Category: College Football

The NCAA threatened to suspend former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh last fall if his attorney did not halt his satirical social media comments of the association’s ongoing investigation of the Wolverines football program. 

In a “letter of admonition” to attorney Thomas Mars obtained by CBS Sports, current NCAA Committee on Infractions chair Dave Roberts wrote in October 2023 that if Mars didn’t halt his posts criticizing the NCAA’s investigative process “the COI will consider appropriate penalties, including immediate suspension of your client.”

Roberts cited NCAA bylaw 19.4.6-(i) which gives the COI authority to ” … sanction parties and/or their representative(s) for behaviors that inhibit the committee’s ability to effectively manage the docket, ensure a professional and civil decorum in all proceedings or otherwise efficiently solve infractions cases.”

The letter ends with seemingly a final warning from Roberts that read, “There will not be any further admonitions …” 

Mars did not respond to the NCAA and continued his critical posts but it seems Roberts took no further action. 

The letter came during dual investigations of Michigan for NCAA recruiting violations during the COVID-19 dead period and sign stealing. In a Tuesday release, the NCAA said a negotiated resolution had been reached in the first case. “One former coach,” – supposedly Harbaugh – “did not participate in the agreement, and that portion of the case will be considered separately by the Committee on Infractions …” the statement said. 

Roberts’ letter was dated Oct. 26, 2023, the week the sign-stealing scandal broke. That came during a bye week in Michigan’s national championship season. 

Harbaugh was suspended twice last season – first by…

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Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football program have boasted some outstanding offenses during the Swinney era but things haven’t been the same since the departure of Trevor Lawrence for the NFL.

Things can be different in 2024. Starting quarterback Cade Klubnik heads into his second year as the starter under center, with improvement from the junior quarterback essential for the Tigers’ success. Offensive coordinator Garrett Riley enters year two with the Tigers with expectations that he can help Clemson’s offense the way he did for TCU when they made a historic run to the National Championship. 

According to Saturday Down South, the Tigers’ offense could shape the CFP in 2024. 

Clemson didn’t make Garrett Riley the highest-paid assistant coach in college football last season to get worse on offense, but that’s exactly what happened. The Tigers averaged just 5.25 yards per play, down from the 2022 season and continuing a trend of remarkably mediocre Tiger offenses.

The Tigers gave up more negative plays in fewer games than they did the year prior to Riley’s arrival, were worse on third downs, and had just as many turnovers. The run game wasn’t a strength and the passing game didn’t improve the way fans hoped given the change from DJ Uiagalelei to Cade Klubnik.

Now, in Year 2 with Riley, Klubnik has to show something. The Tigers chose not to add to the quarterback room via the 2024 class (high school or transfer) and have pushed their chips all in on Klubnik being the guy to reverse the slide.

While the entire offense will need to perform, most eyes will be on Klubnik and Riley. If these two lead by example and show that they’ve taken the next step, the Tigers’ offense should return to form.

Story originally appeared on Clemson Wire

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USATSI

Penn State receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith has entered the transfer portal as a graduate, he announced Monday. Lambert-Smith ranks as the most experienced wide receiver in the Big Ten with 38 starts to his name. 

Lambert-Smith led the Nittany Lions with 53 catches for 673 yards and four touchdowns in 2023 and was the only wide receiver on the team to post more than 250 yards receiving. Across his 48-game career, Lambert-Smith posted 1,721 yards and 11 touchdowns at Penn State. Over his final two seasons, PSU posted a 21-5 record with two New Year’s Six appearances. 

Wide receiver has quickly become a top priority for teams in the transfer portal. 247Sports’ Chris Hummer lists wide receiver as a top need for 16 power-conference programs, including Clemson, Michigan and USC. With the transfer portal set to officially open on Tuesday, Lambert-Smith becomes the early frontrunner for best player available at wide receiver.

Ironically, Penn State ranked among the programs that needed the most help in the transfer portal at wide receiver. The Nittany Lions averaged just 215 passing yards per game with former five-star quarterback Drew Allar under center; three of the top four receiving leaders on the roster were running backs or tight ends. 

