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Good morning, and welcome back to CFB Roundup from CFB Home – the first daily newsletter that’s all college football, all the time with no bias, no slant, and no fluff.

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Baylor Coaches Wear “We Pay Players” NIL Shirt

In July, Baylor’s Dave Aranda was asked about some of his recent recruiting success, and he kept his answer blunt: “we’re paying players.”

Since that quote, Baylor has decided to capitalize on the publicity that quote received, by having assistant coaches wear shirts which say “We Pay Players” with the official university logo underneath it, with a tweet with the caption of “WE PAY PLAYERS” (above).

The tweet advertising it garnered over 1.5 million views in less than 12 hours, with a reply, also from Baylor’s official account, to the original with a link to the NIL store where the shirts are being sold.

4-Star IOL Juan Gaston Commits to Georgia

Consensus 4-Star IOL Juan Gaston committed yesterday to Georgia over Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, and other offers.

Gaston said that it was close between all four, but he kept a level-head throughout his recruitment process. Ultimately his heart told him to stay home and commit to Georgia.

Gaston is ranked highest by ESPN, who ranks him 82nd nationally and 12th at his position. On3’s industry composite ranks him 187th nationally and 14th at the position.

This is Georgia’s 19th Blue Chip commitment and 22nd commitment overall, for a 2025 class which ranks 4th nationally and 3rd in the SEC.

2026 4-Star CB Shavar Young Commits to Clemson

2026 4-star CB Shavar Young committed yesterday to Clemson over Tennessee, Kentucky, Oregon, and other offers.

Originally, Young was going to wait until December to commit, so he could do it on his birthday. But after visiting Clemson this past weekend, he decided to pull the trigger earlier.

Clemson offering him meant a lot to him, as he knows Clemson offers tend to mean a little more, as they don’t offer many recruits. As for how Clemson landed him, Young described a family feeling at Clemson, that he knew as soon as he felt it, that Clemson was home.

According to the On3 industry composite, Young ranks 249th nationally and 20th at his position, for now.

This is Clemson’s 2nd commitment for the 2026 class, as Young joins 4-star QB Tait Reynolds.

4-Star S Kendall Daniels Commits to South Carolina

Consensus 4-star S Kendall Daniels committed yesterday to South Carolina over an offer list which included Alabama, Miami, Texas A&M, Penn State, and others.

Daniels officially visited South Carolina at the end of June, and described it as a great experience where he got to bond with a great group of teammates who have built a great culture.

Daniels was happy with the combination of culture, feeling, system fit, and education.

Daniels ranks 25th at his position according to 247Sports, and the On3 industry composite ranks him 285th nationally and 24th at the position.

This is South Carolina’s 19th commitment for the 2025 class, which jumps SMU to get to 25th nationally and 12th in the SEC.

4-Star WR Dillon Alfred Re-Commits to Ole Miss

4-Star Dillon Alfred recommitted to Ole Miss yesterday after having decommitted on June 24th.

Alfred recently took visits to Ole Miss and Clemson, and after both of those visits, Alfred decided that Ole Miss was the best place for him. Alfred said that when he was visiting Clemson, his mind was on Ole Miss, and though it was a great school and program, Ole Miss was home for him.

Rivals ranks Alfred the highest, ranking him 222nd nationally and 38th at the position, with the On3 industry composite ranking him 375th nationally and 59th at his position.

Ole Miss’ 2025 recruiting class now sits 23rd nationally and 11th in the SEC despite still only having 14 commitments.

Virginia Tech’s Brent Pry: Skill in ACC “Equal or Better” to Big Ten

During an interview on a radio show on Sirius XM’s College show, Virginia Tech’s Coach, Brent Pry, shared that he believed the skill in the ACC is equal or better to the skill in the Big Ten.

Pry spent nine seasons with Penn State as Co-DC or DC where his defenses had to go up against Big Ten competition weekly, and now, going into his 3rd season in the ACC with Virginia Tech, Pry believes that the “skill” in the ACC is at least comparable to the Big Ten.

Pry is also optimistic about the trajectory of the league, with the three additions all having “really good runs … at some period in recent history,” and with schools like Virginia Tech, Miami, Syracuse, and Florida State all trending in the right direction after Clemson carried the ACC’s torch for many years while those schools were down.

3-Star WR Josiah Abdullah Commits to Virginia

High 3-star WR Josiah Abdullah committed to Virginia yesterday after decommitting from Florida in June.

His offer list also included Alabama, Michigan, Tennessee, and others.

Abdullah becomes the highest rated commitment in the 2025 class, according to On3’s industry composite ratings.

Rivals rates him as a 4-star, and ESPN ranks him highest of the WRs at 34th in the 2025 class. According to the On3 industry composite, Abdullah ranks 530th nationally and 84th at his position.

This is Virginia’s 18th commitment in the 2025 class for a class which ranks 55th nationally and 13th in the ACC.

3-Star DL Donta Simpson Flips from Maryland to Miami

3-Star DL Donta Simpson flipped his commitment yesterday from Maryland to Miami.

Simpson shared that because its his hometown team, and because him and his dad grew up as fans of the Hurricanes, it felt like the right place for him to be developed.

Simpson is a consensus 3-star, ranking as high as 30th at his position, according to Rivals. On3’s industry composite ranks him 649th nationally and 57th at his position.

This is Miami’s 20th commitment for the 2025 class, which ranks 12th nationally and 3rd in the ACC.

Baylor, Gary Patterson Part Ways

A report from ESPN’s Dave Wilson states that Baylor and Gary Patterson are parting ways from the off-field role Coach Patterson recently started working in.

Patterson was hired back in February of this year with the title of “Senior Level Strategic Consultant.” This was newsworthy given Patterson’s 22 years coaching at Baylor’s biggest rival, TCU.

Patterson’s role was supposedly going to be with him breaking down upcoming opponents and self-scouting the Baylor team for the coaches, but it would appear that is over now.

Former Texas A&M, Kentucky WR Raymond Cottrell Transferring to D2 West Florida

WR Raymond Cottrell announced yesterday, through his agency, that he has transferred to Division II’s West Florida in Pensacola, Fla.

Cottrell was the top rated talent still in the transfer portal after spending a few months at Kentucky after spending his first season at Texas A&M.

After only appearing in three games as a true freshman, Cottrell has four seasons to use his remaining four seasons of eligibility.

Cottrell grew up roughly thirty minutes northeast of West Florida, and for Division II being a clear step down, West Florida is a strong program at that level, going 42-10 in its last 4 regular seasons, including a win of the 2019 Division II Championship.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star (86) ATH Zayne DeSouza commits to Colorado

2026 3-Star WR (86) Lavar Keys commits to Penn State

3-Star (85) ATH Braylan McDonald commits to Texas Tech

2026 3-Star DL (85) Ayden Cain commits to Duke

3-Star (84) IOL Nehemiah Johnson commits to UCLA

3-Star (82) Kage Payne commits to Troy

2027 Unrated RB Kemon Spell commits to Penn State

Unrated ATH Devon St. Clair commits to UMass

Unrated CB Akeondre Chaney commits to Georgia State

Unrated Edge Anthony Shorter commits to Sam Houston State