Category: College Football

USATSI

Oregon State and Washington State reached a settlement with the Pac-12’s departing 10 members, officially bringing an end to the months-long legal battle over the conference’s future. Combined, Oregon State and Washington State will make $65 million in 2024 from the fiscal distributions of the departing members, with apportioned distributions going through June consisting of withheld ($5 million) and supplemental ($1.5 million) revenue. 

The settlement notes that the departing members “shall have no vote, direction, input, or other power with respect to the Conference’s (Pac-12) use, allocation or expenditure” of those funds. 

That means Oregon State and Washington State can apportion those funds with impunity, a boon for the remaining Pac-12 programs as they navigate an uncertain future. Moreover, the departing members cannot seek to dissolve the Pac-12 unless both OSU and WSU consent in writing. Further protections allow the remaining Pac-12 schools to seek an injunction if a departing member moves to dissolve the Pac-12, with severe financial penalties accrued for such an action. 

The settlement also confirms that departing members are not entitled to any revenue generated during and after 2025. The 10 departing schools are each set to join their respective new conferences in July 2024. 

Washington State and Oregon State have been hard at work improving their immediate outlook following the Pac-12’s effective dissolution. In December, the two programs announced they will join the West Coast Conference as affiliate members in all sports except football and baseball…

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The nation’s No. 1 recruit in the class of 2026 has committed to the Georgia Bulldogs. Quarterback Jared Curtis, who is ranked as a five-star recruit, is Georgia’s first commitment in the 2026 recruiting cycle.

Curtis is a rising junior at Nashville Christian School in Nashville, Tennessee. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound quarterback is the nation’s No. 1 player at his position, per 247Sports. Curtis is the top-ranked recruit in Tennessee.

The Nashville Christian standout has recent scholarship offers from Texas, Washington and Florida. Jared Curtis is considered a pocket passer, but has solid mobility.

Curtis gives Kirby Smart and Georgia football an excellent foundation in the class of 2026. The Bulldogs are looking for their quarterback of the future after the Carson Beck era. Georgia’s back-up quarterback, Gunner Stockton, is an option for Georgia moving forward. Beck technically could return in 2025, but that seems unlikely at this point.

Georgia Bulldogs football fans were fired up on social media after Jared Curtis announced his commitment to the University of Georgia!

Story originally appeared on UGA Wire

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USATSI

New Georgia running back Trevor Etienne faces DUI and reckless driving charges after a Sunday morning arrest, according to Athens-Clarke County police records. Booked at 4:35 a.m., Etienne was released an hour later after posting a total bond amount of $1,883. He faces four misdemeanors in all, including failure to maintain lane/improper driving on road and affixing materials that reduce the visibility of windows/windshield.

Etienne notably transferred to Georgia this offseason after serving as a key piece of rival Florida’s one-two punch in the backfield, alongside Montrell Johnson, for the past two seasons. He’s expected to compete for the starter’s job with Georgia this fall, helping a Bulldogs team that will likely enter 2024 as the preseason No. 1 team. 

With spring practice already underway in Athens, Kirby Smart had spoken positively about Etienne’s transition to a new team, noting that “running back is one of the positions that you can pick up really quick.” Georgia has been looking to Etienne, who totaled 1,472 yards and 14 touchdowns during his two-year run with Florida, to step in to a big production hole in the wake of last year’s 2024 NFL Draft exits. With both both Kendall Milton and Daijun Edwards off to the pros, there are plenty of carries and yards available in an offense that will be guided by one of the top quarterbacks in the country in Carson Beck.

Georgia has not yet commented on Etienne’s arrest. The Bulldogs’ football program came under intense scrutiny a year ago following a string of traffic-related incidents in the months after a January 2023…

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With the 2024 class prepping to begin their collegiate journeys, the Georgia Bulldogs are looking not just to 2025 but also to make moves to address 2026.

On Saturday, they picked up the commitment of the top-ranked quarterback in the class, sophomore Jared Curtis.

The Nashville Christian School (Tenn.) quarterback is already 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds. A starter for both of his first two years in high school, he has averaged about 2,400 yards, 26 touchdowns, and eight interceptions per season while completing 57.5% of his passes, according to MaxPreps.

He posted to social media platform X in partnership with On3’s Hayes Fawcett to break the news of his commitment:

BREAKING: Elite 2026 QB Jared Curtis has Committed to Georgia, he tells me for @on3recruits

The 6’4 225 QB from Nashville, TN chose the Bulldogs over Ohio State, Texas, Alabama, & Oklahoma

Curtis is one of the Top signal-callers in the ‘26 Class (per On3)

“I’m home! Go… pic.twitter.com/K5ANs07fxT

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) March 23, 2024

Curtis has previously told 247Sports that “the way their coaching staff is together and how are they are supportive to each other” stands out to him about Georgia’s program. “I know they’re settled and not going anywhere,” he added.

Curtis is Georgia’s first commitment in the class of 2026. The Bulldogs are one of only eight programs to commit in the class, joining Ohio State, Oregon, USC, Oklahoma, Penn State, Florida State, and South Carolina. No school has two commits in the class as of March 23. Of those programs, Georgia is one of only three have a five-star recruit, per the 247Sports Composite rankings (Ohio State with WR Chris Henry Jr. and Oregon with DL Tony Cumberland).

The Bulldogs currently have six recruits in the class of 2025, including five-star Justus Terry and Elyiss Williams.

Story…

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Florida State exploring a potential ACC exit was a curious move. After all, should the school even find a way to skirt around the conference’s grant of rights agreement, there’s not a clear path to wrangle itself into a higher payday in the SEC or Big Ten.

