Who's in, who's out: A look at football arrivals and transfers
Most players leaving and coming to college football programs do so through signing as a high schooler and graduating as a college senior. The other route is transferring. Three players are on the verge of joining the Central Michigan football program while at least three student-athletes are transferring out.
Who's in
Running back Berkley Edwards
CMU signed Chelsea wide receiver Bailey Edwards last week, the brother of former Michigan and NFL wide receiver Braylon Edwards.
In addition to Bailey, Bonamego announced his brother, Berkley, has transferred in from 2015 Quick Lane Bowl-foe Minnesota. Berkley will play running back for the Chippewas while also running track and field. He ran the 60-meter dash in the indoor season for Minnesota and the 100-yard dash in the outdoor season.
In 2014, Berkley rushed 30 times for 140 yards and two touchdowns in his redshirt freshman season with the Golden Gophers. He only played in two games in 2015.
Wide receiver coach Mose Rison said Berkley has the chance to be a “super football player.”
“When Berkley was a senior in high school, he was a great running back, a physical running back, great speed,” Rison said. “I know he is going to be a tremendous asset for us. He’s a very, very good person. We’re very fortunate to have a young man of that caliber transfer to our program.”
Bonamego said Berkley may have to sit out the 2016 season due to NCAA transfer rules, but echoed Rison’s comments.
“He’s an explosive guy,” Bonamego said. “He has unbelievable high-end speed. He’s a guy we’re going to look at as a kick returner. He’s another quality player to add into that backfield.”
Wide receiver/defensive back Logan Hessbrook
Logan Hessbrook is one half of an Ithaca duo that sustained championship success at Ithaca High School. Bonamego said last week Hessbrook is enrolled but is ineligible to play this season due to NCAA transfer rules.
Hessbrook played at Saginaw Valley State University last season, where he played in seven games.
At Ithaca, Hessbrook mainly played wide receiver and defensive back. In the 2012 Division 6 State championship game, Hessbrook came in at quarterback for the injured Travis Smith and guided the Yellowjackets to their third consecutive state title.
Quarterback Travis Smith
Smith also tried playing at another college before deciding to transfer to CMU. Bonamego said Smith is practicing with the Chippewas, but it's not clear if he will play.
Smith was a four-year starter at Ithaca and is the winningest quarterback in the history of Michigan. He led Ithaca to four state titles and 56 consecutive wins. He was named MLive’s Player of the Year in 2013.
He signed on at Wake Forest but transferred out after he lost a quarterback competition. MLive also said he was homesick. He then transferred to Eastern Michigan, but no longer is enrolled there.
Who's out
Kicker/punter Ron Coluzzi
Former Central Michigan redshirt junior kicker and punter Ron Coluzzi has accepted a walk-on position at the University of Iowa.
Coluzzi said he took an official visit to Iowa City on Jan. 30 and announced his decision via a Facebook post Feb. 4.
The Hawkeyes, who went 12-1 in 2015-16, are graduating both senior placekicker Marshall Koehn and senior punter Dillon Kidd.
Because Coluzzi plans to graduate from CMU in May with honors in Marketing and Logistics Management, he is eligible to play immediately, using his fourth year of eligibility.
Coluzzi did not play against Minnesota in the Quick Lane Bowl Dec. 28. Bonamego said the team knew two weeks before the game they would be without Coluzzi for “personal reasons."
“I just always wanted to compete at a higher level,” Coluzzi said. “I didn’t really keep that a secret.”
Coluzzi said Bonamego learned about his desire to compete somewhere else. The two talked and decided to go separate ways.
“It’s kind of self-explanatory. When someone on your team doesn’t want to play for your team anymore, the head coach has to go in a different direction for the betterment of the program,” Coluzzi said. “When it comes down to it, this is a business and I know that first and foremost.”
Running back Martez Walker
CMU’s running back group will lose it's leading rusher from 2015 in sophomore Martez Walker, who transferred out of the program according to Bonamego.
Walker is enrolled at St. Joseph’s College in Indiana. Bonamego said Walker was going through some “personal stuff” back home.
“We certainly wish him well,” Bonamego said. “It is an amicable deal. He felt like he need to be closer to home. We fully support him and wish him nothing but the best.”
Walker had 646 yards on 177 carries and three touchdowns in his Chippewa career.
The running backs who could play a role in the backfield next season include current freshman Romello Ross, sophomore Devon Spalding and junior Jahray Hayes.
Quarterback Dakota Kupp
Dakota Kupp, a member of the 2015 recruiting class, has transferred to Wayne State according to George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press.
Kupp, who played high school football at Waterford Mott, did not appear in a game for CMU.
CMU signed three quarterbacks Wednesday as Bonamego said he will look for the "successor" to current junior quarterback Cooper Rush. The team signed Tony Poljan (Lansing Catholic), Austin Hergott (Fort Thomas Highlands) and Tommy Lazzaro (Dodge City Community College).
In addition, CMU has senior Ryan Lamb and redshirt freshman Jake Johnson on its roster.
