Latest news with #Pickell
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Analyst says Notre Dame fans should be \
Fighting Irish fans might like Kenny Minchey's mobility The debate about the starting quarterback for the 2025 Notre Dame Fighting Irish rages on. CJ Carr or Kenny Minchey? Well, analyst/pundit J.D. Pickell is making the case for the latter. Pickell says Irish fans should be "stoked" if Minchey wins the job. His reasoning? If Minchey wins, that means Minchey is a good enough passer to take advantage of a potentially very good receiving corps while also bringing mobility to the table in the way that last year's starter Riley Leonard did. Pickell points out that Leonard's mobility did a lot of damage to opposing defenses last year -- and if this year's receiving corps is that much better, then it stands to reason that the Irish will have more ways to attack a defense and keep an opponent off balance. We'll see soon enough who wins -- and, if Minchey is the guy, we'll soon see if Pickell is right. Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions. Follow Tim on X: @tehealey
USA Today
31-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
College football analyst gives bold prediction for Texas A&M program ahead of 2025 season
With the season-opening contest against UTSA nearing, a college football analyst is all-in on this year's Texas A&M football program. The first day of the Aggies' fall camp sessions kicked off Wednesday evening, as head coach Mike Elko prepares his team to face heavily-touted conference foes for the opportunity to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history. The new 12-team playoff format introduced last season gives teams like Texas A&M the chance to control their destiny, but any success will need to be earned. ESPN's computer model, which ranks the strength of schedule for every team in college football, placed the Aggies at No. 9, according to The Spun. Texas A&M has challenging road tests against Arkansas, LSU and Texas, along with a non-conference rematch at South Bend, Indiana, against Notre Dame scheduled. Even with those daunting games awaiting the program this upcoming season, On3 Sports college football analyst J.D. Pickell has the Aggies reaching the playoffs in Elko's second year at the helm: While Pickell's picks garnered much attention from disgruntled fans, he could have gained a few from Aggieland with his breakdown of this year's roster when he joined "The Paul Finebaum Show" this week. "I think if you were to give A&M a different logo, there would be a lot more people picking them to be in the College Football Playoff. Marcel Reed is back, he was impressive in flashes last year. The production, that I love, is back on offense. I love their running back room, I love Collin Klein, I love what Mike Elko's about too," Pickell said. Just days before his guest appearance with Paul Finebaum, Pickell analyzed A&M's schedule and formulated his game-by-game predictions for one of the most difficult schedules in the country. With the first day of fall camp behind the Aggies, there are still 30 days left until the 2025 roster gives glimpses of their potential this season. Last season left much to be desired, after Texas A&M went 7-1 to begin the 2024 campaign before eventually concluding the year with an 8-5 overall record. The eight-win season in Elko's first year was the first time the program has reached that mark in the win column since 2021. The return of every starter on the offensive line from last year's squad should help anchor the offense and give sophomore quarterback Marcel Reed time to find talented targets like transfers KC Concepcion (NC State), Mario Craver (Mississippi State) and many more promising athletes in the Aggie wide receiving corps. Texas A&M brings much-needed depth to the table in the secondary this season with transfers Jordan Shaw (Washington) and Julian Humphrey (Georgia) anchoring that unit on defense. Returners like Cashius Howell, Scooby Williams and Will Lee III will bring leadership and experience to the group this season as well. Only time will tell if Pickell's predictions will come to fruition, as the Aggies are gearing up for the season opener against the Roadrunners, which takes place on Saturday, Aug. 30, at Kyle Field in Bryan-College Station, Texas. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Dylan on X: @dylanmflippo.
