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  • Georgia, Ohio State, Utah lead 16 college football teams in best position to make expanded CFP in 2024 season

    Georgia, Ohio State, Utah lead 16 college football teams in best position to make expanded CFP in 2024 season

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    Winning in the SEC is hard, which Georgia knows as much as anyone, and it just got way more difficult with the additions of Oklahoma and Texas. But no team has been as dominant as the Bulldogs since 2021. They’ve won two out of the last three national titles and went almost two whole years without losing a game prior to last season’s setback against Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. With the way Kirby Smart recruits and develops, Georgia is set to be a mainstay on the national stage — especially since the bar for entry just got a little bit lower.2

    We’re talking about the College Football Playoff in its current format here, something that’s likely to change in 2026 and beyond under the new media rights agreement. But, for the next couple years at least, Ohio State is primed to take advantage of a new-look Big Ten. The Buckeyes loaded up on talent in the transfer portal and poached UCLA coach Chip Kelly to be their offensive coordinator, cobbling together one of college football’s most…..

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  • Andrew Berry: You want to retain players like Amari Cooper as long as possible

    Andrew Berry: You want to retain players like Amari Cooper as long as possible

    The Browns agreed to a contract extension with Jerry Jeudy recently and that might not be the only deal they strike with one of their own wide receivers this offseason.

    Amari Cooper is in the final year of the five-year contract he signed with the Cowboys in 2020 and he is carrying a cap hit of more than $23 million into the season at the moment. While speaking to reporters at the league meetings this week, Browns General Manager Andrew Berry indicated that the team could lower that hit by signing Cooper to a new deal.

    “Coop’s a Pro Bowl-caliber receiver. He’s played really well for us the past two years,” Berry said, via Keith Britton of 92.3 The Fan. “He’s a strong presence in the locker room. We love him. Players like that, you want to make sure that you can retain as long as possible.”

    Cooper has 150 catches for 2,410 yards and 14 touchdowns over his two seasons in Cleveland, so it’s not hard to see why the team would want to ensure he remains around beyond the 2024 season.

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  • Sooners inside the top 6 for 2025 four-star TE Da’Saahn Brame

    Sooners inside the top 6 for 2025 four-star TE Da’Saahn Brame

    The Oklahoma Sooners are hoping to go back-to-back recruiting classes with a blue-chip tight end after depth and production became an issue in 2023.

    The Sooners have been heavily involved in the recruitment of four-star prospect Nate Roberts, but are also in the mix for another four-star prospect from the region, Kansas native Da’Saahn Brame.

    Brame is considered the No. 3 tight end in the 2025 recruiting class and hails from Derby, Kansas. On Wednesday, he dropped his top six schools at this point in his recruitment, and the Sooners were included. Oklahoma is joined by Oregon, Ole Miss, Alabama, Tennessee, and LSU. It’s a star-studded group of programs that have been recruiting really well in recent years but the Sooners are no stranger to big-time recruiting battles.

    At 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, Brame has a fantastic frame to build upon at the collegiate level and he knows how to use his size to make plays in the passing game. He regularly displays incredible athleticism, showing off an ability to get above the rim to high point the football, but also has really good lateral agility to work out routes and make players miss after the catch. His straight-line speed also jumps off the tape.

    It’s easy to see why he’s caught the eye of 32 Power Four programs across the country.

    Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.

    Story originally appeared on Sooners Wire

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  • Questions for each SEC team in spring: Alabama’s defense, Texas and Oklahoma debuts among storylines to follow

    Questions for each SEC team in spring: Alabama’s defense, Texas and Oklahoma debuts among storylines to follow

    The 2024 season is a crucial one for college football. Following the latest wave of realignment, every power conference will have a new lineup. The College Football Playoff is expanding to 12 teams for the first time in its relatively brief history, opening the door for schools that have been routinely excluded in the past. And, of all the leagues at the FBS level, the SEC may stand to benefit the most from all these changes. 

    The SEC is poised to have multiple teams compete for a spot in that expanded playoff format. Though the league isn’t welcoming as many newcomers as other power conferences, its two additions — Oklahoma and Texas — boast elite brand recognition and on-field success. 

    But postseason pursuit starts with spring practice. All 16 teams in the new-look SEC have taken the field at this point, giving coaches a glimpse at what their 2024 squads will look like. In Missouri’s case, spring practice is already in the rearview mirror. 

    With so much change, each team has at least one burning question to iron out before the first practice period of the year culminates in televised spring games. Prominent programs like Alabama are breaking in a new coach for the first time in almost 20 years, while others are replacing assistants and overhauling position groups after natural attrition and transfer portal losses. 

    With that in mind, here’s one question every SEC team — except Missouri, which has already completed its spring sessions — must address as spring practice unfolds. 

