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.

Washington Hiring JP Losman As Assistant QBs Coach

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Washington is set to hire JP Losman to be the new Assistant QBs Coach for the Huskies.

Coach Jedd Fisch used to coach JP Losman back when now-Coach Losman was in the pros as a QB.

Coach Losman was Assistant Director of Player Personnel with Oklahoma since 2022 and also spent some time with Clemson.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel Doubts Seeding Changes for CFP in 2025

ESPN’s Pete Thamel is reporting that he does not expect any changes for the seeding of the CFP for the 2025 season.

This is not exactly a new take, as plenty of other reporters have shared that they have heard similar sentiments. On the College GameDay podcast recently, Thamel shared, “I don’t think [seeding changes are] going to happen, and here’s the reason why. Unanimous approval could cost the others outside the Big Ten and SEC some money, and I don’t think they’re going to risk that. For example, the Mountain West got a team in the top-four in Boise State. They got a bye. The Mountain West got four million extra dollars – like eight million, not just four million for inclusion but for advancement. I don’t think collectively, the other leagues are going to risk that amount of money for one year of straight seeding. Now, if they can somehow – it just, the juice doesn’t seem to be the squeeze to rearrange all that and dig all the way in on that for one year. That’s, that is what I’ve been told.”

As for beyond that, though, “now, it’s a whole new clean slate for 2026 and this is when things are going to get, I think, really, really interesting because the future of the sport, really, for the next six years is going to, is going to start to reveal itself at these meetings. I don’t think they’re going to vote on anything there when the Big Ten leaders and the SEC leaders meet in New Orleans but I do think there’s going to be huge discussions. I would imagine we get to a more conventional seeding metric. That’s just the general tenor of the room.”

Six Schools Partner with NIL Licensing Group to Negotiate Video Game Rights for These School’s Players

According to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Wisconsin, Oregon, and Texas Tech are partnering with Pathway Sports and Entertainment to represent the players from these schools in negotiation with the video game companies.

Founder of Pathway Sports and Entertainment, Casey Schwab, is calling it “the largest commercial program for college athletes in history,” with hopes to, “be the first group to actually negotiate directly with the video game makers on behalf of the group.”

The company has already signed 450 players to NIL deals with each player receiving at least $1,500, which is more than double the $600 and a copy of the game that players received last year directly from EA.

Thamel is also reporting that for higher profile players at each of the schools, there is more money coming than just the $1,500.

NIL Collectives and College Program Staffers Share Who Spent the Most in the Portal, Which Guys Got the Most

On3 spoke with unnamed sources connected to NIL collectives and college personnel staffers who shared which schools spent the most in the portal, which players got the most in the portal, which positions were the most expensive or hardest
to recruit from the portal, and more.

Texas Tech was a program that came up as having reset the market in a lot of ways for what programs are willing to spend. Oregon was also a name that came up a few times, as was Ohio State, Nebraska, Florida State, Miami, and Texas, but most of the blue blood names are a little less surprising.

As for which players were the highest paid in the portal, Carson Beck and Darian Mensah were the two names that came up the most often.

As for what most players are asking for in the portal, cars are a frequent ask.

As for which positions are the hardest to retain, OL was the main one.

However, the hardest position to add seemed to be some of the skill positions and the big boys on the defensive line.

As for the spring window, the trenches are where these sources seem to think there will be the most demand and possibly the lowest supply. This, in theory, could make for some interesting bidding wars (and potentially some interesting tampering possibilities).

Consensus 4-Star OT Brysten Martinez Commits to LSU

Consensus 4-star OT Brysten Martinez committed to LSU yesterday while also holding offers from Georgia, Texas A&M, Oregon, Tennessee, Penn State, Florida, and others.

Martinez was a priority for the LSU staff, especially as of late, and now he joins the Tigers’ 2026 class.

Martinez is one of the top tackles in the class, ranking as high as 32nd nationally and 4th at the position (ESPN), while ranking 59th nationally and 8th at the OT position according to the On3 industry composite.

LSU picking up Martinez’s commitment marks 5 Blue Chip commitments and 6 total commitments for the 2026 class, a class which ranks 3rd nationally and 1st in the SEC.

Consensus 4-Star DL Jermaine Kinsler Commits to Texas A&M

Consensus 4-star DL Jermaine Kinsler committed to Texas A&M yesterday over finalists Michigan, Ohio State, Miami, among other offers.

Kinsler visited Texas A&M last month, which he described as a great time, and also shared that his relationship with his position coaches just gets better each time he interacts with them and visits.

Kinsler ranks as high as 146th nationally, according to 247, and he ranks 176th nationally and 16th at the DL position according to the On3 industry composite.

Kinsler is Texas A&M’s 8th Blue Chip commitment and 9th commitment total for a 2026 class which ranks 5th nationally and 3rd in the SEC, behind only LSU and Auburn.

Consensus 4-Star OT Felix Ojo Names Top 8 Schools

Consensus 4-star OT Felix Ojo has narrowed his list to 8 schools, according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett.

Ojo has narrowed his recruitment down to the following: Texas, Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Ole Miss.

Ojo has locked in an official visit to Texas and was also thinking about booking OVs with Michigan and Ohio State.

Ojo ranks 28th nationally according to Rivals and 29th nationally according to 247. According to the On3 industry composite, Ojo ranks 46th nationally and 5th at the OT position.

Consensus 4-Star S Cortez Redding Names 3 Official Visits Planned

Consensus 4-star S Cortez Redding is nearing 50 college offers, including some top level programs like LSU, Miami, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and others.

However, he has narrowed down his official visit itinerary to at least these three: NC State, Miami, and Ole Miss. He has not visited many places, really only having seen Georgia Tech and Tennessee in the fall for unofficial visits during a game.

“I plan on committing before the first game of my senior season, so around early August. I want to go where I can play and get my feet wet early for a coaching staff that develops my body and mind for the next level. Then I want a school that prepares me for life after football and teaches me about manhood, my future with a wife, kids, and things like that. Those are the main four things I look for in a school.”

Reddings ranks highest on On3, ranking 180th nationally and 13th at the safety position, but the On3 industry composite ranks him 195th nationally and 15th at the safety position.

Consensus 4-Star IOL Esun Tafa Schedules 3 Official Visits

Consensus 4-star IOL decommitted from Washington earlier this month and has since booked three official visits as he goes through the recruitment process.

In the month of June, he plans to visit Washington, then USC, and then Utah.

He is also planning on an unofficial visit to USC in the spring, the same program who offered him right before he decommitted from Coach Jedd Fisch and the Washington Huskies.

Tafa is ranked highest by 247, who ranks him 182nd nationally, but the On3 industry composite ranks Tafa 198th nationally and 14th at the IOL position.

USC DL Solomon Tuliaupupu Enters NCAA Transfer Portal for 8th College Season

USC DL Solomon Tuliaupupu has entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal as a grad transfer after having spent 7 seasons with the Trojans.

Tuliaupupu redshirted as a true freshman, and then received a medical redshirt the following year for a surgery on his foot. He then missed the following two seasons recovering from that injury, as well as another knee injury right after.

He has only played in parts of 2 seasons: 2022 and 2024. In 23 games, he has 23 total tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery.

He was a 4-star recruit in the Class of 2018 – the same class as Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

2025 3-Star (86) RB Keveun Mason decommits from Delaware

2025 3-Star (85) DL Christopher Johnson commits to Jacksonville State