Category: Football

Dan Lanning offers update on Oregon Director of Player Personnel Don Johnson’s health

Dan Lanning offered an update on Don Johnson’s health after the medical emergency suffered by the Oregon coach last week.

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The Oregon Ducks football program received a scare last week with Don Johnson, the Director of Player Personnel reportedly suffering a serious medical emergency that landed him in the hospital.

While there have not been any confirmed reports about the medical issue that he is dealing with, nor the severity of the issue, Oregon coach Dan Lanning took to social media last week to offer his thoughts and prayers for Johnson, who is battling through.

During Thursday’s media availability with Coach Lanning following Oregon’s first spring practice of the year, I asked the new coach if there were any updates on the situation that he could offer. Expectedly so, Lanning was unable to divulge into details, but said that there is no “new news” and he continues to hope and pray for his colleague.

As the Ducks continue to roll through spring camp and enjoy one of their biggest recruiting weekends of the year over the coming days, we will keep an eye on Johnson’s health and hope that he can get back onto his feet and return to the team in the future.

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Georgia extends offer to 14 year-old Tyler Atkinson

Georgia offers eighth-grader Tyler Atkinson.

Can you imagine being a 14-year-old in the eighth grade and receiving a scholarship offer from the home-state, national championship-winning Georgia Bulldogs?

Edge rusher Tyler Atkinson does not have to imagine that any longer. Earlier this week it became his reality.

A 6-foot-3, 190-pound rising freshman at Grayson High School, Atkinson was born on New Year’s Day in 2008.

A star at the UA Next Eighth-Grade All-American Game in January, Georgia Tech actually beat the Bulldogs to the punch, offering Atkinson a scholarship last month.

Just how good is Atkinson? Check out this film of him competing against 2024 five-star offensive tackle Daniel Calhoun of Roswell, Georgia. Calhoun stands at 6-foot-5, 330 pounds. Now, it is worth noting the speed advantage that Atkinson holds here, but it’s incredibly impressive nonetheless.

Atkinson visited Athens for the Charleston Southern game last season. Before that he attended camp in Athens over the summer.

A 3.5 GPA and bench pressing 310 pounds, can you really blame Kirby Smart for pulling the trigger and offering a 14 year old as impressive as Atkinson.

A few takeaways from Oregon’s first spring practice in the Dan Lanning era

Media members were only allowed to watch for 15-20 minutes, but that was enough to give us a few takeaways from Oregon’s first spring practice.

For the first time since he was hired back in December of 2021, media members got to see Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning in action with his players on the field. Thursday marked the first day of spring football in Eugene.

Of course, media members only got to watch practice for about 20 minutes, and a good portion of that time was occupied with warm-ups and stretching. However, players eventually broke out into position drills and we got to see a bit of where some guys are lining up, how they look after an offseason away from the spotlight, and who is taking reps with who.

Here are some initial takeaways from the first day of spring ball:

What Texas needs to improve upon the most during spring ball

Texas’ defense was among the nation’s worst in 2021.

When a team goes 5-7 it is fair to say that everything needs to be improved upon going into the next season.

However, that doesn’t mean one aspect of the team struggled more than the other, and that applies perfectly to Texas’ defense. Now granted it was the third defensive scheme change in three years, but that is still no excuse for the way the Longhorns were absolutely gashed by every opposing running back.

247Sports addressed the area that each Big 12 team needed to improve upon the most during the spring, and Texas’ defensive side of the ball was the recipient of that not so prestigious declaration.

Here is what Taylor Estes of 247Sports said about the Texas’ defense:

Texas’ first season under Steve Sarkisian was brutal and left a lot to be desired. A big reason for those struggles was the defensive side of the ball. The Longhorns ranked 99th in the country in scoring defense, giving up 31.08 points per game and 100th in total defense, giving up 425.6 yards per game. If the Longhorns want to have a shot, they need to fix their defense in a bad way.

After finishing with a 5-7 record in 2021, there’s no denying Texas has plenty to improve upon entering Year 2 of the Steve Sarkisian era, and it starts with the defense. The Longhorns finished Sarkisian’s first season with one of the worst defenses in school history, and there really wasn’t just one position deserving of the blame for the poor performances. Whether it was the lack of pass-rush, giving up way too many big plays against the run, especially in the second half of games, the defense as a whole was a huge problem for Texas last year and needs to improve at every position this spring.

Whether the improvements come from players plucked out of the transfer portal, or recruits that the Longhorns brought in as apart of the No. 5 class they assembled, Texas needs to see improvement on this side of the ball or people will lose jobs.

With Renfrow back in Clemson, ‘it’s like the Olympics at the Swinney house’

Former Clemson star and current Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Hunter Renfrow is back in Tiger Town, and he’s been hanging out at Dabo Swinney’s house this week. The Tigers’ head coach said after Wednesday’s practice that Renfrow, his wife and …

Former Clemson star and current Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Hunter Renfrow is back in Tiger Town, and he’s been hanging out at Dabo Swinney’s house this week.

The Tigers’ head coach said after Wednesday’s practice that Renfrow, his wife and their baby daughter have been staying at Swinney’s house since Sunday and joked that with Renfrow around, it’s like the Olympics are going on at his home.

“He’s staying in my basement,” Swinney said. “He and (his wife, Camilla) and baby Collins have been in my basement since Sunday. So, they’re hanging out with us. We played basketball till 11 o’clock the other night. For the record, me and Dillon, one of the guys, took he and Will (Swinney) down — just for the record, two-on-two, that is an absolute fact. He wasn’t real happy about that.

“So, it’s like the Olympics at the Swinney house every day right now. When Renfrow’s in town, it’s always some type of competition — cards, whatever it is, egg toss, there’s something going on.”

