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USA Today
01-08-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Illinois edge rusher Gabe Jacas shooting up NFL Draft boards
Gabe Jacas discusses what he needs to do in order to further improve his already high NFL Draft stock The Illinois Fighting Illini, who finished last season ranked #16 in the final AP poll, opened training camp today with sky high expectations. Illinois returns 18/22 starters from a 10-win team that has a host of NFL Draft prospects. Senior EDGE Gabe Jacas has the highest draft stock of anybody on the team. He is starting to show up regularly in the second round of NFL mock drafts everywhere. At this point, with the season having not even started yet, it's just all speculation. Jacas knows he must put in the work on in order to realize his National Football League aspirations. The Port St. Lucie, FL native discussed the specific fundamentals that he needs to work on during his final season of college football. "It's hand placement, it's leverage," he said in an exclusive with RG. "It's staying low, and just that first that get off, that first step, and just being quicker off the ball." Jacas, who projects perfectly to the next level as a 3-4 Outside Linebacker, wasn't done. He continued listing out specific ways in which he knows he can get better, and thus continue moving up the draft boards: "doing different moves, doing moves that can help me win (individual matchups) faster. So there are always things I can improve on in my game, and I've been working on those things." "Just being efficient with my hands, (in the way that I) attack the tackles, just having a move in mind at all times, and, you know being proactive on the field, having that motor." "A lot of the great pass rushers, they have a good motor, and that's something I would like to add to my game." Jacas, who was named to the Lott IMPACT Trophy (biggest impact, both on and off the field) and Bronko Nagurski (Defensive Player of the Year) preseason watch lists, also added that many of the best pass rushers have a great motor, and that is something he would like to add to his overall game. The young man pegged by CBS Sports in April as the 20th best overall player in college football, regardless of position, is living in the golden age of EDGEs. If you're a college football player looking to get drafted, this is a great time to be an edge rusher, or defensive end/outside linebacker hybrid. The NFL currently places a high premium on this position. Jacas had 13 tackles for a loss, eight sacks and 10 quarterback hurries last season, leading the Illini in all three categories. He is the standout player, and leader of a stellar Illinois defensive front seven that should be among the better units in the Big Ten. It has been about a quarter century since the last time the Illini had preseason expectations as high as they currently do. Typically, Illinois does not have high preseason expectations, and that's understandable, given how they have not accomplished back to back winning seasons since 2010-2011, and both of those seasons saw a 7-6 finish. The program has not accomplished consecutive eight-win seasons since 1989-1990, but head coach Bret Bielema has turned things around. A defensive lineman during his playing days at Iowa, Bielema knows what it takes to play stout defense in the Big Ten. He's also done a great job of developing Illini defenders and sending them to the NFL. Devon Witherspoon (Seattle Seahawks), Sydney Brown (Philadelphia Eagles), Quan Martin and Johnny Newton (Washington Commanders) are a few examples from the past couple years. Jacas definitely seems next in line. As midsummer passes and Labor Day weekend draws closer, the number of media opportunities with college football players increases. One of the joys of these late summer media opps is hearing prospects discuss what they need to do in order to reach the league. It's enjoyable on two levels. First, it really makes you realize that football is just around the corner. Secondly, it's always uplifting to hear someone get fired up when discussing their hopes, dreams, motivations and aspirations.
Fox Sports
31-07-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
'Absolute Freak Show': Koi Perich Set to Follow Travis Hunter's Path as Two-Way Star
LAS VEGAS — From his position behind the microphone in a crowded ballroom at Mandalay Bay, where Big Ten Media Days unfolded last week, Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck only needed a few moments — seconds, even — to utter the name everyone had envisioned since he teased the idea of deploying safety Koi Perich on both sides of the ball this coming season: Travis. Hunter. "He got a ton of credit for being a two-way player, right?" Fleck said. "There's not a lot of people who can do that and do it successfully. We feel Koi can. "And I'm not comparing him to Travis Hunter by any means. But I'm saying that [Hunter] is somebody who did it within the last decade [and showed] how hard it really is. And if you're going to do it, you've got to be both feet in on it. But if there's one person that can do it, it's Koi." Lest anyone forget, Hunter won the Heisman Trophy last December after authoring arguably the greatest individual season in college football history while starring for head coach Deion Sanders at Colorado. As a cornerback, Hunter logged 748 snaps while racking up 36 tackles, 11 pass breakups, four interceptions and one forced fumble to finish with the best INT-per-target ratio of any player in the Power 4 conferences. He was a shoo-in for Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and garnered unanimous All-American status. He even took home a pair of national defensive player of the year honors by securing the Bednarik Award and the Lott IMPACT Trophy. And as a wide receiver, where Hunter played 714 snaps, he caught 96 passes for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns — all of which ranked among the top five nationally. He received the Biletnikoff Award, which is given to the sport's best wideout, and became the first repeat winner of the Paul Hornung Award, which recognizes the country's most versatile player regardless of position. He was a consensus All-American on this side of the ball, splitting time between first- and second-team lists depending on the publication. Not long after, the Jacksonville Jaguars traded up to select Hunter at No. 