Florida extended an offer to 2027 four-star safety Charles Roberts back when he played at Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills, California. He made the move to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida for his sophomore season in 2024, and his interest in the Gators has only grown since being in the Sunshine State.

“It’s been good, they’re showing great interest and love toward me,” Roberts told Swamp247.

Roberts, a 6-foot, 180-pound safety, has built a strong relationship with safeties’ coach Vinnie Sunseri, and it’s a relationship that goes back to Sunseri’s time at Washington for the 2024 season. 

ECU quarterback Houser excited for start of season… In-state college football coaches gather at annual Pigskin Preview… Pernetti on Memphis’ attempted move to Big 12: Your job is to do what’s best for the school; American Conference deserves fair shot at College Football Playoff… Trump signs order to clarify college athletes’ employment status amid NIL chaos

Pirate Press: ECU Headlines

WNCT 9

• ECU quarterback Houser excited for start of season
• Football coaches from across American Athletic Conference talk upcoming season
• In-state college football coaches gather at annual Pigskin Preview
• Belk Foundation awards ECU $250k teacher research grant

Blake Harrell responds to NC State’s Dave Doeren saying he wants to ‘beat the s***’ out of ECU in 2025 On3

CBS Sports

• American Media Day: Blake Harrell on NC State opener, suspended players
• American Conference Media Day: ECU OLB Ryheem Craig
• Browns’ Winston Wright: Catches on with Cleveland

247 Sports

• ECU coach Blake Harrell addresses player suspensions for initial time
• Katin Houser’s journey to earning QB1 designation at East Carolina has been several years in the making
• American Conference Media Day: Everything Blake Harrell said at his press conference
• Intriguing 2027 DT from North Carolina enjoys camp in Columbia

‘Learn the lesson’: Harrell talks suspensions Greenville Daily Reflector (sub req’d)

Savannah’s Winston Wright Jr. signs with Cleveland Browns WJCL

YAHOO!

• BYU’s Non-Conference Foe Suspends 3 Players Indefinitely After Arrests 
• 2025 Preseason Bowl Projections: Predicting Every Game from December 26 to 29

Rockies land 2 pitching prospects from Yanks for McMahon  Major League Baseball

Rockies trade Ryan McMahon to Yankees for two pitching prospects  The Denver Post

Yankees acquire Ryan McMahon from Rockies, fill key need at third base  The New York Times

17 of the best walk-ons in college football history NCAA

Around the American Athletic Conference

American Athletic Conference

• Head Coach Press Conferences from 2025 American Kickoff
• Commissioner Pernetti’s Press Conference at the American Kickoff
• Two-Sport Stars? American Football Players Take Batting Practice at Truist Field

The Associated Press

• Pernetti on Memphis’ attempted move to Big 12: Your job is to do what’s best for the school 
• American Conference deserves fair shot at College Football Playoff, commissioner says

News on 6

• What we learned from Tim Pernetti at American Football Media Day
• Watch: Tulsa’s Tre Lamb makes confident debut at American Media Days

Jeff Monken: Army approach must stay the same in bid to repeat as American champions  Times Herald-Record

Navy football welcomes high expectations entering 2025 season The Baltimore Sun

At American media days, K.C. Keeler says quarterback Evan Simon ‘is not locked in as the starter’ Philadelphia Inquirer

Where’s the poll? American Conference drops preseason football media days ranking. NOLA.com

Charlotte 49ers football coach, AD take center stage as American kicks off season Charlotte Observer

USA Today

• How Ryan Silverfield, American commissioner reacted to Memphis attempt to join Big 12 
• Jeff Monken: Army approach must stay the same in bid to repeat as American champions
• What Tulane’s Jon Sumrall said about adding BYU QB Jake Retzlaff, Memphis football rivalry

AAC rebrands as American Conference in move designed to fuel growth in changing college landscape  WGNO

Trent Dilfer addresses UAB program: ‘I’ve been broken’ ABC 33 40

‘Checked all the boxes’: How a Troy connection led QB Jake Retzlaff to his next program AL.com

