Tag: reaction

Expert Predictions: Can the Gators open up the Napier era with a win?

Here’s how the Gators Wire staff and alumni sees things going down on Saturday.

The start of Florida football’s 2022 campaign is just a couple of days away as the Gators get set to host the Utah Utes this Saturday. The excitement is running high with new head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] making his debut in front of a sold-out crowd on what should be a hot and humid night in the Swamp.

The Orange and Blue face a formidable opponent in their Pac-12 counterparts, who come into the game ranked in the top 10 by both major polls carrying some lofty expectations of their own. Winners of their conference last year, the Beehive State boys return with a packed roster that includes former Gator [autotag]Mohamoud Diabate[/autotag], who headed out west via the transfer portal during the offseason.

With all of that in mind, the Gators Wire roundtable assembled to give their respective takes on the first game of the Napier era along with a composite result comprising of each person’s predictions. Take a look below at what the six of us had to say for the first game day of 2022.

5 things Aggie fans should know heading into Saturday’s matchup vs. Sam Houston State

5 things Aggie fans should know heading into Saturday’s matchup vs. Sam Houston State

Head coach Jimbo Fisher and the Texas A&M Aggies are set to kick off their 2022 college football season this Saturday, set to host the Sam Houston State Bearkats at 11:AM Central in what is set to be a packed Kyle Field and an always raucous environment.

With Sam Houston State kicking off its season this weekend as well, the Bearkats come into 2022 dripping with the potential to repeat their appearance in the FCS quarterfinals and beyond, as it’s their last season at the FCS level as the rising program is scheduled to enter the FBS ranks before the start of the 2023 season. To provide some background, the Sam Houston State football program has seen great success since entering the FCS ranks after the 1985 season, making three national championship game appearances, and capturing the title against South Dakota State at the end of the 2020 campaign.

The Bearkats have also seen over 37 former players participate in the NFL, while 19 have been drafted in their history, with some notable players including quarterback Rhett Bomar, defensive back Keith Davis, quarterback Josh McCown, and the recent 2022 5th round draft pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Zyon McCollum.

This season, the men in bright orange are led by longtime head coach K.C. Keeler, who is set to start Georgia Tech transfer, Jordan Yates at quarterback, along with 9 FBS level players from the transfer portal, including former 5-Star safety B.J. Foster, and 2018 recruiting class member, wide receiver Al’vonte Woodard.

For the Aggies, Haynes King is back in the saddle as the starting quarterback, the wide receiver and tight end rotation is stacked with a mixture of experienced/young talent, while the defense is set to unveil what they have learned from the new defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin this fall, which is sure to to turn some heads right off the bat.

Now, before kickoff, here are 5 observations leading into Saturday’s afternoon tilt with Sam Houston State.

Behind Enemy Lines with Frogs O’War: Are Colorado and TCU future Big 12 foes?

Could CU and TCU become conference rivals one day?

You can’t go anywhere in the college football world without someone giving their thoughts on realignment. With rumors swirling about Colorado potentially rejoining the Big 12, we got Anthony North of Frogs O’War’s thoughts on how realignment could affect Colorado and TCU.

Here’s what I asked him: Realignment has been all the talk this offseason. Where do you see TCU and CU ending up when all the dust settles? Could they be conference foes in a remade Big 12/Pac-12?

North’s Response:

Looking forward to seeing you in the Big Pac 24 in 2025! My first thought as soon as the USC/UCLA news dropped was that this would quickly lead four of the remaining Pac-12 teams to find a life raft in the comforting arms of the Big 12, with the most likely candidates being ASU, Arizona, Utah, and your Buffaloes. Seems a few more dominoes would need to fall before anything happens (perhaps Notre Dame, Washington, Oregon to the Big Ten), but I still think this is the best outcome for each of those parties to secure a seat at the table.

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

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

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Everything George Helow said about Michigan football’s linebackers before the season opener

They’ve really improved year-over-year. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Perhaps it’s the least talked about position group in Michigan football, and that may be for a good reason rather than a bad one. Though the Wolverines lost starter Josh Ross to the NFL, there’s a lot of confidence in what the linebacking corps brings in 2022.

While there may be a new defensive coordinator in Jesse Minter, George Helow returns to coach the position for a second-straight year. He has something of a ringer in Junior Colson, who was a freshman All-American a year ago. He figures to improve, as do some of the players who got significant minutes a year ago.

