Tag: Texas

Steelers land offensive gamebreaker in new 2025 NFL mock draft

This new mock draft hits the mark for the Steelers.

If the 2025 NFL draft were today, there’s no doubt the Pittsburgh Steelers would be tempted to target a wide receiver in the first round. Pittsburgh has tried and failed to land a receiver so far this offseason so it only makes sense if nothing happens there will be action at wide receiver in the offseason.

ESPN’s Jordan Reid has a new mock draft out and he took that same approach and gave the Steelers one of our favorite prospects in the entire draft in Texas wide receiver Isaiah Bond. Here’s what Reid had to say about the pick:

The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves at 4-2 and atop the AFC North despite some real problems on the roster. Looking ahead to the end of the season, there are going to be multiple spots

No matter who is under center, Pittsburgh has to find more playmaking beyond George Pickens. The speedy and dynamic Bond has flashed this season after transferring from Alabama. He’s not only capable of winning downfield, but he can also turn underneath plays into big gains. He forces defenses to respect his vertical speed and has four scores this season.

There are several elite receivers in this upcoming draft but Bond is the guy we like the most for the Steelers as a guy who can do a little of everything.

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ESPN’s Charlie Creme highlights Notre Dame in big early-season games

Be sure to watch these games.

Notre Dame is expected to do well this season. Its No. 6 ranking in the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll is evidence of that. Naturally, some of its early games will receive a lot of attention.

In light of the poll’s release, ESPN women’s basketball bracketologist Charlie Creme has published a story that answers the question of what the biggest early-season game is for each team ranked in that poll.

Creme has the Irish’s ACC/SEC Women’s Basketball Challenge matchup against Texas as the Irish’s biggest game and gives the following reason:

“Both the Irish and Longhorns saw freshmen become stars a season ago with their team leaders out with injury. Rori Harmon is back for Texas to team up with Madison Booker, and [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] can now pair [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] and [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag], returning from a knee injury. This is a dream backcourt matchup that could define which duo is meshing the best. This looks to be the best Irish team under Ivey. This game and one a week later against UConn, also in South Bend, should tell us just how good.”

The Irish also will face USC early in the season, and Creme has that game as the biggest for the Trojans, who rank third in the poll. Here’s the reason for that:

“A week before the two schools square off in football in Los Angeles, they do the same in basketball. Both the Trojans and the Irish should be in the mix for a No. 1 seed come March, and the winner of this game takes a massive advantage in that quest. One month before (JuJu) Watkins gets to go head-to-head with (Paige) Bueckers, she faces Hannah Hidalgo, the second-best freshman to Watkins a year ago.”

So yeah, there are a few game on the schedule you won’t want to miss. Simply put, don’t.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on X: @gfclark89

Saints’ team doctors have sought advice on treating Derek Carr’s injury

The Saints’ doctors can’t just keep doing what they’ve been doing. They consulted with Texas after Quinn Ewers suffered the same injury as Derek Carr:

The New Orleans Saints will be without starting quarterback Derek Carr for  a few more weeks, which gives Spencer Rattler an opportunity to learn on the job and take more live reps. But it’s not like the Saints are planning to keep Carr on ice forever. They want him back in the lineup, and their doctors have been doing their homework to devise the best plan for treating his oblique muscle injury.

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers suffered a similar oblique strain, which is an unusual injury for a football player. But the school’s medical staff treated him well and Ewers only missed two games, plus a bye week, before returning against Oklahoma in the “Red River Rivalry” game. Ewers scored a touchdown pass and ran for another score in the Longhorns’ 34-3 rout on Saturday.

And on the broadcast, FOX Sports sideline reporter Holly Rowe shared an interesting footnote. She said the Saints had reached out to consult with Texas’ doctors on how they treated Ewers so effectively.

“It’s such a rare injury, it’s actually something that we see in baseball pitchers and volleyball players,” Rowe said, misspeaking and calling Carrr by his older brother’s name, “Actually David Carr in the NFL had a similar injury, they reached out to Texas this week to find out how they’re treating him, treating Quinn Ewers, because he has looked good. A lot of different techniques.”

