Tag: Florida State Seminoles

The definitive, final, ‘show me the money’ top 25 future Big Ten expansion candidates

If the Big Ten expands again in the future, this is the list of teams and the rankings that Big Ten brass should operate from.

Enough talk about who fits in academically with the Big Ten through their Association of American Universities ranking. Let’s get down to brass tax. Who can Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren add that increases everyone’s bottom line?

Let’s end the charade. That’s what all of this expansion business is about anyways. Warren and others can act like it’s about respected research universities, but this is about dollars and cents. It’s why he convinced Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff that they were on the same team, and then turned around and poached his league’s two biggest assets.

For the most part, this isn’t about regional fits anymore. USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten in 2024 shows us that. Now, adding a dance partner or two for the Trojans and Bruins makes sense, but only if it enhances the league members’ per-school payouts.

So, what should the top 25 big board of future Big Ten expansion candidates look like? Feel free to reference this list as needed Mr. Warren. It’s the “Show Me the Money” rankings. If your school isn’t on this list, sorry, you’re not joining the Big Ten conference now or in the future.

For our friends over in Ames, Iowa, save your time. Iowa State isn’t joining the Big Ten and, in fact, they’re not in the top 25 pool of candidates either. This is about TV ratings and expanding market shares. The Cyclones don’t add anything that the Big Ten doesn’t already have with the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Every program is fair game so long as they aren’t already in the Big Ten or SEC.Without further ado, here’s the official, no-need-to-look-anywhere else top 25 future Big Ten expansion candidates.

Oklahoma continues deep dive into the state of Alabama with offer to 2024 4-star EDGE Sterling Dixon

Oklahoma’s efforts to recruit SEC territory continue as the Sooners offered four-star EDGE, Sterling Dixon, out of Mobile, Alabama.

Oklahoma’s foray into the state of Alabama to find talented football players has been one of the more notable changes in the recruiting philosophy with this new coaching staff under [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]. Oklahoma was never this active or prevalent in the state of Alabama under [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag], but the Sooners are clearly prioritizing the state.

The latest native of Alabama to receive an offer to play at Oklahoma is 2024 EDGE prospect, Sterling Dixon. Dixon, a four-star prospect out of Mobile Christian School, stands 6-foot-3 and has received quite a bit of attention from SEC schools like Auburn and Arkansas. Auburn already has a crystal ball prediction in favor of landing Dixon, however, it’s early in the 2024 cycle, and things could still change.

Dixon’s calling card is his first step quickness and his lateral agility, which allows him to get on top of offensive linemen while they are still off balance. This allows him to beat them to the edge or push outside then cross their face inside with speed to get into the backfield. It’s clear he needs more weight on him to play in college, but Dixon looks like a nice upside player with more refinement to his technique.

Sterling Dixon’s Recruiting Profile

Predictions

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What Brian Kelly said will be different about LSU’s season opener this year

Kelly said LSU will be better prepared in the season opener this fall than it was against UCLA last season.

LSU came into the 2021 season hoping for a bounce-back after a disappointing, pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. That hope faded quickly when it dropped the opener against UCLA at the Rose Bowl.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] has watched that game, and he thinks there will be a key difference when LSU takes the field against Florida State this year to open the season in New Orleans.

Kelly said LSU looked tired in its opener last year. He spoke about using scientific data to manage the workload and said all of their summer workouts were outside, so the team would be prepared to deal with the heat in the fall.

 

Kelly said this is the 13th year he’s been using this program to prepare his team.

Personally, Kelly’s commitment to getting the conditioning right has been promising. Throughout Coach O’s tenure, it seemed like LSU was overworked at some times and underworked at others. Outside of 2018 and 2019, it was hard to find a balance.

The attention to detail could pay off for the Tigers this year with better health throughout the season.

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Running wild: Oklahoma keeps up their recruiting momentum landing 4-star running back Daylan Smothers

After releasing his top four featuring Oklahoma, Alabama, NC State, and Florida State, four-star RB Daylan Smothers picks OU.

The Sooners have broken into a full-out sprint on the recruiting trail in the month of July after getting their legs under them in June. Their recruiting exploits have taken them to the Pacific Northwest through the midwest and to the northeast.

These aren’t places a team like Oklahoma typically ventures into to find talent.

Another part of the country that is relatively untapped for Oklahoma is the state of North Carolina. The Oklahoma Sooners have had a bit more of a presence here in the last few years, with former Sooners like [autotag]Austin Kendall[/autotag], [autotag]Ryan Jones[/autotag], and most recently, [autotag]Jeremiah Hall[/autotag] all hailing from the N.C. Adding to that list is another Sooner, as the North Carolina High School Player of the Year by the Charlotte Observer and News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) [autotag]Daylan Smothers[/autotag] committed to Oklahoma on Thursday afternoon.

