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Ohio State CB Denzel Burke Injury Update

Ohio State CB Denzel Burke missed the second half of the Cotton Bowl against Texas.

Yesterday, DC Jim Knowles shared that, “as far as I know, and again, that’s above my pay grade, but as far as I know, everything is good. [It’s a] minor thing that he’s working through.”

Head Coach Ryan Day shared something similar this past Sunday when he said, “he’ll be available for the next game. He was dealing with an upper extremity issue that we felt like at the time, [it] was right thing to do to hold him.”

Jermaine Mathews Jr. replaced Burke in the second half, playing a career-high 47 snaps at CB. While Mathews performed well, Burke brings a level of veteran experience the Buckeyes would love to have in a National Championship game.

Notre Dame WR Beaux Collins Currently Questionable for National Championship

Notre Dame WR Beaux Collins is currently listed as questionable to play in the National Championship.

Collins was listed as questionable on the Fighting Irish’s first injury report yesterday leading up to the game due to a left calf injury. However, on Notre Dame’s depth chart for the National Championship, Collins was also listed as a starter.

The injury report only listed two names for the Irish: Collins as questionable and OL Anthonie Knapp as out, which was covered here in the last few days.

Collins has 37 catches, 458 yards, and 3 touchdowns on the season, and is someone the Irish would love to have against Ohio State.

Ryan Day Expresses Confidence in CB Jermaine Mathews Jr.

Ohio State, as mentioned above, was without veteran CB and starter Denzel Burke in the second half of the Cotton Bowl, but Ryan Day took some time to express confidence in his replacement, Jermaine Mathews Jr.

In the event Burke is unable to play, which it sounds like he will be able to play, Coach day and the rest of the coaching staff feels comfortable with Mathews being out there in his place.

Coach Day shared, “I think everybody feels comfortable putting Jermaine in the game based on the way that he’s played this year, the way that he’s practiced this year. I say this all the time; you have an opportunity to earn trust in your coaches and your teammates every day, and when you get to this point in January, this is from the whole offseason, all of preseason and during the season, and we’ve talked about how depth is going to be important in this moment, a ton throughout the season, and Jermaine has done a good job.”

Throughout the season, Mathews has made an appearance in every single game, posting 21 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and a sack. He also has graded out fairly well on PFF even though he has not made an interception or have any pass breakups.

Day continued, “I think everybody trusts the fact that when he goes in the game, he’s going to do his job, and that’s it. I felt like he played well. He graded out a champion. He’s a very competitive player. He loves the competition. He loves his teammates. He’s a gritty type of guy that loves being a Buckeye, loves his teammates, loves, again, to compete. When his number is called, he’ll be ready to make a play in this game, as well.”

Georgia Transfer EDGE and Top 5 Transfer Talent Damon Wilson Commits to Missouri

Georgia transfer EDGE Damon Wilson has committed to Missouri out of the portal, a huge pickup for the Tigers, as Wilson was one of the top players in the portal.

Wilson heading to Missouri was a bit of a surprise, as it appeared like Ohio State was leading as a program for his commitment.

Wilson was a 5-star, ranked 20th nationally and as the 3rd ranked EDGE rusher in the Class of 2023. In 26 games over two seasons with Georgia, he finished with 26 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles.

Wilson was ranked 5th nationally and 1st of EDGE rushers in the portal according to the On3 industry portal rankings, and he will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Report: Rule Change to Limit Fake Injuries May Be Coming

A report from Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger details that coaches at the AFCA Convention in Charlotte are currently working on a solution to the fake injury issue.

Dellenger shared on Twitter, “any injured player would be sidelined the rest of the drive. Coaches could use a timeout to reinstate the player. It’s expected to be on the agenda at head coaches’ meetings today.”

Lane Kiffin – despite Ole Miss being one of the most notorious culprits of faking injuries – has publicly voiced support, as have many, many other coaches, for a proposal to cut down on faking injuries, saying that fake injuries hurts tempo offenses like Ole Miss and Tennessee more than any other offense in the country.

