Today: Fresh portal intel, a closer look at Ole Miss and Miami, and why the Demond Williams situation is different. |
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Transfer Portal Intel, Visits, Predictions: Colorado, Texas Tech, Tennessee & more |
Elite talent is available in the transfer portal, and many players are closing in on decisions. More than 3,000 players have entered the transfer portal in less than a week. Here is a fresh batch of intel, visit schedules and predictions from On3. Arizona State QB Sam Leavitt Coming off trips to Kentucky and LSU, the Sun Devils transfer quarterback arrived in Knoxville on Wednesday night, sources confirm to On3. Pete Nakos just reported some fascinating new details about his visit to Rocky Top, and about his recruitment as a whole. Oklahoma State EDGE Wendell Gregory Following a trip to Wisconsin on Wednesday, one of the top transfer portal pass rushers will arrive at Texas today. Missouri is also set to receive a visit. Texas Tech had emerged as the top team to beat in this recruitment, but the two sides did not reach an agreement. NC State OT Jacarrius Peak Coming off a visit to Texas A&M, sources tell On3 that South Carolina and Alabama are two clear teams to watch. The Aggies are not expected to be a factor in the recruitment since they landed LSU transfer offensive tackle Tyree Adams on Wednesday morning. However, a new surprise contender could be emerging at this point. Minnesota S Koi Perich Sources tell On3 that the top available safety in the transfer portal has scheduled a visit to Texas Tech. Perich's camp is also in talks of lining up a trip to Oregon, yet no date has been finalized. Baylor RB Bryson Washington Coming off a visit to Texas A&M, Washington's agent tells On3 that he is lining up visits to two SEC schools. A trip to Wisconsin has been called off for the time being. Auburn WR Cam Coleman The Auburn transfer wideout visited Texas Tech yesterday, sources tell On3. Texas, Texas A&M and Alabama remain factors in this recruitment. Coleman is expected in Tuscaloosa later this week. Penn State EDGE Chaz Coleman The Warren, Ohio, native is wrapping up a trip to Ohio State. South Carolina could land a visit this week. LSU remains a top contender in the recruitment, sources tell On3. Get Pete Nakos' scoop on the top 22 players. |
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Through tragedy, adversity and a little bit of everything else, Ole Miss has remained 'unbreakable' |
Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from a longer feature by Chris Low. SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – TJ Dottery didn't hesitate. Neither did Will Echoles. They might have used different words when asked to describe this Ole Miss football team — one that makes history with each passing win and one that has looked adversity in the face going back to the summer and kicked its ass, but those words have a familiar ring. "Brotherhood," said Dottery. "Unbreakable," said Echoles. Some have suggested that Ole Miss has become "America's Team" with the way the Rebels have overcome losing their head coach, Lane Kiffin, to LSU right before the start of the College Football Playoff and all the chaos surrounding his messy exit. They've responded with playoff wins over Tulane and Georgia and are now one win away against Miami on Thursday in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl from playing for a national championship. "When you believe in each other the way the players on this team do, all that stuff on the outside doesn't matter," Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy said. "All the stuff about Coach Kiffin and what coaches were going to be here or weren't going to be here was nothing that was going to keep us down. "We know what it's like to get knocked down, but we don't stay down." In truth, the Kiffin saga was a speed bump compared to what the Rebels dealt with back in the summer. Freshman defensive lineman Corey Adams was shot and killed on July 19 at a house party near Memphis. Police are still looking for his killer. The Ole Miss players have kept his memory alive all season by wearing helmet stickers with his initials and number. "Corey's been on our minds all season, and losing him the way we did and staying strong for each other just shows you what kind of team this is," said Echoles, who still agonizes that he didn't do something that fateful night to keep Adams from making the trip to Memphis. "So when people talk about adversity, I mean, we lost a teammate. But that didn't stop us from going after our main goal because we knew what Corey would have wanted for us, to continue to play and get better." Just before the start of preseason camp, Adams' mother, Chantrel Bernhart, came to Oxford to speak to the Ole Miss team. Her words that day echoed throughout the Ole Miss football complex all season. "She told us, 'Corey wants y'all to win it all,'" Echoles recounted. "That's been in the back of our heads ever since and been our goal ever since." So while the outside world might have thought Ole Miss would crumble amid the distraction of losing Kiffin on the eve of the playoff, especially given all the drama surrounding his exit and the uncertainty with the staff, the Rebels' players bonded even closer together and reminded each other that they were playing for a higher purpose. Read the rest of Chris Low's article here. |
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Miami taking on persona of coach Mario Cristobal while closing on 1st national title since 2001 |
Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from a longer feature by Brett McMurphy. SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – There was a time not too long ago when Miami was all about flash, not substance. The Hurricanes gravitated to a shiny, mesmerizing gold chain. That was BC: Before Cristobal. Miami is not the same since Mario Cristobal returned home. They are relentless and powerful. They are in a way, almost a mirror image of Cristobal, who was a bruising offensive lineman with Miami from 1989-92. Cristobal's Canes continue their national title quest Thursday in a College Football Playoff against Ole Miss. The difference BC and After Cristobal? "Massive improvement on the line of scrimmage both offensively and defensively," said an ACC head coach. Miami's muscle up front – that mentality – has been the 'Canes calling card in their College Football Playoff run. In the first round, the Hurricanes suffocated Texas A&M in College Station, holding the Aggies to a season-low three points. In the quarterfinal win at the Cotton Bowl, Miami held defending champion Ohio State to 14 points, one point off the Buckeyes' season-low total. "It starts with Coach Cristobal," Miami defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor said. "It starts with his mentality and his approach to the team. He's brought the culture into the program. "Obviously, he's also an alum and he was on winning national championship teams. He wants to bring that back and I think he's doing that with his mentality. You look at him the way he talks. The lip bite. He's really what our team is." When Cristobal played for the Hurricanes, Miami was "The U." Brash, bold and badass. The Hurricanes rolled to three national titles in a five-year span in the late 1980s/early 1990s. Cristobal won national championship rings in 1989 and 1991. Miami won another national title in 2001, sandwiched around a pair of No. 2 final rankings in 2000 and 2002. But after that "The U" was over. From 2003 on, Miami slipped. For the next 20 seasons, the Hurricanes only managed one 10-win season. The Canes were all smoke and mirrors, no substance. Miami, which pummeled teams into submission while winning national titles, was now best known for … The Turnover Chain? "We all have that underdog mentality," Mesidor said. "We have something to prove. We thrive off being hated. We love being the underdog. Back in '80s and '90s, it wasn't the case. "These past two decades 'The U's' been through some different issues and speedbumps." Again, that was BC. Before Cristobal's first season, he made a decision. No more Turnover Chain. "It's not part of our culture," Cristobal told me in the summer of 2022. Read the full story from Brett McMurphy. |
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What makes the Demond Williams situation different? Washington may actually be damaged |
When Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. dropped a transfer portal bomb into social media Tuesday evening, the immediate reaction was confusion. Didn't he just sign a new deal? Yes, he did. Washington sources quickly confirmed that Williams had signed a one-year agreement with the school, drafted using a Big Ten–approved template, and that the university intended to enforce its terms if he attempted to leave. New details have since emerged on the contract language and why Washington is refusing to process Williams' portal request. How aggressively the Big Ten would respond likely depends on where Williams ends up. If it's outside the league, expect louder objections. If it's within the conference, the response could be far quieter. The more interesting question, though, is what actually makes this situation different from others that have surfaced during the NIL era. At first glance, it appears nearly identical to last year's Xavier Lucas case at Wisconsin, when the Badgers refused to place Lucas in the portal after he signed a new deal and then enrolled at Miami. That dispute led to a tortious interference lawsuit that is still ongoing. But after speaking with several legal experts, the key distinction may come down to whether Washington can credibly argue that Williams' departure caused real, measurable damage. That matters because NIL agreements increasingly include liquidated damages clauses, the equivalent of buyouts. Courts are often skeptical of those clauses unless the aggrieved party can show that the figure represents a reasonable estimate of actual harm rather than a punitive penalty. Williams' value strengthens Washington's case. In his first full season as a starter, he completed nearly 70 percent of his passes, threw for more than 3,000 yards with 25 touchdowns, added over 600 rushing yards, and led the Huskies to a 9–4 record. Quarterbacks with that résumé are commanding $3 million or more annually in today's market, meaning any buyout clause could reach seven figures. What separates Williams from Lucas, Madden Iamaleava at Arkansas, or Damon Wilson at Georgia is Washington's lack of alternatives. There is no spring transfer portal window this year. The coaching staff believed it had its quarterback situation settled and did not pursue replacements. At this point, the only comparable quarterback in the portal may already be headed elsewhere. Washington can plausibly argue that it followed the rules, avoided tampering, and is now left without a viable path to replacing a proven starter. That argument would have been far weaker even a few days earlier, when multiple Power Four quarterbacks were still available. Whether a court or arbitrator would agree is far from certain. Williams' legal team would almost certainly argue that enforcing the deal amounts to a non-compete clause, especially given the Big Ten's own public insistence that college athletes are not employees. That contradiction remains the central flaw in the system. Schools want pro-style contracts without collective bargaining or employee status. Until that reality is addressed, these disputes will continue. Washington's case may not be the tipping point. But it does illustrate how fragile the current structure has become, and how quickly the ground can shift when theory collides with practice. Read the full column from Andy Staples. |
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Below, you'll find 3 facts about a random college football player. You'll try to guess who the player is based on the facts. Let's go. I took over as Penn State's starting quarterback in 2016 and helped spark a turnaround that ended with a Big Ten Championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl.
- In the 2016 Big Ten title game, I led a comeback from a 28–7 deficit, broke the conference championship record for passing yards, and earned MVP honors.
- By the time I finished my career at Penn State, I ranked at or near the top of the program's all-time lists in total offense, passing touchdowns, and total touchdowns.
Answer at the bottom. |
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College football media's preseason National Champion predictions |
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