Category: College Football

Former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier is not a fan of the modern recruiting structure, but it’s not for the reason you might think.

Spurrier knows that adapting is the only way to survive in the game, so he’s not outright rejecting the name, image and likeness game. Instead, he sees NIL as a new tool that needs to be tweaked. He’s more or less on the same page regarding the changes to the transfer portal over the past decade.

“They’ve (the NCAA) gotta do something about it. I think they’ve got to come up with a budget. The Power Five teams, you’ve got $30 million to spend. If you want to give it all to the quarterback, that’s your business, but put a limit and let them spread it out and go from there. It will help even out things a little bit as far as getting recruiting back into the game,” Spurrier said on 95.3 WDAE (Tampa).

“Right now it’s just about whoever is going to pay the most money. That’s not the way it should be, and actually, those teams that pay the most money don’t win all the time anyway. I think Texas A&M, Miami and Southern Cal have been three of the biggest spenders here in the last couple of years or so but they have not won big.

“You still gotta have good attitude, good teamwork and players playing for each other out there.”

Spurrier also offered a prediction for Florida’s upcoming season.

“Everybody feels like we’ve got a better team this year. We’ve picked up some guys. Of course, we’ve lost some guys. But again, if we get off to a really good start — we open up with Miami, I think at 3:30 on August 31 there. If we get off to a good start, build some confidence, Graham Mertz is ready to go and (DJ) Lagway — the backup kid — he’s a talented player.”

“We’re in good shape at quarterback, hopefully, our defense will be much improved. We can get…

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Consider it something of a trade.

Once upon a time, it wasn’t usual for one player to move from one side of a prominent rivalry to another. It was groundbreaking when Justin Boren left Michigan football for rival Ohio State back in 2008. But it’s now becoming a little more commonplace.

In fact, on Friday, we saw one player go from Michigan State to Michigan and another from Michigan to Michigan State.

On the heels of MSU safety Jaden Mangham committing to the Wolverines via the transfer portal, just a few hours later, Wolverines linebacker Semaj Bridgeman transferred to the Spartans.

Bridgeman is entering his second year and has a full four years of eligibility at his disposal. He’s not the first Michigan football linebacker to make his way to East Lansing in recent memory as Ben VanSumeren — who moonlighted as a tailback — also made the move to MSU following a defensive coordinator change.

Story originally appeared on Wolverines Wire

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Outside of the military academies, Clemson was the only program in the country not to take a single transfer. While many have criticized coach Dabo Swinney’s approach to the portal, the Tigers’ head man defended his program’s lack of activity in the transfer market during an interview Wednesday with Siriux XM.

.”I mean, it’s really pretty simple,” he said. “Most of the guys in the portal aren’t good enough to play for us. That’s just the reality of it.”

“It wasn’t really necessarily an intentional thing,” Swinney said. “There (are) a couple (of) guys we looked at, but they’ve got to love you too.” 

The Tigers reportedly did reach out to multiple players in the transfer portal but were ultimately unable to find a fit. Twelve players transferred from the program, including starters Beaux Collins (receiver) and Andrew Mukuba (defensive back). Conversely, 18 different FBS teams took at least 20 transfers during the 2024 offseason. 

“Honestly, every player is technically a transfer,” Swinney said Tuesday during an interview with the ACC Network. “We just signed a whole class of guys who will transfer in from high school. We like our guys, we like our starters.” 

Swinney also doubled down on the approach by pointing to Clemson’s success off the field, including graduation rate and NFL development. Only four power conference schools boasted better roster retention than Clemson. 

“Dabo Swinney bets on loyalty as a two-way street,” 247Sports national recruiting analyst Anna Adams said. “Clemson isn’t immune from departures due to outside infleunces or tampering, but the loyalty the program shows its players typically aids the program in retaining its stars.

“While culture plays a significant role, Clemson can’t get by on that…

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EA Sports’ College Football 2025 has an official release date. | AP Photo

Employers may want to brace themselves for a barrage of vacation requests and/or employees taking sick days later this summer.

Why? Thursday morning, EA Sports announced the official release date for the highly anticipated College Football 25 video game.

The return of the game will be July 19, with a full reveal coming Friday.

There will be three different editions of the game:

The MVP bundle

The Deluxe Edition

The Standard Edition

More information on each edition can be found at EA.com.

Both the MVP bundle and the Deluxe Edition provide early access to the game, beginning on July 16. All editions can be preordered now.

The game will be the first college football video game released by EA Sports since 2013. EA paused production on the previous iteration of its college football video game series, known as NCAA Football, after settling a lawsuit with former players who weren’t compensated for their name, image and likeness.

Per Fox Sports, more than a few details have been released regarding the newest edition of the game, including the cover athletes — Michigan running back Donovan Edwards, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter.

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, Georgia quarterback Carson Beck and Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins can also be seen on the cover of the Deluxe Edition.

According to Matt Brown, writer of the Extra Points newsletter, all 134 FBS teams will appear in the game. Per Brown, EA Sports made offers to every player on an FBS roster to be a part of the game, with over 12,800 players accepting that offer as of May.

Brown reported that EA Sports initially had a goal of getting 87% of all student-athletes to accept the offer and ultimately exceeded that. Players who decline to be in the game will…

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CBS Sports capped its 2024 Power Four coach rankings with the release of Wednesday’s top 25, highlighting the upper echelon of coaches at the highest level of college football. This year’s list features several new names after Nick Saban’s retirement and Jim Harbaugh’s departure for the NFL left some huge vacancies near the top. 

