Texas Longhorns kickoff training camp this week
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USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Why this LSU football transfer could be the Tigers' most important player in 2025
A crown jewel of LSU football's top-rated transfer portal haul was cornerback Mansoor Delane. Delane, who spent the first three years of his career at Virginia Tech, was ranked as the No. 4 corner and No. 52 overall player in the transfer portal according to On3's Industry Rankings. LSU's secondary struggled in 2023 and 2024. In 2023, LSU tried to rebuild the room through the transfer portal. Expectations were high for a handful of talented players, but a combination of injuries and busts led to a disappointing year. In 2024, LSU was less reliant on the portal, opting for homegrown talent. The secondary took a step forward, but the inexperience showed. LSU went looking for transfer portal cornerbacks again this year, landing Delane along with ex-Florida cornerback Ja'Keem Jackson. Delane just might be the most important player on LSU's defense. Zy Alexander was a bright spot of LSU's defense last year. Playing the boundary corner role, he was among the SEC's best defenders. That's a big hole to fill, but LSU trusts Delane in that spot. LSU DC Blake Baker wants to play man coverage. That requires cornerbacks who can hold up vs. the SEC's best pass catchers in man coverage. Delane ranked No. 7 among ACC cornerbacks in 2024 with an allowed completion rate of 47.2%. Offenses were quick to throw at Delane, targeting him 72 times in 2024. He's good at the point of attack with 11 career PBU's and six picks. If Delane is left alone in 2024, he'll be heavily targeted again, but Delane has proven he can hold his own. Delane brings over 1,800 snaps of Power Four experience to LSU's defense. That's just what the Tigers need after losing their most experienced corner. In recent years, LSU has taken risks with its secondary additions. Delane is a safe bet with a high floor. While Delane will see most of his time at corner, LSU won't be afraid to move him around. "Soor is a guy we can put all over the secondary," Baker said, "He could be a corner, safety, nickel, dime." Delane is a floor raiser for this unit. His versatility and experience allow LSU to make the most of its personnel elsewhere. That's needed with a few questions remaining on this unit. Delane was a third-team All-ACC in 2024. Don't be surprised to see the veteran LSU corner competing for an All-SEC spot in 2025. "Mansoor Delane has been very, very, I think impactful at the cornerback position," LSU head coach Brian Kelly said in February.
USA Today
15 hours ago
- USA Today
Will LSU baseball move star releiver Zac Cowan to the starting rotation in 2026?
LSU baseball received good news this summer when pitcher Zac Cowan announced his return for the 2026 season. Cowan, who spent the first two years of his career at Wofford, emerged as LSU's top reliever in 2025. After posting a 2.94 ERA and striking out 60 batters in 52 innings, Cowan certainly got the looks of a few MLB scouts. But as Cowan remained on the draft board, it became clear a team would need to pay well over slot value to convince Cowan to turn pro. With Cowan's return, LSU retains a much-needed arm. LSU lost three pitchers to the draft -- Kade Anderson, Anthony Eyanson, and Chase Shores. All three played key roles on LSU's march to winning the national title. With Anderson and Eyanson gone, LSU is down a couple of aces. Casan Evans, who starred as a freshman, is a slam-dunk to take on a full-time role in the starting rotation. But what about Cowan? Cowan has experience as a starter and a reliever. He's proven to be capable in both roles, but in 2026, it will be a matter of where LSU needs him more. Why Zac Cowan could join LSU baseball's starting rotation in 2026 Cowan was one of college baseball's top starters in 2024. In 17 starts, he pitched 110 innings with a 3.35 ERA. The strikeout-to-walk ratio was close to elite, striking out 10.1 batters per nine innings while walking just 2.4. Wofford was even better than the stats suggest with his ERA being inflated by one nine-run outing. Cowan was more than capable of handling the starter workload, tossing over 100 pitches on five occasions in 2024. In his 17 starts in 2024, Cowan only failed to complete the sixth inning twice. Working as a starter in the SEC is more of a grind, and even the league's best pitchers falter, but Cowan has the baseline