Category: College Football

USATSI

Each offseason, the CBS Sports and 247Sports college football teams gets together and rank every single Power Five coach ahead of the upcoming season. While conference ranks swelled and coaching changes abounded elsewhere, the ACC — on its face — remained largely unchanged. The same 14 schools will compete for the conference title, and the league is set to welcome just two new coaches.

In addition, only one of those coaches — Louisville’s Jeff Brohm — is arriving from another school. Georgia Tech, which moved on from Geoff Collins in the middle of the season, decided to promote from within.

This isn’t to say that the rankings are completely unchanged from a year ago. While most names are in a familiar spot, coaches like Florida State’s Mike Norvell made a significant leap after a long-awaited breakout season. 

Here is a look at how all 14 ACC coaches stack up, as previously voted by the CBS Sports college football staff. 

Complete Power Five coach rankings: 1-25 | 26-69

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In just about two months, Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide will take the field against Middle Tennessee State to begin the 2023 football season.

This has been quite the offseason for the Tide, legendary players Bryce Young and Will Anderson have moved on to the NFL, both of Alabama’s coordinators were replaced, and all of this is coming after Coach Saban and the Crimson Tide missed out on the College Football Playoff for just the second time since its inception.

Instead of focusing on all of the unknown, let’s take a look at five reasons to feel confident in the 2023 version of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Depth at ILB

Gary Cosby-USA TODAY Sports

Alabama has been okay at inside linebacker over the past few seasons, but there has not been that special player there to make the calls in quite some time. I believe 2023 could look a lot different to Tide fans. Between Deontae Lawson, Jihaad Campbell, Trezemen Marshall, and Justin Jefferson, there is plenty of star potential.

I believe that all four of those players are good enough to be an upgrade over what the Tide has had over the past few seasons. And we have not even mentioned Shawn Murphy or Kendrick Blackshire yet.

An OL with bad intentions

Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Whether it was JC Latham, Tyler Booker, Seth McClaughlin, or Darrian Dalcourt, all those guys talked about this spring was bringing back dominance at the line of scrimmage.

Offensive line coach Eric Wolford is entering his second season with Alabama and there was definitely an improvement in 2022. The sheer size that Alabama has recruited over the last couple of cycles certainly proves that the Tide is focused on being more physical.

The big guys up front have bad intentions entering the 2023 season and that should have Tide fans excited.

Versatility at DB

It wasn’t that long ago that Alabama was…

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247Sports

Oregon picked up a huge commitment on Saturday when four-star offensive tackle JacQawn McRoy gave his pledge to the Ducks over Arkansas, Kentucky and others during a live announcement on 247Sports’ YouTube channel. The addition of McRoy has Oregon moving up into the top 10 of the 2024 class rankings, landing at No. 8 with the four-star offensive tackle in the fold.

McRoy ranks as the No. 3 offensive tackle and No. 59 overall prospect in the 2024 class, according to 247Sports. He spread his June out across his top suitors with official visits to Ole Miss (June 2), Arkansas (June 9), Kentucky (June 16) and Oregon (June 23) during the open recruiting window. Ultimately it was that last visit, which followed another stop-in back in the spring, that allowed Oregon to seal the deal with the blue-chip offensive lineman. 

“They’ve got a young coaching staff,” McRoy told 247Sports. “New facilities, you get top of the line everything. I feel like if you get top of the line everything you’re in the best position to succeed.” 

Oregon coach Dan Lanning has experience recruiting the Southeast from his time as a Georgia assistant, but so does Ducks running backs coach Carlos Locklyn, who hails from Alabama and used the common ties to make a connection with McRoy, the No. 6 prospect coming out of Alabama in the 2024 cycle. 

“I want to thank Coach Locklyn, he took a chance on me,” McRoy said. “He’s from Alabama. When we started talking we had a connection from the start. We’re both Bama boys.” 

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Notre Dame’s 2024 recruiting class took a step back Saturday when wide receiver Isiah Canion made it public that he was no longer part of the Fighting Irish class.  Now if crystal ball picks are to believed, there appears to a front-runner for his talents.

Canion, who plays high school football at Warner Robins High School in Georgia, was given a crystal ball pick by Tom Loy of 247Sports to end up at Georgia Tech.

That by no means makes it a guarantee but Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key seemed to be hinting at some good news for his program on Saturday:

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Canion is rated as a four-star wide receiver by 247Sports and in the nation’s top-250 overall.  He helped Warner Robins to a 5A state runner-up finish in Georgia last season.

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College football recruiting rankings: June 26, 2023

Story originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire

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247Sports

Henry Hasselbeck, the son of former NFL quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, flipped his college plans on Friday and committed to Mel Tucker and Michigan State. A mutli-sport athlete from Massachusetts, Hasselbeck originally committed to play lacrosse at Maryland in the winter. However, the three-star quarterback in the 2024 class saw increased interest from Power Five programs on the recruiting trail this spring, according to 247Sports. 

