Category: College Football

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The SEC is pushing for major changes to the early signing period in college athletics, including making the entire month of December a recruiting dead period and moving early national signing day up two weeks closer to the start of the month, league commissioner Greg Sankey told Yahoo Sports. According to Sankey, the league’s coaches have already approved the proposed changes. 

“Putting signing day in the middle of December with playoff games no longer works,” Sankey said. “Move it to early December, the Wednesday before championship games.”

December tends to be crunch time for college coaches. This year, the transfer portal opened on Dec. 4 and the early signing period commenced just over two weeks later on Dec. 20. So, at the same time coaches are trying to keep their roster together and evaluate potential areas of need through the portal, they’re also closing up the high school recruiting ranks and tying up any loose ends on the trail. 

On top of all that, coaching changes frequently happen throughout December as assistants and even head coaches will look to make a move once the regular season ends. For most teams that won at least six games, there’s also bowl prep to worry about. 

The 2024 season also marks the first year of an expanded 12-team playoff. First-round games will be played the weekend of Dec. 20, which falls right in the same window as the current early signing period format. All of that culminates in creating a grind that has started to wear on coaches. 

“The hardest thing is there’s no time off,” Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Cumbie recently…

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas football is gearing up for an exciting stretch of spring football.

There will be a competition to determine the starting quarterback, and the Razorbacks will welcome a handful of new coaches, including the return of Bobby Petrino. The pressure is on head coach Sam Pittman to show meaningful improvements in 2024 after a disappointing 4-8 campaign last fall.

Outside of quarterback, there are still three position groups left unresolved after Arkansas’ work in the transfer portal and on the high school recruiting front.

Here’s a look at those three spots, and potential candidates to take a step forward this spring.

Sep 23, 2023; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs defensive back Dan Jackson (17) and linebacker Xavian Sorey Jr. (18) celebrate against the UAB Blazers in the second half at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Linebacker

This position represents the most obvious hole on the roster. The Razorbacks lost Chris Paul Jr., Jaheim Thomas, Mani Powell and Jordan Crook to the transfer portal this offseason. Paul and Thomas combined for 164 tackles in 2023.

The linebackers currently on the Arkansas roster have combined for 41 tackles in their collegiate careers, but there is promise among the group.

More: Arkansas football lands commitment from state’s top 2025 recruit Carius Curne

More: Why Arkansas football’s 2024 recruiting class emulates struggles of 2023 season

Sophomores Brad Spence, Alex Sanford and Carson Dean were all three-star prospects in the 2023 recruiting rankings, and coaches raved about that trio in fall camp. Only Spence logged significant snaps during the season.

Xavian Sorey Jr. transferred in from Georgia and was a consensus five-star prospect coming out of high school in 2021. The Hogs also loaded up at the position in this year’s class, with…

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The College Football Playoff Board of Managers unanimously approved a change to the 5+7 model as the expanded 12-team field debuts in the 2024 season, awarding automatic bids to the five highest-ranked conference champions with seven at-large bids filling out the field. It was a change necessitated by the implosion of the Pac-12 as a championship-producing conference, as 10 of those members now reside in the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC. 

Finalizing the format provides the opportunity to take part in an exercise that’s all too familiar around this time of year because of the NCAA Tournament. While CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm and other March Madness Bracketologists are crunching the numbers for a 68-team field on the basketball court, we thought it would be fun to fill out a way-too-early projected bracket for the 12-team College Football Playoff field come December. 

Going through this process requires a few points of clarification in the wake of implementation of the 5+7 model.

The four highest-ranked conference champions will get the top four seeds (in order) in the bracket and receive a first-round bye. Those teams may be ranked behind other at-large teams in the final selection committee rankings; but if a team is, for example, the third-highest ranked conference champion, it will jump straight to No. 3. After that, the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion is not guaranteed anything other than a spot in the field. If the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion is ranked behind the seven at-large selections, it will be the No. 12 seed. Higher seeds in the first round host playoff games, either at their home stadium or another location of their designation. After the first round, the six games that make up the quarterfinals and semifinals will…..

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As far as what Michigan football will be in 2024, it’s something of a mystery.

Most who paid attention coming into the 2023 season weren’t exactly shocked that the Wolverines went 15-0 and won the national championship. Given the returning players and coaching staff, despite multiple coaching suspensions (Jim Harbaugh for six games and Sherrone Moore for one), the leadership on the team from the player level appeared to be one that could carry the maize and blue to the promised land. And that ended up being the case.

But the roster has had a lot of turnover, with most starters on the offense having moved on. The defense features a ton of returning players, but saw the entire coaching staff on that side of the ball move on. So what will give in 2024?

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg put together a thinkpiece about the coaching additions around college football (subscription required) and when it comes to the maize and blue, he sees a ton of upside — though a group that’s hoping more to reload and have continuity than anything else.

Michigan’s staff has a bit more continuity, at least on offense, where new coach Sherrone Moore promoted quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell to fill his role of coordinator and shifted tight ends coach Grant Newsome to fill Moore’s other main responsibility, the offensive line. Both moves make sense for continuity, but Campbell, in particular, will be watched as he has more influence over Michigan’s offense. Campbell worked well within the Jim Harbaugh-constructed offense and helped J.J. McCarthy last fall, but he also comes from the Joe Moorhead tree and could try some different elements to attack defenses, especially as Michigan figures out a murky quarterback situation.