That misstep aside (it’s not the first time the Carr brothers have been confused for one another, and it won’t be the last), this is good information. There’s nothing unusual about medical professionals consulting with each other especially for rare conditions like this one. The best surgeons in the world still sit through seminars and visit universities for workshops to learn how to better treat their patients.

But that hasn’t stopped fans on social media from laughing at the Saints’ expense — what kind of sports doctors can’t treat sports injuries? That seems to be a negative response due to all the frustration the team has had with injuries over the years, which is a little unfair. It would be more concerning if the Saints weren’t looking for help when working outside their area of expertise. They can’t just keep doing what they’ve been doing and hope for different results.

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Tiger Woods announces he will design new course in Texas, Bluejack Ranch

Check out Tiger’s letter to perspective members of new course near Fort Worth.

This story was updated to include information about Mark Brooks at the new club. 

Tiger Woods announced on social media Thursday that his course architecture firm, TGR Design, has signed on to build a course at a new residential community underway near Fort Worth, Texas: Bluejack Ranch.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because the developers behind the project – Andy and Kristin Mitchell – also built Bluejack National north of Houston in 2016. That is the site of Woods’ first course design in the U.S., Bluejack National.

The name Bluejack, by the way, references a bluejack oak, a tree native to Texas with one present at Bluejack National.

Bluejack Ranch in Aledo will be about a 30-minute drive southwest of Fort Worth. It is planned to be a residential club on 914 acres of working cattle ranch, according to the club’s website. Plans call for it to open in 2026.

Course details were not included in the social post, but Golf.com reported that the plans include a full-size course built by Woods and his design partner, Beau Welling. There also will be a lighted 10-hole, par-3 course.

Fort Worth native Mark Brooks, winner of the 1996 PGA Championship among his seven PGA Tour titles, confirmed to Golfweek that he is a senior advisor to the project and will transition into running the club’s player development programs. The club will include a full golf and fitness performance center.

Woods is also working on a course named Trout National in New Jersey in partnership with baseball star Mike Trout, another at Marcella Club in Utah as well as his second 18-hole course at Diamante Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, called The Legacy. His first 18-holer in Cabo was El Cardonal at Diamante. He also did Payne’s Valley at Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri.

Woods’ layout at Bluejack National near Houston is ranked by Golfweek’s Best as the No. 4 private course in Texas and ties for No. 75 among all modern courses in the U.S.

Woods wrote a letter to perspective members of Bluejack Ranch that is included on the club’s website:

Dear Members & Friends of Bluejack,

It’s hard to believe it’s been over ten years since we embarked on my first U.S. course design at Bluejack National in Houston. The response to that golf experience has been truly gratifying, and when I hear how much Bluejack means to people, I feel incredibly proud of the TGR Design team.

Now, we’re bringing that same Bluejack spirit and passion to Fort Worth- a city celebrated not only as Cowtown but also as a golf town. With legends like Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson, the love for the game here is genuine. I’m grateful for the encore opportunity to reteam with Bluejack National and home-towners Andy and Kristin Mitchell to design a course around this incredibly special property and community.

Bluejack National’s success has paved the way for this next chapter at Bluejack Ranch. Our shared vision of creating a space where families can enjoy the game and have fun inspires us all once again at The Ranch.

It’s extremely motivating for me to contribute to the golfing legacy of Fort Worth, and I’m excited to see what we’ll build together. We’ll share more after our next design meeting in Aledo.

All the best,

Tiger Woods

Vols are one of four FBS teams not to trail in 2024

Tennessee is one of four FBS schools that has not trailed in a game during the 2024 college football season.

No. 4 Tennessee (4-0, 1-0 SEC) returns from an open date in Week 6 on Saturday. Rankings reflect the US LBM Coaches Poll.

Arkansas (3-2, 1-1 SEC) will host the Vols at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EDT.

The Southeastern Conference matchup will be televised by ABC with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe on the call.

Tennessee enters the contest as one of four FBS teams not to trail this season, along with Texas, Indiana and Army. The Vols have not trailed in 24 consecutive quarters dating back to last season’s regular-season finale against Vanderbilt.

The last time Tennessee trailed in a game was against Georgia on Nov. 18, 2023.

READ: Updated SEC football power rankings after Week 5

Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Saints shuffle their offensive line again in this 2025 mock draft

The New Orleans Saints shuffled their offensive line again in this 2025 mock draft. But would you have made the same decision?

