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Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Florida football announces future games with FAU, South Alabama for 2026, 2027 seasons
Florida football announced non-conference opponents for the 2026 and 2027 schedule on Monday. The Florida Gators will host FAU on Sept. 5, 2026, and South Alabama on Sept. 4, 2027. UF is 4-0 in its series with FAU, dating back to 2007. The last time the two teams met, Florida beat FAU 35-14 on Sept. 4, 2021 to open the 2021 season. Advertisement It's the first-ever meeting between Florida and South Alabama, which moved up to the FBS level in 2013. The Jaguars went 7-6 last season under first-year coach Major Applewhite, capped by a 30-23 win over Western Michigan in the Salute to Veterans Bowl. Florida Atlantic went 3-9 last season under Tom Herman, who was fired during the offseason and replaced by new coach and former Texas Tech offensive coordinator Zach Kittley. UF's non-conference schedule in 2025 includes games against Long Island University, USF, Miami and Florida State. The Gators will open the season at The Swamp against LIU on Aug. 30. Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun's Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@ Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1. Read his coverage of the Gators' national championship basketball season in 'CHOMP-IONS!' — a hardcover coffee-table collector's book from The Sun. Details at This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida football announces schedule additions for 2026, 2027 seasons
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Watching Tape With South Alabama DB Jaden Voisin, the Draft Prospect the NFL Forgot
If you were in charge of personnel for an NFL team, and you had the ability to sign as an undrafted free agent a versatile defensive back who balled out in his last two NCAA seasons, why wouldn't you take the shot? The defensive back in question did go to a smaller school, but had a lot of transfer portal interest from major programs before the 2024 season, has good tape against bigger schools, and seems to have all the attributes that you'd think would give him at least a shot at the next level. In this case, South Alabama's Jaden Voisin is the prospect in question, and Voisin is receiving no post-draft interest from NFL teams. This despite all that bigger-school interest from before, and the kind of tape and metrics you'd think would have those teams thinking. Advertisement Last season for the Jaguars, his fifth with the program, Voisin allowed 21 catches on 34 targets for 234 yards, 86 yards after the catch, one touchdown, five interceptions, four pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 52.5. This after a 2023 season in which he allowed 17 catches on 36 targets for 177 yards, 100 yards after the catch, one touchdown, four interceptions, six pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 31.6. He was named first-team All-Sun Belt Conference for the second consecutive season. Despite all that, it's been crickets from NFL teams since the 2025 draft came down two weeks ago. "Going into the draft, I looked at myself as possibly a late-rounder or, you know, a priority free agent at best," Voisin told Athlon Sports this week. "But after the draft ended, it was just no phone calls and my agent [Marcel Owens from Veer Sports Agency] reaching out to people, and a lot of the teams saying that they were full or just [had] no interest at the time. So it's weird because, you know, some of the teams reached out throughout the process. But then once the draft was over, there was nothing. Advertisement "So, it's super-confusing. I just wish I had an answer for why that was happening." Voisin's 2024 season was just as confusing before it even began. He entered the transfer portal and had visits set up with Florida, Arkansas, and Mississippi State. He did visit West Virginia before coming back and deciding to stay at South Alabama. Two days after Voisin made that choice, Kane Wommack, his former head coach, left the program to become Alabama's defensive coordinator. Wommack called that the opportunity he couldn't avoid, and that's understandable, but it left his players in the lurch. It also didn't help that Corey Batoon, South Alabama's defensive coordinator and safeties coach from 2021-2023, left to become Missouri's defensive coordinator. The Jaguars matched their 7-6 record from 2023 under new head coach Major Applewhite, beat Western Michigan 30-23 in the Salute to Veterans Bowl, and Voisin had another productive season. But where does that leave him now? Advertisement "I enjoyed my time at South," Voisin said when I asked him whether a transfer to a more visible program might have helped his NFL prospects. "I think I did everything I needed to do at South to still give me the same chances as someone at a bigger school, but I don't know what these NFL teams wanted... maybe they wanted me to go on a bigger stage and play. "So, that kind of puts it in my mind that maybe I should have gone to a Florida or an Arkansas or West Virginia and, you know, done the same thing. Maybe I would have kind of helped my process." Applewhite and his staff were left with a younger defense due to injuries and portal departures, so it was crucial for Voisin as the veteran to become the "green-dot guy," making sure everyone on his side of the ball was where they should be. "I was calling the play obviously for the back end and the linebackers, but also, my coach would tell me, 'If there's a young guy out there and he's kind of iffy about who would do their job, he would remind me in the helmet, Hey, make sure [Player X] knows this,'" Voisin said of the experience. "So I would get that out of the way, because playing so many years, you don't really have to worry about yourself anymore. Advertisement "Once you