Month: March 2020

Watch: Josh Allen has a monstrous 2019 campaign by garnering 10.5 sacks

When the Jacksonville Jaguars were on the clock for their first-round pick, nobody could believe that Kentucky edge-rusher Josh Allen was available for the No. 7 overall selection. However, with a shocking chain of events taking place before them, …

When the Jacksonville Jaguars were on the clock for their first-round pick, nobody could believe that Kentucky edge-rusher Josh Allen was available for the No. 7 overall selection. However, with a shocking chain of events taking place before them, the star manage to slip through the cracks and the rest was history.

Despite only starting in four games, Allen was able to do what no rookie in Jags history has been able to do: go to a Pro Bowl and accumulate double-digit sacks. His 2019 campaign also confirmed what most Jags fans already knew, and that is he should’ve been a top-4 pick.

While the outlook on the Jags’ 2020 season isn’t all that great, fans are definitely excited to see how Allen thrives with a year under his belt, but before we get to that point, here are the highlights of every sack he accumulated in 2019.

Jags officially trade Nick Foles, receive 2020 fourth-round pick

It’s official, veteran quarterback Nick Foles is officially a Chicago Bear. The transaction between them and the Jacksonville Jaguars was processed Tuesday, which means the Jags have received pick No. 140 in April’s Draft. TRADE OFFICIAL We have …

It’s official, veteran quarterback Nick Foles is officially a Chicago Bear. The transaction between them and the Jacksonville Jaguars was processed Tuesday, which means the Jags have received pick No. 140 in April’s Draft.

Foles, 31, was one of the biggest question marks of the Jags’ 2020 offseason as many wondered would he remain on the team after a forgettable 2019 season in Jacksonville. After signing a massive four-year deal worth $88 million, Foles fell short of expectations as he missed a majority of the season with a collarbone injury and struggled to find a groove after returning. Both separate issues resulted in Gardner Minshew II replacing him and the rookie was able to go 6-6 in the process.

Foles ended his Jags career 77-of-117 (65.8%) for 736 yards, three touchdowns, and two picks.

Minshew, on the other hand, was 85-of-470 (60.6%) for 3,271 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, and six picks. In the process of his rookie campaign, he was also able to earn seven Pepsi Rookie of the Week awards and Snickers Hungriest Player of the Year award.

The addition of the Bears’ late fourth-round selection puts the Jags at a total of 12 selections in 2020. They now have multiple selections in the first, fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds.

Foles will now join a staff with a couple former coaches of his in Matt Nagy and John DeFilippo. Heading into the preseason, he’ll battle it out with third-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who hasn’t quite lived up to the expectations placed before him as a top-5 selection.

What Oklahoma is getting in class of 2021 3-star safety Jordan Mukes

Jordan Mukes ended Oklahoma’s recruiting lull on Monday. Here is what OU is getting in its latest commitment from the state of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma’s recruiting lull came to a stop on Monday night.

Soon after Lincoln Riley sent out his patented eye emoji tweet signaling out a new commitment, in-state class of 2021 safety Jordan Mukes went public with his commitment to the Sooners.

A Choctaw, Oklahoma, native, Mukes became the fourth member of Oklahoma’s 2021 recruiting class. He joined another in-state defensive player in Ethan Downs in Riley’s 2021 class.

Originally, Mukes’ tape doesn’t show the high-level potential that Oklahoma garners right now in the secondary. After a report from Brandon Drumm of OUInsider.com that he just recently picked up football again as a prominent basketball player, his junior tape shines a lot brighter.

Here is what Oklahoma is getting in its latest commitment from the state of Oklahoma.

[protected-iframe id=”983f77dc94c3f4c0da0007fee7e9e1f9-162776877-158836641″ info=”//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12426907/5d92ad31bed7ed11f0a7d069″ width=”640″ height=”360″ frameborder=”0″]

LENGTH

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 192 pounds, Mukes clearly has the length that defensive coordinator Alex Grinch desires.

