Tag: Channing Stribling

Former Browns to watch in The Spring League

Damon Sheehy-Guiseppe and Jhavonte Dean are among the ex-Browns

The Spring League will kick-off and the upstart league is worth watching. Despite being named The Spring League, they are going to be kicking off in the fall with their first contest on October 27th. The league will be broadcasted on Tuesdays & Wednesdays every week until the championship on November 23rd.

The Spring League is best described as a developmental opportunity for fringe roster guys looking to get another shot. Some famous alums include Greg Hardy as well as some interesting former Browns like Johnny Manziel and Kellen Winslow. Those guys were “washed” when they found their way to The Spring League, but there are a few guys who earned their shot through this experience. Players like New England Patriots tight end, Paul Butler, Nate Holley of the Miami Dolphins and former Browns training camp stud, Blake Jackson all came from the Spring League.

The following is a breakdown of each former Brown on each team:

Alphas:

Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi: Every Cleveland Browns fan will remember the name, Sheehy-Guiseppi. The definition of a training camp hero, Sheehy-Guiseppi went from homeless to returning a punt for a touchdown in an NFL preseason game, but unfortunately he failed to make the final cuts in 2019. Sheehy-Guiseppi landed with the New York Guardians, but suffered an injury with the now-defunct league.

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Bug Howard: Howard was picked up by Cleveland in 2017 after being cut by the Indianapolis Colts and was on the practice squad before being cut before the 2018 season. He was then picked up by the Carolina Panthers before making the final cuts there and has bounced around, including making a stop in the now-defunct Alliance of American Football.

Anthony Stubbs: Stubbs is a player that most Browns fans won’t remember as he was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Prairie View A&M before being released for roster cutdowns. He found his way to the XFL after and will look to show his improvements in The Spring League.

Blues: 

Jhavonte Dean: Unlike Stubbs, Dean is a name some fans will remember as he blew the doors off rookie minicamp after being signed as an undrafted free agent out of Miami. Dean earned a contract but was released for final cuts in 2019. Dean was a first-round selection in the XFL, but suffered an injury and missed the entire season. He was then signed to the CFL, but the season was canceled due to COVID-19. Dean is a player who has the size at 6-1 and speed being timed in the 4.3s and is a key name to watch.

Generals:

Channing Stribling: Stribling was one of the jewels of the undrafted free agent class of 2017 as the physical cornerback was outstanding at Michigan and the hope was that it could translate for the Cleveland Browns. He was released due to roster cuts and bounced around the NFL including with the Indianapolis Colts. He also spent time in the AAF, CFL and XFL.

Amani Dennis: Dennis was invited to the 2019 training camp after having an outstanding career at the Division Three level with Carthage College, but the leap from D3 to NFL ended up being too much. He is a name to keep an eye on though as more experience may help him make the leap eventually.

Jousters:

Chuck Bresnahan:  Bresnahan is not a player, but is the head coach of the Jousters. Older fans might remember he made his professional coaching debut with the Cleveland Browns in 1994 under Bill Belichick as an assistant linebackers coach. Belichick found Bresnahan when he was the defensive coordinator for Maine. He was promoted to the linebackers coach for the 1995 season before moving onto the Indianapolis Colts staff as a linebackers coach after Cleveland moved to Baltimore. Bresnahan spent time in the now-defunct United Football League previously.

 

Former Michigan players react rewatching ESPN broadcast of 2016 OSU game

ESPN re-aired the 2016 Michigan loss in Columbus and a handful of Wolverines reacted on social media to different parts of The Game.

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It was the closest the Wolverines have come in a long while to not only beating the Buckeyes, but making it to Indianapolis and the College Football Playoff for the first time.

2016 felt like a special year for the maize and blue, from the outset with a trouncing of nearly every team Michigan faced with just a handful of exceptions. Even in closer games — Colorado, Wisconsin and Indiana — the Wolverines seemed to be in close to full control, or at least had the games mostly in hand by the end. It even decimated eventual 2016 Big Ten champion Penn State 49-10 in a game that wasn’t even as close as the score indicated.

However, everything started falling apart in Week 11, when Michigan not only lost at Iowa, but starting quarterback Wilton Speight suffered a catastrophic injury.

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He missed the following week hosting Indiana, but returned against Ohio State in Columbus. And Michigan controlled most of that game — though not at all in the dominant fashion it had earlier in the season — until near the end, when some costly mistakes, questionable penalties and a Buckeyes comeback saw the Wolverines lose in double overtime.

ESPN replayed The Game on Thursday evening, and several current and former Michigan players tweeted along while rewatching.

Needless to say, while they have fond memories of that season, it was somewhat tainted by what transpired that afternoon in Columbus.

