Marcus Tatum to transfer from Tennessee

Marcus Tatum to transfer from Tennessee.

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee redshirt junior offensive lineman Marcus Tatum has announced that he will transfer from UT.

Tatum has appeared in 29 games since 2016.

“I appreciate all the support and love that I have always received at this great institution,” Tatum said.

“I would like to thank the current staff for coming in and truly helping us become not just better players but also better men,” he continued. “I will always be a VFL, but it is time for me to move on in my career and pursue different opportunities for myself as a person and as a player as a graduate transfer. There is no bad blood, and nothing bad between me and the coaches. It has been a mutual situation, and they have been great in helping me every step of the way. They want what is best for me just as much as I do.”

The most controversial officiating moments of 2019

The Rams-Saints, the World Series, Stanley Cup playoffs and NBA all saw plenty of controversy in 2019.

Plenty of controversy in sports in 2019. Unfortunately for officials, they were under the spotlight numerous times for calls that were not made or were considered highly questionable. It’s a tough job but some folks have to do it.

The non-PI call that changed football

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Officials are best off not seen and not heard. The calendar year 2019 opened with a play that resounds now and likely forever. With 1:49 left in the fourth quarter and the Saints at the Rams’ 13-yard line in the NFC Championship Game, Drew Brees threw a pass in Tommylee Lewis’ direction down the right sideline. Nickell Robey-Coleman came over and clobbered Lewis before the ball got there, clearly interfering with him. No flag. It was one of a few calls Bill Vinovich’s crew missed in the game …

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The Eli Manning farewell tour is the perfect way to end this Giants season

Eli’s back!

Of course Eli Manning is back.

That’s the kind of season it’s been for the New York Giants. And now, with rookie QB Daniel Jones suffering what head coach Pat Shurmur deemed a “moderate high ankle sprain,” Manning — who was rightfully benched after too much checking down and some questionable arm strength, along with the fact that the Giants had spent a 2019 first-round pick on his replacement — will likely start, perhaps for the rest of the year.

It’s the footnote on a disaster of a year for Big Blue. After some magic from Jones in his first couple of starts (and Manning was all class throughout), there was Saquon Barkley returning from an ankle injury and not looking the same. There was the Jets fleecing the Giants with the Leonard Williams trade. The black cat invasion that made for a good punchline. And we haven’t even mentioned a defense that gives up big play after big play with a struggling secondary. There are calls for Pat Shurmur to be fired (and speculation about whether Dave Gettelman will hire his old Panthers pal Ron Rivera).

I figured Manning would play a series or two against the Eagles in the fourth quarter of their Week 17 matchup at MetLife Stadium, and that would be his presumed farewell that would end with the standing ovation he absolutely deserves. The storybook ending for a storied career, even if it didn’t land him in Canton.

But now — presuming the Giants do the smart thing and shut Jones down for the season — there will be Eli Face memes and jokes and “OMG did you see that dying duck throw that he tossed for an interception” tweets. It’s not the best way for Manning to finish his Giants career, but that’s likely what will happen in his quest to finish his career over .500:

There is a what if, one that would have the NFL world going nuts if he exploded in what could be his final games in the only uniform he’s worn in the league. What if he torches the very suspect Eagles secondary twice, takes it to the Redskins and throws for 350 yards against the Dolphins, who have a bottom-10 passing defense?

Would Tom Coughlin figure out a way to get rid of Nick Foles’ gargantuan contract to hand the backup QB keys to Manning? Would another team looking for a stopgap quarterback sign him in the hopes he could make some starts while a rookie waits in the wings?

Doubtful. Given the way things were going for the franchise and for Manning, it doesn’t seem likely he’ll find his inner 2012 Eli and flourish.

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Recapping Wisconsin’s latest moves on the recruiting trail

Looking to add to its 2021 recruiting class, Wisconsin extended scholarship offers to a trio of prospects near the end of November.

Looking to add to its 2021 recruiting class, Wisconsin extended scholarship offers to a trio of prospects near the end of November in the days leading up to the matchup with Purdue in Madison.

The first recruit to take to Twitter and announce his offer from the Badgers was strong-side defensive end Cade Denhoff out of Lakeland, Fla.

According to the 247Sports composite, Denhoff is a 4-star prospect and ranks as the nation’s No. 136 overall player. As you might expect, the 6-4, 225-pound defensive end has already compiled a pretty impressive list of suitors.

