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  • Payton Thorne transfers to Auburn: Ex-Michigan State starting QB adds intrigue to battle entering summer

    Payton Thorne transfers to Auburn: Ex-Michigan State starting QB adds intrigue to battle entering summer

    Auburn landed a huge commitment on Friday when former Michigan State starting quarterback Payton Thorne announced he will be joining the Tigers and first-year coach Hugh Freeze for the 2023 season. Thorne entered the transfer portal earlier this week as the spring window closed, and he joins a heated quarterback battle at Auburn that includes returning starter and dual-threat weapon Robby Ashford. 

    Thorne signed with Michigan State in 2018 and started parts of the last three seasons for the Spartans. He has 6,493 career passing yards, 49 passing touchdowns and 24 interceptions from 2020-22. He also added 270 yards rushing and scored six times on the ground. He started all 12 of Michigan State’s games last season, throwing for 2,679 yards with 19 touchdown passes and one rushing score.

    Thorne’s best season at Michigan State came in 2021 when he led the Spartans to a New Year’s Six bowl win over Pittsburgh in the Peach Bowl. He threw for 354 yards and three touchdowns in the win over Panthers, which capped off an 11-2 season for Sparty. He finished that breakout season with 3,232 yards passing and 27 touchdown passes. 

    The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder was a three-star prospect in the Class of 2019 out of Naperville, Illinois.

    What does Thorne’s commitment mean for the Tigers and Spartans?

    Freeze sets up a battle

    It was no secret that Freeze has been interested in the transfer quarterback market not only during the most recent portal window, but the fall window that opened shortly after the end of the regular season. That became even more apparent when T.J. Finley, who started six games in two seasons, announced that he is leaving the program earlier this week. Finley’s move opened the door for a more experience signal caller to come in and…

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  • Aaron Rodgers admits he’ll be skipping some of the Jets’ remaining offseason practices

    Aaron Rodgers admits he’ll be skipping some of the Jets’ remaining offseason practices

    During his first week in New York, Aaron Rodgers attended more offseason workouts with the Jets than he did during his entire 2022 offseason with the Packers. 

    The four-time MVP has had perfect attendance at practice during his first full week with the Jets, but don’t look for that to continue. During an interview with Pat McAfee this week, Rodgers admitted that he’ll definitely be skipping out on a few practices over the next month, but he is planning to attend quite a few. 

    “I’ll definitely be here for probably more than half of the remaining days,” Rodgers said. 

    The former Packers quarterback showed up to offseason workouts this week because he wanted to get to know his new teammates after spending the first 18 years of his career in Green Bay. 

    “I really wanted to be here the first week to get to know the guys and to go through the workouts and be around,” Rodgers said. “I have some things planned, I got to miss a few days, but it’s been good to be out here with all the guys. I think guys feel the energy that I’ve been bringing and that I kind of bring on a daily basis and I think there’s a lot of excitement around here.”

    All practices and workouts during the offseason are voluntary, except for mandatory minicamp, which the Jets will be holding from June 13-15. Until then, Rodgers doesn’t technically have to show up for anything, as Packers fans know well. During his final season in Green Bay, Rodgers skipped the voluntary portion of the offseason before showing up to mandatory minicamp. 

    There are three phases to the offseason for each NFL team. The Jets started Phase II on Monday with Rodgers. During that phase, “On-field workouts may include individual or group instruction and drills, as well as ‘perfect play drills,’ and drills and plays with offensive players lining up across from offensive players and defensive players lining up across from defensive players, conducted…

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  • Ohio State basketball offers instate 2026 rising star point guard

    Ohio State basketball offers instate 2026 rising star point guard

    It will be more than a few years until Garfield Heights, Ohio’s, Marcus Johnson, will be able to sign with a collegiate team, but that didn’t stop Ohio State from offering the talented point guard.

    Head coach, Chris Holtmann, didn’t need much high school tape to be impressed by Johnson’s game. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise because his father Sonny, was named Ohio’s Mr. Basketball in 1998 and went on to play at Cleveland State.

    Marcus is widely regarded as one of the best players in the country, ranking as the 16th overall play in the 2026 class via ESPN’s top 25 of that class.

    For the best local Columbus news, sports, entertainment and culture coverage, subscribe to The Columbus Dispatch.

    With Ohio State getting an offer out so early in Johnson’s recruitment, you have to think that he’s an extremely high-priority recruit for Holtmann.

    More!

