NFL News Updates

Author: nfltalk

  • Ohio State football recruiting: Five-star LB Riley Pettijohn commits as Buckeyes bolster top-rated 2025 class

    Ohio State football recruiting: Five-star LB Riley Pettijohn commits as Buckeyes bolster top-rated 2025 class

    247Sports

    Ohio State added another coveted prospect to its top-ranked recruiting class on Saturday when five-star linebacker Riley Pettijohn committed to the Buckeyes live on 247Sports. Pettijohn chose Ohio State over Texas, Texas A&M and USC to give the Buckeyes yet another big win on the trail.

    Pettijohn is entering his senior year at McKinney High School in McKinney, Texas. In addition to starring on the football field for McKinney, Pettijohn has excelled in track, posting a 10.7 second 100-meter dash time as a junior. That speed translates well to the football field, where he posted 125 tackles in 2023.

    He also comes from a strong football pedigree. His father, Duke Pettijohn, starred on the defensive line for Syracuse from 1997-2000. Riley Pettijohn is considered the nation’s No. 5 linebacker prospect by 247Sports and is ranked the No. 10 overall prospect from the state of Texas.

    “Athletic volume tackler who can fit multiple off-ball linebacker roles in varying schemes,” wrote 247Sports scouting analyst Gabe Brooks in an evaluation of Pettijohn. “Well-developed build with a stout, athletic base. Early on, looked like a candidate to ultimately play off the edge, but now clearly belongs as a traditional linebacker who exhibits broad pursuit range with excellent verified athleticism to bolster his long-term projection.”

    Pettijohn is Ohio State’s 23rd commitment in the 2025 class and the 10th who is ranked inside the top-100 of the Top247 Rankings. His pledge softens the blow after the Buckeyes struck out on another front-seven prospect, four-star linebacker Justin Hill,…

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  • CeeDee Lamb fires back at ex-Cowboys receiver Cole Beasley over apparent criticism

    CeeDee Lamb fires back at ex-Cowboys receiver Cole Beasley over apparent criticism

    Getty Images

    CeeDee Lamb clearly doesn’t want anyone — let alone an ex-teammate and former NFL receiver — critiquing him on social media. The Dallas Cowboys’ All-Pro wideout recently made that clear when he responded to recent comments made by Cole Beasley, a former Cowboys receiver who hasn’t played in the NFL since the 2022 season. 

    Beasley’s critiquing of Lamb started with his response to a post on X that included a video of some of Lamb’s offseason workouts. Beasley then expanded on his point when someone chided him for giving advice to a receiver as accomplished as Lamb. 

    “Give me 180 targets off the couch and I eclipse 1000,” Beasley wrote. “Stop looking at stats and check the tape. As far as getting open goes…I’m confident I did that with the best of them.”

    At this point, Lamb decided to step in and address Beasley. 

    “I don’t need 180 targets to touch a band,” Lamb responded via X. “Pull up tape, I’d match you route for route on getting open. Just Chill.”

    Beasley, trying to diffuse the situation, responded to Lamb. 

    “I never said you did,” Beasley said. “Just some perspective for the fans.

    It’s clear that Beasley wasn’t trying to discredit Lamb, who is coming off the most prolific receiving season in Cowboys history. Beasley — who caught 556 passes for 5,744 yards and 34 in 11 seasons with the Cowboys, Bills and Buccaneers — was merely defending his own career after he was criticized for giving public pointers to Lamb. 

    It’s also clear that Lamb — even if Beasley’s comments were well-intended — doesn’t want Beasley or any other former or current player commenting on his game or his training regimen. 

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  • Early look at Florida State football’s Week 1 opponent Boston College

    Early look at Florida State football’s Week 1 opponent Boston College

    Florida State football will play on Labor Day weekend for the fourth consecutive season.

    It will also be its home opener during the prime-time game at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN at Doak Campbell Stadium Sept. 2.

    It is a new era for Boston College.

    Bill O’Brien is a college football head coach again after one season as an offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for the New England Patriots.

    Before that, he served the same role under Nick Saban in Alabama.

    With his college and pro coaching experience, Boston College could likely be a better team than the last meeting with FSU.

    Boston College went 7-6 last season but ended the year losing three of the last four games, leading to Jeff Hafley’s departure.

