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.

SEC Coaches and ADs May Now Be Re-Thinking 9-Game Conference Schedule

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey confirmed that the SEC ADs and Coaches have discussed adding a ninth game to their conference schedule this week.

No decision has been made, but Sankey shared some in the room are “re-thinking” their positions. The two main concerns are bowl eligibility and how teams will be evaluated to make the CFP.

Back in December, Sankey shared with ESPN’s Paul Finebaum: “We said, back in the summer, that that decision becomes, essentially, first quarter of 2025 because we go through a 16-team, eight-game, single division, if you will, format … with an expanded Playoff and wanting to know how the selection committee evaluates our teams in the current format. We’re still on that course. We include our media partner in that conversation. We want to evaluate bowl eligibility because that’s important to a number of our programs, and that will be an early 2025 point of focus for us.”

Greg Sankey Does Not Share What He Wants CFP To Look Like in ‘26 and Beyond

ESPN’s Heather Dinich asked a fairly direct question to SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey regarding the future of the CFP, and Sankey gave an interesting and fairly direct answer to Dinich:

Dinich posted on Twitter (@CFBHeather): “I asked both commissioners [Sankey and Big 10’s Tony Petitti] if they could tell us what their leagues would like to see the CFP look like in 26 and beyond. ‘No,’ Sankey said. ‘I think that’s something that we owe our colleagues first, and I think I’ve been consistent in that observation for us.’”

This comes from a joint press conference after the conclusion of a meeting from Sankey and Petitti with the 34 ADs from the Big Ten and SEC programs, the real power players in college football at this point.

They were meeting in New Orleans in an effort to come to a unified agreement on the conferences’ preferred proposal ahead of the CFP Management Committee meeting, which is scheduled to meet this upcoming Tuesday in Dallas.

Wisconsin and HC Luke Fickell Agree to Extension Through 2032

Wisconsin Athletics announced yesterday that it and HC Luke Fickell have agreed to a contract extension through the 2032 season.

This extension comes after Coach Fickell’s second season at the helm in Wisconsin, where the Badgers finished with a 5-7 record and are 12-13 in his two seasons in Madison.

Before the extension, Coach Fickell ranked as the 18th highest paid coach in the country with a $7.7M salary and a buyout just north of $40M.

He is joined by the volleyball, women’s soccer, and men’s soccer head coaches receiving an extension, and On3 notes that ‘mass updating contracts appears to be a “routine” process for Wisconsin.’

He also signed a one-year extension in January 2024 after his first season with the program.

Texas Hiring West Virginia’s Chad Scott as Next RBs Coach

Texas is set to hire West Virginia’s RBs Coach Chad Scott as its next RBs Coach.

Coach Scott has been the OC for the past two seasons for the Mountaineers and was going to be retained by new HC Rich Rodriguez at the RBs Coach position.

The job is open at Texas thanks to Tashard Choice taking the same spot in the pros, but the room returns names like CJ Baxter.

Coach Scott has also made stops at Texas Tech, Kentucky, and North Carolina, and has experience with West Virginia helping develop a guy like CJ Donaldson, who turned into one of the top RBs in the Big 12.

Coach Rodriguez shared, back in December, “I have an appreciation and respect for the job that Chad has done here at West Virginia. He brings a high level of energy and has a history of building relationships and developing players. I look forward to having him as a member of our staff.”

TMZ Reporting Details on UNLV OL Ben Christman’s Passing

According to a report from TMZ, details are emerging on the circumstances around the passing of UNLV OL Ben Christman.

TMZ’s report shared he felt a pain in his chest and police were dispatched to his off-campus apartment that morning after a teammate found him in his room foaming at the mouth and with purple fingers.

One of his teammates went to check on Christman after he missed practice and they called the police shortly thereafter. An EKG performed at the facility by a coach appeared normal after Christman shared he felt a pain in his chest.

Police initially shared that they did not suspect any foul play, and the TMZ report reaffirms this. There were no suspicious items found in Christman’s room.

Christman’s obituary shares that he passed away in his sleep of natural causes. Visitation is set for Thursday, with a funeral set for Friday in Akron, OH.

Delaware State and new HC DeSean Jackson Hire Clinton Portis as RBs Coach

DeSean Jackson is building out his first coaching staff at Delaware State, and he shared yesterday on Instagram that legendary RB Clinton Portis is going to be the RBs Coach for the Hornets program.

Portis finished his college career for the Miami Hurricanes with 2,523 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns, rushing for 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2001 for arguably one of the best Hurricanes teams in program history.

He was also a two time Pro Bowler as a professional, and had 4 seasons of over 1,000 rushing yards. He is new to the coaching profession, though.

USC Not Hosting Traditional Spring Game

According to the Los Angeles Times’ Ryan Kartje, USC is not planning to host a spring game this year.

Instead of a traditional spring game, USC is hosting a fan appreciation event with the program over the summer. There will additionally be a spring event with former players and the current roster, but spring practices will also remain closed to the public.

This is in response to the changing landscape of college football, like how Nebraska has notably announced they are cancelling their spring game due to concerns of losing players in the spring transfer portal from poaching.

Texas is another school which has shared it may consider doing away with the spring game. Florida Coach Billy Napier also lamented the Sophie’s Choice he has of either having an upset fanbase at not having a spring game or having coaches tampering with his players.

Ohio State Adding Multiple Analysts

Ohio State is hiring Marcus Johnson and Charlie Dickey to offensive analyst positions, coming to the Buckeyes with assorted experiences working with offensive linemen.

Johnson was the OL Coach for Purdue, Missouri, and Mississippi State, most recently with Purdue.

Dickey, on the other hand, has been with Oklahoma State, Kansas State, and Utah, as well as some times in the pros.

Both will work with new Run Game Coordinator Tyler Bowen who was with Virginia Tech.

No. 1 Ranked Safety Blaine Bradford Visiting Texas, Up to 3 Official Visits

Composite top ranked safety Blaine Bradford has already set visits to Ohio State and LSU in this past week, and he is now also planning to visit the Longhorns the weekend of June 6th.

Bradford shared, “I’ve been liking Texas since they started recruiting me. It’s one of my grandpa’s favorite schools as well, and I love the color orange. They are obviously one of the best in the nation. Coach Sark is a great coach and a great person. I also love the way they play their safeties.”

Bradford ranks as high as 7th nationally but ranks 16th nationally according to the On3 industry composite.

4-Star Safety Jireh Edwards Locks in 5 Official Visits

Top 4-star safety Jireh Edwards shared with On3’s Hayes Fawcett that he has five official visits scheduled after scheduling two new visits to Texas A&M (June 13) and Oregon (June 19).

This also goes with visits to Auburn (May 16), Maryland (May 30), and Georgia (June 6).

Edwards visited Auburn and Georgia over the last month and has been to Oregon a couple of times in the last several months. He also visited Texas A&M for the Texas game, and coming from Maryland, he’s seen Maryland on several occassions.

Edwards rates as a 5-star on Rivals, ranking as high as 14th nationally and 2nd at the safety position. According to the On3 industry composite, he rates as a 4-star and ranks 39th nationally and 4th at the safety position.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star (86) OT Eli Bickel commits to Michigan State

3-Star (85) QB Levi Davis commits to Ohio