Category: Football

Ohio DE Cal Thrush signs with Michigan State football

Cal Thrush, an Ohio defensive lineman, locks in with MSU

Michigan State football has made it a priority to reprioritize recruiting the local states of Michigan and Ohio, something that was neglected by the previous regime. The Spartans added Braylon Collier to the recruiting class earlier this cycle, and they added a second Ohioan to the class.

Cal Thrush, a 3-star defensive lineman from Columbus, and Upper Arlington High School, made the move to commit to Michigan State. He is someone that projects to have the ability to play both inside and outside on the defensive line.

Thrush signed with the Spartans on Wednesday

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MSU football signs 3-star Florida defensive back George Mullins

Florida DB George Mullins inks commitment to MSU

Michigan State football secondary coach Blue Adams has developed a stellar relationship with George Mullins dating back to his days with Oregon State. That relationship carried into Adams tenure with MSU, where the Spartans beat out Illinois, Mississippi State and Oregon State for Mullins commitment.

Now, Mullins has made his move to MSU official, by signing with the Spartans

Mullins is a 6-foot-2, 170 pound defensive back that most likely will translate into the safety position at MSU. He is from Bushnell, Florida, attending South Sumter High School.

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Florida football OL to participate in 100th East-West Shrine Bowl

Gators OL Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson has been invited to the 100th East-West Shrine Bowl this January.

Florida football redshirt senior offensive lineman Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson has officially accepted an invitation to participate in the 100th annual East-West Shrine Bowl.

The announcement came via the Shrine Bowl’s social media page earlier on Wednesday.

Crenshaw-Dickson, a key figure in the Gators’ offensive line, appeared in all 12 games this season. He logged 685 offensive snaps at right tackle and according to Pro Football Focus, had a pass block grade of 81.1 and an offensive grade of 71.6.

The 6x-foot-7-inch, 322-pound offensive lineman also led the Gators in highest PFF offensive grade twice as well as not allowing a sack individually.

His performance this season has not only solidified his reputation as a top-tier protector but also caught the eyes of NFL scouts and analysts.

The Shrine Bowl

The Shrine Bowl, set to be held in January, offers college football’s finest a platform to display their talents in front of a national audience and numerous NFL scouts. The event also supports Shriners Hospitals for Children.

NFL players and legends that have competed in the Shrine Bowl include Tom Brady, Walter Payton, John Elway, Brock Purdy and Zay Flowers.

For many, the Shrine Bowl is a stepping stone to the NFL, and for Crenshaw-Dickson, it represents a chance to further enhance his draft stock and continue the tradition of Gators making the leap to professional ranks.

The 100th playing of the East-West Shrine Bowl will take place on Thursday, Jan. 30 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. eastern and will be broadcast on NFL Network.

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Tar Heels slated to face MAC power in USA TODAY Sports’ latest bowl projections

The UNC football team’s latest bowl projection has it facing off against one of the MAC’s top programs.

Despite all the disappointing results they’ve suffered during the 2024 college football season, the North Carolina Tar Heels will be playing in a bowl game later this month.

UNC won its first three games – beating Minnesota, Charlotte and NC Central – then lost to James Madison, Duke, Pitt and Georgia Tech.

North Carolina won its fourth game at Virginia, fifth at Florida State and then did what seemed impossible during its slide: clinch a bowl game by holding off Wake Forest.

Bowl projections change continuously – and we still don’t know where the Tar Heels will land.

In USA TODAY Sports’ latest projections, though, UNC will face the Ohio Bobcats in Detroit, Michigan at Ford Field in the GameAbove Sports Bowl.

This bowl game was previously known as the Quick Lane Bowl for 10 years, Ironically, North Carolina participated in the first-ever Quick Lane Bowl back in 2014, losing 40-21 to Rutgers.

The Tar Heels, despite their cold stretches in recent years, will be bowling for a sixth-consecutive season. UNC faced West Virginia in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl during 2023, losing 30-10 in Conner Harrell’s first start.

North Carolina’s only bowl victory during its current streak came back in 2019, when it dominated Temple, 55-13, during the Military Bowl. The Tar Heels lost to Texas A&M (41-27) in the 2021 Orange Bowl (2020 regular season), South Carolina (38-21) in the 2021 Duke’s Mayo Bowl and Oregon (28-27) in the 2022 Holiday Bowl.

Though it’s always exciting for your team to play in bowl games, they are essentially glorified exhibitions – unless you’re in the College Football Playoff. UNC lost its past two games, at Boston College then against NC State, so a bowl victory would be the perfect cap to another disappointing season.