    Who is Boston College’s head coach

    INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – JANUARY 10: Alabama Crimson Tide Offensive Coordinator Bill O’Brien looks on prior to a game against the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2022 CFP National Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium on January 10, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

    O’Brien was hired on Feb. 9. He is BC’s 37th head coach in program history. It is the first time since 2012 that O’Brien has returned to the college head coaching ranks.

    O’Brien is no stranger to building a winning team right away. He led the Nittany Lions to an eight-win season in his first season at Penn State.

    He was 15-9 during his tenure before taking an NFL head coaching job for the Houston Texans in 2014, which lasted for six seasons.

    He became Alabama’s offensive coordinator and QB coach for the 2021 and 2022 seasons and one year for the Patriots last year.

    FSU-BC all-time record,

    16-5, FSU

    Last meeting between FSU and Boston College

    Florida State defeated Boston College 41-16 last season at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

    Boston College’s top players

    Offense: QB Logan Thomas Castellanos, 2248…

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  • Rookie LB Edgerrin Cooper impressed the Packers this offseason

    Rookie LB Edgerrin Cooper impressed the Packers this offseason

    Edgerrin Cooper was one of the best defensive players in college football last season, his final season at Texas A&M. The Packers may have gotten a steal with the 45th overall pick.

    Cooper will head into training camp close to winning a starting job after making a good impression in the offseason program.

    Packers coach Matt LaFleur said during minicamp that he called a play designed to fool Cooper, but the All-American didn’t bite.

    “I thought for sure we were going to get him on [it], and he did a heck of a job,” LaFleur said, via Mike Spofford of the team website. “I was kind of teasing the other coaches, ‘Did you preview him for that play?’ And they did not. So, that’s a credit to him and just how engaged he’s been and how locked in he’s been throughout the course of the offseason.”

    Cooper was the first off-ball linebacker taken in the draft after 84 tackles, eight sacks and two forced fumbles last season for the Aggies.

    New Packers coordinator Jeff Hafley will use three linebackers, but the team will have only two on the field in their nickel package. Cooper could join third-year pro Quay Walker in staying on the field for all three downs. Walker played 91 percent of the defensive snaps in the 14 games he played in 2023.

    The Packers also have veterans Isaiah McDuffie and Eric Wilson and third-round pick Ty’Ron Hopper in the linebackers room.

    “He’s showing flashes, getting downhill, playing, flying around,” Walker said of Cooper. “I just tell him, ‘Don’t do no thinking, bro. Just fly around. If you mess up, it is what it is. You a rookie. Just take what you can learn . . . and go from there.’”

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  • Casualties of conference realignment, Pac-12 officials detail hope, devastation in search of new opportunities

    Casualties of conference realignment, Pac-12 officials detail hope, devastation in search of new opportunities

    During fall Saturdays last year, Pac-12 official John Morton would gaze up at the stands, the sights and the sun and feel something else wash over him during the conference’s impending demise.

    Sentimentality. Melancholy. A sense of loss.  

    The CPA from the Pacific Northwest had spent 13 years as a Pac-12 on-field official. The 2023 season was his last in the league, mostly because it was the end of the league. It wasn’t easy having that fact play over in his mind and on the field for the entire season. 

    Officials are supposed to be neutral. Morton couldn’t be. Not in this case. He and his peers were rooting for status quo.

    They weren’t alone.

    “You knew that very well could be the last time you ever went to that stadium,” said Morton, a veteran back judge originally from Olympia, Washington, now currently living in Dallas. “You knew all these teams were going to be in other places next year. Officials were going to be in other conferences. It was unlike anything else. It definitely made for a much different season.”

    Amid the Pac-12’s dissolution, it’s easy to overlook a cohort of individuals who proudly carry with them some of the conference’s lasting legacies. The 64 Pac-12 officials who worked last season have been scattered to the winds of fate but not without memories, emotion and goodbyes.

    “It was a very unceremonious end,” Morton told CBS Sports. “There were people with a lot of runway left in front of them. Good officials. But the numbers are going to be such that not everybody is going to have a chair when the music stops.”

    Those 64 on-field officials (not counting replay officials) were divided into eight crews of eight for the league’s last season. The story from there is almost Darwinian. Natural selection with a whistle. Only…

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  • Cam Newton says Lamar Jackson is best dual-threat QB in NFL history: Who is the greatest in both eras?