Michigan’s entire defensive staff is NFL-bound, and Moore is turning to longtime NFL assistant Wink Martindale to…

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The Los Angeles Rams plan to hire Iowa State offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase as their pass game specialist, ESPN reports. Scheelhaase will join Sean McVay’s coaching staff for the 2024 season and replace Jake Peetz, who left to become the pass game coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks this offseason.

Scheelhaase, 33, started his coaching career with his alma mater, Illinois, shortly after his playing career ended in 2013. He was hired to work with running backs in 2015 and served as an offensive analyst from 2016-17.

He joined Iowa State’s coaching staff in 2018 and spent six seasons with the program in various roles. Iowa State hired him as its running backs coach before moving him to coach the wide receivers the following season. 

Scheelhaase was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2023. The Cyclones offense improved under his guidance and averaged six more points per game (20.2 to 26.2) than in 2022. Iowa State also led the nation with 11 touchdown plays of at least 50 yards. 

Scheelhaase also helped oversee the development of Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht. The redshirt freshman earned the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year award after throwing for 3,120 yards and 23 touchdowns. Scheelhaase was also a member of the Iowa State staff when former Cyclone great and current San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was on the team.

The move continues a growing trend of college coaches departing for the professional ranks this past offseason. The list includes Boston College coach Jeff Hafley (now the Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator),…

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College football fans and gamers have been waiting a long time for a new video game to play NCAA football on Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox consoles. After more than 10 years, that wait appears to be almost over.

EA Sports announced last week that it was officially relaunching its heralded college football franchise, previously known as ‘NCAA Football,’ sometime this summer. The game will be titled ‘EA Sports College Football 25.’

Who will be on the cover and other details have yet to be finalized, but various reports state that a release date for the video game is expected to be sometime this summer, likely in either July or August.

The last college football game that was released by EA Sports was NCAA Football 14. That game featured former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson on the cover. The ‘NCAA’ series was discontinued in 2013 after a wave of lawsuits over name, image and likeness.

For Clemson fans that didn’t hold on to PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 consoles and use downloaded rosters from other online gamers, that means they missed out on playing with a lot of Tiger legends from the Dabo Swinney era.

With that in mind, we decided to put together a list of Clemson football stars from the past 10 years that we’re sure fans and gamers alike would love to play with on EA’s new college football series if the makers of the game decide to allow users to access past players.

Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

The “OG GOAT” of the Dabo Swinney era. Whatever you want to call him, Watson was the quarterback who started Clemson’s run of dominance from 2015-2020. He helped lead the Tigers to the national championship game in 2015 before winning it in 2016 with his touchdown pass to Hunter Renfrow with one second left, capping a 35-31 thriller over Alabama. Watson was a Heisman finalist both years.

Jan…

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COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. — Sean Clifford has experienced an intriguing journey to the NFL, one which led him to playing six years at Penn State and becoming the school’s all-time leader in passing yards (10,661) and passing touchdowns (86). Clifford’s tenure at Penn State paid off, as he was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft — despite having just one top-30 visit in a deep quarterback class.

Clifford earned the No. 2 quarterback job in Green Bay, helping Jordan Love emerge as one of the top young quarterbacks in the league. Winning the Rose Bowl and Cotton Bowl at Penn State was a major accomplishment, but Clifford showcased in his rookie season with the Packers he belonged in the NFL and showed the potential he can stick around in Green Bay. 

Although Clifford played just three games with the Packers in his rookie season (including the wild card playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys), Green Bay’s No. 2 quarterback made the most of his opportunities in his rookie season and is primed to return to his role entering his second season.

As Clifford prepares for his second season in the NFL, CBS Sports caught up with the Packers quarterback and Penn State legend at the Collegeville Bakery. Clifford was visiting “The Bakery” for the first time and took a few minutes to discuss his first year in the NFL, Jordan Love, and the Packers’ 2023 season. 

Jeff Kerr/CBS Sports

How did you find out about the Collegeville Bakery? This is a home spot for me!

Clifford: “This pretty lady right here, my fiance Juliana Alessandroni (points to Juliana as she smiles), she lives 10 minutes down…

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Elijah is a member of the 2025 recruiting class and a three-star offensive lineman from Matawan Regional (Matawan, New Jersey). He is a significant addition to this class for Rutgers as he has received offers from Boston College, Cincinnati, Florida State, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Virginia Tech.

According to 247Sports, Elijah is ranked the No. 16 prospect in New Jersey and the No. 43 offensive tackle among his recruiting class.

He is a multi-sport athlete who plays basketball for Matawan. Not surprisingly, Elijah is a part-time hooper who rebounds and blocks shots while his large frame is near-impossible to stop near the rim.

Film Breakdown

Elijah is a big, athletic, long, and physical player who fits the mold of a big-time offensive lineman despite being raw on the gridiron. AHe fits the mold of what Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano and offensive line coach Pat Flaherty are looking for in an offensive lineman.

Elijah is strong but tends to have slow and sloppy technique at times. He uses his physical strength to push opposing defenders off the ball, but he needs better technique to shine on the Power Five level. He needs to do work on his technique for sure.

His size and frame are something that can’t be taught, though.

The ceiling is high for Elijah, and Rutgers’ offensive line can benefit from his skillset in the upcoming years.

Story originally appeared on Rutgers Wire

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