So what does Helow think of his position group? He shared an update on Wednesday as the Wolverines prepare to take on his old school, Colorado State, on Saturday.

Nets’ Kyrie Irving talks about being uncomfortable behind LBJ, KD

In a preview for HBO’s The Shop, Nets’ guard Kyrie Irving opens up about playing behind LeBron James and teammate Kevin Durant.

Kyrie Irving is returning to the Brooklyn Nets this season after not seeing eye-to-eye with management earlier this summer, and the star just opened up on how “uncomfortable” it can be to play behind icons like LeBron James and teammate Kevin Durant.

In a preview for the upcoming Uninterrupted show ‘The Shop’, Irving took a seat alongside renowned actors, entrepreneurs and other celebrities, including Idris Elba and Drew Barrymore.

“Playing with ‘Bron and playing with KD, within our culture they are true icons, but I had to fill in those shoes that were very uncomfortable for me,” Irving said.

Irving also discussed his artistic vision on the court.

“The tool I chose to use as my paintbrush is my basketball. When I describe myself as an artist it gives me an opportunity to do whatever I want.”

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Everything Jay Harbaugh said about Michigan football special teams and safeties

He’s a very, very underrated coach! #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — If there’s anyone on the Michigan football coaching staff that’s gotten rave reviews in the past few months it’s been Jay Harbaugh.

Harbaugh has been something of a positional journeyman, having coached tight ends, running backs, tight ends again, and now safeties, along with being the Wolverines’ special teams coordinator. The son of head coach Jim Harbaugh, what some viewed as a nepotism hire eight years ago has proven to be one of the best — especially as he’s the only coach left from the initial group who came aboard in 2015.

On Wednesday, he spoke to the media about his groups, discussing who has stood out, his coaching trajectory and much more. Here is everything he had to say.

Georgia vs. Oregon: 5 Reasons why Ducks could keep it close

Can Oregon keep it close? Here’s 5 reasons why they might…

The No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs are set to take on the No. 11 Oregon Ducks on Saturday Sept. 3 in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game.

Former UGA defensive coordinator Dan Lanning is pitted against the defending national champions for the season opener.

Oregon is coming off of a 10-4 season in which it lost the Pac-12 Championship Game to Utah 38-10 and the Valero Alamo Bowl 47-32.

The Bulldogs look to defend their title in the first game back from brining the big one home to Athens. UGA is currently a -17.5 point favorite.

Here’s five reasons why the Ducks could keep this one close.

Michigan has four prospects on PFF’s top 100 draft board for 2023

We expect more Wolverines to be on this list at the season’s end.

It’s not surprising that a team that made the College Football Playoff and won 12 games in 2021 would have some players being talked about early for the 2023 NFL draft. While Michigan has some players being discussed for next April’s draft, the Wolverines don’t have anyone being projected to be a top pick in the 2023 draft.

The Wolverines do return just about everyone from the offensive side of the ball and this is a big reason why Michigan is a preseason top 10 team for 2022. But the maize and blue did lose a chunk of their top 10 scoring defense from last season. Aidan Hutchinson and Daxton Hill were both first-round selections, and the Wolverines also lost David Ojabo, Josh Ross, and Brad Hawkins who were all major contributors.

Pro Football Focus came out with a preseason top 100 draft board for the 2023 NFL draft and four Wolverines cracked the list from PFF.

We can tell you that shockingly, none of Olu Oluwatimi, Erick All, or Ryan Hayes cracked the top 100.

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Zak Zinter says Michigan football is ‘going to be the most physical offensive line in the country’

Love this attitude! #GoBlue

A big reason Michigan football had its best campaign since 1997 last year was the Wolverines controlled the line of scrimmage game-in-and-game-out. The Michigan offensive line won the Joe Moore Award for being the nation’s best unit in 2021.

The maize and blue lost two starters off that line, center Andrew Vastardis and tackle Andrew Steuber. While the Wolverines are confident in Trente Jones’ ability to fill the void at right tackle, Jim Harbaugh brought in Rimington Award finalist Olu Oluwatimi to handle the center duties this year.

All-Big Ten right guard Zak Zinter met with the media on Monday, and he said Michigan has a chance to be even better on the offensive line this season. He credits some of that to Oluwatimi coming on board.

