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College Football
NCAAF News Wire
  • Alabama trustees approve Kalen DeBoer's 8-year deal
    By Field Level Media / Tuesday, March 19, 2024

    Kalen DeBoer is set to more than double his salary in his first year at Alabama after the school's board of trustees approved the new head football coach's eight-year, $87 million contract on Monday.

    • Details of the deal were confirmed, with DeBoer set to average $10.875 million annually, including a $10 million salary in 2024. Last year as head coach at Washington, he earned $4.2 million, according to USA Today.

      The average annual value of his new contract makes DeBoer the fourth-highest-paid coach in the country, ESPN reported. His salary will peak at $11.75 million in 2031.

      According to ESPN, the top-paid coaches in terms of average annual value are Clemson's Dabo Swinney ($11.5 million), Georgia's Kirby Smart and Southern California's Lincoln Riley ($11 million-plus apiece), DeBoer, Texas' Steve Sarkisian ($10.64 million) and Florida State's Mike Norvell ($10.52 million).

      The overall deal is 90 percent guaranteed should DeBoer be fired without cause. Should he take another job, he would have a buyout of $5 million this year, $4 million in 2025, $3 million in 2026 and nothing thereafter.

      DeBoer, 49, was hired in January, shortly after Nick Saban retired following 17 years in charge of the Crimson Tide. Saban led Alabama to six national championships.

      In two seasons at Washington, DeBoer registered a 25-3 record, and he led the Huskies to the national championship game last season. Including his stints at Division II Sioux Falls and Fresno State, he has a 104-12 overall record.

      --Field Level Media

  • Jerome Bettis Jr. to follow father to Notre Dame
    By Field Level Media / Sunday, March 17, 2024

    Jerome Bettis Jr. is following in the footsteps of his Super Bowl champion father, committing Sunday to Notre Dame.

    • The younger Bettis is a 6-foot-2 wide receiver who plays at Woodward Academy in the Atlanta area. He is listed by the 247Sports composite as a three-star prospect in the Class of 2025.

      He announced his commitment on social media on Sunday with a video.

      "Growing up as a Bettis, I've heard about all the ways Notre Dame can change your life academically and athletically," he said. "...I'm blessed to announce my commitment to the University of Notre Dame. Go Irish."

      His father played three seasons at Notre Dame (1990-92) and was the No. 10 overall pick by the Los Angeles Rams in the 1993 NFL Draft. He played three seasons with the Rams, then 10 with the Pittsburgh Steelers, winning the Super Bowl in his final campaign.

      He ranks eighth all-time in NFL rushing yards with 13,662 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.

      --Field Level Media

  • New Michigan DL coach Greg Scruggs suspended after arrest
    By Field Level Media / Saturday, March 16, 2024

    Greg Scruggs, who was named Michigan's defensive line coach just 10 days ago, was arrested on a drunk-driving charge early Saturday and suspended from the program.

    • "Greg made an unfortunate mistake and was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated," Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said in a statement. "He made no excuses and has taken accountability for his actions. The football program and athletic department have suspended Greg indefinitely while we review details of the incident."

      The Wolverines announced his hiring on March 6. He was the defensive line coach at Wisconsin in 2023 and the assistant line coach with the New York Jets in 2022.

      Scruggs, 33, knows Moore from their days at Louisville, when Scruggs was a player and Moore a grad assistant. In late 2011, Scruggs was arrested in Kentucky on a drunk-driving charge and dismissed from the team before Louisville met North Carolina State in the Belk Bowl.

      Scruggs appeared in 18 games between 2012-16 for the Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Bears, recording 11 tackles and three sacks.

      --Field Level Media

  • Report: Conferences, CFP agree on financial terms for expanded playoffs
    By Field Level Media / Friday, March 15, 2024

    Officials with the College Football Playoff, the nine FBS conferences and independent Notre Dame have agreed to the next playoff contract, which will take effect in 2026, ESPN reported Friday.

    • Under terms of the agreement, the CFP will include at least 12 teams starting in 2026 and moving forward, though expansion to 14 teams remains on the table and is considered likely to happen sooner rather than later.

      Four teams have been part of the CFP since its inception for the 2014 season.

      "Anything else regarding format is to be determined," CFP executive director Bill Hancock said Friday, per ESPN. "This is a very important next step for CFP, of course, and we do still have details to be finalized regarding the format, but I want to stress that the really good news is that football fans will continue to see the best teams in the country competing for the national championship on the playing field. This arrangement will also ensure the expanded access will continue to be in place. We firmly believe this, about the importance of a competitive opportunity for more programs and more players and more fans. We're pleased to be in the position we're in, while we know there's still more work to be done."

