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USA Today
16 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Iowa football defender named to Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list
Iowa football is known for punishing defense and standouts in the trenches. The Hawkeyes and defensive coordinator Phil Parker have reason to be fired up about what they bring back up front defensively heading into 2025. One piece of that defensive interior and his talent has been recognized before the 2025 campaign boots off. Senior defensive lineman Aaron Graves was named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list on Tuesday afternoon. The 6-foot-5, 295-pound defensive tackle has already garnered plenty of preseason pub. Graves was also named to the Lott Trophy preseason award watch list, is a preseason first-team All-Big Ten choice and second-team All-American per Phil Steele and a preseason second-team All-Big Ten selection by Athlon Sports. The Dayton, Iowa, native started all 13 games last season for the Hawkeyes, tallying 33 tackles, eight tackles for loss, six sacks, three pass breakups, three forced fumbles and a pair of quarterback hurries. In his career, Graves has appeared in 39 games and totaled 85 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and four pass breakups. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnREF
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Richard Childress' Frustration Boils Over, Sends Dire Warning: ‘We Are in Trouble'
Richard Childress' Frustration Boils Over, Sends Dire Warning: 'We Are in Trouble' originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Kyle Busch finished 11th on Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway. Austin Dillon finished 15th. Through 21 races, the No. 8 driver has recorded 14 top 20s and seven top 10s, including a pair of top 5s. The most recent was his fifth-place effort in the streets of Chicago two weeks ago. In the same time frame, Dillon, the No. 3 driver, has earned 11 top 20s, three top 10s and no top fives. Translation: The Richard Childress Racing cars haven't been running near the front all season. Moments after the end of the race at the Monster Mile, Childress' frustrations unexpectedly boiled over. The 79-year-old team owner didn't sugarcoat his feelings about the two-car organization's performance. 'Gotta get some race cars,' the NASCAR Hall of Famer said over the No. 8 team radio. "We are in trouble. Period.' While Childress has been known to share his feelings over the team radio, there wasn't anything notable during the race that might have precipitated such a dire warning. More interestingly, the two-car team's 2025 statistics are on pace to be better than the 2024 numbers. For the entire 36-race schedule last year, Busch had 16 top 20s (five more than through this season's 21 races so far), 10 top 10s (three more) and five top fives (three more). Both his average starting and finishing positions are better this year. Dillon, Childress' grandson, has performed similarly. He scored 13 top 20s (two more than current season), five top 10s (two more) and a single top five (one more). That top five was his controversial win at Richmond, where he took out Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final lap. He has also improved his average starting and finishing position numbers in the 2025 campaign. Another interesting layer to the story is while Childress was clearly unhappy with his two-car organization, his other grandson, Ty, was in a celebratory mood and being congratulated by the garage for pulling off the improbable once again. He beat John Hunter Nemechek and advanced to the final of the in-season tournament challenge. He will face off next week at Indianapolis against Ty Gibbs, another well-known grandson of a team owner. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 21, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Richard Childress Fumes and Calls Out NASCAR for Penalty Inconsistencies
Richard Childress Fumes and Calls Out NASCAR for Penalty Inconsistencies originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Austin Hill was running fourth in Saturday's Xfinity Series race with 10 laps to go at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and had Aric Almirola right on his rear bumper going into Turn 3. Coming out of Turn 4, the No. 21 Xfinity Series car got sideways before the Richard Childress Racing driver skillfully saved it and had the Chevrolet going straight. However, a split second later, Hill got into the right rear of the No. 19 car, which sent it for an immediate right turn and hard hit into the outside wall. The CW broadcast analysts Jamie McMurray and Parker Kligerman agreed it was intentional. NASCAR thought so too and penalized the RCR pilot five laps for reckless driving. Hill vehemently disagreed and voiced his displeasure with the decision "They can go [expletive] themselves,' the angry driver said on the team radio. '[Expletive] NASCAR. That is [expletive] [expletive]." A short time later, the 79-year-old team owner chimed in with his thoughts. ' It would be better off that I don't say what I think because I would even be in bigger trouble,' Childress said. 