Latest news with #All-AAC
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Breaking down 49ers EDGE group after Bryce Huff trade with Eagles
Breaking down 49ers EDGE group after Bryce Huff trade with Eagles On Friday, ESPN's Adam Schefter shocked the NFL world when he reported that the San Francisco 49ers were finalizing a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for edge rusher Bryce Huff. Huff, 27, played collegiately at Memphis from 2016-19, earning All-AAC honors in both of his final two seasons with the Tigers before the New York Jets signed him as an undrafted free agent after the 2020 NFL draft. In four seasons with New York, Huff appeared in 54 games and recorded 65 tackles (17 for a loss), 43 quarterback hits, 17.5 sacks, three passes defensed and a forced fumble. Last year, he inked a three-year, $51.1 million deal with the Eagles, and while he missed time with a wrist injury, he finished his first season with the club with 13 tackles (three for a loss), four quarterback hits, 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Now, he'll join a 49ers front that should wreak havoc for opposing quarterbacks. Let's take a look at the rest of the group. Nick Bosa Bosa has been one of the most productive pass rushers in the league since San Francisco took him in the first round (No. 2 overall) out of Ohio State in the 2019 NFL draft. In fact, he has the fourth-most sacks (62.5) since he entered the league, only behind Cincinnati's Trey Hendrickson (75), Cleveland's Myles Garrett (82) and Pittsburgh's T.J. Watt. In 2025, he'll be the team's top pass rusher as long as he remains healthy. Mykel Williams The 20-year-old from Georgia was the 49ers' top selection (No. 11 overall) in this year's draft after recording 67 tackles and 14 sacks in 40 career games with the Bulldogs over three years. He has the athleticism to be great, but he might need some time to develop and grow before he's truly successful. He'll probably start opposite Bosa in the team's season opener. Yetur Gross-Matos Gross-Matos was a second-round selection (No. 38 overall) of the Carolina Panthers in the 2020 NFL draft, and he signed a two-year contract with the 49ers last offseason. In 2024, he appeared in a career-low 11 games and finished with just 19 tackles (six for a loss), seven quarterback hits and four sacks. San Francisco was hoping for more. The former Nittany Lion has a chance to play a rotational role in 2025, but the addition of Huff may make him expendable, especially if San Francisco can save $4.82 million by releasing him after June 1 (per Over the Cap). Robert Beal Jr. The 26-year-old spent four years at Georgia, including one with Williams before the 49ers took him in the fifth round (No. 173 overall) in the 2023 NFL draft. He only played in four games as a rookie and then played 13.9% of the team's defensive snaps in 14 games last year, recording 11 tackles. Beal's deal is inexpensive, and he does provide some special-teams value, which should keep him around for another year. Sam Okuayinonu The Liberian Native went undrafted in 2022 following a collegiate career at Maryland that saw him earn All-Big Ten honors in his final season. After a brief stint with the Tennessee Titans in his rookie year, he signed with the 49ers for 2024. Last year, he appeared in 16 games, recording 35 tackles (six for a loss), seven quarterback hits, three sacks, a forced fumble and a pass defensed. After playing 42.2% of San Francisco's defensive snaps last year, he could play a rotational role as well in 2025. Jonathan Garvin Garvin played three years at Miami (2017-19) before the Green Bay Packers selected him in the seventh round (no. 242 overall) of the 2020 NFL draft. He spent three years in Green Bay, appearing in 38 games and recording 32 tackles (one for a loss), seven quarterback hits, two passes defensed and 1.5 sacks. He also played with UFL's Birmingham Stallions in 2024 before moving on and off San Francisco's practice squad multiple times last year. The 25-year-old will likely be fighting for a roster spot this offseason after not playing in an NFL game the last two years. Tarron Jackson Jackson, 26, was a sixth-round pick (No. 191 overall) of the Eagles in the 2021 NFL draft following a college career at Coastal Carolina that included an All-American final season. After three years in Philadelphia, he had a short tenure with the Carolina Panthers, another back with the Eagles before landing with the 49ers to end the year. However, he never played in a game for San Francisco. Jackson will have a lot of work to do if he wants to work his way onto the roster in 2025.
