Tag: Willie Nelson

Friday Night Notes: Double WR intrigue, Oklahoma State stocks up on starpower, plus more

Jeremiah Smith’s upcoming visits, another potential Colorado flip and more.

USA TODAY High School Sports‘ Friday Night Notes is a weekly high school recruiting recap that looks at the latest news from around the country—from the Class of 2023 to ’24 and beyond.

We begin in Columbus, where Ohio State has already lost one elite recruit in the 2024 cycle. The No. 1 overall player and top-ranked quarterback Dylan Raiola de-committed from the Buckeyes in December and seems to be deciding between reigning two-time champion Georgia and Nebraska, where he has family ties.

On the bright side, Ryan Day and company still have the No. 1 wide receiver in the class in Jeremiah Smith. However, it’s a long way from signing time, and Smith is evaluating his options. According to Ryan Wright at Rivals, Smith has official visits set for Florida and Miami. He’s also looking into both Georgia and Florida State.

Smith (6-foot-3, 185 pounds) is not only the best wide receiver in his class, he’s ranked second overall behind Raiola. Needless to say, losing both would be devastating for the Buckeyes’ recruiting outlook for 2024 and beyond.

Then again, even if they eventually lose Smith’s commitment, it’s not the end of the road. If the recruitments of 2023’s top cornerback Cormani McClain and quarterback Jaden Rashada have taught us anything, this new-look NIL/recruiting game is more fluid than ever. McClain initially committed to Florida, then flipped to Miami, then finally settled on signing with Colorado. Meanwhile, Rashada committed to Miami, signed with Florida and wound up with Arizona State.

In other words, don’t expect this to be a settled matter anytime soon. The competition for Smith may eventually become even more fierce than it was for those two. According to On3, Smith has offers from 41 different programs to choose from.

Willie Nelson announces commitment to Oklahoma State

Longview (Texas) three-star safety Willie Nelson announces his commitment to Oklahoma State.

Willie Nelson is joining the Cowboys.

Last Friday the Longview (Texas) three-star safety officially announced his commitment to Oklahoma State.

Going by the composite rankings, Nelson (5-foot-9, 170 pounds) is ranked No. 38 at his position and No. 77 overall in the state of Texas. He put himself on the map with a breakout sophomore season, posting eight interceptions, seven pass breakups and two pick-sixes.

Nelson had offers from six other schools, including Colorado, Incarnate Word, Oklahoma, SMU, Texas State and UTSA.

Oklahoma State’s class of 2024 now has three commits. The others are Stillwater (Okla.) tight end Josh Ford and Southeast (Okla.) running back Rodney Fields.

More football stories

4-star Athlete with 60 offers trims list to 15

Mahomes’ HS classmate predicted he’d win SB

Live-Stream High School Sports: NFHS Network

Auburn fans recall their favorite concerts held at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum

Beard-Eaves has seen some major acts come through over the years.

Beard Eaves Memorial Coliseum opened up on January 11, 1969 with a historic win over an LSU team led by Pistol Pete Maravich.

It also survived 45 years of concerts, many of them turning into cherished memories for Auburn fans everywhere. In its early days the Coliseum saw acts like Elvis Presley and The Rolling Stones. The Coliseum went out rocking with Dierks Bentley and Rascall Flatts back in 2014.

Before we begin reminiscing its important to note that I was not able to obtain the dates for each of these artists. If your favorite artist is mentioned without a year please feel free to give us a shout-out!

Concert years verified by setlist.fm

1960s:

1969: The Rolling Stones and Chuck Berry (not a bad way to “start it up” sorry I just had to get that one pun in)

Side story: My dad said that The Rolling Stones shouldn’t even be in contention for one of his favorite concerts. They were nearly 3 hours late much to the dismay of everyone in attendance BUT when they showed up they brought the house down.

1970s:

1970: Neil Diamond

1971: Chicago

1971: The Carpenters

1971: Ike and Tina Turner

1972: The Allman Brothers Band

1972: Isaac Hayes

1972: Rod Stewart

1973: George Carlin

1973: Elton John

1974: Elvis Presley

1975: Chicago

1976: James Taylor

1976: Andre Crouch

1976: Bruce Springsteen

1976: The Commodores

1977: Neil Diamond

1980s: 

1980: The Eagles

1980: Charlie Daniels

1981: Hall and Oates

1982: James Taylor

1983: Joan Jett

1984: Stray Cats

1985: Whitney Houston

1985: Tina Turner

1986: Jimmy Buffett

1987: REM

1987: Indigo Girls

1987: Huey Lewis and the News

1987: Whitney Houston

*sometime in the 80s but we can’t quite place them: 

Dan Fogelberg

Pat Benatar

Lewis Grizzard

1990s:

1990: Jimmy Buffett

1992: Lenny Kravitz

1992: The Cult

1993: Winona Judd

1993: Clint Black

1994: Widespread Panic

1994: Dave Matthews Band

1994: Alan Jackson

1995: The Allman Brothers Band

1995: Widespread Panic

1995: Blues Traveler

1996: Widespread Panic

1996 or 1997: Willie Nelson

1997: Indigo Girls

1998: Third Eye Blind

1998: Eve 6

*definitely early 90s but we can’t quite place these guys either:

Edwin McCain

Hootie and the Blowfish

2000s:

2000: Live

2000: 311

2000: Sister Hazel

2008: O.A.R.

2008: Akon

2010: Skillet

2010: The Rocket Summer

2010: Goo Goo Dolls

*If you saw any of these acts and can give us a year please do so, the undated concerts:

Stan and Eddie

Phish

Drivin N Cryin

Brooks and Dunn

Jeff Foxworthy

Garth Brooks

Alabama

I was never able to attend a concert at the Coliseum, but all of this reminiscing makes me wish I could have. Oh to be a fly on the wall for some of these concerts.

Is your favorite concert missing? Feel free to reach out to us on Facebook on Twitter!