Latest news with #Fannin
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'My ceiling is high': Harold Fannin Jr. wants to be next MAC-to-NFL standout with Browns
This story has been updated to include Luke Floriea signing a contract. BEREA — The litany of Mid-American Conference football players who have gone on to have success in the NFL is not a short one. Some of the Browns' biggest tormentors — and a couple of their biggest stars — over the years have come from the Ohio/Michigan-centric league. Advertisement Harold Fannin Jr., the Bowling Green State University tight end and Canton native, would love to become the next big Browns stars to come out of the league. 'I think my ceiling is high," Fannin said during Browns rookie minicamp. "I mean, I'm going to keep obviously being coachable. Just keep learning. That's really it. Just keep taking everything in and just keep wanting to grow really. So I think I got a high ceiling.' Fannin was one of eight players out of the 47 the Browns had in for rookie minicamp who came from MAC schools. That includes Akron punter Avery Book and Kent State wide receiver Luke Floriea. Book and Floriea were among six MAC products who were tryout players, althought Floriea was signed to a contract at the end of rookie minicamp. Defensive tackle Ralph Holley, a Western Michigan product, was signed to a reserve/futures contract in January. Advertisement "Oh, yeah, I definitely talked to them," Fannin said. "Us MAC guys, we stay kind of close. Yeah, we got a guy from Western Michigan. He was talking about the game.' Cleveland Browns tight end Harold Fannin Jr. works with coach Kevin Stefanski during Day 2 of rookie minicamp, May 10, 2025, in Berea. Fannin, though, was the only one in the rookie minicamp who the Browns drafted, taking him with pick No. 67 in the third round last month. That puts significantly more weight on him to ultimately live up to the draft status. What it doesn't do is change the degree of difficulty in going from the MAC to the NFL. Fannin understands that jump is universal. 'I mean, right now it's going pretty smooth," Fannin said. "But obviously I'm guessing it's going to be a big jump. I'm not really thinking too much ahead, just taking it day by day.' Advertisement Fannin enters the league off the kind of season a college tight end dreams of having. He led all of FBS Division I in both receptions (117) and receiving yards (1,555), while having his two biggest performances come against Bowling Green's two biggest opponents, Penn State and Texas A&M. That came in just his third season playing tight end full-time. Although Fannin was an offensive playmaker in high school at Canton McKinley, he was an All-Ohioan as a safety as a senior. Canton McKinley grad Cleveland Browns tight end Harold Fannin Jr. (88) fields questions during a press conference before NFL rookie minicamp at the Cleveland Browns training facility on Friday, May 9, 2025, in Berea, Ohio. 'Yeah, I mean, I always played a little bit of offense in high school," Fannin said. "So then my clips or whatever from high school, my coach really liked them, thought I can put on a few more pounds, and it definitely helped me translate because playing safety and tight end, I pretty much end up playing against a lot of safeties. So I kind of got a good feel of what to do whenever I'm playing against them.' Advertisement That leaves, as Fannin himself said, a ceiling that is high. Can he reach that ceiling is the question he only started the very long journey toward trying to answer during the three-day rookie minicamp. Fannin, like the rest of the draft picks, has said he will jump into the voluntary offseason program this week. That will finally give him an opportunity to meet David Njoku, the Browns Pro Bowl tight end whom Fannin said he hadn't met yet. 'I haven't talked to him yet," Fannin said, "but obviously I've been watching tape on him and stuff. Just trying to take little bits and pieces of his game and kind of use it to my advantage." Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@ Read more about the Browns at Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Harold Fannin Jr. wants to be next to ride MAC-to-NFL train to stardom
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Canton native, third-round draft pick Harold Fannin Jr., Browns agree to terms on contract
The Browns and another draft pick have come to an agreement on a deal. Tight end Harold Fannin Jr. and the Browns have agreed to a four-year, $6.7 million deal, a league source confirmed for the Beacon Journal. Fox Sports' Jordan Schultz was the first to report the deal. Advertisement Fannin, the Canton McKinley High School and Bowling Green State University product, was taken with the No. 67 pick in April's draft. He becomes the third draft pick to have agreed to terms with the Browns, joining second-round pick (No. 33 overall) Carson Schwesinger and fourth-round pick (No. 126 overall) Dylan Sampson. The Browns still have four draft picks still unsigned: first-round pick Mason Graham, second-round pick Quinshon Judkins, third-round pick Dillon Gabriel and fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders. They can participate in the offseason program without a contract, but must be signed by the start of training camp in July. Fannin comes into the league off one of the most impressive individual college seasons by a tight end in history. He led FBS Division I college football in receptions (117) and receiving yards (1,555), with 10 touchdowns. A 2022 graduate of McKinley High School, Fannin was an All-Ohio safety for the Bulldogs as a senior. He converted to tight end at Bowling Green, where he had 80 career catches for 2,396 yards and 17 touchdowns. Advertisement Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@ Read more about the Browns at Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Harold Fannin Jr., Browns agree to terms on rookie deal
CBC
05-05-2025
- CBC
Wings, wool and wonder: Faro celebrates annual crane and sheep festival
