Nebraska football’s matchup against Wisconsin is worth circling for a number of reasons as the end of the regular season is quickly approaching,
This marks head coach Matt Rhule’s last opportunity to earn a berth to a bowl game at home and will be the farewell ceremony for roughly 30 Huskers with the senior day ceremony set to take place before the game.
Rhule understands the weight that this game will have, not just because of the implications, but because it also represents a larger paradigm shift within college football.
“Hopefully everyone embraces this moment because this is kind of the end of an era,” Rhule said Monday. “We’ve out-legislated the true walk-on programs in college football and this is the last group of kids that will do that.”
Rhule’s statements come amidst the changes that will be put in place as a result of the House v. NCAA settlement. There will be new regulations across all collegiate athletics, but for football, the most impactful changes come in the new roster limitations. A Nebraska roster that currently has around 150 players listed will now have to downsize to around 105 players ahead of the 2025 season.
One of the players who will walk for the Huskers on Saturday is Lincoln native and walk-on linebacker Grant Buda.
“A 3.9 student. Made his way into camp because of the work he did this summer. Made the elite list every week. Wants to be an NFL orthopedic surgeon,” Rhule said of Buda. “In the future, I’ll have to tell that kid ‘Hey, you can’t be here anymore.’ For a guy that’s wired like me, that’s absolutely heartbreaking.”
Coaches all across college football are likely going to have to tell even more guys to enter the portal due to the limited spots. In an era of football that has already seen the portal become heavily saturated, it is only going to see an increase once the current season comes to an end.
Combine fringe roster players who are fighting for a spot with the usual players who are unhappy with their current playing situations and the transfer portal is set to take a chaotic leap. Limited roster spots and more players in the portal than ever will make the FBS a desert for players without a home. However, Rhule anticipates that it could have implications all across college football.
“Just think about 20-30 guys from every school having to hit the portal and the effect that it is going to have on the FCS, Division II, NAIA, and Division III,” Rhule said.
With many coaches across the FBS division having to go through the same struggle as Rhule, it is seemingly likely that there will be fewer feel-good walk-on stories to celebrate. Some recent notable walk-ons include Stetson Bennett who led Georgia to two consecutive national championships in 2021 and 2022. Current Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield started as a walk-on at Texas Tech before he transferred to Oklahoma. During Rhule’s stint at Temple, Haason Reddick was a walk-on who was eventually taken in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
It is likely that guys who fit this archetype would have had to go play at much smaller schools in the era college football is about to enter. Roster spots are going to be more selective than ever and now players may have to settle for the best opportunities available. It is likely that divisions below the FCS could be more talented than they have ever been before.
In the 2024 NFL Draft, 11 FCS players were selected. With the forecasted influx in talent, it could be possible that even more FCS players have their names called in the 105-man roster era. The 2022 draft had one of the highest number of subdivision players selected in recent history and it appears that there could be a reality where this number is regularly exceeded in the coming years.
Though walk-on players may get chances elsewhere, they are sometimes the heart and soul that helps the team keep churning. Oftentimes walk-on players are homegrown talents that take pride in wearing a college football uniform. They are beloved by fans and even the coaches themselves.
“We have some kids on our team that all they want to do is go out and be a Husker,” Rhule said. “They just want to practice and help the team.”
There are kids who grow up their whole lives wanting to wear a Nebraska uniform, but now even fewer athletes will get to fulfill their dreams. Senior linebacker John Bullock is a player who might be the last of his kind. Bullock arrived at Nebraska in 2019 and it was not until the 2023 season that he earned his first start. A trend that is likely going to become a rare sight.
“How many guys have you seen announce, ‘Hey I’ve been offered a preferred walk-on spot at the University of Nebraska,’” Rhule said. “You probably have not seen very many this year, because I don’t want to make a promise I can’t keep.”
Walk-ons have helped players earn opportunities not just on the field, but even on coaching staffs as well. Long before Rhule took his first head coaching job at Temple he was a walk-on for Penn State in the 90s.
“For me, as a former walk-on, for my strength coach who was a walk-on, for (Marcus Satterfield) who was a walk-on, I can’t imagine my life if I hadn’t been able to walk on at Penn State University,” Rhule said.
With Saturday being the last home game before the roster changes take place it should be a day of varying emotions. Some guys will get to walk the field for the last time as they have reached the end of their eligibility, while others simply will not have a spot.
In an age where the transfer portal, realignment and NIL have changed college football to be unrecognizable from the eras that preceded it, the decline of walk-on players may be the title to a new chapter.
