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.

Virginia Tech Targeting Philip Montgomery as OC

ESPN’s Pete Thamel is reporting that Virginia Tech’s primary target at its OC opening is Philip Montgomery, former Tulsa HC and former OC of both Auburn and Baylor.

With Tulsa, he made four bowl games, including a 10-3 season in 2016. He also was at the helm for the 2020 season that saw the Golden Hurricane go toe-to-toe with Cincinnati in the conference championship before suffering a loss and then losing LB Zaven Collins in the first round of the draft.

His most recent coaching job was with the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL, where he was Co-OC last season. His last job at the college level was as OC at Auburn in 2023.

Wisconsin Promotes Marcus Sedberry to GM

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Wisconsin is promoting Marcus Sedberry to be its new GM.

Sedberry has been at Wisconsin for the past three seasons as a deputy AD and COO, where he had some involvement with the program’s contracts. Before his three seasons and counting with Wisconsin, he spent five seasons with Baylor.

Sedberry takes over for Max Stienecker, the former GM who recently took over a job with the USC staff towards the top of the personnel side of things.

Florida State CB Charles Lester Arrested on DUI Charge

According to a police report, Florida State CB Charles Lester was arrested on a DUI charge Monday.

Lester was a 4-star recruit in the 2024 class and appeared in two games as a true freshman last season. He finished his true freshman campaign with 3 tackles and one pass deflection.

After being arrested, he was eventually released, and no further information on the incident is available at this time, according to On3.

3-Star CB Justin Hopkins Commits to Minnesota

High 3-star CB Justin Hopkins committed to Minnesota yesterday over USC, Tennessee, and Georgia Tech.

As for his decision to pick Minnesota, Hopkins shared, “every time I talked to another school, it just couldn’t compare to how I felt when I talked with the Minnesota coaches. Coach Monroe came down twice, Coach Fleck came down once and there was no comparison for me.”

He also said about Minnesota: “I get a great education, there is a chance to play early, I can be stable as a football player and I can play for great coaches.”

Hopkins ranks highest on On3’s rankings, which place him 82nd nationally and 8th at the CB position, but the On3 industry composite has him more modestly ranked 378th nationally and 25th at the CB position.

With the commitment, Minnesota now has 4 commitments for the 2026 class, a class which currently ranks 28th nationally and 10th in the Big Ten.

Penn State Transfer DB Mehki Flowers Signs with Akron

Former Penn State DB Mehki Flowers has signed with Akron out of the transfer portal according to On3’s Pete Nakos.

Flowers has been with Penn State for the last 3 seasons, making 14 appearances and finishing with 2 assisted tackles.

Ahead of the 2024 season, Flowers made a position change to WR, but did not record any stats as a receiver.

There is a ton of talent there, though, as Flowers was the #5 athlete in the entire 2022 class as a highly sought after 4-star recruit.

4-Star QB Gavin Sidwar Names Top 5

4-star QB Gavin Sidwar decommitted from Rutgers back in October, and has since been going through the recruiting process and has decided on his Top 5.

The signal caller out of Pennsylvania has shared that his Top 5 programs are Ole Miss, Missouri, Syracuse, UCLA, and Iowa.

Sidwar has already set a spring OV with Missouri for March 18th, and he said he was planning on visiting Syracuse at some point, although it’s unclear if he’s planning to set an official visit any time soon.

Sidwar ranks as high as 192nd nationally and 15th at the QB position (On3), but the On3 industry composite ranks him 292nd nationally and 19th at the QB position.

Consensus 4-Star RB Javian Osborne Sets Miami OV

Consensus 4-star RB Javian Osborne recently announced on his social media that he will be officially visiting Miami from May 30th to June 1st.

This adds another premier program in his OV rotation, as he is already planning on visiting Texas (June 13) and Michigan (June 20).

Osborn spoke with CaneSport awhile ago, and shared, “I know Coach Cristobal was a former OL Coach and former offensive lineman at Miami. You know how that is, you know he loves to run the ball.”

Osborn ranks 77th nationally and 6th at the RB position according to the On3 industry composite.

Consensus 4-Star LB Cincere Johnson Has Several Visits Locked In

Consensus 4-star LB Cincere Johnson recently shared with On3 that he has several visits lined up for the months ahead.

The highly coveted linebacker shared that Ohio State and Alabama are setting the pace in his recruitment as the programs to beat, but Oregon and Penn State are another couple programs he has high interest in.

He’s planning to visit Clemson unofficially on March 8th. And then he has OVs set for Alabama (May 31), Oklahoma (June 6), Ohio State (June 13), and USC (June 20).

Johnson ranks as high as 75th nationally and 5th at the LB position (On3), but the On3 industry composite ranks him 120th nationally and 8th at the LB position.

4-Star OT Evan Goodwin Locks in 3 Official Visits

4-star OT Evan Goodwin locked in three official visits for the following programs: Missouri, Notre Dame, and Mississippi State.

Goodwin is headed to see Missouri from June 6th to the 8th, Notre Dame from the 12th to the 15, and Mississippi State from the 20th to the 22nd.

LSU and Wisconsin have also spoken with Goodwin about scheduling an OV.

Goodwin shared with On3, “Right now, I talk to Notre Dame, Mississippi State, Missouri, Wisconsin, and LSU all the time. The head coaches text me, along with those in the OL room. That means a lot to me. The people at Notre Dame, Missouri, Mississippi State, Wisconsin, and Ole Miss have been working the hardest to get to know me and my family.”

Goodwin also shared that he will be visiting spring practices for Oklahoma State and Ole Miss, as well as LSU, Mississippi State, and Missouri.

Goodwin shared he wants to a school that has great academics and a campus that gives him opportunities to be involved with the community.

On the On3 industry composite, he ranks 275th nationally and 21st at the OT position.

High 3-Star IOL Canon Pickett Narrows Down to Top 10 Programs

High 3-star IOL Canon Pickett recently shared with On3’s Hayes Fawcett that he has narrowed down his recruitment to the following 10 programs: Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Oklahoma, and Vanderbilt.

Right now, Pickett is heavily projected towards Miami according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, the same school his dad played for in the mid 90s. His brother also signed with the Hurricanes in the 2024 recruiting cycle.

Pickett ranks 352nd nationally and 33rd at the IOL position according to the On3 industry composite, but he ranks 229th nationally and 18th at the position for On3’s individual rankings.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

None!