Mitchell played for the Vols from 2021-22. He appeared in 13 games, recording 51 tackles, 0.5 tackles for a loss, one interception and four pass defections at Tennessee.
Mitchell entered the NCAA transfer portal in January.
Mitchell appeared in 21 games from 2019-20 for Texas. Mitchell totaled 101 tackles, eight tackles for a loss, three sacks, five pass deflections and recovered one fumble for the Longhorns.
He transferred to Texas from Butler Community College, appearing in 12 games as a freshman, totaling 55 tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss, two sacks, one interception and one pass breakup.
If college football insiders are to be believed, absolutely nothing. As part of a series of questions published on ESPN’s website, Heather Dinich was asked to tackle the evergreen issue of the Irish’s independence and how it applies to the changing college football climate. If you’re worried about the Irish giving into public pressure and joining a conference permanently, Dinich says don’t be:
“Notre Dame athletic director [autotag]Jack Swarbrick[/autotag] has long repeated the same three factors that could contribute to the university’s position as an independent becoming ‘unsustainable.’
Those include: the loss of a committed broadcast partner; the loss of a fair route into the postseason; or such an adverse financial consequence that would force it to reconsider.
In spite of all of the drama swirling around Notre Dame, nothing has impacted those particular factors. Notre Dame still has a strong partnership with NBC as its broadcast partner that runs through the 2025 season. It recently announced a renewed commitment to Under Armour. It also remains a partial member of the ACC in football and has a contract with the league stating that if the Irish were to relinquish their independence, it would be for the ACC.
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said recently at the league’s media days that he knows how much the Irish value their independence. Notre Dame still remains the most valuable property remaining on the Monopoly board – and it’s still not for sale.”
Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune expressed similar thoughts earlier in the day. So sleep easy, Irish fans. The program is not changing its affiliation or lack thereof anytime soon. Besides, conferences need the Irish more than the Irish need them.
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.
We’re looking back but also forward with @MarkRogersTV. We discussed the #Pac12’s plight and compared Stanford to BYU.
The world of college sports realignment continues to swirl. It’s a dizzying, brain-busting, mind-bending environment in which everything seems fluid and the Pac-12 can’t do anything right.
What’s the status of Arizona and Arizona State as they consider a move to the Big 12? The Arizona Board of Regents has not yet granted final approval to those two schools to move to the Big 12, but the fans at both schools definitely want a Big 12 move. They want to get off the sinking ship that is the Pac-12.
In the midst of this chaos and what appears to be a full-on implosion, can the Pac-12 somehow save itself at the last minute? What scenarios are in play? What is the best the Pac-12 can aspire to? What are the Pac-12’s dwindling — but remaining — options in all of this? We’re talking about it at Trojans Wire. We joined our friend Mark Rogers at The Voice of College Football on a special show. We wound up comparing Stanford and BYU, among many other things:
Grace Summerhays’ first round at Pebble Beach Golf Links was the stuff of dreams. After an early-morning fog delay, Grace partnered with her dad, Boyd, in a match against her two brothers, Cameron and Preston. Fittingly, the match ended in a tie.
What made the round even more special for Grace, 18, was it doubled as a practice round for the 78th U.S. Women’s Open. The historic championship, which gets underway July 6, marks the first time a women’s major will be contested at Pebble Beach, site of six previous U.S. Opens won by the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Tom Watson, Tom Kite, Graeme McDowell and Gary Woodland.
“I almost can’t even comprehend it,” said Grace, one of 27 amateurs in the field.
Grace isn’t the first Summerhays to play in a U.S. Open this summer. Older brother Preston, 20, made his second U.S. Open appearance last month at Los Angeles Country Club. Both Preston and Grace play collegiate golf at Arizona State and have spent time practicing together at Silverleaf Golf Club in Scottsdale with former Sun Devil Jon Rahm, the 2021 U.S. Open and 2023 Masters champion.
Their father and coach, Boyd, is Tony Finau’s longtime instructor. The Summerhays’ impressive golf legacy, however, extends well beyond the immediate family.
Bruce Summerhays, Boyd’s uncle, won three times on the PGA Tour Champions, and Boyd’s younger brother, Daniel, played eight years on the PGA Tour. His cousin Carrie Roberts, now head coach at BYU, became the first Utah-born woman to qualify for the LPGA.
Boyd, a former top-ranked junior who played collegiate golf at Oklahoma State, earned his PGA Tour card in 2003 and played the AT&T Pebbe Beach Pro-Am three times. Pebble Beach is Boyd’s favorite course, and he’ll be on the bag this week for Grace. Boyd choked up when Grace advanced through the 36-qualifier in Scottsdale. She turns 19 on championship Sunday.
“Just to share these moments with my kids, not as a coach and students but just as a dad,” said Boyd, “it’s honestly more than that I could dream.”