get to play, you know what you're doing, and you can try and help others. So that was my biggest thing, having to help others throughout the whole play going on." Voisin's defense may have been smaller-school, but the positional versatility the program asked of him, and the extent to which the Jaguars were disguising coverages, showed NFL-readiness in both design and execution. Last season, Voisin lined up 19% of the time in the box, 15% in the slot, 32% as a middle-field safety, 31% as a a split safety, and 4% as an outside cornerback. For the 5-foot-10, 202-pound Voisin, no transition was out of the question. "My DC [Batoon] told me, and this was in 2022, it's valuable to know more positions because like you said, it makes you more valuable," Voisin said. "[Coaches] can place you anywhere, you can play anywhere, [and it] gives you more time on the field. You learn the defense better from different perspectives, and it just makes you a better football player. playing in the box and playing deep, you know, playing in the box makes you a better tackler, obviously, because you're down in there. Advertisement "Obviously, you've got to strap your helmet up for sure when you're in there. And then being in the deep half, it just shows more ball skills and change of direction and all that." As Voisin wasn't invited to the scouting combine where he could participate in meetings and film sessions with NFL teams in round-robin fashion, I thought that the next best thing would be an approximation in which Voisin and I would go over eight of his plays — both good and bad — from his last two seasons. Here's what came from that. NFL shot-callers, please tune in. PLAY 1: Pass deflection vs. Oklahoma State, 2023 Doug Farrar: At the start of this play, you're driving back in coverage, and you read Gunnar Gundy's boundary throw to Rashod Owens pretty quickly to come down and break it up. I'm as interested in where you went for the deflection as anything – you went more to the sideline than where Owens was. What made you anticipate that particular spot, and what was this coverage? Cover-2? Advertisement Jaden Voisin: So this play is actually super-interesting. Throughout this game week in practice, we ran through this play so many times with this tight end going to the flat, they had a corner route coming behind it, and it was almost every single time we've watched it. So as soon as I'm looking, I see the tight end go to the flat, we're already playing outside coverage in our Cover-2. We played more on the outside tip than inside. DF: You're disguising one to two here and you're the second safety, right? JV: Yes. I'm disguising one [Cover-1] right here. The corner's bailing like he's playing bail, but he's really trapping. So I'm acting like I'm going towards the middle of the field and then going out. DF: So from your film study, you were able to discern that this is going to the guy's outside shoulder. Advertisement JV: I'm going to defend it here. 100%. PLAY 2: Pass deflection vs. Oklahoma State, 2023 DF: This play, you work from the box pre-snap to deep safety. This looks like a similar coverage [to the previous play]. JV: This is the exact same coverage, actually. Disguising a little bit different. DF: How are you disguising it different? JV: Our rover [linebacker], he's higher than me. He was in that last play, kind of towards the middle of the field. However, this was actually a broken coverage. He was supposed to be playing Cover-2 to the right and he ended up not doing it. DF: So you're up here [at middle distance], you're coming down. The corner is handing it off to you. How often did you start in one place on the field pre-snap, and head somewhere else post-snap? Because those shifting safeties — teams are doing it so much more at the NFL level. And you guys seemed to do that a lot. So it's something you're pretty conversant with. Advertisement JV: Yeah, absolutely. We tried to disguise every coverage. Sometimes you can't disguise certain coverages, but I mean, practices were tough because you're starting in one area and you're running to the next area. You're on the line and your job is 10 yards behind you. So it's tough, but in the game, it makes it so much easier. Because the quarterback has no idea what you're doing, because they're going to think you're doing one thing. And then when the ball snapped, you're doing something completely different. And that's what leads to plays like this one. DF: You mentioned practice. Those disguises can mess the offense up. But they can also mess the defense up if you're not fully aware of who's where, you don't get to your spot. JV: It can be bad. DF: You time this hit really well. Maybe in the NFL, they're a little more sensitive to the whole idea of defenseless receivers. How do you refine that timing, so you're not nailing a guy for the pass breakup, maybe after or before you should? What is the science of the timing on that so you don't get a flag? Advertisement JV: I knew the ball was in the air at that point. And when I'm running towards [the receiver], I'm kind of trying to decide when his hands go up. You can't tell a lot of the time, but I could see the ball. And then when I saw his hands go up, I knew it was going to be a good timing because I mean, his hands weren't going to go up for two seconds before I hit him. So, I knew I could go through with it. DF: Receivers who play with late hands, like a Davante Adams, does that change your thought process with that? JV: Yeah. The receivers that play with late hands, that's the tougher stuff. You can't tell when the ball is coming, because you've got to play before you play the ball. if you can't see the ball. That's what makes it tough. And you can't obviously go for shots like that. You've got to look back for the ball most of the time. PLAY 3: Interception vs. Marshall, 2023 DF: This is another play where you're