Category: College Football

247Sports

Wide receiver Eugene Hilton Jr., the son of former Pro Bowl wideout T.Y. Hilton, committed to Wisconsin as the first 247Sports Composite four-star wide receiver for the Badgers since 2017. 

The younger Hilton chose Wisconsin over offers from Georgia, Ole Miss and Missouri, among others. He took an official visit to Madison, Wisconsin, the weekend of June 7 that sold him on Luke Fickell’s program. 

“I was already like really high on them. I think this really opened up my eyes a little bit more,” Hilton told 247Sports. “What I knew already and thought about them already, it all kind of just helped me and see the place and the people, if I do potentially go there, see the people I would be around and all of that.”

With Hilton’s commitment, Wisconsin’s recruiting class climbed to No. 12 in the 247Sports Team Composite recruiting rankings. 

If he follows in his father’s footsteps, he’ll be quite the recruiting coup for the Badgers. T.Y. Hilton played at FIU from 2008-11, where he was a two-time first-team All-Sun Belt selection and the 2010 Sun Belt Player of the Year while amassing 3,531 yards and 24 touchdowns receiving for his career. 

The Indianapolis Colts selected Hilton in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He earned a spot on the NFL All-Rookie Team and made four straight Pro Bowls from 2014-17. He led the NFL in receiving with 1,448 yards in 2016, marking a fourth consecutive 1,000-yard receiving year. 

He had at least 700 yards receiving in eight out of his 10 years with the Colts and finished his NFL career with 9,812 yards and 53 touchdowns…

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SOUTH BEND — Marcus Fakatou just finished up his eighth-grade year in Riverside, Calif., but that didn’t keep Notre Dame football from offering the prodigy a scholarship for the 2028 recruiting cycle.

A defensive lineman who already stands 6 foot 7 and weighs 265 pounds, Fakatou reported the offer on social media after attending camp at Notre Dame on Monday. The offer came directly from Irish coach Marcus Freeman, who recently explained the sport-wide trend toward frontloading the recruiting process.

“Recruiting has shifted earlier,” Freeman said on May 31. “We’re looking at ‘26s and ‘27s. That is just the nature of the recruiting cycle. It’s gone earlier and earlier.”

June enrollees: Eight is enough: Meet the latest crop of June enrollees for Notre Dame football

Case in point: Fakatou, who has reportedly grown 4 inches and 95 pounds over the past year alone, already has eight offers from high-level college programs. USC, BYU, Utah, Arizona, Arizona State, Washington and Auburn extended their offers before Notre Dame joined what promises to be a long line of suitors.

Fakatou, who is headed to Orange (Calif.) Lutheran High School this fall, was Notre Dame’s first known offer in the 2028 recruiting class. Lutheran is the only non-Catholic school in Southern California’s prestigious six-team Trinity League, which includes Mater Dei, St. John Bosco, JSerra Catholic, Servite and Santa Margarita.

The Irish recently welcomed their second nonbinding commitment of the 2026 recruiting class when Lake Mary, Fla., quarterback Noah Grubbs announced on June 1. At 6-4 and 205 pounds, Grubbs chose the Irish over 22 other reported offers, including Florida, Miami, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Oklahoma and Colorado.

Notre Dame!!! The experience was awesome, thank you for hosting a great camp! Great seeing ND…

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It wasn’t long ago that Joe Burrow (LSU, 2019) and Mac Jones (Alabama, 2020) were torching everyone in their paths with high-flying offensive attacks that were seemingly ushering in a new era in college football. Over the past three seasons, however, defense has made a comeback.

Georgia won national championships in 2021 and 2022 with a stifling defense, and Michigan followed suit during its unbeaten 2023 campaign. As the 2024 season approaches, it appears Ohio State is trying to remake itself in the mold of those Bulldogs and Wolverines.

With the retention of several draft-eligible defensive stars, the Buckeyes are gearing up to have their best unit yet under third-year coordinator Jim Knowles, who has already done some fine work since arriving from Oklahoma State in 2022. Getting more physical was a point of emphasis for Ohio State last season, and that quest continues with coach Ryan Day entering a critical seventh season.

Is Ohio State’s defensive front seven the best in the country? It may be by season’s end. For now, though, the benefit of the doubt goes to the two programs that have proven their dominance in that realm more recently.

Here’s our look at the nation’s best front sevens entering the 2024 campaign.

1. Georgia

It’s business as usual for the Georgia defense under coach Kirby Smart, which means the Bulldogs are going to be an issue for everyone up front. Mykel Williams is a potential first-round draft pick after two productive years on the edge. Nazir Stackhouse and Warren Brinson have taken the journeymen approach at defensive tackle but are also destined for an NFL payday once they conclude their fifth seasons as hulking run-stuffers. 

The Bulldogs are arguably even more loaded at linebacker with the likes of Chaz…

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The Oklahoma Sooners have a better idea of what the 2024 season will look like with the SEC release of game times yesterday. But how they and the Texas Longhorns will fare in their first year in the SEC is anyone’s guess.

Texas made the playoffs last season, and the Sooners are one of the winningest programs over the last 25 years. Brent Venables was brought in to prepare Oklahoma for its move.

His experience with the Clemson Tigers certainly informs Venables about what it takes to be successful in their new conference home. Each of his first three offseasons has been about getting Oklahoma “SEC Ready.”

At the same time, the Sooners provide a new challenge for Alabama, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and LSU. OU is considered a blue-blood for a reason. With seven national titles and 50 conference championships, the Sooners will be a contender in the SEC. Can they do it in year one? That’s the question everyone’s asking. But here are three reasons why OU will win big in 2024 and make the College Football Playoff.

