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Texas is targeting another former Arizona Wildcat in the transfer portal.
Texas’ new linebackers coach Johnny Nansen is targeting another former Arizona Wildcat in the transfer portal. Continue reading “Arizona transfer DL Bill Norton to visit Texas for Orange-White game”
What did spring football games look like from potential playoff opponents?
Spring games for a handful of teams are complete. Some of them had our attention on Saturday. Continue reading “Impressions from potential Texas playoff opponents’ spring games”
Graham Mertz is one of the 100-best players in college football this coming season, per CBS Sports.
The spring practice season is over for Florida football and the last couple of months, while still very early on in the process, has given the fans and the media a better idea of where the Gators are going this coming fall.
CBS Sports’ Blake Brockermeyer took some time before the transfer portal opened on Monday to rank his top 100 college football players for the upcoming 2024 campaign. Somewhat surprisingly, he included incumbent starting quarterback Graham Mertz among his best, coming in at No. 86.
“Yep. I’m a believer in Mertz,” Brockermeyer begins. “Don’t forget he profiled as an elite prospect out of high school. A change of scenery, from Madison to Gainesville, did him well in 2023. He was consistent, completing 73% of his passes for the season for 2,900 yards, and took care of the football, throwing just three picks.
“Florida has an unbelievably difficult schedule ahead and Mertz’s favorite target Ricky Pearsall is off to the NFL. Mertz can really silence the doubters if he delivers a good season in what will be choppy waters.”
The Gators kick off their 2024 regular-season schedule on Aug. 31 against the Miami Hurricanes inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida opens its SEC schedule with the Texas A&M Aggies arriving in the Swamp on Sept. 14.
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Redshirt freshman Billy Walton played in two games for Texas last season.
Several Texas players will likely enter the NCAA transfer portal this week. Continue reading “Texas redshirt freshman EDGE Billy Walton to enter NCAA transfer portal”
Payton Kirkland is set to leave Texas for the transfer portal.
The transfer portal cycle is set to start for the Texas Longhorns. Offensive lineman Payton Kirkland is one of the latest set to enter the portal. Continue reading “Texas OL Payton Kirkland to enter transfer portal”
Travis Hunter is the best player in college football this spring, according to CBS Sports
In the eyes of CBS Sports, Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter stands as the best overall player in college football this spring.
CBS Sports writer Blake Brockermeyer released a spring ranking of college football’s top 100 players on Monday and the Buffaloes’ two-way superstar took the No. 1 spot. Close behind, fellow Colorado star Shedeur Sanders was No. 4 overall and the top-ranked quarterback.
The only other CU player featured was edge rusher B.J. Green II, an incoming transfer from Arizona State who was ranked No. 77.
For Hunter and Sanders, their respectable spots on Brockermeyer’s list should only fuel any Heisman Trophy buzz. Both players were in the conversation early last season before injuries and team struggles halted their campaigns.
Here’s some of what Brockermeyer wrote on Hunter:
Former No. 1 overall recruit Travis Hunter leads my list as the top overall player in the country entering the 2024 season. He is a generational player and, if he took fewer snaps offensively at wide receiver, would be even more effective for Colorado’s defense. Hunter missed a handful of games after taking a cheap shot in the Colorado State game and still notched 1,044 snaps. He had seven games with more than 100 snaps, doing so as a two-way player. That is more than two seasons worth of reps for the typical defender
Clearly, Hunter’s ability to endure a high number of snaps on both offense and defense played a major factor in his landing the top spot.
In between Hunter and Sanders, CBS Sports ranked Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr. as the second-best player in college football, and Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham was third.
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Kelvin Banks leads Texas with three Top 15 players in college football player rankings.
The Texas football offseason hype machine is firing on all cylinders. The Longhorns are viewed as having three of the best players in college football heading into 2024.
CBS Sports analyst Blake Brockermeyer ranked the Top 15 players in college football. Three Texas players made the list.
Checking in at No. 10 was Texas left tackle Kelvin Banks who drew the following explanation for his ranking.
“Banks has had a solid sophomore year and is still on pace to be one of the better tackles in the country but showed a few cracks with added responsibility and a target on him after an incredible freshman year. Still, Banks allowed only one sack and 14 total pressures in 2023 and has what it takes to be one of the top picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. He’s tracking to be a first-round pick; Texas has not had an offensive lineman selected in that round since 2002.”
After Banks at No. 14 was Alabama transfer and presumably Texas’ No. 1 wideout Isaiah Bond. Brockermeyer views Bond as a good replacement for what Texas lost at receiver this offseason.
“Texas landed one of the best wide receivers in the country after losing big time playmakers Adonai Mitchell and Xavier Worthy. Bond is a playmaker — an excellent route runner with the track speed ability to take the top off a defense. In many ways, he’s a fusion of Mitchell and Worthy. Bond led Alabama and was at his best in the clutch. He’ll be WR1 for Quinn Ewers and they’ll depart for the NFL together in 2025.”
