Category: College Football

WACO, TX – We begin in a lecture hall on the campus of Baylor University, where the new quarterback found himself in a strange environment not long ago. In a class, with other students. And no one knew or cared who he was.

They only saw DJ Lagway, only noticed his 6-4, 235-pound frame, because he was the late guy pushing through creaky doors announcing his arrival.

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Not the former 5-star, can’t-miss prospect trying to find the magic again. Not the budding superstar turned public face of the failure at Florida, unfairly burdened by injury circumstances out of his control.

So he shuffled to the only row with an available seat, in the middle of all that humanity, and squeezed into his new reality. His new life. All arms and legs and shoe-horned in with every other student, knees pressing against the row in front of him. Elbows tight to his side, chin to his chest.

And about as far away from an insular and depressing time in Gainesville, Fla. — geographically and metaphorically — as he could possibly be. Two years where he admits he made mistakes as the Gators’ high-priced quarterback and program savior, where the Florida staff made mistakes, too, and where significant injuries lobbed on top of it all quickly derailed development at a position where day-to-day growth is vital to survival.

“It was crazy,” Lagway said of his first class at Baylor, his first in a real classroom since high school. “But it was also kind of like, OK, this is how it’s supposed to be.”

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How it’s supposed be.

A fortunate choice of words, a fitting explanation of his time at Florida that began with carrying the weight of the one player who would — in no certain order — save the program and embattled coach Bill Napier’s job, win a Heisman Trophy or two, and win a championship at the school for the first time…

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Bill Belichick is energized by Bobby Petrino’s arrival as North Carolina looks to transform its offense this spring. Petrino, the program’s biggest offseason addition, brings a tempo-driven spread system built on explosive plays and quarterback development — elements Belichick said mirror aspects of his success with the New England Patriots.

“We’ve had a pretty easy time getting on the same page,” Belichick said during the Tar Heels spring football press conference. “We just weren’t able to really get there last year for a number of reasons. This year, we’re much further ahead in that process. Bobby comes with a ton of experience and has had great production everywhere he’s been. He’s been great to work with and he’s got a great grasp of offensive football.

“I’d say it’s going to be similar to the relationship I had with Josh McDaniels as an offensive coordinator, where they’re calling it, they’re running it, but there’s certain things we’re going to collaborate on and that’s where it’ll be.”

Belichick said the program was “late” last spring in several key areas — including recruiting and the transfer portal — following his December 2025 arrival. North Carolina is better positioned this spring, with 20 transfers and more than two dozen early enrollees from the 2026 signing class helping establish depth.

Belichick moved on from offensive play-caller Freddie Kitchens after a 4-8 finish, much of it tied to offensive struggles. The Tar Heels averaged 290.9 yards per game, fifth-worst nationally, and scored 22 offensive touchdowns, the fewest in the ACC.

A former head coach at Arkansas, Petrino returned to Arkansas in 2024 after a season at Texas A&M under Jimbo Fisher. He briefly served as interim coach last season after the Razorbacks…

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With Pro Day here for the Notre Dame football program, there will be a lot of focus on what the 40 yard dash times will be from the players that weren’t at the combine — and from some that want to improve on their times.

There are a lot of players that want in on that action, and on Monday, it looks like the Notre Dame support staff wanted a piece of that action as well. It’s hard to know if this is the fastest or slowest support staff in the country (or something in between) but that’s only because they are the only ones with enough guts to put it out there.

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It should be noted that Eli’s time would be the fastest ever at the NFL Draft — SO TAKE THAT!

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LSU has long held the belt as “Wide Receiver U,” but Ohio State has made a push in recent years to take it away. The Buckeyes have produced several high-profile wideouts, including Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who helped lead the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl LX title and just became the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history. Ohio State has also sent the likes of Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Terry McLaurin, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka to the league in recent years.

Could Carnell Tate be the latest OSU pass catcher to take the NFL by storm?

He’s earmarked to be a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh later this spring and could very well be the first wideout off the board. In fact, CBS Sports Senior NFL analyst Pete Prisco has Tate as the first receiver selected, landing with the Cleveland Browns at No. 6 overall in his opening mock draft. CBS Sports’ Mike Renner also slots Tate inside the top 10 as the No. 1 receiver, projecting him to the New Orleans Saints at No. 8 overall in his post-free agency mock draft.

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Notre Dame hosted its first Junior Day of the year this weekend, but the Irish also hosted a number of big time sophomores, including Oradell, N.J./Bergen Catholic standout edge Jackson Vaughn. Vaughn made his third visit to campus this weekend, and he had very high expectations for this visit, and the visit more than lived up to that standard.

“The visit was great,” Vaughn told Irish Breakdown. “It was great being able to get back on campus and spend time around the coaches and players. I was really able to feel the energy of the program, and that was big for me. It definitely lived up to what I expected.”

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Getting to know the culture from the standpoint of Irish players was something that Vaughn was keen on accomplishing during his visit. The culture of the schools that are recruiting him will be one of the deciding factors in why he ultimately chooses a program in the future. Notre Dame certainly made a mark in that department.

