Wisconsin center Jake Renfro listed as week to week after suffering lower-body injury
School officials said Friday that Renfro is considered week to week and hasn't been ruled out for the season opener Aug. 28 against Miami (Ohio). The injury occurred Thursday during the Badgers' preseason camp in Platteville, Wisconsin, about 70 miles from the school's Madison campus.
Renfro started all 12 games for Wisconsin last season and allowed only one sack. He was also a starting center on the 2021 Cincinnati team that reached the College Football Playoff.
Wisconsin is trying to bounce back after going 5-7 last year, ending a string of 22 consecutive winning seasons.
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USA Today
17 minutes ago
- USA Today
Arch Manning gives his take on Quinn Ewers play in the NFL so far
Arch Manning on Quinn Ewers playing in the NFL'Yeah he balled didn't he? He's a baller, bro. He's accurate, he makes plays so I'm excited for him.' 😄 After a rough start to his first NFL preseason game, former Longhorns QB Quinn Ewers threw two touchdowns for the Miami Dolphins in his second preseason game, leading Miami to a 24-17 win over the Detroit Lions. Arch Manning thinks Ewers is doing pretty well. Ewers led an epic late 17-play drive with just under two minutes left in the fourth quarter to seal with win. His former backup QB likes what he sees. "Yeah he balled didn't he? He's a baller, bro. He's accurate. He makes plays. So I'm excited for him.' A lot has been made about Manning backing up Ewers for two years. Even Steve Spurrier offered up his opinion on whether playing Ewers cost Texas a national title or Manning more development. "My question is, if he was this good how come they let Quinn Ewers play all the time last year?" Spurrier asked. "He was a 7th round pick?' Through it all, Manning and Ewers stayed good friends and they keep in contact as much as time permits. "I learned so much from Quinn in my two years behind him," Manning said at SEC Media Days. "I think he handled it like a pro. It's definitely not easy having me as the backup with all the media. I'm forever grateful for him.I actually texted him the other week for advice on two-minute, what kind of plays he likes to start with." Miami and Ewers face the Jacksonville Jags on Saturday for Preseason game No. 3. Manning will kick off the season on Aug. 30 in Columbus, Ohio. First TD for @QuinnEwers! 🤘Stream in @NFLPlus Way to bounce back, Quinn!2nd TD of the day!! Follow us on X/Twitter at @LonghornsWire.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Packers position battles: Isaiah Simmons, Mecole Hardman among those in tight competitions
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers must chop their active roster to 53 players by 3 p.m. CT Tuesday, so Thursday's joint practice against the Seattle Seahawks and Saturday's preseason finale provide the final chances for fringe players to state their case. Some position battles, such as at backup quarterback and for the top four defensive ends, have no intrigue down the home stretch. Others, however, might still be up in the air after 17 practices and two exhibitions. Advertisement Here are seven that could come down to the wire. Coach Matt LaFleur was asked recently what he wants in a third-string quarterback. 'Somebody who can command the offense,' LaFleur said. 'You want somebody that you can develop into, hopefully, a guy that can play for you someday.' LaFleur isn't saying he wants to develop one of them into a starter for the Packers; rather, someone who can help win the Packers a game if need be, as Malik Willis did last year. Clifford was Jordan Love's backup in 2023 before getting cut in favor of Willis last year. Has he done enough after a year on the practice squad to earn this year's practice-squad spot (if the Packers keep only one QB on the P-squad)? Or do the Packers think Elgersma, the rookie from Canada, has more untapped potential and a higher ceiling worth aiming for? After all, the team can afford to keep a No. 3 quarterback who might be more of a project. FOR THE LEAD!! — Green Bay Packers (@packers) August 16, 2025 Elgersma played far more than Clifford in the second exhibition against the Indianapolis Colts, but that wasn't necessarily because he's ahead of Clifford on the depth chart. Offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said they wanted to see what Elgersma did with the bulk of the backup reps in a game since they've seen plenty of Clifford over the last three years. The rookie showed flashes of potential with his arm, as he has since arriving in Green Bay, but he also looked skittish in the pocket early, didn't protect himself when scrambling and made several ill-advised throws into traffic. 'I thought there was some really good moments and then also some things that you have to learn from,' LaFleur said. 'Shoot, he's still getting used to the field dimensions out there from Canada.' Advertisement Clifford played only the Packers' final drive against the Colts and completed just 1 of 4 passes for 11 yards, but his first-down scramble on fourth-and-7 and 11-yard touchdown run two plays later capped a 13-play, 68-yard, game-winning touchdown drive. 'He's now, in many ways, no longer a young player anymore,' quarterbacks coach Sean Mannion said of Clifford. 'He's been here for a while. We know Sean really well, and he's in there with a lot of guys who are young players. The way he was really able to take command of that huddle, lead the guys, really speaks to Sean's approach and his understanding of our system.' Kicking has been so easy for Brandon McManus that he quit football for a new job. — Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) August 19, 2025 Assuming Edgerrin Cooper, Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie and Ty'Ron Hopper are locks, and that the Packers take only five linebackers, the final spot on the 53 will go to Simmons or Welch. I'll let you be the judge of who has the edge down the home stretch based on these LaFleur quotes about each player. On Simmons: 'He's an unbelievable athlete. I think it's just, again, getting more used to playing behind the ball, and it's really, as with most players, it's the level of consistency that you can go out there and play each play (with) because I think he's done a lot of good things. And then there's some things that we absolutely need to clean up.' On Welch: 'He's done a lot of good things. Certainly, his value is just his ability to go out and do a lot of things in terms of special teams. He's a four-phase guy, and then he's got enough experience at linebacker that if you need to fill a hole, he can fill any of those three spots.' The final wide receiver spot on the 53 would come down to these two if the Packers keep only six and if Jayden Reed, Savion Williams and Dontayvion Wicks are all healthy enough to make the initial 53. All three are sidelined with foot, hamstring and calf injuries, but let's assume they're all on the initial squad along with Matthew Golden and Romeo Doubs for the sake of this story. Advertisement When debating Heath or Hicks, it's worth recalling this recent quote from special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia. 