“We have high expectations in our room,” said Zinter. “We had a great O-line last year, but we have a chance to be even better this year. We got Olu coming in. Physically, he’s a beast. He’s there too mentally; he’s played a lot of ball, so I’m excited at what we can do this season.”

Oluwatimi came from Virginia, where he started 32-straight games at center. The graduate transfer was an All-American in 2021 and had more snaps than any other center in the ACC (910). Something Zinter noted on Monday was the experience Oluwatimi brings to the table. While Zinter loved playing with Vastardis, he said Oluwatimi is a step up at center — especially from a physicality standpoint.

“Olu’s just got a lot of experience that he’s brought,” said Zinter. “He’s been a great player to have and I love playing next to him. We mesh well together, so I’m excited to see what the season brings. Trente’s doing a great job stepping in for Stueber’s spot, so I’m just really excited.”

“No disrespect to V (Andrew Vastardis), I love V; he’s a great leader,” said Zinter. “But physically, Olu is just a step up. He’s got all the attributes you want in a center, and I’m really excited to be able to play next to him this year.”

Now that former offensive coordinator Josh Gattis has left and Matt Weiss and Sherrone Moore took the position over, the Wolverines’ offensive line has a new focus in 2022. Zinter said that with coach Moore helping to lead the charge, the offensive line has started to focus on the different types of blitzes coming their way. Zinter said they are even shifting focus onto the linebackers and safeties to better understand where blitzes may come from.

“We love to run the ball, but we like to pass it, too,” said Zinter. “So we’ve really focused on picking up twists and different blitzes. With coach Moore being the OC now, we’ve started picking out the whole secondary as well. The safety rotations, linebackers, all that stuff, so we can have a better understanding of where blitzes are coming from.”

If Michigan fans were happy with the offensive line unit in 2021, then 2022 may be just as fun. Zinter stated on Monday that Michigan would be the most physical offensive line in the entire country in 2022. He said running the ball is still the Wolverines’ identity, but with two capable quarterbacks, the maize and blue will be able to sling the rock as well.

“We’re just going to be the most physical offensive line in the country this year,” Zinter stated. “We’re going to run the ball when we want to run the ball. That’s our identity and that’s not going to change. But we also have the ability with two great quarterbacks to pass when we want to. We have great receivers and great running backs, so we just really want to be a physical offensive line this year and really just finish guys.”

Michigan will open with Colorado State on Saturday at noon EDT on ABC.

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Dennis Allen addresses Saints’ decision to trade C.J. Gardner-Johnson

Dennis Allen addresses Saints’ decision to trade C.J. Gardner-Johnson; Demario Davis, Tyrann Mathieu express confidence in the next man up

The biggest news at the NFL roster cuts deadline isn’t a roster cut — it’s a trade, with the New Orleans Saints shipping out C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Philadelphia Eagles in a surprise move. And to his credit, Saints head coach Dennis Allen addressed the move head-on during his next media availability session by announcing the trade.

“I want to say this,” Allen told local media after practice on Tuesday, “That was not an easy decision. I love Chauncey. He’s been a big part of what we’ve been able to do here, specifically defensively … We wouldn’t have done that if we didn’t feel extremely confident in the group we had.”

Allen publicly wished Gardner-Johnson well and then moved on to his next question. It speaks volumes that he signed off on the trade — remember, Allen’s Saints career began as a defensive backs coach before he was promoted to defensive coordinator, and now he’s the head coach. He knows Gardner-Johnson as well as anyone in the building could hope to. And when push came to shove, he looked at the situation objectively and made the move that he felt best benefits the team.

What’s encouraging is the vote of confident Allen gave to the rest of his secondary, which was echoed by defensive leaders Demario Davis and Tyrann Mathieu. Each of them complimented Gardner-Johnson (Davis repeatedly called him a “phenomenal” player) while talking up other players with experience manning the slot, pointing to NFL veterans like Bradley Roby, P.J. Williams, and Justin Evans as guys they’re confident can help the team. Rookie draft pick Alontae Taylor is in the mix, too. As Mathieu put it, “I think we have a good room. I think we have a deep room.”

As Allen said, it’s a difficult situation to navigate. He’s trusting that the roster he’s built can absorb this loss and remain competitive. We’ll see if that trust is justified when the bright lights come on in just two weeks.

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