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4-Star WR Malik Clark Commits to Florida State

Consensus 4-Star WR Malik Clark committed to Florida State yesterday over North Carolina and South Carolina. Clark described Coach Mike Norvell as “the truth,” and Florida State as his “kind of place.”

ESPN ranks Clark the highest of the 4 major recruiting services, ranking him 165th overall and 16th at his position. According to the On3 composite ranking, Clark ranks 208th overall and 24th at his position.

This is only Florida State’s 7th commitment for the 2025 class, which currently ranks 7th nationally and 2nd in the ACC according to On3’s team rankings.

4-Star Josiah Sharma Flips Commitment from Oregon to Texas

4-Star DL Josiah Sharma flipped his commitment from Oregon to Texas yesterday after originally committing to Oregon on June 28 over Alabama and Texas, among others.

Sharma is rated fairly highly by On3, ESPN, and Rivals, with only 247Sports rating him more modestly as a high 3-star.

He’s ranked highest nationally and at his position by On3 and Rivals, respectively, at 148th nationally and 12th at his position. On3’s industry composite ranks him 268th nationally and 25th at his position.

This is Texas’ 16th commitment for the 2025 class, a class which ranks 14th nationally and 7th in the new look SEC.

North Carolina’s Mack Brown Criticizes Current State of CFB: We’re the Mini-NFL

During ACC Media Days, Coach Mack Brown of North Carolina shared some of his thoughts on the changes of the game, and they’re generally negative.

Brown said he believes there have been more changes in his last 3 years than in his first 47. When it comes to NIL, he says that all coaches are dealing with things they’ve never dealt with before and that they’re not ideal for any coach.

“None of us voted for it but it’s here. Amateurism is gone. We’re the mini-NFL. So now we’ve got to figure out how to handle it.”

Brown shared that one time he was second-guessing coming back to coaching and had a bit of a bad attitude, and he opened up to his wife about it, and Sally got his head back on straight explaining that maybe he’s supposed to come back to coaching to help the kids playing, help athletic departments learn to handle this to prevent other sports from being cut, help assistant coaches who haven’t made generational wealth yet with their career, help the state, etc.

So, instead of complaining about the changes, Brown said all he can do is just try to win games and be adaptable.

Oregon’s Dan Lanning and Dillon Gabriel Talk NIL

A lot has been made about Oregon’s NIL operation and the investment Nike co-founder Phil Knight has been making in the Ducks program.

During Big Ten Media Days and in a recent interview with the Pat McAfee Show, Dan Lanning shared some of his thoughts, directly replying to Kirby Smart’s comments by stating he thinks it’s “impressive that guys like Kirby have been signing the #1 class in the nation without any NIL money this entire time.”

Oregon transfer QB Dillon Gabriel described his view of NIL well: “You either got it or you don’t. You’re either catching up or you are taking advantage of it. Hopefully, you’re not on the wrong end of this.”

USC’s Lincoln Riley on Zachariah Branch’s Development

USC Coach Lincoln Riley shared at Big Ten Media Days some of the improvements WR Zachariah Branch has made after an electrifying freshman year.

The biggest improvement and changes that USC fans can expect, according to Riley, are that Branch is going to be a more consistent contributor to the offense to complement his role as one of, if not, the most dynamic kick and punt returners in the country.

After a full year and an offseason, Riley sees Branch developing as a receiver and a ball carrier as he grows understanding offenses, route running, and defenses to better attack opponents.

Miami QB Cam Ward on Handling Heisman Hype

New Miami QB Cam Ward transferred to Miami after having a chance to keep his name entered in the NFL Draft, where he presumably would have been picked well before Day 3.

Now, Ward is dealing with expectations to either bring Miami to the CFP or contend for the Heisman Trophy. As for how he handles these expectations, he states that it’s just how he was raised to not get too high or too low.

Ultimately, Ward believes that everything will take care of itself if he makes plays on the field and focuses on the team winning football games, and if that results in national recognition, then great.

Michigan’s Sherrone Moore: Goal Still to Win National Title

Michigan coach Sherrone Moore shared at Big Ten Media Days that the program’s goal still is to win the National Title despite all of the talent last year’s national title winning team lost.

To do that, first Moore is going to need to determine who the starting QB is for the Wolverines after JJ McCarthy was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings. Alex Orji looks like the most likely option, but nothing has been announced yet.

Moore better figure it out fast, however, as the Wolverines host Texas at home in Week 2 after opening up with a home matchup against Fresno State.

Penn State’s James Franklin: Helmet Communication Won’t Stop Sign-Stealing

At Big Ten Media Days, James Franklin shared that he thinks helmet communication will not necessarily resolve sign-stealing issues in college football.

Even though coaches will be able to communicate with one player on the field, Franklin is not sure how that one player will communicate with everyone in certain instances like hurry-up or no-huddle situations where receivers are 50+ yards apart from each other. So, some amount of signaling will still be necessary.

Overall, Franklin thinks it’s a good rule change, but it’s just that the reason why it was implemented probably is not as helpful at solving the problem it’s trying to solve.

Clemson RB Phil Mafah Expected to Have Heavy Workload in 2024

During ACC Media Days, Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney shared that he expects RB Phil Mafah to start getting a “buffet” of carries now that he is no longer splitting carries with Will Shipley, who graduated after last season.

Mafah averaged over 100 yards and 1.4 touchdowns per game in Clemson’s last 5 games in 2023, which gave Clemson fans an idea of what Mafah is capable of.

Michigan State’s Jonathan Smith Sets Expectations for Year 1

During Big Ten Media Days, Michigan State’s new coach Jonathan Smith shared what his expectations are for his first season with the Spartans.

For him, it’s about winning more than losing, playing their best football at the end of the year, and constantly be improving.

Sounds easy, but that might easier said that done after having lost as many players to the transfer portal that Michigan State did, especially on the defensive line.

The Spartans do add former Oregon State players Aidan Chiles and Jack Velling, a QB-TE connection which Spartans fans should be excited about.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

Unranked QB Jax Brown commits to New Mexico State

2026 Unranked DL Mac Fitzgerald commits to Boston College

2026 Unranked IOL Dean Ruksnaitis commits to Boston College