'No complaints' on Texas A&M defensive tackle transfer Mohamed Diallo
Mohamed Diallo's transfer waiver for immediate eligibility was granted on Oct. 25 by the NCAA.
The transfer defensive tackle from Texas A&M was put on a plane that same day and sent to Buffalo, New York, less than 100 miles from his hometown in Toronto.
The game was Oct. 26, and Diallo was cleared to join his teammates on the field. He worked in a backup role at defensive tackle behind true freshman Jacques Bristol in the 43-20 loss at UB Stadium.
"It's one of those deals where you never know when the appeals go," said first-year coach Jim McElwain. "We found out Friday, and he was ready to play. He played some snaps."
Diallo came to Central Michigan during fall camp, but he was not added to the roster until just before the Chippewas' Mid-American Conference road test against Buffalo.
McElwain found him through the transfer portal. Diallo has two years of eligibility remaining.
Senior defensive tackle D’Andre Dill was injured against Western Michigan on Sept. 28 and left the game for the locker room.
He hasn't played since.
"Dill is still down, no idea when he'll be back," McElwain said.
Without Dill active, the NCAA's clearance of Diallo proved to be a game-changer for the Chippewas. It gave them much needed depth at the tackle position.
McElwain said it's going to help the team down the stretch, as Central Michigan is 6-4 overall and 4-2 in the Mid-American Conference with two games remaining.
"He's going to help us down the stretch run here as we get him introduced a little better to what we do and how we go about it," McElwain said. "He's obviously a really good player."
Diallo's teammate, junior defensive tackle Robi Stuart, hasn't had an issue with the Texas A&M transfer joining the mix.
"Mo's a cool guy. He's been cool for the whole defensive line," Stuart said. "He's a good guy and works hard. No complaints from me."
The entire defensive line has continuously learned as a group, Stuart added. Sitting in the film room, each player tries to help the person next to him.
That mentality stems from the leaders to everyone else on the line.
"It's all back and forth, back and forth, 'Hey, maybe you should try this, maybe you should try that,'" Stuart said.
Diallo attended high school at Eastern Commerce Collegiate Institute before attending junior college at Arizona Western College. He finished his NJCAA career with 30 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
An all-star game after Diallo's senior year of high school was the first time he ever played football. It was a matchup between Team Canada and Team USA, and his performance ultimately earned him a spot at junior college.
Ranked as the No. 59 overall player in the JUCO rankings by the 247Sports Composite, Diallo picked the Aggies over Oregon, Alabama, Fresno State, Arizona, Houston, Kansas, Ole Miss, UNLV and USF.
Diallo appeared in one game as a junior in the 2018 season for Texas A&M due to taking a redshirt.