This is a defensive back whose arms hang down to his knees. Mukes utilizes that by getting his hands on receivers breaking into a cut in bump-and-run or lined up 10-yards off the ball. He knocks receivers off their desired route and creates an opportunity to turn his head around to make a play. 

Grinch searches for speed, length and size and Mukes checks off everything but the top-end speed.

FRAME

Where Mukes ends up on Oklahoma’s defense will be a mystery up until he plays his first snap. Even then, I wouldn’t expect to him to stick anywhere. 

The Choctaw, Oklahoma, native can easily carry another 10, 15 or even 20 pounds and maintain his natural athleticism. Mukes long arms and big frame could allow him to play from anywhere deep as the center field safety to being the nickel back. 

Oklahoma director of performance Bennie Wylie’s body reformation program should treat him great.

ATHLETICSIM

When football players can really, really dunk on the basketball court, it is hard to stop watching. 

What Mukes is capable of on a basketball court has no translation to his football prowess, but it does display a level of explosiveness and athleticism that hasn’t shown up on tape yet. This tends to happen with players who are still green in their fundamentals from not playing football for a long time and not getting the most out of their feet and hips. 

This is the part that remains unknown on the football field for Mukes, but luckily, his basketball ground gives him the go-ahead on how much growth can be made between now and when his time comes for Oklahoma.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Golfweek Top 5

Golfweek’s JuliaKate Culpepper counts down the top 5 trick shots of the week. Submit your trick shots by tweeting them to @golfweek with the hashtag, #golfweektop5.

Golfweek’s JuliaKate Culpepper counts down the top 5 trick shots of the week. Submit your trick shots by tweeting them to @golfweek with the hashtag, #golfweektop5.

Sports Illustrated releases mock with backcourt focus for Boston

Sports Illustrated released a new mock draft that sees the Boston Celtics taking three prospects, including two guards.

Sports Illustrated’s Jeremy Woo published a new mock 2020 NBA Draft Tuesday with a guard-heavy projection for the Boston Celtics to select with their three first-round picks in the upcoming draft.

Woo’s new draft focuses on how teams will adapt in the absence of an NCAA tournament to evaluate prospects — one of several such opportunities that may not be on the table for teams due to the impact of the coronavirus on professional sports and life more generally.

The current standings are used for draft order prediction, and with all of Boston’s potential picks likely to fall outside the 2020 NBA Draft lottery range, it matters less for the purposes of pick order than many teams if the league is able to restart at least part of the regular season.

As things stand now, Boston would pick at No. 17 overall (via the selection owed them by the Memphis Grizzlies), No. 26 overall (their own pick) and 30th overall (the pick owed to them by the league-best Milwaukee Bucks).

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

Larry David’s PSA asking people to stay home is pretty, pretty, pretty good

Listen to Larry David, folks.

The 10th season of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm ended a few weeks ago, which stinks because it was a great season of watching Larry David doing Larry David things and right now we need all the entertainment and laughs that we can get.

Because things are pretty darn rough right now.

Thankfully the great Larry David is here to entertain us some more while also delivering an important message to people in California about staying at home during the coronavirus pandemic.

As you might have guessed, Larry is all for staying home and he has a message for those who feel or do differently:

Listen to Larry, folks.

[jwplayer zj7Y2Qx0-q2aasYxh]

Oklahoma five-star quarterback target Caleb Williams announces commitment timeline

Oklahoma five-star quarterback target Caleb Williams has the recruiting world at his fingertips. He details his commitment timeline.

While many thought Caleb Williams may wrap up his recruitment early last Monday, the five-star quarterback had other plans.

Oklahoma’s only quarterback target released a top-five instead, with the Sooners entrenched in the fight. Williams has wrote glowingly about his relationship with Lincoln Riley and how his last visit to Oklahoma checked off all the boxes in past blogs with Sports Illustrated.

The Washington D.C. native has another entry in his weekly blog, this time letting the world know of when he thinks about committing.