2 overall in this year's NFL Draft with the unabashed intention of deploying him on both sides of the ball. "I think that's a perfect person just to lean on and learn from," said Perich, a first-team all-conference performer as a true freshman in 2024. "He just had the best season, ultimately, that probably college has ever seen from a single person. Obviously, you can learn from that, and if you want to play two ways, that's the blueprint. You've just got to do your best to imitate that. And I think that's what me and my coaches are trying to do." Hearing Minnesota's contingent outline the broad strokes of this vision at Big Ten Media Days only invited more questions given the supreme rarity and difficulty of what Hunter achieved last season. The chief inquiries were as follows: Just how real is the possibility of the Gophers utilizing Perich, a former blue-chip recruit who chose Minnesota over Ohio State, as anything close to a full-time, two-way player? And if the team's plan is to be accepted as legitimate, meaning Perich hardly comes off the field, what makes him the right choice for such a physically and mentally taxing role? For all the skeptics Hunter converted week after week despite playing more than 84% of Colorado's snaps in 2024 — a year in which no other FBS player eclipsed 56% playing time from scrimmage — there were other high-profile rumors about potential two-way players that never came to fruition. Last May, Michigan cornerback Will Johnson told reporters that he and then-offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell had engaged in discussions about the All-American getting involved at wide receiver, where the Wolverines were hurting for talent. And then last June, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day told the local press corps that star safety Caleb Downs, a transfer from Alabama, took some reps at running back during spring practice, returning to a position he dominated at youth levels. But once push came to shove in the regular season, and once the coaching staffs at both programs realized exactly how much they'd be risking by exposing two of the best players in the nation to even more contact than necessary, the possibility of broadened roles for Johnson and Downs devolved into nothing more than a midsummer night's dream from the doldrums of talking season. Neither player logged a single snap on offense across the entire 2024 campaign. Back in Las Vegas, however, Fleck assured reporters that the circumstances surrounding Perich would be different. He told the media that discussions about incorporating Perich on offense dated back several years to the recruiting process when Perich, an in-state prospect, caught people's attention as a two-way star for Esko High School, roughly two hours north of Minneapolis. Fleck went so far as suggesting Perich would have gotten involved on offense last season had he been among the Gophers' early enrollees and participated in spring practice, rather than arriving on campus in June. "We're going to do as much as Koi will allow us to do," Fleck said. "Koi works really hard in the unrequired, not just practicing. He's doing a ton of stuff on his own ever since January because we took last year as a snippet. We dabbled in it a little bit [by practicing some things with him on offense], but now we're going to commit to it." The reason Fleck and everyone associated with Minnesota believes the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Perich can handle a two-way role is because of his remarkable athletic profile. In addition to playing all three phases on the football field at Esko High School — he scored touchdowns as a runner, receiver, passer, punt returner, kick returner and defender in his senior year alone — Perich was also a standout basketball player and track athlete, with a 2022 Class A long jump state championship to show for it. He runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds, according to Fleck, and has a vertical leap north of 40 inches, something Perich showed off with a 360-degree windmill dunk during basketball warmups with his future head coach in the bleachers for a recruiting visit. Equally important, Fleck said, is Perich's singularity of focus when it comes to getting better at football. Fleck lovingly explained that Perich is not the type to "answer questions about world history and American history" or spend his interview sessions in Las Vegas telling media members that he "collects rocks and he collects pennies and coins — that's not his deal." Playing and competing is Perich's deal, according to Fleck, and because of that, Perich spent the spring and summer focusing on little more than conditioning himself for what he expects to be a significant offensive role. "He's an absolute freak show," Minnesota quarterback Drake Lindsey said of Perich. "He's very smart, he knows all our plays really well, he's doing a good job learning the playbook. And he's just very special with the ball in his hands. I personally like how he plays really fast. He doesn't think much, he just goes, and I think that's one of the best qualities about Koi." Coach and players alike were hesitant to reveal any specifics about exactly where Perich will align this fall, though the safe bet might be a broad application. There were whispers that Perich could become the Gophers' wildcat quarterback considering he ran the ball 61 times for 708 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior in high school. Fleck reminded the media that Perich has a great arm and is more than capable of attempting a pass. And the five interceptions Perich notched last season, which were tied for fourth nationally and most in the country among freshmen, suggest that getting the ball in his hands at wide receiver — a la Hunter — is probably the smartest course of action. So while the likelihood of Perich ever matching what Hunter did at Colorado is exceedingly slim, if not outright impossible, he's still desperate for enough snaps to try. "Hopefully I get that chance," Perich said. "That would be very fun. Obviously, I think I have the ability to do it, and it all just comes down to opportunity." Michael Cohen covers college football and college basketball for FOX Sports. Follow him at @Michael_Cohen13. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Football recommended Item 1 of 3 Get more from the College Football Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