    Help Ohio State football commit Jeremiah Smith raise money for his high school team

    Ohio State football class of 2023 scouting report: Jayden Bonsu

    Ohio State gets a commit from 2023 instate preferred walk-on defensive lineman

    247Sports thinks this Ohio State player created buzz during the spring

    Ohio State makes cut for IMG Academy defensive tackle

    Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on Twitter.

    Story originally appeared on Buckeye Wire

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  • Former Texas DT Poona Ford agrees to one-year deal with Buffalo Bills

    Former Texas DT Poona Ford agrees to one-year deal with Buffalo Bills

    Former Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Poona Ford is heading to a new NFL team. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Ford has agreed to a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills.

    Pelissero had the following thoughts on what Ford’s signing means to the Bills franchise and its 2023 prospects for contention.

    “One of the top free agents still available, Ford turned down more money elsewhere to try to win a ring in Buffalo. A big (literally) post-draft addition for Sean McDermott’s defense.”

    McDermott earned the head coaching position with the Bills after coaching a dominant Carolina Panthers defense in 2015. Now he has a chance to field a strong defense in Buffalo for his high scoring offense led by quarterback Josh Allen.

    In the case of Poona Ford, the undersized defender has a chance to shut down the inside of the line of scrimmage for a championship contending team. He could be a piece that helps catapult the Bills past the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs in the postseason.

    Story originally appeared on Longhorns Wire

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  • Michigan State QB Payton Thorne, leading WR Keon Coleman enter portal as Spartans lose key returning pieces

    Michigan State QB Payton Thorne, leading WR Keon Coleman enter portal as Spartans lose key returning pieces

    Michigan State quarterback Payton Thorne has entered the NCAA transfer portal, 247Sports confirmed on Sunday, bringing some clarity to the Spartans’ quarterback competition and making valuable name with Power Five starting experience available for programs seeking a new signal-caller. Thorne enters the portal as a graduate transfer. 

    Thorne’s struggles in 2022 opened the door for him to be challenged this spring for the starting spot. Fourth-year junior Noah Kim was the primary challenger with redshirt freshman Katin Houser also in the mix. While Thorne did have a decrease in touchdowns and a slight increase in interceptions from 2021 to 2022, he also admitted he played much of last fall’s campaign while dealing with injuries.  

    “Since last year, walking off the field at Penn State, I feel like I’m a lot better than I was, I feel like I’m more myself, healthy again, able to move around,” Thorne explained earlier in spring practice, via the Lansing State Journal. 

    Thorne threw for 6,493 yards and 49 touchdowns in his career with the Spartans. He led Michigan State to an 11-2 record in 2021 that culminated with a Peach Bowl win over Pitt, but that was followed up with the disappointing 5-7 season that followed in 2022. 

    With Thorne gone, the race narrows, for now, to a battle between Kim and Houser. Kim has drawn positive reviews for his performance this spring. Unless the Spartans add another quarterback from the portal before fall camp, Kim will head into 2023 as the presumed leader ahead of Houser, a former four-star prospect who has blue-chip projections but may be another year of development away from meeting those expectations. 

    And whomever ends up getting the job will take over a Michigan State offense that could be losing…

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  • 2023 NFL Draft: Every team’s best, worst and most interesting pick in division-by-division takeaways

    2023 NFL Draft: Every team’s best, worst and most interesting pick in division-by-division takeaways

    The 2023 NFL Draft is officially in the books, and there is plenty to break down. The Philadelphia Eagles selected every University of Georgia defender available, the New England Patriots became the first team in 23 years to draft both a kicker and a punter and a record-breaking amount of quarterbacks were selected in the first 150 picks. It was truly a wild weekend. 

    There are 259 total picks to break down, but let’s try to identify the best, worst and most interesting picks for all 32 NFL teams. The best and worst picks will be decided by the best and worst grades assigned to those selections by our CBS Sports NFL Draft experts: Pete Prisco, Chris Trapasso and Josh Edwards. (For the CBS Sports draft tracker, click here.) 

    Here are the rules of the game: 

    The “best” player in a class may not be the “best” pick, because of the value at the selection number. Not every team made a “bad” pick per se, and some of the picks that are declared the “worst” for a class have grades as high as a “B.” If there are multiple picks with the same grade, Jordan Dajani stepped in and determined the verdict. Dajani also decided which pick was the most interesting for each team. Ready? Let’s go.  

