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ESPN’s Heather Dinich on Expanded CFP Field Starting in 2026: Inevitable

ESPN’s Heather Dinich was on Get Up on Friday and spoke on what the CFP might look like moving forward, including the potential impending expansion to 14-teams in the CFP in 2026 and beyond.

Dinich shared, “we’re headed to major change, inevitably, at some point … the big change would be in 2026 and beyond, get ready for 14 teams. Multiple sources at every level have told me that that’s the direction this is heading. The question is, are there automatic qualifiers in 2026 and beyond? The SEC and Big Ten sources have told me multiple people are in favor of four guaranteed teams each for both of those leagues. Two for the ACC, two for the Big 12, one at-large bye and one spot for that Notre Dame team if they’re ranked high enough to be included in it.”

Dinich also spoke on the leverage the Big Ten and the SEC have, sharing that they control the majority of the direction that the CFP is headed and they will be the two, as is well known in CFB circles, to ultimately determine the direction the sport’s Playoff system is headed.

Ryan Day on Changes He Wants to See in Playoff for the Players

Ohio State’s recently shared his thoughts on The Triple Option podcast regarding the changes he wants to see for the sake of the players.

Coach Day shared, “first off, the experience is something we really got to learn from. You know, I think that the player experience can be much better. I think that the focus needs to be on the players, and I think we need to look at a lot of it. Because, you know, the National Championship is not run by a bowl. The other ones are but, even the ones that are run by a bowl, as you guys remember, there used to be events. There was a lot that came with that. Now that’s no longer the case.”

Coach Day also spoke on how vastly different the CFP is from a traditional bowl game in terms of lacking certain experiences, sharing, “it’s just like being on a road game, except you’re there a day earlier, but there’s no events like nobody going on any events, nobody’s leaving the hotel. I think that, you know, we need to consider moving the hotels outside of these big cities, because we’re not going to these events anymore. So, I think being a little bit more secluded and looking at some of those locations is just better for everybody, especially for the players. We need to pour it into the players. These are the guys that are doing the work. So I think that we need, you know, the best food there is that could possibly serve these guys. I think it should be the best conditions. I think we should try to find as many mementos for these guys that possibly can be done, just little thing that money can’t buy, but it stays with them forever.”

Ryan Day’s “Champagne Problems” With Winning First National Championship

Ohio State’s Ryan Day recently went on The Triple Option podcast and shared some of the challenges of winning his first national championship.

Coach Day shared, “I think maybe it was Belichick or somebody who said they’re champagne problems, you know, win one, there’s a lot that comes with that. And I think for us, because we ended the season so much later than almost everybody in the country, so many staffs were set. We missed a couple weeks of recruiting. … I think that’s significant.”

Coach Day also spoke on the staff turnover, sharing that he’s seeking consistency in his staff despite so many new faces, saying, “we want to make sure that there’s consistency in those things and we’re not going to change, you know the Ohio State defense is the Ohio State defense. The Ohio State offense is the Ohio State ofense, and we want to make sure that we bring folks in that embrace that.”

Tennessee OL Andrej Karic Denied Medical Waiver, Out of College Eligibility

Adam Sparks of the Knoxville News Sentinel has been denied a medical waiver by the NCAA to play an extra year of eligibility in 2025.

Karic has been in college for the past 5 seasons, spending the first three with Texas before transferring to Tennessee and starting all 13 games for Tennessee this season.

The crux of his argument for a medical waiver was that he suffered a season-ending injury in the 5th snap of his 5th game in his first season (2023) with Tennessee.

It was ultimately those 5 snaps that were the difference between him being able to get a medical redshirt and him not.

Consensus 4-Star WR Naeem Burroughs With 4 Official Visits Set

Consensus 4-star WR Naeem Burroughs has shared that he has four officials planned for this summer as he narrows down his schools.

The Jacksonville WR has visits set to Clemson (May 30th), Florida (June 6th), USC (June 13th), and Texas (June 20th).

According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, Florida is the leader in the clubhouse at 37.0%, but there are plenty of schools with solid chances behind Florida, like Florida State (12.4%), Clemson (10.6%), USC (8.9%), and Texas (8.9%).

