick returner. Billingsley was not selected in the 2023 NFL Draft and did not sign with any teams as an undrafted free agent so he will head to Canada to continue his football career. The news was initially reported by On3’s Matt Zenitz.

Billingsley was quite productive for Alabama as he accumulated 37 catches for 559 yards and six touchdowns. He spent the first three years of his collegiate career with the Crimson Tide (2019-2021) before entering the transfer portal and following former Alabama offensive coordinator, Steve Sarkisian, to the Longhorns. In four games with Texas, Billingsley had three receptions for 38 yards and no scores. He entered the draft after his lone season in Texas (2022).

At both Alabama and Texas it seemed as if Billingsley and his coaching staff couldn’t get on the same page, but he has all of the talent in the world. With high production in the CFL, he may entice an NFL team to take a chance on him next offseason. I also think that making the position change to WR is very good for him.

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Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

A CFL player’s rule blunder led to a brutal last-minute loss

What an awful way to lose.

This is a rough one.

Actually, it’s a rouge one.

Let’s dive in: The Canadian Football League has different rules than the NFL or college football does. One of those? Single points — called rouges — are awarded. One of those situations is this: If a ball is kicked into the end zone and not returned out of there, the kicking team is awarded a point.

That came into play when Edmonton’s C.J. Sims was getting ready to field a kick in a tie game when the ball bounced over his head into the end zone. He clearly didn’t know the rule as he casually went to pick it up and take a knee.

Saskatchewan got a point — a rouge! — which ended up being the game-winner:

Now he knows the rule.

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Former Ohio State defensive back credits Greg Schiano for this CFL interception

Dame Webb credits Greg Schiano for his latest interception in the CFL.

Former Ohio State defensive back Damon Webb gave Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano a shoutout this week following his latest big play in the CFL

Currently playing for the Ottawa Redblacks, Webb had an interception in last week’s 26-7 win over the Edmonton Elks. He gave credit to Schiano, who is set to enter his fourth season at Rutgers.

What’s the connection between Schiano and Webb?

Webb graduated from Ohio State in 2018. During that time, he played for Schiano, who was then the defensive coordinator of the Buckeyes. After his time at Ohio State, Webb spent two years in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans. He then transitioned to the CFL where he has been since 2020. He joined Ottawa last year and has settled in nicely in the secondary.

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Schiano spent three years at Ohio State as their defensive coordinator, beginning in 2016. He has a strong reputation for developing defensive backs, having crafted the careers for Logan Ryan, Devin McCourty and Jason McCourty among others.

Webb seems to have settled in nicely in Ottawa. Last year, the 27-year old from Michigan signed a new one-year contract to extend his stay with the Redblacks.

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Watch: former UGA WR Terry Godwin makes fantastic catch in CFL

Does former Georgia Bulldog wide receiver Terry Godwin’s latest one-handed catch top his catch against Notre Dame?

Former Georgia Bulldogs standout receiver Terry Godwin continues to make great catches. Godwin, who made an outstanding one-handed catch against Notre Dame in college, has bounced around the NFL throughout his career. Now, he is plays for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the CFL.

The Carolina Panthers drafted Godwin in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL draft. Godwin found a home with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2019-2021. He caught three passes for 32 yards during that time. In 2022, he was waived by the Tennessee Titans ahead of the start of the 2022 NFL season.

Godwin is getting more playing time in the CFL. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound receiver caught six passes for 107 yards in two starts for Hamilton last year.

Here’s a look at his spectacular one-handed catch:

Godwin’s one-handed snag in the CFL was a cleaner reception than his catch against Notre Dame, but his overall catch against the Fighting Irish in 2017 was more impressive:

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Watch: Janarion Grant’s punt return touchdown as seen from the end zone

Check out this video of Janarion Grant returning a punt 90 yards on Friday.

Janarion Grant’s 90-yard touchdown return on Friday night is still receiving buzz two days later. The former Rutgers football wide receiver and special teams ace may have pulled off the most impressive punt return in CFL history.

The play from Grant helped propel the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to a 45-27 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Grant, who broke through multiple tackles on his punt return, did so after a splendid punt from Saskatchewan’s Adam Korsak. That he did so against Korsak, a legendary player at Rutgers who won the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top punter last year, only adds to the uniqueness of this story.

Korsak’s punt of 58 yards was tremendous, rolling nicely and appeared destined to pin the ball along the sideline. But Grant had other ideas, turning the ball against the grain and breaking seven tackles as he went towards the opposite sideline.

From there, Grant turned on the speed to complete his improbable run.

Here is a look at Grant’s touchdown run upon fielding the ball at his own 20-yard line:

 

And here is the camera angle from midfield of Grant’s impressive touchdown run:

 

Two former Buckeyes make PFF CFL Team of the Week

Two former Ohio State football studs players Austin Mack and Najee Murray are tearing it up in the @CFL according to @PFF #CFL #GoBucks

The first week of the Canadian Football League is in the books and two of the three former Buckeyes in the league shined brighter than most. The CFL recently partnered with Pro Football Focus and one of the cool things they have provided is a weekly Team of the Week.

It shouldn’t be surprising that Austin Mack made the list as we already discussed how amazing his northern debut was with four receptions for 120 yards and player of the game honors for the Montreal Alouettes,

The other former Buckeye on the PFF list is another Alouette as well in Najee Murray.

Murray is the former Ohio State stud with the most CFL experience and that was evident during the season opener as he made a crucial interception in the fourth quarter. Buckeye fans may remember Murray best for his days at Kent State as he transferred to the MAC school.