'But they didn't do nothing to the No. 2 car when they wrecked Ty in the right rear and admitted it. 50 points. What's the deal?' Childress was referring to an incident earlier in the year during the Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas when Austin Cindric retaliated by hooking Childress' grandson Ty Dillon in the right rear after being moved up the track by the No. 10 car. NASCAR docked Cindric 50 points and fined him $50,000 several days later. Interestingly, it's the second time in a week the NASCAR Hall of Famer has been in the news for his radio remarks. Last Sunday and just moments after the checkered flag waved for the Cup race at Dover, Childress didn't hold back the concerns he had with his organization's performance. 'Gotta get some race cars,' he said on the No. 8 team radio. "We are in trouble. Period.' Hill found himself in trouble on Saturday at Indy. The question is whether or not NASCAR's penalty at the track was the final thing the sanctioning body has to say on the story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 27, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
McCarthy Shows Love to Home Fans
McCarthy Shows Love to Home Fans originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Minnesota Vikings went 14-3 last season, but it ended with a thud. After losing to the Detroit Lions in Week 18, the Vikings were bounced from the playoffs in the wild-card round by the Los Angeles Rams. Despite winning 14 games, Minnesota is making a change at quarterback under fourth-year head coach Kevin O'Connell. O'Connell has a 34-17 record in the regular season but is still searching for his first postseason win. He's turning to J.J. McCarthy in 2025 to replace Sam Darnold as the team's new starter. The former Michigan Wolverines star missed all of last season with a fully torn meniscus in his right knee. After undergoing surgery, he became the first quarterback taken in the first round to miss his entire rookie season due to injury. Now, with the 2025 NFL training camp underway, Minnesota is putting its full attention on McCarthy, who has a strong supporting cast around him. McCarthy sat down with the NFL Network on Saturday and shared his thoughts on playing in Minnesota: "We got the best fanbase in the NFL, I guarantee that." The Vikings averaged more than 66,000 fans per home game last season. U.S. Bank Stadium has a capacity of 66,200, expandable to 72,000 for special events. It's been the team's home since 2016. McCarthy also expressed his excitement about seeing fans return for training camp: "I'm so looking forward to seeing them here and hearing the SKOL chant," McCarthy said. "Just being able to interact with them individually and as a collective, they are just awesome. Nothing but gracious and supportive ever since I got here, and I can't wait to do great things for them this year." The 22-year-old was the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He led Michigan to a College Football Playoff title in January 2024 and was named Big Ten Quarterback of the Year that season. McCarthy is listed ahead of Sam Howell and Brett Rypien on the depth chart. He'll have two proven weapons at receiver in Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison as well as talented tight end T.J. Hockenson. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Is Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield A Top 10 QB?
Is Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield A Top 10 QB? originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is enjoying the best football of his career since moving to the NFC South. He was on the scrap heap, and forced his way into the Buccaneers' starting role and hasn't looked back. Coming off a career year in 2024, when Mayfield threw for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns, some are still waiting for the regression they predicted a year ago. Such has been Mayfield's form, and the current construction of the Buccaneers roster, ESPN's Mike Tannenbaum has the Bucs in the thick of the NFC race, while also having some glowing words for Baker. "I put them right up there with Detroit, Philly, Washington and the Rams, Tannenbaum said on "First Take." "If we just look at how Baker Mayfield has played in Tampa, there's a reason Liam Coen is a head coach. Baker Mayfield has worked his way back into the top 10 conversation." There is no denying that Tampa Bay in 2025 isn't on the outside looking in at the big boy table; it has itself a seat. With an offense considered one of the best in football, along with an improved defense, the Buccaneers should be winning the division and making it to the playoffs for the third straight year under Mayfield. Exactly what his numbers will look like, we can roughly guess, but those don't matter. What is going on is a deep playoff run. It's a deep playoff run or nothing, and that is part and parcel of having a well-rounded roster and a top 10 quarterback leading it. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