WHEELING — The International Football Alliance (IFA) is thrilled to announce the addition of the Ohio Valley Ironmen to its roster of teams, expanding the league’s reach and commitment to bringing competitive professional football to passionate markets. Led by experienced General Manager and Head Coach Manny Matsakis, the Ironmen aim to harness the enthusiasm of Ohio Valley’s rich football culture, delivering top-tier professional football to a region that has long been passionate about the sport.
The Ohio Valley Ironmen will represent one of the IFA’s new territories and serve as an anchor team in the Ohio Valley area, encompassing cities and towns that have a deep-seated love for the game. Matsakis, a Shadyside native known for his strategic expertise and leadership, is committed to fostering local talent and building a powerhouse team that will compete at the highest level in the international league.
“I’m honored to bring the Ohio Valley Ironmen into the IFA, and I look forward to establishing a team that reflects the dedication and spirit of this football-loving region,” said Matsakis. “Our team will work tirelessly to make Ohio Valley proud, both on and off the field. We’re excited to compete on an international stage and bring a new level of football excellence to our fans.”
The Ironmen will play their home games in the Ohio Valley, providing an exciting addition to the IFA’s lineup of professional teams spanning the United States and international locations. The IFA season, set to kick off in June, will see the Ironmen face off against teams from major markets, delivering thrilling matchups that showcase talent from around the world.
According to the IFA website, teams include the Dallas Pioneros; San Antonio Caballeros; Baltimore Lightning; Chihuahua (Mexico) Rebelion; Tampa Tornadoes and Alabama Beavers.
Fans can expect high-energy games, community-focused events, and a dedicated effort by Matsakis and the Ironmen’s staff to bring home victories and represent Ohio Valley with pride. As part of the IFA, the Ohio Valley Ironmen will promise to showcase the best in international football talent for the hard-working community of the region.
For more information and updates, fans are encouraged to follow the Ohio Valley Ironmen on social media.
About the International Football Alliance
The IFA is a professional football league that brings together teams from across North America, and Mexico creating a unique platform for international competition and community engagement. Founded with the vision to expand and elevate the game of football on an international scale, the IFA offers players, fans, and communities pro international football between May and August filling the need for 11 vs. 11 pro outdoor football.
Northern Michigan University’s Tanner Latsch readies for a faceoff during a game last season at the Berry Events Center in Marquette. Latsch earned a pair of CCHA weekly awards on Oct. 16 after tallying five goals and an assist in his first collegiate action, a two-game series at Minnesota-Duluth. (Photo courtesy NMU)
MARQUETTE — It’s a brave new world, not just in college hockey, but in a wide range of NCAA sports, particularly at the Division I level.
The new rules, in particular the NCAA transfer portal, have created uncertainly probably like never seen before. It would be way overblown to say the Northern Michigan University hockey program was left in shambles, but what was left that way was its roster in the aftermath of a head coaching change this summer.
In the end, NMU has just four players returning from last year’s team — redshirt junior Jakob Peterson, junior Zach Michaelis, redshirt sophomore Tanner Latsch and sophomore Brendan Poshak.
The “redshirt” description means the player has been on a college team for one more year than the class year indicates, either through not playing, or in some cases, earning an extra year through being on a roster during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic season. Those have already been phasing out, but may not be completely done yet.
Despite what sounds like a dire situation, new NMU head hockey coach Dave Shyiak was able to put together a roster of 28 players — compare that to the 30 who were on the Wildcats’ 2023-24 listing.
The coach says this Wildcats team will be one of, if not the youngest, in college hockey with 16 freshmen and 20 underclassmen in total. It’s made up of 15 forwards, 10 defensemen and three goalies.
“We are really excited about our group,” Shyiak said in an NMU Sports Information news release about the roster. “We have many new faces and a lot of freshmen that are coming in with hunger and energy.
“They all know there is a great opportunity in front of them to earn playing time. Internal competition will be healthy for our growth as the season progresses.
“The most important component to our team and staff is the culture building. We really have to put in the time to get to know one another and have an understanding of what our values and identity will be.”
NMU athletic director Rick Comley expedited the process of moving on from one head coach to the next, needing just a few weeks to transition from former seven-year coach Grant Potulny to Shyiak, but more than a dozen players had already announced their intended departure back when the NCAA transfer portal originally opened around the first of April and stayed open for about six weeks.
A study posted online by Grand Forks (North Dakota) Herald sportswriter Brad Elliott Schlossman about portal entries showed 14 NMU players from last year’s team — which didn’t include players like captain Adam Ghantous who had already exhausted his college eligibility — had entered the portal.
