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USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
PFF hypes Florida QB DJ Lagway as potential No. 1 pick in 2027 NFL draft
PFF hypes Florida QB DJ Lagway as potential No. 1 pick in 2027 NFL draft Florida football quarterback DJ Lagway is already turning the heads of NFL talent evaluators, and a new Pro Football Focus feature suggests the Gators' rising sophomore could headline a star-studded 2027 NFL draft class. PFF analyst Max Chadwick highlighted 12 underclassmen who could make the 2027 draft "historic", singling out Lagway's rare arm talent and sky-high ceiling as the biggest reason scouts are "drooling". The 6-foot-3-inch, 235-pound signal-caller posted an FBS-best 8.8 percent big-time throw rate in 2024 while earning a 95.6 passing grade on deep balls, according to PFF charting. Should Lagway continue to develop as projected, he could become another Florida quarterback selection taken in the top five alongside Anthony Richardson back in 2023. Lagway's rapid rise fuels growing national expectations for Billy Napier's program, which closed last season with four straight wins. If Lagway continues to refine his mechanics, Florida could field its most complete offense since the Tim Tebow era. Here is everything Chadwick said about Lagway and his growing potential. What PFF said about Lagway "It wouldn't be a special draft class without at least one potential franchise quarterback. Lagway showed why he was the top quarterback recruit in the 2024 cycle, leading the Power Four with an 8.8% big-time throw rate. Lagway's 95.6 passing grade on deep throws stood third in the country as well. He'll need to become more precise as a sophomore, though, as his 59.7 passing grade on all other throws was the second-worst mark in the Power Four. "It was still a very encouraging freshman year for Lagway, though, considering how brutal Florida's schedule was. He may have more arm talent than anyone else in college football and just needs to fine-tune his footwork and accuracy to potentially become the best quarterback in the nation." Other names included from the SEC Along with Lagway, the other names mentioned by PFF that play in the SEC are edge rusher Colin Simmons (Texas Longhorns), edge rusher Dylan Stewart (South Carolina Gamecocks), wide receiver Ryan Williams (Alabama Crimson Tide), wide receiver Cam Coleman (Auburn Tigers) and safety KJ Bolden (Georgia Bulldogs). Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Can schools like St. Bonaventure and FIU thrive in college athletics without the big bucks?
Former NBA reporter and current St. Bonaventure men's basketball general manager Adrian Wojnarowski, center left, watches as Southern California guard JuJu Watkins walks past during the second half of an NCAA women's basketball game Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun, file) ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — As schools prepare to begin sharing millions with their athletes, there is no avoiding the reality that if you're not a Power Four school, you're at a disadvantage. With major conferences running the show, St. Bonaventure and Florida International don't even have a seat at the table. FIU and St. Bonaventure aren't necessarily worried about a head-to-head fight over top players with deeper-pocketed schools. The priority has become survival and finding a balance between athletics ambition and financial sustainability. Advertisement Adrian Wojnarowski spoke candidly about the challenges he faced during his inaugural season as the general manager of the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team. Solidifying a recruiting class that would improve the team and embrace the school culture was not easy. After July 1, when lucrative paychecks will pretty much become mandatory for blue-chip prospects, it's not going to get any easier. With some 2,000 undergraduate students, the Bonnies are outnumbered in resources and revenue when competing even against other Atlantic 10 teams like VCU, Dayton, and Saint Louis. Wojnarowski, ESPN's former lead NBA reporter, thinks he has identified a formula for locating the ideal prospect. To him, St. Bonaventure is a landing spot for international players adjusting to a new culture and college life, transfers who may have fallen short at a high major and need development, or those looking to move up to a mid-major. He admits the school upstate New York could be a pit stop on a player's journey. Advertisement 'I want them to see that our environment, our coaching staff, our small school, especially for international players coming over, what I really try to sell is your adjustment to American college life," he said at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and Affiliates Convention this week. 'I think for a lot of kids, it's easier in a school with 1,900 students than a school with 19,000. And you'll come to have two great years with us, and then you'll probably end up at schools with 19,000 or 29,000,' he said. "And so you're selling, for us, we're your first step on the way to somewhere else, or the other one to me is we're the place to come when you've got to get the basketball right.' If the plan goes awry and a recruit slips away, one thing the former NBA insider refuses to do is blame the money. 