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Browns announce signings of 9 undrafted free agents – led by 2 Ohio State players – as rookie minicamp begins

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BEREA, Ohio — The Browns begin rookie minicamp on Friday afternoon, and will have some new additions.

Just ahead of its start, Cleveland announced it has signed nine undrafted free agents.

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The list consists of two offensive and seven defensive players: CB Caleb Biggers, LB Mohamoud Diabate, TE Thomas Greaney, RB Hassan Hall, S Ronnie Hickman, DE Jeremiah Martin, S Tanner McCalister, DE Lonnie Phelps and LB Charlie Thomas III.

Of the group, maybe the most notable of the signings for Browns fans are two Ohio State players they are familiar with in Hickman and McCalister.

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Hickman started all 13 games in each of the last two seasons for the Buckeyes. He recorded 158 tackles, one sack, three picks, seven passes defensed and a pair of forced fumbles in his four-year career, and earned second-team All-America honors by the Associated Press in 2022 after a 53-tackle season that included an interception and seven PBUs. He led the team in tackles in 2021 with 100, including 54 solo stops, and in interceptions with two. He became the first Buckeye in six years with 100 or more tackles in a season, the first to do it since Raekwon McMillan recorded 102 in 2015.

McCalister spent last season at Ohio State, transferring from Oklahoma State. He played in 12 games for the Buckeyes in 2022 and totaled 24 tackles and a team-best three interceptions plus one pass break-up.

Rookie minicamp runs Friday through Sunday. Teams must hold their rookie minicamp in one of the first two weekends following the draft, according to the CBA.

Here are the bios for all of the free agents, as provided in a release by the Browns’ media relations department:

Caleb Biggers – Started 41 of 51 games between Bowling Green (2018-20) and Boise State (2021-20), garnering 172 tackles, one sack, one interception, 13 passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery…Named All-Mountain West Honorable Mention (2022) and Phil Steele Preseason All-Mountain West Second Team (2022)…Started all 14 games as a fifth-year senior and recorded 38 tackles, including five for-loss and one sack, four pass breakups, one interception, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble…Native of Baltimore, Md. and attended Calvert Hall High School.

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Mohamoud Diabate – Name pronounced MAH-mood dee-AH-bah-TAY…Appeared in 49 career games between Florida (2019-21) and Utah (2022), posting 234 tackles, 11 sacks, one interception, two pass breakups and four forced fumbles…Accepted an invitation to the 2023 East-West Shrine Bowl after starting 12 games at linebacker for the Utes in 2022…His 13.5 tackles for loss were a team best and his 58 total tackles ranked second in the linebacker room…Played in 37 games with 17 starts at Florida, recording 176 total tackles, six sacks, three forced fumbles, two pass breakups and an interception…Majored in Sociology…Native of Auburn, Ala. and was an all-state selection at Auburn High School.

Thomas Greaney – Finished his career at Albany playing in 41 games and tallied 73 receptions for 983 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns…His best season was during his senior year when finished the year with 50 receptions for 693 yards and nine scores…Made All-CAA First Team selection in 2022…Native of Bedford, Mass. And attended Lawrence Academy, where he played two years of football and basketball…Majored in business at Albany.

Hassan Hall – Spent time with Louisville (2018-21) before transferring to Georgia Tech for his final year of eligibility…Appeared in 12 games and made six starts on the season as Georgia Tech’s leading rusher in 2022. Hall finished the year with 521 rushing yards and one touchdown on 116 carries…Played 42 games at Louisville and amassed 3,843 all-purpose yards (1,299 rushing, 175 receiving, 2,369 kickoff return) and 13 touchdowns (11 rushing, two kickoff return) in his four seasons with the Cardinals…Native of Atlanta, Ga. and attended Maynard Jackson High School…Graduated from Louisville in December 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in communication. Pursued graduate studies in history, technology and society at Georgia Tech.

Ronnie Hickman – Spent four years with the Ohio State program (2019-22) and played in 31 games, starting at safety for the final 26 games of his career (all 13 games in both 2021 and 2022)…Recorded 158 tackles, one sack, three picks, seven passes defensed and a pair of forced fumbles…Earned second-team All-America honors by the Associated Press in 2022 after a 53-tackle season that included an interception and seven PBUs…Was one of the top defensive players on the team in 2021 and was named second-team all-Big Ten by the coaches and third-team by the media…Led the team in tackles in 2021 with 100, including 54 solo stops, and in interceptions with two…Became the first Buckeye in six years with 100 or more tackles in a season (Raekwon McMillan, 102 in 2015)…Graduated in December 2022 with his degree in human development and family sciences…Native of South Orange, N.J. and attended DePaul Catholic High School.

Jeremiah Martin – Played in 56 games between Texas A&M (2018-20) and Washington (2021-22) with 64 tackles, 9.5 sacks, one pass breakup and two forced fumbles…Earned 2022 All-Pac-12 First Team, 2022 All-Pac-12 First Team (Associated Press) and 2022 All-Pac-12 Second Team (Phil Steele)…Voted a team captain in 2022…Started all 13 games in his final collegiate season at Washington and finished fourth in the Pac-12 in sacks with 8.5…Native of San Bernardino, Calif. and attended Cajon High School…Didn’t play football before his sophomore year of high school.

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Tanner McCalister – Played his final collegiate year at Ohio State (2022) after transferring from Oklahoma State (2018-21)…A two-time Academic All-Big 12 honoree…Posted 108 tackles, four picks and eight pass breakups in his career…Played in and started in 12 games for the Buckeyes in 2022 after playing in 41 games and starting 23 times as an Oklahoma State Cowboy…Totaled 24 tackles and a team-best three interceptions plus one pass break-up in 2022…Graduated from Oklahoma State in December of 2021 with his degree in finance…Native of Rockwall, Texas and attended Rockwall-Heath High School.

Lonnie Phelps – Appeared in 42 games with 14 starts over four-year collegiate career and tallied 114 tackles, 29.5 tackles for loss, 23 sacks, three forced fumbles and one pass breakup…His team-high seven sacks in 2022 were tied for the second most in the Big 12. Had a three performance that marked the most by a Jayhawk in a single game since 2016…Spent first three years of college at Miami (Oh.) from 2019-21 before transferring to Kansas for his final season in 2022…Earned All-Big 12 Second Team in 2022, Second Team All-MAC in 2021, and Third Team All-MAC in 2020…Hails from Cincinnati, Ohio and prepped at Mount Healthy High School.

Charlie Thomas III – Appeared in 54 games (31 starts) at Georgia Tech (2018-22), tallying 313 tackles, 10 sacks, four interceptions, five passes defensed, seven forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries…Earned 2022 Second-Team All-ACC (Associated Press), 2022 Third-Team All-ACC and 2021 Honorable Mention All-ACC…Appeared in all 12 games, making 10 starts at linebacker in 2022…Racked up 112 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, which he returned for a total of 114 yards…Was one of only two NCAA Division I FBS players since 2000 with at least 112 tackles, 10.5 TFL, two sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in a regular season (TCU’s Paul Dawson in 2014)…Graduated from Georgia Tech in December 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration…Pursuing graduate studies in history, technology and society…Plans to go to graduate school to pursue an MBA…Native of Thomasville, Ga. And attended Thomasville High School.

If you or a loved one has questions and needs to talk to a professional about gambling, call the Ohio Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-589-9966 or the National Council on Program Gambling Helpline (NCPG) at 1-800-522-4700 or visit 1800gambler.net for more information. 21+ and present in Ohio. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.

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