USA Today
26-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Panthers select WR Jimmy Horn Jr. with 208th overall pick of 2025 NFL draft
Panthers select WR Jimmy Horn Jr. with 208th overall pick of 2025 NFL draft The Carolina Panthers started their voyage through the 2025 NFL draft with a receiver, and they just might've ended it with another. Barring an unlikely move back onto the board, the Panthers used their final pick—the 208th overall selection—on University of Colorado wideout Jimmy Horn Jr. A Sanford, Fla. native, Horn split his four-year collegiate career between the University of South Florida and the University of Colorado. In his two seasons at South Florida, one of which resulted in a first-team All-AAC nod, he amassed 67 receptions for 959 yards and four touchdowns. He then transferred over to Colorado to play under head coach Deion Sanders beginning in 2023. Horn totaled 1,008 receiving yards and seven scores off 95 grabs for the Buffaloes. The 5-foot-9, 174-pounder also has experience on special teams. He tallied 33 kick returns and 14 punt returns during his college tenure. Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
The 10 biggest storylines of the transfer portal on Sunday
The transfer portal opened on Wednesday with a flurry of activity. Here are the biggest transfer announcements from day five of the 2025 spring transfer window. PORTAL IS OPEN: Latest news, notes and analysis MORE TRANSFER PORTAL: Latest news | Transfer search | Transfer Team Ranking | Football Player Ranking 1. QB NICO IAMALEAVA TO UCLA BECOMES OFFICIAL UCLA is officially getting the top-ranked player in the transfer portal rankings. The Bruins and former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava formally announced his transfer back to the west coast today. News of the transfer leaked on Wednesday but it wasn't finalized until today. Iamaleava has three years of eligibility remaining. Advertisement SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH UCLA FANS AT 2. OKLAHOMA GETS FORMER FIVE-STAR DT DAVID STONE BACK David Stone was the third-highest ranked prospect Oklahoma has signed from the high school ranks since the early 2000s and the program very nearly lost him to the transfer portal this weekend. The standout defensive tackle surprisingly entered the transfer portal on Friday night. Since then head coach Brent Venables, co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Todd Bates and general manager Jim Nagy have worked non-stop to bring him back into the fold and that's exactly what happened on Sunday evening. Stone has drawn rave reviews from the coaching staff for how he has developed this offseason and how he has set himself up for success this coming season. Advertisement SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH OKLAHOMA FANS AT 3. GEORGIA LANDS EASTER TRIO The reigning SEC Champions had themselves a big Sunday. Head coach Kirby Smart and company added a standout edge defender and brought in more depth at running back and on the defensive line. Elo Modozie was responsible for 37 quarterback pressures, seven sacks and one forced fumble last season for Army en route to being named third-team All-AAC. The edge defender is expected to see plenty of playing time this season for the Bulldogs. Also on the defensive front, Georgia is bringing in former Miami defensive tackle Josh Horton. The redshirt freshman has played just 60 snaps in two seasons but he fills a need for the Bulldogs and still has three seasons of eligibility left. That's plenty of time to develop into the type of defensive lineman Georgia has become known to produce. Advertisement Former Illinois running back Josh McCray will suit up for Georgia this coming season after leading the Illini in rushing last year. The Bulldogs needed another running back after they lost Branson Robinson to the transfer portal last week. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH GEORGIA FANS AT 4. DE TJ BUSH JR. TO CAL The transfer portal hasn't been kind to Cal but today the Bears got some great news in the form of productive defensive end TJ Bush Jr. Over the last two seasons, the former Liberty standout has created 55 quarterback pressures, nine sacks and seven batted passes according to Pro Football Focus. Bush is one of four defensive linemen to transfer to Cal this offseason, a unit the Bears prioritized this transfer cycle. 5. SMU LANDS FORMER SEC PASS RUSHER SMU is working on replicating last season's run to the College Football Playoff and getting better in the trenches is at the top of their priority list. Adding Jahkai Lang is a big step in the right direction. The former Missouri edge defender was on the field for 62 passing plays, where he generated nine quarterback pressures and two sacks. That's excellent production for such limited opportunities to get to the quarterback. 6. AUBURN ADDS TWO DEFENDERS Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze is bringing a familiar face back to the Tigers defense. Former Auburn signee Jay Hardy, who originally picked the Tigers during the 2020 recruiting cycle, is heading back to the Plains after suiting up for Liberty for the past three seasons. During that time he amassed 54 tackles, seven tackles for a loss, two sacks, and three batted passes. Advertisement Also on defense, former Maryland standout Caleb Wheatland committed to Auburn on Sunday. The linebacker, who started every game for the Terps last season, and led the team in sacks a year ago. The Tigers have signed a Maryland transfer in three-straight offseasons. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH AUBURN FANS AT 7. OLE MISS ADDS ALL-CONFERENCE RUNNING BACK In December, Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin and company signed top-10 running back transfer Kewan Lacy out of Missouri and former Akron running back Jordon Simmons. This two running back transfer class dropped to one on Wednesday when Simmons decided to leave after spending just the spring in Oxford. Today Ole Miss landed their replacement for Simmons in the form of 2024 second-team All-Sun Belt running back Damien Taylor. He ran for 1,010 yards and seven touchdowns last season. Advertisement SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH OLE MISS FANS AT 8. DB TERRANCE LOVE TO COLORADO Colorado continued to add to its secondary on Sunday with former Auburn safety Terrance Love. With two years of eligibility remaining, Love has played 102 snaps during his collegiate career according to Pro Football Focus. Love's experience while at Colorado's spring game on Saturday sealed the deal. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH COLORADO FANS AT 9. QB JADEN RASHADA GOING TO SEE BILL BELICHICK An interesting situation is set to play out in Chapel Hill. North Carolina and head coach Bill Belichick added top quarterback target Gio Lopez out of South Alabama last week, seemingly filling their need at the position. News broke on Sunday that North Carolina appears to not be done recruiting quarterbacks out of the transfer portal as the program is set to host Jaden Rashada on Wednesday. The former Arizona State and Georgia quarterback who signed with Florida as part of the 2023 recruiting cycle has not been able to latch onto a program for more than one season. Advertisement SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH UNC FANS AT 10. TWO OFFENSIVE ADDITIONS FOR VIRGINIA This transfer class for Virginia and head coach Tony Elliott now features more than 20 players after their additions on Sunday. Former Arkansas and Colorado running back Isaiah Augustave announced he'll suit up for the Cavaliers next season. He was Colorado's leading rusher last season with 379 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 102 carries. Offensive lineman Wallace Unamba is also on his way to play for Virginia next season. The 6-foot-6, 335-pound Unamba is a former junior college prospect who went on to play for Florida Atlantic and New Mexico before transferring to Kentucky in December. However, he was only in Lexington for the spring, entering the transfer portal again when it opened on Wednesday. Virginia, who had pursued Unamba in December, worked quickly to bring him into the fold. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH VIRGINIA FANS AT
USA Today
18-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Oregon RB Makhi Hughes impresses with physicality, comfortability in Ducks' offense
Oregon RB Makhi Hughes impresses with physicality, comfortability in Ducks' offense One of the constants throughout Dan Lanning's three-season career as head coach of the Oregon Ducks has been a strong and dependable run-game. For the first two years, those efforts were led by Minnesota transfer Bucky Irving (who shined last year as a Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie), and last season, Jordan James (who will drafted later this month) was the Ducks top back. Heading into year four, Lanning has gone back the transfer portal waters to bolster the Ducks running game, bringing in former Tulane RB Makhi Hughes. In two seasons with the Green Wave, Hughes rushed for 2,779 yards (5.3 YPC) and 22 TDs on 18.7 carries per game. In 2023, he was the AAC's Rookie of the Year, and in 2024, he was first team All-AAC. Through practices this spring, Hughes is acclimating to the new Oregon offense and finding ways to make an impact. After practice on Tuesday, Oregon RBs coach Ra'Shaad Samples indicated that throughout the spring, Hughes has impressed in more ways than one. "Just how physical of a runner he is and his ability to break tackles, his contact balance, his striking in pass pro, his contact initiation, and obviously his productivity in a really good league against really good talent,' Samples said. 'He's shown the same things here. Every day, he's getting comfortable. He's getting more and more comfortable with the playbook. You can see some of his natural ability starting to come out as he's starting to play faster and think less. Stylistically, Hughes is a hybrid of Irving and James. His shiftiness looks like Irving, he has James's pure power, and the common thread between all of Lanning's running backs is a refusal to be tackled. Next to Hughes in the running back room is long-time Ducks RB Noah Whittington, who has run well behind Irving and James after transferring from Western Kentucky in 2022. Whittington has one year of eligibility left and should complement Hughes well in the 2025 Oregon offense. Hughes is entering his junior season, which means, depending on how his 2025 campaign fares, he could be back at Oregon in 2026. Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
