Wisconsin, Nebraska, Notre Dame, and More!

CFB Roundup – August 15, 2024

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.

Current Subscriber Count: 461 (Goal: 500 by Week 0 on 8/24/24)

Tyler Van Dyke Named Wisconsin’s Starting QB

Miami transfer QB has been named the starting QB at Wisconsin over former Mississippi State transfer QB Braedyn Locke.

After rotating QBs in 2023 a good bit, Wisconsin fans and Luke Fickell are hoping that bringing in Van Dyke can bring some consistency to the position for the 2024 season.

Van Dyke had a rough go at QB the last couple of seasons, but he had a solid 2021 of 2,931 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, and only six interceptions while completing 62.3% of passes for a passer rating north of 160.

Locke is still available as a backup, obviously, after having gone 1-3 as a starter in 2023 and only throwing for 777 yards and 5 TDs in 5 games played.

Nebraska WR Isaiah Neyor: Hungry Ahead of 2024

Nebraska WR Isaiah Neyor was one of the biggest transfer wide receivers in the 2022 transfer portal class, only ranked behind reigning Biletnikoff winner Jordan Addison and Georgia transfer Jermaine Burton.

Unfortunately, due to injuries and bad luck, Neyor spent two seasons with Texas and only totaled 14 receiving yards on 1 catch. After a transfer this offseason to Nebraska, Neyor said, “I’m so hungry. It was tough having to miss those two seasons.”

Neyor knows he is going to be a big part of the offense, and he should be, considering he racked up over 1,000 yards and averaged over 20 yards per catch during his time at Wyoming.

Matt Rhule has specifically commented on Neyor’s ability to take the top off the defense, commenting on his solid ball skills and 4.3 speed. If the defense is going to be in man coverage or quarters coverage, Rhule shared “we want to try to run by you.” Neyor gives that dimension to an offense that otherwise lacked that at times during the Rhule era.

Notre Dame’s “Hard Knocks” Style Series Coming to Peacock

Peacock is premiering a Hard Knocks style docuseries at the end of this month titled “Here Comes the Irish”.

The first two episodes are set to release August 29th, with episodes 3 and 4 coming out December 5th, episodes 5 and 6 on December 19th, and the final part dropping on January 16th of 2025.

Some big names in the program will be interviewed, including head coach Marcus Freeman, QB Riley Leonard, CB Benjamin Morrison, legend and former coach Lou Holtz, among other key players and staff members.

ESPN’s Preseason All-American Teams

ESPN released their preseason First and Second Team All-Americans recently, with Michigan, Alabama, and Georgia leading the way with three First-Team selections.

Ohio State’s Caleb Downs was a First-Team selection for a Buckeyes team which also has four representatives on the Second-Team.

The First-Team is exclusively P4, but the Second-Team has a few Group of 5 representatives: Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty as the All-Purpose selection, Old Dominion’s Jason Henderson as a LB, and UNLV’s Jacob De Jesus as a Returner.

Moore’s Most Improved on Michigan’s Roster

Michigan coach Sherrone Moore shared after a recent practice which players have improved the most since last season, and Moore listed a couple: Giovanni El-Hadi and TJ Guy.

For El-Hadi, Moore said that he thinks having been behind Trevor Keegan and Zak Zinter has really helped El-Hadi’s development, as he’s been able to watch, emulate, and attempt to surpass both of them – a high bar to clear.

Moore has also been impressed with DL TJ Guy, who Moore has said has taken a big step during fall camp and has changed his body a little since last season. Moore event went so far as to say that Guy is on the path to being an elite player with the steps he’s taken and the changes he’s made.

Mike Norvell: Georgia Tech Offense Among Best in ACC and Country

Following a recent practice, Florida State head coach Mike Norvell took some time to compliment the Georgia Tech offense, calling Georgia Tech’s offense one of the better ones in the league and probably the country.

Norvell more or less went position by position pointing out the Yellow Jackets return many starters. He said he thought QB Haynes King is a really good player, and you saw his confidence grow as the season continued to go on. Norvell also complimented the coaching staff for doing a good job putting King in a position to be successful.