The Nittany Lions were aggressive early, nabbing former blue-chip recruit Julian Fleming from Ohio State. New offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki also remains an expert at using misdirection to free receivers in space. However, the rest of the team is notably bare of proven talent. 

Penn State could quickly turn to the…

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Apr. 14—MOSCOW, Idaho — Ah, the good old days of 2023, when Idaho romped to a 9-4 record and the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

The Vandals were ably led then by redshirt sophomore quarterback Gevani McCoy, the 2022 Jerry Rice Award winner as the nation’s top freshman, backed up by promising redshirt freshman Jack Layne.

At the time, it seemed Idaho was good but awfully young at quarterback. Now, you could wager any amount that the four QBs going through spring ball with the Vandals could not come up with a gray hair among them.

McCoy is gone, transferring to Oregon State. Layne, a redshirt sophomore with all of two starts on his resume, is the heir apparent. Behind him are three redshirt freshmen: Jack Wagner, from Tualatin (Oregon) High; Nick Josifek, College Place High in Walla Walla; and Hogan Carmichael, Summit High in Bend, Oregon.

Layne has appeared in 11 games in the past two seasons, completing 49 of 69 passes for 693 yards and nine touchdowns and rushing for 68 yards. He also has two wins against Idaho State when he started in place of an injured McCoy, including last year when he went 20-of-26 for 275 yards and six TDs.

Wagner got into the ISU game last year and completed 4 of 5 passes for 41 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 42 yards.

Barring an injury to one of them, according to Vandals coach Jason Eck, this is a pat hand.

Eck said he is not looking in the transfer portal as long as at least one of the two is healthy.

Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Luke Schleusner offers an even stronger endorsement. Taking the measure of all four quarterbacks, he said, Idaho coaches decided they are set at quarterback.

“They are doing a great job every day,” Schleusner said.

Eck and Schleusner point out Idaho’s offense is in a veritable youth movement with no senior…

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Not only are the Alabama Crimson Tide replacing a legend following Nick Saban’s retirement, but they are also replacing nearly half their roster. Kalen DeBoer is taking over a team that lost nearly 50 players from last year’s squad that was the SEC champion, went to the College Football Playoff and finished No. 5 in the final AP Poll. But since this is Alabama football, it simply reloaded and landed No. 2 in the Class of 2024 recruit rankings, per 247Sports. Fans of Alabama football will get their first taste of many of these newcomers at the Alabama football spring game on Saturday.

A-Day is what the event is known as, and the 2024 A-Day Game will take place at 4 p.m. ET from Bryant-Denny Stadium. Five-star CB recruits Jaylen Mbakwe and Zabien Brown should see reps considering the lack of depth at the position for Bama, but which other new faces should Alabama football fans get to know? If you want to see the latest Alabama football news, you should join Bama247, the 247Sports affiliate that covers the Alabama Crimson Tide.

The team of insiders at Bama247 are providing on-the-ground updates on every development in the football coaching search, including insights from Matt Zenitz, John Talty and Mike Rodak, who have more than 25 years of experience covering the Crimson Tide. The trio has deep-rooted ties inside and around the Alabama community, and Talty wrote The Leadership Secrets of Nick Saban, a Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestseller. It’s all available at your fingertips on any device here.

The team at Bama247 has extensive coverage heading into Alabama’s spring game, including injury information and potential depth chart changes. You can also get the low-down from fellow fans on the Bama247 message board. Head to Bama247…

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Ring the bell, it’s time for Round 2.

The second window of the college football transfer portal opens Monday, and will remain open for players to enter until the end of the month of April.

Missouri football did plenty of its required work in the first window, which opened Dec. 4 and closed Jan. 2, by securing 12 commitments.

Three MU players — tight end Ryan Hoerstkamp; running back Michael Cox; and defensive tackle Ky Montgomery — have either announced their intention or reportedly intend to enter the portal.

Altogether, that leaves Missouri with an estimated four open scholarship spots for the 2024 season.

Here are the positions Mizzou might target over the course of the next couple of weeks to fill out its roster:

Right guard looks to be top priority for Missouri football

Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz looks on before a college football game against South Carolina at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 21, 2023, in Columbia, Mo.

Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz hinted at it when the Tigers wrapped up spring camp: Missouri is keeping an eye on a potential addition at right guard.

Mizzou running backs coach Curtis Luper reaffirmed the potential for an addition at the position during the athletic department’s opening stop of its 2024 Come Home Tour.

“We’ve got Cayden Green, a (Oklahoma) transfer out there. You know, as a running backs coach, we look up front, right, so Cayden Green will be up front,” Luper said Thursday evening in Sedalia. “And there may be another addition at some point.”

The Tigers’ 2023 starter at right guard Cam’Ron Johnson appears to have moved over to his more natural position at left guard, which is where he played at Houston.

Internal options Mitchell Walters, Logan Reichert, Tristan Wilson and Curtis Peagler are among the group currently are competing for the starting role, but it looks very…

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One of the brightest stars in women’s college basketball, Raegan Beers, has hit the transfer portal. Beers is the latest big-name Beaver to be part of an Oregon State exodus that is impacting all of the university’s sports. 

Beers announced that she would be entering the transfer portal on Thursday in a post to X. “My journey as a Beav was a special one and I am grateful for my teammates, coaches, fans, and friends who have changed my life throughout my time here,” Beers said.

The Oregon State’s women’s basketball team is not the only Beavers program reeling from the loss of players. The football program has taken several major losses, and other sports across the board have felt the affects of conference realignment and the death of the Pac-12 Conference.

RELATED: Highlighting the next wave of women’s CBB stars to take the torch from Caitlin Clark

Beers, a 6-foot-4 sophomore forward, averaged 17.5 points, 10.6 rebounds and shot over 66% from the field for an Oregon State team that secured a No. 3-seeding in the NCAA Tournament. Her efforts were enough to earn her a second consecutive All-Pac-12 honor in addition to being named a Third-Team AP All-American. 

Beers will undoubtedly be a big fish in the transfer portal and is likely to crack 247Sports’ updated top-10 rankings next week. And she’s not alone in leaving Corvallis. 

Beers is the fourth Beavers women’s basketball starter and seventh player to hit the portal. This comes as Oregon State prepares to fall from high-major contention and join the West Coast Conference — the Pac-12 crumbled recently, had you heard? High-level players like Beers, Timea Gardiner, Talia von Oelhoffen, Donovyn Hunter and other key contributors to Oregon State’s Elite 8 team are not going to be…

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Apr. 12—Thursday marked the midpoint of spring camp for the Washington State football team and the offense might’ve had its best showing so far, according to coach Jake Dickert.

There were no interceptions, no fumbles and a plethora of touchdowns throughout the day in Pullman.

“It was obviously live reps today. Any time (you do) that, it’s going to bring out a ton of energy,” Dickert said. “I thought (quarterback) John (Mateer) was extremely sharp all day and went out and made some plays. It’s good to see the receivers in live situations doing some yards after catch.”

Running back Djouvensky Schlenbaker and wide receivers Kyle Williams, Josh Meredith and Kris Hutson were among the players to reach the end zone. Meredith’s TD came on a snazzy jump pass by Mateer.

And edge Nusi Malani nearly had an improbable pick-six off of quarterback Zevi Ekhaus that was juggled and dropped.

“I can’t wait to see that one on film and we’re going to show it to the whole team too,” Dickert said. “He had it, he dropped it. It’s a big man’s dream for a pick-six and it just kind of slipped through his fingers there.”

A packed running back room

One of the biggest position battles of the spring is at running back, where a conglomerate of ball-carriers are vying to replace graduating senior Nakia Watson.

Rushing offense has been a major weakness for the Cougs in recent seasons. Last year, WSU ranked 11th in the Pac-12 Conference in rushing yards per game (85.3) and yards per carry (3.0).

On Thursday, the group was a bright spot.

“Another good day for our backs and our best day running the football,” Dickert said.

Throughout the spring, WSU is splitting reps evenly among about four running backs: freshman Wayshawn Parker, redshirt freshman Leo Pulalasi, sophomore Schlenbaker and junior Dylan Paine.

Dickert said the goal when the 15 spring practices…

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