'Fundraising is hard, creating new revenue streams is hard, but the one thing that I try to stay away from with us is not saying, 'Oh, we didn't get him because they offered more money,' and using that as a crutch all the time. I really examine when we lost a player,' Wojnarowski said. 'Are we being honest with ourselves in saying that we did everything outside the economics to make our case to this person?' Advertisement FIU has more than 40,000 undergraduates, but the athletic department is using a similar philosophy, pinpointing advantages and opportunities to come from the settlement instead of the negatives. Similar to St. Bonaventure, FIU doesn't expect to come close to the $20.5 million revenue-sharing cap available over the next year. For a competitive edge, unlocking new revenue streams is fundamental. 'To compete, from a revenue standpoint, you have to think outside the box of your conventional fundraising and targeting donors,' senior associate athletic director Joseph Corey said. 'That's why you're looking at concerts being held at different venues, different festivals to generate extra revenue to bring in, different revenue streams, and not just fundraising going after the same donors. You've got to go beyond that in order to be able to compete.' Being based in Miami has its perks. Proximity to celebrities is one of them. In August, FIU secured a 10-year partnership with Pitbull, the singer and rapper who coins himself 'Mr. 305.' Advertisement 'We did the partnership with Pitbull – Pitbull Stadium. He's on tour, but part of the deal was that he would be collaborating with us and doing events for us from a fundraising standpoint," Corey said. "You've got to think outside the box. Especially in a city like Miami, it's about the experience too.' Schools unlocking creative revenue streams is something that can be expected. FIU competes in Conference USA alongside teams like Liberty, Louisiana Tech, UTEP, Kennesaw State and Jacksonville State. The football team went 3-5 in 2024, finishing sixth in the conference. The men's basketball team finished last with a 3-15 conference record. It's hard to sell donors on losing teams. 'Let's call it what it is, FIU's not going to be able to keep up with the Alabama's of the world, the Georgia's, Michigan, or Texas, but what can we do? We can be the best in our conference. That is our goal,' Corey said. 'Let's be the best in our conference and really compete there because once you're at the top of your conference, that means more revenue in other areas. Everyone wants to donate to a winner.' ___ AP college sports:
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
If SEC wants more College Football Playoff respect, it's time to dump cupcake games
The SEC keeps finding new reasons to not add a ninth conference game to its football schedule. Throughout the four-team College Football Playoff era, the SEC ruled that postseason format, so it found insufficient incentive to add another conference game. Advertisement When the scheduling debate resurfaced two years ago, some SEC members expressed reluctance to add another conference game without additional compensation from its media partner. ESPN didn't sweeten the pot. The SEC stayed at eight. The latest excuse? Many SEC coaches feel loath to welcome a ninth conference game without first knowing the College Football Playoff format for 2026 and beyond. Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) runs with the ball against Texas during the second half in the 2024 SEC championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. What's next, no ninth SEC game until there's peace in the Middle East? I'm losing my appetite for this eight-or-nine debate. The number should be 10 – as in, every power-conference team should play a minimum of 10 games against Power Four opponents. Advertisement MAN WITH PLAN: Lane Kiffin pushes promising 16-team playoff model BIG DECISION: SEC's Greg Sankey can be hero or villain in playoff debate SEC craves more CFP respect while playing cupcake games The SEC routinely insists it should gain preference from the playoff selection committee because of its run of national championship dominance the past 20 years, plus its strength of schedule. I won't argue that the SEC often boasts the strongest top-to-bottom conference. The SEC's pandering to the playoff committee, though, plays weak considering how the conference structures its schedule. Teams only play half the other members of their 16-team conference, and most only play one Power Four non-conference opponent, while supplementing the schedule with a few layup games. Advertisement In this era of the ever-expanding playoff, it is time for the SEC to curtail its feast of cupcake games. Either stay at eight conference games, or go to nine – so long as it adds up to 10 games against real competition. Power Four teams playing more games against legitimate opponents – and fewer games against directional schools – would provide clarity to the playoff's at-large selection process. Alabama, Florida and South Carolina will play 10 regular-season games against Power Four opponents. The SEC's other teams will play eight or nine games against power foes. By comparison, TCU and Baylor will play a nation-leading 11 games against Power Four competition. Advertisement Let's not spare the ACC, either. The ACC joins the SEC in playing eight conference games, while their Big Ten and Big 12 peers play nine. Most ACC schools, at least, will play 10 games against power-conference opponents, if you include Notre Dame as a power foe. Alternative to a ninth SEC game? Play another Power Four school Prominent SEC voices continue to trumpet that the committee erred by rejecting three 9-3 teams from the inaugural 12-team playoff, and that the committee does not sufficiently reward the SEC's schedule. 