Tom Flacco, brother of Joe Flacco, leaving Western Michigan
It looks like Tom Flacco isn’t Zach Terrell’s heir apparent at Western Michigan after all.
Flacco, the younger brother of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, saw action in 13 games over the past two seasons as Terrell’s backup and was a logical guess to start for the Broncos in 2017. That won’t be the case any more. On Wednesday, the program confirmed to multiple outlets news that had been reported earlier in the day: Flacco is transferring.
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Flacco, whose release to transfer has no restrictions, is “expected to get a look” from schools on the East Coast (he is from New Jersey), the Detroit News reported. If he lands at an FBS school, he will have to sit out the 2017 season before having two years of eligibility remaining. If he drops down to another level, he can play immediately.
Flacco was used mostly as a running threat the last two years, having more of a role in 2015. Flacco completed 10-of-13 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown, but attempted just one pass in 2016. On the ground, Flacco totaled 340 yards and two touchdowns on 38 carries.
[More college football from Yahoo Sports: 20 impact transfers for 2017]
During spring practice, Flacco was battling redshirt sophomore Jon Wassink to replace Terrell, the program’s all-time passing leader. New Broncos coach Tim Lester, who replaced P.J. Fleck following his departure for Minnesota, hadn’t indicated a leader during the spring. Now it looks like Wassink is a pretty clear favorite to win the job.
Other quarterbacks on Western Michigan’s roster include redshirt sophomore Alex Mussat, former Illinois walk-on, redshirt freshman Brendan Tabone and true freshmen Reece Goddard and Chris Riddle.
WMU went a perfect 12-0 in the regular season last year and capped it off with a MAC championship. The unbeaten season came to an end in the Cotton Bowl, however, with a 24-16 loss to Wisconsin.
[More college football from Yahoo Sports: 20 non-conference games to look forward to in 2017]
The Lester era of WMU opens with a challenge when the Broncos face USC in Pasadena on Sept. 2.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
