The wait is over for Texas and Arch Manning, though quarterback admits it wasn't easy being backup
'This is not really a big deal, but I played every year in high school,' Manning said on Tuesday at SEC Media Days. "It was a 2-A high school. That doesn't mean anything, but from sitting out and not playing, that was pretty tough."
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The son of Cooper Manning, the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning passed for 939 yards and nine touchdowns and ran for four touchdowns last season but saw only limited playing time after September behind Quinn Ewers.
Manning could have seen the field earlier had he gone elsewhere. But in an era where college athletes have newfound maneuverability thanks to the transfer portal — and the ability strike lucrative deals at interested schools — the quarterback chose to ride it out.
'(Transferring) never really crossed my mind,' Manning said. 'I knew Texas was the place I wanted to be. It was the city I wanted to be in, a great education. I had friends there. I was still developing and growing as a football player and a person. So I never really wanted to leave. If there was somewhere else I wanted to be, I would have gone.'
Two years since first arriving in Austin, his days of watching offensive possessions from the sideline is likely behind him. Ewers moved on and up, drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round in April, passing the torch to the newest playmaker in one of football's most famous families.
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Manning's confidence masks the simple fact that the most talked-about player in college football has played in just 12 career games going into the Aug. 30 season-opener at Ohio State, the defending national champion and the team that beat the Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl last January. Now that the wait is over, coach Steve Sarkisian thinks he is ready.
'He's got an unbelievable work ethic. And I think, if he stays true to himself, that's going to help him navigate these waters as they present themselves,' Sarkisian said. 'I think he's prepared for the moment, but now it's just time for him to go do it and enjoy doing it quite frankly.'
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What can the B.C. Lions do to get things headed in the right direction?
Frustration isn't a dirty word with Mike Benevides these days. 'It's not a bad thing,' said the B.C. Lions veteran defensive coordinator, whose team gets its latest crack to find traction in this CFL season on Thursday, carrying a 3-5 record into a visit to the 6-2 Hamilton Tiger-Cats. 'If they (Lions players) are pissed off, they should be. We all are. It doesn't feel like a 3-5 team because of the morale, the talent, how they execute, how they practise. All those things are what you want to see. That frustration is not a bad thing. I'll take it. 'They care. You see it in how they come back wanting to do the work. You see it in how they communicate. You see the text messages at night, doing the extra work. It matters to them. If they didn't care or if they felt there was no chance, then it would be different. 'Frustration is OK. Like I told them, we've been around a long, long time and I can tell them all the stories — from 0-5 to 5-0 and all the rest, from a 5-9 team to winning the Grey Cup in 2001 (with the Calgary Stampeders). All those things are good if you place them in the right place. And I think the men are in the right place.' The Lions are coming off a bye week. Their last action was July 27, when they gave up a 10-point lead in the final three minutes in a 37-33 setback to the Tiger-Cats at B.C. Place. B.C. has two victories this season over the 1-6 Edmonton Elks. Their other win was a walk-off on a Sean Whyte field goal versus the Montreal Alouettes. That's all true. There have been stretches, though, like in the Hamilton game where they've also looked every bit a legit contender. And then there have been these lapses like in Hamilton game where they've simply failed to make plays. Penalties, missed tackles, failed connections on offence have been among the culprits along the way. The stats show some of that. The Lions lead the CFL in net offence (408.3 yards per game). They're seventh in scoring (24.5 points per game). They're second in net defence (344 yards per game). They're sixth in points against (27 per game). Lions running back James Butler leads the CFL in rushing yards (619), averaging a career-best 5.5 yards per carry. There have been six 100-yard rushing games in the CFL this season and Butler had three them, including going for 115 yards on 16 carries in that last Hamilton game. B.C. is eighth in the league in turnover ratio (minus-eight). They did take a step forward in that regard in the most recent outing against Hamilton at least, winning that category on the night 3-1. 