'Everybody talks about special teams — your way of making the team is on special teams, the only chance you have to make the team is on special teams,' Bisaccia said. 'They have to be pretty good at their position, as well, in order to make the 53 and then to be on the 48 to dress and help us everywhere. So I've never really had a guy that just does that and does nothing else, so I think all guys have to be pretty good at the position they're playing to help us at all three phases when the game shows up.' Hardman might be the team's No. 1 punt returner, but especially considering the Packers' battered and bruised wide receivers room, they could very well use the last receiver spot on the better pure wideout and think about special teams impact later. Is that player Heath or the veteran and three-time Super Bowl champion? Here's what passing game coordinator Jason Vrable said about each player. On Heath: 'I think he's done a really good job, especially mentally. You talk about a guy who's had to play in the games and take all the practice reps and hasn't said a word or complained about it.' On Hardman: 'I think this past week is the best he's looked since he's been here. In practice, he was flying around against the Colts. Got open and won his one-on-ones, and he did the same thing in the game. I think he's a strong-hands catcher. I know two weeks ago, he might have had the drop and different things like that, but I thought he showed up and bounced back in a great way for our offense. He's done a great job being very professional for the younger guys in the room, too.' Ballentine has played valuable defensive reps for the Packers in past years, but the Packers' first lineup in nickel Saturday against the Colts featured Hadden and Bo Melton at outside cornerback and King in the slot. Remember what Bisaccia said. That would indicate Ballentine might be behind all three of them for a roster spot in a room that might only take five cornerbacks — Keisean Nixon, Nate Hobbs, Carrington Valentine and Melton, in part for how the team is using him on defense since his position switch, are locks. Hadden looked shaky in coverage and committed two penalties in the game against the Colts, but a potential battle between him and King could be decided over the coming days. The Packers kept only five defensive tackles last season on the initial 53. Assuming Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden are locks, only one spot might remain for the former Georgia teammates. Both Brinson, a rookie sixth-round pick, and Stackhouse, a rookie undrafted signing, have flashed in camp. Stackhouse probably has more splash plays, but LaFleur has emphasized that coaches are looking at far more than that. Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley name-dropped a couple of defensive players who stood out in the preseason opener when he spoke with reporters the next day, and the first two names he mentioned were Stackhouse and Brinson. Advertisement If MarShawn Lloyd's hamstring injury lands him on injured reserve to start the season, both Brooks and Wilson will make the team. If Lloyd is somehow healthy enough to start the season on the 53, this becomes an intriguing battle for what would likely be the last running back spot on the active roster. Wilson is probably the better pure runner, though Brooks averaged 5.1 yards per carry last year on 36 rushes to Wilson's 4.9 on 103 carries. Brooks is better on special teams (124 special teams snaps last season to Wilson's zero) and as a pass protector. If both make the initial 53, then there's a competition to be Josh Jacobs' primary backup. If this makes sense, Wilson is either the No. 2 running back or the No. 4 option, and Brooks would be third string no matter what. Whereas the aforementioned five competitions could be for a spot on the 53 alone, this one is for the starting left tackle job. We covered it at length in this Tuesday story. (Photo of Mecole Hardman: Michael Hickey / Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
How to make bold (and smart) College Football Playoff predictions using the preseason Top 25
The most important thing to keep in mind as you put together your personal College Football Playoff predictions is they are all but guaranteed to be wrong. So don't sweat it. Nobody saw Indiana and Arizona State (combined six wins in 2023) as even long shots to make the first 12-team CFP. But if you were following along with me last year, before I joined The Athletic, you might remember I tried to warn you that history strongly suggested there would be at least a couple of surprise teams. Advertisement Not only is picking a chalky bracket boring, it's just about as likely to be incorrect. Using AP Top 25 preseason polls from 2014 to 2023 and comparing them to final CFP rankings over the same period, I came up with a very unscientific 'formula' for predicting a playoff bracket. In Year 1 of the 12-team format, it turned out to be pretty accurate. The formula doesn't identify specific teams to select. It guides you to choose a specific number of teams from five tiers using the preseason AP poll. Your 12-team bracket should include: Last year, the bracket included four of the preseason top five (Oregon, Ohio State, Georgia, Texas; Alabama missed out), two from six to 10 (Penn State and Notre Dame) and two from 11 through 20 (Clemson and Tennessee). There were no CFP teams ranked 21 through 25 in the preseason and four CFP teams that started the season unranked (Boise State, Arizona State, Indiana and SMU). Boise State and SMU at least showed up in the 'Others Receiving Votes' section. The point of the exercise is not necessarily to pick the bracket correctly as much as it is to get you thinking beyond the top 15 or so teams in the country. It's highly unlikely a team that won only three games last year will make the CFP this season. Oklahoma State, anyone? But you might want to be open-minded about Houston (four wins), Auburn (five), Washington (six) or Georgia Tech (seven). So have fun with it. In fact, use the formula to come up with several different combinations. Even tweak the formula a bit if you want — as long as you're stretching your imagination at least a little. For my own 'official' picks, I just couldn't comfortably eliminate one of the AP's top five (Texas, Penn State, Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia). For this column, I'm sticking with the formula. Three unranked: Louisville, Nebraska, Tulane. And here's the bracket: Happy predicting! Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