Summerhays family poses at Pebble Beach: Boyd, Barbara, Grace, Cameron, Preston (courtesy Grace Summerhays)
Grace grew up training (from the same tees) with her older brother, Preston, and carried a competitive, ready-to-go attitude to Arizona State. Head coach Missy Farr-Kaye describes the rising junior as feisty and fun.
“It’s a really a beautiful thing to watch,” said Farr-Kaye of Grace’s approach to the game, “one of those things you want to rub off on everybody.”
Preston, 20, said Grace’s driving is her greatest strength. Her ball speed is 145 mph and her swing speed hovers in the high 90s.
“She hits it very straight,” said Boyd, “and she hits great flighted, spinning wedge shots. And she can putt.”
Grace will be nervous, Boyd predicted, but she won’t be intimidated. At age 16, she became the youngest Utah State Amateur champion in the event’s 114-year history. After graduating from high school early, Grace joined the Sun Devils midseason in 2022. She finished the spring season No. 74 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings; brother Preston, the 2019 U.S. Junior champion, ranked ninth.
There was a time, Grace said, when she felt pressure to live up to Preston’s success. Farr-Kaye knows what that feels like. Still battles it from time to time, in fact, walking by a life-sized statue of older sister, Heather, on the way to her office every morning.
“I know what it’s like to try to live up to your older sibling,” said Farr-Kaye. “It’s a losing battle.
“We’ve had some good conversations about that. Your journeys are different, and they’re meant to be different.”
The Summerhays family is a tight bunch. While they don’t get to practice together as much as they did in junior golf, Grace said she’s always learning something from Preston, particularly when it comes to short game. There isn’t a chip shot, bunker shot or pitch that Grace is afraid to try, said Farr-Kaye.
“It’s an amazing dynamic,” said Grace of her relationship with Preston. “We’re super competitive and hate to lose to each other, but at the same time, we both want the best for each other.”
A self-described perfectionist, Grace said she’s most grateful for her dad’s ability to separate being a dad from being a coach.
“I’ve seen with other junior golfers and amateurs, it’s just hard for the parents to separate the two,” noted Grace.
What’s the secret to their family’s success?
“We work really hard, and really smart,” said Preston. “My dad has raised us and trained us really, really tough.”
But when it comes to game time, Boyd does everything he can to take the pressure off. Phrases like Just play free; You’re doing great; You’re getting so much experience; We’re heading in the right direction, pepper their text threads.
“I always text my kids before any competitive round to say ‘I love you, proud of you and just go play,’ ” said Boyd.
“If they train as hard, as my kids have, and invested so much of their life and time, and they’re super competitive – they’re already going to be amped up. Parents don’t need to add to that.
“Kids need to know that no matter what, just being here is a huge accomplishment, and as a parent, it’s pretty special.”
The Sun Devils got a big boost for their class of 2025 on Tuesday, though.
Arizona State needs to catch up in the 2024 recruiting cycle—the Sun Devils are currently ranked No. 49 in the nation—but they did get a big boost for their class of 2025 on Tuesday.
Here’s how J Serra Catholic (Calif.) four-star quarterback Michael Tollefson announced his commitment to Arizona State.
— Michael “Butter” Tollefson (@ButterTollefson) June 20, 2023
Tollefson (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) had offers from 22 other schools, including Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Washington State and Utah.
Going by the 247Sports composite rankings, Tollefson is No. 14 among quarterbacks in his class, 25th overall in the state of California and No. 222 nationally. He is the first commit for ASU’s class of 2025.
Preston will tackle Los Angeles Country Club, having made the field a little more than a week ago after surviving a 3-for-2 playoff at nearby Hillcrest Country Club. He’s one of 19 amateurs (16 of them college players) to make the field. A few days later, Grace punched her ticket to Pebble at a final qualifying stage of her own.
This week marks a first for Preston, as dad Boyd will not be his caddie for the first big event of his young golf career.
“I feel like my game has gotten to a spot where you know my dad will actually be able to help me more if he’s, if he can focus more on me in the practice rounds and in the warmups,” Preston said after his Tuesday practice round with Jon Rahm and Tony Finau. ASU assistant coach Thomas Sutton will be on the bag this week instead. “It’s what’s best for my game. My dad gets spread too thin between being a coach, a father and a caddie.”
Preston Summerhays and his dad/caddie Boyd during the first round of the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. (Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Preston has played countless times with Finau, a longtime Summerhays family friend, but he has also logged nearly 20 rounds with the former Sun Devil Rahm.
On the 18th hole Tuesday, Preston’s approach was just off the back of the green. He attempted a flop shot but instead hit the ball right at Rahm, who calmly caught it out of the air and then tossed it back.
Rahm left ASU in 2016 to turn pro, graduating after four years in Tempe, but the Arizona State bond is there. Summerhays is on a similar path, as he intends to play all four years of college golf while working towards his degree.