Swinney said Renfrow, who earned his first Pro Bowl selection last season, spoke to the Clemson football team on Wednesday and that Raiders quarterback Derek Carr will be coming to visit Clemson with Renfrow in a few days.

“It’s been great to see him and spend some time with him,” Swinney said of Renfrow. “He spoke to the team, actually, (Wednesday). Came to practice Monday, came to practice Wednesday, said a few words to the guys (Wednesday). I think he’s going to down to Disney tomorrow for a couple days. He’s going to come back here Sunday, Monday. I think his quarterback, Carr, is coming in maybe Sunday to spend the day in Clemson. So, always good to see those guys.”

–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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Crystal ball entered in favor of Texas for four-star DL Avion Carter

One of the top defensive lineman in the state of Texas for the 2023 class.

Texas is still looking to find some momentum with the 2023 recruiting class. Continue reading “Crystal ball entered in favor of Texas for four-star DL Avion Carter”

ESPN tabs Texas’ quarterback situation as one of the best over the next three seasons

The future is bright for Texas’ quarterback room.

Texas is still searching for consistency at the quarterback position following the departure of Sam Ehlinger. Continue reading “ESPN tabs Texas’ quarterback situation as one of the best over the next three seasons”

Report: Georgia QB JT Daniels on visit to Pac-12 school, two other programs in mix

Per reports, JT Daniels is on a visit to a Pac-12 school, with two other programs in the mix as well.

Per a report from Pete Thamel of ESPN, Georgia quarterback JT Daniels is currently on a visit out West.

Thamel reports that Daniels is visiting Oregon State. He additionally notes that Missouri and West Virginia are also in the mix.

Daniels entered the transfer portal shortly after Georgia won the national championship in January.

Daniels, who transferred to UGA from USC two years ago, is expected to graduate from Georgia this spring before enrolling at his new university.

 

Daniels started multiple games for Georgia in 2020 and was expected to be the starting quarterback for Georgia’s 2021 season.

Daniels started against Clemson and made another start against South Carolina. He was diagnosed with a strained oblique muscle, propelling Stetson Bennett into the starting spot.

Daniels was the nation’s No. 2 ranked recruit in the class of 2018 and enrolled at USC before transferring to UGA in May of 2020.

Daniels was 7-0 as Georgia’s starting quarterback, including both 2020 and 2021.

Swinney raves about ‘unbelievable’ Ngata

Following the team’s fifth spring practice, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney had high praise for his wide receiver room. While he highlighted multiple receivers during Wednesday’s media availability, including Brannon Spector, Beaux Collins and Adam …

Following the team’s fifth spring practice, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney had high praise for his wide receiver room.

While he highlighted multiple receivers during Wednesday’s media availability, including Brannon Spector, Beaux Collins and Adam Randall, it was senior wideout Joseph Ngata, who Swinney couldn’t stop gushing over.

This has become a common occurrence for Ngata, who is arguably Clemson’s most complete receiver. The problem is, he hasn’t been able to stay healthy and that’s why his head coach almost holds his breath or knocks on wood, whenever he utters his name.

“I feel like I say this every year,” Swinney said, “but the guy — I’m almost afraid to say his name — Ngata, he’s been unbelievable. I mean, he looks like a pro. He’s practicing like a pro. He’s making plays like a pro. He just looks amazing.”

It’s not just Swinney who feels that way. 

Clemson has opened three of its spring practices to the media and during individual and tempo drills, Ngata is the most physically imposing receiver on the field, but he’s also the most dynamic. That’s not a knock on his counterparts either.

Ngata is coming off a career season, in which he caught 23 passes for 438 yards and a touchdown over 425 snaps in nine games (eight starts). His season, of course, was cut short, after he suffered a foot injury against Louisville on Nov. 6, 2021.

He returned for Clemson’s bowl win over Iowa State over a month later but wasn’t the same dominant force he had been previously.

Now all healed up, Ngata is starting to look like his old self again.

Hopefully.it’ll be that way when we get there in the fall because he’s just so talented and these last two years have been really difficult,” Swinney said. “So, it’s a lot of fun to really see him. He’s got a smile on his face. He’s got a great energy to him. He’s got a sense of urgency to him that I love. He’s just outstanding.”

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Autzen Stadium projected as one of NCAA’s toughest environments to play in 2022 season

There’s a reason Dan Lanning wants recruits to come and see the Oregon Spring Game; when Autzen Stadium is rocking, there’s nothing quite like it.

There’s a reason that Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning has been making such a push to get some of the top recruits in the nation to Eugene for the spring game in April. He wants them to see what the competitive environment can be like, and feel the energy of a gameday in Eugene.

Because when Autzen Stadium is rocking, there are few places in the college football world that can match it.

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That’s not just the opinion of a lifelong Duck and Oregon alumni, but one shared by 247Sports as well. They recently went through to ranks and projected the top 10 “most terrifying places to play” in 2022, and made sure to make mention of Eugene, saying in particular that when the Utah Utes come to town on November 19, there is going to be some vitriol in the stands as fans are searching for some vengeance.

It’s difficult to simulate the rowdiest environment in the Pac-12. Opposing teams can pump in crowd noise all they want at practice, but Autzen Stadium is one of those venues you have to experience up close to really feel the sound traveling from over top of you down to the field level. Because of the stadium’s strange design, the volume seems to be turned up a notch and rarely escapes. You’re not going to find a bigger game out West this season than the Ducks’ matchup with defending league champ Utah at home on Nov. 19. That’s a potential College GameDay setting and Oregon’s fan base will be ready.

After losing to the Utes both in the regular season and Pac-12 championship game last season, the Ducks will certainly be looking to make amends for their past shortcomings. The fact that they get Utah at home this year will help, and the stakes are likely to be high, with both teams potentially in the running for another meeting in the Pac-12 title game.

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