Tag: European League of Football

Former Ohio State football player signs with European League of Football

Former Ohio State football player signs with Barcelona Dragons (@Dragons_BCN) of the European League of Football (@ELF_Official) #GoBucks #FeelTheFire

Former Ohio State football player, Darius Slade, has signed with the Barcelona Dragons of the European League of Football. Most die-hard fans will remember this name from the now-defunct, NFL Europe days, but the current iteration of the Barcelona Dragons is unaffiliated with the National Football League.

Slade was a former three-star recruit from the state of New Jersey in the class of 2014 and redshirted during his first year on campus, but in 2015 as a redshirt freshman, Slade saw action in seven games. The defensive end, unfortunately, suffered an Achilles injury which forced him to miss the entire 2016 season and it was after this that he decided to transfer to Arizona State.

Before the days of the portal, the NCAA forced players to sit out a season and Slade was forced to sit out in 2017 in his first season in Tempe. Slade started seven games for the Sun Devils in 2018 and tallied 2.5 sacks. He again decided to transfer, this time ending up at South Florida where he was named team captain and tallied 32 tackles on the season to go with two sacks and a forced fumble.

It is great that Slade can continue to follow his dreams and we look forward to watching his career flourish.

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Jim Tomsula off to a 2-0 start as the head coach of the Rhein Fire

Former San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula is off to a 2-0 start as the head coach of the Rhein Fire in the ELF.

The Rhein Fire returned to the football field this spring, joining ten other teams in the European League of Football for the 2022 season. Before this version of the franchise, the Fire were part of both the World League and NFL Europe winning the World Bowl in both 1998 and 2000.

For this second stint as a franchise, a familiar face to both NFL fans and fans in Rhein returned: Jim Tomsula.

And under his guidance, the Fire are off to a 2-0 start with their home opener against the Istanbul Rams on the docket for this weekend.

This is not Tomsula’s first stint as a head coach, nor as the head coach of the Fire. During the 2006 NFL Europe season, Tomsula served as the head coach of the Fire, guiding Rhein to a 6-4 record. When the Fire missed out on the playoffs, Tomsula moved to the NFL, taking a position as the defensive line coach with the San Francisco 49ers. He would ultimately serve as the team’s head coach for the 2015 campaign, a year that saw San Francisco finish with a 5-11 record.

Upon their rebirth in the ELF, the Fire announced in February that Tomsula would be their head coach for the season:

A blockbuster signing on Super Bowl Sunday! As the Rhein Fire announced, the franchise has signed Jim Tomsula, former NFL coach, as their head coach for the upcoming European League of Football season. In Tomsula, the franchise has their most important coaching position set. The experienced coach can work with a talented and experienced player portfolio.

The Fire opened the season with a 29-26 victory over the Frankfurt Galaxy on the road, and followed that up with a 28-17 victory over the Leipzig Kings. In that game, the Fire scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to secure the win, and it was this 96-yard fumble return from Omari Williams that broke a 17-17 tie midway through the final quarter:

During his time in San Francisco, Tomsula was known for his positive energy and outlook. That has not left him, as you can see from this pre-game interview before Rhein’s Week 1 victory over the Galaxy:

Whether that energy pays off with a winning season for the Fire remains to be seen, but their 2-0 start has Rhein fans excited for the rest of the campaign.

Former Tiger inks with new professional team

A former Clemson football player has inked with a new professional team. Former Tiger wide receiver Diondre Overton is taking his talents to the European League of Football and has signed with the Vienna Vikings, the franchise announced. Overton …

A former Clemson football player has inked with a new professional team.

Former Tiger wide receiver Diondre Overton is taking his talents to the European League of Football and has signed with the Vienna Vikings, the franchise announced.

Overton signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League this past summer but was released by the team shortly after.

Overton, 23, played 51 games over four seasons at Clemson from 2016-20, winning national championships with the Tigers in 2016 and 2018.

During his college career, the 6-4, 210-pound native of Greensboro, North Carolina recorded 52 receptions for 777 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.

Clemson Variety & Frame is doing their part to help bring you some classic new barware and help one of the local businesses that helps make Clemson special.

Order your Nick’s barware and do your part to help.  #SaveNicks

Former MSU RB Madre London is tearing it up in European League of Football

Former Michigan State Spartans running back Madre London is dominating in the European League of Football

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Former Michigan State Spartans running back Madre London is dominating in the European League of Football.

London — who plays for the Cologne Centurions — has eclipsed the century mark in rushing yards in just four games this season. His Centurions are 2-2 on the season behind London’s success on the ground.

London played for Michigan State from 2015 to 2017, before transferring to Tennessee for his senior season. He appeared in 30 games during his Spartans career, running for 924 yards and eight touchdowns on 230 carries.

I personally can’t tell you how strong the competition is within the European League of Football or how good the quality of play is compared to the NFL or even the Canadian Football League (CFL). Regardless, it’s incredibly impressive to put up numbers like this in such a small number of games and definitely is worthy of recognition. London’s strong play in Europe could potentially land him a spot — or at least some attention — back here in North America from teams in the NFL or CFL.

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