“I missed him by a decent amount of years [at ASU], but there’s always that connection. He’s come out to our facility a couple of times. Just kind of being, him being an alum, I feel just a little bit more comfortable going up to him, asking him questions,” Preston said. “He’s been great with me, and I know even if I wasn’t at ASU, he’d be great to me.”
Can the 20-year-old Preston, who gained previous U.S. Open experience in 2020, contend in this major championship?
Well, his dad knows anything’s possible in golf.
“People say it, and it’s cliche, but the golf ball doesn’t know who’s hitting it, right?”
The Road to Omaha seems to always go through Austin, Texas.
Since the College World Series was first played in 1947 there have been countless memorable moments – both uplifting and heartbreaking in CWS play.
The 75th College World Series is set with its eight participants. As we countdown the days until the College World Series begins, let’s take a quick minute to look at how many times each collegiate baseball program has made the trip to Omaha.
Who has been the most times?
Who are some programs who have made surprise visits?
And who are some powerhouses that somehow haven’t won it all?
[pickup_prop id=”25464″]
Here is the list of all-time appearances by all programs to ever appear in a CWS:
Michigan basketball has a couple of scholarships open for next season, and the Wolverines have a few holes in their roster.
One of the major holes is at the center position. Michigan has one center on the roster, sophomore Tarris Reed Jr. The maize and blue were hoping to get Hunter Dickinson back, but the big man decided to transfer to Kansas and leave Michigan after three years.
Michigan has three transfers coming. One is Tray Jackson from Seton Hall who can play center, but is primarily a 4.
Since the 5 is a position of need for Michigan, the Wolverines have reached out to former Arizona State big man Warren Washington, according to Jon Rothstein. Washington is considering Michigan along with Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Memphis, TCU and Texas Tech.
Arizona State transfer Warren Washington tells me that he just finished visits with TCU and Texas Tech.
The 7-foot, 225-pound center would be a bridge player for Michigan since he is a graduate transfer with one year of eligibilty remaining. Washington originally committed in 2018 to Oregon State where he played one season. He transferred to Nevada for two seasons and played last year with ASU.
Last season, Washington averaged 9.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 26.9 minutes per game. When he played with Nevada for two seasons, he averaged over 10 points per game.
Phillips, a 7-foot-0, 245-pound forward out of Dayton, Ohio left LSU after just spending one year with the Tigers. In that lone season, Phillips played in 20 games, averaging 1.4 points, 2.2 points, and 0.2 assists per game while averaging 7.4 minutes a night.
Phillips was a four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting cycle ranked as high as 54th by Rivals as well as being ranked as the 10th-best center in the cycle by the longtime recruiting site. Phillips originally committed and signed with North Carolina State before eventually requesting a release from his letter of intent and signing with LSU.
While he is a native of Ohio, Phillips played his high school basketball at Dream City Christian in Glendale, Arizona – which is just about a 35-minute drive to Arizona State which is located in Phoenix.
Phillips will join an Arizona State program that was a No. 11 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament, beating No. 11 Nevada in the First Four 98-73 before narrowly losing in the Round of 64 to No. 6 TCU 72-70. Overall, the Sun Devils went 23-13 in the regular season including 11-9 in Pac-12 play, where they finished fifth.
He’ll join a front court for the Sun Devils that currently consists of rising junior Jamiya Neal. Neal, originally entered the transfer portal this offseason before deciding to return to the Sun Devils. The door also remains open for Warren Washington to return to the program. The 7-foot-0 Washington entered the NBA Draft this offseason but is maintaining his eligibility along the way.
NC State’s backcourt got a big addition on Monday with a Pac-12 transfer announcing his decision.
North Carolina State added a quality piece to their backcourt on Monday morning when Arizona State transfer guard DJ Horne made his decision to join the Wolfpack. He announced the decision on Twitter.
Horne, a 6-foot-1-inch guard is returning home by picking NC State. Horne is a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, and played his high school basketball at Trinity Christian School in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Horne will be playing now at the third college of his collegiate career. He originally signed with Illinois State out of high school, spending two years with the Redbirds including a sophomore season in which he averaged 15.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists. He would join Arizona State before the 2021-2022 season, where he spent each of the last two seasons, averaging 12.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists over 65 games which included 62 starts.
Now, he’ll return home and suit up for the Wolfpack who will be entering their seventh season under head coach Kevin Keatts. This past season, they made the NCAA Tournament for just the second time under Keatts as a No.11 seed, losing in the first round to Creighton.
Horne will look to help replace the hole left by guard Terquavion Smith In 2022-23, Smith averaged 17.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists before deciding to enter the NBA Draft as a projected first-round pick. The Wolfpack are also set to lose guard Jarkel Joiner who averaged 17.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists this season.