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers earned the No. 15 ranking after a good campaign in 20233. Brockermeyer wants to see Ewers continue his progression in the upcoming season.
“Ewers took his game to another level in 2023. There are no excuses, with a loaded offense around him, to not have one of the best seasons in the country in 2024. Ewers has all the traits you want as a quarterback as a pure drop back passer with a cannon for an arm and the ability to make the off-platform throws. I’d like to see him more consistently hit the tight windows. Could be the most important player in college football with all eyes on him as Texas enters the SEC.”
We’ll have a good idea of whether or not Ewers has improved when the Longhorns face the Michigan pass defense in Week 2.
CBS Sports released its top 100 college football players for the 2024 season on Monday, and while no current Blue Devils made the cut, two recent Duke players who transferred to Notre Dame appeared.
CBS Sports released its top 100 college football players ahead of the 2024 season, and while no Blue Devils made the cut, two former Duke players did.
Quarterback Riley Leonard and edge rusher R.J. Oben, who both left Durham for Notre Dame this offseason, appeared on the list. Oben came in first at 89th before Leonard at 98th.
Oben spent five seasons with the Blue Devils before he left to take his last year of eligibility in South Bend. He’s put up at least four sacks in each of the last three seasons, with 62 total tackles and 14 sacks across that time frame. His 27 pressures and 73.8 PFF pass-rush grade were the highest totals on the Duke team last season.
Leonard threw for 2,967 yards and 20 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2022, and he compiled 1,102 yards and three touchdowns during his junior year. After helping the Blue Devils win their first four games of the year, he suffered an ankle injury during a game against, coincidentally, the Fighting Irish in Week 5. He only threw 39 passes for the rest of the year.
The third-year quarterback still finished with a QBR of 72.2 for the 2023 season.
There is little doubt that Florida’s DJ Lagway is a star in the making.
The spring practice season is in the books for Florida football following the conclusion of the Orange and Blue game on Saturday, as the Blue team prevailed over the Orange, 19-17, in the annual intrasquad scrimmage. While the results on the scoreboard hardly mean anything, what was seen on the field certainly had merit.
CBS Sports’ Will Backus took a look at college football’s spring game standouts and included the Gators’ five-star freshman quarterback [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] among the nation’s best weekend performers.
“Lagway’s not going to start anytime soon, barring Graham Mertz either suffering an injury or having a complete meltdown in performance, but it’s hard not to get excited about the freshman in this offense,” Backus begins.
“The No. 3 overall prospect and No. 1 quarterback in the class of 2024, Lagway enrolled early and went through spring practice with the Gators, capping things off in Saturday’s spring game. Running the offense opposite Mertz, Lagway managed a breezy 12 completions for 173 yards and two touchdowns,” he continues.
Touchdown Orange!! 🟠@DerekLagway connects with @AidanMizell ‼️
💻 https://t.co/cDmbrV8uRG pic.twitter.com/745yf4SEiM
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) April 13, 2024
“One of those touchdowns came on his very first drive of the game — a 22-yard strike to wide receiver Aidan Mizell that displayed advanced ball placement for such a young arm. Lagway’s 6-foot-3, 241-pound frame is dripping with potential. Saturday only served to accelerate the hype train.”
Florida kicks off its 2024 regular-season schedule on Aug. 31 against the Miami Hurricanes inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The Gators open their SEC schedule with the Texas A&M Aggies arriving in the Swamp on Sept. 14.
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Spurrier went on Jacksonville sports radio with to weigh in with his prognostications for the team.
The Gator Nation received its very first look at the 2024 edition of the Florida football team on Saturday inside the Swamp as the Blue team prevailed over the Orange team, 19-17, in the annual Orange and Blue game.
While it is difficult to derive any long-term takeaways from the intrasquad scrimmage, it still gives a glimpse at the potential the team might have in store. UF legend Steve Spurrier took to the airwaves with Jacksonville sports radio 1010XL to weigh in with his prognostications for the team.
“Well, we’re going to find out again this year I guess. I mean, anticipation and expectations are about the same as last year. But that doesn’t mean it’s bad. (Billy Napier’s) got a bunch of new coaches, seems like they’re going to be more demanding, make the guys more accountable,” Spurrier said.
“Seems like the leadership of Graham Mertz and some of those other guys is going to be there. So, schedule’s tough, but, you know, everybody’s got a tough schedule now just about in the SEC. So, we’ll wait and see. I picked them to go 8-4 and win a bowl game, and if we do that, we can do cartwheels and somersaults around here. We’ll be a happy bunch of Gators.”
Keep in mind Spurrier is a paid ambassador for the program and has been featured in advertisements for the name, image and likeness licensing collective Florida Victorious. In addition to his already biased opinion, his prediction should be taken with a few grains of salt.
Nonetheless, he is 100% correct that Gainesville would be elated with an 8-4 finish.
Florida kicks off its 2024 regular-season schedule on Aug. 31 against the Miami Hurricanes inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The Gators open their SEC schedule with the Texas A&M Aggies arriving in the Swamp on Sept. 14.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