    Cam Newton says Lamar Jackson is best dual-threat QB in NFL history: Who is the greatest in both eras?

    Cam Newton is considered one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in NFL history, maybe even the best. If pressed, Newton says he isn’t the GOAT of the dual-threat quarterbacks. 

    Newton deferred to Lamar Jackson as the greatest dual-threat quarterback, citing a different style of play than the quarterback who has the most rushing touchdowns for a player at his position (75) than any in NFL history. 

    “Lamar’s style is different than mine,” Newton said on the 4th-and-1 podcast. “He’s got big plays any play. He’s got speed that I never had. And he’s just a legend. I played the game more powerful. I can run, but I’m going to probably get caught. Vick, Lamar, they ain’t getting caught.”

    Who is the greatest dual-threat quarterback in NFL history? That’s a long debate, considering how much the game has changed and running quarterbacks are more prevalent than ever. This list will be divided into two parts: quarterbacks who mostly scrambled to get yards (pre-2000) and the hybrid era of quarterbacks the game has now (post-2000). 

    Scrambling era (pre-2000)

    1. Steve Young

    Young wasn’t just a good running quarterback, he was excellent. When Young retired, he was second all time among quarterbacks in rushing yards (4,239) and rushing touchdowns (43) — while carrying a 5.9 yards-per-carry average. 

    Where Young separates himself from the rest is his excellence as a passer as well. Young led the NFL in completion percentage five times, passing touchdowns four times, yards per attempt five times, and passer rating six times. He was a two-time MVP and First Team All-Pro three consecutive years. 

    Young led the NFL in passer rating four straight years (1991-1994), completion percentage four straight years (1994-1997), yards per attempt four straight years (1991-1994), and passing touchdowns three straight years (1992-1994). He threw for 33,124 yards and 232 touchdowns with a passer rating of 96.8 –…

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  • LSU flips 4-star Texas DL commit Brandon Brown

    LSU flips 4-star Texas DL commit Brandon Brown

    Brian Kelly gave Texas a “Welcome to the SEC” present as he and his recruiting staff have flipped a four-star defensive line commit for the 2025 recruiting class.

    Brandon Brown is a 6-foot-1, 286-pound, four-star defensive lineman from Melbourne, Florida, where he plays for Eau Gallie High School. Brown committed to the Texas Longhorns on December 19, 2023, and has been locked in with them until he decided to de-commit today and flip his commitment to LSU.

    Brown becomes the 14th commitment of the 2025 class and the second defensive lineman commitment as he joins Zion Williams who committed to LSU yesterday. LSU’s 2025 class is ranked as the No. 8 overall class in the country according to 247Sports but ranks fifth per On3.

    Kelly has done a great job recruiting during his first two seasons at LSU as he has signed a top-ten class every season. The Tigers are still in the running for a lot of recruits so the class could get even better before it’s all said and done.

    Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

    Story originally appeared on LSU Tigers Wire

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  • Cam Newton: I’m not the greatest dual threat in NFL history, Lamar Jackson is

    Cam Newton: I’m not the greatest dual threat in NFL history, Lamar Jackson is

    Cam Newton ran for more touchdowns than any other quarterback in NFL history, but he does not consider himself the greatest dual threat ever to play the game.

    Asked on the 4th and 1 Show whether he’s the greatest dual threat ever, Newton answered, “No. Lamar Jackson.”

    Newton says that what really separates Jackson is his speed, which allows him to break more big plays than Newton did. Newton said his own specialty was power in short yardage situations, but that Jackson and Michael Vick were greater threats with their legs because they were faster.

    “Lamar’s style is different than mine,” Newton said. “He’s got big plays any play. He’s got speed that I never had. And he’s just a legend. I played the game more powerful. I can run, but I’m going to probably get caught. Vick, Lamar, they ain’t getting caught.”

    Newton retired with 5,628 rushing yards, the second-most for a quarterback in NFL history behind Vick, as well as his record 75 rushing touchdowns. Jackson currently has 5,258 rushing yards and 29 rushing touchdowns. Jackson has a good chance of surpassing Vick’s quarterback record of 6,109 rushing yards this season, but he’s still a long way off from Newton’s record for the most rushing touchdowns.

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