Category: College Football

Clemson’s spring practice window culminates this Saturday with the program’s annual spring football game, providing an intriguing peek at a team with high hopes in 2024. The Tigers are trying to make it back to the top of the ACC mountain after finishing tied for sixth in the conference last year.

It was a disappointing result for coach Dabo Swinney, who lost four games for the first time since 2011 and finished with his worst win total as a head coach since 2010. On top of its ACC aspirations, Clemson is also aiming to reintroduce itself on the national stage amid a College Football Playoff dry streak. 

Once a mainstay in the national championship picture with six straight playoff appearances from 2015-20, Clemson is going on four years with a CFP berth. But now that the field has expanded to 12 teams, the barrier to entry has lowered tremendously. If Clemson can win the ACC for a second time in three years, it will earn an automatic bid. 

Before Clemson can even think about the ACC championship, College Football Playoff berth or even stepping foot on the field for its regular season opener, it has to get through spring practice. Here’s how to watch Clemson’s spring game and some storylines to monitor as the 2024 Tigers give fans a look at what to expect this coming season. 

How to watch 2024 Clemson spring game live

Date: Saturday, April 6 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: Memorial Stadium — Clemson, South Carolina
Live Stream: ACC Network Extra 

2024 Clemson spring game storylines 

1. Can the offense take a step forward? The pairing of offensive coordinator Garrett Riley — who coached up a Heisman Trophy finalist and contributed to a College Football Playoff National Championship run at TCU in 2022 — and former five-star quarterback…

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In late March, Zion Lee was offered by Rutgers football, adding another Power Five program into a crowded recruitment.

A class of 2026 prospect, Elee plans to visit Rutgers football sometime this month.

Elee is an edge rusher from Joppatowne (Joppa, Maryland). He checks in at 6-foot-5, 225-pound who has a strong offer list that includes Maryland, Minnesota, Penn State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin among others.

His offer from Rutgers came on a call with head coach Greg Schiano.

“I was excited to receive an offer straight from a head coach. That’s how you know it ain’t a game,” Elee told Rutgers Wire.

“The program is great in my opinion with a nice, building defense and they also bring put a lot of players in the league.”

In late March, Elee took an unofficial visit to Maryland.

Following the offer from Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights are doing well with Elee in his recruitment.

“It’s up there in my top schools for now,” Elee said. “But I haven’t made an official top five, opportunities still rolling in.”

Story originally appeared on Rutgers Wire

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The American Athletic Conference has hired longtime college sports executive Tim Pernetti as its next commissioner, the conference announced Wednesday. Pernetti replaces Mike Aresco, who transformed the league from the former Big East to the AAC. 

“I am fired up to work alongside our board, conference staff, athletics directors and coaches as we continue to transform the AAC into a bold collegiate conference enterprise that promotes world-class academic and athletic opportunities for our student-athletes through innovative resources, brand partnerships and emerging opportunities,” Pernetti said in a statement released by the conference. “I am ready to roll up my sleeves and, alongside our conference community, get to work.” 

Pernetti comes to the AAC with experience in both college athletics and the business side of sports. He will join 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 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. 

“Tim Pernetti is the ideal leader to guide the American Athletic Conference through this pivotal time in college athletics,” American Athletic Conference Board Executive Committee chairman Dr. Philp Rogers said in a statement released by the conference.. “His perspective as a successful student-athlete, a respected and progressive director of athletics, and his demonstrated leadership, innovation, competitive spirit, and business acumen across a number of professional organizations make him uniquely suited to build on the success of…

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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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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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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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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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BYU players prepare for a snap during spring drills in Provo on March 14, 2024. Spring camp concluded last Friday. | Aaron Cornia, BYU Photo

One could say BYU learned a lot of lessons during its foray into the Big 12 this past year.

A big lesson in the losses to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State is how important small, seemingly simple things can be the difference between wins and losses.

That pick-six against Oklahoma while knocking on the goal line in LaVell Edwards Stadium was a backbreaker and pivotal in a loss that could have been the difference in getting to a bowl game. You could pick a number of plays, break down the execution, the decisions and the play calls that, if different, could have produced a different outcome.

“It’s a conscious effort, something you have to work on all the time. Once everyone has bought in, the trajectory can go really high, even in the middle of a season, even within a game. We are hoping to hit that sweet spot so we can face any type of adversity.”

BYU coach Kalani Sitake

NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar once said, “I try to do the right thing at the right time. They may just be little things, but usually they make the difference between winning and losing.”

This spring, BYU worked on small things they hope will lead to big things — at the least, more consistency.

Part of that is putting some new eyeballs on details, thus hiring TJ Woods for Aaron Roderick’s offensive line and run game, and former NFL tight ends coach Kevin Gilbride to work with BYU’s tight end corps.

This is also the case for adding consultants Chad Kauha’aha’a (UCLA, USC, Utah, Wisconsin, Oregon State, Boise State, Utah State, UNLV, Weber State) and Gary Andersen (Utah, Southern Utah, Utah State, Oregon State, Wisconsin).

It could also be said of the shakeup and additions to BYU’s strength and conditioning…

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