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.

WE MADE IT TO WEEK ZERO, EVERYONE – OUR LONG NATIONAL NIGHTMARE IS FINALLY OVER AND COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS BACK!

Current Subscriber Count: 478

Goal: 1,000 by the National Championship on 1/20/25

TODAY’S SCHEDULE:

Betting information as of time of writing

What Mike Norvell Wants to See in Opener From Seminoles

With Week 0 set to start, Florida State coach Mike Norvell shared a little bit on what he is looking to see in the season opener out of the Seminoles.

More than seeing any statistic look a certain way, Norvell wants to see a Florida State team that looks like they trusted in their training. While the staff expects some jitters, ultimately, it’s about a team portraying confidence in their training.

“You’ve got to go out there, you’ve got to trust your training, trust what you’ve done, trust all the preparation. And then, you go out there and you apply that, and they you’ve got to react because this a very talented Georgia Tech team,” Norvell was quoted as saying.

Norvell is also interested in seeing how Florida State reacts to what Georgia Tech has to throw at them. Ultimately, there’s only so much preparation that can go into a game, and some looks Georgia Tech is going to give are going to be expected but some not so much. To Norvell, how a team can adapt and react are the “moments of truth” for a team.

Georgia Tech QB Haynes King: We Feel Confident

In the last couple of days, Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King has shared that he and the rest of the Yellow Jackets are feeling good ahead of their season opener in Dublin against Florida State.

King kept it simple: “we feel confident. We’re playing fast right now, doing everything that we need to do.”

If Georgia Tech is going to win, it’s going to require confidence and big performances out of some big names for the Yellow Jackets, including King and some WRs like Eric Singleton Jr. and Malik Rutherford.

Mike Norvell Praises DJ Uiagalelei’s Prep

Florida State’s Mike Norvell praised QB DJ Uiagalelei and his prep recently.

How DJU has carried himself since arriving in Tallahassee in January has been nothing short of exemplary, according to Norvell. Not only has he invested a lot of his time into his own preparation, but something which has stood out to Norvell has also been the time and effort DJU has put into his teammates.

Where QB Competitions Stand Heading Into the 2024 Season

On3’s Jesse Simonton recently updated readers on the QB Competitions which have already been decided and which are still ongoing.

Open competitions remaining:

• North Carolina’s battle between Max Johnson, Conner Harrell, and Jacolby Criswell.

• Michigan’s battle between Alex Orji, Jack Tuttle, and Davis Warren.

• Cal’s battle between Fernando Mendoza and Chandler Rogers.

Some, but not all listed, decided battles include:

• Ohio State choosing Will Howard over Devin Brown and Julian Sayin.

• Nebraska choosing Dylan Raiola over Heinrich Haarberg.

• South Carolina choosing LaNorris Sellers over Robby Ashford.

NCAA Group Evaluating Elimination of the Spring Transfer Portal Window

The NCAA Football Oversight Group is evaluating an elimination of the spring transfer portal window.

An elimination of the spring transfer portal window would mean that any transfer portal entries would be limited to a 30-day window in the winter (plus presumably the two-week section following a coaching change).

According to Yahoo!, the power conferences and the American Football Coaches Association all support an elimination of the spring window.

Early Reports Big 12 Targeting UConn

UConn has been a target in the past for the Big 12 as the conference remains “open for business,” to use commissioner Brett Yormark’s words.

Now, there are new reports surfacing that the Big 12 is looking to target UConn in all sports, but the Huskies’ football team would not be able to join until 2031. Given the premium Yormark has placed on the quality of the conference in basketball and the expansion Yormark has wanted to place on expanding the conference geographically, adding UConn would make sense for both priorities.

4-Star DL Nate Marshall Flips from Michigan to Auburn

Consensus 4-star DL Nate Marshall flipped his commitment from Michigan to Auburn yesterday. Marshall verbally committed to Michigan back in April, but Auburn DL Coach Vontrell King-Williams kept on Marshall and was able to secure Marshall’s commitment.

Marshall was most impressed by Auburn’s commitment to the player as a whole, so Marshall is confident in the Auburn staff’s ability to develop him not just as a football player but as a whole person.

Marshall ranks as high as 29th nationally and as the top DL according to Rivals. According to the On3 industry composite, Marshall ranks 56th nationally and 5th at his position.

With Marshall’s commitment, Auburn now has 15 Blue Chip commitments and 23 commitments overall. Auburn also has shot up to 5th in the national rankings and 4th in the SEC. After losing Marshall, Michigan is now down to 15th nationally but remains 3rd in the Big Ten for the 2025 class rankings.

4-Star OT Nick Brooks Commits to Texas

4-star OT Nick Brooks committed to Texas yesterday over, among other schools, USC and Georgia, where Brooks took his other official visits.

For Brooks, the official visit is what really sold him on the Longhorns. Brooks loved the coaching staff and the overall vibe of Austin. For him, the staff made him and his family feel like family, and that made all the difference.

Brooks is ranked highest nationally on ESPN (130th) and ranked highest for his position on 247Sports (14th). According to On3’s industry composite, Brooks is ranked 208th nationally and 17th at his position.

With Brooks’ commitment, Texas is up to 10 Blue Chip commitments and 17 commitments overall. The Longhorns’ 2025 class is now ranked 14th nationally and 8th in the SEC.

4-Star CB Onis Konanbanny Commits to Tennessee

Composite 4-star CB Onis Konanbanny committed to Tennessee yesterday over Florida State, among other offers.

For Konanbanny, what stood out to him about Tennessee was how the coaches made him feel. From the beginning of his recruitment, the Tennessee coaches made him such a priority that he felt like Knoxville was home and that he didn’t want to be anywhere else.

Konanbanny is rated as a 4-star by both ESPN and Rivals, with Rivals ranking him as high as 117th nationally and 11th for his position. According to On3’s industry composite rankings, Konanbanny is ranked 340th nationally and 33rd for his position.

He is Tennessee’s 15th Blue Chip commitment and 24th commitment overall for the 2025 class, a class which ranks 6th nationally and 5th in the SEC.

Deion Sanders Bans Denver Columnist Due to Series of “Sustained, Personal Attacks”

Colorado Athletics recently informed The Denver Post that no one, including head coach Deion Sanders would be taking questions from columnist Sean Keeler.

The exact statement reads, “After a series of sustained, personal attacks on the football program and specifically Coach Prime, the CU Athletic Department in conjunction with the football program, have decided not to take questions from Denver Post columnist Sean Keeler at football-related events.”

After asking Colorado athletics to specify the sustained, personal attacks, Colorado athletics specified that Keeler has used the following phrases: “false prophet,” “Deposition Deion,” “Planet Prime,” “Bruce Lee of B.S.,” “the Deion Kool-Aid,” and “circus..”

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star (86) RB Nate Sheppard commits to Duke

3-Star (84) LB Bryson Walters commits to Ole Miss

Unrated WR Jaiden Smith commits to South Alabama