“The culture stood out the most for me,” Vaughn expressed. “You can tell it’s a brotherhood. Guys are competing at a high level, but still supporting each other. The standard is really high, and not just on the field, but academically off the field too. That’s important to me and my family.”

Vaughn was on campus to watch Notre Dame compete in its second practice of the spring. This was important for Vaughn since Notre Dame has a new defensive line coach from the last time he was on campus. This was Vaughn’s first chance interact on campus with new defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, and see how the Irish team, and the line went about its business.

“Practice was intense,” detailed Vaughn. “It was high tempo, very detailed and competitive. That’s the type of environment I want to be in. Coach Partridge is a great coach. He’s very technical and he coaches with energy. You can tell…

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The NCAA FBS Oversight Committee on Friday zeroed in on a recommendation meant to aggressively penalize teams for adding players outside of the transfer portal window.

Adjusting a proposal initially formed in February, the oversight committee settled on a pair of actions that would occur if a team added a player who wasn’t entered into the transfer portal during the January window:

The head coach would be prohibited from all football (recruiting and on-field coaching) and administrative duties (team meetings) for six contests.The school would be fined 20% of its football budget.

The committee had previously proposed that a school would also lose five scholarships for adding a player not in the portal outside of the portal window. But that’s since been removed from the proposal.

The committee left arguably the two most punishing penalties in its proposal, however. Losing five scholarships isn’t crippling in an era where teams can carry 105 scholarship players. A head coach losing his ability to recruit and literally do his job in-season is very stringent. So is a team being fined 20% of its football budget.

The proposal still must be adopted by the Division I cabinet, but it’s clear the NCAA is taking aim at a transfer loophole that athletes have taken advantage of over the past year and could have had a major impact this spring. 

NCAA trying to prevent another Xavier Lucas situation 

When the NCAA moved from winter and spring transfer portal windows to a single window in January, it did so with the intent that all player movement happens in a single period immediately following the season.

But … there was a way for teams to get around that: A player unenrolling from their school and reenrolling elsewhere. It’s a…

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In four weeks, Florida gymnastics will hope to compete in the NCAA Championship Final in Fort Worth.

Saturday, the Gators will get a sneak peek at what awaits them in Fort Worth — 280 miles north — at the SEC Championship.

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All nine SEC teams qualified for the conference’s signature meet. UF will compete in the evening session at 8 p.m. It is a truly loaded class, as in it is the top four teams in the country in the Road to Nationals rankings — Oklahoma, LSU, Florida and Alabama.

In the last two meets, the Gators have proved they can hang with those top dogs. Florida generated the nation’s top two scores. First was a 198.450 in an upset win at No. 2 LSU on senior night. Five days later, UF took its show up the road to Lexington and a 198.575 at Kentucky.

Those two marks combined for the fourth-highest between two meets in NCAA history, and the top not from a school named Oklahoma.

It wasn’t enough to surpass the Sooners and Tigers in the rankings, but Florida is peaking at the right time and hungry to win its lucky 13th SEC title.

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Here’s how to watch, along with other important information for the meet.

Here’s live updates for the meet:

Florida gymnastics at the SEC Championship live updates

This section will be updated.

Florida gymnastics at the SEC Championship starting lineups

This section will be updated.

What channel is Florida gymnastics at the SEC Championship?

TV Channel: SEC Network

Streaming: ESPN.com or the ESPN App

The SEC Championships will be broadcast on the SEC Network. Olympians Samantha Peszek, Aly Raisman and John Roethlisberger calling the action and Taylor Davis providing sideline reports.

What time is Florida gymnastics at the SEC Championship?

Date: Saturday, March 21

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The Gators will compete as part of the evening session with the other top three-ranked

Noah…

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The rule that barred teams transitioning from FCS to FBS from postseason play in their first year appears to be on its way out.

On Thursday, the Division I FBS Oversight Committee introduced legislation to eliminate the two-year transition penalty, effective with the 2026 season, provided they finish with a 6-6 record and can fulfill one of their conference’s bowl commitments.

The timing is significant for North Dakota State and Sacramento State, both of which make the jump to the FBS in July. If the proposal is adopted when the Division I Cabinet meets in June, the programs could play their way into postseason eligibility in Year 1. That includes a path to conference championship games and the College Football Playoff.

NDSU athletic director Matt Larsen has spent months building the infrastructure for the Bison’s move to the Mountain West, which was announced in February. He vowed to campaign to change the NCAA’s rule on postseason play for first-year FBS teams.

“It’s huge,” Larsen said of the committee’s proposal on Friday. “It’s good for NDSU, but it’s good for any transitioning programs, especially given the changing landscape of college athletics.”

The implications extend beyond bowl games. If approved, the legislation provides NDSU and Sacramento State immediate eligibility for the College Football Playoff — a scenario that would have been unthinkable under the old rules — should they qualify on the field.

It’s not a far-fetched possibility. Bison administrators believe they are positioned to compete immediately at college football’s top level. NDSU has won 10 FCS national championships in the last 15 years, one of the most dominant runs in modern college football. The school also quietly secured $25 million in donor commitments…

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