Minnesota Boys Transfer Report Part 2
Every year hundreds of college football players leave from their college’s and universities in hopes of greener pastures. There are a multitude of reasons why kids transfer to new programs to play, but unless you’re a big-time commit sometimes these…
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Continue ReadingEvery year hundreds of college football players leave from their college’s and universities in hopes of greener pastures. There are a multitude of reasons why kids transfer to new programs to play, but unless you’re a big-time commit sometimes these transfers happen discreetly and it’s hard to track where kids end up throughout their four or five years of eligibility. This is especially true when trying to figure out where kids from certain states have transferred to, and because there was trouble finding a definitive list of which former MN preps have left their programs and where they left to, PrepRedzone decided to take it upon ourselves to make our own! This second edition of the feature list is from the past decade-ish and features notable transfers at a variety of levels, and some that are still ongoing. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy!
J.D. Spielman (Eden Prairie) Nebraska -> ?*
On June 8th, 2020 the news hit that MN’s former Mr. Football finalist and 2x Third Team B1G and 1x B1G HM, and Freshman All-American pick JD Spielman is entering his name in the transfer portal after taking a leave of absence from the team in March. According to the Cornhuskers athletic website, the 5’9, 180 lber. had a 2019 junior season that resulted in him earning “all-conference accolades for the third straight year while starting all 12 games as a junior. He led Nebraska in receptions (49), receiving yards (898), receiving touchdowns (5) and all-purpose yards (1,038). His 898 receiving yards were a career high and ranked sixth on NU’s single-season list. Spielman became the first Husker with three 800-yard receiving seasons, as he posted one of the top 10 receiving yards seasons in school history for the third straight year.” He’ll be missed at Nebraska, but I am very excited to see where he ends up. PrepRedzoneMN has you covered for any updates! Senior Year High School
Terrell Hall Terrell Hall ATH Winona | 2019 State MN (Winona) North Dakota State -> Minnesota State-Mankato* As reported by PrepRedzone a couple of days ago former AP All-State and Minnesota Vikings All-State honoree from Winona Terrell Hall Terrell Hall ATH Winona | 2019 State MN has transferred to MSU-Mankato after a redshirt year at NDSU. He’s listed as a CB for the Mavericks and has four years of eligibility remaining. Congrats to the Mavs for landing a stud. Check out PrepRedzoneMN’s article on the news below. vs. Austin High School
Levi Falck (Centennial) University of South Dakota -> University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cornhuskers .
The 6’2, 205 lb. wide receiver had an outstanding prep career at Centennial where he was an All-Conference and All-Section athlete in two sports (football & baseball) and ultimately committed to the University of South Dakota Coyotes to play football out of high school. He went onto have 15 starts in his Coyote career, and totaled 774 receiving yards and two TDs in his FCS career. His 2019 was injury plagued, but the Minnesota boy still went hard in the classroom and after graduating from USD early he hit the transfer portal as a graduate transfer and committed to Coach Scott Frost and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He’ll be a fun one to watch in the B1G, and with JD Spielman leaving the program Minnesota is going to need another receiver represented for the Huskers. Keep your eyes out for Falck! Senior Year
Falck breaks through the tackles to tie the game once again. 💪 Headed into the fourth‼️ #GoYotes
🎈 Coyote TOUCHDOWN! 🎈
🐺 21, 🌳 21 pic.twitter.com/ciQqxpJCff
— South Dakota Football (@SDCoyotesFB) November 3, 2018
Gayflor Flomo (Totino-Grace) Iowa Western CC -> University of Kansas .
A 5’9, 200 lb. RB whose brother Kez also was a standout RB at Totino-Grace and played his college ball at the University of Kansas after leaving St. Cloud State and playing a year of JUCO ball at NDSCS, Gayflor took the JUCO route right out of high school and played at the illustrious Iowa Western Community College. He totaled 100 rushed for 363 yards and 2 TDs as a Reiver, and signed with the Jayhawks and is wearing #35 for KU. vs. Garden City CC vs. Dodge City CC vs. Blaine HS vs. Hopkins HS
Otumus Payemanu (East Ridge) ASA Brooklyn -> Independence CC (Last Chance U szn 4) -> Adams State
Payemanu was an exciting and explosive player out of East Ridge HS in Woodbury who played QB for the Raptors and was inarguably the best player on the field every prep game he played in. After his senior season he committed to ASA Brooklyn – a JUCO in New York – but transferred to the famous Independence Community College where he was a featured RB in the fourth season of the show available on Netflix. He made some big plays that season and was once again an exciting and shifty player with the football in his hands and totaled 35 rushes for 225 yards and 2 TDs as a sophomore in 2018. In 2019 he was listed on the Adams State football roster as a RB, and with the Grizzlies history of finding success in MN junior college preps I would not be surprised if he made some noise at the DII level. JUCO midseason senior year high school highlights
Brian Athey (Eden Prairie) West Virginia University -> Illinois State
Possibly Eden Prairie’s most prolific QB until Cole Kramer Cole Kramer QB Eden Prairie | 2019 State MN came through and busted that door wide open, Biran Athey was a two-year starter for head coach Mike Grant and led EP to a combined record of 21-3 through his junior and senior seasons at the helm of EPs offense. As a senior he went 45-90 passing for 719 yards and eight TDs in the Eagles run-heavy offense. He was named All-Lake conference and rated as the #6 prospect in the state by Rivals. He committed to West Virginia University out of high school, but according to a bleacherreport.com article, he left the University after his head coach Bill Stewart left the school for a new gig. Interestingly, if he would have stayed he would have backed-up former 39 overall NFL Draft pick Geno Smith. Athey most definitely made the right move for him, as the 6’4, 225 lber. redshirted in 2011, played in 20 games in two seasons at Illinois State, and totaled 3 catches for 45 yards, 3 KORs for 30 yards, and 5 tackles.
