Hamden’s Black, Sacred Heart’s Ozier find new schools
After his top two receivers were selected in the NFL draft, Texas football coach Tom Herman added a talented graduate transfer who happens to be one of the most highly touted prospects from Connecticut in recent years.
Hamden’s Tarik Black was rated by Rivals.com as the 76th best prospect in the Class of 2017 coming out of Cheshire Academy, making him the rare Connecticut player rated in the top 100 on national recruiting databases. After graduating from Michigan, he transferred to Texas.
Black made an immediate impact at Michigan as his first career reception went for a 46-yard touchdown in a 33-17 win over Florida in the 2017 season opener. He added a 37-yard catch later in the game as he led Michigan with 83 receiving yards.
A promising freshman season ended after three games due to a broken foot. Another foot injury suffered in practice not long before the 2018 season opener resulted in Black in missing the first seven games that season. He didn’t record his first catch until the 11th game of the season.
Black played in 12 games in 2019 and recorded season-highs with four catches and 80 receiving yards in the season opener against Middle Tennessee State. Black finished with 40 catches for 507 yards and two touchdowns in 21 career games with the Wolverines.
“Tarik is a big target, an athletic receiver and a player who has displayed the ability to catch the ball in traffic,” Herman said in a release. “He has competed against a lot of tremendous players in the Big Ten and at Michigan for three years, so he brings a great deal of knowledge and experience to our team. Tarik is a really talented player who will be a valuable veteran influence and can bring added leadership to our wide receiver room.”
Devin Duvernay was taken by Baltimore with the 92nd overall pick in the NFL draft, with Collin Johnson going to Jacksonville with pick No. 165 after finishing first and second in receptions and receiving yards for Texas last season. So there could be an opportunity for the 6-foot-3, 215pound Black to make an immediate impact as a graduate transfer.
OZIER HEADED TO ULM
The Sacred Heart men’s basketball team lost a third starter with remaining eligibility as Koreem Ozier transferred to the University of Louisiana-Monroe.
Ozier was second on the Pioneers in scoring (14 points games) last season. He scored in double figures 21 times, with six 20-point games and a 30-point effort in a win over Pine Manor. He had 12 games with at least three 3-pointers as a sophomore.
Sacred Heart will need to replace five of its top six scorers with the graduation of Kinnon LaRose and Jare’l Spellman along with the transfers of E.J. Anosike to Tennessee and Cameron Parker to Montana.
YALE ANNOUNCES RECRUITING CLASS
The Yale women’s basketball program announced its incoming freshman class.
Brenna McDonald, a 6-foot-2 forward, set the
Natick (Mass.) High School career scoring record and was the Bay State Conference most valuable player as a senior.
Haley Sabol, also a 6-2 forward, led Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, in scoring as a junior and senior. The Pittsburgh native and daughter of former Georgetown men’s basketball player Michael Sabol began her high school career at Mt. Lebanon.
Elles van der Maas, a 6-2 guard from Sydney, was the second leading scorer for the Dutch national team at the U16 European Championships in 2018 and led all players with a 48.3 3-point percentage during the 2017 Australian Championships.
Yale does lose leading scorer Roxy Barahman but returns four of its top five scorers including top rebounder Camilla Emsbo and recently named team captain Ellen Margaret Andrews.
NORWALK’S ADAMS SIGNS WITH RAVENS
The Baltimore Ravens officially announced the signing of Norwalk’s Evan Adams as an undrafted rookie free agent.
Adams, who started 45 career games at guard for Syracuse, will be part of a large group of rookie interior offensive linemen joining the Ravens. Tyre Phillips and Ben Bredeson were selected in the third and fourth rounds in last month’s NFL draft, while Daishawn Dixon, Sean Pollard and Trystan ColonCastillo were also signed as free agents. The Ravens also signed veteran D.J. Fluker. james.fuller @hearstmediact.com; @NHRJimFuller