dropping deep at the snap, and then coming down to break up the catch. And here, you get the pick. You carry the motion over here for a couple of steps, and then return to your responsibility on the defensive left side. What is the coverage here, and what is your responsibility? Advertisement JV: This is Match-2 [Cover-2 with match principles across]. So right now I still have [the] number-one [receiver]. I still have the half technically, but when this receiver motions, it's pretty much a match. I have the receiver at that point. It's covered, but it's really a match coverage. When I see the receiver go under, I know immediately I can break on him, because he's not going vertical. DF: What are you signaling here? JV: Oh, I can tell that the guy's about to go in motion. I'm just trying to tell [his teammates] that the motion's coming over. It changes a few jobs over there when that guy does come over. So, this was one of my gamble plays for sure. When I saw this receiver go under at that point, I'm looking at the quarterback rolling out towards us, and I just was like, let me attack this receiver. Obviously, [the quarterback's] got pressure on him. When he was rolling out to the right, I knew there wasn't a vertical throw he was throwing. So I just on it, and you know, he ended up throwing it. DF: You're reading the quarterback and reading the receiver. You have to time this whole thing up in two dimensions. Advertisement JV: Yes. With that receiver going underneath, even though I am in a match to him, him going underneath, I can just stay on top of him. My end goal is to stay on top of this guy. But with the quarterback rolling out to the boundary, he's not going to have much time and, the windows are much tighter on this side. So I just dove on, on the play and he ended up throwing it to me. DF: Plus you've got the linebacker up here. He's got the tight end, so he's probably not going to make that throw anyway. So you know at that point what you've got. JV: Exactly. DF: And then you're just... that's the ball skills. Advertisement JV: Yeah, I definitely pride myself on catching the ball. You know, all the balls that are supposed to be caught, I catch them. DF: 11 interceptions in your college career; that's not an accident. That happens for a reason. PLAY 4: Interception vs. LSU, 2024 DF: This is an interception against LSU. I'm sure we've all heard of LSU. It's not Raccoon State Teacher's College; you're making plays against bigger schools. Is this quarters coverage? JV: Yes, this is quarters. The way we played this: The top corner, he's playing his quarter, but we had a call. He's pretty much in man coverage at that point. I'm playing number three to the field over here. So if he comes across the field, I carry him kind of like a weak hook [defender]. You're carrying inside slot to the other side, but if he cancels, then I look back to the quarterback and zone off, which is what I did right here. Advertisement DF: It sounds like a thing people take for granted, but it's not just, I have this guy, unless he does this and then I have to go there. You have to time all that stuff up or you're going to be late somewhere. JV: Exactly. DF: And that's a big deal. So you see him, then off you go. And then this was Amarion Fortenberry, your teammate, who had the pass breakup. You've got a couple of those "right place, right time" interceptions. I'm wondering at the snap — I know you're reading three here. Are you also kind of spying [LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier]? Are you watching him too? JV: Yes. I'm looking at [Nussmeier's] eyes as soon as the ball is snapped, and he immediately looks to the field. So that's when I take my eyes to my guy, but he cancels. As soon as that happens, I get my eyes back to Garrett and you know, he's looking back to the boundary. I just break on it as fast as I can. When we play coverage. It's more eyes on the quarterback than anything. Advertisement DF: Yeah. You're shifting, and he still has the ball. You have to read the receiver, but you're reading the quarterback here. JV: Exactly. Once my man canceled, it was all eyes on the quarterback, and him staying over there just helped me get to where I was at. DF: And we'll show the end zone [angle] here. Cause that was a, this is a fun play where you're just like, Hey, look, a ball! That was nice. JV: Yeah. I mean, it popped right in front of me. DF: I see here where you have your eyes on Nussmeier. JV: Yeah. DF: You have your eyes on his eyes and that's just like, okay, that's the moment where, all right, I got it. Advertisement JV: Exactly. And LSU was tough, because a lot of the times I'll read the O-line, and the O-line will give me pass run tendencies, but their offensive line looked like they were in pass pro every play. So it was tough. DF: Plus you got a guy in Nussmeier who can really run around and do stuff. With mobile quarterbacks, wherever you are on the field as a defender, what additional challenges does a guy like that present who can just bail from the pocket and still make throws at any point? JV: It's tough because not only are you in coverage, but if you turn your back to the quarterback, they'll end up running, and you don't see what's happening. Once your back's turned and he's running behind you, he could run forever if no one looks. It's just green grass in front of them. So that, that does bring a lot of difficulties, honestly. We usually have to have a spy or, you know, we all honestly played a lot of man coverage in that, trying to get pressure on the quarterback. DF: So you guys must practice these tip drills, because you seem to have this one pretty sewn up. Advertisement JV: Yeah, actually we did. We, we did practice this a lot of the time, trying to get warm and stuff like that. You'd be surprised how many times I've seen players drop some of the tips, which is... you