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Schefter: NFL Interest in Steve Sarkisian

On yesterday’s edition of ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown, ESPN’s Adam Schefter was going through which NFL coaches were likely to be fired and which were likely to save their job. But towards the end of the segment, Schefty dropped a bit of information that could send ripples through college football: Texas Coach Steve Sarkisian is generating some NFL interest.

Schefter specifically said, “I would expect some teams to call and inquire about Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, who has drawn some interest from the NFL level.”

Now, how much interest Steve Sarkisian has in the NFL level is unclear, but Schefter mentioning Coach Sarkisian immediately following discussing the situation with the Cowboys and its coach Mike McCarthy, who is on an expiring contract, makes this particularly notable.

Most of Coach Sarkisian’s experience is at the college level, but he does have some experience at the NFL level. Coach Sark was the OC for the Falcons from 2017-18.

USC Transfers Zachariah & Zion Branch Commit to Georgia

Both Zachariah and Zion Branch have committed to transfer from USC to Georgia, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.

Zion Branch was the #61 national recruit back in the 2022 class and played in 10 games in 2024, finishing with 19 tackles, 2 TFLs, a sack, and 3 passes defended. His older brother Zachariah is the more notable name, though, as Zachariah was the #4 recruit and top WR back in the 2023 class before posting good 2023 and 2024 seasons.

In 2023, Zachariah led the PAC-12 with 332 punt return yards and led the country with 20.8 yards per punt return. He also added 320 receiving yards, 442 kick return yards, and 70 rushing yards to put up 1,164 all-purpose yards. He followed that season up with only 699 all-purpose yards, but he did see a noticeable uptick in receiving production, jumping up to 503 yards and a touchdown on 47 receptions.

Marcus Freeman: ND Receiving A Lot of Positive Noise, Can’t Let that Distract the Irish

Notre Dame Coach Marcus Freeman recently shared that he wants the Irish to retain the identity that has made them play with such a chip on their shoulder all season despite all of the positive attention of late.

Coach Freeman said, “It’s probably louder than this week than it’s ever been. And, you know, I think it’s human nature to enjoy people saying good things about you. It’s human nature. But we’ve talked all year about being misfits, right? And that’s what we have to continue to be. You have to make the choice to either waste time listening to people tell you how good you are or what the past has been, or you’re going to put your time into preparing for this opportunity right in front of us. And that’s been my message loud and clear. And we all have to make that choice.”

In the immediate future, the task is the Orange Bowl and the Penn State Nittany Lions, to which Coach Freeman said, “you know, it’s not the initial thought of daydreaming about the past or an uncertain future. It’s the second thought that as soon as you start thinking about the past or what somebody’s saying about your future that’s uncertain, get back in the moment and put the work in that it takes to get the outcome that you want. Like, don’t dream about the outcome, put the work in. The minute you start daydreaming about the outcome, put the work in that it takes to get that. And that’s a personal challenge for everybody in our program.”

Oregon Transfer QB Jaron Keawe-Sagapolutele Commits to Cal

On3’s Pete Nakos reported that Oregon signee Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has now signed with Cal. Sagapolutele has committed to Cal for awhile, but flipped to and signed with Oregon.

He also apparently had enrolled and was participating in practices with Oregon ahead of the Rose Bowl, but then on January 1st confirmed reports that he was planning to enter the transfer portal just a few days later.

Sagapolutele decided to flip back to Cal, a decision he told reporters he made because he saw he would not have a chance to start during his freshman season with Oregon.

Sagapolutele was the #7 QB in the 2025 class and the #50 prospect nationally. Despite being considered a transfer, Sagapolutele is now considered part of the Cal recruiting class for this most recent class.

Tennessee Transfer WR Squirrel White Commits to Florida State

Former Tennessee WR Squirrel White has committed to Florida State out of the transfer portal with one year of eligibility remaining, according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett.

White played in 38 games with Tennessee, finishing with 1,665 yards and 6 touchdowns on 131 catches. White did not miss any games in 2024, but was banged up through much of the season, and only posted 381 yards on 34 catches.

