Latest news with #TravisJohnson
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Michigan football to host 5-star WR Calvin Russell for key Victors Weekend recruiting push
Michigan football is wrapping up its third and penultimate big official visit recruiting weekend, and while there are some heavy hitters on campus this weekend, there are due to be even more the next. This weekend was headlined by 2026 Mineral (Va.) Louisa County five-star running back Savion Hiter, who the Wolverines have long appeared to have the lead for -- but are fending off Tennessee, Ohio State, and Georgia -- but there were other big names on campus, like athlete Salesi Moa, too. But this upcoming Friday-Sunday is 'Victors Weekend,' the final push for some of the top overall targets for the maize and blue. Advertisement And one elusive prospect, who may be just behind Hiter on the wish list, appears set to make it to Ann Arbor. A top wide receiver set to visit The Wolverines have one receiver committed in the 2026 class in Dallas (Tx.) Parish Episcopal three-star Jaylen Pile. This weekend, Michigan hosted four-star Travis Johnson and had four-star Zion Robinson visit in May. But perhaps the big fish is none other than Miami (Fla.) Northwestern five-star Calvin Russell. And according to The Michigan Insider's Brice Marich, Russell is set to visit Ann Arbor this week. Russell has been setting his visits week by week, so for Michigan to get a visit at this juncture is big news for the Wolverines. Scouting report The scouting report from 247Sports' Andrew Ivins: Hulking wide receiver with above-the-rim athleticism that makes him a uniquely dangerous target, especially down in the red zone. Owns more of a slender build, but has measured over 6-foot-5 multiple times and is blessed with a near 6-foot-10 wingspan. Isn't exactly the most polished route runner at this stage, but creates separation with unexpected suddenness for such a longer strider. Superb body control tends to create even more of a disadvantage for defensive backs as he wins 50-50 battles with timing and positioning. Not going to outrun every tackle, but is quick to hit the gas and can make some dynamic cuts in traffic. Spent much of freshman and sophomore seasons repping as a run first-quarterback out of necessity before settling in as a must-look option in Year 3 for a storied Miami Northwestern program that captured a 3A championship. Will need to add some body armour to a rather wiry frame in hopes of improving play strength and buy into the process at the school of his choice, but should be viewed as a potential impact pass catcher for a College Football Playoff contender that can be positioned all around the field in hopes of creating mismatches. One of those good-at-everything athletes that could legitimately play two spots in college as he's also being recruited by basketball high majors. Advertisement Russell is rated highest by 247Sports, which has him as a five-star and the No. 21 overall player in the country, regardless of position. He's also the third-best wide receiver and second-rated player from the state of Florida. He's been to Miami the most, and he's coming off of his official there -- his seventh to Coral Gables. He's also visited Florida and Oregon three times. Russell has visited Ann Arbor before, having come to campus on March 17 of this year. This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan Wolverines target elite five-star WR for Victors Weekend
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Michigan football earns recruiting predictions for 4-stars Travis Johnson and Andre Clarke
Michigan football is closing up its penultimate recruiting weekend of the late spring and early summer and with so many heavy hitters on campus, it's not surprising that the Wolverines are making moves with some of them. With 10 commitments thus far in 2026, the maize and blue are looking at building out the class even more, and appear poised to do so in short order (though the Sherrone Moore batsignal isn't out just yet to indicate anyone has joined the fold at this juncture). Advertisement Still, the June 13 recruiting weekend appeared to be a big success, so much so that two recruiting sites put in predictions for two separate prospects who were on campus this weekend. Chesapeake (Va.) Oscar Smith four-star wide receiver Travis Johnson The Wolverines have been targeting a handful of top-flight wide receivers in the 2026 class. Four-star Zion Robinson visited Ann Arbor in May, and five-star Calvin Russell is set to visit for Victors Weekend. But another mainstay in terms of targets has been Travis Johnson, a four-star from the DMV region. Johnson visited Ann Arbor this weekend and it apparently went quite well. The Michigan Insider's Sam Webb and Steve Lorenz both put in 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions for the Wolverines to land him, and On3's Steve Wiltfong and EJ Holland did the same on their site. Advertisement Johnson is also considering Virginia Tech, Penn State, South Carolina, and Indiana. He's listed highest by ESPN, which has him as the No. 109 player in the country. Richmond (Va.) Heritage four-star CB Andre Clarke Johnson isn't the only visitor this weekend from the DMV that Michigan football made a move with. The Wolverines are looking at several top-flight cornerbacks, with Khary Adams and Andre Clarke being two of the top targets. Adams visited last weekend while Clarke visited Ann Arbor this week, and it appears that it went well for the latter. Sam Webb put in a 247Sports Crystal Ball while EJ Holland put one in on On3. Advertisement Kentucky had been considered the favorite, while SMU and Miami have also been pushing. He's also listed highest on ESPN, which has him as the No. 100 player nationally. Clarke has visited Ann Arbor four times -- more than any other school by double. This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan football gets predictions for two 2026 stars
