In partnership with

Receive Honest News Today

Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.

Sign up today!

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.

Deion Sanders Reaffirms Love for Boulder, CO After Conversation with Cowboys’ Jerry Jones

Yesterday, it came out that Coach Deion Sanders and the Cowboys’ Owner, Jerry Jones, had a discussion regarding the head coaching vacancy in Dallas. However, Coach Sanders reaffirmed his love for Boulder, CO to ESPN via Adam Schefter.

“To hear from Jerry Jones is truly delightful, and it’s intriguing. I love Jerry and believe in Jerry. After you hang up and process it, and think about it, it’s intriguing. But I love Boulder and everything there is about our team, the coaches, our student body, and the community.”

Coach Sanders has made it clear that for him to leave Colorado and join the NFL ranks, it would require coaching both of his sons. For the Cowboys to get one of the top 2 quarterbacks in this draft, it would likely take a nearly unprecedented, blockbuster trade for the Cowboys to move up from the 12th overall pick. It would also take the Cowboys paying roughly $8 million to Colorado for Coach Sanders’ buyout.

Clemson Planning to Hire Penn State DC Tom Allen

ESPN’s Pete Thamel is reporting that Clemson is reportedly working to hire Penn State’s DC Tom Allen to be the Tigers’ new DC.

Thamel is reporting that Coach Allen is the top target and a final decision is expected in the upcoming days.

Coach Allen was head coach of Indiana for eight years before spending 2024 with the Nittany Lions, who just made a run to the CFP Semifinals. His defense ranked 29th in the country this year in terms of total yards and 12th in terms of points allowed per game, with a guy like Abdul Carter expected to be one of the top picks in the 2025 Draft. Coach Allen would be replacing Wes Goodwin, who was let go as DC earlier this month.

5-Star OT Ty Haywood Decommits from Alabama Ahead of National Signing Day

5-Star OT Ty Haywood decommitted from Alabama yesterday after he informed On3’s Chad Simmons that he will not sign with Alabama in February’s National Signing Day.

Michigan has been a program that has been making a significant push for Haywood’s commitment since right before the Early Signing Day, which is largely believed to be why he did not sign with the Tide back in December.

Haywood is making an official visit to Ann Arbor this weekend and Michigan is seen as the team to beat in his recruitment. Texas Tech and Florida State are also in the picture, but neither of those programs are expected to be major threats for Michigan at this point.

Haywood ranks as high as 18th nationally (ESPN) and 4th at the OT position (247). According to the On3 industry composite, Haywood ranks 22nd nationally and 5th at the OT position.

This brings Alabama’s 2025 class down to “only” three 5-stars, 18 Blue Chip recruits, and 21 commitments overall for a class which still ranks 2nd nationally and in the SEC, behind only Texas.

Penn State RBs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton Announce Returns for 2025

Both Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton have announced their returns to Penn State for the 2025 season, both their senior seasons.

Allen posted a longer statement on Twitter with the shorter caption of “Unfinished business..” where he spoke on how much Penn State and the coaching staff meant to him, and how that all contributed to his decision to return for the 2025 season. Allen has ran for 2,877 yards and 24 rushing touchdowns in his 42 career games as a Nittany Lion. He also has contributed 422 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 52 catches in the receiving game.

Singleton also posted a statement on Twitter, citing goals the Penn State program wanted to accomplish, that he wanted to be part of. He also stated his desire to earn a degree from Penn State University, which was always one of his main goals in coming to Penn State back in the Class of 2022 recruiting cycle, where he was the top-rated running back recruit. Singleton has contributed 2,912 yards and 32 touchdowns in his 41 games in Happy Valley, also adding 78 catches for 768 yards and 8 receiving touchdowns.

NFL Insider: Bill Belichick Would’ve Been Interested in Cowboys Opening

FOX Sports Insider Jordan Schultz shared that UNC Coach Bill Belichick and the Cowboys would have had strong mutual interest in Coach Belichick coaching the Cowboys if he were available.