His best season came in 2023, when he finished with 803 yards and 2 touchdowns on 67 catches. White currently ranks 84th nationally and 23rd at the WR position according to the On3 industry transfer portal rankings.

Georgia QB Jaden Rashada to Enter Transfer Portal

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Georgia 3rd-string QB Jaden Rashada is planning to enter the transfer portal.

Rashada has had a tumultuous start to his quarterbacking career, to say the least. After a very public recruitment battle between Miami and Florida, which resulted in a public squabble with Florida over NIL before ultimately ending up at Arizona State and then transferring from the Sun Devils after one season, Rashada ended up at Georgia. He once again made headlines, suing members of the Florida Gators Athletic Department, including Coach Billy Napier.

With Arizona State, as a true freshman, Rashada appeared in 3 games and finished 44/82 for 485 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions.

Right before the Sugar Bowl, Rashada said of Georgia: “I think I needed this place a lot right now in my life. I needed Georgia specifically.” Less than a week later, Rashada is now expected to be on the move again for a 3rd roster and 5th commitment in 3-4 years.

Florida State Transfer DE Marvin Jones Jr. Signs with Oklahoma

According to On3’s Pete Nakos, Florida State transfer DE Marvin Jones Jr. has signed with Oklahoma. Jones visited with both Oklahoma and Texas in the last week.

Jones spent a pair of seasons at Georgia before transferring to Florida State this past season, which is also where his father and uncle played.

In the class of 2022, Jones was nearly a consensus 5-star, with only ESPN rating him a 4-star. And he was the #3 EDGE and #20 overall prospect in the transfer portal last offseason. This year, however, he has fallen to the #101 overall prospect and #10 EDGE in the transfer portal after finishing with 25 tackles, 4 sacks, and a forced fumble in 11 games with Florida State.

Steve Sarkisian Defends Michael Taaffee’s Physicality

Texas star DB Michael Taaffe has made a few notable hits in the last couple of games for potentially the wrong reason(s), but Coach Sarkisian defends his star safety’s physicality.

More specifically, Taaffe has been in the news for his hit on Arizona State WR Melquan Stovall that led to a controversial targeting review, as well as a play with RB Cam Skattebo where Taaffe and Skattebo were physical on a deep wheel route before Taaffe ripped Skattebo’s helmet off while making a tackle using Skattebo’s facemask.

Coach Sarkisian stood up for his player, though, stating, “as far as football goes, hey, we don’t play flag football. This isn’t 7-on-7. This is tackle football. We believe in playing a physical brand of football. We try to do it the right way within the rules. … We’re always going to try and impose our will on our opponents. Michael is a great example of that. He plays the game the right way.”

UNLV DB Transfer Jalen Catalon Signs with Missouri

UNLV transfer DB Jalen Catalon signed with Missouri out of the transfer portal yesterday.

Catalon started at Arkansas, where he spent a couple of seasons. After spending 2023 with Texas, he transferred to UNLV in 2024. With UNLV, Catalon was an impact player, finishing the season with 96 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, a forced fumble, 5 interceptions, and 4 passes defended.

Catalon has one year of eligibility remaining for Coach Drinkwitz and the Missouri Tigers.

Boise State Transfer QB Malachi Nelson Commits to UTEP

ESPN’s Pete Thamel is reporting that former Boise State and USC QB Malachi Nelson has committed to UTEP out of the transfer portal.

Nelson played in three games for Boise State, going 12/17 passing for 128 yards and a pick. Nelson played in just one game for USC back in 2023 as a true freshman, but was a consensus 5-star in the 2023 class as the #11 player in the entire class according to the On3 industry composite rankings.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star (87) RB Waymond Jordan flips from UCF to USC

2026 3-Star (87) WR Tyran Evans commits to Tennessee

3-Star (84) LB Isaiah Hung commits to Washington State

3-Star (84) IOL Liam Vaughan flips from Washington State to Western Michigan