Tarik Black (American football) explained

Tarik Black
Position:Wide receiver
Birth Date:10 February 1998
Birth Place:Hamden, Connecticut, U.S.
Height Ft:6
Height In:3
Weight Lbs:217
College:Michigan (2017–2019)Texas (2020)
Undraftedyear:2021
Pastteams:
Pfr:BlacTa00

Tarik Black (born February 10, 1998) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and Texas Longhorns. He has also been a member of the Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, and Baltimore Ravens.

Early life

Black attended Cheshire Academy in Cheshire, Connecticut. He was a four-star recruit ranked as the No. 81 high school player in the country by ESPN.[1] He was also rated as the top recruit in Connecticut and was invited to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.[2]

Black received scholarship offers from Auburn and Alabama, among others. In December 2016, in a Facebook live broadcast, he committed to play college football at the University of Michigan.[3]

College career

Black enrolled early at Michigan in January 2017. He participated in Michigan's spring practice where he impressed observers.[4] [5]

On September 2, 2017, Black started at wide receiver as a true freshman in Michigan's season opener against Florida. He scored a touchdown on his first collegiate reception and had two receptions for 83 yards in the game.[6] [7] [8] During the fourth quarter of the Wolverines' third game of the season against Air Force, Black was injured and left with a broken left foot.[9] At the time of his injury, he led the team in receiving yards. He did not return for the rest of the season, finishing with 11 catches for 149 yards and one touchdown in three games.[10]

Just before the start of his sophomore season in 2018, Black suffered another, similar injury, this time fracturing his right foot.[11] He saw his first playing time of the year on November 3 against Penn State,[12] and recorded his first catch of the year two weeks later against Indiana. He finished his sophomore season with just four catches for 35 yards and no touchdowns.[13]

Black was healthy in the 2019 season, but had to compete for playing time with Nico Collins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Ronnie Bell. For the year, he played in 11 games and had 25 receptions for 323 yards and 1 touchdown. Black entered the transfer portal on December 13, 2019.[14]

On April 28, 2020, Black announced he had decided to grad transfer to the University of Texas at Austin.[15] In one season at Texas he played in 8 games, with one start, one touchdown and 10 receptions for 240 yards. His only start came in the first game of the season, against UTEP, after which he lost the starting job to Brennan Eagles. He did not play in his final game at Texas and opted not to play in the Alamo Bowl, even though Eagles also opted out meaning he would've gotten more playing time.[16]

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

Black signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent on May 6, 2021.[17] He was waived on August 31, 2021 and re-signed to the practice squad the next day.[18] [19] He was released on November 23.

New York Jets

On December 7, 2021, Black was signed to the New York Jets practice squad.[20] He was called up from the practice squad for the last game of the season against the Buffalo Bills and made his first career NFL catch. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Jets on January 10, 2022.[21]

On August 30, 2022, Black was waived by the Jets and signed to the practice squad the next day.[22] [23] He was released on December 6.[24]

Baltimore Ravens

On January 3, 2023, Black was signed to the Baltimore Ravens practice squad. On April 19, 2023, Black re-signed with the Ravens.[25] He was waived on August 29, 2023.[26] He was re-signed to their practice squad on September 26, 2023.[27] He was released on October 27. Tarik was signed again to the practice squad on December 7.[28] He was released on January 17, 2024.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Black was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers on July 31, 2024.[29] He was waived/injured on August 13. He was released on August 19.

Notes and References

  1. News: Tarik Black. University of Michigan. September 2, 2017. MGoBlue.com.
  2. News: Cheshire Academy's Tarik Black, the state's top recruit, tabbed for U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Record-Journal. October 3, 2016. Ken. Lipshez. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20170903120530/http://www.myrecordjournal.com/news/latestnews/9422757-154/prep-football-cheshire-academys-tarik-black-the-states-top-recruit.html. September 3, 2017.
  3. News: Michigan lands four-star receiver Tarik Black. Mark Snyder. Detroit Free Press. December 14, 2016.
  4. News: All aboard the Tarik Black train, as Michigan's young WRs look ready to prove themselves. Mlive.com. May 18, 2017. Nick. Baumgardner.
  5. News: 'Chip on my shoulder' makes UM's Tarik Black work even harder. Angelique S. Chengelis. The Detroit News. June 19, 2017.
  6. News: Black, Isaac boost Michigan's offense against Florida. The Michigan Daily. September 2, 2017. Ted. Janes.
  7. News: Black Shines In Debut For University of Michigan Football. The Cheshire Herald. September 3, 2017.
  8. News: UM's Tarik Black awakens doubters with play. Angelique S. Chengelis. The Detroit News. September 12, 2017.
  9. News: Michigan WR Tarik Black 'still healing,' Chase Winovich on the mend. Nick. Baumgardner. Detroit Free Press. October 23, 2017.
  10. Web site: Tarik Black 2017 Game Log. Sports-Reference.com. June 6, 2019.
  11. Web site: Michigan WR Tarik Black out several weeks with fractured foot. ESPN.com. August 27, 2018.
  12. Web site: Michigan football slowly working back WR Tarik Black (foot). November 12, 2018. Nick. Baumgardner. Detroit Free Press.
  13. Web site: Tarik Black 2018 Game Log. Sports-Reference.com. June 6, 2019.
  14. Web site: Source: Michigan's Black enters transfer portal. 2019-12-13. ESPN.com. en. 2020-01-03.
  15. Web site: Former Michigan WR Tarik Black transfers to Texas. Alex. Briseno. April 28, 2020. The Dallas Morning News.
  16. Web site: Eberts . Wescott . Report: Texas WR Tarik Black won't play in Alamo Bowl . December 29, 2020 . 12 January 2024.
  17. Web site: Colts Sign 5 Undrafted Free Agents. Colts.com. May 6, 2021.
  18. Web site: Colts Announce Final 2021 Roster Cuts. Colts.com. August 31, 2021.
  19. Web site: Colts Sign 15 Players To Practice Squad. Colts.com. September 1, 2021.
  20. Web site: Jets Sign RB Austin Walter, Place WR Corey Davis on Injured Reserve. Greenberg, Ethan. NewYorkJets.com. December 7, 2021.
  21. Web site: Jets Sign 10 Players to Reserve/Future Contracts. Greenberg, Ethan. NewYorkJets.com. January 10, 2022.
  22. Web site: Final Cuts: Jets Move 27 Players to Trim Roster to NFL's 53-Man Limit. Lange. Randy. Greenberg. Ethan. NewYorkJets.com. August 30, 2022.
  23. Web site: Jets Sign 13 Players to Practice Squad. Lange, Randy. NewYorkJets.com. August 31, 2022.
  24. Web site: Jets Sign OL Chris Glaser, WR Diontae Spencer to Practice Squad. Greenberg, Ethan. NewYorkJets.com. December 6, 2022.
  25. Web site: Ravens Sign Free Agent Wide Receiver. Brown, Clifton. BaltimoreRavens.com. April 19, 2023.
  26. Web site: 10 Takeaways From Ravens' Initial 53-Man Roster. Mink, Ryan. BaltimoreRavens.com. August 29, 2023.
  27. Web site: Ravens Sign Tarik Black, Dontay Demus Jr. to Practice Squad. Brown, Clifton. BaltimoreRavens.com. September 26, 2023.
  28. Web site: Tarik Black: Back with Baltimore . CBS Sports . December 8, 2023 . 8 December 2023.
  29. Web site: Steelers sign Golden to one-year contract . Steelers.com . The Steelers signed receiver Tarik Black. .