More: College Football Playoff Projections for 2024

Up Next: 3 Reasons why OU wins big in 2024

1. Defense Wins Championships

We’ll see if the Sooners will have a chance to hang a banner in 2024, but the defense will be a big reason they’ll contend in the SEC and for a playoff spot.

Oklahoma has a lot of experience and a number of blue-chip talents who have been developing the program since Venables’ arrival and are primed for a breakout.

Up the middle of the defense should be the strength for the Sooners, and it’s been a minute since we’ve said that. Damonic Williams and Da’Jon Terry lead a defensive tackle group that will be really good this season.

Danny Stutsman is arguably the most important player on the team, but certainly the defense. His leadership and playmaking has been critical for the defense…

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Police were sent to protect one of the eight teams that competed in the 2023 College World Series after a threat from a gambler, CBS Sports has learned. The team wasn’t identified by NCAA president Charlie Baker, but the situation highlights his ongoing concerns about gambling in the new legal sports betting landscape.

Baker made several references to gambling during his address Monday at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics convention in Las Vegas.

“There was a bettor who threatened a team,” Baker told CBS Sports after the address. “The threat was serious enough [that] we showed it to authorities. They said, ‘You know what, we think we should probably hang out with you guys for the rest of the tournament.’”

Though Baker did not specifically mention the nature of the threat — nor that it occurred at the CWS — multiple sources confirmed to CBS Sports that the incident took place at last year’s event in Omaha, Nebraska. LSU won the 2023 national championship with Florida, Virginia, Wake Forest, Stanford, Tennessee, Oral Roberts and TCU also participating a year ago.

Gambling has become a key concern for college administrators since state-sponsored sports betting became legal in 2019. Authorities are currently investigating the Temple and Loyola (Md.) basketball programs for possible gambling violations.

Approximately five games a week on any given football Saturday (about 8%) are flagged by gambling monitor U.S. Integrity for possible improprieties.

“I think it’s the NCAA’s No. 1 concern,” said Clinton Speegle, a Birmingham, Alabama-based attorney who deals in sports law. “Talking to student-athletes, I’ve never had one admit to me that their colleagues or fellow students were putting pressure on them, but I…

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Ladarian Clardy, one of the highest-ranked safeties in the 2025 recruiting class, announced an offer from the Colorado Buffaloes on Monday.

A consensus four-star prospect, the 6-foot, 175-pound Clardy hails from Pensacola, Florida, and will soon begin his senior season at Escambia High School. The 247Sports composite ranks the Colorado target as the No. 18 safety in his class and the No. 216 overall prospect.

Clardy’s junior year numbers are impressive, to say the least. According to MaxPreps, he racked up 57 total tackles, two TFLs, four interceptions and eight passes defended for the 8-4 Escambia Gators.

Other Power Four programs that have expressed interest in Clardy include the Florida State Seminoles, Miami Hurricanes, Mississippi State Bulldogs, UCF Knights, Washington Huskies and Ole Miss Rebels.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders currently owns three 2025 commitments: cornerback Alex Graham, linebacker Mantrez Walker and tight end Corbin Laisure.

Contact/Follow us @BuffaloesWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Colorado news, notes and opinions.

Story originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire

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247Sports

They don’t hand out offseason championships in college football, but if they did, Ohio State would be No. 1 in every poll. After receiving a commitment from top-rated 2025 safety Faheem Delane Sunday, the Buckeyes are No. 1 in the 247Sports Composite team rankings.

Delane is a big get for the Buckeyes and a player they’ve targeted at the top of their board for a while. He was originally offered by the Buckeyes in May 2022 when Perry Eliano was still the team’s safeties coach. After Tim Walton became the new secondary coach in Columbus, he picked up where Eliano left off with Delane, and his persistence was rewarded.

Delane is the top-rated player from the state of Maryland and the No. 50 player in the 2025 class, per 247Sports. As you’d expect of a premier talent at a premium position, Delane had offers from nearly everybody. Oregon was seen as Ohio State’s primary competition, but Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Tennessee, LSU, and every other blue-blood program you can probably think of were after Delane.

The scouting report from 247Sports’ Andrew Ivins:

An aggressive back-seven defender that can cover the pass, defend the run, and get home on the blitz. Owns a college-ready frame having measured roughly 6-foot-2.5, 200 pounds summer before junior season. Quick to trigger and tends to play with tons of confidence. Has been utilized primarily as a box safety and a slot corner at the prep level and found plenty of success in both roles. Physical more times than not and always looking to deliver a blow. Serviceable in man-to-man situations and held his own at Under…

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With the additions of the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners to the SEC and the expansion to a 12-team College Football Playoff, the 2024 season will be unlike anything we have seen in years past.

With eight more Playoff spots now, teams with two to three losses will be getting into the playoffs and you won’t have to run the table in a loaded SEC to play for a national title.

The move to the SEC could not have come at a better time as the Horns made a CFP appearance for the first time in 2023. Texas will be one of the favorites to compete for an SEC title and national championship in 2024 largely due to quarterback Quinn Ewers.

Six QBs were selected in the top 12 picks of the 2024 NFL draft, so there is a bit of a step down in talent at the position this year. However, for guys like Ewers and Georgia Bulldogs Carson Beck, it’s a great opportunity to become QB1 in the 2025 NFL draft class and potentially win the Heisman Memorial trophy.

Former Alabama quarterback and now ESPN CFB analyst Greg McElroy ranks Ewers as the No. 2 quarterback in the sport heading into the 2024 season behind only Beck. Jalen Milroe of Alabama and Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss were the only other SEC passers on the list.

McElroy said of Ewers, “He looked so much more comfortable last year, and because of the lost weight, I thought he was more athletic. His feet were better. And all of those things helped him to really progress and lead Texas to their first-ever CFP berth.”

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Story originally appeared on Longhorns Wire

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