At Faro, Yukon's annual crane and sheep festival, spectators gather around a fire while up above, cranes are "kettling" — or swirling in circles. It looks like a dance in the sky, with birds nearly crashing into each other. Carrie McClelland is a biologist with the Yukon's Department of Environment. She says the kettling allows the birds to travel large distances. "Anyone who's been a glider pilot knows that's how you gain altitude," she said. Every year, people from all across the Yukon and beyond visit Faro to take part in the festival and see the migration of thousands of sandhill cranes as they make their way from Texas to northern Yukon and Alaska, across the Bering Sea to Siberia. The festival also features the Fannin sheep, also known as Dall sheep, which live around Faro and make their migration from their winter to summer habitat, a few kilometres away. McClelland says over 5,000 birds flew overhead on Friday night alone. She's been coming to the festival for 15 years and says seeing the migration never gets old. "It's amazing and beautiful. I liken it to seeing the northern lights. We get to see them a lot in the North, yet everyone still stops and looks. Same with the cranes, they've been coming here for millennia, and still the locals and visitors stop, watch and appreciate the site," she said. On a cliff face near the festival site, sheep graze on early season shrubs, regaining strength after losing about 20 per cent of their body weight over the winter. The female sheep, or ewes, like to be high on a cliff with their lambs because the challenging terrain helps keep predators at bay. Visitors in Faro gather and look through telescopes and binoculars scanning the mountain's slope for the sheeps' brown and white coats. Tina Freake is the festival's head organizer. She says she's happy with this year's turnout, both human and fowl. "Mother Nature's agreeing with us. The animals are out. So, yeah, it's been really good," she said. The festival took place from Friday to Sunday with nature walks guided by territorial biologists and meals provided on a by-donation basis. Now that this year's festival is over, Freake says she's on to planning the next one. And she says, she can't wait.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pickaway County farmland could be home to new development
PICKAWAY CO., Ohio (WCMH) — A proposal for a new development in northern Pickaway County is being met with concerns from residents. It would be built on more than 300 acres of farmland along Gibson Road and state route 762. The proposal includes more than 1,200 homes and commercial space. Many residents are sounding the alarm on this development. Pickaway County is known as a prominent agricultural area in Ohio and those opposed say a development of that size could be a threat not only to that industry, but to schools and safety. Cory Wasmus lives across from the proposed site. He, along with neighbors, feels the process hasn't been made public enough. That's why he took his concerns to Facebook to educate the community. That video has gone viral locally. Licking County man sentenced for child sexual abuse material 'This landowner, our beefs not with him or them. It's more along the lines of this property is the last big section of land in our area and we'd like to have some say on the development of it,' Wasmus said. The land is currently in Scioto Township. But Pickaway County commissioners could approve an annexation into commercial point. 'The roads are not capable of handling this kind of traffic,' resident Jamie Mitchell said. 'The village is not capable of handling this kind of traffic.' Barton Fannin, a Scioto Township trustee, has doubts on whether the township's infrastructure can keep up with the rapid growth. 'Can we keep up with the infrastructure fire, EMS?' Fannin said. 'We live in a township that kids go to Teays Valley School System. Teays Valley School system currently is maxed out. There's a levy that is going to be hitting in May here.' Cameron Brackman said he's worried about what a development of this size could mean for his property taxes and kids' education. 'Also, because of the redistricting, that now is putting a larger development in is going to impact the schools in which my kids go to which are already overcrowded,' Brackman said. In the meantime, those who farm in the area like Fannin, said it would pose a safety hazard. 'These equipment are big,' Fannin said. 'They're large. They're hard to get up and down roads. So with that being said, the more cars and the more traffic that are there, it just makes working a little bit tougher in our region.' According to residents, road and traffic have already been a problem in the area. They fear this would only worsen the problem. 'We are not ready for this,' resident Jamie Mitchell said. 'Our area is not ready for this. Not just the township, but the whole school district, the county. You're talking one of the largest subdivisions in the county. And we're not ready for it. We're not against the growth, just not at this extreme quite yet.' Pickaway County commissioners are set to meet Tuesday morning to discuss the potential annexation of the land. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
26-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Who picked Bowling Green TE Harold Fannin in the NFL draft?
Who picked Bowling Green TE Harold Fannin in the NFL draft? The Cleveland Browns selected Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin with the 67th overall pick in the third round of NFL draft on Friday night. Fannin (6-3, 241 pounds) was a big target at Bowling Green, where he played three seasons. In a deep tight end class, Fannin is from a non-Power 4 conference, a rarity in this draft and in the NIL era of collegiate sports. In 2022-23, Fannin caught 63 passes for 904 yards and seven touchdowns. He also added 24 rushing attempts for 94 yards and four touchdowns. Fannin had a breakout 2024 season, when he caught a MAC conference-topping 117 passes for 1,555 yards and 10 touchdowns. He added nine rushes for 65 yards and one touchdown. His season netted him 2024 Consensus All-American honors, 2024 MAC Player of the Year and the MAC's MVP award. Fannin participated in the 2025 NFL combine, where he posted a 4.71 40-yard dash, 34-inch vertical jump, and a 9-foot 10-inch broad jump. Fannin is a projected third or fourth-round pick in the NFL draft, according to Lance Zierlein, but is rated the seventh-best tight end according to Draft Wire's Curt Popejoy. Fannin would provide an enticing target for any quarterback, or any offense in the NFL.
