Tag: Jaden Rashada

Arizona State QB Jaden Rashada opens eyes with transfer portal move

Jaden Rashada can’t seem to find a situation he likes.

The Jaden Rashada story has taken another wild turn. Rashada, who had signed with Florida before reversing course and choosing Arizona State, has entered the transfer portal and left second-year Sun Devil head coach Kenny Dillingham. It’s another plot twist in a journey which has been more interesting off the field than on.

Gators Wire offered background on Rashada when he originally went to Arizona State:

“He signed with UF during the early signing period, but a reported $13 million name, image and likeness deal fell through before he ever enrolled in classes. That’s when Rashada asked to be released from his letter of intent and set off to find a new home.

“In the end, perhaps Rashada wound up where he should be. He’ll still find success in the NIL market wherever he goes, and playing under the pressure of a $10 million-plus contract might have ruined him before he even got started in the Swamp. There’s also class of 2024 quarterback DJ Lagway to consider. The five-star recruit would be coming in a year after Rashada and competing with him after a year of Graham Mertz or Jack Miller III as the starter.”

Everyone will be intensely interested in Rashada’s next landing spot.

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SOURCES: NCAA’s investigation of Florida football rooted in 2022 recruiting

It appears that the NCAA is investigating Florida football in relation to Jaden Rashada’s recruitment.

The Gator Nation got some bad news on Friday when Matt Baker of the Tampa Bay Times published a report that the University of Florida’s football program has been under investigation by the NCAA since last summer.

No other specifics were released at the time, but The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel and Chris Vannini followed up the report shortly after with some clarifications. According to their sources, the alleged infraction involves the recruitment of four-star quarterback [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag], who ultimately chose the Arizona State Sun Devils over the Gators.

The Northern California product was a highly coveted recruit in the 2022 cycle, with Florida and the Miami Hurricanes battling the hardest over him. Rashada initially signed on with the ‘Canes before flipping on Nov. 10, 2022, to the Gators thanks to a contract that would have paid him $13.85 million over four years through the Gator Collective.

Rashada signed with the Orange and Blue during the early signing period but had cold feet about the arrangement less than a month later, leading to him requesting his release from his letter of intent.

It appears that not everything was kosher with that deal.

According to a pair of sources familiar with The Athletic, the hangup appears to be reportedly related to the role of Florida staff member Marcus Castro-Walker, who is listed on the school’s website as director of player engagement and NIL. Booster Hugh Hathcock, who pledged $12.6 million to Florida’s athletic department in April 2022 and later launched the Gator Guard collective, is also under investigation.

The latter posted a series of tweets leading up to Rashada’s commitment, which could serve as a breadcrumb trail back to his involvement.

“We have been and will continue to cooperate with the NCAA,” Florida senior associate athletic director Steve McClain said in a statement. “We hold ourselves to high standards of excellence and integrity on and off the field. Because we follow NCAA policies about maintaining confidentiality, we are unable to offer additional comments.”

The Gators are not the only football program in the Sunshine State team dealing with NCAA issues. Florida State Seminoles were sanctioned for NIL violations last week, which included fines, probation and scholarship reductions.

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REPORT: Freshman quarterback Jaden Rashada to start for Arizona State on Saturday

The freshman, who still leads the team with three touchdown passes despite playing two games, will start after dealing with an injury.

Arizona State’s offense will be led by freshman quarterback Jaden Rashada on Saturday in the Territorial Cup against Arizona, per reports from 247Sports’ Chris Karpman.

Rashada started the first two games for Arizona State but hasn’t played since with an undisclosed injury. Head coach Kenny Dillingham did not specify the nature of the injury at the time but said it was something that had bothered the quarterback since high school.

Rashada, a four-star quarterback prospect in high school, showed flashes of his potential in his first two games this year. He completed 34 of 60 passes for 403 yards, and he still leads the Sun Devils with three touchdown passes this season.

The in-state battle is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Jaden Rashada set to be named starting quarterback per reports

It appears we have a new starter for Arizona State.

According to On3 college football insider Matt Zentiz, freshman quarterback Jaden Rashada is set to be named the starter at Arizona State.

Rashada made plenty of headlines this past offseason with his commitment to the Florida Gators and ultimately landing at Arizona State with first-year head coach Kenny Dillingham. The Sun Devils also brought in former Notre Dame quarterback Drew Pyne to compete for the starting job.

