Category: College Football

Feb 19, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman and team are honored in the first half of the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the SMU Mustangs at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

According to a report, Notre Dame director of recruiting Caleb Davis is leaving the Fighting Irish to be the general manager at San Diego State.

Davis, who came to South Bend with Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, had already left the Irish once — he worked briefly as Troy’s GM before returning to the Fighting Irish. He worked with evaluations, on-campus recruiting and the walk-on program.

New Notre Dame GM Mike Martin will have one less campus veteran to lean on as he works to replace former GM Chad Bowden, who decamped for rival USC.

San Diego State is hiring Notre Dame director of recruiting Caleb Davis as its next general manager, a source tells @On3sports. https://t.co/xCIYxYxfsu pic.twitter.com/apibpWXnml

— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) February 28, 2025

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Notre Dame director of recruiting Caleb Davis heads to San Diego State

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This is an article version of the CBS Sports HQ AM Newsletter, the ultimate guide to every day in sports. You can sign up to get it in your inbox every weekday morning here.

🏀 Good morning to all, but especially to …

THE DETROIT PISTONS

Around this time last year, the Detroit Pistons had just lost their 28th straight game, setting the record for most consecutive losses in a single season and were hurtling toward a league-worst 14-68 record. That team was nowhere to be found last night.

The Pistons put it on the reigning champions with an impressive 117-97 win over the Boston Celtics. That was Detroit’s eighth straight win, its longest such streak in 17 years. That 2007-08 team featured franchise legends like Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace.

This year’s squad may not be on par with that one — at least not yet — but it was an impressive team effort against the Celtics. The Pistons got contributions from everywhere with Cade Cunningham leading the way and strengthening his All-NBA resume.

Cade Cunningham: 21 points | 11 assists | 4 reboundsMalik Beasley: 26 points | 6 3-pointers | 5 reboundsTobias Harris: 16 points | 9 rebounds | 2 blocksJalen Duren: 13 points | 11 rebounds

This type of success hasn’t been seen in Detroit for a while, but don’t make the mistake of assuming this is just a fun mid-season story. As our own Sam Quinn points out, the Pistons have been outplaying some of the East’s heaviest hitters for a while now.

Quinn: “This one still has a ways to go before it reaches those heights, but at this point, they can no longer be treated as just an up-and-coming group of youngsters, either. Detroit is now 24-11 in its last 35 games, a better record than the No. 3-seed New York Knicks in that…..

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INDIANAPOLIS – It is a testament to Ohio State that eight defensive starters from the 2024 team were invited to this week’s NFL combine.

It is also a reminder of how much the Buckeyes lose from their national championship defense, particularly on the defensive line. Ends Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau and tackles Ty Hamilton and Tyleik Williams were the foundation of OSU’s defense, and all will be coveted players in the draft.

But those linemen have mentored the next wave of Buckeyes at their positions, and they don’t fear a major dropoff in 2025.

The front-runners to start next year for position coach Larry Johnson are probably ends Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson and tackles Kayden McDonald and Eddrick Houston.

More: What’s at stake for the record 15 Ohio State football players headed for the NFL combine?

“Those four guys are NFL players,” Sawyer said. “I’m excited to see what they’re going to do in their first year all as a group together playing. The sky’s the limit for those guys. I know coach Johnson is going to get those guys right, and I look forward to them all having a great season.”

More: Revere grad Ben Christman complained of chest pains the day before he died

Curry and Jackson saw extensive action last year and made impactful plays. McDonald has already proven to be a force as a run-stopper, and Houston was a five-star recruit a year ago.

“Eddrick can be as good as anybody else in the country if he wants to be with his size and his speed and his athletic ability and how strong he is,” Sawyer said. “I think you’ll see him take a big leap going into his sophomore year and be a really productive player.”

Tuimoloau included Jason Moore as a player to watch.

“Even though we’re young, we have a lot of great talent,” Tuimoloau said.

Hamilton said he doesn’t expect any dropoff on the…

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The list of schools canceling their spring games is growing — and while the explanations vary depending on the coach or school — it’s clear that the fan-forward intra-squad scrimmage that has become a staple of the sport’s offseason is fading away. 

That’s a disappointing development for fans, who have been routinely pushed to the side as college football endures the growing pains of the modern era. While the current college football calendar needs adjustment, those changes shouldn’t include chopping out one of the most accessible avenues for fans to experience big-time college football. 

The sport is becoming increasingly professionalized, and that cold and calculated approach to costs is passed along to the fans. Prices for tickets, parking and concessions continue to rise across the country. Some power conference schools are marking up 2025 season tickets by 10% to include a “talent fee” intended to help pay the athletes. 

Getting a family of four to a college football game has long been a logistical nightmare, but now the price tag is making more families reconsider the preferred location to watch their favorite team.  

But the spring game, on the other hand, has never taxed fans for the stadium experience. 

Many spring games are free, or at least free admission with a charitable cause, like a canned food drive at the gate. Even the most-coveted spring game tickets in the country only cost pennies on the dollar compared to a game in the fall. Ohio State had an announced attendance of more than 80,000 for last year’s spring game. Ohio State is doing away with its traditional spring game format in 2025, though a fan event will be held on April 12. 

Ohio State, Nebraska…

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Former Texas football quarterback Quinn Ewers played through a noticeable injury throughout the 2024 season. As it turns out, the injury was even worse than previously thought.

