Former Notre Dame All-American Quenton Nelson named one of the best players of the 2000's
Bruce Feldman of The Athletic named Indianapolis Colts left guard Quenton Nelson the 25th-best player during that span. In composing his list, Feldman conversed with dozens of coaches, television analysts and NFL scouts for insight.
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Nelson was named an All-American during his final season in South Bend, and during his three years as a starter was consistently graded as one of the more accomplished guards both as a run blocker and a pass protector. In 2017, the Fighting Irish averaged 6.3 yards per rush as a team, which was the third-highest mark in all of college football. The Irish finished 10-3 and earned a bid to the Citrus Bowl, where they defeated LSU.
Nelson was the sixth overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and has helped anchor the Indianapolis offensive line since. He has made seven Pro Bowls and is a three-time All-Pro.
This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Quenton Nelson, former Notre Dame lineman, honored as one of the best
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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
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'Definitely,' says Jack Hinshelwood, when asked whether he felt any trepidation after Fabian Hurzeler replaced Roberto De Zerbi as Brighton & Hove Albion's head coach last summer. 'When you break through under one manager and then he leaves, there is a bit of doubt in your mind, but I just had to try to turn that into motivation, really go and prove to the manager my worth to the team. Advertisement 'I worked really hard, coming back from an injury (a stress fracture of the foot), to have a good pre-season, to gain my place in the team, and the manager has been great. He has a great personal relationship with everyone. It makes us want to give that extra 10 per cent on the pitch.' Reflecting on that summer of big change for his boyhood club reveals a rare flicker of vulnerability in Hinshelwood. Not much has fazed the versatile 20-year-old on his pathway to success for club and country. Since September 2023, when he made his full debut in the Premier League under De Zerbi, Hinshelwood has established himself as a first-team regular in a variety of positions — his next official appearance will be his 50th across all competitions, with a healthy eight goals and three assists in the 49 he's made so far. He approaches 2025-26 as a member of the England squad that won the European Under-21 Championship in June. Hinshelwood has taken the rapid rise in his stride, including the exit of De Zerbi prompted by irreconcilable differences over transfer policy and the appointment of American-born German Hurzeler as the Italian's successor. 'I've loved playing for both managers,' Hinshelwood tells The Athletic. 'I can't thank Roberto enough for giving me the introduction. They are both very passionate and very emotional. They give you the feeling as players that you want to go out there and run through brick walls for them. 'Roberto's style on the ball was very sort of strict. 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New York Times
an hour ago
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Inside Liverpool's commercial juggernaut: New Adidas deal, 1.7bn engagements and why Asia matters
According to figures from Blinkfire Analytics, Liverpool had 1.7billion engagements across all social media platforms last season — more than the top 10 teams in the NFL or the NBA combined. There were 60m alone on the April day when Arne Slot's side clinched the Premier League title. Yet that is just one way in which the club's off-field operation has mushroomed in recent years. Over the past decade, commercial revenue has almost tripled. The last set of accounts for 2023-24 was significant in that, for the first time, commercial income (£308million) was more than half of total revenue (£614m). It was also the first time in the Premier League era that they had surpassed arch-rivals Manchester United (£303m) commercially. Advertisement 'There's been a step-change in terms of our revenue, but there's still a lot of room for us to grow,' Liverpool's chief commercial officer Ben Latty tells The Athletic. 'The potential is huge. I believe we're only just getting started in terms of where we can go as a commercial business. We have got the right people and the right structure in place to really kick on now.' Out-performing United or trying to reel in Manchester City (£344million), the only Premier League club with a higher income commercially, isn't what drives Latty and his staff, who are dotted around offices all over the world. He insists he 'wouldn't even be able to tell you what their commercial numbers are'. Instead, Liverpool's ambition revolves around maximising revenues from streams they can influence. 'Controllable revenue — matchday and commercial — is what I'm focused on,' Latty says. 'Media money is great but, to an extent, it's based on the on-pitch performance. We have to be a football club which is sustainable in everything we do.' 