      Per ESPN, the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference will take the lead in establishing the format of future playoffs beyond guaranteed berths for conference champions of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC, as well as the highest-ranked team from Group of Five champions. Notre Dame was assured it will have "protections" as the format evolves, ESPN reported.

      The conferences and Notre Dame also agreed on annual compensation for each conference. Big Ten and SEC schools each will receive more than $21 million, the ACC schools will get upward of $13 million, and Notre Dame and Big 12 members will be paid more than $12 million.

      Group of Five schools will receive $1.8 million -- a raise of $300,000 -- and Washington State and Oregon State will earn $360,000. The two Pacific Northwest schools find themselves as the remaining two members of the Pac-12, and, at least for now, are independents.

      These new payouts coincide with an upcoming contract with ESPN, in which the network is expected to spend an average of about $1.3 billion on the CFP in each of the next six seasons.

      That's about three times the amount per season that ESPN has paid for the four-team playoff, Yahoo Sports said.

      --Field Level Media

  • Former Arkansas State star arrested in poisoning deaths
    By Field Level Media / Friday, March 15, 2024

    A former Arkansas State football star and Tennessee Titans scout has been arrested in last year's poisoning deaths of his girlfriend and her unborn child in Nashville, Tenn.

    • Blaise Taylor, 27, was indicted on two counts of first-degree murder and arrested by U.S. Marshals on Thursday night in Utah. Nashville police said Taylor is "alleged" to have fathered the child.

      Taylor is accused of poisoning Jade Benning at her Nashville apartment on Feb. 25, 2023. She was rushed to a hospital after Taylor called 911 and reported that she was suffering an allergic reaction.

      Benning's 5-month-old fetus died two days later, and she passed away on March 6 -- her 25th birthday -- without ever speaking to police.

      Following months of investigation by police, scientists and the medical examiner, authorities determined Benning had been "poisoned without her knowledge" after Taylor visited her home.

      Taylor was a four-year starter as a defensive back and return specialist at Arkansas State from 2014-17. A captain and first-team All-Sun Belt selection, he set the school record for career punt-return yards (1,151) -- returning one for a touchdown in each of those seasons.

      Taylor later worked as a scout for the NFL's Titans for four years before serving as a defensive analyst at Utah State in 2023. Earlier this month, he joined the defensive staff at Texas A&M, where his father, Trooper Taylor, is the Aggies' running backs coach.

      --Field Level Media

  • Trev Alberts dumps Nebraska for huge payday at Texas A&M
    By Field Level Media / Wednesday, March 13, 2024

    Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts accepted the same position at Texas A&M, leaving his alma mater to take over for Aggies interim AD R.C. Slocum.

    • According to ESPN, Alberts will become one of the highest-paid administrators in college sports.

      "From my perspective, there has never been a more consequential time in history for higher education and the evolving landscape of intercollegiate athletics," Alberts said in a statement issued by Texas A&M on Wednesday. "Leadership matters now more than ever before. My interest in Texas A&M is not only due to its prestigious reputation but also because of President Welsh's compelling vision in which, I believe, Athletics can play a small but important role in helping Texas A&M achieve unprecedented success."

      "I truly want to express my gratitude to the University of Nebraska - the school and its fans have been and always will be immensely important to me," he said. "Nebraska changed my life, and I'm thankful for the incredible 15 years I spent here."

      The Aggies launched a search to replace Ross Bjork, who was hired in January as athletic director at Ohio State, and installed Slocum for the short term.

      A&M president Mark A. Welsh III said leadership and a strong business acumen set Alberts apart.

      "I can't imagine a better individual to lead the Aggie Athletics program into the future," he said.

      Alberts has been athletic director at Nebraska since the start of the 2021-22 academic year. One of his biggest moves with the Cornhuskers was to fire fifth-year head coach Scott Frost three weeks into the 2022 season and later replace him with Matt Rhule.

      Alberts won't have to make any such move this time. Football coach Jimbo Fisher was fired in November, and Alberts inherits new coach Mike Elko, who was hired in December to lead the Aggies.

      Alberts, 53, was a linebacker at Nebraska and was the school's first Butkus Award winner and an All-American in 1993. The Colts selected him No. 5 overall in the 1994 NFL Draft, and he played in Indianapolis for three seasons before retiring.

      Before becoming the Cornhuskers' AD, Alberts was the athletic director at Nebraska-Omaha.

      --Field Level Media

  • NFL scouts flock to Georgia; TE Brock Bowers, RT Amarius Mims idle
    By Field Level Media / Wednesday, March 13, 2024

    All 32 NFL teams were represented at the annual Georgia Pro Day in Athens, Ga., with evaluators in town for a close-up with more than a dozen Bulldogs prospects expected to be under consideration during the 2024 draft.

    • Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan, Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan and general manager Ran Carthon, and Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce were among the pro football dignitaries on the field on the first day of the NFL league year on Wednesday.

      Several NFL teams had larger contingents on hand. The Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers and Cincinnati Bengals sent multiple scouts and position coaches.

      Eight total prospects produced by the Bulldogs were selected in the first round the past two years, including No. 1 pick Travon Walker to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022 and defensive tackle Jalen Carter, the ninth pick in the 2023 draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.

      Georgia has produced six top-10 draft picks since 2015 (running back Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams), and Bulldogs tight end Brock Bowers is projected as a potential top-10 pick in April.

      Bowers did not work out on the field Wednesday because of a hamstring strain. He said he "tweaked it a little bit" but will hold a private workout for scouts on April 10.

      "It's just about showing what's on tape, showing them what I can do," Bowers said.

      Bowers, offensive tackle Amarius Mims, wide receiver Ladd McConkey, cornerback Kamari Lassiter, center Sedrick Van Pran, safeties Tykee Smith and Javon Bullard, and running back Kendall Milton are all expected to be drafted by the fourth round of the 2024 draft.

      Mims did not work out Wednesday, also because of a hamstring strain, but the 6-foot-8, 340-pound prospect ran a 5.07 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.

      Fifteen total Georgia prospects were selected in the 2022 and 2023 drafts.

      --Field Level Media

  • NAACP asks student-athletes to reconsider Florida
    By Field Level Media / Wednesday, March 13, 2024

    The NAACP on Monday sent a letter to current and prospective college athletes urging them to reconsider attending public universities in Florida due to the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion programs in recent months by many state institutions.

    • The letter, also addressed to NCAA President Charlie Baker, cited what it claimed is Florida Governor Ron DeSanits' "devaluation of Black America."

      "Now, as a result of his administration's anti-Black ideals, all state-funded universities in Florida will be forced to dismantle their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs," read the letter, signed by NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson and chairman Leon W. Russell.

      In May 2023, DeSanits signed into law Senate Bill 266. One of the provisions of the bill prohibits public universities in the state from spending public funds on any programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). In January of this year, the state's Board of Governors voted to ban spending public money on DEI programs in the state.

      Earlier this month, the University of Florida announced the closure of its DEI office, which included the elimination of 13 full-time positions and the ending of an additional 15 administrative appointments.

      "While the University of Florida may be the first, they will not be the last," the NAACP's letter read.

      Last week, University of Florida alumnus and Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith blasted his alma mater for the decision to eliminate its DEI program.

      "Instead of showing courage and leadership, we continue to fail based on systemic issues and with this decision," Smith posted on X. "UF has conformed to the political pressures of today's time."

      The University of North Florida and Florida International University have also begun the process of eliminating their DEI programs.

      In addition to the letter, Johnson said in a statement:

      "The value Black, and other college athletes bring to large universities is unmatched. If these institutions are unable to completely invest in those athletes, it's time they take their talents elsewhere. The NAACP will remain unwavering in our efforts to hold Governor Ron DeSantis, and all oppressive elected officials accountable for their attempts to unravel our democracy."

      --Field Level Media

  • Report: Ex-Arizona State, Notre Dame QB Drew Pyne transfers to Missouri
    By Field Level Media / Sunday, March 10, 2024

    Former Arizona State and Notre Dame quarterback Drew Pyne committed to Missouri, ESPN reported Sunday.

    • Pyne entered the NCAA transfer portal in December and re-enrolled at Notre Dame for the spring semester to earn his degree in American Studies. When he transferred to Arizona State, he was one semester short of graduation.

      As a graduate transfer at Missouri, he'll be eligible to play immediately and will have three years of eligibility remaining after factoring in a medical redshirt and the extra year granted by the NCAA for the pandemic-impacted season.

      He'll be joining a quarterback room headed by Brady Cook, who led Missouri to a Cotton Bowl victory over Ohio State in December and is returning for his final season of eligibility.

      Backup quarterback Sam Horn will miss the upcoming season following Tommy John surgery.

      Pyne, 23, began his college football career in 2020 at Notre Dame. He saw limited action the first two seasons, redshirting as a freshman, and started 10 games in 2022 with an 8-2 record, including 4-1 against top 25 teams.

      The Connecticut native transferred to Arizona after the 2022 season but played in just two games for the Sun Devils because of a lingering hamstring injury and other injuries.

      In his career, Pyne has appeared in 19 games, completing 61.6 percent of his passes for 2,530 yards with 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

      --Field Level Media

  • Early football signing period moving to early December
    By Field Level Media / Thursday, March 7, 2024

    The early signing period for Division I-bound high school football players will move to early December, the Collegiate Commissioners Association announced Thursday.