Although Rashada hasn’t been flawless by any means during the preseason, his arm talent and the capability to make big plays down the field has stuck out and been an advantage for him compared to the other quarterbacks.

Arizona State, which is entering its first season with former Oregon and Florida State offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham as its head coach, opens its season against FCS Southern Utah August 31.

The first big test for Arizona State and Rashada will come on Sept. 9 when the Sun Devils host the Oklahoma State Cowboys. It will also give fans a preview of the new-look Big 12 given that Arizona State joins the conference in 2024.

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Arizona State gets commitment from 4-star California quarterback

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.

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.

That’s still a long way off, though. For now, the Sun Devils have five players competing for the starting job, including Jaden Rashada, one of the top-10 quarterbacks in the 2023 cycle.

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Pac-12 Preview: Kenny Dillingham looks to ‘activate the valley’ in first year with Sun Devils

Kenny Dillingham is looking to “activate the valley” in his first year at Arizona State. Will he be able to find any success in Year 1?

As June starts to roll into July, and July eventually leads us to the start of fall camps at the beginning of August, the 2023 college football season will be here before we know it. What a season it projects to be in the Pac-12 Conference, as well. With a handful of College Football Playoff contenders, and a group of Heisman Trophy candidates leading their prospective teams, we could be set up for one of the best football seasons out west that we’ve seen in decades. To help get us prepared, we at Ducks Wire wanted to go through each team in the conference and give a comprehensive breakdown of each school, breaking down their 2023 outlook. Welcome to our Pac-12 Previews. New editions will be published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday leading up to the start of fall camp. 

When you talk about rising stars in the world of college football coaching, Kenny Dillingham has a chance to be the poster boy before long. After acting as the offensive coordinator at Memphis, and then Auburn, and then Florida State, Dillingham finally became a well-known play-caller in his single season with the Oregon Ducks, where he joined forces with QB Bo Nix and led one of the most prominent offenses in the nation.

A year later, he’s got his chance to really make a mark on the sport, with an opportunity to bring the Arizona State Sun Devils back into prominence.

That will be no small task.

After the firing of head coach Herm Edwards last season left the Sun Devils down in the dumps, there is a spark of life that can be felt throughout the desert. Dillingham’s catchphrase of “activate the valley” is starting to pick up steam, and be it in the recruiting game or via the transfer portal, the roster is starting to look much improved from what it did a season ago.

Will that result in more wins for ASU in 2023? I wouldn’t be too optimistic in that sense of things. However, there is energy that is starting to take root in Tempe.

Here is our full 2023 season preview for Arizona State.

Where Texas football lands among highest recruiting expenses

Five teams spent more on recruiting than Texas in 2022.

College football recruiting is costly business. The more successful schools proved they were willing to pay the price.

As you might imagine, the Georgia Bulldogs topped the list of the schools that spent the most money on recruiting, showing their commitment to building a dynastic reign. Their $4.5 million commitment to the 2022 recruiting class was $1.3 million more than the next highest expense total.

Clemson checked in at No. 2 on the list at $3.2 million. Dabo Swinney once scoffed at NIL stating he built his program in God’s name, image and likeness. Clearly, there’s a monetary commitment at Clemson and the Tigers are doing more than winning over players with culture and a good education.

Texas A&M and Oklahoma both check in above Texas at No. 3 and 5, respectively. Here’s a look at the top 10 biggest recruiting expenses for the 2022 recruiting class.

Gators earns commitment from top-100 QB in class of 2025

Billy Napier and his recruiting staff just locked up another elite quarterback for the Gators, four-star Pahokee signal caller Austin Simmons.

The University of Florida earned a commitment from Pahokee quarterback [autotag]Austin Simmons[/autotag] on Tuesday, marking the first addition to the Gators’ recruiting class of 2025.

A four-star recruit who also plans on playing baseball at the college level, Simmons is a major get for Florida. He’s ranked No. 56 overall on the 247Sports composite and is No. 6 among quarterbacks in his class. There is a chance that Simmons gets to Gainesville sooner than expected, though.

In a recent interview with Footballville, Simmons said that he’s completed all of his high school credits and boasts a 5.34 GPA between both high school and college courses he’s taken. That means the 17-year-old could, in theory, reclassify as a 2024 or even a 2023 in the summer.

Simmons picked Florida over Arkansas, Florida State, Miami, Penn State, Tennessee and UCF among others.