Burroughs ranks as high as 38th nationally and 4th at the WR position (On3), but the On3 industry composite ranks him 67th nationally and 10th at the WR position.

4-Star WR Boobie Feaster With 4 Spring Visits

4-Star WR Boobie Feaster has set 4 spring visits to Alabama, LSU, Texas, and Oregon.

That is on top of the summer official visits he is planning to Miami, USC, Texas A&M, and LSU.

With LSU getting visits in both windows, it should be no surprise that LSU is one of the programs towards the top of Feaster’s list. Texas A&M and USC are also programs that are high on his list, but he shared that he still has some big visits to take still before making his decision, indicating his mind is still fairly open.

Feaster is rated highest by Rivals, who rates him as a 5-star and ranks him 15th nationally and 3rd at the WR position. The On3 industry composite ranks Feaster 91st nationally and 17th at the WR position, but that will drastically improve when ESPN rates him.

4-Star CB Jorden Edmonds Pushes Back Commitment Date, May Take More Visits

Consensus 4-Star CB Jorden Edmonds was originally supposed to announce his commitment on February 19th, his birthday, but pushed that commitment date back to an undecided date due to his school being on a winter break.

His Top 5 programs are still Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma and Tennessee, but he is now deciding to evaluate some new offers coming in, as well as continue to take additional visits to some of those top programs.

The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine still gives Edmonds a 97.8% chance to commit to Alabama, with just a 1.4% chance for Georgia to land Edmonds, and everyone else having less than 1% chance.

The consensus 4-star ranks as high as 53rd nationally and 5th at the CB position (247), but ranks 100th nationally and 10th at the CB position according to the On3 industry composite.

4-Star S Chace Calicut Sets Michigan OV

4-Star safety Chace Calicut is reported to be taking an official visit with Michigan on June 20th, as reported by The Wolverine’s EJ Holland.

Calicut has previously shared with On3’s Chad Simmons that he wants to attend a program where it feels like home, which means Michigan may have its work cut out for it considering the in-state appeal of programs like Texas and Texas A&M. However, Michigan’s consistency of getting guys to the NFL is definitely a large draw for Calicut.

Calicut ranks as high as 72nd nationally and 4th at the safety position according to Rivals, but the On3 industry composite ranks him 217th nationally and 18th at the safety position.

4-Star LB Tank King Has 3 OVs Set, Some More Visits to Plan

4-Star LB Tank King is narrowing down his list of schools and has shared the three programs where he has already set his list for official visits.

King will be at Texas A&M on June 6th, Texas on June 13th, and Notre Dame on June 20th for official visits.

Looking at the other schools King is high on, Michigan, Houston, and Nebraska are all three programs he is very interested in, with Oklahoma State being another school that is new in the mix that has piqued his interest.

It’s unclear yet if he is hoping to visit any of those four schools officially, or if he just wants to keep future visits to those places unofficial for now, but he did speak on wanting to visit those programs more, as well, as they have all done a great job at making him feel like a priority.

King ranks as high as 64th nationally and 5th at the LB position (Rivals), but is more modestly ranks 273rd nationally and 23rd at the LB position according to the On3 industry composite.

4-Star LB TJ White Has Set Official Visits to Mississippi State, Wisconsin

4-Star LB TJ White has shared with On3 that he has set official visits to Mississippi State and Wisconsin.

For White, he cited the staff’s energy and how they have always made him feel like family and have gotten him to buy in to the idea that he can make an impact on the field for the Mississippi State program is what excites him the most.

White also has set up an official visit for Wisconsin the weekend of May 30th before he heads to Starkville, MS on June 20th.

Other programs to consider in his recruitment are Auburn, Ole Miss, and Tennessee.

White ranks highest on On3 and Rivals, who rank him 148th nationally, with On3 ranking him as the 12th ranked LB. The On3 industry composite places White 279th nationally and 24th at the LB position.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star (86) ATH Langdon Horace commits to Stanford

3-Star (85) TE Crosby Kelly commits to San Diego State