    • The change takes effect this fall, and the signing period will begin on the Wednesday after the final FBS regular-season game and before conference title games. It will last three days, though most players sign on the first day.

      The early signing period has been the week before Christmas since it was added to the recruiting calendar in 2017. The regular signing period will remain as is, opening the first Wednesday in February and running through April 1.

      The move is being made, in part, to clear up a crowded late-December calendar for coaches who are preparing for bowl games. It also will put some separation between the signing period and the opening of the transfer portal, allowing coaches to put their concentration solely on high school athletes in that time span.

      "The CCA supports providing high school and two-year college prospective student-athletes with the opportunity to sign (national letters of intent) before coaches turn their focus to four-year transfers during the opening of the Division I transfer window in December," the organization said.

      The group tabled, for now, consideration of another signing period that could begin in June 2025. A decision on whether to add a summer signing period is expected to be made no later than June of this year.

      Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said before his team's appearance in the Cotton Bow at the end of last season that the NCAA recruiting calendar needed to change.

      "There's no way possible for us to have a 12-team playoff next year, and be recruiting in an open period, and have transfer-portal additions and subtraction going on and be preparing for a game," Drinkwitz said. "It's just not possible."

      --Field Level Media

  • Reports: Ex-Mississippi State coach Zach Arnett joins Ole Miss
    By Field Level Media / Wednesday, March 6, 2024

    Ole Miss is hiring former Mississippi State head coach Zach Arnett as a defensive analyst, multiple outlets reported Wednesday.

    • Arnett, 37, was named head coach of the Bulldogs in December 2022 following the death of Mike Leach. He was fired on Nov. 13 with two games remaining in the season and a 4-6 record.

      Before his promotion, Arnett was the defensive coordinator at Mississippi State for three seasons. He began his coaching career at San Diego State in 2011.

      Ole Miss is a rising program in the Southeastern Conference and landed the No. 1 transfer class in 2024, including five-star defensive lineman Walter Nolen from Texas A&M. Lane Kiffin's team finished 11-2 (6-2 SEC) in 2023 and is 29-10 over the past three seasons.

      --Field Level Media

  • West Virginia coach Neal Brown gets 1-year contract extension
    By Field Level Media / Tuesday, March 5, 2024

    West Virginia head coach Neal Brown agreed to terms on a one-year contract extension on Tuesday that keeps him in Morgantown through the 2027 season.

    • Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by the university for Brown, who capped a nine-win season with a 30-10 victory over North Carolina in the Duke's Mayo Bowl. That's quite the season given that the Mountaineers were picked to finish last in the Big 12 preseason media poll.

      "My first priority was retaining and rewarding our assistant coaches and support staff who have played such a critical role in our success," Brown said. "I appreciate (West Virginia vice president and director of athletics Wren Baker's) support on that front as well as his continued commitment to me and what we are building. We share a common vision for this program and that alignment is critical to our continued success. There are great things ahead."

      Brown, 43, has guided West Virginia to bowl appearances in three of the past four years. He has posted a 31-29 record during his five seasons with the Mountaineers after going 35-16 in four campaigns with Troy (2015-18).

      "I am pleased with the progress I've seen in our football program since arriving last year," Baker said. "I believe this contract amendment allows us to continue to build on our momentum as we begin our first year in the new and expanded Big 12 Conference. I'm appreciative of the effort Coach Brown and his staff put into developing the young people in our program both on and off the field."

      --Field Level Media

  • Devin Brown, Will Howard ready for QB competition at Ohio State
    By Field Level Media / Monday, March 4, 2024

    Ohio State's Devin Brown had a strong message Monday for people who think he's intimidated by a tough quarterback room this spring.

    • Bottom line: He isn't transferring.

      "I've said it through and through. I'm a Buckeye, and I'm here to compete, no matter what," he told reporters in Columbus, Ohio, the day before spring practices begin.

      "Honestly," he continued, "I think people are cowards. I think people have this thought in their own heads that I'm gonna leave and I'm a quitter, but that's never been me. These people live wherever, in their mom's basement, saying stuff about me and they don't know (expletive). Excuse my language, but they don't know anything. They don't know why I am. They don't know who I've been, and that's always who I've been."

      Brown, a redshirt sophomore, lost the starting job to Kyle McCord before the 2023 season, but when McCord announced his transfer at the end of the regular season, Brown was given the starting assignment in the Cotton Bowl against Missouri.

      But Brown left the game in the second quarter of the 14-3 loss with an ankle injury, with freshman Lincoln Kienholz taking over.

