Tag: No. 3

Why Seahawks should consider adding another receiver next season

The Seattle Seahawks have a solid starting duo at wide receiver with Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf but need a solid No. 3 heading into 2023.

At first glance, the Seattle Seahawks seem set at wide receiver with two solid starters under contract – Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf. But who is the trusted No. 3 heading into the 2023 season?

With Marquise Goodwin (UFA), Laquon Treadwell (UFA), and Penny Hart (RFA) possibly lost to free agency, Seattle could be in the market to scoop up a seasoned veteran or draft a rookie this April.

Around the NFL writer Kevin Patra sees a true need in the Seahawks’ wide receiving corps.

“Seattle sports a dynamic top two in Metcalf and Lockett, who each surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in 2022 with Geno Smith under center,” Patra writes. “Metcalf provides a big-body target and Lockett brings downfield prowess. They fit together like a perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The question is at the No. 3 spot.”

“Eskridge was drafted in the second round in 2021 to fill that role but hasn’t found his NFL footing,” Patra continues. “He logged just seven catches for 58 yards in 2022 while playing in 10 games. Pete Carroll hasn’t given up on Eskridge being a weapon if he can stay healthy, but Seattle can’t enter the season assuming he’ll finally turn the corner.

“Depth behind Metcalf and Lockett is needed.”

Seattle might not see it exactly the way Patra does, but could look to add some insurance receiving power via free agency or this year’s NFL draft.

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Latest AP Poll agrees with Amway Coaches Poll, puts Florida at No. 3

Even with teams like Ohio State and Penn State in the mix, UF trails just Clemson and Alabama on the poll, moving up two spots from No. 5.

It appears putting up more than 600 yards in its season opener against Ole Miss has gotten Florida some attention. The Gators were ranked third in the USA TODAY Amway Coaches Poll, released earlier today, and now they’re up to third in the AP Poll, as well.

This is the first AP Poll to include teams from the Big Ten, who will be starting their season on Oct. 24.

Even with teams like Ohio State and Penn State in the mix, UF trails just Clemson and Alabama on the poll. It moved up two spots from its previous spot at No. 5, jumping No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 4 Georgia.

The Sooners squandered a 35-14 lead to Kansas State, losing 38-35 and dropping all the way to No. 18. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, struggled with an Arkansas team that didn’t win an SEC game last year, trailing 7-5 at halftime before pulling away to a 37-10 win in the second half.

The Bulldogs have questions at the quarterback position, after starter D’Wan Mathis was pulled in the first half of the game for Stetson Bennett, who went the rest of the way. We still haven’t seen USC transfer JT Daniels, who wasn’t cleared to play on Saturday, but for now, it seems that the pollsters see more certainty surrounding the Gators.

The full top 25 can be seen below.

RANK TEAM PV CONF POINTS
1 Clemson (2-0) 1 ACC 1,542 (55)
2 Alabama (1-0) 2 SEC 1,473 (3)
3 Florida (1-0) 5 SEC 1,324
4 Georgia (1-0) 4 SEC 1,310
5 Notre Dame (2-0) 7 ACC 1,231
6 Ohio State (0-0) – Big Ten 1,169 (4)
7 Auburn (1-0) 8 SEC 1,133
8 Miami (FL) (3-0) 12 ACC 1,045
9 Texas (2-0) 8 Big 12 862
10 Penn State (0-0) – Big Ten 840
11 UCF (2-0) 13 AAC 743
12 North Carolina (1-0) 11 ACC 734
13 Texas A&M (1-0) 10 SEC 705
14 Oregon (0-0) – Pac-12 651
15 Cincinnati (2-0) 14 AAC 646
16 Mississippi State (1-0) – SEC 590
17 Oklahoma State (2-0) 15 Big 12 555
18 Oklahoma (1-1) 3 Big 12 535
19 Wisconsin (0-0) – Big Ten 510
20 LSU (0-1) 6 SEC 401
21 Tennessee (1-0) 16 SEC 377
22 Brigham Young (2-0) 18 IND 295
23 Michigan (0-0) – Big Ten 277
24 Pittsburgh (3-0) 21 ACC 248
25 Memphis (1-0) 17 AAC 196

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Longhorns Profile Snapshot: No. 3 Ja’Quinden Jackson

LonghornsWire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the UT roster. Today, we will be looking at fresh. QB Ja’Quinden Jackson.

