Author: nfltalk

  • Why Penn State football is thriving with Julian Fleming: ‘I love being around him.’

    Why Penn State football is thriving with Julian Fleming: ‘I love being around him.’

    It’s quite possibly taken Julian Fleming four years seasons, two bad shoulders and one dramatic change of working scenery.

    The Penn State football wide receiver from Catawissa, Pa. − via Ohio State − has proclaimed himself healthier than ever, seemingly perfect-placed news, for all involved.

    It is exquisite timing for a Nittany Lion team in the midst of breaking in a new offensive coordinator and new scheme during the second half of spring workouts. For a receiver room in desperate need of a motivated, reliable leader with a different “style.”

    And for a young quarterback who needs someone, more than ever, to help him stabilize a pass game in makeover mold.

    Julian Fleming, once an Ohio State Buckeye, is already helping to re-shape his new, home-state Nittany Lions.

    Fleming, the senior wideout transfer, officially met the Penn State media for the first time Wednesday evening and proclaimed himself ” healthy as can be. This is probably the healthiest offseason I’ve had so far,” he told reporters in State College.

    “Shoulders are both good. I got those all fixed up. Been under the (surgical knife) a couple of times with stuff, just having to get this done and bumps and bruises. But right now I’m healthy, and I’m happy about it.”

    So is, it seems, his new quarterback, Penn State junior Drew Allar − he of the wondrous first-year starting stats against everyone except those three elite opponents who beat him, including Fleming’s former Buckeyes.

    On Thursday, Allar talked about Fleming, the guy with the locker across from his − the teammate he said he’s conversed with daily, and with apparent great effect, during these spring workouts that lead up to the annual Blue-White Game in Beaver Stadium on April 13.

    Fleming, of course, earned national recognition as arguably the top receiver prospect in the nation while first picking…

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  • AAC targeting Tim Pernetti for new commissioner: Former Rutgers AD would replace Mike Aresco

    AAC targeting Tim Pernetti for new commissioner: Former Rutgers AD would replace Mike Aresco

    USATSI

    The American Athletic Conference has targeted longtime college sports executive Tim Pernetti as its next commissioner, according to multiple reports. Pernetti replaces Mike Aresco, who transformed the league from the former Big East to the AAC. 

    Pernetti comes to the AAC with experience in both college athletics and on the business side of sports. He would be joining the conference after a series of roles working for IMG, the leading sports marketing and branding firm. From 2015-19, he was the president of IMG College, a branch of the company dealing with building sponsorships and and sales for universities. He spent the last two years leading IMG Academy, the high school in Bradenton, Florida, known for recruiting and developing elite athletes. 

    Prior to his time at IMG Academy, Pernetti was athletic director at Rutgers, his alma mater. In 2014, Pernetti brokered the deal to bring Rutgers to the Big Ten Conference, which earned him finalist honors for SBJ’s National Athletic Director of the Year. He also has experience at CBS Sports, ABC Sports and ESPN. 

    Pernetti resigned from his role as Rutgers athletic director after a scandal involving player abuse by former men’s basketball coach Mike Rice in 2015. A leaked video showed Rice throwing basketballs at members of his team in practice, kicking players and using  homophobic slurs. Pernetti opted to suspend and fine Rice, but was later forced to fire Rice after public backlash. Pernetti was forced to resign one day later. 

    Pernetti would over the AAC at a pivotal moment in college athletics. The conference added six…

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  • Why Hall of Fame DE believes Bears should have kept Justin Fields, built around him in 2024 NFL draft

    Why Hall of Fame DE believes Bears should have kept Justin Fields, built around him in 2024 NFL draft

    Why Hall of Fame DE believes Bears should have kept Justin Fields, built around him in 2024 NFL draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

    Hall of Fame defensive Dwight Freeney has added his voice to the growing chorus of former and current NFL players who believe the Bears should’ve kept quarterback Justin Fields and built around him in the upcoming draft. Freeney joined the Under Center Podcast on Monday and explained why.

    “There are no guarantees in this league,” Freeney said. “I don’t care what you look like in college… you can go down the list of guys who were top draft picks, first, second, third pick quarterbacks and hadn’t succeeded in the NFL.

    “It is not easy to succeed in the National Football League. It really isn’t. There are no guarantees out here, being able to be successful to have four or five years of success, it’s not easy.”

    Caleb Williams, the presumptive No. 1 overall pick, is no ordinary QB prospect, however. The only consistent flaw in his college tape was a propensity to fumble while playing hero ball in 2023. By all accounts, he’s determined to put in the work to surpass football stardom and become an NFL legend.

    The Bears are no ordinary landing spot for a No. 1 overall quarterback, either. They’re a 7-10 team who only had the pick because the Panthers were so bad (the Bears controlled the Panthers’ first-round pick as part of the deal that sent the No. 1 overall pick to Carolina last year), so they’re already better situated than most. Beyond that, they’ve added Keenan Allen, D’Andre Swift and Gerald Everett to the offense. Mix those guys in with DJ Moore, Cole Kmet and an improved offensive line and Williams might have the best supporting cast a QB1 has enjoyed in NFL history.

    Freeney explained that rookie QB growing pains can occur regardless of the number of playmakers around him, however.

    “You have to complement the offensive scheme with the offensive player. Everything has to come cohesively…

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  • LSU makes top 12 for 2025 4-star WR Corey Simms

    LSU makes top 12 for 2025 4-star WR Corey Simms

    One of the top wide receivers in the 2025 recruiting class has narrowed his list of final schools down to just 12. Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers are one of those 12.