know, tips are money. You've got to catch those. They're easiest catches. DF: You'd think so. So just to run through this play, just the multiple responsibilities — you're reading three, you're reading the quarterback, then you're back there, then you're on time. I mean, that's, that's a lot of stuff. It's just the processing is... I would just encourage people to go beyond, "Oh, he went to South Alabama. So, it's all simple." No, it's really not. PLAY 5: Interception vs. Texas State, 2024 DF: On this interception, you have to make a quick decision because at the snap, it looks like the quarterback Jordan McLeod is running toward the goal line. And then a few steps in, he tries to hit Deion Hankins, the running back in the end zone. Are you reading the quarterback all the way here in this end zone responsibility? Advertisement JV: We're in man coverage, so that I have that tight end right there. And once he comes back into the [formation], I ended up being something called a force player. So I'm just the edge of the defense at that point. But once he slides back, I came to the line and see the quarterback running away, but I could tell that the, the offensive line wasn't moving with him. So I thought it, I immediately thought pop pass. Okay, let's go to, let's go to end zone here. DF: So when you say the offensive line, isn't going with the quarterback, let's look at that. Oh, so they're running kind of power with a puller sort of thing. JV: Yeah. DF: And then, the running back runs that little Texas route, and there you are. So, walk me through everything you're reading here. Advertisement JV: Once he [the tight end] slides back, I can see the quarterback running away and I know for a fact I couldn't chase him down from where I was at. So I mean, when I saw the offensive line in front of me like that, I immediately thought, okay, if he throws a pop pass, he'll get it. And, you know, he ended up actually throwing it straight to me. I mean, it was honestly kind of crazy. I'm just running back there, and I just see the ball right in my face. DF: What's that old saying? Luck is the residue of design. I think you had a plan there. JV: Yeah. It worked out for me. DF: That's also kind of an offshoot of the, the Brian Branches of the world; these guys who play all these different positions. Does it make you more astute as far as matching the tight end, then [you're] at the line, [then you're covering]? Now, you have to be more alert about going from match, to pressure, to veering out to someone else, than maybe you would have say 10 years ago. Advertisement JV: Yeah, exactly. The job changes. It can change five times throughout the play. You've gotta be ready for all all those things. PLAY 6: 30-yard catch allowed vs. LSU, 2024 DF: So it's not all rainbows and sunshine. I wanted to bring up a couple things that maybe I just had some questions about. So this is back to the LSU game. This 30-yard catch that Mason Taylor got on you. Obviously a very good player. Went in the second round to the New York Jets. What is the coverage here? JV: This is Cover-3. With that receiver that before he went in motion, I would play that receiver through the [route]. However, when he went in motion, I just become the weak hook [defender] at that point. Okay. Advertisement DF: So, you're taking Taylor all the way up. JV: With that running back at the beginning of the play, at first, I'm not with the tight end right now. I'm just playing that, that area right there. But when the running back went out, we made a push call. Then, that strong hook that's over the tight end right there has to push through. And then I ended up taking the tight end at that point. DF: I'm just wondering, you're giving up about eight inches to this guy. You're five-foot-10. I'm wondering, if you had this to do over again, would you maybe get a quicker leap on the ball? You know, when you're dealing with height and wingspan issues just in general... I mean, it's not a bad play. You're right on him the whole way through, but as you know, the little fractions of the catch point can make all the difference when you're giving up that much height and leaping ability and wingspan and arm length to a guy. What do you do as sort of adaptive strategies to avoid things like this? JV: Yeah, I definitely, if I could do that all over again, I would have definitely stayed more on top of him. I definitely got to him later than I should have. I definitely should have kept him underneath me. Simply im being that tall, and he's not a slower guy. I mean, I knew that going into the game too, but no — I definitely, I definitely got a late jump on him. I should have stayed more on top of him rather than on his hip. I mean, the quarterback put the ball, I mean, perfect. I mean, yeah, right in the window and, you know, kudos to him for that, but definitely with guys like him, you know, you gotta, you gotta play more on top of those guys rather than behind them. Cause they can throw it over you. And like you said, his, his wingspan's obviously way, way higher than mine. And so, you know, that play, that play definitely got to me. DF: When you say get up on him earlier, at what point in this process would you do what differently? JV: At this point, instead of arm-fighting, I should have gone more towards his top shoulder rather than his back shoulder. What I should have done is just sped up, leaned into him, and looked back to the ball rather than trying to play his hands. DF: Gotcha. Like I said, you're right on him. One little change, and that's a breakup. These aren't major things; they're just things that NFL teams would probably ask you about. PLAY 7: Blitz pressure vs. Southern Miss, 2024 DF: I love this play for two reasons. You're screaming in to provide pressure and you're signaling at the same time. What are you signaling here? JV: Honestly, I think I thought it was a false