Tag: 247 Sports

Two Ducks make CBS Sports preseason All-American list

Quarterback Dillon Gabriel and receiver Tez Johnson make the Second Team All-American list from CBS Sports.

Oregon has two weeks left to prepare for the 2024 season and more specifically, the Idaho Vandals for the August 31 date at Autzen Stadium.

But that doesn’t stop some Ducks from being named to preseason honor lists.

In the latest All-American lists from CBS Sports with 247 Sports, quarterback Dillon Gabriel and receiver Tez Johnson were named to their All-American Second Team.

On the whole, the Big Ten had seven players make their First Team with 16 players named overall, which included offense, defense, and specialists.

The SEC led the way in First Team selections with 12. Combined, the SEC and Big Ten accounted for 37 of 54 total picks (68.5 percent). Ten SEC teams and six Big Ten programs are represented on the overall 2024 CBS Sports Preseason All-America team.

The last two national champions, Georgia and Michigan, led all teams with three First-Team selections each.

Ohio State enters the season with the Preseason Coach of the Year in Ryan Day and Freshman of the Year in wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.

Ohio State and Oregon begin the season as the No. 2 and 3 teams, respectively, in the country, and the two teams will clash at Autzen Stadium Oct. 12.

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Report: Four-star athlete Brandon Finney commits to Oregon

One of the top athletes in the Class off 2025, Brandon Finney out of Maryland, has chosen the Ducks over Penn State and Ohio State.

The Class of 2025 for the Oregon Ducks football program is getting stronger and stronger as the summer goes on.

According to a report from On3.com, the Ducks just received a huge commitment from 4-star athlete/defensive back Brandon Finney. Whether Finney remains in the secondary is still unanswered, but Oregon has plenty of time to make that kind of decision.

Finney is from Owings Mills, Maryland, and is considered the No. 4 prospect in that state, according to 247sports.com. He’s 6-foot-2 and weighs 185 pounds. Finney is the No. 25 corner in the country and has a composite score of 0.9221.

He had plenty of options before choosing the Ducks. Finney had offers from such schools as Penn State, Ohio State, and South Carolina.

4-star WR sets commitment date, puts Ducks among top schools

4-star receiver Chris Lawson has set his commitment announcement date with Oregon as a finalist.

Slowly, but surely, the Oregon football program is becoming Receiver U.

The Ducks have one of the most talented receivers rooms in the country and head coach Dan Lanning is looking to add on.

According to writer Brandon Huffman and 247Sports.com, four-star receiver Chris Lawson has set his announcement date and where he will be beginning his college career for July 7.

Oregon is one of the three schools that made the finals for Lawson’s services along with Washington and California. He’s out of San Francisco and Archbishop Riordan High.

On 247sports, they rate the 6-foot-1, 175-pound Lawson with a composite of 0.9138, a 90 rating, the No. 29 receiver in the country, and the No. 22 player in the state of California for the Class of 2025.

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Alabama QB Jalen Milroe ranks as third-biggest gunslinger in college football

Alabama QB Jalen Milroe ranked as the No. 3 “gunslinger” in CFB by 247 Sports

Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe lit the world on fire last year with his electrifying speed and ability to make anyone miss in the open field. However, the part of Milroe’s game that people forget to account for is the fact that he is an absolute gunslinger.

Describing a big time throw can be difficult, but PFF defines it as a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window. To determine the rankings, 247 Sports sorted the Power Four QB’s by minimum by big-time throws with a minimum average depth of target of 10 yards to determine the rankings.

After all calculations, 247 Sports ranked Milroe as the No. 3 gunslinger in college football heading into 2024 saying,

“Milroe benefitted from having the longest time to throw (3.44s) in the SEC last season and ripped 27 big time throw at Alabama last season despite having the fourth-fewest attempts on any player on this list (285). After a brief benching following a loss to Texas, Milroe responded with improvements as a passer and won 10 straight starts prior to the Rose Bowl. He finished with 2,834 yards passing and 23 touchdowns to go along with 531 yards rushing and 12 scores. New Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said Milroe ‘grew leaps and bounds’ during spring practice.”

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football news as the 2024 college football offseason progresses.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

4-star linebacker Gavin Nix plans for his official visit to Oregon

4-star linebacker Gavin Nix has set his Oregon official date for June 14.

Oregon’s nationwide recruiting efforts keep going at full throttle as four-star linebacker Gavin Nix is seriously thinking about coming to Eugene to play football.

The 6-foot, 225-pounder from Bradenton, Flor. has set his official visit date to Oregon for June 14. He has two other official visit dates set as well. Nix will look at Miami on June 7 and Florida State June 21.

It would be quite the get for the Ducks as Nix is the 11th-rated linebacker in the country and the 15th overall player in the state of Florida. Oregon seems to be in the battle a lot recently with Miami and Florida State for coaches as well as players.