That didn’t necessarily mean they were all leaving, as entering the portal is only an announcement about looking for a new school.
Schlossman’s numbers, however, have shown that over the past few years in college hockey that the vast number of portal entrants do move on — in 2023, the number was 74.2% of those declaring did transfer to another Division I school, while only 2.1% remained with their current team. The more than 20% not included in those numbers went pro, stopped playing collegiately, with even a few who went to ACHA club hockey.
In Schlossman’s listing, two of NMU’s returning players who actually had announced for the portal during the spring period returned to the Wildcats — Michaelis and Poshak.
By the way, the transfer portal reopened for another 30 days for NMU players after Potulny announced his resignation.
What wasn’t included in Schlossman’s study was the effect on incoming freshmen or transfers from the in-season signing period back last fall.
It was speculated that part of the reason for the mass migration of current Wildcats players out of Marquette was a robust incoming class that included 10 players with several of them already NHL draft picks.
A majority of that group also went elsewhere, but three of them are still joining Northern this fall.
In the end, though, NMU Sports Information released earlier this week a thumbnail sketch of all the incoming players who will be on this team this fall.
Here is that look, along with profiles of the four returnees. Players are organized by the various ways they’ve come to NMU. There’s the four players returning from last year, the three recruits who were announced last fall, two who announced they were coming to NMU during the April-May transfer portal period, with all the others recruited since Shyiak’s late June hire.
Players are listed with their height, weight, position and uniform number:
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RETURNING PLAYERS
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Jakob Peterson (6-1, 190, forward, No. 23) — This redshirt junior in his fourth year at NMU is a Marquette native having played for the Marquette Redmen — before they became the Sentinels — and earning Great Lakes Conference First Team honors in high school.
He joined the Wildcats midway through the 2021-22 season in January 2022. Just before Northern, he played for Amarillo of the North American Hockey League and previous to that, was with Drayton Valley of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
He’s been a CCHA Scholar-Athlete the past two seasons, and in 2023-24, he skated in 22 NMU games and had 17 blocked shots along with one assist, that coming on Dec. 8 against Michigan Tech.
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Zach Michaelis (6-1, 210, forward, No. 9) — A junior from Elk River, Minnesota, he is a two-time CCHA All-Academic honoree.
In the season before coming to NMU, he played with Trail of the British Columbia Hockey League, and for three seasons prior was in the U.S. Hockey League and Northern American Hockey League.
In two seasons at Northern, he has a goal and four assists, including three assists last season when he played in 10 games.
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Tanner Latsch (6-2, 190, forward, No. 22) — A redshirt sophomore from downstate Twin Lake, he opened his college playing career with a flourish last October, scoring a hat trick in his first game, against Minnesota-Duluth, only the second NMU player to ever score three goals in their college debut.
He followed it up with a two-goal, one-assist game the next night for six points in his opening weekend, not surprisingly earning both CCHA Rookie of the Week and Player of the Week honors.
He added another two goals the following weekend to again be named CCHA Rookie of the Week, and subsequently, CCHA Rookie of the Month.
Latsch led the NCAA in goal scoring and power play goals among freshmen for awhile after that, even with his campaign cut short to just eight games due to a season-ending injury.
He finished with seven goals, six of them on power plays, and an assist for eight points.
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Brendan Poshak (5-7, 170, forward, No. 7) — This sophomore from Green Bay, Wisconsin, played in nine games last season, making his college debut on Oct. 28 vs. Ferris State, and finished the season with five shots though no points.
Prior to the Wildcats, he played for two seasons with Brooks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, both Canadian national championship seasons. Before that, he was a two-time all-state player at Notre Dame Academy in Green Bay.
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NOVEMBER RECRUITS
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Jakub Altrichter (5-11, 165, forward, No. 14) — This Prague, Czech Republic, freshman played the past two season in the USHL, most recently with the Waterloo, Iowa, Black Hawks, where in 54 games he had 11 goals and 35 assists for 46 points.
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Rasmus Larsson (6-3, 205, defenseman, No. 8) — This Stockholm, Sweden, freshman was a fifth-round draft pick of the New York Rangers in 2023, having played in 59 games with the Green Bay, Wisconsin, Gamblers last season with four goals and 13 assists for 17 points.
He’s also been on Sweden’s under-19 and under-20 international teams, along with playing in his country’s top junior league in 2022-23.