Austin Harrington (Minnetonka) St. Cloud State -> University of St. Thomas
As a wide receiver at Minnetonka High School the 6’0, 185 lber. was a captain and All-Conference pick and held D1 offers from Ball State, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Western Michigan but chose to attend St. Cloud State (rip) and during the 2012 season he had 8 catches for 145 yards. After two years at SCSU he transferred to the University of St. Thomas and in two seasons totaled 25 receptions for 360 yards and a TD with a longest reception of 52 yards. I really wish he had some highlights.
Austin Lommen (Breck) Boston College -> Williams College
Most definitely Breck’s most accomplished quarterback in school history, Lommen graduated in 2012 after being named All-Conference thrice and a team captain twice. He set Breck’s record with 7,456 passing yards and 88 touchdowns in three seasons as the team’s starting quarterback. He was awarded Minnesota State High School League honors twice – in 2010 and 2011, and earned Pioneer Press All-State honorable mention and All-Tri Metro Conference honors in 2011. He threw for 2,410 yards and 29 touchdowns in nine games as a senior and tossed 236 completions for 3,080 yards and 35 TDs as a junior. He signed with Boston College in 2012, but the 6’3, 200 lber. ended up transferring to probably the best college or university in the nation in Williams College. In two years starting at QB for Williams he went 339-556 (61%) for 3,295 yards and 15 TDs. He now works for Piper Jaffray as an Investment Banker.
Jonathan Harden (Cretin Derham Hall) Western Michigan -> University of Minnesota-Duluth
Harden was a beast on the OG Cretin Derham Hall football teams of the late 2000’s-early 2010’s and helped win a 5A MN state championship and three Suburban East Conference titles. In his three seasons of varsity action he helped the Raiders go 33-4 and was picked to the AP All-State team twice and was a MN Mr. Football Award finalist in 2011. He was was picked Suburban East Conference Defensive Lineman of the Year as a senior. The 5’9, 313 lb. DT made a D1 start against Central Michigan, and also totaled 5 tackles and a TFL for the Golden Gophers in 2012, totaling 19 total tackles his his Bronco career. He then transferred closer to home to the UMD Bulldogs and had a prolific and unique DII career as he had 11 rushes for 5 TDs as well as 76 tackles, 24.5 TFLs, 4.5 sacks, 2 PBUs, 2 FF, and a blocked kick. vs. Lakeville North vs. East Ridge
Hunter Friesen (Mankato West) Minnesota State-Mankato -> Augsburg University
Another great example of an accomplished WR from Mankato West, Friesen won All-Conference, All-City, and All-State honors as a two-way starter and helped the Scarlett go 21-2 in his last two seasons of prep ball and was apart of West’s Class 5A State Championship. As a senior he caught 63 balls for 1,100 yards and 26 total TDs, and as a junior he finished with 50 catches for 750 yards and eight TDs. His junior year as a DB he also had 11 (!) interceptions, which made for a school record. He signed with the hometown Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks to play his college ball, but ended up transferring to Minneapolis to play for Augsburg College and during the 2014 season he had 41 catches for 610 yards and 6 TDs and had 3 kick returns for 94 yards and was picked All-MIAC honorable mention. It only looks like he played one year of college ball, and he got in some trouble with the law in 2016. vs. Austin High School vs. Bemidji vs. Hutchinson
Cody Scherff (Albert Lea) Rochester Community & Technical College -> UNLV
A 2014 graduate of Albert Lea High School in Southern Minnesota, the 6’6, 250 lber. lettered thrice while at Albert Lea and was named All-Conference three straight years as well. As a senior he hauled in 27 receptions for 458 yards and four touchdowns as a senior. As a junior he had 47 receptions for 796 yards and five touchdowns, and as a sophomore he caught 18 passes for 318 yards and a TD. He signed with RCTC in Rochester, MN and helped the Yellowjackets to an 11-1 overall record in 2015. He played in nine games and made 11 receptions for 238 yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore and played in eight games as a freshman. He signed with UNLV after his JUCO eligibility dried up and in 2016 redshirted with the Rebels. In 2017 he earned his first letter after catching one ball for two yards lettered after playing in 12 games on special teams and as a reserve TE. In 2018 – his final college season – he played in seven games and caught a ball for three yards. Senior Year High School RCTC Midseason