In fact, if you name one of the “blue blood” programs in college football, odds are Denhoff holds an offer from it: Alabama, Clemson, LSU, Ohio State, Penn State, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, and Notre Dame are all involved in this recruitment, as are Nebraska, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Iowa State, Louisville, Miami, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Carolina, UCF, Vanderbilt and West Virginia, among others.

Given the incredibly stiff competition and how late Wisconsin is to the party here, Badger fans probably shouldn’t get their hopes up that Bucky will emerge as a major player for Denhoff. Of the three players mentioned in this piece, he’s probably the least likely to end up in Madison.

A guy the Badgers could have a slightly better shot at is Ewa Beach, Hawaii wide receiver Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, who made his Wisconsin offer public the day after Denhoff.

247Sports ranks Mokiao-Atimalala as a 3-star prospect and the No. 388 overall player in the country. The 6-0, 165-pound wideout’s recruitment is much smaller than Denhoff’s at the moment, there are a few heavy hitters that are involved. Michigan, Nebraska and Notre Dame have all extended offers, as have California, Hawaii, Oregon State and Utah.

It’s possible that Wisconsin could become a top contender for Mokiao-Atimalala, but it will likely be a tall task. The Badgers have only landed three players out of Hawaii in the online rankings era: safety James Kamoku in the class of 2003, offensive lineman Micah Kapoi in 2014 and, most recently, linebacker Nick Herbig in the class of 2020. Additionally, it’s worth noting that Mokiao-Atimalala has family ties to two of Wisconsin’s competitors for his services, as his brother is committed to Hawaii in 2020 and his cousin is currently a sophomore on the Oregon State roster.

That being said, perhaps defensive line coach Inoke Breckterfield, a Hawaii native and the lead recruiter for both Herbig and Mokiao-Atimalala, can work his magic for the second recruiting cycle in a row and deliver a player from the Aloha State to Wisconsin.

The latest player in the class of 2021 to announce an offer from the Badgers is Los Lunas, N.M. defensive end Tyler Kiehne.

 

Though it is still pretty early in the 2021 recruiting cycle and his recruitment will surely expand as we move forward, at the moment, Kiehne is probably the most obtainable prospect for Wisconsin of the three mentioned here. The Badgers are among the first programs to get their foot in the door in this one, and are by far the best offer on the table at this point, at least in terms of program prestige: his only schools who have officially thrown their hats in the ring are New Mexico, Toledo and Washington State.

However, as far as I can tell, Wisconsin has never landed a recruit from New Mexico in the online rankings era. In fact, dating back to 2001, it appears as though the Badgers haven’t even offered a player from the state until Kiehne, so the 6-3, 255-pounder would be a pioneer in this regard if he ultimately settles on Wisconsin.

247Sports ranks Kiehne has a 3-star prospect and the No. 762 overall player nationally.

The Badgers currently have five players committed in the 2021 class: 4-star offensive tackles JP Benzschawel (Grafton, Wis.) and Riley Mahlman (Lakeville, Minn.), 3-star running backs Jackson Acker (Verona, Wis.) and Loyal Crawford (Eau Claire, Wis.) and 3-star quarterback Deacon Hill (Santa Barbara, Calif.)

‘Duck’ Hodges to start at QB for Steelers vs. Cardinals

Mike Tomlin likes what he has seen from the rookie QB on the road in a small sample size.

The Arizona Cardinals will face a rookie quarterback for only the second time this season when they face the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend. Head coach Mike Tomlin announced Tuesday that Devlin “Duck” Hodges would be the starter against the Cardinals.

Hodges is an undrafted rookie out of Samford. He is 2-0 as a starter and led the Steelers to a third win when he replaced Mason Rudolph in the second half of their game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Tomlin has liked what he has seen from Hodges, especially on the road, although he recognizes his lack of experience.

“Duck will be our quarterback again this week,” he told reporters Tuesday. “He’s performed well in hostile environments but he just doesn’t have a big sample size. I like what I saw in L.A. I like what I saw in the second half in Cincinnati but he’s moving to his seventh quarter of road work.”

He was 14-of-21 passing for 212 yards, one touchdown and an interception on Sunday at home against the Cleveland Browns in a 20-13 win.

