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Beck, Heisman, Raiola, and More!
CFB Roundup – December 10, 2024
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.
Georgia QB Carson Beck Suffered UCL Injury, Extent of Damage Not Yet Known
Georgia QB Carson Beck suffered an elbow injury at the end of the first half of the SEC Championship, and this elbow injury has been reported by On3’s Pete Nakos to be a UCL injury.
However, it is currently unknown to what extent Beck’s UCL is injured. It is also currently unknown how long Beck is expecting to miss time.
Punter Brett Thorson also suffered a season-ending injury to his non-kicking leg.
Coach Kirby Smart released a statement on both, sharing, “Carson and Brett are both fierce competitors and extremely hard workers. I’m confident they will attack their rehab with the same determination they exhibit in their daily habits. We will be here to support them every step of the way.”
2024 Heisman Finalists: Hunter, Jeanty, Gabriel, & Ward
Ahead of the Heisman Trophy announcement this upcoming Saturday, the four finalists were announced: Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel, Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter, Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty, and Miami QB Cam Ward.
Gabriel finished with a 73.2% completion %, 3,558 yards, 28 touchdowns, and led the lone undefeated team in all of FBS.
Hunter caught 92 passes for 1,152 yards, 14 touchdowns. He also finished with 32 tackles, 11 passes defended, 4 interceptions, and a forced fumble. He is the betting favorite to win.
Jeanty has 2,497 yards and 29 touchdowns while averaging 192.1 yards per game and 7.3 yards per carry. He is just 131 yards shy of the single season record and is seen as the second most likely to Hunter, but with Hunter as a clear, clear favorite over Jeanty.
Ward led the highest scoring offense in the FBS at 44.2 points per game while completing 67.4% of passes for 4,123 yards and 36 passing touchdowns (most in the country).
Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola Posts on Instagram Story He is All-In With Nebraska
As many players announce they are hitting the transfer portal, there has been some speculation about Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola possibly hitting the portal.
However, Raiola took the opportunity to post to his Instagram story on Monday night that he was “all in” on Nebraska moving forward.
Raiola started his entire true freshman season at Nebraska after being one of the top QBs in his recruiting class. He finished with 2,595 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions en route to a 6-6 record and Nebraska’s first bowl appearance in several years.
In a move perceived by some to be a move to retain Raiola as Nebraska’s QB, Nebraska’s new OC is Dana Holgorsen, an OC with plenty of experience.
Tulane and Coach Jon Sumrall Agree to Contract Extension
Tulane and Jon Sumrall and have announced a contract extension following his 9-4 season in his first year as the Green Wave’s Head Coach.
Coach Sumrall was previously on a contract which ran through the 2029 season and paid roughly $3M per season, but the extension evidently comes with more money and, more importantly, more of a commitment from the University for Coach Sumrall’s assistant coaches and an increased commitment to revenue sharing payments for Tulane players.
AD Davis Harris shared, “With this (extension) in place, we can continue the growth of our championship-caliber football program in New Orleans. The landscape of college athletics is constantly evolving and Jon’s vision helps to position us to succeed in this rapidly changing environment. Today’s news is a reflection of the bright future that both of us believe exists for the football program.”
ASU’s Kenny Dillingham: Players Can Hit Portal and Stick Around for Playoff Run
Arizona State Coach Kenny Dillingham recently shared that he isn’t making players make the unenviable choice of deciding to either hit the transfer portal or stick around for what could be a legendary playoff run for an Arizona State team that was picked to finish last in the Big 12.
In other words, ASU players can enter the transfer portal and still play with Arizona State for the rest of the postseason, an uncommon practice, as most coaches use the postseason to see what the next men up look like if a player is planning to transfer, and therefore, leave.
Coach Dillingham, specifically, shared, “our guys have the opportunity to stay on our football team, and they’re like, ‘we’ll go in (the portal) at the end,’ and I go, ‘No, that’s not fair to you to go in after our run is over. I want you to have the best opportunity to find a spot. You can go in day one right now, we’ll help find you a spot, and stay on our football team if you want to stay on our football team and let’s go on this ride together the rest of the way.’”
Coach Dillingham continued, “I didn’t want those guys to wait to go in because they felt like they had an opportunity to have a bigger role for a program until after the CFP. I think that would have hurt their chances. So, I made it very clear to the guys that, ‘You can stay on the team as long as you do what you’re supposed to do. Go to meetings, show up, be five minutes early, check in, weigh in, go to workouts. Even if you go in the portal here, that doesn’t affect me at all. That’s just us being on the same page and trying to help you achieve what you want to achieve in your career.’ So, we will have some people going in that choose to stay a part of this team and it fires me up that we have the relationship between the kids on the team that they want that.”
