Omaha basketball player Deng Mayar drowned Saturday in a Utah reservoir, police said.

Herriman police said Mayar died at Blackridge Reservoir after going underwater about 35 yards from shore.

Mayar, 22, was a graduate student who joined the Mavericks after playing two seasons for Summit League rival North Dakota. Mayar, from Salt Lake City, started 15 games in two seasons and averaged 6.3 points and 4.0 rebounds as a senior.

Omaha coach Chris Crutchfield said in a statement that Mayar had made “tremendous progress” during the summer.

“Deng was a joy to be around and made our culture better,” Crutchfield said. “We will miss him greatly.”

Herriman police responded to a 911 call reporting two people in distress at the reservoir. Sa Mafutaga, 21, made it to shore and then went back into the water to try to rescue Mayar. Bystanders entered the water to aid Mafutaga, who was treated at the scene and taken to a hospital. The report said Mafutaga is expected to recover.

Mayar’s body was recovered from the reservoir by authorities after several hours of searching.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt predicted the entire College Football Playoff field, results and national champion by season’s end. It promises to be a fascinating season and postseason.

The College Football Playoff adjusted its seeing process for the 12-team bracket this year. The five-highest ranked conference champions still make the field, but the top four don’t automatically get the top four seeds. It’ll be strictly by ranking at that point.

Without further ado, let’s dive into Klatt’s College Football Playoff predictions. We start with the four teams getting a first round bye.

First round byes

1. Penn State (Big Ten champion)
2. Texas (SEC champion)
3. Clemson (ACC champion)
4. Ohio State

Klatt went with three conference champs as the top seeds and an at-large bid for the defending national champions. Based on these seeds, Penn State gets one over Ohio State in the championship game.

Klatt also has Texas and Clemson winning their respective conferences to get a bye in the College Football Playoff. A lot different than playing in the first round last season.

12. Boise State (5th highest ranked conf. champion) at 5. Georgia – Winner faces Ohio State

Klatt has Boise State back in the College Football Playoff this coming season, but grabbing the final seed. To be fair, they’ll have a quality season to be the fifth highest ranked conference champion.

Now, here’s the hard part. They have to go to Athens to play the Bulldogs in the first round. Georgia goes into the 2025 season as one of the contenders for the national title. This will be a monumental task.

Michigan will return to the College Football Playoff under Sherrone Moore, despite financial penalties and suspensions from the sign stealing scandal. The Wolverines set up to be better in Year 2, especially at quarterback.

It’ll be a Big Ten matchup against the Ducks, who just won the league last year and were the top seed. Oregon plays host so they’ll certainly have the advantage in this first round game.

Notre Dame gets a home game for the second straight College Football Playoff. But instead of Indiana making a Cinderella run, it’s LSU finally making the dance.

Brian Kelly is certainly under the gun to get the Tigers into the 12-team playoff. He has the team to do so, especially at QB with Garrett Nussmeier. But going to South Bend won’t be easy, especially for Kelly’s return. 

Kansas State is the final conference champion on Klatt’s list and they’ll get a home game by virtue of their seeding at No. 8. In Manhattan, Avery Johnson and crew will welcome the Crimson Tide.

You want Bama? Well, you’ll get them in the College Football Playoff. Kalen DeBoer plugged some holes through the transfer portal, the coaching staff and pure development. While they won’t win the SEC, they might even be road favorites in this game.

Georgia and Ohio State, remember that field goal attempt? Sorry Ohio State fans, but your Buckeyes did just win it all last year!

This would be a fascinating matchup on a neutral site. It’s tough to tell this far out, but this game could be a true tossup in the College Football Playoff.

Alabama gets the win over Kansas State on the road and advances to play the top seed. If this isn’t the year James Franklin gets it done for the Nittany Lions, when will it be?

On paper, Penn State should have the advantage over Alabama at most of the key positions. This is a College Football Playoff quarterfinal you won’t want to miss.

The Ducks beat Michigan in the first round to advance to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. It’ll be Dan Lanning’s first CFP victory, but it’ll be his last, at least this season.

Clemson looks loaded this year with a veteran roster. Led by QB Cade Klubnik, this Tigers’ team looks like one that could win it all for the first time in seven years.

The matchup we nearly had in last year’s College Football Playoff national championship. This time, we get it in the quarterfinals. Marcus Freeman is one heck of a coach and he’ll have the Irish in position to make another run.

Texas is too good though. Arch Manning and crew will get to the semifinals for the third straight year, per Klatt. Now, can they actually finish the deal?

How about a third matchup between these teams? Klatt has it happening in this year’s College Football Playoff.

We can assume, if Ohio State is the fourth seed, the two teams split the regular season and Big Ten title games. The rubber match? It goes to the Buckeyes as they advance to their second straight national championship.

Clemson and Texas get their College Football Playoff rematch from last year’s first round. Will Steve Sarkisian get over the hump? Or will Dabo Swinney return to the top of the mountain?

It’s the latter as Klatt predicted Clemson to give Texas their straight CFP semifinal loss. It appears experience rules in this situation.

So now we get to the big game. Not, not “the Big Game.” The College Football Playoff national championship features familiar programs in Ohio State and Clemson.

Ohio State will fall short of the repeat, per Klatt. Clemson will finally get it done for the first time since pre-COVID. Cade Klubnik, Peter Woods and TJ Parker will end their Tiger careers as champions.

When so many times NIL is something that turns fans off in the college game, every once in a while we’re reminding how great it can actually be. One of those times has arrived, as two Texas A&M athletes: QB Marcel Reed and RB Rueben Owens, are featured in a new Sonic Drive-In ad featuring Terry Crews and his “School of Acting for Athletes.”

Reed and Owens are joined by Texas Longhorns Colin Simmons, Ryan Wingo and Michael Taffe, but try not to focus on that part.

(KBTX) – Today’s standout college athlete has plenty of coaching resources when it comes to their skills on the field. But how many get endorsement training?

Fast-food chain SONIC has provided just that to a pair of Aggie football stars.

Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed and running back Rueben Owens inked name, image, and likeness deals to appear in commercials for SONIC, according to a release from the chain. As a part of the deal, they were given mocumentary-style training by actor and former pro football player Terry Crews.

“They’re no longer just athletes and they’re more than just actors. They’re like, act-letes,” Crews said comically in a video.

The pair will appear in the four episodic commercials alongside three Texas football standouts: Safety Michael Taaffe, defensive lineman Colin Simmons, and wide receiver Ryan Wingo.

The release continued, “An ensemble cast of five current college football players from Texas A&M and the University of Texas at Austin will help bring the drama, rivalries and burger-fueled antics to life — with the SONIC Smasher Cheeseburger at the center of it all.”

Crews poked fun at the world of college athletes having to put their acting chops on display for NIL deals by running the five athletes through a series of comical acting exercises, shown in the video on SONIC’s YouTube channel. He is the right man for the job having featured in shows such as America’s Got Talent and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, as well as having played college football at Western Michigan before a career in the NFL spanning from 1991 to 1996.

During the “training” Owens attempted, and failed, to say, “Sally sells seasoned SONIC Smasher’s by the seashore.” Crews then asks Reed to give him “prey eyes” while Crews reciprocates with “predator eyes.”

“Marcel’s prey eyes were really convincing. I felt like he was really scared,” Crews joked in the video.

The “act-letes” will appear on your screen, starting the weekend of Aug. 30.

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