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Football preparation is paramount, but the football-operations team understand the commercial value of these tours, too. For us, it's about bringing the club closer to fans who maybe can't get to Anfield.' Twice during Brendan Rodgers' reign as manager, pre-season tours to Asia also involved fixtures in Australia. The only time Liverpool have gone there since 2015 was for a post-season friendly in Sydney in 2017. Was it ever on the agenda to visit Australia this time? 'There were some reports, but it was nowhere near advanced,' Latty says. 'We always look at it. We never rule it out, but for this tour specifically, the idea was that we would do these two games and then get back to Anfield. 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The links between the club's sponsors and Asia are clear, but there was no contractual obligation to play in either Hong Kong or Japan this summer. 'There are so many variables,' Latty explains. 'Stadium availability, opposition availability, making sure there are the right training facilities. There are no guarantees. But we know when a partner is focused on a certain market and if the stars align, then we try to make it work.' Current deals with Standard Chartered and sleeve sponsor Expedia run until 2027, with discussions over possible extensions due to begin imminently. 'We'll be starting that process, both in terms of having discussions with the incumbent and naturally you'd expect us to go and talk to the market as well,' Latty says. 'At this time, I don't believe there's any bigger football club than Liverpool.' There's the strange scenario on this tour of Liverpool playing in last season's Nike kit as their new deal with Adidas doesn't begin until August 1. It's down to the fact the start of Nike's five-year contract was delayed because the 2019-20 season was extended into the July due to a three-month hiatus enforced by the Covid-19 pandemic. Liverpool will wear Nike gear for the final time in a while against Yokohama F. Marinos at Nissan Stadium today (Wednesday) before flying home. The big Adidas launch will follow on Friday, with the flagship club store at Anfield reopening having undergone a major summer makeover. 'It's just the reality of the situation,' Latty says. 'When you think back to when we started the partnership with Nike, it was late because of Covid. One thing I will say is that Nike have been incredible. They said they would be good partners until the very end and they've been true to their word. In terms of providing the equipment and kit needed for this tour, they have delivered everything we asked for. Advertisement 'You tend to launch a new kit in May and potentially wear it for the final game of a season, depending on the significance of the fixture. We haven't been able to do that, but August 1 will be big for us.' Latty insists there was never any prospect of an agreement being reached where Adidas would take over a few months early: 'We were always going to honour the contract with Nike. When we first entered into discussions with Adidas, it was always clear when we could start the partnership and everyone knew exactly where they stood. It won't happen again and won't really impact us.' It means Liverpool have three new kits to launch in a short period of time — a process that will be staggered in the coming days. The Adidas deal will certainly be more profitable for them than the Nike one. Figures remain confidential, and it will be partly linked to sales and team performance, but the yearly windfall will be a lot more than the figure of £60million per year which had previously been mooted. A new club mobile app has been launched and, under the terms of the contract, Liverpool will continue to have the freedom to commission and sell their own branded merchandise through the club's retail operations. 'With kit deals, there are so many variables,' Latty adds. 'It's really hard to compare a kit deal with Liverpool to a kit deal with a competitor. The way we run our merchandising business is completely different to most other clubs as we do everything ourselves. Some clubs are happy to outsource it. 'For us, having flexibility and ensuring we get the product into the hands of our fans around the world through the right distribution network is really important. 'We had record kit sales year on year (with Nike). It was a competitive situation, and varying factors meant that Adidas were the party we moved forward with. They have been great in that, as long as it doesn't impact their business, we can do what we want. That's a successful part of the merchandising business we've got as we look to keep growing. 'As Billy Hogan said recently, we're one of the biggest clubs in the world and we want to act like it. That's the case both on and off the field.'
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Officials work to unravel how and why gunman carried out deadly attack on NYC office building
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