Report: Coaches Looking to Change Transfer Portal Window to Cut Down on Transfer Activity

According to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, the AFCA Head Coaches are also proposing to move the transfer portal window to January and make it 10 days.

This would eliminate the spring window (except for grad transfers) and would make the transfer portal after bowl games are played.

The current transfer portal window is not ideal for the college football season, to put it lightly, but there are other factors the coaches are trying to balance, like when in the academic calendar players can transfer and get enrolled.

USC Transfer OL and Top IOL Emmanuel Pregnon Commits to Oregon

USC transfer OL Emmanuel Pregnon committed to Oregon out of the transfer portal yesterday, a big pickup for the Ducks, as Pregnon was the top-rated IOL according to the On3 industry portal rankings.

Pregnon played in all 13 games for USC and was USC’s top-rated offensive player, per PFF. He finished 2024 as an All-Big Ten Second Teamer.

This came as a surprise, as the USC coaches were under the impression Pregnon would be returning to the Trojans for 2025 before he decided he was headed up to conference foe Oregon.

Pregnon is a big riser in the last few years, not playing in his first two seasons at Wyoming before being one of the top rated guards in the Mountain West in 2023 before transferring up to USC in 2024. Now, as the top-ranked portal guard in this transfer portal window, his stock is sky high. He has one year of eligibility remaining.

Penn State WRs Omari Evans and Harrison Wallace Expected to Hit Portal

Penn State has a pair of starting WRs that are expected to hit the transfer portal shortly: Omari Evans and Harrison Wallace.

Evans finished the season with 21 catches for 415 yards and 5 touchdowns, and is entering the portal with one year of eligibility to give his next program.

After 3 seasons with Penn State, Evans finishes with 30 catches for 564 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Harrison Wallace has been with the Nittany Lions for four seasons, but took a redshirt year in his first season, so he will also have one year of eligibility to give to his next program.

Wallace led the Nittany Lions receivers with 46 catches and 720 yards, adding 4 touchdowns. In his 39 career games with Penn State, Wallace finished with 84 catches for 1,221 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Former 5-Star Johntay Cook and Washington Part Ways Shortly After Portal Commitment

Johntay Cook and Washington are reportedly parting ways, On3’s Pete Nakos confirmed.

After mutually parting ways with Texas in the middle of the season, Cook committed to Washington and signed with the Huskies on January 7th.

On3’s Pete Nakos is reporting that Cook was on campus for approximately 48 hours before the decision was made for Cook and Washington to part ways, effectively leaving the former 5-star without a team once again.

In 2 seasons with Texas, Cook had 16 catches, 273 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Prior to that, Cook was a 5-star prospect, ranked 31st nationally and 3rd at the WR position in the 2023 class.

While in the portal, Cook was also receiving interest from Florida. It will be interesting to follow where he ends up now that it looks like he is done with Washington.

Texas WR Isaiah Bond Declares for 2025 Draft

Texas WR Isaiah Bond declared for the NFL Draft yesterday according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Bond transferred in to Texas from Alabama, only spending one season with the Longhorns. With Texas, Bond finished with 34 receptions for 540 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Across 3 seasons in college, including his first two at Alabama, Bond finished with 99 catches for 1,428 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also added 101 rushing yards and a touchdown. His best season was probably 2023, where he finished with 48 catches, 668 yards, and 4 touchdowns with Alabama.

He had a seemingly disappointing end to his time with Texas, only finishing with 4 total catches in his final 4 games, at least in part due to battling with an ankle injury that had him on the injury report for much of the end of the season.

Now both him and teammate Matthew Golden have declared for the Draft, leaving plenty of receiving yards for the Longhorns to replace either in the transfer portal, recruiting, or with returning talent, like 5-star true freshman Ryan Wingo, who finished with 29 catches, 472 yards, and 2 touchdowns in his first season with the Longhorns.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

2026 3-Star (86) QB Jarin Mock decommits from Wisconsin

2-Star (79) S Brody Miller commits to Washington State

2026 Unrated LB Michael McClenton commits to UCF