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Utah State Announces Dismissal of Head Coach Blake Anderson

Utah State University announced the termination of former Head Coach Blake Anderson’s contract following an external review of alleged noncompliance with university policies that implement Title IX.

Currently, the university is unable to release any more information until there has been an opportunity for Anderson to respond or appeal. Anderson has retained a lawyer, who publicly expressed disagreement with the school’s decision to terminate Anderson’s contract.

Utah State’s DC and DEs coach Nate Dreiling will be the interim. At 33, it makes him the youngest coach in the FBS currently.

High 4-Star LB Tavion Wallace Commits to Arkansas

Consensus high 4-star LB Tavion Wallace committed to Arkansas yesterday over Florida State and Georgia, among others.

Originally, Wallace was not too high on the Razorbacks, thinking that he would not be considering Arkansas. But after going and visiting, Fayetteville far exceeded his expectations, and the relationships he built with the staff also stood out.

Rivals rates him by far the lowest, as the 12th ranked LB and 179th ranked recruit overall. The other three major recruiting services have Wallace in the Top 45 overall and Top 3 or 4 LBs.

This is Arkansas’ 16th commitment for a class which currently ranks 26th nationally and 12th in the SEC. Wallace also became far and away the best commitment for the Razorbacks 2025 class.

Dylan Raiola Already Impacting Nebraska Program Positively

Head Coach Matt Rhule took some time to share with Joel Klatt some information about QB Dylan Raiola recently.

Coach Rhule described Raiola’s feel for the game as unique and pointed out that he’s really smart. Perhaps most importantly, Coach Rhule stated that Raiola has raised the level of play for the Huskers.

Whether or not he will start games as a true freshman remains to be seen, but the competition between Raiola, Heinrich Haarberg, and Danny Kaelin should be a good one and one that any college football fan should be interested to keep up with.

Staples: Dave Aranda will be 2024 Version of Neal Brown

On3’s Andy Staples recently shared that he believes that Dave Aranda, in pretty big need of a bounce back year, is in a similar position to West Virginia Head Coach Neal Brown.

Prior to the 2023 season, Brown’s seat was fairly hot, similar to Aranda. But Brown took over play calling duties for the side of the ball he knew best, just like Aranda is doing for this upcoming season. Also, with bringing in the likes of Jake Spavital at OC and DeQuan Finn at QB, there’s good reason for optimism that Baylor has a higher ceiling than the 3 wins of 2023.

4-Star TE Kaleb Edwards Commits to Alabama

Consensus 4-Star TE Kaleb Edwards committed to Alabama yesterday over Auburn, Oregon, and Texas, among others.

Edwards first visited Alabama back in April for the spring game, and after an official visit with his family in a couple weeks ago, he decided Alabama was the place for him.

Edwards is particularly excited about the prospect of being developed by the Alabama staff.

This is Alabama’s 21st overall commitment and 16th Blue Chip recruit. The Tide’s 2025 class now ranks 2nd overall and 1st in the SEC. Edwards’ commitment also creates some clear space between Alabama and LSU for best class in the SEC and 2nd ranked class overall.

Competition Between TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins Fuels Both RBs

Many have been talking about the transfer RB from Ole Miss, Quinshon Judkins, but QB Will Howard believes that TreVeyon Henderson coming back for another season has fueled each to be the best running back they can be.

Howard said that he thinks the two running backs have leaned on each other a lot and bought in to what HC Ryan Day and OC Chip Kelly are trying to do despite the fact touches will inevitably be shared.

4-Star Edge Marco Jones Commits to Texas A&M

Consensus 4-Star Edge Marco Jones committed to Texas A&M yesterday over Michigan, Texas, and USC, among others.

For Jones, there were a few boxes he wanted his suitors to check, which Texas A&M did, and did the best. Jones wanted a school with a plan for him, in a new part of the country, preferably in the SEC. Jones also plans on playing baseball for the Aggies, as he is also a talented baseball player, too.

Jones’ commitment marks the 18th commitment for the Aggies’ 2025 class, which currently ranks 8th nationally and 4th in the SEC.

3-Star DL Drayden Pavey Commits to Purdue

3-Star DL Drayden Pavey committed to Purdue yesterday over Indiana and Wisconsin.

Pavey ultimately chose Purdue, in large part, because of his relationship with the coaching staff and the atmosphere of the program. Pavey also spoke of HC Ryan Walters’ vision, as Pavey wants to be a part of what Walters is building.

Purdue has not been particularly hot on the recruiting trail this offseason, with only 10 commitments which find the Boilermakers ranked 59th nationally and second to last in the Big Ten.

Hugh Freeze Shares Update on Brian Battie

The Auburn RB/KR, Brian Battie, was one of several victims of a shooting in May and has spent a long couple of months on the road to recovery. For some time in intensive care, it looked particularly concerning, but it seems as though Battie is “on the right track” according to Freeze.

Battie still has a long way to go, on the road to recovery, though. He recently has started communicating more, which is a good sign.

3-Star OT Elijah Vaikona Commits to USC

3-Star OT Elijah Vaikona committed to USC yesterday over UCLA and Washington, among others.

Despite a modest national composite ranking of 1,151st, Vaikona has an offer sheet which projects much better than the 81st ranked OT in the country – including, USC, Washington, UCLA, Arkansas, Arizona State, Utah, SMU, and Houston, as well as several other Group of 5 programs.

After a slew of decommitments for USC’s 2025 class, Vaikona is the 13th member of the 2025 class currently committed for a class which ranks 17th nationally and 5th in the Big Ten.