The chase for transfer triumph: CMU's John Bonamego details new options


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Central Michigan coach John Bonamego speaks to reporters at MAC Media Day at Ford Field on July 24.

Sipping on a coffee while sitting near the podium in the Hall of Legends room at Ford Field, Central Michigan coach John Bonamego listened intently. 

He was focused on Mid-American Conference Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher's discussion of the new transfer rules at MAC Media Day. 

Holding the attention of the room, Steinbrecher explained the MAC requested to review the transfer rules three years ago. The NCAA finally made a change in June for the first time in over 20 years. 

Under the rule change, transfer football players no longer need to gain permission from their original school in order to accept athletic scholarships at new schools. Essentially, students cannot be stopped from joining a new program. 

Over the recent months, Bonamego’s group has added three of the most game-changing graduate transfers in years at CMU – defensive tackle Marcus Griffin from Arizona, defensive end Sean Adesanya from Illinois and cornerback Xavier Crawford from Oregon State. 

All three players will be eligible to play in the 2018 season. 

While adding multiple graduate transfers, CMU also gained commitments from four other transfers which have to wait until the 2019 season to get playing time on the gridiron. Those players include linebacker Andrew Ward from Nebraska, wide receiver Kalil Pimpleton from Virginia Tech, offensive tackle Ja’Raymond Hall from Michigan and tight end Luke Goedeke from Wisconsin-Stevens Point. 

However, Bonamego is not ready to call the Chippewas “Transfer U” due to maintaining a top status recruiting kids around the nation out of high school. When a player wants to be a graduate transfer, it means he just wants to play. 

The example Bonamego uses most often is 2017 starting quarterback Shane Morris, who was a graduate transfer from the University of Michigan. He threw for 3,237 yards, 27 touchdowns and 17 interceptions last campaign.

“He had a degree from the University of Michigan,” Bonamego said on July 24 at MAC Media Day. “He could’ve easily gone into the workforce because he already had job offers. But, he loved football.”

Bringing Griffin, Adesanya and Crawford to Mount Pleasant, the fourth-year CMU coach had to check a few things off his list before making a decision. His goal is to avoid any disruption of the locker room. Bonamego said he would not risk losing the culture, attitude, mentality and confidence of the team in the graduate transfer process. 

“For me, it has to be a right fit,” Bonamego said. “I have to be convinced without a shadow of the doubt that these guys are going to come in and fit in our locker room, adopt our traditions and play our style. Otherwise, it’s not worth it. They are reborn as Chippewas.”

Courtesy Photo | Marcus Griffin

A defensive tackle transfer from Arizona, Griffin took an official visit to CMU on Feb. 17 and announced his decision to transfer into the program on Jan. 2. 

Griffin already added strength to the locker room morale by becoming close friends with junior defensive back Sean Bunting. 

“We connected and built a great relationship,” Griffin said to CM-Life after his commitment. “He was in my ear a lot and we talked all the time. It felt great that the players could vouch for everything the coaching staff was telling me.

In the 2017 season, Griffin logged just two tackles on the season but earned a considerable amount of playing time. Over his career with the Wildcats, the 6-foot-3, 305 pounder registered five total tackles. 

Coming out of Bellevue High School in Washington, the defensive lineman was a three-star prospect with a big body. Bonamego said Griffin had a lot of position coaches and schemes he had to play into at Arizona and it didn’t work out.

Spending time with Griffin during his visit to CMU and at an at-home visit in Bellevue, Bonamego was sold on adding him to the 2018 roster. 

“I went out to Seattle and did a home visit and when you meet someone’s family, it tells you a whole lot about the individual,” Bonamego said of Griffin. “It allowed me to see where he came from and the journey he went on. It was easy with him.”

Oregon State graduate transfer Xavier Crawford joined Central Michigan for the 2018 season.

Another easy addition was Crawford, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound cornerback from Oregon State due to new CMU defensive backs coach Cory Hall. The 41-year-old coached for the Beavers in 2016 and 2017, working as the interim head coach for six games last season.

Crawford made his transfer to CMU official on July 19. 

“Obviously Cory was very familiar with Xavier,” Bonamego said. “He already knew what to expect from his position coach, so his visit was just us getting to know each other.”

After sitting out his true freshman 2015 season with a redshirt, Crawford started all 12 games in 2016. During that season, he made 70 tackles, two tackles for a loss, one sack, one interception, 10 passes defended and one forced fumble. 

He registered 17 tackles and two passes defended in five games before going down with a season-ending back injury in 2017. 

CMU, following the most recent 8-5 season, has Bunting as the only returning member of the starting secondary. Crawford will join a battle with Tyjuan Swain, Alonzo McCoy, Da'Quaun Jamison, Devonni Reed, Gage Kreski and others for the final three spots.

“He gives us depth in the secondary because he played a lot,” Bonamego added.

September 2 2017 Illinois vs Ball State Football. Home Opener

Adesanya, a defensive end from Illinois, plays the same position as former CMU star Joe Ostman, who made 69 tackles, 20.5 tackles for a loss, 14 sacks and four forced fumbles in the 2017 season. He led the FBS with 1.27 sacks per game. 

Now, it’s Adesanya’s time to help fill the void at the defensive end position. The 6-foot-3, 250-pound defensive lineman was limited to seven games over three seasons due to injuries with the Fighting Illini. He made 10 tackles in the 2017 season. 

“Each one of those players is adding depth and filling a void,” Bonamego said of his grad transfers.

Adesanya, who will play the 2018 season, also has a chance to be eligible for the 2019 season because of his medical redshirt. 

"I'm very excited to play for coach Bonamego because he's a player’s coach," Adesanya said to CM-Life after transferring. "He understands how valuable the players are. He's a big family guy, so I like that a lot."

Looking upon the horizon of CMU’s 2018 football season, Bonamego expects a solid performance out of his three graduate transfers and is very excited for the season.

The next step is getting the four other transfers ready for the Chippewas in 2019. 

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