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Billy Renfrew (5-11, 183, forward, No. 11) — This Fairbanks, Alaska, freshman played last season for the Penticton Vees of the British Columbia Hockey League, scoring 20 goals and 32 assists for 52 points in 51 games.
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APRIL-MAY TRANSFERS
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Ryan Ouellette (6-0, 200, goalie, No. 30) — This college senior from Colorado Springs, Colorado, is a transfer from Niagara University, having played in 11 games over two seasons.
In 2021-22, he played for the USHL’s Lincoln Stars and had an .880 saves percentage in 44 games.
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Matthew Romer (5-11, 185, forward, No. 17) — This Algonquin, Illinois, sophomore transferred from Arizona State, where he played in seven games last season.
Prior to ASU, he played two seasons with the Omaha, Nebraska, Lancers of the USHL, recording three goals and eight assists for 11 points in 2022-23.
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SUMMER TRANSFERS AND RECRUITS
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Nicolas Ardanaz (5-10, 185, defenseman, No. 3) — This college junior from Surrey, British Columbia, is a transfer from RPI, where he played in 38 games over two seasons.
He previously played for the West Kelowna Warriors of the British Columbia Hockey League, earning a spot on the league’s all-rookie team in 2019-20.
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Matthew Argentina (5-11, 193, forward, No. 28) — A junior eligibility-wise from Philadelphia, he played two years at Boston College and had four goals and six assists for 10 points in 53 games.
In the year before college, he was with the Chilliwack Chiefs of the British Columbia Hockey League, where he had 14 goals and 10 assists for 24 points in 41 games.
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Ethan Barwick (6-3, 202, goalie, No. 33) — A redshirt freshman from St. Albert, Alberta, he redshirted last season at Lindenwood University.
In 2022-23 with the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, he had a 45-4-1 record, 1.88 goals-against average and .929 saves percentage.
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Medrick Bolduc (5-9, 185, forward, No. 13) — A freshman from Val-d’Or, Quebec, he played last season with the El Paso, Texas, Rhinos of the North American Hockey League. He skated in 66 games, including playoffs, and had 21 goals and 29 assists for 50 points.
Prior to that, he spent two seasons with the Utica, New York, Comets of the National Collegiate Development Conference.
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Colby Browne (5-10, 180, forward, No. 21) — A freshman from Evergreen, Colorado, he played the last three seasons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, including last year with the Whitecourt Wolverines, when he played 57 games and had 26 goals and 42 assists for 68 points.
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Danny Ciccarello (5-11, 201, forward, No. 27) — A two-year player at RPI from Kirkland, Quebec, he is a college junior who suited up in 49 games, scoring five goals and two assists for seven points.
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Anthony Cliche (6-4, 208, defenseman, No. 20) — The tallest current Wildcat is a freshman from Vallee Jonction, Quebec.
He’s played the last three seasons with the Vernon Vipers of the British Columbia Hockey League, and last year, had 10 goals and 25 assists for 35 points in 50 games.
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Grayden Daul (6-0, 180, defenseman, No. 5) — A freshman from Glenview, Illinois, he played AAA hockey for the Chicago Mission, where he won a state championship all three seasons there.
For the Langley Rivermen of the British Columbia Hockey League in 2023-24, he scored a goal and added six assists in 51 games.
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Will Diamond (6-3, 205, forward, No. 24) — A freshman from Carpentersville, Illinois, he’s played juniors the past three seasons, including for the Austin, Minnesota, Bruins of the North American Hockey League last year. That’s when he skated in 46 games and scored six goals to go with eight assists for 14 points.
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Ryan Duguay (6-2, 190, forward, No. 18) — A freshman from Edmonton, Alberta, he played the past two seasons for the Melfort Mustangs of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. Last year, including playoffs, he appeared in 51 games and had 40 goals and 36 assists for 76 points.
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Tynan Ewart (6-0, 188, defenseman, No. 6) — A sophomore from Duncan, British Columbia, he played for a year at St. Cloud State, recording five assists in 19 games.
Before that, he had three seasons with the Battleford North Stars of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, and in 2022-23, put up 10 goals and 60 assists for 70 points in 68 games, including playoffs.
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Wolfgang Govedaris (6-2, 200, defenseman, No. 4) — A freshman from Bonita Springs, Florida, he played three seasons of junior hockey. Last year with the Corpus Christi, Texas, IceRays of the North American Hockey League, he had four goals and 17 assists for 21 points in 30 games.