USA Today
6 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Michigan football earns recruiting predictions for 4-stars Travis Johnson and Andre Clarke
Michigan football earns recruiting predictions for 4-stars Travis Johnson and Andre Clarke Michigan football is closing up its penultimate recruiting weekend of the late spring and early summer and with so many heavy hitters on campus, it's not surprising that the Wolverines are making moves with some of them. With 10 commitments thus far in 2026, the maize and blue are looking at building out the class even more, and appear poised to do so in short order (though the Sherrone Moore batsignal isn't out just yet to indicate anyone has joined the fold at this juncture). Still, the June 13 recruiting weekend appeared to be a big success, so much so that two recruiting sites put in predictions for two separate prospects who were on campus this weekend. Chesapeake (Va.) Oscar Smith four-star wide receiver Travis Johnson The Wolverines have been targeting a handful of top-flight wide receivers in the 2026 class. Four-star Zion Robinson visited Ann Arbor in May, and five-star Calvin Russell is set to visit for Victors Weekend. But another mainstay in terms of targets has been Travis Johnson, a four-star from the DMV region. Johnson visited Ann Arbor this weekend and it apparently went quite well. The Michigan Insider's Sam Webb and Steve Lorenz both put in 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions for the Wolverines to land him, and On3's Steve Wiltfong and EJ Holland did the same on their site. Johnson is also considering Virginia Tech, Penn State, South Carolina, and Indiana. He's listed highest by ESPN, which has him as the No. 109 player in the country. Richmond (Va.) Heritage four-star CB Andre Clarke Johnson isn't the only visitor this weekend from the DMV that Michigan football made a move with. The Wolverines are looking at several top-flight cornerbacks, with Khary Adams and Andre Clarke being two of the top targets. Adams visited last weekend while Clarke visited Ann Arbor this week, and it appears that it went well for the latter. Sam Webb put in a 247Sports Crystal Ball while EJ Holland put one in on On3. Kentucky had been considered the favorite, while SMU and Miami have also been pushing. He's also listed highest on ESPN, which has him as the No. 100 player nationally. Clarke has visited Ann Arbor four times -- more than any other school by double.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
RBC Raises Price Target on Amentum Holdings (AMTM)
On Wednesday, May 21, RBC Capital Markets raised the price target for Amentum Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AMTM) to $24 from $22 while keeping a 'Sector Perform' rating. This decision came after a series of investor meetings between the company's top executives and investors. Amentum Holdings, Inc.'s (NYSE:AMTM) CEO John Heller, CFO Travis Johnson, and Head of Investor Relations Nathan Rutledge discussed the company's financial strategies and future prospects with investors, focusing especially on the company's free cash flow (FCF) and plans for organic growth. A cybersecurity expert monitoring the security of the company's assets, emphasizing the importance of data protection. Long-term investors were interested in Amentum Holdings, Inc.'s (NYSE:AMTM) FCF prospects, which are supported by the company's plan to de-leverage. There is also an expectation that the company will see organic growth in the second half of 2025 and the full fiscal year 2026. However, some concerns regarding risks to the company's revenue were raised. These risks come from the timing of contract awards and the potential effects of the Department of Defense's budgetary decisions. Despite this, RBC Capital Markets believes that as confidence in Amentum Holdings, Inc.'s (NYSE:AMTM) FCF grows, the company's market value could rise. Amentum Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AMTM) is an American government and commercial services contractor that specializes in advanced engineering and innovative technology solutions for the environment, space, intelligence, and defense markets. The company serves the US and allied government agencies. While we acknowledge the potential of AMTM as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AMTM and that has a 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 11 Stocks That Will Bounce Back According To Analysts and 11 Best Stocks Under $15 to Buy According to Hedge Funds. Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Forbes
22-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Retail Media's Waste Problem Sparks Industry 'Awards' For Bad Practices