“With the timeline, I’ve always wanted to commit before my senior year of football,” wrote Williams. “That’s still the plan, I don’t want to move that unless I have to. I’m still wanting to stay before the season but if that has to change then it has to change.”

In the mean time, Williams wrote that he will spend his time building relationships with some of the other top recruits in the 2021 class. He says he’s not pressuring anybody in this role, but communicating with them constantly and building a friendship.

Williams says he’s been waiting to get to this part of the process in order to help put the best recruiting class around him.

“Being able to have the same options along with top guys in the nation is pretty cool, especially when you can build relationships and bring those guys with you,” he wrote. “You really don’t get that in high school, especially at Gonzaga because you have to get in the school first. So you’re not able to bring guys in like college. Then in the NFL, like my dad says, they choose you. You don’t choose what team you want to go to, at least not in the first contract you get. College is pretty unique and pretty special.”

The Sooners remain without a quarterback committed for the 2021 class and Williams remains the priority for Riley and Oklahoma.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

DL Jack Crawford signs with the Titans

Crawford, 31, played three seasons in Atlanta, starting 15 games as a versatile defensive tackle who could also line up at end.

Two Falcons defensive linemen left via free agency on Tuesday. First, defensive end Adrian Clayborn signed with the Browns.

Then, Jack Crawford signed with the Titans, according to his agent and reported by ESPN’s Field Yates below:

Crawford, 31, played three seasons in Atlanta, starting 15 games as a versatile defensive tackle who could also line up at end. He will join Vic Beasley in Tennessee on what looks to be an up-and-coming team in the AFC.

Crawford’s loss isn’t as big of a deal since the Falcons signed DL Tyeler Davison to a three-year deal just a few weeks ago. Still, without Clayborn and Crawford, the team will likely target a defensive linemen in the first or second round of the 2020 draft.

[lawrence-related id=48925]

[vertical-gallery id=48824]

Pac-12 Bowl Projections: 2020-2021 Spring Version

CollegeFootballNews.com Pac-12 bowl projections: 2020 spring version

CollegeFootballNews.com Pac-12 bowl projections: 2020 spring version

2020-2021 Pac-12 Bowl Projections

– Future College Football Playoff Sites & Dates
– All of the 2020-2021 bowl tie-ins

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Games listed alphabetically until all the dates are announced  

LA Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA
Mountain West vs. Pac-12
Spring Projection: San Diego State vs. Arizona State 
Last Season: First Bowl in 2020

Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Spring Projection: Iowa vs. Utah
Last Season: Washington 38, Boise State 7

Redbox Bowl

Date Coming
FOX
Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Spring Projection: Indiana vs. Stanford 
Last Season: Cal 35, Illinois 20

San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl

Date Coming
FOX
SDCCU Stadium, San Diego, CA
ACC vs. Pac-12
Spring Projection: Louisville vs. Washington
Last Season: Iowa 49, UAC 24

[lawrence-related id=510330]

Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl

Thursday, December 30
CBS
Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, TX
ACC vs. Pac-12
Spring Projection: NC State vs. UCLA
Last Season: Arizona State 20, Florida State 14

Valero Alamo Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Alamodome, San Antonio, TX
Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Spring Projection: Texas vs. USC
Last Season: Texas 38, Utah 10

Walk-On’s Independence Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Independence Stadium, Shreveport, LA
Army vs. Pac-12
Spring Projection: Army vs. Cal
Last Season: Louisiana Tech 14, Miami 0

PlayStation Fiesta Bowl

Saturday, January 2
ESPN
State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ
New Year’s Six at-large vs. New Year’s Six at-large
Spring Projection: Oregon vs. Penn State 
Last Season: Clemson 29, Ohio State 23

[protected-iframe id=”361699434b6d70baf15f631ed2408ac1-97672683-92922408″ info=”https://www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js” ]

2020-2021 Bowl Projections, College Football Playoff Predictions: Spring Version

CollegeFootballNews.com bowl projections and College Football Playoff schedule and predictions: 2020 spring version

CollegeFootballNews.com bowl projections and College Football Playoff schedule and predictions: 2020 spring version

Oh, why the heck not?

