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.

Ryan Day and Ohio State Agree to New Contract with 12.5M Annual Salary

According to Letterman Row’s Spencer Holbrook, Ohio State and Head Coach Ryan Day have agreed to a new 7-year deal that will keep Coach Day at the helm of Ohio State through 2031 and places him at $12.5M per year.

Coach Day is now the second highest paid CFB coach per year, sitting just behind Georgia’s Kirby Smart, at $13.2M per year.

Oklahoma State New OC Admits He Doesn’t Know Who Will be the QB in 2025

Oklahoma State’s new OC Doug Meacham recently shared that he is not sure what the situation will be for the quarterback room for Oklahoma State in 2025.

Coach Meacham is the new OC, previously an assistant with TCU, and he shared, “again, with the quarterback stuff, like, I don’t know, you know? We’ve kind of met them and talked to them and there’s not a ton of film on any of them, particularly. So, it’s going to be fun to watch it sort itself out.”

Currently there are four QBs on the roster: Zane Flores, Hauss Hejny (the TCU transfer), Garret Rangel, and Maealiuaki Smith. Rangel is a former four-star recruit who technically has the most experience in the group, having thrown for 1,075 yards, 8 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions across 3 seasons in Stillwater.

Georgia Tech Hiring Texas Assistant Blake Gideon as DC

According to a report from CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz, Texas AHC for Defense and Safeties Coach Blake Gideon is reportedly headed to Georgia Tech to be the Yellow Jackets’ next DC.

Coach Gideon has been with Texas since the 2021 season, and also has experience as the Special Teams Coordinator for Ole Miss.

Coach Gideon is replacing former Georgia Tech DC Tyler Santucci, who was recently hired as a LBs Coach in the pros.

Former Alabama Co-DC Colin Hitschler to be Next James Madison DC

According to On3’s Pete Nakos, former Alabama Co-DC Colin Hitschler is set to be hired as the DC for James Madison.

Coach Hitschler most recently was the Co-DC and Safeties Coach for Alabama in 2024. He also has been the Co-DC and Safeties Coach for Wisconsin and Cincinnati. It was announced recently that Coach Hitschler was not going to be back in 2025 with Alabama as Coach DeBoer made the decision to part ways with his DC.

Kansas QB Jalon Daniels Underwent Knee Surgery, Will Be Limited in Spring Practice

Shreyas Laddha of The Kansas City Star shared that Kansas QB Jalon Daniels underwent a minor knee procedure and will be limited in spring practice.

Daniels has been with Kansas for five seasons, having thrown for 6,751 total passing yards and 45 touchdowns, the second most passing yards in a Kansas career.

2024 was the first season Daniels played in double digit games, appearing in all 12, as he has historically suffered injuries in other seasons, which has hampered his availability.

Power Conferences Take Big Steps to Create Governing Body Policing Athlete Compensation

Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports shared that the power conferences are taking some steps towards creating some sort of oversight committee or governing body that would police athlete compensation.

According to Dellenger, the new entity would “oversee, manage, and enforce the settlement-related athlete compensation system for all of NCAA Division I.”

The plan, it sounds like, would involve two Athletic Directors from each of the Power 4 conference to replace the NCAA’s costly and length investigations. The NCAA would apparently still exist to police eligibility and academics matters, but as far as payment goes, it would be between the athletes and this new governing body.

Coach Deion Sanders Admits He Couldn’t Coach Pro Ball

There were some rumors about Coach Deion Sanders potentially leaving Colorado for the pros, specifically for one job in particular.

However, after that organization went another direction, hiring from within, Coach Sanders shared that he does not think he could coach in the pros, sharing:

“I know it’s cute, but I couldn’t coach pro ball. The way they practice, the way they go about it, I couldn’t take it as a man and as a football enthusiast. I care about the game. The game is still providing for Troy and I. There’s no way I could allow that to happen on my watch. That would be tough.”

Attorney of Former LSU DB Greg Brooks Jr. Releases Scathing Response to Coach Brian Kelly’s Comments

Attorneys of former LSU DB Greg Brooks Jr. have released comments responding to Coach Brian Kelly, who commented recently on Brooks’ situation.

In response to Brian Kelly’s comments, Brooks’ attorneys shared the following:

“It was difficult for Greg Brooks Jr. to listen to LSU coach Brian Kelly say he was by his side through his ordeal and then accuse his father of making a false statement when the reality is that Coach Kelly has not contacted Greg Jr. in over 16 months. Neither Coach Kelly nor LSU has denied what Greg’s father said during the GMA interview: that Greg has not heard from Coach Kelly since October 2023, long before the lawsuit was filed. LSU and Coach Kelly cannot deny this because it is true. Ironically, it was Coach Kelly who made factually inaccurate statements in March of 2024 when he told the media that Greg was walking, which obviously was not true. Coach Kelly would have known that had he simply picked up the phone and called.”

4-Star RB Christian Rhodes Commits to SMU

4-star RB Christian Rhodes committed to SMU yesterday over offers from Ole Miss, Miami, Arkansas, Oklahoma State, TCU, and others.

Rhodes had visited SMU twice in the last month, and these visits evidently stood out to Rhodes as he is now the newest Mustang commitment.

A 3-star rating (but the highest 3-star grade of 89) from 247 is what keeps Rhodes from being a composite 4-star, but the On3 industry composite rates him as a 4-star and ranks him 232nd nationally and 21st at the RB position.

This is the 2nd Blue Chip commitment and 4th commitment overall for SMU’s 2026 class, a class which ranks 31st nationally and 6th in the ACC.

4-Star ATH Cam Thomas Commits to Illinois

4-star ATH Cam Thomas committed to Illinois yesterday over finalists Oregon, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, among other offers.

Thomas is planning to play linebacker for the Illini for a defense that he could see himself getting a chance to play in early, something that is important to Thomas.

Thomas ranks as high as 150th nationally and 15th at his position (Rivals), but the On3 industry composite ranks him 245th nationally and 17th at the ATH position.

For Illinois, this is the 2nd Blue Chip commitment and 8th commitment overall for the 2026 class, a class which ranks 18th nationally and 6th in the Big Ten.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star (84) QB Jacob Chambers commits to Sacramento State

Unrated DL Xavier Reid commits to Liberty

2025 Unrated OT Garrett Austin commits to Middle Tennessee

2025 Unrated OT Braylin Roberts commits to Georgia State