'We have all the pieces to be an undefeated team,' said Lions left tackle Jarell Broxton. 'I feel like we beat ourselves. That's what practice is for — so we can clean up the mistakes. 'This is to create a user group for Sports Writers, to pull stories into the sports slider widget on the home page.'This is to create a user group for Sports Writers, to pull stories into the sports slider widget on the home page.' 'It's about everybody focusing, everybody doing their job. It takes everybody on the field.' Lions head coach Buck Pierce added: 'Things are going to happen throughout a game and we can't let four or five plays determine outcomes of games. We have to be able to move on and use that adversity as a tool for us. In certain instances, we've done that, but that's something you always have to work on and go through.' The last time the Lions started a season 3-5 was in 2018. They wound up 9-9 that year, which was good enough for fourth spot in the West Division, but put them before the third-place team in the East and gave B.C. the playoff crossover. B.C. lost that East semifinal to Hamilton by a 48-8 count. The crossover is at play this season for the Lions, considering they've already lost twice to both the 7-1 Saskatchewan Roughriders and the 4-3 Winnipeg Blue Bombers, giving those teams the tiebreaker with the Lions. B.C. has two more games with the 5-3 Calgary Stampeders. The Toronto Argonauts are currently third in the East, at 2-6. 'I think the guys really enjoy coming out here to work,' Pierce said. 'I think it's a tight group. I think it's a group that understands we have got to be better and it's not just one area — it's everything. That's what you really enjoy about the group — 'there's things to be fixed, lets get them fixed and lets get to work.'' Teams coming out of a bye week this season in the CFL are 5-5. Hamilton's on a six-game win streak. A win Thursday would make it the Tiger-Cats' best start since the 2019, when they began 7-2 and reached the Grey Cup. Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell is 13-7 all-time against B.C. going into the game. Hamilton has outscored their opponents in the fourth quarter in all of its eight games this season, with their combined total coming in at 103-59. Eight of the past 13 matchups between Hamilton and B.C. since 2017 have been decided in the final three minutes. SEwen@ Nathan Rourke: B.C. Lions offence needs to find a way to 'start fast' against Hamilton Sunday Tiger-Cats 37, B.C. Lions 33: Hamilton completes comeback with last-minute touchdown
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MLB free-agency rankings 2025-26: Kyle Schwarber joins top 3 behind Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman in latest edition
The MLB trade deadline is behind us. That means free agency is one month closer. Here's the latest update on our 2025-26 free-agent rankings. Notes: Whenever you see a number, a slash and another number, that's a reference to contract years and total earnings. For instance, the shorthand for Bryce Harper's 11-year, $330 million deal would be '11/330.' Ages listed below are for the 2026 season. Previous free-agent rankings: April | May | June [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] 1. Kyle Tucker, Cubs OF, age 29 (June rank: 1) Tucker has hit just one home run since July 1 amidst what has been an extended cold stretch for the class' top player. It's a much bigger deal for the Cubs, who now trail the Brewers by 3.5 games in the NL Central, than it is for Tucker's wallet. Given his track record and age, he's still a lock to eclipse the $300 million mark in free agency. But a deal in the Vladimir Guerrero Jr. range (14/500) is starting to feel more and more out of reach. 2. Alex Bregman (opt-out), Red Sox 3B, age 32 (2) Bregman missed a month and a half due to a hamstring issue but has looked like himself since returning in early July. He rarely chases or whiffs, and he elevates the ball often enough to the pull side to make the most of his good, not great, raw juice. One big thing to monitor with Bregman is the health of his lower half. That hamstring injury was not his first lower-body injury, and there's no doubt that Bregman's mobility has declined in recent years. His sprint speed, for instance, is at a career-low 20th percentile. That matters only as much as it impacts his defense at the hot corner, which remains stellar. 