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  • 2024 NFL Draft: Former NFL quarterback says Drake Maye should be taken ahead of Caleb Williams

    2024 NFL Draft: Former NFL quarterback says Drake Maye should be taken ahead of Caleb Williams

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    Caleb Williams is the favorite to be the top quarterback taken in the 2024 NFL Draft class. While Williams is projected to go No. 1, a former NFL quarterback believes the “other” quarterback who is projected to be a high draft pick is the best in this class. 

    Tim Hasselbeck, who played for several NFL seasons and is an ESPN analyst, believes Drake Maye is the top college quarterback eligible for the draft — not Williams. 

    If Maye would get selected over Williams and go first overall, he would be the first North Carolina player drafted first overall in the common draft era (since 1967). The 2022 ACC Player of the Year is the only FBS player with 7,000+ passing yards and 1,000+ rushing yards over the past two seasons. Maye has the second-most total yards (9,076) in the FBS over the past two seasons (Michael Penix Jr. has more) and is the third-most over a two-year span in ACC history (Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson have more). 

    Maye’s 7,929 passing yards over the last two seasons are fifth in the FBS and his 62 passing touchdowns and 77 total touchdowns are tied for fifth. His 1,147 rushing yards were also fifth among quarterbacks in FBS. 

    Maye is a dual-threat quarterback in a league that’s trending in that direction. For a team needing a quarterback, Maye or Williams should be ideal. 

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  • EA Sports posts teaser trailer for EA College Football 25

    EA Sports posts teaser trailer for EA College Football 25

    On Thursday, EA Sports released their teaser trailer for EA College Football 25 set for release this Summer. This will mark the return of the beloved video game franchise. The last time we saw an EA Sports college football game was NCAA Football 14 which came out in July 2013.

    Fans of college football and the NFL draft have been waiting a long time for this one to come back. The last time EA put out a college football game, former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson was on the cover. EA promises a full reveal of the game in May.

    Story originally appeared on Draft Wire

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  • How each AFC contender can catch the Chiefs this offseason | Zero Blitz

    How each AFC contender can catch the Chiefs this offseason | Zero Blitz

    Subscribe to Zero Blitz

    Jason Fitz & Frank Schwab start off the show by acknowledging the tragic shooting in Kansas City and offering their condolences before transitioning into some of the breaking news around the NFL. The San Francisco 49ers parted ways with DC Steve Wilks after a shaky playoff run, and Chris Jones loudly proclaimed that he is staying in Kansas City despite being a free agent. The duo discuss what went wrong for Wilks in the Bay and whether or not they expect Jones to actually return to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2024. The duo also discuss the continuing debate around Kyle Shanahan’s in-game decisions during Super Bowl LVIII and whether or not he deserves the heat he’s getting.

    The Chiefs are the team everyone in the AFC will have to chase for the foreseeable future, so Fitz and Frank take a dive into each AFC contender’s current situation and give their blueprint for how the team can compete with KC in the playoffs in the next year or two. The duo give their thoughts on the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets and Cleveland Browns before finishing the show by deciding if they think each of these teams have a realistic chance of catching up by next season.

    1:15 – San Francisco 49ers part ways with DC Steve Wilks

    16:40 – Will Chris Jones really stay in Kansas City?

    21:20 – Blueprints for AFC contenders to catch the Kansas City Chiefs

    38:25 – Blueprints for young/up-and-coming AFC teams

    SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 29: Joe Burrow #9 of the Cincinnati Bengals looks on during pregame warmups before an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on October 29, 2023 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ryan Kang/Getty Images)

    📺 Watch This Full Episode On YouTube

    Zero Blitz would be nothing without the impact of our beloved Terez Paylor, who was a pillar of Yahoo Sports’ NFL editorial and podcast coverage. We will continue…

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  • Chip Kelly’s unprecedented move to Ohio State allows coach, UCLA to reset before crucial 2024 season

    Chip Kelly’s unprecedented move to Ohio State allows coach, UCLA to reset before crucial 2024 season

    Chip Kelly won eight games, stomped his biggest rival and won a bowl game at UCLA last season. Still, on Friday, he determined his best career move — one of the latest to rock the sport — was to take a massive pay cut to remain in the same conference and become offensive coordinator at Ohio State.