USA Today
06-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Ohio State linebackers coach James Laurinaitis nominated for prestigious honor
Ohio State linebackers coach James Laurinaitis nominated for prestigious honor Only a handful of elites in their craft can say they are a part of a Hall of Fame. That's what former Ohio State linebacker and current assistant coach James Laurinaitis is hoping for, and for good reason. The 2026 NFF College Football Hall of Fame ballot was released this week, and Laurinaitis has his name appearing on it yet again. He's no stranger to having his name penciled in as a potential, this being his seventh consecutive year, but he has yet to make the cut. The numbers and accolades are definitely there. During his time at Ohio State from 2005 to 2008, he tallied over 115 tackles three straight years, had 13 sacks, and nine interceptions. He was so good in Columbus that he was a three-time First-team All-Big Ten performer, was named the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year twice, Jack Lambert recipient twice, was a unanimous All-American in 2007, three time consensus All-American, and won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Lott IMPACT Trophy, and Butkus Award during his career in college. Whew. There aren't many more accomplished linebackers in college football history, so it's a wonder why his name has not made it through the voting process yet. Maybe this is the year. If so, he'll have to be one of the players left standing between other candidates, Mark Ingram II, Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III, Aaron Donald, Kellen Moore, and another 73 players. Voting ends on July 1, so we should get some news on Laurinaitis' fate before the start of the college football season. We say it's high time the "Little Animal" becomes big-time in the College Football Hall of Fame. If he does get the nod, Laurinaitis will join 32 other Buckeyes, including three other linebackers.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Which Alabama football players are 2026 College Football Hall of Fame nominees?
The 2026 College Football Hall of Fame class could have a few more Alabama football connections. The National Football Foundation announced 79 players and nine coaches who are in the running for the 2026 NFF College Football Hall of Fame. The announcement for the class will be made in early 2026. Advertisement Here's a look at the players nominated who have Alabama football connections: Mark Ingram: Alabama football running back Jan 9, 2017; Tampa, FL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide former running back Mark Ingram on the field prior to the game against the Clemson Tigers in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports Mark Ingram was a unanimous first-team All-American and Alabama's first Heisman Trophy winner. The 2009 SEC Offensive Player of the Year had 3,261 rushing yards and 42 rushing touchdowns in three seasons with the Crimson Tide. Ingram was the No. 28 overall pick of the New Orleans Saints in the 2011 NFL draft. DeMeco Ryans: Alabama football linebacker Oct. 22, 2005; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker DeMeco Ryans (35) celebrates the game ending interception in the final seconds against the Tennessee Volunteers at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama defeated Tennessee 6-3. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports © 2005 John David Mercer DeMeco Ryans was a unanimous first-team All-American and won the Lott IMPACT Trophy. The 2005 SEC Defensive Player of the Year had 76 tackles, 12 tackles-for-loss and 5 sacks for the Crimson Tide before being the No. 33 overall pick of the Houston Texans in the 2006 NFL draft. Dennis Franchione: Alabama football coach 27 Dec 2001 : Alabama head coach Dennis Franchione presents the trophy during post-game celebration of the Independence Bowl game against Iowa State at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. Alabama won 14-13. DIGITAL IMAGE. Mandatory Credit:A two-time NAIA Coach of the Year, Dennis Franchione finished with a 17-8 record as the head coach at Alabama in 2001-02. He led the Crimson Tide to an Independence Bowl win in 2001. Franchione also had head coaching stops at TCU, Texas A&M and Texas State. Advertisement Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@ or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter. This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football players nominated for 2026 College Football Hall of Fame
USA Today
01-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Two Ohio State football defenders appear on Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list
Two Ohio State football defenders appear on Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list It's not quite college football watch list season, but it's close. Look no further for proof than the earliest of the watch list announcements taking place this week with the unveiling of the Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list for 2025. All told, 42 players appear on this year's version of the watch list, and two of those will be wearing Scarlet and Gray on Saturdays. It's no surprise that Ohio State safety Caleb Downs is on the list as arguably the best defensive player in the country (hint: it won't be the last watch list he appears on), but linebacker Sonny Styles is also among the names to keep an eye on. The Lott IMPACT Trophy, named after former NFL Hall of Fame star Ronnie Lott, annually goes to the "Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year, college football's top defensive player who has had the biggest impact on his team both on and off the field. IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity, all characteristics exhibited by Lott during his illustrious playing career." The winner will be announced in December and is selected by a national voter panel, consisting of former winners, members of the media, coaches, and members of the Board of Directors of The IMPACT Foundation. So, stay tuned after the season gets going to see what names continue to be considered for a rather prestigious award. Things will really start to heat up with these preseason watch lists as things get closer and closer to fall camp, and as they do, we'll let you know the ones that have a little Buckeye flair. Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