Georgia’s Kirby Smart was a natural successor for the No. 1 slot, and the rest of the top 10 is a combination of veterans who already boast multiple College Football Playoff appearances and relative newcomers who seem poised to take the sport by storm. However, just because a coach lands in the top 25 does not mean they’re immune to pressure. 

Added expectations come with such a lofty billing. With seven at-large bids up for grabs, making the cut for an expanded 12-team College Football Playoff is now the bar for a top-10 coach. For some, even that won’t cut it, and only a run toward the national title will soothe fanbases clamoring for more. 

Not that any top coaches are on the hot seat entering 2024, but this season certainly feels like a turning point for some prolific figures in CBS Sports’ top 25. 

2024 Power Four coach rankings: 68-26 | 25-1

Ryan Day, Ohio State

CBS Sports rank: 2 | 2023 record:11-2 

Most programs would kill for the level of success — both on the field and in the recruiting sphere — Ohio State has enjoyed in recent years. But for all the 11-win seasons and New Year’s Six bowl appearances, it’s hard to shake the feeling Day has fallen well short of expectations since a 2020 run to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. The 2023 season marked a third straight loss to top rival Michigan, a third consecutive year without a Big Ten Championship Game berth and the…

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Florida football wide receiver Eugene Wilson III received a loud ovation shortly after throwing out the first pitch at a recent UF baseball game at Condron Family Ballpark.

The sophomore pitched from the mound and, although it short-hopped the plate, the cheers came, nonetheless.

As the leading returning receiver for the Florida Gators in 2024, the 5-foot-10, 181-pound Wilson had an electric performance in UF’s spring game, finishing with 8 catches for 128 yards and a touchdown.

“I just feel like that set the standard,” Wilson said. “It’s something I’m just trying to make a habit of, for every game this year.”

Wilson has quickly become one of the faces of the Florida football program after a breakout 2023 season. His six touchdown catches led all UF receivers, and he earned freshman All-SEC and All-America honors with 61 catches for 533 yards.

That’s resulted in Name, Image and Likeness opportunities, as Wilson’s appearance at the baseball game was part of a Florida Victorious event. He’s also inked NIL deals with Alsander GNV, a student apartment complex near campus, Crunch Fitness and Through the Storm apparel. As part of the deal with Through the Storm, Wilson is donating $3 of all T-shirt sales back to his local youth football team, the Keystone Bills.

The Florida football game plan going into the 2024 season will feature ways to get the ball in the hands of Wilson, who coaches and teammates call Tre.

“We’re going to get our money’s worth out of Tre Wilson,” Florida coach Billy Napier said. “I can promise you that.”

How Super Bowl-winning father pushed Florida football WR Eugene Wilson III

Florida WR Eugene Wilson III throws out the first pitch before the start of Game 2 between Florida and Kentucky on Saturday at Condron Family Ballpark in Gainesville

The breakout season didn’t come without hard…

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College football recruiting has vastly changed over the years, but one of the constants that’s remained is the weight of expectations on five-star recruits. The higher a recruit is ranked, the higher the expectations are that they’ll immediately become a difference-maker for their team — and perhaps leave conference championships and College Football Playoff appearances in their wake. 

In the Class of 2024 there’s nobody that has higher expectations than Ohio State freshman Jeremiah Smith. The 6-foot-3, 200 pound star out of Chaminade-Madonna Prep in Opa Locka, Florida, led his team to a perfect 14-0 record and a third consecutive state title and put up insane numbers while doing so: 88 receptions for 1,376 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2023. The Buckeye signee became the first wide receiver to be ranked as the No. 1 overall recruit in the Top247 rankings since 247Sports started them in 2010. He is every bit the generational prospect. 

“He’s got ready-to-play size to go along with top-flight athleticism and an advanced feel for the position,” says 247Sports Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins, who compares Smith to Julio Jones. “And he’s got a pro-like mindset.” 

Prior to 2024, there’d been 12 receivers ranked in the top 10 overall players in the Top247 rankings. Dorial Green-Beckham had been the highest ranked Top247 wideout recruit when he signed with Missouri back in 2012 as the No. 2 ranked recruit in the nation. 

To try and set a reasonable expectation for what Smith’s numbers could look like in 2024, we studied past freshmen performances of receivers who ranked as top-10 prospects. Some put up monster numbers as soon as they got on campus and others failed to have an instant impact.

The average season for the 12 receivers ranked in…

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St. Thomas Aquinas High School cornerback Justice Fitzpatrick from Fort Lauderdale (Florida) has received an offer from USC this week. The Trojans continue to make strong recruiting forays into the Deep South with an eye toward their future. Justice is the younger brother of former Alabama All-American and Pittsburgh Steelers starting safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

He is projected to be cornerback but can also play elite level at the free safety position as well. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound defensive back is rated the No. 4 cornerback in the 2026 class, the No. 5 player in the state of Florida, and the No. 39 overall player regardless of position.

Fitzpatrick had an impressive sophomore season with 13 tackles, 2 interceptions and 3 deflections in 6 games.

So far Fitzpatrick has offers from USC, Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Colorado, Duke, Florida State, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Syracuse, Temple, Texas A&M, UCF, and West Virginia. Doug Belk would love to be able to develop him in a future USC secondary.

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Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire

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