'I have a hard time seeing Ole Miss, Alabama, and South Carolina not being in the best teams last year,' Georgia coach Kirby Smart said, in reference to 9-3 teams that didn't make the playoff. Advertisement I maintain the committee flubbed by selecting two-loss SMU, which beat nobody of substance and lost its two games against Top 25 opponents. Mississippi, which smashed Georgia after suffering a résumé-staining loss to Kentucky, would have been a better choice. And yet, the SEC's three-loss also-rans could have tempted the committee more if they'd played and won another conference game or at least played and won an additional game against a Power Four opponent, instead of creaming a Championship Subdivision school. We don't know how the committee would view a 9-3 SEC team that played 10 games against Power Four competition. We do know what the committee thought of the SEC's 9-3 teams that played only nine games against power-conference foes. They thought them undeserving of a playoff bid. Advertisement If Florida, which plays Miami and Florida State, goes 9-3 this season, it likely would have a stronger case for an at-large bid than the SEC's three-loss teams last season. The same is true of South Carolina, which plays Virginia Tech and Clemson for 10 Power Four games. Alabama's games against Wisconsin and Florida State give the Tide 10 games at the big-boy table, too. Those teams stand in exception to the SEC's majority that choose a path of lesser non-conference resistance. The SEC keeps floating the myth that the playoff committee does not respect strength of schedule. That's untrue. Indiana won 11 games last season, but the Hoosiers' soft schedule meant Indiana ranked behind four other at-large playoff qualifiers that won fewer games. Also, the SEC's three-loss teams reached the playoff's doorstep largely because of their strength of schedule. Another marquee victory could help get a three-loss team across the playoff's threshold. Advertisement I can understand the SEC's reluctance to add a ninth conference game. Another league game would guarantee another loss to half the conference. Those additional losses would hinder playoff pursuits across half the league. The alternative to a ninth SEC game, though, should not be a game against Weasel Tech or Seventh-Grade State. Schedule another opponent from the big leagues. Non-conference scheduling includes the hurdle of needing two to tango. Not every power-conference team wants to play an SEC foe. Nebraska ducked out of its series with Tennessee. Wake Forest canceled on Ole Miss. Still, the SEC cannot relent. SEC coaches would be wise to keep the pedal down on this blue-sky idea of a Big Ten-SEC challenge. Advertisement The SEC insists it wields the nation's strongest conference and that the committee should honor it as such. That argument holds merit, but the case would become easier to prove if SEC teams scheduled fewer games against Coastal Cupcake and more games against power-conference peers. Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@ and follow him on X @btoppmeyer. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SEC wants College Football Playoff respect? Stop playing cupcakes
USA Today
09-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Oklahoma target 4-Star WR Davian Groce recruiting profile
Oklahoma target 4-Star WR Davian Groce recruiting profile The Oklahoma Sooners hosted one of the most talented skill players in the 2026 recruiting class for an official visit over the weekend, four-star wide receiver Davian Groce. Groce hails from Frisco, Texas, and is a dynamic, do-it-all weapon on the offensive side of the ball. While being projected to wide receiver at the collegiate level, he has experience carrying the ball out of the backfield, showing off his ability to create big plays in a number of ways. Groce is fantastic in the open field. He has the agility and vision to make defenders miss. He does a great job changing speeds to keep defensive backs off balance in his route. Once he gets the ball, Groce can accelerate away from the defense. He can win in every level of the passing game, showing a natural feel for the screen game as well as running intermediate and deep routes. Though he lines up mostly on the outside, his skillset would allow Groce to be successful in the slot as well. Groce would also be an asset in the return game if the Oklahoma Sooners were able to earn his commitment. Groce currently has 22 Power Four offers, including SEC schools Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Florida, Missouri, and Ole Miss. Davian Groce Recruiting Profile Projected Position Wide Receiver Height 6-foot-1 Weight 190 pounds Hometown Frisco, Texas Rankings Site Stars Overall Position State Rivals 4 53 4 8 ESPN 4 35 4 4 247Sports 4 79 7 13 247Sports Composite 4 37 3 4 On3 4 43 6 5 On3 Industry 4 48 6 7 Film Social Media Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.