Going into the 2020 football season, LonghornsWire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Texas roster.

Over the summer, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for Tom Herman this season.

Today, we will be looking at freshman quarterback Ja’Quinden Jackson.

Ja’Quinden Jackson, Quarterback

Ja'Quinden Jackson Duncanville Texas Longhorns
(Mike Craven / HookEm.com / USA TODAY Network)

Height: 6-2 / Weight: 232

Class: Freshman

Hometown: Dallas, Texas

High School: Duncanville

HS ranking (247Sports): Four-star / No. 46 overall / No. 3 position / No. 7 in-state

HS ranking (Rivals): Four-star / No. 180 overall / No. 5 position / No. 26 in-state

Analysis: Ja’Quinden Jackson comes out of Duncanville High School, one of the best football programs in the country. The No. 3 overall dual-threat quarterback in the 2020 class, Jackson will have his chance at the starting quarterback job next season.

For now, Jackson is still dealing with a partially torn ACL he suffered in December. The freshman recovered throughout the summer and prolonged break and has been back out on the practice field. For now, he stands as the team’s fourth-string quarterback.

A threat in the passing game and the running game, Jackson ran for 1,030 yards and 16 touchdowns his senior year. He took Duncanville all the way to the state semi-final game before suffering his injury. Once he is back to 100% healthy, it will be hard to count him out in next season’s quarterback competition.

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Trade rumors involving Lions and Dolphins continue to swirl

Trade rumors involving the Detroit Lions and the Miami Dolphins continue to swirl leading up to the 2020 NFL Draft.

While our Jeff Risdon recently noted that rumors surrounding teams trading up for Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa are basically dead — the trade rumors at the top of the 2020 NFL Draft have persisted.

The latest reports involving a potential trade between the Detroit Lions and the Miami Dolphins don’t involve Tagovailoa, but instead an unnamed offensive tackle — suggesting the Dolphins want to get ahead of the New York Giants and their No. 4 overall pick.

Yesterday, NBC Sports’ Julie Donaldson was first to suggest this possibility, noting that she had heard this from “multiple sources”:

Today, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted a similar report and the Athletic’s Chris Burke noted that Lions general manager Bob Quinn has anticipated this since the NFL Combine:

It’s generally not a smart investment to put too much stock in rumors less than 48 hours away from the draft, but as Burke noted, this type of trade has had legs since the Combine back in February.

So maybe this rumor has a bit more substance… but probably not.

But maybe.

Bob Quinn open to trade talks for No. 3 pick

Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn hasn’t begun any trade discussions for the No. 3 pick, but he’s open to the idea of making a deal.

When the 2019 regular season ended with the Detroit Lions record of 3-12-1, the silver lining was obtaining a top-three pick in the 2020 NFL Draft to address some of the team’s needs. Not only do the Lions hold the power to draft a player to make an immediate impact, but they are keeping an open mind and also could trade down to generate more value for that pick.

Recently, Lions general manager, Bob Quinn sat down with Lions multi-media reporter Tori Petry, he talked about the possibility of trading the pick. “Yeah, open to any trades,” Quinn said. “The higher up in the draft you are, the sooner those conversations usually begin.”

“I have not had any trade conversations with anybody as of yet,” Quinn continued. “Those usually tend to start in the Combine.”

With teams and players arriving at the 2020 NFL Combine today — on-field workouts begin February 27th — you can expect the rumor mill to start swirling in full force surrounding any potential moves the Lions will make at any time.

At the 2:50 mark, you can hear directly from Quinn himself discussing his stance on trading the teams pick and moving back in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Lions keeping an open mind on all positions heading into the draft

General manager Bob Quinn spoke about his draft process and said the team will be keeping an open mind on all position groups.

General manager Bob Quinn recently sat down with Detroit Lions multi-media reporter Tori Petry and discussed several topics ranging from the Stafford trade rumors to recent coaching hires.

With the 2020 NFL Combine about to kick-off, it will be a good time for Quinn and his staff to get a better feel for potential prospects. With a bevy of options with another Top-10 selection this year, Quinn is keeping an approachable outlook on all position groups.