Agency Podean launches "WOAS" (Waste Of Ad Spend) initiative with satirical awards highlighting ... More billions wasted in retail media due to poor strategy and misaligned metrics. The rapid growth of retail media has created both opportunity and a significant challenge for brands: billions in potentially wasted advertising dollars. Retail media marketing agency Podean has identified this issue and launched a new initiative called "WOAS" (Waste Of Ad Spend) to address what they see as widespread inefficiency in retail media spending. "Too often, brands unknowingly pour money into retail ad spend that isn't driving meaningful results," observes Mark Power, Founder and CEO of Podean. "Over the past years, we've seen the industry's spend on retail media grow substantially, but at the same time, we've seen the quality of retail media management decline." Retail media spending is seeing double-digit growth amid economic uncertainty and increased costs from tariffs. eMarketer projects that retail media networks will capture $62 billion in U.S. ad spending in 2025. But this year was the first year that the research firm revised down its estimate for the second half of 2025, reducing the forecast for compound annual growth through 2028 from 24% to 17%. The stakes for optimization have never been higher. Podean's 'WOAS' initiative is a playful take on a central but over-used metric in retail media: ROAS (return on ad spend). The agency has launched this industry initiative with a series of videos highlighting common areas of retail media mismanagement, including categories like "Hoping Media Will Solve All My Issues" and "Setting Ridiculous Media Metrics." But what exactly constitutes waste in retail media spending? According to Podean, three primary factors emerge: Beyond tactical issues, Podean identifies structural problems that lead to inefficiency. Media management is often relegated to siloed teams without access to critical catalog, retail, and merchandising information from the brand. This separation creates blind spots that prevent optimal allocation of advertising resources. "Marketplace media management has complexities that require intimate knowledge beyond media metrics," says Travis Johnson, Global CEO of Podean. "Brands consolidating marketplace media management with their broader marketing agency or internal team can be problematic due to a lack of in-depth knowledge." Vanessa Hung, CEO of the agency Online Seller Solutions, points to another significant issue: the failure to understand category-specific buying patterns. "Agencies often apply a one-size-fits-all strategy without recognizing the nuances of the category," explains Hung. "In supplements, the shopper journey tends to be longer. Customers compare ingredients, formats, reviews, and often need multiple touchpoints before buying. If you skip that and just target bottom-funnel keywords, you're likely missing the majority of shoppers still in discovery mode." She contrasts this with faster-converting categories, such as kitchenware, where buyers often convert much faster and are more feature- or solution-driven. "If you're running awareness campaigns here with long lead times and soft messaging, it's probably overkill and expensive," she says. The fixation on Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) as the primary success metric represents another area where waste can accumulate. Ecommerce industry consultant Danny Silverman believes this issue stems from organizations migrating digital personnel to retail media roles without understanding the fundamental differences. "These digital specialists bring their ROAS framework without knowing more effective measurement options exist," Silverman explains. He notes that if a brand is in an RFP process, an agency's focus on ROAS should be "an immediate disqualification as it shows they don't truly understand retail media." This aligns with what I've reported in "Retail Media's Next Challenge: Proving Real Results", where enhanced metrics like incrementality have become key differentiators among retail media networks. The growing reliance on AI tools has exacerbated another problem: generic creative and targeting. As Hung notes, it's easier than ever to pump out creative assets without any real substance. "But now that everyone has access to decent images and copy, differentiation matters more than ever." Hung says that generic headlines like 'High Quality' or 'Best in Class' don't stop the scroll anymore. 'We ran a case study for a brand that previously used bland lifestyle images and no benefit-driven copy, ' she says. "We optimized their campaigns using hyper-personalized copy and problem-solution creatives, which boosted the ROAS by 25% in a single week." Tony Crecca, an eCommerce consultant working with the agency MPG as well as directly with brands, frames the issue as both a measurement and expertise challenge. Crecca says that for all the analytics and automation, retail media – like all media investment – is still a mix of art and science. 'However, unlike more traditional platforms such as broadcasting or print, retail media networks are more fragmented with varying measurement standards,' he says. 'There's often a pressure to invest as part customer JBP commitments and brands don't always know exactly what they are investing in or why they are investing.' Beyond the parody awards, Podean's WOAS initiative also provides brands with a framework to quantify retail media inefficiency through a proprietary "scorecard" that evaluates media management strategy and execution across more than 30 weighted criteria. "By applying the WOAS framework to the work of agencies and their clients, we can identify inefficiencies, optimize ad budgets, use the right tactics, and ensure their media investments are working as hard as possible to deliver on overall sales," says Johnson. Brands can request their WOAS calculation at