However, because the Cowboys had given no indication that they were planning to move on from Coach Mike McCarthy, Coach Belichick took the North Carolina job instead.

Schultz shared, “Belichick and his camp never received any indication during backchannel conversations that the job would open up, which is partly why he ended up at UNC. Belichick has an excellent relationship with the Jones family.”

There has been some recent reports which indicated that Coach Belichick might be interested in already heading back to the NFL, but these reports have been refuted as false by new UNC GM Michael Lombardi.

Ohio State’s Ryan Day Believes Story of the 2024 Ohio State Buckeyes Has Yet to Be Told

Despite the calendar turning to 2025, Ohio State’s Ryan Day believes that the 2024 Buckeyes’ story has yet to be told.

After the Cotton Bowl, Coach Day shared that, “the story of this team is yet to be told. And no great accomplishments are ever achieved without going through adversity. … So we’re not focused on what’s coming down the road. We’re not focused on what happened in the past, we’re focused on them right now, and being right where we are. And then at the end, you know, we want to be able to tell the story of this team. And that’s really what this team is focused on right now.”

NC State Transfer CB Brandon Cisse Signs with South Carolina

NC State transfer CB Brandon Cisse signed with South Carolina, according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett.

Cisse has been with NC State for the previous 2 seasons and will have three more years to play out his remaining 2 seasons of eligibility. In his 2 seasons with NC State, he totaled 38 tackles, 6 passes defended, and an interception.

According to the On3 transfer portal rankings, he was one of the top cornerbacks still available in the portal, ranking 69th nationally and 9th at the position.

NC State Transfer S Tamarcus Cooley Signs with LSU

NC State transfer S Tamarcus Cooley signed with LSU, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. For Cooley, he started his college career at Maryland in 2023 as a 3-star just inside the top 100 recruits nationally in the Class of 2023.

He only appeared in 4 games for Maryland, taking a redshirt year on 2023 before transferring to NC State in 2024. With the Wolfpack, he played in 12 games and finished the season with 30 tackles, 7 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles, and an interception.

Cooley was one of the top safety options in the portal, ranking 2nd at the position and 71st nationally, so this is a big win for the LSU defense.

Texas’ Steve Sarkisian Heaps Praise on QB Quinn Ewers

Following the Cotton Bowl loss to Ohio State, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian took some time to talk about how proud he was of QB Quinn Ewers.

Coach Sarkisian shared, “I’m super proud of Quinn. He’s taught me a lot, probably unknowingly to him, because what he went through every year, dealing with injuries, what he goes through were – I don’t know if he’d ever live up to the standards of what everybody thinks he’s supposed to be. But at the end of the day, all he did was show up every day and work and be a great leader and be a great teammate, and that’s a real credit to him… outside of the first two games, I don’t think he played a game this year 100% healthy, and he fought through everything. Never complained about it one time. I think that’s why he has so much respect from his teammates.”

2027 4-Star WR Ah’Mari Stevens Commits to Miami

2027 4-star WR Ah’Mari Stevens has decided to commit to Miami.

Stevens just finished his Sophomore season of high school having already visited Miami on multiple occasions. These visits stood out to Stevens, seeing how everything comes together with the program and has appealed to him since he was a child, including the coaches, the campus, the offense, and the bond that the team has.

Stevens specifically shared that he wanted to commit somewhere early and shut the process down, and committing as a Sophomore in high school accomplishes that.

Stevens is rated as a 90 (4-star) on On3, but has yet to receive a rating on other sites or a ranking on any of the sites, as it is still very early in the recruit evaluation process for the Class of 2027.

This is, obviously, Miami’s first commitment in the 2027 class.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star (88) LB Tyler Houser decommits from Wake Forest

2026 3-Star (88) DL Kenedy Uzoma decommits from Minnesota

3-Star (84) CB Antonio Cromartie Jr. commits to Florida State

Unrated S Zane Carter commits to San Jose State

Unrated RB Taeshaun Reese commits to Idaho