“We’re not ruling out anything right now,” Quinn said. “I think we’re still in the evaluation mode. Which we’re probably a bit ahead of the game, from going to the Senior Bowl and having that experience with those guys down there. Way too early to narrow it down to one position or one player. I think we’re going to the Combine with an open mind.”

The Lions had the opportunity to coach the North team at this year’s Senior Bowl and got a leg up on their evaluation process with all the participating senior players. For all intents and purposes, the Lions took full advantage, allowing them the chance to spend more time with the record setting 115 underclassmen player class this year. Especially the likes of underclassmen Chase Young, Jeffery Okduah, and Derrick Brown, who all have been heavily linked to the Lions.

“All the underclassmen are brand new to us,” Quinn continued. “And obviously, there’s a lot of them this year that are going to be at the Combine. It’s really going to be our first exposure to them in an interview setting. So, a lot of things can change.”

With the Combine interview process changing this year, cutting the number of prospect interviews from 60 to 45 but increasing the time from 15 to 18 minutes, teams will be selective on whom they interview this year. With the Lions already, getting a first-hand look at the seniors, expect the majority of their interviews to be with the underclassmen through various position groups.

With all the recent quarterback speculation, I am sure people will read too much into this and take it out of context, thinking the Lions will be looking at quarterbacks to replace Stafford. The Lions are doing their due diligence like any good team should this time of year, especially with how high of a draft selection they have. The Lions are scouting not just for a draft process, but looking to gain an edge if they end up playing against the players next season.

Quinn will be bringing his entire staff down for the Combine, allowing for maximum coverage and availability to look at every prospect possible making sure they don’t shut the door on any potential prospects. It would be ill-advised for the Lions to exclude any positions at this time, especially since free agency has not begun and anything could change from now to draft day.

Texas Softball: Longhorns walk it off in the 9th inning

The Texas Longhorns needed some late innings heroics and a couple errors to stay unbeaten on the season.

The Texas Longhorns softball team was facing adversity for a change in their latest matchup with the North Texas Mean Green. The Longhorns fell down 2-0 very early, in fact the Mean Green scored both runs with one out. Shealyn O’Leary pitched three innings and gave up just the two runs. The offense struggled to pick up the slack for Texas.

Courtney Day came on in relief to throw two scoreless innings. Day surrounded just one hit and striking out one. She gave way for the Big 12 pitcher of the week Miranda Elish to pitch the rest of the way. Elish went four innings of shutout softball, striking out five and walking one.

On offense, the Longhorns struggled and had to scratch and claw their way back into the game. In the first Kaitlyn Washington hit a sacrifice fly to right field to bring Shannon Rhodes across the plate. North Texas pitcher Hope Trautwein pitched eight innings and gave up two runs, she got the no decision in this one.

Texas would tie the game up in the 7th inning when Camille Corona scored on a wild pitch from Trautwein. It would come down to the Longhorns in the 9th inning to remain perfect. Rhodes singled but a throwing error by North Texas allowed pinch runner Tuesday DerMargosian to come around to score to walk off in the ninth inning.

Elish improved to 5-0 on the season and Texas is now 11-0 early on in the season.

Texas Softball Jumps to No. 3 in Latest Top 25

After going a perfect 4-0 in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge this past week, UT has risen to No. 3 in the latest D1Softball top 25.

After going a perfect 4-0 in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge this past week, the Longhorns have risen to No. 3 in the latest D1Softball top 25. With their overall record at 10-0, Texas joins UCLA as the only two undefeated teams in the top 10 and are tied for the second-most wins throughout the entire top 25.

Just above the Longhorns at No. 2 are rivals Oklahoma. The Sooners jumped from No. 4, going 4-1 this past week. Oklahoma State at No. 8 and Texas Tech at No. 19 are the only other Big 12 teams ranked.

Coming up for Texas is a home game against North Texas on Wednesday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. CST. After their midweek game, they will host the Texas Invitational, as Duke, Lipscomb, North Dakota State, and Weber State will travel to Austin to participate.

Another game to look forward to is when the Longhorns will travel to Los Angeles to face the No. 1 ranked UCLA Bruins. Playing on Feb. 27, two of the top three teams in the country will be squaring off possibly for the title of No. 1 team in the country.

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