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North Carolina and Virginia More Likely to Join SEC than Clemson and Florida State

ESPN’s Chris Low believes that if the SEC were to expand again (more on that in a following story), it would not be Clemson and Florida State to get the call, but rather North Carolina and Virginia.

Even though Clemson and Florida State are more football-centric schools, there are more factors at play, per Low.

For example, the new footprints – the SEC is already in Florida and South Carolina, but it could get into North Carolina and Virginia now. UNC and UVA both also raise the academic reputation of the conference. Both schools have incredibly well respected basketball programs, which matters to compete against the Big 12 for best basketball conference. And both also come with larger TV markets, as UNC gets some of the Charlotte market, and UVA gets some of the Washington D.C. market.

Ultimately, though, ESPN’s Pete Thamel thinks at some point the Big Ten or SEC eventually take Clemson and Florida State, but don’t also count out larger expansion which includes more than just Clemson and Florida State.

4-Star RB Michael Turner Commits to Baylor

Consensus 4-Star RB Michael Turner committed yesterday to Baylor over Oklahoma State, SMU, and TCU, among others. This is Baylor’s second 4-star RB in the class.

Turner currently ranks as highly as the 5th ranked RB and 82nd overall prospect in the 2025 class (On3). According to On3’s composite ranking, Turner is the 144th ranked prospect nationally and 7th ranked RB.

This is the 17th commitment for Baylor’s 2025 class, which ranks 31st nationally and 3rd in the Big 12.

Greg Sankey: The 16 that we have are incredible

As has been the case for the past couple of days, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has been on the defensive about the prospects of the SEC adding Clemson and Florida State, who are both actively suing the ACC to leave and will be looking for a new home.

Sankey has already said that he’s paying attention but that he has no interest in disrupting the apple cart any further. As for the state of the SEC, Sankey believes the 16 schools he has in the SEC are incredible.

As covered above, though, there are reporters from ESPN who could see not just Clemson and Florida State as expansion candidates, but also Virginia and North Carolina.

4-Star ATH Dylan Robinson Commits to Washington

Consensus 4-Star ATH Dylan Robinson committed to Washington yesterday over the likes of Notre Dame and UCLA, among others.

From when new Washington Coach Jedd Fisch took the job, he made sure him and his staff made Robinson a priority by remaining consistent with contacting him and trying to get him to commit to Washington.

Part of the reason Robinson committed is because he feels good about Washington’s ability to develop him at defensive back.

On3 is the recruiting service which ranks him the highest, ranking him as the 162nd overall prospect and 5th overall ATH. According to the On3 composite ranking, Robinson ranks as the 186th overall recruit and 6th ranked recruit at the ATH position.

This is Washington’s 21st commitment for a class which now ranks 22nd overall and 8th in the new look Big Ten.

Florida Coach Napier: It’s a big deal to play 3 other Florida schools

At SEC Media Days, Coach Billy Napier shared that 2024 is an important year. Given the hot seat talks, some of this is self-evident. But considering Florida’s non-conference schedule has the three other in-state Power 4 programs on their schedule, the necessity to win is stronger than ever.

Perhaps more interesting, the schedule splits these contests up quite a bit throughout the season. The first matchup is Week 1, where Florida hosts Miami. Then, a little over a month later, Florida hosts UCF. Then, to end the regular season, Florida travels to Florida State to finish their state of Florida round robin.

Texas QB Quinn Ewers Fired Up About Texas A&M Rivalry

Texas QB Quinn Ewers took some time at SEC Media Days to discuss how he was fired up about getting to be part of the revival of the Texas / Texas A&M rivalry.

Ewers was only about 8 years old when the Longhorns and Aggies stopped playing, but Ewers shared that his dad said he believed the A&M game was bigger than the Red River Shootout between Texas and Oklahoma.

It took college football conference realignment of epic proportions, but the Texas / Texas A&M rivalry is going to be back on November 30th for the first time since 2011.

3-Star DL Jarquez Carter Commits to Ohio State

High 3-star DL Jarquez Carter committed yesterday to Ohio State over Florida, Miami, Penn State, UCF, and others.

For Carter, he looked at the defensive linemen that were developed at Ohio State, and he sees the top guys in the NFL – guys he wants to be just like when he gets to the NFL.

Rivals is the highest of the four major recruiting services, ranking him as the 229th overall prospect and 15th ranked DL, with ESPN also giving Carter a 4-star rating. According to the On3 industry composite, Carter ranks as the 403rd overall prospect and the 36th ranked DL.

Carter is Ohio State’s 24th commitment for the 2025 class, which currently ranks 2nd nationally (behind Alabama) and 1st in the Big Ten.

ESPN Ranks Top 25 College Football Stadiums for 2024

ESPN took 14 people, asked them to rank the Top 25 stadiums in college football, and then created their list based on these 14 people’s rankings.

Leading the way is LSU’s Tiger Stadium, which is understandable.

Following Tiger Stadium is the Rose Bowl, Michigan Stadium, Notre Dame Stadium, and Penn State’s Beaver Stadium.

Army’s Michie Stadium (#12) and Appalachian State’s Kidd Brewer Stadium (#23) provide the Group of 5 with some representation.

The SEC leads this list in mentions with 11, followed by the Big Ten (9), the ACC + ND (3), and the Group of 5 (2). Notably, the Big 12 is not represented on this list.

Jalen Milroe: The whole team deserves more hype

At SEC Media Days, Jalen Milroe was asked which teammates aren’t receiving enough hype, and Milroe responded by saying the team as a whole.

Alabama lost 44 players from last season’s team between the transfer portal and the NFL, and Milroe pointed out that this is a team full of guys who remained committed to the locker room despite Nick Saban’s retirement. As a result, Milroe believes this is a focused team who should all be getting more credit.

Arkansas’ Sam Pittman: Arkansas Must “Embrace the Hog” in 2024

In yesterday’s “what did he just say?” quote from SEC Media Days, Coach Sam Pittman said that Arkansas needs to “embrace the hog” in 2024.

Pittman believes this means the players in the program need to be tough, together, consistent, accountable, and do their job with pride. By holding that standard, Pittman believes the team is embracing the Arkansas Razorback brand of football he wants them to adopt.

Or, in other words, embracing the Hog.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star Edge Mykah Newton commits to NC State

3-Star IOL Isaac Sowells Jr. commits to NC State

Kohl’s kicking 5-Star (#1 K, #4 P) Scott Starzyk commits to Iowa