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Early Signing Day: Wisconsin officially signs class of 2025’s top recruit from Massachusetts

Early Signing Day: Wisconsin officially signs class of 2025’s No. 1 player from Massachusetts

Wisconsin officially signed all 24 committed members of its class of 2025 on Wednesday.

One headliner of the class is four-star iOL Hardy Watts — arguably the premier lineman committed to the class. To secure a commitment from Watts in early July, Wisconsin beat out other top finalists Michigan and Clemson with an effective late recruiting push.

Watts is one of two four-star offensive lineman commits in Wisconsin’s class of 2025 alongside Arizona native Logan Powell. 247Sports considers the top recruit the No. 248 overall prospect, No. 13 interior offensive lineman and No. 1 player from the state of Massachusetts in his class.

247Sports Hudson Standish considers the 6-foot-6, 290-pound player “a multi-year starter at the high-major level with the potential to become an NFL Draft selection.” Watts can play either tackle or guard for the Badgers, and his ceiling mimics Wisconsin’s 2024 true freshman right tackle Kevin Heywood.

Watts was also named Evergreen League Lineman of the Year on Tuesday for his contributions as a senior at Dexter Southland High School. The team went 8-2 in 2024 and fell to Tabor Academy in a bowl game on Nov. 16.

Wisconsin’s storied history of producing top-notch offensive lineman will play in Watts favor. Given Watt’s talent and UW’s commitment to the position group, he could blossom into a star alongside other 2025 commits soon after he arrives in Madison.

BREAKING: Wisconsin top defensive lineman to enter transfer portal

BREAKING: Wisconsin top defensive lineman to enter transfer portal

The hits keep coming to Wisconsin’s two-deep depth chart. Yet another top contributor entered the transfer portal on Wednesday — top defensive lineman James Thompson Jr.

The veteran is the second key member of Wisconsin’s defensive line to enter the portal, joining Curt Neal. Those two and Trech Kekahuna are the three members of the team’s two-deep who have elected to finish their collegiate careers elsewhere.

Related: Key takeaways from Wisconsin’s early wave of transfer portal losses

Thompson Jr. missed most of the 2024 season with a torn pectoral muscle. He returned for the Badgers’ Week 13 game at Nebraska, then did not play during the finale against Minnesota. He played only seven snaps in the Badgers’ 44-25 rivalry loss to the Cornhuskers and did not record any statistics.

The veteran figured to lead the Badgers’ defensive line room before his training camp injury. He was among the team’s best at the position in 2023, recording 29 tackles, six tackles for loss, three sacks and two pass deflections. His loss was a significant one for a defense that struggled up front for the latter portion of the season.

Thompson Jr. and Neal follow in the footsteps of Rodas Johnson and Gio Paez, two defensive linemen who transferred from the program after the 2023 season. Johnson and Paez landed at Texas A&M and LSU, respectively, though neither had a breakthrough 2024 season with their new school.

Wisconsin has a glaring portal need at defensive line with those two top contributors gone to the portal, and with veteran Elijah Hills out of eligibility. Cade McDonald and Ben Barten each may have one year remaining, but both walked during the program’s senior day. It’s possible that every contributor from the room in 2024 is gone off the 2025 roster.

While the program officially signed an impressive high school recruiting class on Tuesday, the bigger story is the departing talent.

For more on that departing talent, bookmark our 2024 transfer portal tracker.

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Auburn officially signs four-star cornerback Donovan Starr

Auburn finished National Signing Day by securing another great prospect

The Auburn Tigers coaching staff finished National Signing Day on an extremely positive note on Wednesday evening. One of the premier defensive members of the class, consensus top 20 2025 cornerback Donovan Starr, stayed true to his commitment by signing his national letter of intent with Auburn towards the end of signing day.

Starr’s signing was important for a variety of reasons, one of which being the fact Auburn was unable to flip fellow cornerback Na’eem Offord from Oregon despite the staff’s best efforts. Starr, who ranks as the No. 1 prospect from the state of Tennessee, was reportedly considering a flip as well before he put pen to paper.

With the 6-foot, 176-pound star now signed, Auburn’s 2025 recruiting class is likely to finish among the top five or six classes in the country. Starr was the 24th player to join the 2025 Auburn class. He was also the fourteenth recruit to join the class that had a four-star or better ranking.