So we missed the window for our usual “Mock Draft Monday” feature on a  2025 NFL draft prospect. That’s going to happen when the New Orleans Saints suffer key injuries and lose a very winnable game to end their surprising season-opening win streak. So we’re picking it up with a look at four different options in the upcoming draft class.

We took the draft order from Tankathon’s latest projection, which had the Saints slotted at No. 21, and used the Pro Football Focus mock draft simulator to pick for the 20 teams ahead of us.

This left us with several intriguing prospects. The best players available in PFF’s rankings include Kentucky defensive tackle Deone Walker, Texas left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., LSU right tackle Emery Jones Jr., and Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka. Those are some great options to choose from.

Jones is clearly going to be the local choice here — beyond starring at LSU, he’s a legit top-15 talent, and the Saints would be lucky to get him as a tone-setting sure thing at right tackle to replace Trevor Penning. But you could just as easily make the case for the other guys.

Walker could improve a run defense that allowed almost 7 yards per carry to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, and probably offer more interior pass rush than other guys on the roster. Nathan Shepherd and Khalen Saunders are both only signed through 2025.

Banks could also make sense for an offensive line pick. Taliese Fuaga has done a great job adjusting to left tackle, but many analysts predicted he could be a better fit at guard in the NFL. If Banks is a plug-and-play starter at left tackle, Fuaga could move inside or even go back to his college position on  the right side if the Saints find another answer at left guard.

And then you’ve got Egbuka, who was arguably the most-hyped player in this group. At one point he was seen as a potential top-five draft pick. He certainly has the talent but his production took a serious hit last season (after suffering ankle and knee injuries) and he’s still working to reassert himself in the upcoming draft class. We should also consider he’s got a similar build to Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed at a slight 6-foot-1, 205 pounds. How much does he add to the receiving corps?

In the end, we went with Banks. You can find receivers on the second day of the draft. Defensive tackle could be seen as a priority, sure, but realistically they’re going to play half as many snaps per game as one of the offensive linemen available here. And of the two offensive tackles available, Banks is a better prospect. He’s allowed half as many sacks and pressures as Jones on just 23 fewer snaps in pass protection, per PFF charting, while logging 233 more reps as a run blocker and drawing fewer penalty flags. They’ll both be 21-year old rookies (Banks is actually five days younger than Jones).

So who lines up where? We’re guessing Fuaga goes back to right tackle, Banks takes over on the left side, and Penning either tries out at left guard or is shown the door. Drafting Banks is not a perfect solution to their problems but this would be a big step in the right direction.

Still, at the end of the day we’re too far out from the draft to make any serious predictions. Who knows where the Saints will ultimately pick or whether someone like Banks is even going to be available? If nothing else this is a good reminder to watch Banks closely next Saturday  against  Mississippi State, and again on Oct. 12 in the “Red River Rivalry” game with Oklahoma. You can bet the Saints are keeping tabs on him.

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Arch wasn’t the only Manning who made his first start on Saturday

Charley Manning (6) made his first flag football start on Saturday. Like his cousins Arch (19) and Marshall (13), Charley is a quarterback.

Arch Manning (19) made the first start of his college career on Saturday night when the Texas Longhorns hosted the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin.

Arch’s younger cousin, Charley (6) also made his first football start on Saturday. Eli Manning posted a video of his son playing flag football on his Twitter/X page.

“Arch is not the only Manning to get his first start today,” Eli captioned the video of Charles completing a pass:

https://twitter.com/EliManning/status/1837561875019845819

Arch is the son of Cooper Manning, who is the older brother of former NFL quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Eli Manning.

Peyton’s son, Marshall (13), is a youth football player who has shown off his strong arm at the Pro Bowl. Marshall is also a quarterback, and his youth football league banned his team from running the “Tush Push” play.

Arch won’t be eligible for the NFL draft before 2026 at the earliest. While Arch plays in college, Marshall is nearing high school and Charley is just beginning his football journey. May the Manning era long continue.

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Joel Klatt has three teams at No. 1 in his Week 2 college football rankings

Joel Klatt released his top 10 with three teams ranked no. 1.

Fox Sports college football expert Joel Klatt released his top 10 college football teams, and he put three teams on top of the list.