Insiders do not believe adding Florida State to one of those conferences makes much sense, financially, despite the program’s strong brand. The Seminoles, by themselves, are not worth messing with the $60 million being handed out in revenue to SEC schools nor the $75 million getting paid out to Big Ten institutions. 

That discussion has not only changed, but Clemson joining its conference rival in filing a lawsuit against the ACC this week — challenging the grant of rights — has given new life to another potential round of realignment. 

Florida State and Clemson are a dynamic duo that could potentially trigger another shake-up across the college sports landscape. If the ‘Noles and Tigers are deemed unworthy of Big Ten or SEC membership, perhaps even the Big 12 shows interest.

In December, I wrote that Florida State extracting itself from the ACC felt like a 5-10 year process. Now, you could perhaps move that timeline up a bit since there are two saber-rattling schools challenging the league. It seems only a matter of time before the three sides come to a negotiated resolution in the nine-figure range.

Florida State and Clemson feel they can, at worst, buy their way out of the current ESPN media rights deal that runs through 2036. The penalty to leave the conference would probably be a little less than the $572 million figure Florida State administrators calculated during a December 2023 meeting. 

It’s clear Florida State and Clemson don’t want to be in the ACC. The three parties…

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There’s no way around it, Michigan football’s offense in 2024 will look different than it has the past few years.

Though the scheme may be similar, there will be changes, if for no other reason than the personnel changes — both at the player level as well as the coach level. Gone are star players such as J.J. McCarthy and Blake Corum, as well as the entire starting offensive line and the starting wideouts. The offensive coordinator is now the new head coach in Sherrone Moore and QB coach Kirk Campbell takes over the reins at OC.

There are still some holdovers — running back Donovan Edwards, tight end Colston Loveland, tackle Myles Hinton — pieces you can build around. But even if the plan of attack changes, it won’t be a wholesale change, outgoing quarterback J.J. McCarthy says.

“I would say it’s very similar to the recent years, just because it’s been working. So why would you change something that isn’t broke?” McCarthy said. “So, I would say there’ll be more nuances in the pass game with Coach Campbell being able to call plays — that’s one of the most knowledgeable, if not the most knowledgeable guy in the country, just from an offensive standpoint. And being able to let him get more leash and have reins over the play calling is going to be huge. And he’s going to mix up a lot of different things, give the defense a lot of different looks, and then (whoever) starts at quarterback, they’re going to just attack them in the run game, attack in the pass game. And it’s going to be very interesting to watch.”

The idea of Campbell being a bit more aggressive when it comes to playcalling is certainly tantalizing to Michigan football fans who have wanted to see the offense open up. However, given that Sherrone Moore, in his interim status, went conservative running the ball 32 straight…

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247Sports

Four-star linebacker Darrell Johnson, a top-50 prospect in the Class of 2025, announced his commitment to Alabama on Wednesday evening. He chose the Crimson Tide over a list of finalists that included Florida State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCF and USC. 

The No. 48 player nationally and No. 5 linebacker, per 247Sports, Johnson is the highest-rated prospect to join Alabama’s 2025 recruiting crop. His commitment propelled Alabama to the No. 10 spot in 247Sports’ Team Composite recruiting rankings. 

Johnson, a product of Eastman (Georgia) Dodge County High School, is also the fourth prospect to commit to Alabama and coach Kalen DeBoer in the month of March. Three of those new additions rank inside the top 100 nationally. 

“Everyone knows the type of great program that Alabama has been,” Johnson told 247Sports. “Honestly, Alabama has always been my dream school, but the fact that they have shown me and my family so much love really brought it all together for me.” 

247Sports notes that Johnson took visits to Alabama and Texas A&M in March but gave the Crimson Tide a silent commitment before leaving Tuscaloosa. As of now, he still plans on visiting Auburn, UCF, USC and Florida State. 

Johnson is an accomplished high school player, and though he’s listed as a linebacker, he could play multiple spots at the next level. Measuring in at 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, Johnson has spent time at linebacker, defensive back, quarterback and running back for Dodge County. He was an All-Region selection in 2023 after tallying 103 tackles on the defensive side of the ball. 

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For the first time since he received interest from UCLA for its head-coaching job in February, Gophers coach P.J. Fleck spoke about his decision Wednesday.

“I just love being in Minnesota. I don’t know if there’s much to say after that,” Fleck said during a news conference previewing spring practice, which begins Thursday. “I just love being here; I’ve told you that before. We built a life here, not just [to] make a living being a football coach. We’re embedded in the community. We love this place, this city. Love this university. It’s been really good to us.”

Chip Kelly resigned as UCLA’s coach Feb. 9 to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator. Bruins athletic director Martin Jarmond had Fleck on his short list, but the Gophers coach posted a statement Feb. 10 on the X platform that he was staying at Minnesota.

On March 9, the Board of Regents approved an amended contract that will allow Fleck to make an additional $5.7 million in combined retention bonuses should he stay with Minnesota through the 2029 season. His contract calls for a total salary of $6 million per year.

Fleck, who’s entering his eighth season with the Gophers, sees the advantage that continuity can bring to a program.

“Cultural sustainability is really important for success, especially in 2024 with the way college football’s changing,” he said. “It’s really important for the development of programs.”

Skipping the spring game

The Gophers won’t have a spring game this season, and Fleck said there were multiple reasons why he chose not to hold one.

“A lot of things. Take your pick,” Fleck said.

Because of inclement weather and COVID-19, the team has not had a spring game go off as scheduled since 2017, Fleck’s first year with the program. In addition, he doesn’t want to tip his hand to opponents.

“I want to keep things inside the best I possibly can ……

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