3. Kyle Schwarber, Phillies DH, age 33 (6)4. Pete Alonso (opt-out), Mets 1B, age 31 (3) Schwarber vs. Alonso will spark a fascinating debate this winter. There's a legitimate argument to put either above the other. Alonso — who recently cranked his 251st career home run, putting him one behind the Mets' franchise record — is two years younger than Schwarber and plays a defensive position. But Schwarber is (1) a left-handed hitter, (2) producing a tier above Alonso offensively and (3) considered one of the few elite clubhouse presences in the game. I'm leaning toward Schwarber for now because he might hit 60 home runs. 5. Framber Valdez, Astros SP, age 32 (4)6. Dylan Cease, Padres SP, age 30 (5) Only three pitchers have a chance to reach 175 innings this season for the fourth straight year: these two dudes and Logan Webb. As Gerrit Cole's and Aaron Nola's injuries have reminded us this year, past durability does not guarantee future durability. With that said, teams value arms such as Valdez and Cease quite highly. Valdez's 3.02 ERA across this four-year stretch makes him flat-out one of the best arms in the league. Cease's surface-level numbers this year are ugly, but the combo of strikeout stuff and availability will earn him a nice deal. 7. Bo Bichette, Blue Jays SS, age 28 (8)8. Cody Bellinger (opt-out), Yankees OF, age 30 (10) Neither Bellinger nor Bichette made the All-Star team, but both are having All-Star-type seasons as they approach free agency. Bichette has completely bounced back from a down 2025. He has the second-highest expected batting average in baseball and has recovered enough over-the-fence juice to pop 15 home runs so far. Bellinger has an alluring $25 million team option for next year, but based on his 2025 performance, it's looking likely that he'll test the open market. There aren't many players with his combination of contact skills and center-field defense. 9. Trent Grisham, Yankees OF, age 29 (16) I'm fully buying into Grisham's 2025. The list of every-day center fielders with this combo of pop (on pace for more than 25 homers) and patience (his 13.7% walk rate is 12th in baseball) is extremely rare. Grisham has always had raw juice and a good eye, but he has meaningfully improved his contact quality this year. Players like this, hitting the market this young, get paid. 10. Munetaka Murakami, Yakult Swallows 3B, age 26 (17) The highly touted Japanese slugger was sidelined for the first four months of this season due to an oblique issue but returned, fully healthy, on July 29. And now Murakami looks like a man on a mission. He has already homered three times in 29 plate appearances, including an opposite-field moon shot in his first NPB at-bat back off the shelf. If Murakami can go on a tear over the next two months, he'll put himself in position for a nice MLB pay day. 11. Gleyber Torres, Tigers 2B, age 29 (9)12. Luis Arraez, Padres 1B, age 29 (12)13. Josh Naylor, Mariners 1B, age 29 (11) You could rank this 29-year-old trio in any order, but I gave the edge to Torres, for now, based on his defensive position. He's a poor second baseman, but that's still more enticing than a poor first baseman, which is what Arraez and Naylor are. Gleyber has cooled off a bit since leading off for the AL in the All-Star Game (!!!), but the underlying metrics remain strong. Arraez slots in ahead of Naylor because I think Arraez's high-contact schtick is going to age a bit better than Naylor's. One fun thing about Naylor, though: He has 19 steals, a mighty impressive accomplishment for a dude with third-percentile sprint speed. 14. Eugenio Suárez, Mariners 3B, age 34 (18) In the lead-up to deadline day, Suárez was getting a lot of buzz as the sexiest rental bat. But as Seattle's good-not-great trade package proved, teams don't think the slugging third baseman is an elite player. His 37 home runs remain tied with Aaron Judge for fourth in MLB, but Suárez is a supremely streaky hitter. I think that dynamic, his age and his subpar defense at the hot corner will limit his market this winter. 