Former CB Channing Stribling

Michigan had stymied the Buckeyes with first-year Wolverines defensive coordinator Don Brown employing a half-man, half-zone concept. Ohio State couldn’t seem to figure it out, and the passing game lagged as a result.

However, things took a turn on OSU’s final drive in regulation.

Michigan’s offense had become somewhat anemic, and after a turnover and a subsequent unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on head coach Jim Harbaugh, the Buckeyes got the game within striking distance.

The Wolverines defense went out to make a stand and started out strong, sacking OSU QB J.T. Barrett on first down for a loss of six yards. On second down, Barrett got 9 yards back, and while it looked like Michigan forced an errant throw on pressure on third down, the refs awarded H-back Curtis Samuel a pass interference call, with the call being on U-M safety Delano Hill.

It was a call that after the game, Harbaugh called egregious, noting that it was ‘uncatchable and by.’

11 plays later, Ohio State had marched down the field and secured the game-tying field goal.

In double overtime, Michigan settled for a field goal as the third down pass to Grant Perry was incomplete — with no flags, despite what looked to be obvious interference. Four plays later, the Wolverines had seemingly stopped OSU on a fourth-and-one — which would have won the game — but the refs signaled that Barrett had made the line to gain, and there was no conclusive evidence either way in the replay.

On the very next play, Samuel marched into the endzone securing defeat for the Wolverines.

Cornerback Channing Stribling naturally still feels hosed by the officials refereeing the game, reacting on his rewatch to how they performed on that late November day.

FB Khalid Hill

One of the bright spots for Michigan that afternoon was fullback Khalid ‘the Hammerin’ Panda’ Hill, who accounted for both of the Wolverines’ touchdowns in regulation that game.

But, on top of Speight’s injury, there were some self-imposed mistakes the team made that kept the game close. A fumble at the goal line and two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, kept OSU within striking distance, and ultimately, it capitalized in the end.

Hill was reacting throughout the re-broadcast of The Game, and while it’s not obvious as to what he was reacting to, he did share the following:

Regardless, he was a bright spot in what ended up being a dreary day for the maize and blue.

Holder Garrett Moores

One thing that gets somewhat left in the dark, especially considering that Michigan lost three of its final four games, is how cohesive the team was for most of the season.

The Wolverines blew the doors off of Hawaii and UCF before finding themselves down 21-7 to Colorado. They fought back and won convincingly in that game. Penn State was a laugher before a close, 14-7 win over Wisconsin. At Rutgers saw Michigan start slow in the rain only to win 78-0 based off an incredible running attack while not letting the Scarlet Knights get a first down until the fourth quarter.

Illinois was over before it started. MSU mounted a comeback, but too little, too late. Against Maryland, Wilton Speight had the best-ever half by a Michigan QB.

But then it all came tumbling down at Iowa.

The Wolverines looked like they were just starting to assert themselves, but a fumble in the endzone and a passing game that couldn’t get off the ground in a cold Iowa City night kept the game close, until the Hawkeyes won the game in walk-off fashion. Then there was the close game against Indiana, Ohio State and a loss in the Capital One Orange Bowl against Florida State.

However the season played out, former holder of the year Garrett Moores recalls how close knit the team was while rewatching The Game. Had it not been for the foibles in the OSU game, the 2016 team would be remembered much differently.

Defensive end Luiji Vilain

Vilain wasn’t actually a Michigan player just yet, just a commit at the time. But on his rewatch of the game, he still had the same feeling about J.T. Barrett’s fourth-and-one rush attempt as most maize and blue faithful do.

Another former Michigan defensive back reels in INT in XFL play

The former Wolverines cornerback tied his fellow Michigan teammate in the XFL with a pick one week later.

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Last week, it was Seattle Dragons cornerback Jeremy Clark — the former Wolverines safety-turned-cornerback — who reeled in the big interception for the XFL Seattle Dragons squad.

On Saturday, it would be his former teammate in maize and blue getting the jump.

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In 2016, Clark and Channing Stribling started the season on opposite sides of the field, playing cornerback for the Wolverines with Jourdan Lewis held out with injury the first two games. Now, together in the XFL, they’re showing why teams shouldn’t pass on the defensive back teammates that once oversaw the nation’s pass defense.

As mentioned, Clark pulled in the interception last week, but this week, with the Seattle Dragons hosting the Dallas Renegades, Stribling got into the act, reeling in a pick of his own.

That said, maybe XFL teams should just not pass against Seattle.

This comes the same day as their former running back teammate, De’Veon Smith, had a highlight play of his own, making an over the shoulder grab while maintaining possession, despite a huge hit.