As a sophomore, Simmons threw for over 3,100 yards and 24 touchdowns, according to MaxPreps. He led the Blue Devils to the regional finals, where they fell to eventual rural state champion Hawthorne Hornets (the FHSAA moved to rural, suburban and metro classifications this year after previously going by school size).

Simmons is also a star on the diamond. His fastball clocked 93.8 mph earlier in the week in a big win for the True North Titans, who play in Miami-Dade County. Simmons’ homeschooling allows him to play at multiple programs depending on the sport. It’s a plan that’s clearly served him well and set him up for success.

Things look good for Florida under center for years to come with 2024 commit [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] and Simmons under commitment. [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] proved that nothing is ever truly a done deal until the player is on campus, though, so now Napier and Co. have to hold on to who they’ve locked up.

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CBS Sports’ one burning question heading into Florida’s spring game

Is Graham Mertz the guy who can lead the Gators to success next season?

Florida football’s annual spring Orange and Blue game is a little over two weeks away and following a second-straight losing season, this year’s Gators squad has no shortage of questions heading into the intrasquad matchup. Now that Billy Napier has more than a full year under his belt at the head of the program, however, things should be becoming a bit more clear.

Unfortunately, the Orange and Blue are dealing with a troublesome issue under center. With [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] now departed for the NFL draft and the [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] saga leaving the Gators empty-handed in the 2023 recruiting class, the biggest question for the team remains at the most important position on the field: quarterback.

CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee recently surveyed the Southeastern Conference for each member school’s most pressing issue heading into April, including the question of whether transfer QB [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] is the guy to lead Florida to its first winning record in three seasons or not. Here is Sallee’s take on the topic.

Is Graham Mertz the guy? Anthony Richardson chose to leave for the NFL after one year as the Gators’ starter, and coach Billy Napier hit the transfer portal and lured Graham Mertz way from Wisconsin. Mertz signed with the Badgers with a lot of hype coming out of high school but failed to live up to expectations in Madison. If Mertz does take over as QB1, how will the offense change? Richardson was a monster on the ground, but Mertz doesn’t have that weapon in his arsenal. [autotag]Jack Miller[/autotag] is hot on Mertz’s heels this spring, but Napier has another transfer portal window that opens on May 1 to go shopping if he so chooses.

Florida’s annual Orange and Blue game is scheduled for Thursday, April 13, with a 7:30 p.m. EDT kickoff time inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network+.

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Steve Spurrier comments on Florida’s 2023 quarterback situation

Spurrier commented on the Florida Gators’ QB room heading into 2023.

If there’s one person whose opinion on the Florida Gators quarterback situation holds weight, it’s Steve Spurrier’s.

On a recent episode of The Tailgate, the Head Ball Coach brought up a conversation he had with Shane Matthews, one of Spurrier’s former quarterbacks when he coached the Orange and Blue back in the 1990s. In that conversation, Matthews asked the HBC what he thought of the Gators’ quarterbacks room. His response was one only the most important figure in Florida football history could give.

Here is what the HBC said about the Gators’ current quarterbacks room.

“I was talking to Shane and he said, ‘I’m not sure we have a great quarterback right now,’”

“I said, Shane, they told me that when I took the Florida job back in ’90. You gotta find somebody and coach the heck out of him.”

To provide some context, the Florida quarterbacks room could be confused for a carousel over the last few months. 2022 starter Anthony Richardson will not be returning after declaring for the 2023 NFL draft. [autotag]Jalen Kitna[/autotag] was arrested and dismissed from the team. That left former Ohio State quarterback [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] to take the field for the Gators’ 30-3 Las Vegas Bowl loss to Oregon State.

[autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag], a five-star quarterback prospect from California, signed his letter of intent in December and was expected to arrive on campus after playing in the All-American Bowl in Orlando. After he did not arrive on campus, a national saga played out with a reported $13 million name, image, and likeness deal that fell through at the center. He was released from his letter of intent in January and has since enrolled at Arizona State.

Add in Wisconsin transfer [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag], and the Gators went from a quarterbacks room with a projected first-rounder and five-star prospect, to two former transfers and [autotag]Max Brown[/autotag], a former three-star prospect, as the only scholarship quarterbacks on the roster.

It seems like the Heisman Trophy winner and national championship-winning head coach is a believer in developing the talent you have on the roster. While head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] is expected to add another quarterback to the roster via the transfer portal, Spurrier may get his wish for 2023.

Whoever is brought in from the portal, the 2023 starting job is expected to come down to Mertz and Miller, two players who will have all spring to earn the job.

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