start. I think that's exactly what I thought the whole time. They were doing it a lot throughout that game. DF: Well, I guess 55 could say he timed it, With a trigger-happy referee, that's a false start in the NFL, whether it is or not. And then what I like here, I mean, you have the size to take on the running back. He's a smaller guy, but I like the way you do this. I remember talking to [former NFL defensive back] Su'a Cravens years ago, and he was the first one that told me — I don't like try to push through people. I read gaps or openings like a running back would to provide pressure. And that really seems like what you're doing here. JV: Yeah. I was definitely thinking, get to the quarterback rather than go through the running back to the quarterback. Because at the end of the day, I am the contain blitzer. I want to stay outside. So what I did was just give him an inside move. And a lot of the running backs think that some guys are going to run through them most of the time. Even just giving them an inside move, and we worked this every day in practice. So yeah, just give him an inside move just to make sure I stayed outside. And then, and you know, I ended up actually getting [the quarterback]. DF: Would you like to rush the passer more in the NFL? Would you like to blitz more? JV: I definitely didn't get to blitz as much as I would like to. You can almost make up what you're doing when you're going in there [blitzing], but staying to your job as well. It's one-on-one most of the time. PLAY 8: Run stop vs. Southern Miss, 2023 DF: So this play, you come down from slot depth, and you just run through this whole thing. You see this develop, and that's Frank Gore Jr., by the way. A name you may know. JV: Yeah. DF: Shows that you're not afraid, afraid to get grimy in the run game. You're not afraid to be physical. That's certainly evident. I wanted to ask about the tackling. Quite a few missed tackles. And I understand that when you have that sort of breakneck, go-for-broke style, that's a thing. What can you do to sort of shore that up for the next level? JV: Just rather than go for the big hit and all that, just go. I go in there and just wrap up like I know how to wrap up rather than try and suplex the guy, and try and hit him high and all that stuff. They taught us how to tackle pretty well in college, you know, right shoulder and all that stuff. I definitely tried to go for bigger hits a lot of the time. Instead of going for the legs, try and hit them higher than I should. So that's definitely something I would fix. Go where they bend, rather than their upper body where their pads are at. What Jaden Voisin can bring to the NFL DF: What message do you want to send to NFL teams about you, about your potential, about what you can provide? JV: Yeah, I'm a great locker room guy. Someone who's going to put the team first, who cares about the team rather than their own success. I've showed that, you know, being loyal, staying at South Alabama, showing that I'm a team guy. I'm more than willing to play special teams. I'm more than willing to do anything to help the team get to where they want to be. And yeah, I'm still available. I'm still training, and I'm just waiting for my opportunity. After getting to know Jaden Voisin, hearing his story, and watching tape with him, I'm even more convinced that he deserves an NFL opportunity. This isn't to say that he should have been a first-round pick — Voisin said himself that he saw a possibility of a late-round pick or priority free agent signing, and that's all he was asking for. His athleticism, awareness, and ability to talk through the things he needs to work on without flinching are all positives, and it seems that the only person at South Alabama that didn't benefit from the transfer portal last year was him. If NFL teams are penalizing Voisin because he's a small-school guy, when he did have legitimate bigger-school interest and could have done the same things with a more prominent program and a more stable coaching staff had he not have been as loyal as he was, that would be a shame. Voisin also insisted that there are no off-field red flags that might have NFL teams wondering about him. So, consider this a gentle reminder that Jaden Voisin is still out there, and he can probably help your defense in more ways than one. Related: Dallas Cowboys' George Pickens Trade Comes With Caveats, But It's Worth the Risk Related: From Nick Nash to Shaun Dolac, the Best Undrafted Players In the 2025 NFL Draft
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bill Belichick, UNC football addressing roster needs via transfer portal
Bill Belichick has been busy during the spring window for the transfer portal, adding depth to a UNC football program that desperately needs it ahead of Belichick's debut season. Following their open practice at Kenan Stadium on April 12 to conclude the spring portion of the schedule, the Tar Heels lost two of their top defenders to the portal. Defensive lineman Beau Atkinson entered and ultimately chose to join reigning national champion Ohio State. Advertisement UNC TO IRELAND: What to know about Bill Belichick, UNC football's trip to Ireland in 2026 NEW QB: South Alabama QB Gio Lopez commits to UNC football, Bill Belichick Amare Campbell, UNC's top returner at linebacker, also entered the portal but has yet to choose a new school. Those were the most notable departures for UNC, which has added 13 players via the portal since spring practice ended. As of April 30, Belichick's transfer portal class ranks ninth nationally and third in the ACC behind Miami and Florida State. Here's a breakdown of some of the notable names joining the Tar Heels for the 2025 season. UNC finds starting QB in Gio Lopez The Tar Heels' quarterbacks didn't separate themselves in the spring, but Belichick answered that question by adding South Alabama's Gio Lopez