His top 10 consists of five SEC schools, three Big Ten teams, and one squad each from the ACC and Big 12, It goes to show that the top competition this year is coming from the SEC and the Big Ten, and both teams that win those conferences will have a significant advantage in the playoffs.

With the 2024 season including an expanded College Football Playoff, there’s a likelihood that all of these teams could make the playoffs, even if they don’t win their division.

Honorable Mentions: Missouri Tigers, Michigan Wolverines, Oregon Ducks, Oklahoma State Cowboys and Oklahoma Sooners

Here are Joel Klatt’s top 10 teams:

No. 10: Utah Utes

Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Record: 2-0, plus-60 point differential

Result: Win vs. Baylor 23-12

No. 9: Penn State Nittany Lions

Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images

Record: 2-0, plus-29 point differential

Result: Win vs. Bowling Green 34-27

Nittany Lions Wire

No. 8: Alabama Crimson Tide
Will McLelland-USA TODAY Sports

Record: 2-0, plus-89 point differential

Result: Win vs. South Florida 42-16

Crimson Tide Wire

No. 7: USC Trojans

Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

Record: 2-0, plus-55 point differential

Result: Win vs. Utah State 48-0

Trojans Wire

No. 6: Tennessee Volunteers

Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Record: 2-0, plus-107 point differential

Result: Win at No. 24 NC State 51-10

Volunteers Wire

No. 5: Miami Hurricanes

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Record: 2-0, plus-71 point differential

Result: Win vs. Florida A&M Rattlers 56-9

No. 4: Ole Miss Rebels

The Clarion-Ledger

Record: 2-0, plus-125 point differential

Result: Win vs. Middle Tennessee State 52-3

No. 1C: Texas Longhorns

Junfu Han/Detroit Free Press / USA TODAY NETWORK

Record: 2-0, plus-61 point differential

Result: Win vs. No. 10 Michigan Wolverines 31-12

Longhorns Wire

No. 1B: Ohio State Buckeyes

Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Record: 2-0, plus-102 point differential

Result: Win vs. Western Michigan 56-0

Buckeyes Wire

No. 1A: Georgia Bulldogs

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Record: 2-0, plus-76 point differential

Result: Win vs. Tennessee Tech 48-3

Texas angler’s record sucker is massive, could get much bigger

The behemoth smallmouth buffalo, landed in Austin, Texas, was less than 10 pounds shy of the 31-year-old world record.

A Texas angler has been awarded a state catch-and-release angling record nearly three months after landing a massive smallmouth buffalo at an Austin reservoir.

Texas Parks and Wildlife announced the record Friday via social media, stating: “Look what’s still swimming in Lady Bird Lake. At 71 lb, this Smallmouth Buffalo is a new state record and was released to grow some more.”

Austin Anderson reeled in the enormous fish, a member of the sucker family, on June 10.

For comparison, the state rod-and-reel record for smallmouth buffalo (not released) stands at 82.22 pounds for a fish caught in 1993 at Athens Lake. That catch, by Randy Collins, is also the current world record for the species.

Smallmouth buffalo are native to the Mississippi River and its major tributaries and surrounding waters.

From Texas Parks and Wildlife: “The species is also found in Gulf slope drainages from Alabama to the Rio Grande River drainage. In Texas, smallmouth buffalo are found in most large streams, rivers, and reservoirs exclusive of the Panhandle.”

They’re similar in appearance to bigmouth buffalo, except for a lighter coloration and “distinctive sucker-type mouth.”

Smallmouth buffalo, which can live 100-plus years, are sometimes misidentified as common carp.

Chargers sign Cameron Dicker to contract extension

Cameron Dicker is now one of the highest-paid kickers in football.

The Los Angeles Chargers have signed Cameron Dicker to a contract extension in a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid kickers in football.

The deal is for four years, worth $22.004 million and includes $12.5 million guaranteed. He is signed through the 2028 season.

Since coming to Los Angeles in 2022, Dicker has been a key piece for special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken. He has converted 52 of his 55 field goal attempts, seven of which were from 50+ yards, and he has made all his extra points.

Before joining the Bolts, Dicker was signed by the Rams as an undrafted free agent out of Texas. After a short stint, he bounced around and spent some time with the Ravens and Eagles.