Tag: Emory Jones

LSU offensive lineman Lance Heard expected to transfer to Tennessee

Lance Heard’s name reportedly appeared in the University of Tennessee’s student directory Friday.

LSU transfer offensive lineman [autotag]Lance Heard[/autotag] has reportedly found a home.

On Thursday, 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported that Heard was expected to transfer to Tennessee. We seemingly got confirmation of that move on Friday as Heard’s name appeared in the University of Tennessee’s student directory, according to On3’s Austin Price.

Heard was a true freshman in 2023 and a former five-star recruit from Monroe. He appeared in 12 of 13 games as the swing tackle this season, making one start at right tackle.

He was expected to contend for a starting job in 2024, but with both tackles returning in [autotag]Will Campbell[/autotag] and [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag], he’s heading elsewhere.

Now it seems he’ll be staying in the SEC, though he won’t appear on the Tigers’ schedule in 2024 unless both teams meet in the conference title game.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno

LSU signs a top five offensive tackle according to On3

LSU signed one of the top offensive tackles in the country in its 2024 recruiting class.

LSU signed one of the top offensive tackles in the country in their 2024 recruiting class. According to On3, the Tigers signed a guy who was the No. 5 overall offensive tackle in the country.

[autotag]Weston Davis[/autotag] is a 6-foot-5, 285-pound, four-star offensive tackle from Beaumont, Texas where he played for Beaumont United High School. Davis chose LSU over Texas A&M, Alabama, Oklahoma and others. He is ranked as high as the No. 3 offensive tackle in the class by On3.

The Tigers signed six offensive linemen in the 2024 recruiting class to add some depth to an offensive line that was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award. If the LSU offensive line can stay healthy in 2024, they should be a finalist for the Joe Moore Award once again as [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] has assembled a talented group of guys up front.

Davis will be an offensive tackle and be behind [autotag]Will Campbell[/autotag], [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Lance Heard[/autotag] on the roster.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

No. 14 Sooners vs Cincinnati Bearcats: How to Watch, key players, weather forecast for gameday

The Sooners are going to be in for a battle this weekend, let’s take a look at how you can watch, the impact players, injury report and what’s the weather going to be like.

The Oklahoma Sooners are set to take on the [autotag]Cincinnati Bearcats[/autotag] on Saturday. This is the first conference game for both teams.

The Sooners are coming off a 3-0 nonconference slate whereas the Bearcats are coming off a heartbreaking overtime loss to in-state foe Miami (Oh.). But don’t let that game fool you. The Bearcats had seven trips to the red zone and only scored on four of them, two of which were field goals.

That’s how you beat yourself in a game you should win. This game is going to be a lot more interesting than people think. This is the best defensive line the Sooners have faced to date and could be the best they face all season.

But that doesn’t mean the offense isn’t any good. They rank No. 12 in the nation in total yards and No. 8 in the nation in rushing. The Sooners’ 15th-ranked rushing defense is going to be tested once again and the Bearcats have a very good dual-threat quarterback at the helm.

Not to mention this is going to be Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff game, the only time Oklahoma is making the trip as conference foes, and is expected to be a blackout for Cincinnati.

But without giving too much away, let’s dive into how you can watch the Sooners on the road.

5 keys to an Oklahoma Sooners win in Week 4 vs. the Cincinnati Bearcats

From run defense to passing offense, here are the keys to a Sooner victory vs. the Bearcats.

The Oklahoma Sooners are headed to Cincinnati, Ohio for their one and only meeting as conference foes against the Bearcats. The Sooners are 2-0 against all-time and [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] was a part of both wins.

This will be their first trip to Nippert Stadium. The 2010 game was played at Paul Brown Stadium, now Paycor Stadium, which is the home of the Cincinnati Bengals. The Sooners will have their work cut out for them as the Bearcats are fresh off an overtime upset loss to in-state rival the Miami (OH) Redhawks.

The Bearcats would love nothing more than to play spoiler to the Sooners’ undefeated season, and they have the players to do that. For the Sooners, they want to right the wrongs of a season ago, losing their first three conference games.

So, without further adieu, let’s take a look at what needs to take place for the Oklahoma Sooners to leave Ohio with a win.