to the QB room. With Lopez, the Tar Heels figure to have their leader in place while freshman Bryce Baker learns behind a proven starter. The 6-foot, 220-pound quarterback finished with 2,559 passing yards and 25 total touchdowns, completing 66% of his passes with 18 passing TDs in 11 starts last season at South Alabama. Lopez also made plays with his legs, logging 465 rushing yards and seven TDs on the ground. Tar Heels add defensive depth with Florida's D'Antre Robinson, others UNC added three defensive linemen during the spring period, including Florida's D'Antre Robinson. As a 6-foot-3, 305-pound freshman for the Gators, Robinson had 17 tackles across 11 games as a four-star prospect. Arizona defensive lineman Isaiah Johnson was next for UNC, giving the Heels another piece for their interior defensive line. Advertisement The 6-foot-1, 311-pound defender had nine tackles and 2 ½ sacks in 10 games last season. Missouri linebacker Mikai Gbayor, who committed to the Tigers after playing the 2024 season at Nebraska, quickly shifted gears and joined the Tar Heels. Gbayor started in 11 games last season, logging 49 tackles, three pass breakups and two fumble recoveries. Each of those three players will be asked to do more in Chapel Hill for a retooled defense. Bill Belichick beefs up UNC offensive line with Will O'Steen, Jordan Hall The additions of UAB offensive lineman Jordan Hall and Jacksonville State offensive lineman Will O'Steen aren't flashy, but they fill another area of need for the Tar Heels. O'Steen, UNC's latest April addition via the portal, played nearly 1,000 snaps at left tackle for the Gamecocks last season, according to Pro Football Focus. The 6-foot-4, 290-pound lineman is a three-year starter. A 6-foot-8, 310-pound lineman, Hall played in all 12 games for the Blazers last season and has three years of eligibility remaining. UNC needs all of the help it can get on the interior. Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@ This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Bill Belichick, UNC football add to roster through transfer portal
New York Times
28-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
College football spring transfer portal window recap: Tennessee drama, QBs on the move
College football's spring transfer portal window officially closed Friday, but not without a flurry of activity leading into, during and at the end of the window. There was high drama at Tennessee, which led to what amounted to a quarterback trade, impact players making moves and hundreds of players entering the portal in hopes of finding a new home. Advertisement Let's recap some of the notable storylines from a busy April. The Nico Iamaleava saga consumed plenty of oxygen because of the unprecedented nature of his brief holdout amid a contract dispute. The former Tennessee quarterback, who helped lead the Volunteers to the College Football Playoff last year, hit the portal on the first day of the spring window and committed to UCLA days later. The quarterback transfer UCLA took during the winter portal window, former Appalachian State starter Joey Aguilar, suddenly needed a new home and found it at … Tennessee. But there were other interesting quarterback moves this month. South Alabama QB Gio Lopez to North Carolina: Bill Belichick's first spring leading the Tar Heels left him looking for reinforcements at quarterback. Purdue transfer Ryan Browne, who joined the Tar Heels in January, re-entered the portal and returned to Purdue. True freshman Bryce Baker, a four-star recruit in UNC's 2025 signing class, also enrolled in January. And Max Johnson, last year's opening-night starter who has started at LSU and Texas A&M, is coming off a significant leg injury. Enter Lopez, who had a solid first season as a starter in 2024 at South Alabama. The former 2023 recruit threw for 2,559 yards and 18 touchdowns with five interceptions in 11 starts. Several Power 4 teams inquired about him this offseason, but the Tar Heels ultimately won out. To fill the void, South Alabama quickly pivoted and signed former Georgia Tech and Minnesota quarterback Zach Pyron. Excited and grateful, go Heels!🐏 @UNCFootball — Gio Lopez 7️⃣ (@lopezgio1) April 18, 2025 Notre Dame QB Steve Angeli to Syracuse: Angeli's arrival at Syracuse adds intrigue to the quarterback situation. Coach Fran Brown tabbed LSU transfer Rickie Collins as QB1 coming out of spring practice but needed another scholarship quarterback after Michael Johnson Jr., Kyle McCord's backup in 2024, hit the portal. Angeli, who was competing for Notre Dame's starting job, entered the portal a few days later and landed at Syracuse. With 21 career appearances, including one drive in last year's Playoff semifinal, Angeli has a lot more experience than Collins, who has appeared in four games and taken 33 career snaps. Advertisement Iowa QB Brendan Sullivan to Tulane: The Green Wave took two transfers — Ball State's Kadin Semonza and journeyman TJ Finley — in the winter window after their 2024 starter, Darian Mensah, transferred to Duke. But head coach Jon Sumrall was still in the quarterback market after spring practice. Finley, who was suspended from team activities after an arrest, hit the portal. Tulane assessed multiple options and ultimately signed Sullivan, who has started 11 Big Ten games over the past three seasons. Sullivan spent three seasons at Northwestern and transferred to Iowa last season, where he started three games, but the Hawkeyes have handed the 2025 keys to South Dakota State transfer Mark Gronowski. UCF QB Dylan Rizk to Stanford: The Cardinal needed a quarterback, with Ashton Daniels (Auburn), Justin Lamson (Montana State) and Bear Bachmeier transferring out. Rizk is intriguing. He has three years of eligibility left and started the last four games of the 2024 season for UCF, including a Nov. 2 blowout of Arizona in which he threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 55 yards. He'll be expected to compete for the starting job with Elijah Brown, Stanford's 2024 four-star quarterback signee who appeared in three games and started one last year. Texas State QB Gevani McCoy to Temple: McCoy was the most experienced quarterback to enter the portal in the spring window, with 31 career starts and 2,150 career snaps. He had a productive career in the FCS at Idaho and started last year at Oregon State, but he moved on after the Beavers took Duke transfer Maalik Murphy this winter. McCoy was one of three transfers to commit to Texas State, but he re-entered the portal this month. Temple needed a quarterback, and McCoy should be well positioned to become the Owls' starter for first-year coach K.C. Keeler. Georgia QB Jaden Rashada to Sacramento State: Rashada, who was at the center of an NIL contract saga with Florida in 2022, was looking for a place to play and may have found it. Rashada started as a true freshman at Arizona State in 2023, but an injury disrupted that season and he transferred to Georgia, where he was buried on the depth chart last year. First-time head coach Brennan Marion, a decorated offensive assistant and architect of the 'Go Go Offense,' is looking to make a splash in his debut season at Sac State, and landing a former top-100 recruit created some buzz. Assuming Rashada wins the job, his progress will be fascinating to track. He needs the reps because he hasn't taken a game snap since the 2023 season. The Hornets' 2024 starter, Carson Conklin — a 2024 Jerry Rice Award finalist who threw for 2,876 yards and 28 touchdowns last year — entered the portal over the weekend after news of Rashada's arrival broke. Sac State also signed former Tulsa transfer Cardell Williams in the winter, but Rashada should have ample opportunity to see the field. The Longhorns have mastered the art of selectively utilizing the portal to fill needs, rather than living in it. Recruiting top-five classes annually certainly helps. Texas picked up five impact players in the spring window. Former Stanford receiver Emmett Mosley V, who tied for the team lead in touchdown catches, and Cal transfer tight end Jack Endries (91 receptions in the last two seasons) give Arch Manning two extra weapons to join DeAndre Moore and Ryan Wingo in the passing game. Two young defensive linemen, Maraad Watson (Syracuse) and Lavon Johnson (Maryland), help shore up the interior, where the Longhorns are losing multiple veterans. And kicker Mason Shipley, who was 31-of-35 on field goal attempts at Texas State, fills a need at kicker after Bert Auburn, who struggled late last season, entered the portal. Advertisement New general manager Jim Nagy has wasted little time making an impact since his February arrival. The Sooners acquired one of the best running backs in the country, former Cal star Jaydn Ott, as a graduate transfer. Pairing Ott with Washington State quarterback transfer John Mateer, in former Wazzu coordinator Ben Arbuckle's offense, has intriguing potential. The Sooners also had needs along the offensive line and landed Stanford transfer Jake Maikkula. Mike Gundy and his staff were busy this spring, landing nine transfers thus far in the spring window. The Cowboys restocked at receiver with Marshall's 2024 leading receiver, Christian Fitzpatrick, and a pair of Division II stars: Cam Abshire (Emory & Henry) and Terrill Davis (Central Oklahoma). They also acquired help along the offensive line (Markell Samuel, Appalachian State), at running back (Freddie Brock, Georgia State) and on the defensive line. Belichick and GM Mike Lombardi were busy retooling the Tar Heels' roster after more than 20 scholarship players hit the portal. In addition to landing their quarterback, they signed linebacker Mikai Gbayor, who started 15 games in the last two seasons at Nebraska; Penn State defensive end transfer Smith Vilbert, who has appeared in 34 games there; and four-star receiver recruit Adrian Wilson, who signed with Colorado but entered the portal this month. The Bears had some big losses in Endries and Ott, as well as multiple other running backs, including Jaivian Thomas. But they've responded nicely by picking up quality players like Liberty edge rusher TJ Bush (9 1/2 tackles for loss in 2024), UTSA running back Brandon High (eight touchdowns in 2024) and speedy receiver Quaron Adams, who averaged 30.2 yards per catch last year at South Dakota. QUARON ADAMS EXPLODES FOR 70 YARDS! 💥#FCSPlayoffs x 🎥 ESPN+ / @SDCoyotesFB — NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) December 7, 2024 After making a splash in the winter window, the Red Raiders have made key additions in the spring as well, landing Stanford edge rusher David Bailey and Colorado offensive lineman Cash Cleveland. They also got back a player they lost in the winter: former five-star receiver Micah Hudson. In December, Hudson — the first five-star signee in school history — transferred to Texas A&M, but his stay in College Station was brief, and he returned to the portal this month. After a visit to Utah, Hudson wound up back in Lubbock. Before he transferred out, there was optimism about his future and his potential role at Tech in 2025 had he stayed. Can he get back on that track? The Cougars have quietly had a nice offseason in the portal. They retooled their offense with winter additions at quarterback (Texas A&M transfer Conner Weigman), some experienced receivers and backs and a host of offensive linemen. This spring, they added former Ball State tight end Tanner Koziol, who caught 94 passes last year and had a brief stop at Wisconsin before re-entering the portal. They also landed FIU linebacker transfer Eddie Walls III, who led the team with five sacks and posted the highest pass-rushing grade in Conference USA last season, according to Pro Football Focus. Tulane linebacker Jesus Machado, who led the Green Wave with 98 tackles in 2023 for then-coach Willie Fritz, is rejoining his old coach in Houston this season after transferring in this month. More than 1,100 FBS scholarship players entered the portal in the last month, an average of around eight players per team. To get a sense for the type of player that entered this spring, consider … Plenty of good players have entered the portal, but many are also looking for an opportunity because they didn't have much of one at their previous school. (Photo of Nico Iamaleava: Butch Dill / Getty Images)