Smothers, a do-it-all four-star running back hoping to play his final year of high school ball at West Charlotte High School, received an offer from Oklahoma in March when he shined the brightest at the Rivals camp held in Charlotte, NC. Standing front and center was the trio of DeMarco Murray, Brent Venables, and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby. They extended the offer and then proceeded to put the full court press on Smothers, who was considering Alabama, Florida State, and in-state school N.C. State. Smothers is the 15th commitment for the Sooners.

 

Projections came in fast and furious in favor of Oklahoma for the running back when he dropped his top four a few weeks ago, and that was the precursor to letting the recruiting world know who was the overwhelming favorite with a commitment imminent.

His combination of speed, power, and vision made him a coveted prospect by many teams on the east coast, and he’s now a Sooner. He pairs with Kalib Hicks, another four-star running back, to round out the Sooners’ recruiting efforts in the backfield. With Hicks and Smothers, the Sooners get dynamic playmakers with track backgrounds. Both have some legitimate acceleration and top-end speed and will only add to the running back room when they team with guys like Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk upon arriving on campus next year.

With recruiting all but done for 2023, DeMarco Murray can now look forward to 2024 as he seeks to build on this year’s work. Names to watch early on include four-stars Stacy Gage and Tovani Mizell.

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2023 safety from Lake Wales, Florida Jaremiah Anglin picks up Oklahoma offer

The Oklahoma Sooners look to add to their defensive backfield with an offer to 3-star safety Jaremiah Anglin out of Florida.

Despite their recent recruiting success in July, Oklahoma is focused on adding more to their 2023 class. They’ve likely finished up adding to their offensive line, and they’ve already gotten their quarterback, but one area that could see some more bodies is the safety spot.

With that in mind, it makes sense why they felt the need to offer 2023 three-star safety Jaremiah Anglin out of Lake Wales, Florida. Anglin stands 6-foot-1, plays on the offensive side of the ball, and also is a basketball player, so he is quite the athlete in his own regard. Anglin also has a notable connection to one of the NFL’s most talented defenders, as Anglin is the cousin of former Florida State Seminoles safety turned Los Angeles Charger Derwin James.

His tape shows an athlete that looks extremely comfortable playing as the deep safety and coming up to make plays in run support. His athleticism allows Anglin to showcase a great feel for angles and route recognition. He displays excellent ball skills which makes sense considering he has experience playing on both sides of the ball.

Brandon Hall has been active recruiting safeties since the moment he’s gotten here. While he’s landed Erik McCarty, it’s pretty obvious from the sheer volume of offers that the Sooners are far from satisfied. Anglin looks like a player the Sooners would love to keep monitoring and see if they can put themselves in a good spot in his recruitment as the fall comes around.

Jaremiah Anglin’s Recruiting Profile

Projections

  • Rivals Futurecast: Florida State is leading the way for Anglin.
  • On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine: Florida State dominates the predictions at the time at 88.9 percent.
  • Early crystal ball projections favor Florida State.

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Florida football misses out on 4-star offensive tackle to FSU

Florida was hoping to keep four-star offensive lineman Lucas Simmons away from the Seminoles, but it looks like he’s headed to FSU next year.

Florida just landed a trio of impact commitments but Florida State got the nod over UF from four-star offensive tackle [autotag]Lucas Simmons[/autotag] on Monday afternoon.

The Gators had been pushing hard for the native of Sweden who is playing his high school ball at Clearwater Academy International, but FSU won out. The entire staff tweeted out “HejaGators” before April’s Orange and Blue Game and hosted him on his penultimate official visit on June 20, but the Seminoles formed a stronger bond with Simmons.

“Florida state is home,” Simmons said to On3. “I love FSU and the people in the program. Every time I leave Florida State I’m looking to book my next trip and every time I’m there I feel like home. Atkins and Norvell are people I trust to the fullest and I don’t see myself playing and getting developed under anyone else except them. I believe in the program, I believe in the coaches and players, and I believe that FSU will be what it once was.”

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Simmons is ranked No. 117 overall on the On3 consensus and No. 11 among offensive tackles in the class of 2023. Florida still has [autotag]Knijeah Harris[/autotag] and [autotag]Bryce Lovett[/autotag] to fall back on, but Billy Napier will need to look elsewhere to round out the class.

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Oklahoma extends an offer to No. 2 player in Louisiana 4-star S Tyler Singleton

The Oklahoma Sooners look to Louisiana as they offer 2024 safety prospect Tylen Singleton.

While the 2023 class is filling up by the day it seems, college football recruiting is not a one-year business. In order to be truly great, you must have the ability consistently string together top 10 classes on a regular basis.

Oklahoma is flying up the team recruiting rankings for 2023 and looks well on its way to another top 10 class.

How do they follow that up in 2024?

A good start would be by landing the commitment of one of their newest offers, 2024 safety prospect Tylen Singleton.

The four-star and second-ranked player out of the state of Louisiana earned an Oklahoma offer earlier this week. Singleton has impressive size for a rising high school junior standing at 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds. He competes in track and field and was a major part of his high school team making it to the state championship game last year.