15. Michael King (2026 mutual option), Padres SP, age 31 (7) King hasn't pitched since May 18, sidelined due to a nerve issue in his right shoulder. He recently made his first rehab start and is expected back with the big-league club at some point in the next few weeks. If King reappears with the goods, he'll fly back up this list. He was one of baseball's best starters before he got hurt and will garner a ton of interest as a free agent because of his age, his relative newness as a starter and his 86th-percentile strikeout rate. 16. Ranger Suárez, Phillies SP, age 30 (21) Suárez had a nine-start run from mid-May to early July in which he allowed just seven earned runs across 59 1/3 innings. He has looked a bit more human over his past few outings but remains one of the better second-tier arms set to hit the open market. Because he doesn't have big stuff — his sinker averages 90.2 mph — and relies on a kitchen-sink approach, there has always been an air of skepticism around Suárez. But at this point, I think he has performed well enough for long enough to be considered a legitimate mid-rotation starter on a good team, which is, essentially, what he has been for the Phillies over the past handful of seasons. 17. Brandon Woodruff (2026 mutual option), Brewers SP, age 33 (33)18. Lucas Giolito (vesting team option), Red Sox SP, age 31 (47) Here we have a pair of former All-Star hurlers who started the season on the shelf but have either returned or rounded into form recently. Before last month, Woodruff hadn't appeared in the bigs since September 2023 as he battled through a significant shoulder issue. But in a five-start sample since then, the burly Mississippian has carved, despite a fastball that hasn't completely bounced back to pre-injury levels. Giolito got off the IL in late April and needed a month to shake off the rust. Across his past 10 starts, the thick-bearded vet has a 2.03 ERA, the seventh-lowest mark in MLB over that span. 19. Shane Bieber (opt-out), Blue Jays SP, age 32 (NR) The 2020 AL Cy Young winner has yet to appear in a big-league game this year as he works his way back from reconstructive elbow surgery. That didn't stop Toronto from acquiring him at the deadline in hopes that Bieber can contribute to the division-leading Jays down the stretch. He has made four minor-league rehab starts over the past few weeks and will make a fifth this weekend. Given the lengthy layoff, Bieber is a total mystery box. But if he makes seven starts for the Jays and looks like Shane Bieber, he'll opt out and get paid. Worse pitchers have made money off less. 20. J.T. Realmuto, Phillies C, age 35 (23) A strong July pushed Realmuto's full-season numbers toward league average. That served as a valuable reminder that though Realmuto isn't what he once was — one of the best backstops in baseball — he's still a valuable player. That's particularly true in a market devoid of catchers. Ultimately, I think Realmuto ends up back in Philly, where his game-calling acumen and leadership qualities are most appreciated. 21. Ryan Helsley, Mets RP, age 31 (19) Helsley, dealt from St. Louis to Queens at the deadline, is the only top-shelf impending free-agent reliever who has improved his performance over the course of the season. He's on a heater right now, with just one earned run allowed in his past 13 appearances. Most importantly, Helsley's fastball has continued to tick up each month and is sitting triple digits since the beginning of July. Relievers, they are volatile, capricious things, but for now, Helsley looks like the best of this bunch. 22. Cedric Mullins, Mets CF, age 31 (22) Mullins is ranked well below Grisham despite a superior track record for a number of reasons. The former Oriole is two years older and has much been more dependent on his legs (both on the bases and in the outfield) to create value. All of Mullins' peripheral numbers have been ticking down for years now, making it unlikely that a team will invest big dollars in him on a lengthy deal. That said, Mullins is still a nice piece, as evidenced by the Mets' move to acquire him at the deadline. 23. Jack Flaherty (opt-out), Tigers SP, age 29 (28) After a bounce-back 2024, Flaherty's walk rate has nearly doubled this year. Even so, he has been quite good since July 1, with a 3.16 ERA across his past six starts. Flaherty has a $20 million option with Detroit for next year, but I think he'll opt out and try to get a longer-term deal. He had difficulty securing that type of contract last winter, but given his age and another year of decent performance, I think he'll find something more alluring this go-round. 24. Zac Gallen, D-backs SP, age 30 (26) Somewhat surprisingly, Gallen wasn't dealt at the deadline as part of the D-backs' expiring contract garage sale. Why? Well, Arizona's former ace has the second-highest ERA among qualified starters this season. That appears to have made him too much of a question mark for teams in the playoff hunt. Over the past month, Gallen's peripheral numbers have been better, and there's a chance Arizona extends him a qualifying offer to try to recoup a draft pick if he departs in free agency. At this point, Gallen is a project, but one that many teams would be eager to undertake. 