Penn State OC Andy Kotelnicki Shuts Down Job Speculation; Announces Excitement for 2025 Season
Penn State OC Andy Kotelnicki recently tweeted, “beyond lucky to be a part of the Penn State Football Family. Still a lot to accomplish this season and I am looking forward to what 2025 has in store for our program! #WeAre”
He also tweeted out the well-known scene from The Wolf of Wall Street where Leo DiCaprio’s character announces to his investment firm that he’s, well, not leaving.
This is evidently in an effort to shut down job speculation for Kotelnicki, who was rumored to be a candidate for the West Virginia coaching job. He also would likely be a top candidate in the event one of the top programs in the country had an OC availability, as Andy Kotelnicki is one of the hottest names in coaching on the offensive side of the ball.
Kotelnicki was a fast riser with Kansas Coach Lance Leipold as they both worked their way up from Wisconsin Whitewater, to Buffalo, and then to Kansas. After splitting off from Coach Leipold to be the OC at Penn State, Coach Kotelnicki’s offense finished 25th in scoring offense and averaged almost 450 yards per game.
Duke QB Maalik Murphy Plans to Enter Transfer Portal
ESPN’s Pete Thamel has reported that Duke QB Maalik Murphy is planning to enter the transfer portal.
Murphy just transferred in to Duke from Texas last season where he helped lead Duke to a 9-3 record. Including his two starts with Texas last season, Murphy is 11-3 as the starting quarterback for his 14 career starts in college.
In 2024, Murphy had a 60.3% completion percentage for 2,933 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. Murphy enters the portal with two years of eligibility remaining.
Texas State Star RB Ismail Mahdi Plans to Enter Transfer Portal
Texas State RB Ismail Mahdi plans to enter the transfer portal according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett.
Mahdi’s 2024 season was modest by his standards, with “only” 991 rushing yards, 4 touchdowns, 195 receiving yards, 24 catches, and 2 receiving touchdowns. In 2023, though, Mahdi led all of FBS with 2,169 all-purpose yards (1,331 rush, 275 rec, 563 return) and had 12 total touchdowns.
In 2023, Mahdi was a Second Team All-American as an all-purpose player by four publications: FWAA, ESPN, The Athletic, and Phil Steele. Mahdi was also First Team All-Sun Belt.
Mahdi spent 2022, his true freshman season, with Houston Christian. He finished as a Jerry Rice Award finalist after bursting on to the scene thanks to having 568 rushing yards and 333 receiving yards in just 8 games.
Before that, Mahdi was an unranked recruit in the Class of 2022, but in the transfer portal Class of 2025, Mahdi will be one of the top do-it-all running back prospects.
Schefter: Belichick and North Carolina Met for 5 Hours
ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that Bill Belichick and the North Carolina brass met for five hours as part of the interview process.
Schefter was on The Pat McAfee Show and shared, “from my vantage point, the talks with North Carolina are real. I understand he met with them yesterday for five hours. I don’t think you spend five hours after days of discussion with the university if there’s not something to it. Now, whether or not North Carolina can put together a package that’s attractive and compelling enough for a Bill, whether that’s ultimately what he decides to do, we’ll see.”
Schefter also pointed out that Bill’s dad was an assistant coach there at one point, and there’s a picture of a young Bill sitting in the stadium as a child. So, don’t count out the effect of a sentimental tie to the program for Coach Belichick. Schefter finally shared, “I don’t think Bill really cares where he’s coached. He wants to coach. He’s been great this year as a media darling and a media start, and he can keep doing that if he wants, but at his core, in his soul, he’s a football coach.”
Georgia Tech WR Eric Singleton Jr. Enters Transfer Portal
Georgia Tech WR Eric Singleton Jr. entered the transfer portal yesterday.
Singleton led all Yellow Jackets with 56 catches for 754 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also had 48 catches for 714 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2023 as a freshman, which helped him finish second in voting for ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Those numbers are made all the more impressive when considering that Georgia Tech’s offense and QB Haynes King do not prioritize passing the ball as much as some other programs.
Other Commitments/Decommitments
3-Star (88) WR Gracen Harris commits to Mississippi State
3-Star (82) EDGE LaMario Claiborne commits to Carroll College
2026 Unrated WR Jude Hall commits to Duke