At RB, Norvell called them “outstanding.” At the skill positions, he called them “explosive,” “really fast,” and “tough to tackle.” And up front, Norvell thinks Georgia Tech does a good job.

Because of their ability to go sideline to sideline but also remain physical, Norvell said “it’s really going to take all 11 being on point and playing at a high level [to stop Georgia Tech].”

Missouri DE Darris Smith Out for 2024 with Knee Injury

Missouri DE Darris Smith transferred in from Georgia after being a rotational piece for Georgia for the last couple of seasons, but will miss 2024 after suffering a knee injury on Wednesday.

Smith was the 117th ranked prospect in the 2022 class, but has only totaled 6 tackles in his career. As Missouri maneuvers a manageable schedule (by SEC standards), having a guy like Smith out for the season is an unfortunate blow to their depth.

LSU WR Jelani Watkins Dealing with Foot and Ankle Sprain

True freshman WR Jelani Watkins sustained a foot injury in practice on Tuesday, which Brian Kelly addressed Wednesday.

The injury is not expected to be severe, as Brian Kelly believes he will be back pretty quickly. An MRI revealed no concerns over it being a Lisfranc injury, but rather a foot sprain and an ankle sprain.

Watkins is one of three true freshman who Brian Kelly has referenced by name as a potential contributor early, especially with a possibly role in kickoff and punt returning duties due to his elite speed.

On3’s Top 10 Impactful ACC (+ND) Players

On3’s Jesse Simonton released his rankings for the top 10 most impactful players between the ACC and Notre Dame combined.

Despite not officially being in the ACC, Simonton’s top 2 players on the list are Notre Dame players: DL Howard Cross and CB Benjamin Morrison, respectively.

And despite not being one of the top 2 power conferences, the rest of this list is also incredibly talented – to the point that WR KC Concepcion and QB Kyron Drones are both honorable mentions.

After Cross and Morrison are North Carolina RB Omarion Hampton, Louisville DE Ashton Gillotte, and Florida State DE Patrick Payton to round out the Top 5.

Conference newcomer Cal is represented with RB Jaydn Ott at 8th. Miami is represented with DE Rueben Bain Jr. 6th, QB Cam Ward 9th, and LB Francis Mauigoa an Honorable Mention.

Clemson also has two entrants on this list, with DL Peter Woods 10th and LB Barrett Carter 8th.

Biletnikoff Preseason Betting Odds for 2024

FanDuel has released odds for the Biletnikoff Award, awarded annually to the best pass catcher in college football.

Keeping in mind that the odds converted to a percent are a little lower than what the sportsbook thinks the true odds are (to make a profit), here’s what FanDuel thinks each player’s odds are of winning the Biletnikoff:

  1. Luther Burden, WR Missouri: +300 (25%)

  2. Evan Stewart, WR Oregon: +650 (13.33%)

  3. Tetairoa McMillan, WR Arizona: +850 (10.53%)

  4. Tez Johnson, WR Oregon: +1200 (7.69%)

  5. Xavier Restrepo, WR Miami: +1400 (6.67%)

  6. Emeka Egbuka, WR Ohio State: +1400 (6.67%)

  7. Jeremiah Smith, WR Ohio State: +1600 (5.88%)

  8. Deion Burks, WR Oklahoma: +1800 (5.26%)

  9. Kevin Concepcion, WR NC State: +2200 (4.35%)

  10. Tre Harris, WR Ole Miss: +2700 (3.57%)

  11. Zachariah Branch, WR USC: +2900 (3.33%)

  12. Kyren Lacy, WR LSU: +3000 (3.23%)

  13. Isaiah Bond, WR Texas: +3000 (3.23%)

  14. Dominic Lovett, WR Georgia: +3000 (3.23%)

  15. Travis Hunter, WR/CB Colorado: +3300 (2.94%)

  16. Germie Bernard, WR Alabama: +4000 (2.44%)

  17. Antwane Wells Jr., WR Ole Miss: +4500 (2.17%)

  18. Kobe Prentice, WR Alabama: +5000 (1.96%)

  19. Nic Anderson, WR Oklahoma: +6000 (1.64%)

  20. CJ Daniels, WR LSU: +6000 (1.64%)

Other Commitments/Decommitments

None!