      Since then, the Buckeyes have brought Kansas State graduate transfer Will Howard and 2024 blue-chip recruits Julian Sayin and Air Noland in to compete with Brown and Kienholz. They will be trying to impress head coach Ryan Day and Chip Kelly, the new offensive coordinator.

      Howard, who started 27 games at Kansas State, has one year of eligibility left. And he sounded confident when he addressed reporters Monday.

      "I didn't come here to be nervous or to be timid or anything like that," Howard said. "I'm ready to go, and the fact of the matter is you know it might not all be perfect. I might make a few mistakes but that's how I'm going to learn and that's how we're going to learn as a team.

      "Nothing's too big for me. Nothing's too big for this team. Spring ball, it's going to be a lot of learning across the board but I'm excited for that. I want to embrace that."

      --Field Level Media

  • Johnny Manziel done with Heisman ceremony over Reggie Bush
    By Field Level Media / Saturday, March 2, 2024

    Former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel will no longer participate in the annual trophy ceremony until Reggie Bush is welcomed back into the Heisman fraternity, Manziel announced Saturday.

    • "After careful thought and consideration I will be humbly removing myself from the Heisman trophy ceremony until @ReggieBush gets his trophy back," Manziel, the 2012 winner, posted to his X, formerly Twitter, account. "Doesn't sit right with my morals and values that he can't be on that stage with us every year. Reggie IS the Heisman trophy.

      "Do the RIGHT thing @NCAA the ball is in your court."

      Bush won the 2005 Heisman Trophy to wrap up his stellar career at Southern California, where he ran for 3,169 yards, gained 1,301 receiving yards and returned kickoffs and punts for a combined 2,082 yards. He totaled 42 touchdowns and also threw a 52-yard touchdown pass.

      In 2005, he was a first-team All-American and named the Associated Press College Football Player of the Year.

      But he was stripped of his Heisman Trophy and his NCAA stats after a four-year investigation by the NCAA showed that Bush and his family took improper financial benefits, including cash and paid-for housing.

      When name, image and likeness legislation was enacted in 2021, Bush asked the NCAA to reinstate his status. The Heisman Trust said it would consider giving back his trophy if the NCAA agreed to reinstate him, which the organization declined to do.

      Manziel recently told Shannon Sharpe on the Club Shay Shay podcast that he intends to fight for Bush.

      "I'm gonna continue to do everything that I can in my power, whatever that may be. ... But for what I can in my part, I will always stand on this table right here for Reggie Bush and do anything that I can in my power to make sure that it's possible for him to even get his trophy back," said Manziel, who won his Heisman while playing for Texas A&M.

      --Field Level Media

  • Ex-Michigan, CFL linebacker Craig Roh dies at 33
    By Field Level Media / Thursday, February 29, 2024

    Craig Roh, a four-year starter on the defensive line at Michigan from 2009-12, has died at age 33 from colon cancer.

    • His wife, Chelsea Roh, announced his death on Wednesday on social media. The Rohs have a 2-year-old son, Max.

      "Craig was the most driven/disciplined person I have ever met," Chelsea Roh wrote on Instagram. "He gave 10000% into everything he did, including being a wonderful husband/father. Driving away from our first date, I knew in that moment that my life was changed forever. ... Even though he left the world at only 33, Craig lived an amazingly full life. I'm not sure how I'm going to live the rest of my days without him, but I will put one foot in front of the other for our beautiful little boy."

      According to a GoFundMe page set up to pay for medical expenses and Max's education, Roh was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer in August 2022.

      "Craig did not want to go public with his diagnosis and battle because, in true Craig fashion, he did not want the attention to be on him," the fundraiser page reads. "From chemo, to targeted therapy, to clinical trials at MD Anderson (in Houston) and in Honduras, Craig was resilient till the very end."

      Roh started a program-record 51 straight games at Michigan after twice being named Gatorade Player of the Year in his native Arizona. He later spent one season with the Carolina Panthers and five in the Canadian Football League, where he won the Grey Cup with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2019.

      The Rohs moved to Austin, Texas, where Craig Roh worked at tech startups and also started an online business teaching the techniques of coaching defensive lines.

      "I am saddened to hear about the passing of former defensive end Craig Roh, our program's all-time leader in career starts," new Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore posted to social media. "My heart goes out to his family during this difficult time. The entire Roh family is in my thoughts and prayers and we hope for peace and comfort for all who knew this great Wolverine."

      --Field Level Media

  • Report: Kansas coach Lance Leipold gets big raise
    By Field Level Media / Wednesday, February 28, 2024

    Kansas football coach Lance Leipold agreed to a new deal with a significant pay raise, ESPN reported Wednesday.

    • His new average salary of more than $7 million would put him in the top three in the Big 12 Conference, per the report.

