NFL News Updates

Blog

  • After mass exodus, Washington State AD says Pac-12: ‘Mismanaged itself on a bunch of different levels’

    After mass exodus, Washington State AD says Pac-12: ‘Mismanaged itself on a bunch of different levels’

    James Snook, USA Today Sports

    A barrage of mass defections put an end to the Pac-12 as we knew it Friday. When the dust settled,  Washington State, Oregon State, California and Stanford were left as the league’s only members committed beyond 2024. While those schools are actively looking for a path forward, Washington State athletic director Pat Chun took a little time from his Wednesday press conference to lament on the potential loss of a conference that was long considered one of the cornerstones of college football. He also firmly pointed the finger at who he believes is to blame. 

    “There’s a century of history that has gone by the wayside because this conference has mismanaged itself on a bunch of different levels,” Chun said in a press conference Wednesday. “And when you have poor leadership, one of the outcomes is failure. That’s what has happened to the Pac-12.”

    While the broad term “leadership” could be interpreted many ways, most would read Chun’s statement as an indictment on the two most recent Pac-12 commissioners Larry Scott and George Kliavkoff. Many consider their inability to close a media rights deal that could compete with the other power conferences as the main catalyst in the departures of Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado. 

    Chun also called for better guidance from the top down in college football, painting a grim picture of what the future could look like without it. 

    “Until there’s better leadership as a whole, this is going to continue,” Chun said at…

    ..

    [ad_2]

    Read More

  • Madison searching for consistency within football program

    Madison searching for consistency within football program

    MADISON TOWNSHIP — In 2023, the Madison Rams are looking for one simple thing — consistency.

    After hiring their third head football coach in three years, gaining some consistency will start from the very top.

    Madison brings in veteran coach Brent Besancon, a Smithville product who coached his alma mater as an assistant and head coach, to bring that consistency. And Besancon has a lot to work with. The Rams return 10 lettermen on offense and seven on defense to make 17 total lettermen back from last year’s 1-9 squad.

    “We look to improve every week,” Besancon said. “Getting better every week is key for our program and our kids’ success. Most importantly, being physical every play is going to be a major factor this season.”

    The Rams have the luxury of bringing back their starting quarterback to run Besancon’s pro-style offense. Junior Camron Kuhn was an honorable mention All-Northwest District player in Division III last season. He threw for 1,266 yards and nine touchdowns a year ago and will look to flourish under a new head coach and a year of experience behind him.

    Eli Lewis slides into the starting running back role after seeing limited action last season, but he has fullback Will Kepple ahead of him leading the way. Kepple earned first team All-Ohio Cardinal Conference and honorable mention All-Northwest District honors a year ago on defense.

    Grayson Sasis and Owen Wigton will be the starting receivers with Brady O’Brien at tight end. Sasis had 112 yards receiving and a touchdown last year.

    Gage Masters and Jaxin Stancombe are locked in a position battle at left tackle while Rico Palacios will start at left guard. Michael Shanberger and Landyn Young will both see time at center with Cooper Balas and Nate Weightman battling it out at right guard. Preston Martin will play right tackle.

    “The offensive line is big and will bring a physical attitude to the line of scrimmage,” Besancon said. “We also have some explosive players out wide with big play capability.”

    Travis…

    ..

    [ad_2]

    Read More

  • One Named to Biletnikoff Award Watch List

    One Named to Biletnikoff Award Watch List

    Tory Horton gets the sole nod from the Mountain West

    Contact/Follow @J0shFr3d & @MWCwire

    Receivers are on the run.

    College football’s watch list season continued today with the reveal of the Biletnikoff Award, which is given annually to the nation’s best pass catcher. This year, just one Mountain West player made this preseason cut.

    Tory Horton continues collecting preseason honors for Colorado State. Being named to the 2023 Biletnikoff Award preseason watch list is the third honor for Horton. He was also named to the preseason watch list for the Maxwell Award (nation’s best player) and the Paul Hornung Award (most versatile player).

    Horton went on a tear last season, even though everyone knew the ball was coming to him. He accounted for ~48% of Colorado State’s receiving yards. Horton had 71 catches for 1,131 yards and eight touchdowns. He added 2 rushing attempts for six yards and went 2-2 through the air for 35 yards.