25. Ramón Laureano, Padres OF, age 31 (43) Heck yeah, brother. I know this seems a bit heavy for Laureano, a dude who was non-tendered by the Braves last winter, but he's a 31-year-old outfielder with a .900 OPS and the underlying metrics to back it up. And it's not a platoon thing, either; the right-handed Laureano, who has traditionally crushed southpaws, is hitting better against righties than lefties this season. He still has a howitzer in right field and a fiery edge that some teams value. He's going to end up with a bigger deal than people suspect. The next 25 Devin Williams, Yankees RP, age 31 (20) Luke Weaver, Yankees RP, age 32 (27) Robert Suárez, Padres RP, age 35 (24) Merrill Kelly, D-backs SP, age 37 (NR) Tyler Mahle, Rangers SP, age 31 (14) Chris Bassitt, Blue Jays SP, age 37 (15) Ryan O'Hearn, Orioles 1B/DH, age 32 (31) Willi Castro, Twins UTIL, age 29 (34) Harrison Bader, Twins OF, age 32 (44) Aroldis Chapman, Red Sox RP, age 38 (38) Germán Marquez, Rockies SP, age 31 (30) Jose Quintana, Brewers SP, age 37 (37) Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers SP, age 38 (NR) Mike Yastrzemski, Giants OF, age 35 (35) Rhys Hoskins, Brewers 1B, age 33 (40) Marcell Ozuna, Braves DH, age 35 (14) Paul Goldschmidt, Yankees 1B, age 38 (41) Dustin May, Dodgers SP, age 28 (32) Zach Eflin, Orioles SP, age 31 (29) Zack Littell, Rays SP, age 30 (49) Aaron Civale, Brewers SP, age 31 (NR) Walker Buehler, Red Sox SP, age 31 (47) Griffin Canning, Mets SP, age 30 (20) Jorge Polanco, Mariners IF, age 32 (NR) Austin Hays, Reds OF, age 30 (50)
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Adam Aznou — An Everton Wonderkid?
Well, Everton are getting frighteningly close to the big season kickoff, stumbling as they are towards a Monday 18th August meeting against newly-promoted Leeds United, with a threadbare squad. Technically, numbers are now up to a theoretically healthy seeming 22 players – just three short of a maximum 25-man Premier League squad – although anyone who's been watching Everton struggle to field a competitive team during the club's semi-embarrassing US summer tour will know better. It's worth noting that this conjectural squad contains third-string goalkeeper Harry Tyrer, the perennially-injured Seamus Coleman, the surely-he-won't-be-here come September 1st Nathan Patterson, along with a trio who'd be better served gaining experience away from the Toffees — in Youssef Chermiti, Harrison Armstrong and Tim Iroegbunam. Given that Everton seem nowhere near to signing a midfielder at present, the last-mentioned player may end up being retained. Incidentally, both 18-year-old midfielder Armstrong and exciting new signing Adam Aznou are exempt from the league's registration rules. Speaking of whom, let's take a look at the club's fourth addition this summer, the young left back signed from Bayern Munich for €9m at the end of last week. La Masia Graduate The Barcelona native started out at local youth team Damm, before joining the famous La Masia academy at age 12. Whilst at the Barcelona academy, Aznou, who is of Moroccan heritage, played for the Spanish under-16 setup, but his time in Catalonia would soon come to an end. By the age of 16 he was attracting attention from a number of major European outfits, including Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus, Benfica and Dortmund, before accepting an offer to join Bundesliga juggernauts Bayern Munich, in July 2022. In Bavaria The youngster seems to have adapted to his new environment relatively seamlessly, though his first year in Germany was disrupted with a hip injury which extended into the summer of 2023. He did feature for Bayern's youth side, as well as making a number of appearances in the Spanish U17 setup. During this period, as are many developing players, he was deployed in various positions. In the following season, he made it to the first team bench on several occasions, nailed down a position at left back and switched international allegiance to Morocco. Most notably, he announced himself as a player to watch by starring in the UEFA Youth League — and catching the eye of Everton's scouts in the process. Last season was a pivotal one in Aznou's nascent career. He was moved to the Bayern first team in the autumn, but found minutes hard to come by — behind Alphonso Davies and the experienced Portuguese international Raphaël Guerreiro. Still, he earned a senior cap for Morocco in September, but was then surprisingly loaned out to bottom-placed La Liga