Ewers reportedly played through the 2024 season with a torn oblique, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. The injury was originally thought, at least to those outside the Longhorns building, that Ewers was dealing with a strained oblique suffered during Week 3 against UTSA.

Pelissero added another interesting note, stating Ewers actually suffered the injury in Texas’ second game of the season against Michigan instead of the following week. Ewers started the Longhorns’ third game of the year against UTSA but was removed early after apparently injuring his oblique, allowing for Arch Manning to see extended playing time for the rest of the game and the next week against Mississippi State.

REQUIRED READING: SEC, Big Ten push for college football with CFP seeding debate on Tuesday meeting agenda

Ewers is reportedly fully healthy after receiving a few months to recover from Texas’ College Football Playoff run that ended with a loss to Ohio State in the semifinals. He is also expected to throw at the NFL combine, amid multiple signal callers being expected to opt out of on-field drills in Indianapolis.

Pelissero also reported Ewers has been training in Dallas with former Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy ahead of the NFL combine, which starts on-field drills on Feb. 27 and lasts through March 3.

The 6-foot-2 quarterback completed 293 of 445 passes (65.8%) for 3,472 yards with 31 touchdowns to 12 interceptions last season while battling injury. He was solid in Texas’ three CFP games, passing for a combined 807 yards with six touchdowns to three interceptions against Clemson, Arizona State and Ohio State.

Ewers, a…

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The only constant in college football is that everything is destined to change.

Decision-makers declared the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff a rousing success, but tweaks are coming, and two powerful voices are equipped to get what they want as soon as next fall. The question is whether the Big Ten and SEC will have the unanimous support required when the CFP’s 10 FBS conferences and Notre Dame meet Tuesday at a hotel inside Dallas Fort Worth International Airport — or if they’ll make their intentions known and wait until 2026 when a new TV contract shifts voting power heavily in favor of the two most influential conferences in college sports.

Soon, after months of talking and at least two clandestine meetings, the Big Ten and SEC may exert their newfound power. Their commissioners are expected to ask cohorts Tuesday to change seeding in the 2025 College Football Playoff, eliminating first-round byes for the four highest-ranked conference champions and basing seeding solely on the selection committee’s rankings. Such a change would require unanimous approval among the 10 conferences and Notre Dame, according to contract language in the original media deal with ESPN that expires this fall. If that doesn’t happen, the Big Ten and SEC are prepared to wait until 2026 when a new six-year TV contract with ESPN provides them more decision-making power without the need for unanimity.

The seeding decision is only the tip of the iceberg the smaller conferences will soon try to navigate. The Big Ten and SEC are expected to present an idea to expand the CFP in 2026 to 14 teams and reward the two power conferences with multiple automatic qualifiers. Having been discussed behind closed doors among the Big Ten and SEC administrators, the…

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© Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Teams around the country solidified the foundation of their roster during the winter transfer window. Over the past week we have highlighted the best transfer classes by position and today we conclude the series with a look at the defensive backs.

THIS SERIES: Ranking the top five portal QB classes | Top portal RB classes | Top portal WR classes | Top portal TE classes | Top portal OL classes | Top portal DL classes | Top portal LB classes

MORE TRANSFER PORTAL: Latest news | Transfer search | Transfer Team Ranking | Football Player Ranking

1. MIAMI

Miami’s strong 2025 transfer class features a trio of four-star defensive backs – the only program in the nation that can make that claim. Former Michigan State defensive back Charles Brantley was a three-year starter for the Spartans and racked up 103 total tackles (61 solo), 18 pass break-ups, five interceptions and two defensive touchdowns.

At Jacksonville State last season, Zechariah Poyser was responsible for five turnovers (three interceptions and two fumble recoveries). He’s expected to play an important role in the secondary this season.

The third four-star defensive back in this Miami transfer class is Ethan O’Connor, who just finished his redshirt freshman season at Washington State where he hauled in an impressive four interceptions.

Former Arizona defensive back Emmanuel Karnley, who also had a promising redshirt freshman campaign this past season, has a chance to blossom over the next few years at Miami.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH MIAMI FANS AT CANESCOUNTY.COM

2. LSU

© Chris Watkins-Imagn Images

Coach Brian Kelly and company are the only program in this transfer cycle to sign two defensive backs in the top 55 of the transfer rankings. Former Virginia Tech standout Mansoor Delane, a top-15 transfer…

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More than 300 of college football’s top players will descend upon Indianapolis from Feb. 24-March 3 for the 2025 NFL Combine, an event where prospects can interview and work in front of NFL coaches and front office personnel. On-field drills, including the revered 40-yard dash, begin on Feb. 27. 

Prospects are hoping to turn in flashy numbers to improve their draft stock. It’s also an opportunity for those at the top of the class to solidify their status as can’t-miss prospects. 

Some players are built to thrive in a combine setting. Here’s a look at the crop of college football stars that should turn heads, and perhaps even improve their professional outlook, during the 2025 NFL Combine. 

Campbell is still coming into his own as an off-ball linebacker after starting his Alabama career in more of an edge-rushing role. While his instincts are still developing, there’s no question about his athletic ability. Campbell showed great burst to the football while anchoring the Crimson Tide’s defense. His short-area quickness was particularly impressive, and is a valuable asset for linebackers at any level. 

Carter certainly isn’t a secret. He was named a consensus All-American and earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors while terrorizing opposing backfields in 2024. He used a quick…

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