Singleton’s ball skills immediately jump off when you look at his film. He had interceptions displaying quick processing, understanding of routes and angles, and the athleticism to recover if a step behind. He can play both safety spots and doesn’t look afraid to get in the mix and make a tackle either.

Singleton is a consensus top 50 player in the nation and will almost assuredly be recruited by every major school in the country. Oklahoma did well to extend an offer and assert themselves now before teams turn the page on the 2023 guys and start working on 2024. Singleton joins 16 others as Brandon Hall has cast a wide net at the safety position as he looks to recruit for the 2024 class.

Tylen Singleton’s Recruiting Profile

Crystal Ball

No crystal ball predictions at this time

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With conference realignment at the forefront, who are the most valuable college football programs?

As the Big Ten and SEC continue their arms race for conference superiority, which teams are the most valuable in college football?

College football is changing before our very eyes and will likely never be the same. The product on the field will still be entertaining and draw eyes to the television sets, but it’s going to look and feel very different 10 years from now.

Conference realignment has changed the face of college football over the last 30 years. From the disbanding of the Southwest and Big 8 conferences to the expansion and contraction of the Big East to the realignment that saw four of the Big 12’s programs find new homes a decade ago to what we’ve seen over the last year as powerhouse programs make the move to big-time conferences.

Oklahoma and Texas’ commitment to the SEC and USC and UCLA’s pledge to the Big Ten were the final straws that broke the back of the tradition-rich college football we love.

As the sands shift in college football, profitability and value are just as important as results on the field.

With conference realignment just getting started, let’s take a look back at Forbes’ list from 2019 of the 25 most valuable college football programs. It was the last time it updated the list, but it’s telling.

The new-look SEC, with Texas and Oklahoma, features 12 of the top 25 programs on the list. The only conference schools not listed are Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Missouri and Mississippi State. The new-look Big Ten has eight of the top 25. Oregon, Notre Dame, Clemson, Washington, and Florida State make up the rest of the list, and each has been discussed for possible relocation to the SEC or Big Ten.

The ACC would be in good shape if it weren’t for its media rights agreement that runs through 2036. As media rights deals are estimated to be worth more than a billion dollars for the Big Ten and the SEC in the future, the ACC is getting left behind financially.

That reality could create a situation that leads to more moves coming in the near future for college football’s most valuable programs.

10 schools the SEC should look into if considering further expansion

If the SEC is looking for a response to the Big Ten’s addition of USC and UCLA, here are 10 schools that they should consider.

Round and round, realignment goes, where it stops, nobody knows.

That’s the refrain college kids will be singing on campus for years to come as college football continues to be reshaped by conference realignment. It happened nearly a decade ago. It happened last year. And it happened last week.

Unknowingly, Oklahoma and Texas resumed the conference realignment arms race last summer when they announced their intentions to move to the SEC. That move led to the Big Ten looking to keep pace with their southeastern counterparts by adding USC and UCLA to their mix that features teams predominantly in the north and northeast of the United States.

As the Big Ten and SEC grapple for conference superiority and television revenue, each has made bold moves to strengthen their brands. But it doesn’t look like that’s slowing down anytime soon as the Big Ten could add the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies to their ranks as well.

If the Big Ten does add Oregon and Washington, what would the SEC do in response? Well, here are 10 teams that could make sense for SEC commissioner Greg Sankey to consider if further expanding the SEC.

Four-star defender A’Mauri Washington lists Oklahoma Sooners in his top 4

Oklahoma makes the top four for 2023 four-star DL A’Mauri Washington..

July will be a huge month for prospects in the 2023 recruiting class. An overwhelming amount of players are beginning to slowly whittle down their recruitments and focus on a handful of schools. In some cases, even pull the trigger and commit.

Oklahoma recently landed four-star linebacker Samuel Omosigho and not even a full day later find themselves in the top four for another four-star defensive player.

Defensive line prospect A’Mauri Washington dropped a video to highlight the schools he looks to be focusing on the most intently going forward.

Along with the Sooners, Oregon, Florida, and LSU made the top four for Washington.

Defensive tackles coach Todd Bates is the primary recruiter for Washington and has the Sooners very much in contention. An old name Sooners’ fans may remember opposes them here as former OU outside linebackers/defensive ends coach Jamar Cain is also recruiting Washington for the LSU Tigers. Cain is a wizard recruiting the west coast so going to recruit a kid from Arizona isn’t unfamiliar territory.

Washington visited Oklahoma for the Champ U BBQ and took an official to LSU and Michigan State back-to-back weekends.

Washington stands at 6-foot-4 and weighs just under 300 pounds. He figures to be a big interior defended by the time he gets into a collegiate strength and conditioning program. He has a quality first step loaded with quickness and power. His tape shows a decent understanding of leverage and uses his hands and length to dictate where he wants to take offensive linemen. Chris Singletary, a national recruiting analyst for 247Sports sees Washington being able to play in a three or four-man front in college.

A’Mauri Washington’s Recruiting Profile

Crystal Ball

No crystal ball predictions at this time

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