talent to give LSU competency as a starter. Cowan's level of command plays a role in that. It's easier to pitch deep into games when staying out of three-ball counts. Cowan was called upon to make a start for LSU in the College World Series and delivered. Against one of the best lineups in the country, on the biggest stage, Cowan pitched 5.1 innings and allowed just one run. Why Zac Cowan could remain in LSU baseball's bullpen LSU's bullpen was inconsistent in 2025 -- the only trusted arms were Cowan and Evans. With Evans clearly moving to the rotation, LSU may want to keep a trusted arm in the pen. With the level of hitters in the SEC, it's hard to find relievers of Cowan's caliber. And LSU doesn't have many better options on the team. If Cowan isn't in LSU's starting rotation, he can serve as a Swiss Army knife. He can close some games, get LSU out of jams in others, and make long relief appearances when needed. But if Cowan were a starter, he'd be penciled into a role. And while Cowan has proven it as a starter at Wofford, you don't know what you're going to get facing SEC competition week in and week out. It's a different kind of grind. Cowan was inconsistent down the stretch in 2025, with his command faltering in longer outings. Those issues could appear again if Cowan were a starter. Bottom Line For now, expect Cowan to be a starter in 2025. The upside is too great to keep Cowan in the bullpen another year. Cowan has a chance to be one of the SEC's most effective arms and if that's the case, LSU needs to get more than 60 innings from one of its top pitchers.
USA Today
19 hours ago
- USA Today
Former Texas players on the 2025 Longhorns' schedule
As Texas heads into the 2025 season, they are slated to face a number of familiar faces. Leading the way, a trio of former Longhorns will be waiting for Texas in Starkville later in the year. In one of the final games of last season, Texas ran into Arizona State and a number of former Longhorns, Zac Swanson, J'Mond Tapp, Troy Omeire and Prince Dorbah. They've had a number of former Longhorns move on to other Power 4 programs and a few that even found their way to other SEC programs. That movement is lessened, because of the rule that intra-conference transfers in the SEC can only occur during the winter window. Despite that, Texas will run into several familiar faces in the 2025 season, but it will take until October 25th, when they go to Starkville. There are a trio of former Longhorns on the Bulldogs this year that figure to play big roles. Brenen Thompson is further removed from his time at Texas, with a stop at Oklahoma in between. He has now found his way to Mississippi State and could very well end up being WR1 for the Bulldogs. On defense, you have two rotational pieces in Jaray Bledsoe up front and Derion Gullette that should play a role in that defense. The following week, Texas returns home against Vanderbilt and will welcome a former Longhorn back to Austin. Aaron Bryant found his way to Nashville this offseason and figures to play a large role in their defensive front. Bryant only totaled one tackle a year ago for Texas, but was a top 10 prospect in Mississippi coming out of high school. We will see if he can reach that potential for the Commodores. Texas gets a brief hiatus from seeing former players against Georgia and Arkansas, but they are quickly back to it for the Lone Star Showdown. Amari Niblack, the former transfer into Texas from Alabama, has made his way to College Station for the 2025 season. He is in great position to be the starter for Texas A&M to start the season, and could put together his best season yet. We will know going into that one how much Niblack will factor in, but he could be a major part of the gameplan for the Aggies this year. That does it for the former Longhorns that are set in stone on Texas' schedule, but there are a couple more they could run into late on. In a possible SEC title, they could very well see Sydir Mitchell and LSU or Jalen Catalon and Missouri. If Texas makes their third playoff in a row, there are plenty of other names that could factor into this equation. In the transfer portal world, there have been a number of 'homecoming' games in the last few years. Texas is slated to have a number of those this upcoming season, with Mississippi State being something of a reunion. We will see how much some of those players factor into the equation for their new teams, but it will be nice to see some familiar faces facing the Longhorns in 2025.