Cincinnati Bearcats Color Analyst Jim Kelly breaks down the Week 4 matchup

The Sooners take on the Cincinnati Bearcats and Color Analyst Jim Kelly lets us know what to expect.

The Oklahoma Sooners open [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] play against the [autotag]Cincinnati Bearcats[/autotag] in their first true road game of the season. The Bearcats come in with one of the best defensive lines in all of college football.

They also come in with the No. 8 rushing attack and the No. 12 overall offense. Many people will look at last week’s loss to the Miami (OH) Redhawks, but in that game, Cincinnati beat themselves. In the Bearcats seven trips to the red zone, they only scored two touchdowns and a pair of field goals.

Color Analyst for the Bearcats, [autotag]Jim Kelly[/autotag], talked with me on my podcast, Eat. Sleep. Bedlam. He said the offense was the unit hurt the most when former Head Coach Luke Fickell left.

“Most of that affected the offense,” Kelly said. “That’s the side of the ball that we thought, we don’t really know what to expect. The defensive side, a lot of folks stayed.”

Two of the guys Sooner fans better get to know are [autotag]Dontay Corleone[/autotag] and [autotag]Jowon Briggs[/autotag]. Those two both play along the defensive line and most likely will be playing on Sundays in the future.

New Head Coach [autotag]Scott Satterfield[/autotag], who was the head coach for the Louisville Cardinals a year ago, brings over an entirely new scheme. Kelly said they are a staff that usually likes to bring pressure.

“They like to blitz a lot, although they’ve played it more straight this year,” Kelly said. “Brian Brown is the defensive coordinator. He came from Louisville with coach Satterfield. They led the nation last year in sacks. So he plays a really aggressive style. However, I don’t think he feels like he has the corners, particularly against a team like Oklahoma and what [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] was able to do last week.”

There’s no question the Sooners are going to have to attack this secondary. The running game will probably have to be more outside runs, and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby may opt for short, quick passes to supplement the running game.

Offensively they have to stop the run. Make [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag] beat you with his arm. They have three really good running backs to go along with Jones running the ball.

If the Sooners are able to do that, we could be looking at another rout. I don’t expect that. I expect this one to be closer than many people think.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

College football’s top performers in the Big 12 during Week 1

Who stood out in the Big 12 as the 2023 season began?

The Big 12 kicked off the season during Week 1 with a matchup featuring newcomers, the UCF Knights on Thursday. It wasn’t much of a matchup as UCF rolled past Kent State, 56-6.

The Kansas Jayhawks, Oklahoma Sooners, Iowa State Cyclones, Texas Longhorns, Cincinnati Bearcats, Houston Cougars, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Kansas State Wildcats, and BYU Cougars all joined them in the win column.

It wasn’t all sunshine and daffodils for the conference as West Virginia, Texas Tech, Baylor, and TCU all fell in Week 1.

As we wrap up Week 1 and look forward to Week 2, here are the top performers across the Big 12.

Could Lance Heard be LSU’s starting right tackle?

Lance Heard could be LSU’s starting right tackle come kickoff.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] isn’t afraid to throw a freshman into the fire on the offensive line.

Last year, from week three on, LSU was anchored by two freshman tackles up front with [autotag]Will Campbell[/autotag] and [autotag]Emery Jones[/autotag].

We could see another freshman take over a starting role this year. According to reports from the scrimmage on Saturday, five-star [autotag]Lance Heard[/autotag] took some snaps with the first-team at right tackle.

In this package, Jones bumped over to guard with [autotag]Miles Frazier[/autotag] heading to the sideline.

Kelly and staff have been fans of Heard since arrived on campus. In the recruiting process, Kelly said Heard insisted on playing left tackle, even though Campbell will man that spot for a couple of years.

It’ll be a couple of years before Heard takes over the left tackle roll, but that comment was an insight into his confidence.

Earlier in camp, [autotag]Sai’Vion Jones[/autotag] said Heard was impressive against some of LSU’s best defenders. By all accounts, it sounds like Heard has more than earned his spot in this competition.

If Heard is ready to go, it offers a major boost to LSU’s depth up-front.

It allows Jones to be a swiss army knife for LSU’s offensive line. The Tigers might not be flush with options on the two-deep, but with Jones, Frazier, and [autotag]Garrett Dellinger[/autotag], LSU has three versatile linemen who can play almost anywhere.