    Last year’s Biletnikoff Award winner was Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt.

    Story originally appeared on Mountain West Wire

    ..

    [ad_2]

    Read More

  • 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame lookahead: Julius Peppers, Antonio Gates headline as we predict the inductees

    2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame lookahead: Julius Peppers, Antonio Gates headline as we predict the inductees

    The 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame class was inducted on Saturday, as eight former players and one former coach joined the 362 members already enshrined in Canton, Ohio. 

    While the party has just started for this year’s induction class, let’s turn our attention to what the 2024 induction class could look like. Here’s a look at the 40 players who will be eligible for the first time (keep reading below to see who we think will get in). 

    EDGE Julius PeppersTE Antonio Gates S Eric BerryDL Haloti Ngata RB Jamaal CharlesWR Brandon MarshallG Josh SittonDT Kyle WilliamsC Max UngerLB Derrick JohnsonDE Muhammad WilkersonCB Brent GrimesK Phil DawsonP Donnie JonesRB Doug MartinDB Adam JonesS Reggie NelsonS Glover QuinK Sebastian JanikowskiLB Telvin SmithDE Greg Hardy OLB Connor BarwinLB Brian OrakpoWR Jordy NelsonP Marquette KingQB Andrew LuckCB Leon HallWR Doug BaldwinTE Jermaine GreshamG T.J. Lang CB Vontae DavisQB Matt CasselCB Sam ShieldsRB Chris IvoryWR Mike WallaceRB Jonathan StewartFS Corey GrahamOL Jermon Bushrod QB Derek AndersonLS John Denney

    Of these players, Peppers and Gates have the best shot at being inducted in their first year of eligibility. Both enjoyed highly decorated careers. Peppers was a nine-time Pro Bowler who made the 2010s All-Decade Team after racking up 159.5 career sacks. Also a member of the 2010s All-Decade Team, Gates was a Pro Bowler for eight straight years. He’s currently first all time among tight ends with 116 touchdown receptions, while his 11,841 receiving yards are the third-highest total. 

    Berry, Charles, Marshall and Nelson may have a shot at induction in later years. While injuries cut his career short, Berry was a five-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro who twice led the league in interceptions returned for touchdowns. Charles — Berry’s former teammate in Kansas City — retired with a whopping 5.4 yards-per-carry average. Marshall was a six-time…

    ..

    [ad_2]

    Read More

  • Conference realignment winners, losers: Oregon comes up short in Big Ten move, Arizona fits in Big 12

    Conference realignment winners, losers: Oregon comes up short in Big Ten move, Arizona fits in Big 12

    The 2023 summer of realignment surprisingly emerged as one of the most chaotic in recent memory. The Pac-12 as we know it could be on the verge of collapsing after more than 100 years, and now its members are scattering in what has become the latest reshaping of college football. 

    Following the Pac-12’s lackluster media rights presentation, Oregon and Washington opted to take partial shares to join the Big Ten. Soon afterwards, the remaining so-called “Four Corners” schools — Arizona, Arizona State and Utah — followed Colorado to the Big 12. Oregon State, Washington State, California and Stanford remain in a holding pattern as Pac-12 leadership attempts to learn what’s next. 

    Ultimately, all six members that left the conference — eight including USC and UCLA — will make more money in their new homes. However, the consequences for every athletic department could be wide-ranging. Here are the winners and losers of the most recent round of realignment, perhaps the most destructive session yet. 

    Winner: Colorado

    The Buffaloes have quietly been one of the headiest programs in realignment over the last 15 years. When it looked like the Big 12 could go under in 2010, Colorado allied itself with the then-safe ground of the Pac-12. Now, Colorado ran back to its old friends in the Big 12 right before the foundation started crumbling in the Pac-12. 

    Unlike every other team on this list, Colorado’s move actually reunites it with a handful of historic rivals from the old Big Eight. The Buffaloes have played Kansas 70 times and Iowa State 65 times and built rivalries with schools in Texas and Oklahoma during a stint in the Big 12. 

    Perhaps most importantly, rejoining the Big 12 also allows coach Deion Sanders to go down into Texas and recruit….

    ..