    Of course, it made sense. Of course, it made no sense.

    Welcome to college football in 2024. It’s a-maze-ing.

    The year is only 40 days old, yet some of the game’s top programs, rosters and minds are scrambled.

    Jim Harbaugh began January under NCAA investigation on two fronts while trying to figure out how to beat Washington. He’s still under investigation, but life is a lot better where investigators can’t touch him: in the NFL with the Chargers.

    On the same afternoon Kelly left UCLA for Ohio State — eight weeks after the season ended — Bill O’Brien left for Boston College after serving 21 days as the Buckeyes offensive coordinator. At least that was a promotion by title.

    This migration by Kelly?

    The 60-year-old who had spent 14 years as a college or NFL head coach took a big pay cut (from $6 million per year) to become a coordinator for the first time since 2009. He saw a better future calling plays at Ohio State than following up on the best three-year run (25 wins) by any UCLA coach since 2015. This despite the Bruins being in the process of joining the Big Ten next season.

    Coaches everywhere preach loyalty. The profession might have cornered the market lately on rental properties.

    Kelly’s move was unprecedented and yet not altogether surprising. He has a relationship with Ohio State coach Ryan Day, his quarterback at New Hampshire while Kelly was the offensive coordinator. Kelly remains a respected play caller who, at his base, wants to…

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  • NFL Power Rankings: With Chiefs dynasty cemented, history next goal for Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid

    NFL Power Rankings: With Chiefs dynasty cemented, history next goal for Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid

    Dynasty? Check.

    All-time great quarterback on his way to being the best? Check.

    All-time great head coach? Check.

    Back-to-back Super Bowl victories? Check.

    So what’s next for the Kansas City Chiefs? History. They can become the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls if they win another one next season. Fresh off their 25-22 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night in Super Bowl LVIII, the Chiefs were already talking about doing it again. Three-peat will be the theme of the season. 

    That might sound crazy, but considering this Chiefs team was loaded with flaws, had to win two road playoff games to get to the Super Bowl and looked lifeless for much of the first half Sunday night, who are we to doubt them?

    They have Patrick Mahomes after all. He once again proved why he is on his way to being the best ever. By winning his third Super Bowl in six years, plus his third Super Bowl MVP, Mahomes is on his way to chasing down Tom Brady’s seven titles. 

    Against the 49ers, Mahomes seemed off early as the offense struggled, yet he found a way to turn it around and win the game with a touchdown drive in overtime. In all three of his Super Bowl victories, he has rallied the Chiefs from 10 down.

    This Chiefs team was certainly beatable this season, yet here they are again as champions. They need to do some offseason work, mostly notably finding a big-play receiver, adding tackle help, re-signing Chris Jones and L’Jarius Sneed, and hoping Andy Reid doesn’t walk away. But with Mahomes they will be right back in the thick of it again.

    The Chiefs end the season as the top team in my Power Rankings, which seemed a long shot when they lost to the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day. But that just shows you the value of having that guy under center.

    The 49ers are in the second spot, with the top spot once again slipping out of their hands. Coach Kyle Shanahan is one of the best in…

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  • Kansas State football assistant Matt Wells eager to work with old friend Chris Klieman

    Kansas State football assistant Matt Wells eager to work with old friend Chris Klieman

    MANHATTAN — It should come as no surprise that Kansas State head football coach and Matt Wells someday would find themselves on the same staff instead of lining up across the field from one another.

    The fact that it took 10 years was simply a matter of timing.

    But here they are together at last, after Wells accepted Klieman’s job offer as quarterbacks coach, co-offensive coordinator and associate head coach.

    Klieman often expressed his admiration for Wells, who took the head coaching job at Texas Tech for the 2019 season, the same year Klieman moved from North Dakota State to K-State. But the two of them go back farther than that.

    Related: Kansas State football offensive coordinator Collin Klein headed to Texas A&M

    Kansas State football associate head coach Matt Wells, left, meets with Wildcats athletics director Gene Taylor before an October 2021 game in Lubbock, Texas, when Wells was head coach at Texas Tech.