USA Today
31-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Ohio State wide receiver gets Heisman prediction going into sophomore season
It's no shock that Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is already landing on preseason awards watch lists. He recently landed on the Maxwell Award Watch List, which is given to the player judged to be the best in the country. Given Smith's phenomenal freshman season, it's no surprise to see him on this list. It also won't be a surprise to see that some experts are predicting Smith to take home college football's most coveted individual award, the Heisman Trophy. On3's JD Pickell and host of The Hard Count has logged his prediction for Jeremiah Smith to become the seventh Buckeye to win the Heisman. That prediction not only says a lot about Smith but also what he feels will come from presumed starting quarterback Julian Sayin. If Smith is to win the eighth Heisman in Ohio State history, he will need a competent quarterback to get him the ball. Pickell is clearly all in on Sayin as plug and play. In fact, Pickell feels so strongly in the duo, he has Ohio State making it back to the national championship game. However, he would stop short of predicting back-to-back championships for the Bucks, having them fall to the LSU Tigers. Pickell has LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier finishing as the runner-up to Smith in the Heisman race. Those are some lofty expectations for the Buckeyes, but nothing that is out of the realm of possibility. If things play out the way Pickell sees it, this will be an overwhelmingly successful season, especially with the number of NFL draft picks the Buckeyes lost. Let's be honest, nothing outside of a win over Michigan and a national championship will be good enough for most og Buckeye Nation. It's a long season, and Ohio State has a tough road ahead. That road starts in just about a month when Texas comes to town for the season opener.
USA Today
30-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Top college football commentator predicts LSU football to win the national title
NEW: College Football Playoff Prediction via @jdpickell🏆Do you agree? 🤔 On3 commentator J.D. PicKell picked LSU football to win the 2025 national championship in a College Football Playoff bracket he released on Tuesday. Pickell has the Tigers, seeded No. 1, defeating No. 2 Ohio State in the championship game. They are one of five SEC teams included in the bracket alongside Georgia, Alabama, Texas, and Texas A&M. In the 12-team setup, LSU earns a first-round bye, then faces No. 9 Alabama in the quarterfinals and No. 5 Oregon in the semifinals. The Crimson Tide face the No. 8 Bulldogs in the opening round. Pickell has No. 4 Texas being upset by No. 5 Oregon in the quarterfinals. The format for the College Football Playoffs following the 2025 regular season will be a straight-seeding model, giving the top-four teams in the final playoff rankings first-round byes. Pickell's prediction continues to generate hype for LSU ahead of the 2025 season. The Tigers returned quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, along with signing the top-ranked transfer class in the country. LSU head coach thinks he finally has the roster to break through and make the playoff with LSU, though Kelly isn't a stranger after leading Notre Dame to multiple playoff appearances. Pickell's breakdown includes five SEC teams, three from the Big Ten, one from the ACC, one from the Sun Belt, and one independent.
USA Today
12-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
College football analyst argues that USC and Notre Dame must continue to play every year
College football analyst argues that USC and Notre Dame must continue to play every year The past few weeks have certainly been a tense time for the future of the USC-Notre Dame football rivalry. The Trojans and Fighting Irish have been rivals with one another for nearly a century, and have faced off every year but one since World War II. However, the two schools do not have an agreement to extend their rivalry beyond 2026, and right now appear to be at an impasse over the future of the series. On a recent episode of his national college football show "The Hard Count", J.D. Pickell of On3 argued that the Trojans and Irish must continue to play each other every year, regardless of the potential consequences. "This is an incredibly short-sighted approach to say, 'well, it might hurt out chances of making the playoff, so therefore we're gonna take a step back,'" Pickell said. "That's not what this is about. "When you go to USC, part of that whole deal is you are playing Notre Dame . . . that's how this thing works. That's college football. There are certain things that are just part of the equation when you sign up to go to a certain place. "I think [USC's] brand in itself is phenomenal. Same thing for Notre Dame . . . but I think that when you play your rival—especially with a rivalry of this stature—you get more juice when you play Notre Dame. You get more juice when you play USC." Pickell makes a valid point. USC and Notre Dame have been playing each other for almost 100 years. The rivalry is woven into the fabric of what makes college football what it is. The expanded playoff, on the other hand, has been around for less than 12 months. To end a century-old rivalry over concerns about a new postseason system goes against everything that college football fans love about the sport. Hopefully, the two schools will see the light, and they will be able to work out a long-term extension to keep the series going beyond next year.