There’s a natural trade-off if LSU rolls with Heard at right tackle. With an entire year under his belt, Jones has the experience that Heard doesn’t. That could be important with LSU gearing up to face one of the best pass rushers in the country Week 1.

With kickoff in two weeks, I wouldn’t bet on Heard getting the start, but it looks like he’ll be getting some playing time right away.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1389]

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno

Jaden Rashada visited Arizona State over the weekend

Jaden Rashada paid a visit to Arizona State over the weekend.

The [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] saga may have wrapped up its Florida chapter, but there is still a lot of story to be written.

Over the weekend, 247Sports’ Brandon Huffman reported that the former UF commit was on Arizona State’s campus for a visit. Rashada officially requested his release from his national letter of intent from the University of Florida last week, with the Gators releasing him later in the week. His father, Harlen, played for the Sun Devils in the 1990s, with Jaden growing up familiar with the Pac-12 program.

The five-star quarterback from Pittsburg, California, has a relationship with Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham, dating back to Dillingham’s time at Oregon. Before Rashada’s original commitment to the Miami Hurricanes in June 2022, the Ducks on his shortlist of teams he was considering committing to.

Rashada’s commitment to the Hurricanes sparked outrage among the Florida fan base, with head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] publishing an open letter to fans shortly after, preaching patience as he rebuilds the Gators’ football program. The patience paid off, with Napier landing double-digit four-star recruits in the month following the letter.

In November, Rashada flipped from Miami to Florida in one of the highlights of Billy Napier’s tenure thus far; Rashada then signed his LOI in December. Up to that point, the future was bright for the Gators with their presumed future signal-caller. He was expected to report to Gainesville after participating in January’s All-American Bowl just a short drive away in Orlando.

When Rashada did not report, concerns arose about a potential bump in the road between him and Florida. It later came out that a NIL deal worth a reported $13 million check failed to clear, causing the rift between the Gators and Rashada.

If Rashada ends up playing for Arizona State, he would join the ranks of current LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels and former Florida quarterback [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag] as the Sun Devils’ signal caller. On the flip side, wide receiver [autotag]Ricky Pearsall[/autotag] came over from ASU to help bolster up the receiver corps for Florida in 2022 — and looks to do the same in 2023.

[mm-video type=video id=01gdg3yhc6d6jb3c59xg playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gdg3yhc6d6jb3c59xg/01gdg3yhc6d6jb3c59xg-c640babe687004c896ec7a3af514c1b9.jpg]

[lawrence-related id=100104,100103,100096,100084,100066]

[listicle id=100087]

[listicle id=100018]

[listicle id=99906]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Let us know your thoughts and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!

Anthony Richardson feels more prepared to take on Georgia the second time around

Anthony Richardson’s first start came against Georgia and ended in disaster. A year later, he feels that experience is what will bring him and Florida more success against the No. 1 team in the land.

The last time [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] faced the University of Georgia was also the first start of his college career.

After weeks of standing by [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag] as Florida’s starting quarterback, former Gators head coach Dan Mullen finally went with the redshirt freshman against the best team in the country. UF held UGA to a 3-0 lead for most of the first half, but disaster struck in the final few minutes of the second quarter.

Richardson was responsible for three turnovers at the end of the half, and Georgia’s lead exploded to 24-0. Any hope of a comeback died there, but things went from bad to worse in the third quarter when Richardson left the game with an injury. Talk about a bad first day on the job. Jones went back in and remained the starter for the rest of the season while Richardson dealt with various injuries.

A year later, Richardson is once again in a starting role for the Orange and Blue, this time under Billy Napier. Although he hasn’t quite lived up to first-round projections he garnered in the preseason, Richardson has shown flashes of elite play when at his best. The consistency isn’t quite there yet, but Richardson said he felt like he’s made “huge leaps of improvement” over the past year on Monday.

“There’s still a ways to go, but I was just talking about it the other day — time does fly. It seems like yesterday it was my first start against Georgia,” Richardson said. “I feel like we were doing pretty good until the last couple of minutes of the (first half). But I feel like I’ve made improvements as a player, as a person. I’m thankful that I even got the opportunity to play in that game.”

