Tag: Joey Velazquez

Michigan linebacker transfers to Ohio State

A native son is coming home. #GoBucks

For the first time since 2008 when Justin Boren made the leap, a Michigan Wolverine has crossed enemy lines and will become an Ohio State Buckeye.

Columbus native Joey Velazquez was set to be a Buckeye after his senior year of high school. Attending Saint Francis DeSales High School in Columbus, Velazquez originally committed to play baseball at Ohio State. But the call of the gridiron was too strong prompting the three-star athlete to trade in the Scarlet and Gray for the Maize and Blue.

Velazquez joined Michigan as part of the 2019 recruiting class where played he both football and baseball. Velazquez only played in 16 total games during his career in Ann Arbor, but was much more of a contributor on the baseball diamond where he started 63 games and helped the Wolverines advance to two NCAA regionals in 2021 and 2022.

Velazquez will be a walk-on for the Buckeyes and will only play football where he’ll be part of the linebacker group.

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Michigan football two-sport athlete transfers to Ohio State

Excuse me, what?

Et tu, Brute?

It’s one thing to enter the transfer portal, it’s entirely another to join a rival school. It’s even another thing if that rival school is Ohio State.

While it’s rare, it happens. Star offensive lineman Justin Boren transferred to the Buckeyes after longtime head coach Lloyd Carr left. As far as other rivals, Ben VanSumeren transferred from Michigan football to rival Michigan State.

Now there’s another.

Joey Velazquez is a reserve linebacker and special teams player who also plays for the Wolverines baseball team. And while Velazquez is headed home, it’s a shot across the bow as the Columbus native has transferred to Ohio State.

Velazquez did not travel with the team to the Rose Bowl or national championship games unlike some of the other outgoing transfers. Certainly, his move to the rival Buckeyes won’t ingratiate many of his now former teammates given the rivalry.

His biggest claim to fame on the football field was forcing a huge turnover in Week 5 of 2021 at Wisconsin.

Two Michigan football defenders enter transfer portal before Rose Bowl

Best of luck to them.

Michigan football was the last of the College Football Playoff semifinalists to lose any players from the roster to the transfer portal, but it appears more are heading out of dodge looking for new opportunities.

With running back C.J. Stokes having already entered after his second year (though he is with the team at the Rose Bowl), two more have joined him in preparing for a departure.

According to MLive’s Aaron McMann, freshman cornerback Cameron Calhoun and senior linebacker Joey Velazquez have both entered the transfer portal and will play elsewhere next season. It’s unclear at this juncture whether either is in Los Angeles for the Rose Bowl.

Velazquez has been a mainstay on the team, mostly on special teams. A dual-sport athlete, he’s made several big plays for the Michigan baseball team over the years, as well as having had a handful of crucial plays for the football team. He joined the program in 2019 and just finished out his fifth-year.

Calhoun, an Ohio native, committed to Michigan moments after the Wolverines beat Ohio State in 2022 in Columbus. An early enrollee, Calhoun got a jump on the defensive playbook during Fiesta Bowl prep, along with fellow defensive back Jyaire Hill.

LOOK: Michigan football LB Joey Velazquez hits a grand slam

Go Joey and #GoBlue!

Joey Velazquez couldn’t participate in Michigan football spring ball. Not because he was injured or precluded or anything like that. But because he’s a true dual-threat, who splits time with the baseball team.

Velazquez has long been a reserve on both the football and baseball team, but of late, he’s been seen more time. He started the first five games of the season this year, but struggled at the plate and saw his time dwindle. However, after some key at-bats, he’s becoming a reliable weapon for the maize and blue on the diamond.

On Wednesday, Velazquez had about as good of an at-bat as one could have, hitting a towering home run with the bases loaded for a grand slam. Looks like he can do it all.

Velazquez is doing well in baseball, but the linebacker position he plays for football is becoming increasingly loaded. However, he’s been stalwart on special teams, having made several big plays, including forcing a key turnover in 2021 at Wisconsin.

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WATCH: Dual-sport Michigan player takes it to Ohio State — again

Stacking up Ws against that team in Columbus! #GoBlue

Beating Ohio State once in football is cool, but you know what else is cool? Beating the Buckeyes a few more times — you know, for good measure.

Michigan baseball is looking to complete a three-game series sweep against arch-rival OSU, and one Wolverine has had a chance to be a part of both the football and baseball rivalry. Joey Velazquez is a linebacker on the gridiron (but mostly got his run on special teams this past season), but he’s also a bench player on the diamond. As the maize and blue found themselves tied in the seventh inning, Velazquez came up to bat and drove in the leading run.

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For someone who hails from Columbus, Ohio and was previously committed to Ohio State for baseball, having the football win along with the baseball victories has to feel pretty good for Velazquez. The latter especially, not only because it’s against his hometown school and rival, but because he took time away from baseball during spring football, devoting the entire session to the winningest program in college.

At the time of this writing, the game is still ongoing, but the Wolverines have a 5-3 lead over the Buckeyes in the bottom of the eighth.

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LOOK: Michigan football LB hits first career HR to give baseball team lead

Doing it on the gridiron as well as diamond! #GoBlue

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Usually during the recruiting process, we hear a lot about dual-sport athletes, but it doesn’t necessarily happen often. But, when you’re committed to a rival school for baseball before flipping to football, chances are, you really are a player who can do both.

Such is the case for Wolverines linebacker Joey Velazquez, who also plays for the baseball team. While he might not be a mainstay for the defense nor the batting order, we’ve seen him make big plays on both the gridiron, and now the diamond as well.

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Velazquez was responsible for forcing a pivotal fumble on special teams at Wisconsin in Week 5 last year, and now he’s helped aid the maize and blue in baseball. In the top of the eighth against Maryland, the game tied at four-all, Velazquez came in as a pinch hitter, and hit a three-run shot to give Michigan baseball the lead.

As a result of Velazquez’s dinger, the Wolverines won the game by the aforementioned 7-4 score.

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Former OSU baseball commit, Michigan football freshman, gets first career hit

Once an Ohio State baseball commit, the Wolverines football defensive back got his first hit on the baseball diamond for the maize and blue.

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When Michigan reeled in Columbus native Joey Velazquez into the 2019 class, it was a matter of time before he’d be productive for the Wolverines.

It just turned out that his first stats have come on the baseball diamond before the gridiron.

Velazquez redshirted for the football team in 2019, where he’s a potential utility man on the defensive side of the ball. He was recruited as a VIPER, but also has shown penchant to play safety. But his versatility doesn’t stop there, as the former Ohio State baseball commit got his first career hit for the maize and blue, in the Wolverines rout of UConn on Saturday.

Pinch hitting in the eighth inning, then playing right field, Velazquez is now 1-for-1 in his collegiate baseball career, batting 1.000 in the early season.

Now, naturally, while he has an entire spring to work on his slugging ability, fans will hope his natural talent will translate to the same success on the football field this fall.