    Corey Simms is a 6-foot-3, 185-pound, four-star wide receiver from Saint Louis where he plays for Christian Brothers High School. The Christian Brothers Cadets finished the 2023 season 11-3 with a loss to Liberty North in the Class 6 State Championship Game.

    LSU joins Miami, Georgia, Tennessee, USC, Penn State, Ole Miss, Michigan, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Arkansas as the final 12 schools in contention for the talented prospect.

    There are no Crystal Ball projections at this time for Simms, but the Missouri Tigers are a 39% favorite to land him per On3. LSU currently has the No. 2 overall recruiting class for 2025 according to On3. The class is headlined by the No. 1 wide receiver, Dakorien Moore, and the No. 1 quarterback Bryce Underwood in the class.

    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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  • Cardinals ordered to pay former team executive $3 million for defamation, per report

    Cardinals ordered to pay former team executive $3 million for defamation, per report

    The Arizona Cardinals are being ordered to pay ex-team executive Terry McDonough $3 million for “false and defamatory” statements made about him publicly to the media, per a federal court decision filed on Monday, according to ESPN. 

    Jeffrey Mishkin, the league arbitrator chosen by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, ruled that Arizona and its owner, Michael Bidwill, defamed McDonough “with malice” in a multi-page statement to media organizations, alleging McDonough committed spousal abuse and neglected his disabled, adult daughter. McDonough denied those claims. 

    Mike Caspino, McDonough’s counsel, filed the decision with the U.S. District Court in Arizona on Monday as a step in the legal process for the court to confirm his awarded compensation. 

    “Despite what we consider to be a fundamentally unfair arbitration process, Terry McDonough is the first person to ever win against an NFL owner,” Caspino said via a statement on the court filing, per ESPN. “Why the NFL has not held Michael Bidwill accountable remains a mystery.” 

    The $3 million McDonough is set to receive is a good amount of money, but it is a far cry from what he sought to receive in court. He filed for $15 million in lost future earnings, $10 million for emotional distress, $10 million for reputational harm and between $60 to $90 million in punitive damages. 

    Mishkin awarded him $150,000 in general damages for “the harm to his reputation” the defamatory statements caused, $600,000 in damages for emotional distress and $2.25 million in punitive damages. 

    The league and the Cardinals have not yet made public remarks about the case. However, McDonough didn’t win on some of his other claims centered around unlawful retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy. This arbitration claim was brought by McDonough against Arizona last April after he alleged that Bidwill retaliated against him…

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  • Final Four 2024: Alabama’s Nate Oats credits advice from Nick Saban, inspirational quotes in team’s run

    Final Four 2024: Alabama’s Nate Oats credits advice from Nick Saban, inspirational quotes in team’s run

    Nate Oats has led Alabama basketball into uncharted waters. With an Elite Eight win over Clemson in the NCAA Tournament, the Crimson Tide secured a spot in the Final Four for the first time in program history, and they’re just two wins away from claiming an unprecedented national championship. 

    It hasn’t been an easy road for Oats, who inherited a team that won 20 games just once in seven years prior to his arrival. He failed to reach that mark in two out of his first three years, though that was offset by an SEC championship and a run to the Sweet 16 in Year 2. Through all the highs and lows, Oats has been able to lean on one constant: former Alabama football coach Nick Saban, who retired in January after 17 illustrious years with the university. 

    Though Oats initially “didn’t want to bother” Saban, he still found ways to pick the longtime coach’s brain. 

    “I went and watched practices, I sat in on staff meetings, I shadowed him for a day, I went on road trips with him to see how they operated,” Oats said following the Tide’s Elite Eight win. “I tried to learn as much as I could. It never nagged me or bothered me that football was huge at Alabama. I loved it. It’s better for recruiting, it’s better for everything for us. I tried to learn from it.

    “I love the fact that he’s still got an office at Bryant-Denny [Stadium],” Oats continued. “I love the fact he’s willing to talk to me. He talked to me before this run. He texted me during the run.”

    Oats’ admiration of Saban began long before Alabama. As the coach at Romulus High School in Detroit, Oats created an Excel document containing tabs for, among other things, inspirational quotes broken down into two subcategories: “regular quotes” and “Saban quotes.” 

    “Every Saban quote I had, it…

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  • Matt LaFleur: Cutting Aaron Jones, signing Josh Jacobs “caught me off guard”

    Matt LaFleur: Cutting Aaron Jones, signing Josh Jacobs “caught me off guard”

    Packers head coach Matt LaFleur says that until the first day that teams could talk to free agents this offseason, he was under the impression that running back Aaron Jones would be back in Green Bay.

    Instead, the Packers cut Jones and signed free agent running back Josh Jacobs, and LaFleur said he didn’t see that coming.

    “It kind of caught me off guard, to be honest with you,” LaFleur said, via the Wisconsin State Journal. “There were some other things in play, obviously with Aaron Jones, and I didn’t quite know how everything was going to go. It just happened really fast on that Monday.”

    The Packers had hoped to convince Jones to take a pay cut, but he declined and was released instead. He signed a one-year, $7 million contract with the Vikings, while the Packers gave Jacobs a four-year, $48 million contract.

    “It happened really fast, so I don’t know all the details of that,” LaFleur said. “I’m not involved in those types of conversations. But we were super excited [to get Jacobs].”

    Now they’ll see Jones twice a year, and they’ll hope Jacobs proves to be an upgrade that LaFleur didn’t see coming.

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