    “It started in my early days at Utah State, becoming a head coach and really looking out there at potential defensive coordinators, and just studying what they did at North Dakota State and how tough they played and how they ran to the football and how they tackled,” said Wells, whose first head coaching job was at his alma mater, where he compiled a 44-34 record in six seasons before taking the Texas Tech job. “That was important to me as an offensive guy being a head coach.

    “And then I was like, ‘Who’s this guy coordinating this defense?’ And then I found out and we started a relationship, and I offered him the defensive coordinator’s job there at Utah State, and he said no. So, he turned me down and I said yes to him, so you have to fast-forward 10 years later.”

    Klieman turned Wells down in part because in 2014 he would get the head coaching job at North Dakota State, where he won four FCS national…

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  • Brandon Aiyuk stays vague about future with 49ers in wake of Super Bowl loss, cryptic social media posts

    Brandon Aiyuk stays vague about future with 49ers in wake of Super Bowl loss, cryptic social media posts

    San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk had a quiet showing in the team’s 25-22 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII. Since then, the chatter surrounding his future has been quite loud.

    The 25-year-old is headed into the final year of his rookie contract since the 49ers picked up his fifth-year option last April. On Tuesday, he addressed reporters in the 49ers’ locker room. Clearly emotional and covering his eyes with sunglasses, he admitted that the loss was the most difficult defeat of his career. But he stayed vague about where he hopes his career will take him next.

    “If that’s the right move, yeah,” he answered when asked if he’d like to remain in San Francisco. In response to a follow-up question about what the right move would look like, he said, “Being a champion.”

    Brandon Aiyuk might be moving on from the San Francisco 49ers. (Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images)

    He turned around to face his locker and said “That’s all I got,” when a question about his journey with the team almost brought him to tears.

    Aiyuk recorded three catches on six targets for 49 yards in Sunday’s loss, a departure from the performance that saw his miraculous catch spark San Francisco’s comeback against the Detroit Lions in the NFC championship.

    Aiyuk is a potential trade candidate if he and the team can’t agree on a long-term extension, and social media posts from the wideout and his inner circle after the Super Bowl suggest that negotiations might not be easy.

    On Monday after the loss, Aiyuk posted a black Instagram story captioned “Don’t forget what got you there” with eye emojis.

    Earlier that day, his girlfriend, Rochelle Searight, posted a TikTok that implied Aiyuk’s days with the 49ers are numbered.

    “This might have been the last day we touched foot on Levi’s Stadium,” she said in the video, “Because we might not be out here next season.” She captioned the video “Happy 49ers Travel Day of Shame,” explaining that she was picking up Aiyuk after the…

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  • Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer faces play-calling dilemma after Ryan Grubb takes Seahawks offensive coordinator job

    Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer faces play-calling dilemma after Ryan Grubb takes Seahawks offensive coordinator job

    First-year Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer already faced the gargantuan undertaking of replacing college football legend Nick Saban. Now, he is facing that task without his right-hand man following the news that Ryan Grubb won’t be the Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator in 2024.

    With Grubb instead heading to the NFL to be the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks, it leaves DeBoer without his longest-tenured confidant in the coaching ranks. The two worked together for 12 seasons across four different schools, developing a comfort level and rapport that led to Washington’s prolific offensive success the past two seasons.

    Grubb called the plays for the Huskies during their 25-3 run over the past two years, which culminated with a loss to Michigan in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. That’s the key element here. His role as offensive coordinator role wasn’t just an inflated title for the sake of increasing his pay grade, like we often see in college football.

    DeBoer, a noted offensive guru himself, actually trusted Grubb with his scheme, and the results were magnificent as Washington ranked among the nation’s most prolific passing attacks each of the past two seasons. Grubb’s departure now forces DeBoer to either turn over play-calling to someone new or assume the duties himself.

    There was an interesting element to the timing of Grubb’s departure from a roster management standpoint. Friday marked the end of the 30-day window for players to transfer following Saban’s retirement, meaning any Alabama players wishing to transfer as a result of Grubb’s decision will have to wait until the spring transfer window in April to enter the portal.

    Where DeBoer goes from here

    With ESPN reporting that Grubb will be taking…

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