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  • Kyler Murray: With Marvin Harrison Jr., I expect our offense to be top of the league

    Kyler Murray: With Marvin Harrison Jr., I expect our offense to be top of the league

    Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray says the arrival of rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. takes Arizona’s offense to new heights.

    “I think that takes us to another level,” Murray said, via ESPN. “When you got a guy out there that is capable of winning one-on-ones, obviously he’s got to go do it and he knows that. We all know it, but as far as manipulating coverage and stuff like that, you got a guy out there that can do that and even if he’s not open, he’s open. I’m excited to be able to build that with him, but when he does what he does, yeah, I fully expect our offense to be top of the league.”

    Everyone on the team recognizes that the No. 4 overall pick is special: Harrison said at the beginning of the offseason he made a point of lining up behind the veteran wide receivers during drills, trying to show that he knows his place as a rookie, but it quickly became clear that he belongs at the front of the line.

    “I didn’t want to come in here with a big head,” Harrison said. “I knew I had to earn everything, so just simple things like that. Let them go in front as they rightfully deserve. And then they kinda allow me to go in front now because they understand what I can bring to the team.”

    If Murray is right, what Harrison brings to the team is a completely different offense, one that’s among the NFL’s best.

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  • Purdue football legacy OL with NFL bloodline commits to Boilermakers

    Purdue football legacy OL with NFL bloodline commits to Boilermakers

    WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Cameron Gorin made the same pledge to Purdue football that once led his father to a memorable career.

    The rising Hamilton Southeastern senior announced his commitment to Ryan Walters’ program on Thursday. The 6-5, 260-pound three-star prospect chose the Boilermakers over Louisville, among others.

    Gorin’s father, Brandon, started three seasons at right tackle for Purdue under Joe Tiller. The Muncie native spent nine seasons with five NFL franchises, including two Super Bowl championships with the New England Patriots.

    Along with his father, Gorin named several former Purdue greats in his announcement on X, including Leroy Keyes, Matt Light, Rosevelt Colvin, Shaun Phillips, Akin Ayodele, Drew Brees and Matt Mitrione.

    “I can’t wait to continue with the Purdue football legacy and brotherhood with my future teammates,” Gorin wrote.

    Cameron Gorin became the second offensive line commitment in Purdue’s 2025 class, joining Ta’Khyian Whitset of Antioch, Tenn.

    Purdue’s 2025 class now includes eight commits.

    This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue football recruiting: Offensive lineman Cameron Gorin commits

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  • Ranking rookie quarterbacks most likely to outplay their predecessor in 2024: Jayden Daniels sits atop list

    Ranking rookie quarterbacks most likely to outplay their predecessor in 2024: Jayden Daniels sits atop list

    Six quarterbacks were selected in the top 12 picks of the 2024 NFL Draft, so these rookies will be under the microscope more than ever before. Their performance will be dissected in every which way, compared with their fellow rookies, rookies across NFL history, the rest of the league this season and, of course, the quarterbacks they are replacing. 

    History tells us it’s a coin flip that they will outplay their predecessors as rookies. There have been 44 qualified seasons by rookie quarterbacks drafted in the first round since 2001. Twenty-three of them outplayed (or matched) their team’s quarterback from the previous season in terms of EPA (expected points added) per play. In 2023, C.J. Stroud blew the Texans’ previous quarterback (Davis Mills) out of the water. Justin Herbert had big shoes to fill in 2020, but he still matched Philip Rivers’ level of play. 

    One of the more surprising items from this list was Zach Wilson outplaying Sam Darnold. That’s how bad the Jets’ quarterback play has been I suppose. In that same vein, I don’t think the Patriots would be too encouraged by Drake Maye slightly outperforming what Mac Jones did in 2023, but hey, it would be a step forward at least.

    First-round rookie QBs who outperformed signal-caller they replaced

    With that in mind, I’ve ranked the rookie class by most likely to outplay their predecessor. At least two or three should do it considering how low the bar is. Five of the six quarterbacks being replaced were among the league’s worst last year.

    2024 rookie quarterbacks most likely to outplay predecessor

    6. J.J. McCarthy, Vikings (Predecessor: Kirk Cousins)

    J.J. McCarthy is the least-likely quarterback to outplay his predecessor, mostly because Kirk Cousins was a top-10 quarterback last year before he tore his Achilles in Week 8. McCarthy also has to beat out Sam Darnold for the starting job, and we’re not exactly sure what we’ll see out of McCarthy…

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  • How NCAA, schools may navigate latest financial hit in college sports post-House v. NCAA settlement

    How NCAA, schools may navigate latest financial hit in college sports post-House v. NCAA settlement

    LAS VEGAS — In times of financial strife, the NCAA and its schools have always found a way to navigate murky waters. 

    In 1978, schools voted to split Division I into I-A and I-AA, consolidating power into the hands of legacy programs with the most brand value and TV juice. We know the two divisions today as FBS and FCS, respectively. 

    Around that same time, the College Football Association formed. The CFA represented what essentially was the modern-day Power Five in TV negotiations. Value in individual conferences was found, which led to TV executives falling over themselves to secure broadcasting rights.

    When money became scarce in 2006, schools voted to add a 12th regular-season game, basically another windfall of revenue for an extra home tilt. 

    The BCS created a lucrative entity upon its inception in 1998 that carries through to today’s College Football Playoff system: an on-field championship for which networks are happy to pay top dollar. 

    The enterprise now faces what may be the biggest financial crisis in its history, however. Division I is on the hook for the House vs. NCAA settlement that tip toes right up to the edge of the cliff as it pertains to athletes becoming employees. Players have enjoyed name, image and likeness income for the past few years, but the House settlement allows revenue sharing for the first time. 