Boston College, where his father Matt played prior to his lengthy NFL career, and Pitt were among the schools offering a spot in their 2024 class. After multiple visits to Michigan State in June, though, the Spartans ended up landing Hasselbeck’s pledge.    

Hasselbeck’s commitment resonates beyond his football pedigree and recognizable name. Tucker and offensive coordinator Jay Johnson made Hasselbeck a priority; he is currently the only quarterback committed in the Spartans’ 2024 class. The high-level athleticism required to play multiple sports at the power conference level suggests he has a high upside with further development. Hasselbeck’s recruiting profile lists him at just 165 pounds, but 247Sports’ Spartan Tailgate notes that playing lacrosse has kept “him a little trimmer by design.” 

Michigan State’s quarterback outlook for 2023 took a hit earlier this offseason when returning starter Payton Thorne entered the transfer portal after spring practice. Thorne ultimately committed to Auburn, leaving sophomore Noah Kim and redshirt freshman Katin Houser to…

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Out of Kankakee, Illinois, 4-star offensive tackle Marques Easley ranks as the nation’s No. 205 overall player in the class of 2024, according to 247Sports.

Also according to 247Sports, Easley is projected to commit to the Georgia Bulldogs, with one crystal ball prediction in the Bulldogs’ favor on his player profile page.

That commitment date is coming soon, with Easley expected to announce his college decision on July 8 at 3 p.m. ET from Kankakee High School.

Easley will be deciding between Oklahoma, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia. The Bulldogs actually were not in Easley’s top-three that he tweeted in mid-June, but 247Sports is confident that the Dawgs’ are in good shape regardless.

The 6-foot-6, 340 pound Easley visited Georgia on June 2.

Georgia currently has two players committed on the offensive line right now in its top ranked 2024 recruiting class. There’s reportedly a silent commit as well on the o-line. According to the recruiting experts at 247Sports, Georgia’s plan is to take five signees on the offensive line, meaning there’s only room for two more.

Story originally appeared on UGA Wire

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UAB Athletics

Though he has yet to lead his team onto the field for the first time, new UAB head coach Trent Dilfer has not been shy when it comes to expressing his opinions. Last week, he issued a stern warning to teams potentially raiding his roster. On Thursday, the former Super Bowl-winning quarterback spoke why he believes the Blazers are in a prime position when the College Football Playoff field grows to 12 teams in 2024. 

“I would argue our conference is probably the best chance to get to the College Football Playoff when it expands,” Dilfer told On3. “It’s an automatic berth. You don’t have to beat Alabama to get there or Georgia.”

The Blazers officially transition to the AAC on Saturday. While Dilfer doesn’t see the blue blood programs around the country as competition for a playoff spot, Dilfer believes those schools are his primary concern when it comes to keeping his roster intact year over year. 

“I’m not competing against Tulane and UTSA for retention,” Dilfer said. “I’m competing against Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Clemson, South Carolina, right? That’s who I’m competing against.”

UAB tabbed Dilfer to lead the program despite his lack of college coaching experience. Dilfer — whose biggest job before this was head coach at Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, Tennessee — hasn’t backed down from high expectations.

“It’s not a pipe dream to think you can become the best non-Power Five team out there,” Dilfer told CBS Sports in March. “I like big…

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Subscribe to The College Football Enquirer

Dan Wetzel and SI’s Pat Forde & Ross Dellenger debate which schools & conferences are the biggest winners & losers ahead of the 2023 realignment taking place on July 1st.

The show starts off on a high note with the announcement of a possible meetup in Nashville as all the hosts will be in town for SEC media days this July in Tennessee.

The conversation turns to the upcoming conference realignment on July 1st where teams will join the Big 12, American Athletic Conference & Conference USA . The guys conduct a snake draft, picking programs as either winners or losers from the landscape shift as college athletics turns its eye towards football season

A new article from the Atlanta Journal Constitution highlights more indiscretions that have surfaced from the University of Georgia football program. The administration in Athens, GA. has puzzled the podcast with their continued lack of action and discipline.

This upcoming July 1st also marks the two-year anniversary of Name, Image & Likeness becoming legalized by the NCAA. With that comes a new memo reinforcing that schools follow the rules set out by the NCAA, a move which garners astonishing support from one of our hosts.

Former Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Ryan Mallett passed away this week after drowning in a tragic accident in Florida. The guys provide share condolences and memories of Mallett’s career and life after football.

Ames, Iowa is back in the news after deciding to make a special Ames Lager to help fund their NIL collective — providing cheers all around & the hopes that one day Dan, Ross & Pat can try a can.

In news of the weird, a brilliant scam took place at a casino and an interesting restaurant is joining the chicken wars.

1:00 – The pod will be having a meetup during SEC media days on July 17th

5:44 – Which…

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