The big difference in the Richardson Florida has now is experience. He’s been here before. He’s faced the No. 1 team in the country before and knows what mistakes he wants to avoid. Last year’s attempt was made by a nervous freshman looking to impress in his first shot on the big stage. This year, Richardson has a plan to manage his emotions and isn’t taking too much time to dwell on the past.

“Before the game, I’m not going to lie, I had a lot of jitters,” he said. “I was in my head a lot. I was a little nervous, you know. First career start against the No. 1 defense, so of course I was thinking a lot. I feel like I was doing pretty good until those last few minutes of the first half, but just processing it and thinking about it has taught me a lot about football itself, how to manage the game and how to control the game. It is what it is now.”

Richardson said he’s ready to let the game come to him rather than force something that’s not there. He should be at his best both physically and mentally when the time comes. The Gators’ bye week served as a “mental week” for Richardson, allowing him to rest his body and study some extra film.

Make no mistake, Richardson would like to get his revenge on the Bulldogs. Although last year’s performance left a lot to be desired, it created a narrative that he wasn’t ready for the spotlight just yet. Richardson knows that and has since shined in games against Utah and Tennessee.

That sets up a redemption tale for the ages on Saturday, but it’ll take 100% focus to execute the upset of the season. Richardson’s ready for round two with Georgia, but they are the No. 1 defense in the country for a reason.

[mm-video type=video id=01gdg3yhc6d6jb3c59xg playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gdg3yhc6d6jb3c59xg/01gdg3yhc6d6jb3c59xg-c640babe687004c896ec7a3af514c1b9.jpg]

[lawrence-related id=94442,94440,94433,94430,94426]

[listicle id=94445]

[listicle id=94405]

[listicle id=94307]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Let us know your thoughts and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!

Arizona State QB Emory Jones is struggling; USC doesn’t want to give him new reason to believe

Emory Jones is a raw, unpolished talent whose reads and reactions are not making the cut. USC needs to keep Jones indecisive, not giving him clarity or confidence.

Arizona State quarterback Emory Jones hopes to make a splash Saturday night against the USC Trojans. Viewed from ASU’s perspective, Jones will need to be the reason for an upset victory in L.A.

Jones is from the 2018 recruiting class, a four-star prospect from Franklin (Ga.) Heard County. He was the No. 19 player out of the state, the No. 7 dual-threat quarterback in the nation, and the No. 173 overall prospect in the class. He committed to Dan Mullen and the Florida Gators.

The former Florida quarterback played four seasons with the Gators, completing 64.6% of his passes for 3,347 yards and 26 touchdowns to 14 interceptions. He also ran for 1,273 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Jones has faced adversity this season in Tempe with a coaching change and plenty of doubt from Sun Devil fans.

Jones has thrown for three touchdowns and rushed for three on the season, but he is coming off a two-interception performance against Utah in which he took five sacks and was banged up all game.

“Emory is a leader,” senior offensive lineman Des Holmes said, via Sun Devil Source. “And I really appreciated that from Emory, and when you have a guy that’s a leader in your huddle and — he just has a certain type of energy about him. Because I feel like when it comes to this game, and [the quarterback position] specifically, there’s a type of respect and infectiousness and energy and vibe your quarterback has to give off. So I believe Emory embodies that and it’s very easy to follow a captain like that.”

Arizona State is at the bottom of most offensive categories in the Pac-12. The Sun Devils are last in the nation in penalties.

If the Sun Devils want to get back on track, it starts with Jones. Jones can still make big splash plays with his legs and his arm if the offensive line gives him time to create in space. It’s up to USC to not allow him to get into  rhythm.

If Emory Jones does struggle or the game gets out of hand, look for backup quarterback Paul Tyson to get some action.

Tyson, who is the great-grandson of legendary Crimson Tide head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, sat behind Jalen Hurts, Tua Toagovailoa and Mac Jones — all of whom are now starting NFL quarterbacks — as well as reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young during his three years in the SEC.

[mm-video type=video id=01gdgjrs19kr2nj8va4j playlist_id=none player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gdgjrs19kr2nj8va4j/01gdgjrs19kr2nj8va4j-7c192a5f4bb7cbc6bb10c2a869899e1e.jpg]

[listicle id=49147]