      Leipold, 59, has resurrected the program, leading the Jayhawks to back-to-back bowl games in 2022 and 2023.

      Kansas finished a 9-4 season (5-4 Big 12) in 2023 with a 49-36 victory over UNLV in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

      It was the most wins for the Jayhawks since the 2007 season and their first bowl win since the 2008 campaign.

      Leipold was a two-time MAC Coach of the Year (2018, 2020) and compiled a 37-33 record at Buffalo from 2015-20 before arriving in Lawrence.

      The Jayhawks improved to 6-7 in 2022 after going 2-10 in his first season with the program. His overall record sits at 54-54 entering the 2024 season.

      --Field Level Media

  • Reports: Boise State to hire Dirk Koetter as OC
    By Field Level Media / Tuesday, February 27, 2024

    Dirk Koetter is again joining the coaching staff at Boise State, this time as offensive coordinator under first-year coach Spencer Danielson, according to multiple reports Tuesday.

    • Koetter coached the Broncos from 1998-2000 and returned to serve as an offensive analyst and interim OC in 2022.

      In his first stint with the Broncos, he finished with a 26-10 record and led the team to two Humanitarian Bowl wins (1999, 2000).

      In his second stint, after stepping in to call plays for then-head coach Andy Avalos in 2022, the Broncos won eight of the last 10 games to reach the Mountain West Conference title game and earned a 35-32 win over North Texas in the Frisco Bowl.

      In between his times in Boise, Koetter coached Arizona State for six seasons (2001-06) and spent time as OC for the Jacksonville Jaguars (2007-11), Atlanta Falcons (2012-14, 2019-20) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2015). He served as head coach of the Bucs from 2016-18, posting a 19-29 record.

      Koetter replaces Bush Hamdan, who left to be the offensive coordinator at Kentucky.

      Spring practice at Boise State begins March 11.

      --Field Level Media

  • Clemson reinstates DT DeMonte Capehart after gun charge dropped
    By Field Level Media / Monday, February 26, 2024

    Clemson defensive tackle DeMonte Capehart has returned to the team following the expungement of weapon and traffic charges, according to multiple reports Monday.

    • Capehart, 22, was arrested in Pickens County Feb. 6 and charged with unlawful possession of a firearm on university property and failure to exercise due care in a motor vehicle. He was released on bond.

      Capehart completed a pre-trial intervention for non-violent offenders which removes all charges from the record and allows for reinstatement to the team, according to a school spokesman Monday.

      Capehart, a fifth-year senior out of Hartsville, S.C., played 12 games in a reserve role in 2023, finishing with 15 tackles, five of those for loss, and a sack.

      He has 30 career tackles in 34 games, all as a backup.

      --Field Level Media

  • Reports: UMass joining MAC for most sports
    By Field Level Media / Monday, February 26, 2024

    The University of Massachusetts is set to join the Mid-American Conference for nearly all sports starting in 2025-26, multiple media outlets reported Monday.

    • UMass currently competes as an independent in football and in the Atlantic 10 for most other men's and women's athletic programs. Because the MAC doesn't offer hockey, UMass will remain in Hockey East. According to ESPN, UMass will ask to remain in the Atlantic 10 for men's and women's lacrosse.

      MAC presidents voted on Monday to invite UMass as a new member and the school is expected to accept, according to multiple reports.

      The Minutemen would join the 12 current full MAC members: Akron, Bowling Green State, Buffalo, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Ohio, Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Toledo and Western Michigan.

      UMass previously competed in the MAC for four seasons in football from 2012-15, compiling an overall record of 8-40 with a 7-25 mark in league play. The Minutemen finished 3-9 in 2023.

      The Amherst, Mass., school has been a member of the A-10 for men's and women's basketball since the 1982-83 season.

      --Field Level Media

  • Eric Bieniemy confirms he will join new coaching staff at UCLA
    By Field Level Media / Sunday, February 25, 2024

    Former Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy is heading back to college and will join the staff of new head coach DeShaun Foster at UCLA, he confirmed to ESPN.

    • ESPN reported that Bienemy, who also was the offensive coordinator on Andy Reid's staff with the Kansas City Chiefs, is finalizing a two-year deal to both serve the same post and become the associate head coach at UCLA.

      The move represents a homecoming for Bieniemy, who grew up in the area and was a Bruins assistant from 2003-05.

      "Southern California," Bieniemy wrote in an email to ESPN on Saturday. "I attended high school there. I started my career in the league here (with the Chargers). It's obviously great to be back with the Bruins, where I was previously employed."

      Bieniemy, 54, also addressed Foster, who became the 19th football coach in UCLA history on Feb. 12. Foster, 44, replaced Chip Kelly, who departed to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State.

