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.

Current Subscriber Count: 416 (Goal: 500 by Week 0 on 8/24/24)

Big Ten & SEC Looking Unlikely to Add Florida State if ACC Survives

The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy is reporting that it is unlikely the Big Ten or SEC look unlikely to add Florida State if the ACC survives.

Per McMurphy’s sources, the three main reasons are that adding Florida State does not make financial sense, the conferences currently have no appetite to expand, and Florida State has been a “disruptive” partner.

However, if there is some catastrophic development with the ACC, then there is a question of who will scoop up the premium inventory of Florida State and Clemson first

Florida Secondary Coach Will Harris Denies Reports Cormani McClain Off Team

Former consensus 5-star DB Cormani McClain transferred from Colorado to Florida after spending his true freshman season in Boulder, and recently reports have started to trickle out that McClain has been kicked off the team.

Florida’s secondary coach, Will Harris, took 2 words to attempt to dispel this rumor: “Not true!!!”

4-Star WR Kelshaun Johnson Commits to Texas A&M

Consensus 4-Star WR Kelshaun Johnson has committed to Texas A&M over finalist Texas and other top contenders Arkansas and USC.

Johnson said that the feeling he got on the Texas A&M campus really made the biggest difference, because they not only cared for him but his mom and sister, too.

Johnson’s On3 composite ranking places him inside the Top 200 nationally, ranking him 198th nationally and 22nd at the WR position.

This is Texas A&M’s 13th Blue Chip commitment and 19th commitment overall for a 2025 class which ranks 6th nationally and 4th in the SEC.

SEC Coordinator of Officials: Horns Down Penalty Will Be Contextual

The SEC Coordinator of Officials, John McDaid, was available for SEC Media Days, where the main question everyone wanted to know – will Horns Down be a penalty.

According to McDaid, generally, no, it will not be a penalty. However, a taunt directed at any opponent during the game will be evaluated all the same, whether it be Horns Down or any another gesture.

McDaid also referenced how teams beating Florida have done the Gator Chomp, and as long as that isn’t directed at the Gators players, it hasn’t been called.

Georgia S Malaki Starks Provides Injury Recovery Update

Georgia impact safety Malaki Starks suffered a shoulder injury last season, but has been working his way back ever since.

Coach Kirby Smart described Starks as “on schedule” with his recovery and also shared that at this point, Coach Smart does not even think of him as being “an injury guy.”

Starks also spoke at SEC Media Days and said that he’s just working on getting his trust back while playing, and that’s excited for fall camp to hit.

Georgia opens the season on August 31st against Clemson.

Josh Heupel Talks About QB Nico Iamaleava’s Growth

Tennessee Coach Josh Heupel spoke some at SEC Media Days on QB Nico Iamaleava’s growth, skill set, and mentality.

Heupel spoke on how Iamaleava was recruited because of his natural athletic traits, but what has impressed Heupel the most are the intangibles and leadership that doesn’t show up on film or in a 40-time.

In Iamaleava’s first start for the Volunteers – a 35-0 shellacking of Iowa – Heupel mentioned that it looked like the game slowed down for the freshman.

Brent Venables: Nobody More Ready for SEC than QB Jackson Arnold

Oklahoma Coach Brent Venables spoke at SEC Media Days about Jackson Arnold, redshirt freshman and heir apparent to the starting QB position for the Sooners.

Venables specifically noted Arnold’s ability “to handle the highs and the lows, the challenges, the success, the failure that a season will bring,” as a large part of why he believes Arnold will be successful in his first season as a starter in a new conference like the SEC.

Arnold would play in specialized circumstances last year, while now-Oregon transfer Dillon Gabriel was the starting QB.

“No question about it. He’s ready for his opportunity and his moment,” Venables said.

Texas Tech HC Joey McGuire: Need to Start Faster, Finish Stronger

Texas Tech Head Coach Joey McGuire recently shared that the layout of the schedule allows for the Red Raiders to start fast, due to 5 of the first 7 games being home games in Lubbock.

And then McGuire also pointed out that his teams are 8-2 combined in November and December, so the focus also becomes being able to win games late in the season, too.

McGuire spoke on the need for a good culture to be tough and to be able to get through the grind of a season. Being tough is also a key, to McGuire, to win close games, especially on the road, where McGuire feels is the biggest room for improvement in 2024 and beyond.

Kirby Smart: True Freshman KJ Bolden Has Chance to Step In and Play

At SEC Media Days, Georgia Coach Kirby Smart took some time to praise true freshman safety KJ Bolden, who Smart says has a good chance to contribute early for the Bulldogs’ defense.

Smart stated that in just 15 practices with the team, he approaches the practices like a veteran and is ahead of even where Malaki Starks was as a true freshman before he contributed to an elite defense.

Bolden was a consensus 5-star in the 2024 class and had an On3 composite ranking of 14th in the country and was unanimously ranked as the top safety in the 2024 class.

Phil Steele’s Predicted Top 10 Poll

Analyst Phil Steele has said he is 95.3% accurate in the last 15 years at predicting the preseason AP Top 10, so we can assume this is probably a pretty good indicator of what the AP Top 10 will look like when that ranking comes out.

At the top of his rankings are Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, Oregon, and Alabama.

To round out the list, Steele then has Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn State, Ole Miss, and Missouri.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

Unranked QB Seth Shigg commits to Army