    [ad_2]

    Read More

  • Cardinals sign RB Marlon Mack

    Cardinals sign RB Marlon Mack

    The Arizona Cardinals had an off day in Friday but did make a roster move.

    They added veteran running back Marlon Mack, signing him to a one-year deal. To make room for him on the roster, the Cardinals released long snapper Jack Coco.

    Mack is a 6-foot, 210-pound back entering his seventh NFL season.

    He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth round in 2017 and played for them for five seasons, surpassing 900 rushing yards in 2018 and 1,000 yards in 2019.

    However, since 2019, he has appeared in only 15 games and has rushed for only 211 yards.

    He split last season between the Denver Broncos and the San Francisco 49ers.

    He adds experience to an otherwise inexperienced group of running backs behind starter James Conner.

    This signing is not the running back addition many expected. It doesn’t feel like the running back room got much better unless Mack is something close to what he was in 2019.

    An offer for Cardinals fans

    For the best local Phoenix news, sports, entertainment and culture coverage, subscribe to azcentral.

    Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

    Story originally appeared on Cards Wire

    ..

    [ad_2]

    Read More

  • Rutgers football fan fest set for August 20

    Rutgers football fan fest set for August 20

    With the summer winding down, the start of college football season is getting closer by the day. On August 20, football fever returns to Piscataway when Rutgers football hosts their fan fest on Bush campus. The event will occur from 5 to 7 p.m. in front of the Rodkin Academic Success Center.

    As fans get in the football spirit, they will have the opportunity to meet the team during the autograph session, presented by Knights of the Raritan. New Jersey’s best food trucks will also attend, serving sandwiches, wings, ice cream and more.

    Additionally, there will be free carnival games and a photo booth to cover all the unforgettable moments of the event. A day full of sports doesn’t end there as Rutgers women’s soccer host Hofstra at 7 p.m. that night. Admission for that game will be free.

    After the event, fans can circle Sep. 3 on their calendars. That is when the Scarlet Knights will open their season against Northwestern at SHI Stadium. It is the first time they will ever begin a season against a Big Ten team since joining the conference. Rutgers will enjoy the comforts of home for their first three games before going on the road.

    While football fans have waited months for the return of football, the fanfest marks that the wait is soon coming to an end.

    Story originally appeared on Rutgers Wire

    ..

    [ad_2]

    Read More

  • Biggest question each NFC team faces in 2023: Can Seahawks’ Geno Smith repeat? Will Cowboys’ O-line hold up?

    Biggest question each NFC team faces in 2023: Can Seahawks’ Geno Smith repeat? Will Cowboys’ O-line hold up?

    The NFC is certainly a mixed bag heading into the 2023 NFL season. There are few Super Bowl contenders in the mix (Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys), but the rest of the conference is a wild card. 

    Plenty of playoff spots are up for grabs in a conference that isn’t as deep as the AFC. The NFC South is wide open without Tom Brady, ditto with the NFC North without Aaron Rodgers. Meanwhile, the NFC East hasn’t had a repeat champion in in 18 seasons. 

    In what should be an intriguing year for the NFC, what is the biggest challenge for each team heading into 2023? These obstacles could be the difference between being a little competitive, a legit playoff contender or challenging for a Super Bowl title (depending on the team and the situation). 

    Is Kyler Murray coming back anytime soon? 

    Murray is still recovering from a torn ACL he suffered last season, electing to have surgery in January. The Cardinals quarterback admitted Saturday he doesn’t have a definitive timeline for his return to the practice field or how long he’ll need to practice before he’ll return to game action. 

    Until Murray comes back, it’s Colt McCoy at quarterback. Murray is learning Drew Petzing’s offense and gathering all the information he can before actually returning to the field — whenever that may be. In a season where the Cardinals are patiently punting, they’ll be taking their time with their $160 million (guaranteed) investment. 

    Is the pass rush any better? 

    The Falcons defense have just 68 sacks over the last three seasons. To put this in perspective, the Philadelphia Eagles had 70 sacks last season. 

    What did the Falcons do to bolster the pass rush? New defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen has new pass rushers in Bud Dupree, Kaden Elliss, David Onyemata, Lorenzo Carter and Calais Campbell (from free agency) along with incumbents Arnold Ebiketie and Grady Jarrett.

    The pass…

    ..

    [ad_2]

    Read More