outfit Real Valladolid at the start of February. A Spanish Ordeal If the verdict on the 18-year-old was that he needed to work on the defensive side of his game, in addition to earning minutes in senior football at a high level, then both boxes were ticked during his loan spell in Spain. The club majority-owned by legendary Brazilian striker Ronaldo Nazário were abject, ensuring that Aznou would have to spend a lot of time without the ball. The young left back featured 13 times, starting ten and losing all but one, with the team conceding 29 goals en route. If that appears unflattering, consider that in the three games Aznou didn't play in, Valladolid shipped an alarming 14! With the Spanish side roundly relegated at the end of the season, the defender rejoined his parent club, with Bayern heading to the USA to take part in the expanded FIFA Club World Cup over the summer, but saw just eight minutes of action in the team's initial match — a 10-0 massacre of part-timers Auckland City. With Davies out, having sustained an ACL tear in March, it appears that being overlooked in favour of the veteran Guerreiro pushed Aznou into asking for a move — and the Blues were quick to act. Analysis Aznou is listed at 5'10, though could be a little taller, and is quite lightly built, which is something which panics a lot of Premier League managers; David Moyes has already referenced the need for Adam to add a little weight to his frame. Personally, I think this is often overstated and the full back looks fairly sturdy in challenges. He only turned 19 lat month, and will naturally get stronger, without adding artificial bulk. In La Liga, Aznou won an impressive 68.8% of his aerial duels and racked up good defensive numbers — which is partly due to Valladolid being on the back foot much of the time. The defender's natural strengths are in his technical attributes, speed, agility and quick thinking. An modern full back, his touch is excellent and he's able to burst forward quickly whilst remaining in control of the ball. He's left-footed, but is comfortable with his right, which aids in him making fluid changes in direction when driving up the pitch. Aznou is well able to hug the touchline and put in well-delivered crosses, or to take up intelligent positions inside, sometimes popping up in attacking midfield areas, which makes him both versatile and unpredictable. His defending – not something which he'd had to do a lot of – was given a genuine field test during his spell with Valladolid and came on leaps and bounds. He is barely 19 and so has plenty of room to develop in this area, but he showed tenacity, winning 52.8% of his ground duels and stuck to his duties gamely, demonstrating that he's not just some elite academy product, but has grit and character about him. Aznou provided one of Valladolid's few attacking outlets, being able to break forward on occasion on the counter, an ability which will serve him well at Everton. Evaluation Signing a player with this amount of potential for a very reasonable fee is a genuine coup for the Blues. Aznou's pedigree, in going through the youth systems of both Barcelona and Bayern, is impeccable and his ceiling as is very high indeed. He ticks all the boxes required of a full back in the modern game — except experience in senior football, which is no surprise, given his age. In order to develop into the player he can become he needs regular game time, something that was denied him in Germany. That the Spaniard pushed for a move away from the Bundesliga titans at barely 19 in search of this, speaks highly to his desire to reach his full potential. I believe that Aznou is the kind of player who, under normal circumstances, rapidly moves out of a club like Everton's reach, and that they were able to take advantage of this small window of opportunity to sign him is without doubt a great piece of business. For now, the steady Vitaly Mykolenko will be the Blues' starting left back, but it is imperative to integrate Aznou as much and as quickly as possible. He's not a developmental player, he's a first team talent and, given enough opportunities, should displace the Ukrainian as a starter during the campaign. A full international for a very decent side, Aznou has the talent to transform Everton's left side, combining well with the likes of Iliman Ndiaye, and any other good players who the club may sign before the end of the transfer window. Making predictions is a fool's game, but I'm going to take a chance and claim that this could be the club's sleeper signing of the summer. I look forward to seeing him in action. Statistics provided by and