    Alabama 

    What does the defense look like? Defense was a hallmark for former Alabama coach Nick Saban. No matter what else was happening, the Crimson Tide could hang their hat on production from that side of the ball during the legendary leader’s 17-year…

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  • Check out the Chicago Bears draft hat for the 2024 NFL draft

    Check out the Chicago Bears draft hat for the 2024 NFL draft

    Check out the Chicago Bears draft hat for the 2024 NFL draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

    For players that will hear “… the Chicago Bears select …” at the 2024 NFL draft, they’ll don a new draft hat.

    Here’s what the Chicago Bears 2024 NFL draft hats look like.

    Bears draft hat pic.twitter.com/UPTXpPBZHJ

    — Josh Schrock (@Schrock_And_Awe) March 25, 2024

    The #Bears 2024 NFL Draft Hats have arrived 👀

    🐻⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Ei86UrgvKP

    — Bears Nation (@BearsNationCHI) March 26, 2024

    It’s a black hat with the Bears’ primary “Bear” logo on the front. On the side, it’s a bear jumping out of the state of Illinois under “Da Bears” slogan.

    At this point, the Bears have just four draft picks in the 2024 NFL draft. They have the No. 1, 9, 75 and 122. Who will don the Bears draft hat at the end of April? It might be time to start photoshopping Caleb Williams wearing one of those hats.

    Click here to follow the Under Center Podcast.

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  • Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin predicts spring portal chaos within ‘really stupid system’

    Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin predicts spring portal chaos within ‘really stupid system’

    OXFORD — More transfer portal chaos is brewing, Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin predicts.

    At his weekly news conference Tuesday, Kiffin was asked whether he believes the spring transfer portal window ‒ set to begin on April 16 ‒ will be more active than we’ve seen in previous years. In the transfer portal era, the winter window has seen the bulk of the action.

    Kiffin is bracing for that to change, he said.

    “Obviously, because they can transfer multiple times,” Kiffin said. “Here, again, just a really stupid system. But, hey, good for the players ‒ maybe. It’s good for them financially. I don’t know that it’s really good for them that they can leave every time something goes wrong, they’re just gonna run no matter what.”

    Ole Miss just signed the top transfer portal class in the country. Kiffin has constantly criticized college football’s transfer setup while acknowledging that the Rebels benefit from it more than most.

    Speaking in the context of college football as a whole, rather than just his own program, Kiffin thinks there will be more examples of players transferring in the winter, collecting an NIL check, and then moving again in the spring for more money without having played a snap.

    “Maybe it just happened with a high-profile player,” Kiffin said. “I’m going to go somewhere in January. I’m going to get their money. I’m going to have never played a down as a transfer, and I’m going to go back in right after spring ball into the portal and go somewhere else and get their money. So I mean, you can say yeah, good for the players, but is it?”

    AS SEEN ON TV: What Lane Kiffin said about Ole Miss football connection to next ‘Bachelorette’ season

    Standout offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor transferred from Alabama to Iowa this winter. He is reportedly expected to leave the Hawkeyes and return to Tuscaloosa when the…

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  • Ranking top 2024 challengers to potential Chiefs three-peat: Bengals, Texans among 11 candidates to explode

    Ranking top 2024 challengers to potential Chiefs three-peat: Bengals, Texans among 11 candidates to explode

    The Kansas City Chiefs are the NFL’s current dynasty, rivaling the Tom Brady-era New England Patriots as football royalty. And they have no plans to slow down, with reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes declaring immediately following 2023’s title that he has eyes on a potential three-peat. Could the Chiefs truly capture a third straight Lombardi Trophy? Mahomes’ track record suggests as much. In the meantime, we’re taking an early look at candidates to spoil such a run.

    A lot can change between now and the start of the 2024 season. But here are 11 different clubs who have at least some reason to believe they can dethrone Mahomes and Co. next February:

    Deep sleepers

    Aaron Rodgers
    USATSI
    The Atlanta Falcons now have a sturdy quarterback in Kirk Cousins to go along with ascending skill pieces and an underrated defense in a wide-open division. But Cousins’ history suggests they’ll be more steady than special.The Dallas Cowboys still have some of the game’s top playmakers on both sides of the ball, but Dak Prescott’s offensive line has more questions than at any point in recent memory. And this franchise has long succumbed to big-game hurdles.The New York Jets have an improved line for returning quarterback Aaron Rodgers, as well as a proven defense. But Rodgers is a big question mark at age 40, despite his Hall of Fame resume from Green Bay.

    Honorable mentions

    Lamar Jackson
    USATSI
    The Baltimore Ravens could once again use more receiving help for reigning MVP Lamar Jackson. But Derrick Henry’s bruising style should help the run game, and Justin Madubuike’s return should help anchor the tough defense.The Buffalo Bills turned over a big chunk of…..

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