Ball State is on the right end of the football transfer portal after being on the wrong side late last year.
Earlier this offseason, Anthony Epke took the initial step in leaving Rice by entering his name into the NCAA transfer database. Thursday, Ball State confirmed in a tweet that the linebacker has been added to its football roster.
As Epke will be coming to the MAC school as a graduate transfer, he’ll have immediate eligibility. The 2020 season will serve as his final year at the collegiate level.
Coming out of high school in Pflugerville, Tex., Epke was a two-star 2016 signee. He took a redshirt as a true freshman.
In 2017, Epke played in 11 games. The following season seemed to serve as a breakout year for the 6-0, 234-pound linebacker. That year, Epke led the Owls with 6½ tackles for loss and six sacks. For that, he earned honorable mention All-Conference USA recognition.
This past season, Epke started the first five games of the year before going down with an injury. He came back later in the year to appear in three additional games.
Epke will finish the Rice portion of his playing career with 67 tackles, 14½ tackles for loss, 9½ sacks, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
In the Epke release, Ball State also acknowledged two other lower-level additions to its football roster.