Starr, along with the rest of his new Tigers teammates, will look to help turn around an Auburn program that missed only it’s second bowl game since 2012 after a disappointing season this fall. With plenty of youth throughout the defensive backfield, the No. 1 prospect from the Volunteer State should have every chance to lend his talents to defensive coordinator DJ Durkin on game days in 2025.

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Report: Terrance Knighton joining Florida State coaching staff

Terrance Knighton will be joining the Florida State coaching staff

Nebraska defensive line coach Terrance Knighton is leaving to take the same position at Florida State. This was reported by On3’s Sean Callahan. Knighton confirmed the news himself with a goodbye tweet to Huskers fans.

Knighton was part of Matt Rhule’s initial staff when the latter took the head coach position in 2022. He quickly was able to establish his style on the Huskers defensive line. The defensive line enjoyed tremendous success, as they had a top-15 rush defense nationally.

Knighton’s departure did not have any instant ramifications on the 2025 recruiting class. Knighton recruited the likes of Tyson Terry, Kade Pietrzak, and Malcolm Simpson. All three signed their letter of intent to play in Lincoln on Wednesday.

It will be interesting to see who replaces Knighton. The position itself has a ton of talent at its disposal for the future. In terms of player personnel, there will be several holes to fill on the line. Losing Knighton will certainly be a challenge for a Huskers defensive line that has to start over.

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Signed: Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng signs with Michigan football

BOOM! It’s done! #GoBlue

Ratings

* Ovr Pos St
247Sports Composite 4 299 21 11
On3 Industry Ranking 4 188 19 25
247Sports 4 – 27 28
On3 3 – 39 57
ESPN 4 81 8 13
Rivals 5 28 2 7

Vitals

Hometown Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy
Projected Position Linebacker
Height 6-foot-1
Weight 205-pounds

Recruiting Story

Owusu-Boateng was arguably Michigan football’s top choice on the defensive side of the ball, but with his brother having played at Notre Dame, it was an uphill climb. Still, he was considering the Wolverines, ND, Ohio State, and USC before Texas and Colorado made late pushes. It came down to the Wolverines and Colorado, but he pulled the trigger on signing day for the maize and blue.

Readiness Level

Likely a year-two contributor due to the depth ahead of him.

Notes

  • Committed Dec. 4, 2024
  • Already had two IMG Academy teammates committed (Kaden Strayhorn and Donovan Johnson)

Scouting report

The scouting report from 247Sports’ Andrew Ivins:

Speed-and-space linebacker that can hawk down ball carriers and spy quarterbacks. Tips the scales at just over 6-foot, 200 pounds and appears to still have some growth potential with his lean, muscular build. Started prep career off in the DMV before arriving at IMG Academy where he emerged as a team leader in advance of senior season. At his best in chase mode, but has shown over the years that he’s willing to attack blockers or play around them. Tends to strike opponents when the opportunity presents itself. Has proven to be rather effective against the pass as he’s athletic and agile enough to mirror tight ends underneath or down the seam. Should be viewed as a potential impact player at the Power Four level. Might lack the payload at this stage to hold up against a true down-hill run game, but sideline-to-sideline range could lead to plenty of success on Saturdays.

Film

Original commitment story

Michigan football gets commitment top defensive target in 2025

Photos

USC flips 4-star recruit from Colorado, turns tables on Deion Sanders

USC is making offseason waves with an early signing period splash, taking a player away from Deion Sanders and Colorado. Not bad at all.

In recent weeks, the USC Trojans have struggled in recruiting, losing some top commits. Whether due to the letdown of a season, finishing 6-6 overall and 4-5 in its first their first season in the Big Ten, or a lack of faith in head coach Lincoln Riley, the Trojan program has been losing recruits in flips. One of the top recruits lost was 5-star quarterback Julian Lewis, who decommitted from USC football and committed to Colorado under head coach Deion Sanders. However, on Wednesday, the tide began to turn.

Eric Henderson landed five-star defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart. That got the train rolling. Then came another bright spot, and a recruit who has risen for the Trojans. The experts pointed to this before the start of the early signing period: Allen Trieu of 247Sports recently reported that 4-star cornerback/safety Alex Graham was all but certain to decommit from Colorado and commit to the Trojans.

That’s exactly what happened on Wednesday, as USC gained a player Deion Sanders couldn’t retain.

Graham is a 6-foot-1 Detroit product. He is the 4th-best player in Michigan and 34th-best cornerback in the class, per 247Sports.

The flip marks an early offseason win for defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn and secondary coach Doug Belk, who are both entering their first full offseason in their respective positions.

The fact that this defensive staff is getting work done in its first full offseason is a great sign for the future of the USC defense.