In his first NFL start, he led the Steelers to a 24-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on the road. He was 15-for-20 for 132 yards, one touchdown and one pick. In the second half in Cincinnati he completed 5-of-11 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown.

The Cardinals have the league’s worst pass defense and have allowed over 300 passing yards in six of the last seven games and over 400 in their last two.

However, they only allowed 156 total passing yards to New York Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, the only game in the last seven they didn’t allow over 300 yards.

Hodges has been capable and has made big throws when he has needed to.

Pittsburgh will lean on their running game and defense to limit what he has to do.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

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Colorado’s newest football recruit is an uber-athlete named Mister Williams. Yes, Mister.

The newest member of Colorado’s recruiting Class of 2020 has a unique name and the skills to go with it, all from the toniest part of Los Angeles.

What’s in a name? If there’s something to it, Colorado fans have to be excited about the Buffaloes’ latest football recruit.

On Tuesday, three-star California linebacker Mister Williams committed to Colorado. The Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.) star picked the Buffs ahead of scholarship offers from in-state California, Kansas State, LSU, Nebraska and more.

A dynamic 6-foot, 218-pound athlete, Williams is the kind of player who could have a larger influence than his recruiting ranking, and sooner than some might expect, particularly because of the top end speed he has honed as a star running back on the offensive side of the ball for Oaks Christian.

The most intriguing part of Williams’ commitment, besides his name? He’s an LSU legacy (his father Bruce was a linebacker for the Tigers) who picked Colorado ahead of a return to the Bayou.

As for that name, Williams told the Los Angeles Times that his father named him Mister so that others would always have to respect his name, though it does often present interesting fodder for the first day of school.

“Teachers who first see my name, they say, ‘Mister? That’s a very unique name.’ Or they’ll be like, ‘Oh, give me your real name.’ I’m like, ‘That is my real name, madam,’ ” Williams told the Times.

Stephon Gilmore jokes that playing WR doesn’t look that hard

Stephon Gilmore seems open to a position change.

New England Patriots top cornerback Stephon Gilmore seems open to a position change. He’s arguably playing like the best cornerback in the NFL, which means he’s making life difficult for receivers. Still, he playfully told 98.5 The Sports Hub that he doesn’t think receiver looks that hard to play.

Gilmore has played quarterback in high school and converted to cornerback in college. He’s never played receiver. But he said if coach Bill Belichick asked him to play receiver, he’d “do what’s best for the team.”

Before fans get too excited, I’ll say it: there’s no way Gilmore is converting to receiver. They like him where he is as a shutdown corner.

Even though the Patriots are in a tough situation at receiver and tight end, they are not going move Gilmore away from his natural position, where he has been outstanding. It is a funny concept to consider. Gilmore has four interceptions, and is running routes as well or better than the receivers he is covering. For example, Gilmore had more receptions (an interception) than Amari Cooper (2 targets, 0 catches) in their Week 12 matchup.

This is the time of year to tinker with a top cornerback. But during 2020 training camp, maybe they should give it a spin.

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Admiral Schofield made some history in the G League and NBA on Tuesday

Admiral Schofield logged overtime on Tuesday after playing for the Capital City Go-Go in the G League and the Washington Wizards in the NBA.

Admiral Schofield logged some overtime on Tuesday after the rookie played for the Capital City Go-Go in the G League and the Washington Wizards in the NBA.

The second-round pick got his day started off at 11:30 a.m. by recording 12 points, five rebounds and three assists in 38 minutes for the Go-Go. By night time, Schofield logged seven minutes for the Wizards, tallying one rebound off of the bench.

The two games by Schofield marked the 39th time that a player has suited up in the NBA and G League on the same day and it was the first time in Wizards history. Schofield was the first player this season to pull double duty in the same day.

Oddly enough, both games were against the Magic — Lakeland and Orlando.

Schofield has spent much of the season with the Go-Go but with injuries to several frontcourt players, the Wizards activated the rookie ahead of the matchup against the Magic. The appearance by Schofield was just his seventh of the season and first since Nov. 24.

In 10 G League games this season, Schofield is averaging 15.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. His best game happened on Nov. 17 when he recorded a career-high 24 points and six rebounds in a loss against the Wisconsin Herd.

The Go-Go play next on Friday while the Wizards play next on Thursday, though it isn’t clear which team will need him first…

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