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Aidyn Hutchinson (6-1, 185, forward, No. 29) — Not to be confused with a similar-sounding former University of Michigan and Detroit Lions football star, this freshman from St. Albert, Alberta, played two seasons with the Melfort Mustangs of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
Last season he had 48 goals and 62 assists for 110 points in 65 games, including playoffs. In those playoffs, which netted his team the SJHL championship, he had 10 points in six games, including a pair of goals in the 4-1 Game 6-clinching victory.
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Jakub Lewandowski (6-3, 197, defenseman, No. 26) — A collegiate senior from Torun, Poland, he spent the past three seasons with fellow CCHA member Bemidji State.
In that time, he played in 61 games, scoring seven goals and six assists for 13 points.
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Trevor Mitchell (6-3, 195, defenseman, No. 10) — A freshman from downstate South Lyon, he’s played the last three seasons in the North American Hockey League with time also in the USHL.
Last season for the Odessa, Texas, Jackalopes, he played 56 games and scored five goals with 15 assists for 20 points.
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Julian Molinaro (5-11, 185, goalie, No. 31) — A freshman from Toronto, he played last season with the Calgary Canucks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
In 45 games, he had a 2.60 goals-against average and .916 saves percentage, leading Calgary to the AJHL championship by going 12-3 in the playoffs and stopping 39 of 41 shots in a 3-2 win in the championship game.
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Joe Schiller (6-0, 195, defenseman, No. 2) — A freshman from Moorhead, Minnesota, he played the last two seasons with the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, RoughRiders of the USHL.
In 2023-24, he played in 41 games and had a goal and four assists.
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Grayden Slipec (5-11, 190, forward, No. 15) — A freshman from Surrey, British Columbia, he played the last two years with the Chicago Steel of the USHL, recording 13 points in 2022-23 and 10 points in 2023-24.
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Jesse Tucker (5-11, 187, forward, No. 19) — A senior from Longlac, Ontario, he has played three years collegiately at two schools, last year at Clarkson and the previous two at Michigan State.
At Clarkson, he had four goals and 10 assists for 14 points last season, while he totaled eight goals and 26 assists for 34 points in 67 games over his time with the Spartans.
He also has a twin brother Tyler who is a defenseman with the St. Louis Blues in the NHL.
Steve Brownlee can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 552. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.
Under a new school policy established this summer, the Dighton-Rehoboth field hockey team will forfeit its South Coast Conference game against Somerset Berkley next Tuesday to avoid facing an opponent with a male player on the roster.
The action follows a serious injury suffered by a Dighton-Rehoboth player last November in an MIAA Division 3 first-round state tournament game against Swampscott. A shot off the stick of a male player struck the Dighton-Rehoboth player in the face, and her injuries required hospitalization and extensive dental work.
In July, the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School Committee changed its interscholastic athletics policy to allow players and/or coaches to opt out of games and meets in which the opponent includes a member of the opposite sex.
In accordance with the state’s equal rights amendment, which is followed by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, boys are allowed to compete on girls’ teams when that sport is not offered with a male equivalent. In 2021, the MIAA voted to create a seven-on-seven all-boys’ field hockey league, but there has not been enough traction or participation to make it viable.
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Somerset Berkley, which won back-to-back Division 1 titles in 2018-19 with two prominent male players on its roster, has one male on this year’s team. After going unbeaten in the 2023 regular season (17-0-1), the Raiders are off to a 2-0 start.
On Monday, Dighton-Rehoboth superintendent Bill Runey used the policy for the first time. On Tuesday, the district’s athletic director, Matthew McKinnon, confirmed to the Globe that the school also intends to forfeit its game against Somerset Berkley scheduled for Oct. 8. The decision, according to Runey, was made by the team’s coaches and captains.
With the two forfeit losses, recorded as 3-0 defeats for MIAA power rankings, D-R will play 14 regular- season games on the field. The Falcons have made four straight postseason appearances.
Runey does not expect to forfeit any more than those two games.
“To our knowledge, Somerset Berkley is the only field hockey squad with males on our regular-season schedule,” he said.
“We understand this forfeit will impact our chance for a league championship and possibly playoff eligibility, but we remain hopeful that other schools consider following suit to achieve safety and promote fair competition for female athletes.”
In a statement, the MIAA said regular-season athletic contests are managed at the local level between the competing schools.
Longtime Somerset Berkley field hockey coach Jen Crook said Tuesday that the move by Dighton-Rehoboth was not a surprise.
“Aware during the summer,” wrote Crook via text message. “Old news here.”
Kat Cornetta can be reached at sportsgirlkat@gmail.com.