    AFC East

    Best pick (A): OG O’Cyrus Torrence, Florida (Round 2, Pick 59)

    Enormous human being who actually plays with more foot quickness than his size would indicate. Masher in one-on-one scenarios. Must utilize his length better at next level but already very good anchoring skill. More help for Josh Allen is smart for Buffalo. (Chris Trapasso)

    Worst pick (C): CB Alex Austin, Oregon State (Round 7, Pick 252)

    Good size at CB but not lengthy. Tackling issues appear often on film. Not a burner down the field or high-caliber athlete overall. Found the football often on the perimeter. Natural in that regard. (Chris Trapasso)

    Most interesting pick (C): TE Dalton Kincaid, Utah (Round 1, Pick 25)

    Trading up for this…

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  • Texas’ Roschon Johnson drafted by Chicago Bears in Round 4 of 2023 NFL Draft

    Texas’ Roschon Johnson drafted by Chicago Bears in Round 4 of 2023 NFL Draft

    Texas Longhorns running back Roschon Johnson (2) runs the ball forward during the Texas Longhorns football game against Kansas State at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022.

    On Saturday, Texas senior Roschon Johnson was selected by Chicago Bears in the 4th round of the NFL draft. He was the 115th overall pick.

    Now, if you had told someone a few years ago that Johnson was going to be drafted by Chicago, they may have assumed he’d be the answer the Bears had long been searching for at quarterback. Johnson, after all, was a four-star prospect at that position when the Port Neches-Groves product signed with UT’s 2019 recruiting class.

    But the NFL draft was just the next chapter in Johnson’s story as a running back. The 6-foot, 219-pound Johnson switched positions shortly after arriving on campus and became a valuable contributor at the position. He is the eighth running back selected in this year’s draft.

    Over his four years at Texas, Johnson rushed 392 times for 2,190 yards. That ranks 18th in school history. Used as both a Wildcat quarterback and a traditional runner, Johnson produced five 100-yard games in his UT career. He also caught 56 passes and scored 26 offensive touchdowns at Texas.

    In Chicago, Johnson won’t be the only Longhorn on the depth chart for running backs. D’Onta Foreman, who was a third-round pick by Houston in the 2017 draft, signed with the Bears this offseason.

    Key play: Johnson wasn’t just a versatile weapon for the Texas offense. Additionally, the Longhorns used him on multiple special teams units.

    In a game against Iowa State during the 2022 season, Johnson sprinted down the field on a kickoff and recorded a thunderous tackle of the Cyclones returner. “I’ve been telling defensive coaches I can play on that side of the ball too,” said Johnson, who figured that he…

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  • The Athletic gives Anthony Richardson’s first-round draft grade

    The Athletic gives Anthony Richardson’s first-round draft grade

    Florida football was represented in the first round of the NFL draft by quarterback Anthony Richardson when the Indianapolis Colts used the fourth overall pick to select the former Gator. The Gainesville native gives the Orange and Blue a first-day pick for the third-straight year and also continues a streak of having an alumnus taken in every draft of the common era.

    On Friday following the first round, The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman put together his grades for the 31 players selected on Thursday, including Richardson. Here is what he had to off on the pick along with his grade.

    The Colts finally got off the veteran Merry-Go-Round after opening the season with a different quarterback for five consecutive years. This fall marks the sixth, and nobody has more physical potential than Florida’s Anthony Richardson, whose combine numbers were off the charts. Not only does he have great size (6-4 ¼, 244) with big hands (10 ½ inches), but he ran the 40 in 4.43 seconds and posted a 40 1/2-inch vertical. He averaged 6.3 yards per carry on 654 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. His former teammates rave about him and his character.

    But for every “wow” play there was a “whoa” moment. GMs and coaches get fired when potential doesn’t produce, and Richardson is the riskiest first-round quarterback in draft history. Richardson is a one-year starter at Florida who completed 53.8 percent with 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions for 2,549 yards. He was the only Power 5 quarterback in the last three seasons with at least 300 attempts who completed less than 54 percent of his passes.

    Richardson is the ultimate catnip. With his generational talent, he could lead the Colts to the Super Bowl multiple times. If he busts, everybody is getting fired.

    Grade: C

    The NFL draft continues on Friday night starting at 7 p.m. EDT and can be followed on ABC, ESPN and the NFL Network.

    More Football!

    This former Gator among best remaining in 2023 NFL draft

    Dooley’s Dozen: 12 best players…

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