We’re living in absurd times, so let’s just get even weirder.

Will there actually be a 2020 college football season?

Uhhhhh … not sure.

Will there be a full bowl slate if there is some sort of a season?

Uhhhhh …

Are all of the conferences bowl tie-ins locked in yet?

The Power Fives are, but the Group of Five situation is extremely loose.

Who cares? It’s fun offseason stuff that – if this all actually happens – probably isn’t too terribly far from the pin.

There are a whole slew of ground rules and new contracted deals for the 2020-2021 bowl season. Here are the main ones.

– The College Football Playoff will be the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl. The Orange Bowl has to take an ACC team – the next-highest ranked ACC team will get in if the champion is in the CFP – and Notre Dame can’t take the league’s spot. Otherwise, the non-CFP New Year’s Six games are wide open.

– As always, every Power Five conference champ will at least be in a New Year’s Six game, and the top-ranked Group of Five champion will be in, too, or in the College Football Playoff.

– Again, most of the Group of Five bowl tie-ins are still up in the air. There are 16 ESPN owned and operated bowls with a whole lot of holes to fill – that’s where the available American Athletic, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, and Sun Belt teams come in. An eligible BYU will take one of them, and then it’ll be all about the top matchups and best geographic possibilities.

Let’s just do this already. If you don’t see your team on here, don’t sweat it. We’ll do this exercise again later this summer, and we’ll adapt and adjust as we go.

CFN in 60: Spring College Football Playoff Projections
[jwplayer j4yxYzgW]

2020-2021 Bowl Projections, College Football Playoff Predictions

– Future College Football Playoff Sites & Dates
– All of the 2020-2021 bowl tie-ins

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Games listed alphabetically until all the dates are announced 

Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
NRG Stadium, Houston, TX
Big 12 vs. SEC
Spring Projection: TCU vs. Tennessee
Last Season: Texas A&M 24, Oklahoma State 21

AutoZone Liberty Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Liberty Bowl, Memphis, TN
Big 12 vs. SEC 
Spring Projection: Baylor vs. Mississippi State
Last Season: Navy 20, Kansas State 17

Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL
SEC vs. ACC (or American Athletic)
Spring Projection: Syracuse vs. Houston 
Last Season: UCF 48, Marshall 25

[lawrence-related id=510379]

Bahamas Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Thomas Robinson National Stadium, Nassau, Bahamas
Conference USA vs. MAC
Spring Projection: Southern Miss vs. Northern Illinois
Last Season: Buffalo 31, Charlotte 9

Belk Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
ACC vs. SEC
Spring Projection: Virginia vs. South Carolina 
Last Season: Kentucky 37, Virginia Tech 30

Camellia Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, AL
MAC vs. Sun Belt
Spring Projection: Buffalo vs. Louisiana
Last Season: Arkansas State 34, FIU 26

Camping World Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
ACC vs. Big 12
Spring Projection: Virginia Tech vs. Oklahoma State
Last Season: Notre Dame 33, Iowa State 9

Cheez-It Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ
Big Ten vs. Big 12 
Spring Projection: Michigan State vs. West Virginia 
Last Season: Air Force 31, Washington State 21

Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Howard Schnellenberger Field at FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, FL
American Athletic or Conference USA or MAC
Spring Projection: Temple vs. Marshall
Last Season: Florida Atlantic 52, SMU 28

Cure Bowl

Saturday, December 19
CBS Sports Network
Exploria Stadium, Orlando, FL
American Athletic or MAC or Sun Belt
Spring Projection: SMU vs. Toledo
Last Season: Liberty 23, Georgia Southern 16

[lawrence-related id=510353]

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Lyle Smith Field at Albertsons Stadium, Boise, ID
MAC vs. Mountain West
Spring Projection: Miami University vs. Air Force
Last Season: Ohio 30, Nevada 21

NEXT: 2020-2021 New Year’s Six Bowl Projections, Spring Version, Part 2

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5