      "This is a great opportunity for me to help support DeShaun as a head coach, to work with him and to work for him as well," Bieniemy wrote. "My goal is to help him to be a successful head coach in our profession."

      Foster, a first-time head coach, takes over a program that finished 8-5 last season under Kelly, including 4-5 in the Pac-12. The Bruins move into the Big Ten Conference this fall.

      Bieniemy served as the offensive coordinator with the Commanders for one season and he told ESPN he "chose not to stay" in Washington. New head coach Dan Quinn hired former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury for the job.

      Previously, Bieniemy spent 2013-17 as the Chiefs' running backs coach before being elevated to the team's offensive coordinator in 2018. Reid remained the Chiefs' offensive play-caller.

      Bieniemy had several interviews for head-coaching positions but was never offered a job. After the Chiefs' Super Bowl win over the Philadelphia Eagles last year, he accepted the Washington position as an opportunity to build his own staff and call plays.

      The Commanders went 4-13 in 2023, ending on an eight-game losing streak. Head coach Ron Rivera was fired at season's end.

      Bieniemy also served as offensive coordinator at Colorado, his alma mater, from 2011-12.

      The Bruins are set to begin the 2024 season Aug. 31 at Hawaii, then host Big Ten opponent Indiana on Sept. 14.

      --Field Level Media

  • NCAA's NIL rules frozen as judge grants injunction
    By Field Level Media / Friday, February 23, 2024

    The NCAA cannot punish students or athletics program boosters for name, image and likeness recruiting inducements -- at least for now -- as a result of a federal judge's preliminary injunction on Friday afternoon.

    • The injunction is not a final ruling in the case of Tennessee and Virginia v. NCAA, but the NCAA is in danger of fully losing its ability to enforce its NIL rules, which have been called into question by the attorneys general of both states.

      "The NCAA's prohibition likely violates federal antitrust law and harms student-athletes," U.S. District Judge Clifton Corker wrote Friday.

      Although the related court case is still active, Corker's injunction means that athletes are free to negotiate NIL-related compensation before they enroll at a school. Though the judge is from the Eastern Tennessee District, his decision applies to the entire country.

      NCAA president Charlie Baker, who was speaking to reporters when the judge issued his ruling, reiterated that his organization is seeking a federal antitrust waiver to address NIL issues.

      "I would like something that's very limited here, and I'm perfectly happy to have some federal oversight with regard to that limitation," Baker said, according to USA Today. "The sort of broad-stroke antitrust exemption that people have talked about -- I don't think that's necessary. I'm looking for something that just will end the uncertainty and the chaos around some of the very basic rule-making that's a part of all this."

      Baker added his opposition to making cash payment a legal part of the recruiting process.

      "I definitely don't think it should be (allowed) right now, given the fact that there is no transparency (concerning what athletes make from NIL deals), there's no accountability, and there's lots of examples of people misrepresenting truth in reality to kids who then end up chasing that ... and discover that what they thought was there isn't," he said, per USA Today.

      The case stems from the NCAA's decision in January to launch an investigation into the Tennessee football program over alleged recruiting violations. It centered on Nico Iamaleava, a five-star quarterback recruit coming out of high school, signing a deal with Tennessee's primary NIL collective, Spyre Sports Group, reportedly worth $8 million.

      Tennessee chancellor Donde Plowman addressed a biting letter to Baker last month, claiming the NCAA is not doing its part to establish clear rules for student-athletes, their families or universities.

      "Instead, two and a half years of vague and contradictory NCAA memos, emails and 'guidance' about name, image and likeness (NIL) has created extraordinary chaos that student-athletes and institutions are struggling to navigate. In short, the NCAA is failing," Plowman wrote in part.

      The AGs of Tennessee and Virginia filed their antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA the next day.

      "Without the give and take of a free market, student-athletes simply have no knowledge of their true NIL value," Corker wrote Friday. "It is this suppression of negotiating leverage and the consequential lack of knowledge that harms student-athletes."

      Tennessee attorney general Jonathan Skrmetti said in a statement to news outlets Friday that his state would continue pursuing its litigation "to ensure the NCAA's monopoly cannot continue to harm Tennessee student-athletes.

      "The NCAA is not above the law, and the law is on our side."

      NCAA student-athletes have been allowed to profit off their names, images and likenesses since the Supreme Court ruled in their favor in NCAA v. Alston in summer 2021.

      --Field Level Media

  • Reports: Georgia State to name Dell McGee its football coach
    By Field Level Media / Friday, February 23, 2024

    Georgia State is expected to name Dell McGee as its head football coach, multiple outlets reported Friday.