Playing in the Big Ten could help in recruiting kids such as this as the Ducks will be playing closer to the East Coast more often.

Florida and Miami are also in on Nix.

Ohio State receives crystal ball prediction for 2025 four-star running back

We’ll keep an eye on this one! #GoBucks

The 2025 recruiting cycle will be the first for Ohio State with new running back coach Carlos Locklyn who was hired away from Oregon to replace Tony Alford.

Ohio State has put out offers to 16 running backs in the class thus far. The Buckeyes appear to be off to a good start in the recruitment of Jordon Davison as two 247 Sports experts have logged crystal ball predictions to land the talented running back.

The 5-foot-11, 220 pound running back plays for Mater Dei high school in California where he’s rushed for 2,364 yards and 31 touchdowns in his career so far.

He is rated as a four-star recruit by On3, 247Sports, and ESPN, and a five-star recruit by Rivals.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Evan Bachman on X.

Redshirt freshman corner Collin Gill enters the transfer portal

Redshirt freshman corner Collin Gill enters the transfer portal in hopes of finding playing time elsewhere.

The room holding defensive backs in the Oregon Ducks football room is quite full and oozing with talent.

That room got a little lighter.

Redshirt freshman corner Collin Gill, out of the Class of 2023, has decided to leave Eugene in hopes for more playing time elsewhere.

The consensus three-star prospect was rated a top-10 player in Washington D.C. and was the No. 5 recruit in D.C. according to 247Sports and Rivals. Gill was also rated as the sixth-overall prospect in D.C. in the 247Sports composite and the eighth-ranked by ESPN. He was ranked as a top-two player at his position in Washington D.C.

Gill never played in a game at Oregon.

Report: Ducks add Matt Lombardi as analyst to football program

Report: The Oregon football program is expected to hire Matt Lombardi as an analyst.

According to Matt Zenitz of 247sports.com, the Oregon Ducks football program is expected to hire Matt Lombardi as an analyst.

Ever since Dan Lanning arrived in Eugene, he has transformed the football staff to look more and more like a professional organization and the hiring of Lombardi is another step in that direction.

The newest member of the Duck football staff is coming most recently from the Las Vegas Raiders and he has experience with the Carolina Panthers. With the Raiders, Lombardi was an offensive assistant and an assistant receivers coach.

A bonus is that he worked with current offensive coordinator Will Stein when the two were at Louisville.

Oklahoma offers one of nation’s top 2026 defensive backs in Justice Fitzpatrick

Oklahoma offered five-star 2026 prospect Justice Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick is the younger brother of NFL star Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Oklahoma has been on an offer spree in January, and it’s very apparent the Sooners are attempting to build their recruiting board for 2025 while also starting to piece together their board for the 2026 class.

While the class of 2025 is the next up, relationships start years before they become seniors, which rings true as the Sooners’ offer 2026 five-star defensive back Justice Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick is already a composite five-star across the primary recruiting services and is ranked in the top 30 on most recruiting websites.

He stands six feet tall now and showcases a level of feel and understanding for football beyond his years. He’s played both cornerback and safety in his two years at the high school level. He is also a track participant and is the brother of one of the best defensive backs in the NFL, Minkah Fitzpatrick.

He is already a state title winner at St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the most well-known football programs in the country. Alabama, his brother’s alma mater, has yet to offer, but some heavy hitters, including Oklahoma, have entered the pursuit for the talented and versatile defensive back.

Justice Fitzpatrick’s Recruiting Profile

HUDL

Where Clemson’s 2024 recruiting class ranks after finalized Top247

Here is a look at where Clemson’s 2024 recruiting class ranks following 247Sports finalized Top247 rankings.

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson coaching staff have continually done an excellent job recruiting, and that didn’t change with the Tigers’ 2024 recruiting class.

While other programs build their teams through the transfer portal and recruiting, it is ALL recruiting for Clemson, which makes hitting on these recruits that much more essential. Luckily for Clemson fans, Swinney and his guys know how to recruit. 

247Spors recently updated their Top 25 classes after finalizing the Top247 in the 2024 cycle, with Clemson landing at No.12 in the country. 

Clemson continues to shy away from the transfer portal, which means the focus for Dabo Swinney remains on high school recruiting. The Tigers signed one of the top classes in the ACC with a pair of five-stars in linebacker Sammy Brown and wide receiver Bryant Wesco highlighting the haul for the 2024 cycle. Talent development is still the plan of attack for Swinney as he enters 2024 at Clemson.

Clemson had some huge hits in this class, headlined by linebacker Sammy Brown. According to 247Sports composite rankings, Brown is the No.2 linebacker and No.17 overall player in the class.

On the offensive end, Clemson needed help at wide receiver, and they got it in two five-star recruits. Bryant Wesco is a composite 5-star, and T.J. Moore was recently upgraded to a 5-star for 247Sports site rankings.

This class could be yet another fantastic one.