    Only a handful of athletic departments make money, and now the Power Four is about to be hit with approximately $22 million in revenue annually to be shared with athletes. 

    “We’ve lost our voice of what college athletics is about,” Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said recently. “No one wants to hear that, but only 2% of our student-athletes are going to go pro. The rest of them are going…

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  • Why Breer believes there’s ‘optimism’ 49ers will extend Aiyuk

    Why Breer believes there’s ‘optimism’ 49ers will extend Aiyuk

    Why Breer believes there’s ‘optimism’ 49ers will extend Aiyuk originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

    While Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers currently are in arduous contract negotiations, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer believes there is reason for optimism that the two parties will agree to terms.

    Speaking to Colin Cowherd on FS1’s “The Herd,” Breer explained why San Francisco fans should be hopeful that both sides will work out a new contract sometime soon.

    “I think there are two things to give you some optimism that he could still be there [in San Francisco],” Breer said. “Number one is that they did get Christian McCaffrey [contract] done aggressively. And I think they had to do McCaffrey before they did Aiyuk because if you pay Aiyuk $29, $30 $31 million a year now the price of McCaffrey goes up, so you had to take care of him first.”

    Breer went on to explain why he believes San Francisco wants to keep Aiyuk given his explosive skillset as a traditional wide receiver.

    “The second thing is our mutual friend Mike Silver reported that they [offered] $26 million, that’s not that far off,” Breer told Cowherd. “And a lot of times these things get ugliest towards the end and the Deebo [Samuel] thing was not clean until it was at the very end.

    “And I would tell you this, and I do feel strongly about this part, I think if you fed John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan truth serum and asked them who would you rather have on the roster, Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk moving forward I think they would answer Aiyuk.

    “They love Deebo, Deebo can do a lot of different things for them, but Deebo is like a supercharged gadget player. Aiyuk is more of a typical number one receiver who can beat man coverage you can build an offense around.”

    However, the NFL reporter also pointed out some possible situations where the team and the wideout could end up parting ways.

    “So, do I think that they’re going to go to Justin Jefferson numbers to get Aiyuk signed? No,”…

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  • USC Schedule Fallout Strikes from Conference Realignment

    USC Schedule Fallout Strikes from Conference Realignment

    It was mentioned last month that USC head football coach Lincoln Riley was trying to get out of the Trojans 2024 season-opener against LSU this fall.  Although he wasn’t able to do that, he and USC were able to get out of a home-and-home they were set to play in 2025-26.

    USC and Ole Miss will no longer meet for that home-and-home as cancelling the two games was something both programs mutually agreed on doing.

    Although the decision isn’t overly difficult to understand it still stinks for college football fans.  lane kiffin returning to USC where he called plays for years and was their one-time head coach (who ended their winning streak against Notre Dame in 2010).

    The news here doesn’t directly impact Notre Dame as the Irish and USC remain on each other’s schedules for the foreseeable future, but it does make us wonder at least a little bit how interested Lincoln Riley would be in trying to end that tradition.

    Or if other SEC teams may follow the lead of Ole Miss and get out of their already scheduled dates with Notre Dame.

    Story originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire

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  • Connor Williams landing spots: Former Cowboys, Dolphins OL talking to multiple teams about a deal, per report

    Connor Williams landing spots: Former Cowboys, Dolphins OL talking to multiple teams about a deal, per report

    Another notable NFL player is expected to sign somewhere before the start of the 2024 season. Connor Williams, a veteran interior offensive lineman who played previously for the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins, is currently speaking with multiple teams as he looks to pick his new team before training camp, via ESPN. 

    Williams, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury in Week 14 of the 2023 season, is expected to be ready for Week 1. Williams played in nine games last season for the Dolphins. 

    The 50th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Williams started 10 games for Dallas at left guard in 2018. Williams’ blocking helped the Cowboys capture a playoff berth in addition to Ezekiel Elliott winning his second rushing title. He suffered a season-ending ACL injury in 2019 but returned to play in each of the Cowboys’ 16 regular-season games in 2020. 

    Despite a solid 2021 season (he allowed the fewest pressures of any Cowboys linemen that season), Williams was given the chance to test the open market in 2022. He ultimately signed a two-year deal with the Dolphins, where he started…

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  • Ohio State RB Caleb Downs? Ryan Day says star DB getting reps on offense for Buckeyes has been discussed

    Ohio State RB Caleb Downs? Ryan Day says star DB getting reps on offense for Buckeyes has been discussed

    247Sports

    Ohio State coach Ryan Day may be looking for even more ways to get transfer portal prize Caleb Downs involved in 2024. While meeting with reporters, Day didn’t rule out putting the star safety onto the field as a running back in 2024, with Downs participating in some meetings with the position group leading up to the start of fall camp.

    “It was part of the recruiting process (him) possibly doing a little bit of running back as well,” Day said. “It’s something he wanted to do. We’ve been having him in some of the meetings and some of the individual drills as a possibility there if needed down the road as we continue to build depth at that position. 

    Downs isn’t a stranger to the running back position, 247Sports’ No. 1 ranked transfer in the 2024 class played the position at Mill Creek High School in Hoschton, Georgia.

    “He could probably be a full-time running back at the Power [Four] level if he wanted to as he’s difficult to bring down with the pigskin in his hands and knows how to find green grass,” said 247Sports Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins in Downs’ high school scouting report.

    According to his MaxPreps profile, Downs rushed for 389 yards and 20 touchdowns on 57 attempts during his senior season and finished with 648 yards and 27 total touchdowns during his three-year varsity career.

    “Where it goes, I don’t really know right now,” Day said. “But I know he has the athleticism to do it.”

    While it would be fun to see a player with Downs’ talent get a chance to shine on offense, the Buckeyes aren’t exactly hurting for backfield talent. CBS Sports ranked Ohio…

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