    • McGee, 50, has been on Kirby Smart's staff at Georgia since 2016, coaching the running backs and also serving as assistant head coach and run game coordinator. In that span, the Bulldogs won two College Football Playoff championships.

      He will replace Shawn Elliott, who resigned immediately on Feb. 15 to accept the job as tight ends coach at South Carolina. At the time, Georgia State halted practice and postponed the team's spring game.

      McGee is a Georgia native and played defensive back at Auburn (1992-95). The Cardinals selected him in the fifth round of the 1996 draft, and he had a brief NFL career with Arizona and the Detroit Lions and also played in NFL Europe, the Arena Football League and the XFL.

      His previous coaching stops include Georgia Southern.

      --Field Level Media

  • CFP committee discusses 14-team playoff for 2026
    By Field Level Media / Wednesday, February 21, 2024

    With the ink not yet dry on the new 12-team playoff format that will begin in 2024, the College Football Playoff management committee discussed the idea of a 14-team playoff, multiple outlets reported Wednesday.

    • Any additional expansion wouldn't happen until 2026, if at all. The idea was discussed during CFP meetings in the Dallas area on Wednesday.

      "Fourteen teams is a possibility," Mike Aresco, CFP committee member and outgoing commissioner of the American Athletic Conference, told some reporters.

      The CFP on Tuesday just approved a 5+7 model for the upcoming season, featuring the five highest-ranked conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked teams.

      Under the 12-team playoff format that begins in the fall, the four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded one through four for the CFP tournament and will receive a first-round bye. Teams seeded five through 12 will play each other in the first round at the home of the higher-ranked team.

      It's unclear what a 14-team format would look like, per the reports.

      Aresco announced his retirement in December and will leave after May 31.

      --Field Level Media

  • Alabama names Nick Sheridan as OC, JaMarcus Shephard as co-OC
    By Field Level Media / Tuesday, February 20, 2024

    Alabama football made two personnel moves to replace one coach who didn't stay for long.

    • Alabama named Nick Sheridan its offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on Tuesday while announcing JaMarcus Shephard as the Crimson Tide's new assistant head coach, co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach.

      The hires come after Ryan Grubb, who originally signed on as Alabama's offensive coordinator under new head coach Kalen DeBoer, accepted the same position with the Seattle Seahawks instead. Grubb worked for DeBoer as Washington's offensive coordinator and chose to remain in Seattle.

      "Nick and JaMarcus are both fantastic coaches, and we are excited to have them join us at Alabama," DeBoer said in a statement. "They have experience in our offense, and they know what we are trying to accomplish on that side of the football. They both bring passion and enthusiasm to their work and have proven to be excellent teachers and recruiters at every stop of their careers."

      Sheridan, 35, recently was hired as the tight ends coach at Alabama after filling the same role for DeBoer at Washington in 2022-23. A former quarterback at Michigan, Sheridan's only offensive coordinator experience came at Indiana in 2020-21.

      Shephard, 40, is known for working with star wide receivers Rome Odunze and Ja'Lynn Polk at Washington, where he spent two years on DeBoer's offensive coaching staff.

      --Field Level Media

  • CFP revamps new 12-team playoff structure, adds at-large bid
    By Field Level Media / Tuesday, February 20, 2024

    The College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams for the upcoming season includes an altered format featuring the five highest-ranked conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked teams.

    • The CFP Board of Managers voted Tuesday to modify the original plan, which called for the six highest-ranked champions to earn an automatic entry into the field, plus six at-large berths. The switch was necessary with the Pac-12 down to just two teams in 2024 following the defection of 10 programs to other conferences.

      "This is a very logical adjustment for the College Football Playoff based on the evolution of our conference structures since the board first adopted this new format in September 2022," said Dr. Mark Keenum, president of Mississippi State University and CFP board chair. "I know this change will also be well received by student-athletes, coaches and fans. We all will be pleased to see this new format come to life on the field this postseason."

      There is no limit on the number of teams that can qualify in each conference.

      The shift was made with no objection from Washington State president Kirk Schulz, who represents the Pac-12 on the board. Oregon State will be the only other remaining Pac-12 team next season.

      "For our two schools in the Pac-12 as it's currently configured, there is no question that five-seven, with seven at-larges, is better than six at-larges," Schulz told ESPN. "... There's no question our football coaches are going to want to compete for one of those seven slots, and seven is going to be better than six."

      Under the 12-team playoff format that begins in the fall, the four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded one through four for the CFP tournament and will receive a first-round bye. Teams seeded five through 12 will play each other in the first round at the home of the higher ranked team.

      Michigan is the defending CFP champion, defeating Washington in the title game on Jan. 8. Both schools will be members of the Big Ten next season as Washington departs the Pac-12.

      --Field Level Media