New York Times
23-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
What the spring transfer portal window has told us about these unsettled QB situations
The transfer portal always has a way of revealing a program's true feelings about its roster. Spring practice reps also provide quarterbacks with a better understanding of where they stand on the depth chart. We're in the final stages of the spring portal window, a time when those two factors mentioned come to a head. While most Power 4 schools came into the spring fairly settled at quarterback, there were a few programs with questions remaining at the position. Advertisement Let's evaluate what this spring's transfer portal movement has told us about some previously unsettled quarterback situations. Starter Max Brosmer exhausted his eligibility following last season, which left the Golden Gophers with two candidates for the starting job — redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey and Georgia Tech transfer Zach Pyron, who was signed during the winter portal window. Lindsey had a leg up because he already had a season in the system, but he attempted just five passes in 2024. Pyron was more experienced. He appeared in 19 games and attempted 155 passes over three seasons at Georgia Tech, but he is extremely raw as a passer (56.8 career completion percentage, five touchdown passes and seven interceptions). Well, the competition didn't last long. Pyron entered the transfer portal last week, and the Alabama native landed back in his home state at South Alabama. While Lindsey's path to the starting role seems pretty clear, Minnesota will move forward with a fairly inexperienced quarterback group unless it adds a veteran. Steve Angeli, CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey were involved in a competition this spring to replace departing starter Riley Leonard. Angeli was the backup the past two seasons and played well in a pinch during the Fighting Irish's Orange Bowl win against Penn State. But he must've seen the writing on the wall that he wasn't going to win the starting role because he entered the transfer portal last week, paving the way for a two-man race between Carr and Minchey. Both players are former four-star prospects, but both played just four snaps last season. Notre Dame has started a transfer quarterback in each of the past two seasons. It's off that carousel now and will roll with a pretty green starter no matter who wins the job. For what it's worth, Carr is the favorite to start and impressed in the spring game. Advertisement This was one of the more compelling quarterback situations in the country, mainly because of the intrigue surrounding Bill Belichick and his vision for the program. Max Johnson opened last season as the starter but suffered a significant leg injury in the first game, so it's difficult to tell how he'll bounce back. Four-star freshman Bryce Baker, a top-100 national recruit, has promise. Purdue transfer Ryan Browne spent a few months with the program before transferring back to play for the Boilermakers. None of the options were super tantalizing, and — without saying it explicitly — the staff confirmed that by bringing in South Alabama transfer Gio Lopez, who passed for 2,559 yards, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions while rushing for 463 yards and seven scores in 2024. Lopez is experienced and the leader in the clubhouse for the starting role. His arrival will allow the staff to bring Baker along slowly. Lopez's transfer also opened the door for Pyron to land at South Alabama. Excited and grateful, go Heels!🐏 @UNCFootball — Gio Lopez 7️⃣ (@lopezgio1) April 18, 2025 The Orange are another program with an inexperienced quarterback group. LSU transfer Rickie Collins seems to have a leg up, but redshirt freshman Jakhari Williams is also in the mix. The two have combined to throw seven passes in their college careers. So it shouldn't be surprising if Syracuse kicks the tires — at the very least — on quarterback options this spring. On3 reported that Angeli visited this week, and Syracuse is in the mix for the Notre Dame transfer. Collins has a head start in the offense, which Angeli will have to overcome, but if he does end up transferring to Syracuse, it's clear that coach Fran Brown wanted more competition at the quarterback position. Advertisement The Volunteers' quarterback situation was settled. And then all of a sudden, it wasn't when the Nico Iamaleava drama surfaced. Tennessee cut ties with Iamaleava, who transferred to UCLA. The Vols had just two scholarship quarterbacks after Iamaleava's departure — redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and freshman George MacIntyre. Merklinger attempted nine passes last season. So the position was short on bodies and experience. Iamaleava's transfer to UCLA led to a shakeup on the Bruins' roster. Appalachian State transfer Joey Aguilar, who was UCLA's projected starter, entered the portal Monday and the expectation is he'll land at Tennessee. He'll be by far the most experienced option but will have to compete with players who have more time in the system. The Volunteers experienced their fair share of drama this spring but appear to be on stable ground. (Photo of Steve Angeli: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
