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Dylan Raiola Being Nebraska’s Starting QB “Very Obvious”

Though Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule has not named a starting QB yet, Sean Callahan of On3’s Husker Online has shared that true freshman Dylan Raiola starting is “very obvious to anybody that’s around the program.”

Raiola is one of the most hyped prospects in Huskers history, so it would make sense for fans to want this but Callahan believes it could be official as early as this week. He thinks there will be a depth chart either before the end of training camp or after training camp ends in one week.

QB Heinrich Haarberg was last year’s starter for most of the season, winning all of Nebraska’s games in 2023. So, if it’s not Raiola’s time yet to lead the Huskers, Haarberg can provide some semblance of continuity.

Warren Sapp on Colorado’s DL: “We Got Bullets”

Warren Sapp, Colorado’s newest senior quality control analyst, has been providing some enlightening, if not colorful, quotes lately.

His most colorful of quotes from yesterday was perhaps stating that the defensive line has “bullets.”

When discussing the DL, Sapp said “I wouldn’t single out one guy, because we’re a pack. We’ll be six deep … we just mixing and matching, we got bullets. You get shot with a .38 or 9mm, you pick it.”

Fair enough.

4-Star S Kendarius Reddick Flips from UCF to USC

Consensus 4-star safety Kendarius Reddick has flipped his commitment from UCF to USC.

Reddick originally committed back in February after first committing to Auburn in October of 2023. Reddick officially visited the Trojans towards the end of June, and just like that, Reddick flips once more.

He ranks the highest on ESPN, ranking 89th nationally and 7th at his position. According to the On3 composite rankings, he is the 141st ranked prospect nationally and 15th for his position.

This is USC’s 17th commitment for the 2025 class, which ranks 16th nationally and 4th in the Big Ten.

Mack Brown’s Update on UNC QB Battle

North Carolina head coach Mack Brown recently shared where the QB battle is for the North Carolina Tar Heels, who have a few options.

The three options appear to be Texas A&M transfer Max Johnson, Arkansas transfer and former Tar Heel Jacolby Criswell, and returning redshirt sophomore Conner Harrell.

Based on experience, the starter would likely end up being Max Johnson, but Brown has yet to make that announcement. For Brown, he said that there will be a scrimmage this weekend that will shed more light on who the starting QB should be.

On the day-to-day, there is just a little too much back and forth between each option for Brown to feel comfortable definitively saying who the starter is, but that scrimmage should be telling.

The one nugget that Brown was willing to give up is that Criswell is behind Johnson and Harrell, but really that’s more so a product of Criswell not having been there in the spring, transferring in later.

On3’s 10 Most Impactful Players in the Big Ten

On3’s Jesse Simonton recently ranked his top 10 most impactful players in the Big Ten in 2024.

Including the 4 Ohio State Buckeyes listed in the honorable mentions, Michigan and Ohio State combine for 11 of the 15 players listed in the article, with Iowa (x2), Oregon, and Penn State making up the other four names listed.

For the conference, Will Johnson, Mason Graham, Caleb Downs, Kenneth Grant, and JT Tuimoloau lead the way in terms of most impactful players.

Penn State DE Abdul Carter and Iowa CB Sebastian Castro are next, followed by Michigan TE Colston Loveland, Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel, and Ohio State WR Emeka Egbuka.

Michigan’s Sherrone Moore: No Frontrunner in QB Battle

Michigan’s Sherrone Moore recently revealed that there is no new update in the battle for who will be QB1 at Michigan.

Between Alex Orji, Jack Tuttle, and Davis Warren, Moore shared that all of them have been playing well and each have showed some positives.

Moore described the three QB’s performances as “kind of all even playing right now.”

As for who will be the first QB to take snaps against Fresno State in a few weeks, Moore said the decision could be made “the week of, could be the day of the game. I think we’ll see.”

Orji and Warren have been reportedly seeing the most snaps, but that might more so be a product of Tuttle being sidelined with minor injuries than any sort of edge the other two have on him.

Based on how Michigan has handled QB situations like this in past seasons with Moore on the staff, this could carry over into the beginning of the regular season, too.

LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier: We Know Expectations Have Been Raised

LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier recently shared that he and the rest of the team have heard the response to winning 10 games, like in each of the last two seasons, and he knows that the bar has been raised to win more than 10 games in 2024.

“We all know that we’re not okay with just winning 10 wins. I’ve said that before and Will [Campbell] said it the other,” Nussmeier was quoted as saying.

But to Nussmeier, expectations are not a result-based process, though. It’s just about how him and the rest of the team carry themselves in the meeting room, on the practice field, in each rep, in each set, etc. The thought, apparently, is that to win more than 10 games, the team has to act like and carry themselves like that team first.

Texas RB Christian Clark Tears Achilles, Will Miss 2024

Texas true freshman Christian Clark tore his achilles on Monday and will miss the 2024 season.

This news comes less than one week after projected starting RB CJ Baxter also suffered a season-ending injury.

Clark was not expected to contribute much in 2024 anyways despite his 4-star rating, but once Baxter went down it was at least a possibility.

Texas’ projected depth chart at the RB position still looks to be some combination of Jaydon Blue, Tre Wisner, and true freshman Jerrick Gibson, respectively.

On3’s Power Rankings of Big Ten QBs for 2024

On3’s Andy Backstrom power ranked the Big Ten’s starting QBs ahead of the 2024 season.

At the top of the list, unsurprisingly, is Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel.

After that, it gets a little murkier in terms of experience, statistics, etc. But Backstrom follows Gabriel with Penn State’s Drew Allar, Ohio State’s Will Howard, Washington’s Will Rogers, USC’s Miller Moss.

New to their school, Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola, Michigan State’s Aidan Chiles, and Wisconsin’s Tyler Van Dyke are next.

There are several other transfers on this list who are big question marks, like new Minnesota QB Max Brosmer (#12), Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke (#14), Maryland QB MJ Morris (#15), Rutgers QB Athan Kaliakmanis (#16), and Northwestern QB Mike Wright (#18)

Penn State WR Peter Gonzalez Out With “Long-Term” Injury

True freshman Peter Gonzalez has suffered a “long-term” injury according to Penn State head coach James Franklin.

Gonzalez was a high 3-star in the 2024 class who Franklin had incredibly positive things to say about at Big Ten Media Days after turning heads early.

In his short time in the building, Franklin said that Gonzalez tested really well, jumped really well, ran really well, etc. For an offense which needs to create more big plays offensively, having a reliable, big target at the WR position could be helpful, but at least for the foreseeable future it looks like that will not be Gonzalez.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star (86) RB Kiandrea Barker decommits from Penn State

3-Star (82) IOL Kage Payne flips to NC State from Troy

3-Star (82) IOL Brandon Homady commits to Ohio

Unrated CB Seth Carethers commits to Wake Forest