Los Angeles Times
07-06-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
‘A huge moment': Martin Jarmond discusses UCLA's plans after House settlement
Like a quarterback who completed offseason workouts, spring practices and fall training camp, Martin Jarmond had been preparing for this moment for nearly a year. On Saturday came the big unveiling. The UCLA athletic director discussed with the Times the plans for his department's operations in the new college sports world created by the House settlement agreement with the NCAA that will allow schools to pay athletes directly for the first time starting July 1. The big takeaways: UCLA will distribute $20.5 million in revenue sharing — the maximum allowed under the settlement — while keeping its Olympic sports programs and athletic department staff intact. The school will also preserve scholarship limits at their current levels for at least one year in order to distribute more revenue sharing money to each player. 'This is a pivotal moment in collegiate athletics and we have to continue to invest in our athletics program to compete at the highest level,' Jarmond said. 'That's why student-athletes come to UCLA, to get the best education and compete at the highest level, and we must invest in our student-athletes to provide that championship-level experience.' While Jarmond would not divulge the specifics of his revenue-sharing arrangement, it's expected that UCLA will follow other Power Four conference schools in using U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken's back-payment formula as a model for current athletes. Under this formula, which will distribute $2.8 billion to athletes who competed from 2016 to 2024 to compensate them for lost name, image and likeness opportunities, roughly 75% of the money will be shared with football players, 15% with men's basketball players, 5% with women's basketball players and 5% with all remaining athletes. 'We've worked really hard to look at the House settlement, along with other factors,' Jarmond said, 'to determine how we were going to split up the revenue share.' Jarmond told The Times last year that he anticipated a bigger share of revenue going to football and men's basketball players because they were 'responsible for more of the revenue based on the House settlement and the back pay for NIL and all those things.' Payments will rise each year as part of the 10-year settlement agreement. Even though roster limits could eventually rise to 105 for football and 15 for men's basketball as part of the settlement, keeping scholarship limits at their current levels — 85 for football, 13 for men's basketball — will allow UCLA to provide each player on scholarship a bigger share of revenue. As part of the settlement agreement, any money used for scholarships (which have an estimated value of $65,000 per athlete at UCLA) comes out of the revenue sharing pot. Jarmond said his department would re-evaluate this arrangement in a year to ensure it was best serving the school's athletes. UCLA is also committed to preserving its Olympic sports that have provided the lion's share of NCAA championships in an athletic department widely regarded as one of the best in the nation. Jarmond said there would be no staffing cuts, but some personnel might be reassigned to better serve the athletic department. 'We are looking at reallocating staff,' Jarmond said, 'to positions that better meet our needs in a changing landscape.' The ability to pay players directly could help UCLA in ways that go beyond compensating its athletes. Revenue sharing arrangements could help narrow the resource gap between the Bruins and other Big Ten Conference schools that had more deep-pocketed NIL collectives engaging in pay-for-play practices. Now, all new NIL deals exceeding $600 must be approved by NIL Go, a clearinghouse created by the College Sports Commission to analyze deals to ensure they serve a valid business purpose and provide fair market value. It's expected that all existing college NIL collectives — including UCLA's Men of Westwood (which serves men's basketball), Bruins for Life (football) and Champion of Westwood (women's basketball, Olympic sports) — will essentially become marketing agencies that try to find endorsement deals for athletes. Jarmond said UCLA was seeking a third-party partner to help secure so-called true NIL opportunities. Being based in Los Angeles should provide Bruins athletes with a clear advantage in securing marketing deals, Jarmond said. Other challenges remain. Having traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby for federal NIL legislation, Jarmond said he believed it was necessary to eliminate the imbalance that exists with more than 30 states having their own NIL laws. While distributing $20.5 million in revenue will be another financial blow to an athletic department that has run $219.5 million in the red over the last six fiscal years — though the entire debt has been covered by the university, bringing the balance to zero — Jarmond said he has long championed athletes being paid and believes the move is long overdue. As part of the settlement involving back pay to athletes, UCLA's share of NCAA revenue will be reduced by more than $1 million annually for the next 10 years. UCLA's finances could soon improve under a College Football Playoff revenue sharing agreement that is expected to provide Big Ten schools an additional $8 million to $12 million annually beginning in 2026. That's on top of media rights deals tilted heavily in favor of Big Ten and Southeastern Conference schools, giving the Bruins another infusion of much-needed cash. The athletic department has a new ally in chancellor Julio Frenk, who signaled his intention to be closely involved with the school's sports programs during a recent interview with The Times. 'Chancellor Frenk has been extremely supportive of athletics and the impact that it has on our community,' Jarmond said. 'He has been supportive of our efforts every step of the way. He hit the ground running during a pivotal time not just for athletics but the university, and he has demonstrated support at a high level and I'm grateful for his leadership at such a pivotal time for athletics.' While acknowledging that UCLA athletics needed to be more creative with revenue generation as part of what he called 'a huge moment' that would forever change the trajectory of college sports, Jarmond said the school's commitment to sports was unwavering. 'We have to be bold and innovative in this new world,' Jarmond said. 'UCLA has always been on the forefront and been a leader and that's not going to change. We will embrace this new era and we will continue to support our student-athletes at a championship level.'