American Conference commissioner addresses Memphis-UTSA leaked playbook scandal Yardbarker

An ex-Memphis player allegedly leaked team’s playbook. His new school, Purdue, says that’s ‘mischaracterized.’  Chicago Tribune

American Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti ‘very aware’ of Memphis’ conversations with Big 12 On3

Regional Headlines: The Carolinas and beyond

What NC State coach Dave Doeren said at Pigskin Preview On3

Dave Doeren sends fiery message about rematch against East Carolina Saturday Blitz

Sports Illustrated

• Everything Doeren Said During Opening Remarks at ACC Media Days
• Inside the ACC: Takeaways from Each Team From ACC Media Days

Raleigh News & Observer

• With a sportcoat, even a grin, UNC coach Bill Belichick does the banquet circuit
• What NC State football learned last season that it can carry into 2025
• Wide receiver Jordan Shipp has barely played, but he’s ready to help lead UNC football
• Video: UNC’s Bill Belichick on his quarterbacks
• NC State roster allowed to remain at 125 thanks to House settlement exception
• Ready for a redemption tour, key NC State defender cleared for 2025 season
• Can Duke QB Darian Mensah show he’s more than a big NIL deal? He intends to
• Hurricanes rookie earns big pay raise, contract extension after one NHL season
• ‘Not a laughingstock.’ Panthers’ Adam Thielen reacts to national opinion on WRs

WRAL

• NC Central football coach accuses ACC school of tampering with player on sideline
• Trump signs order to clarify college athletes’ employment status amid NIL chaos
• House v. NCAA settlement will forever change college sports. What it is, what it means and how it works
• What president Trump’s college sports order does and does not do
• Is the ACC in a good place? Will new NIL rules be enforced? Pat Welter and Brian Murphy break down Jim Phillips forum
• Which UNC athletes will get paid and why others will lose out
• Brian Murphy on college revenue sharing: ‘Each individual school can decide how they spend the money’
• New UNC men’s basketball general manager already earns first raise
• Doeren 1-on-1: Continuity is an advantage for Wolfpack
• UNC’s Belichick can’t hide from spotlight at ACC Kickoff
• Belichick: Developing players is what we do
• Doeren: Wolfpack humble and hungry ahead of ’25 season
• Diaz: Devils are strong, fast

Virginia Tech and South Carolina to clash in Atlanta with deep family ties WHSV

Charleston Post & Courier

• An American icon: Hulk Hogan was the heartbeat of a generation
• Top 25 of the last 25: Gamecocks’ All-Century Team
• Hair today, gone tomorrow; The Citadel football players donate hair to charitable foundation
• Hamilton: Belichick’s blandness has never been more captivating
• Gamecock women will be down one key player in 2025-26
• Clemson lands commitment from son of former player
• Top 25 of the last 25: Clemson’s best defensive players since 2000
• Clemson might be ACC favorites, but Swinney tells media ‘Y’all can’t predict us there’

Norfolk State to begin Michael Vick chapter with two night games at home  Norfolk Virginian-Pilot

The Blackhawks took a gamble on Mason West in more ways than one.

The Hawks traded back into the first round of last month’s draft to take the hulking forward with No. 29 overall pick. Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson admitted he wanted to roll the dice on a hunch that West is going to be a great NHL player.

West has major boom-or-bust potential.

He is massive at 6-foot-6 with good skating ability and excellent vision. He gets that vision from being an elite high school quarterback. The bust ability comes from still being raw, and the speculation he can still choose to play football.

West is a standout prep quarterback at Edina High School in Minnesota. West has said his future is in hockey. That has not dissuaded some college teams.

College football programs are still interested in changing West’s mind.

According to the Athletic’s Blackhawks beat writer Scott Powers, college football programs are still trying to recruit him.

Powers talked with West’s high school coach, Jason Potts, who confirmed that programs are still making inquiries.

West is committed to playing his senior football season. Once the season is over, the plan is for him to go play for the USHL’s Fargo Force, where he will focus on hockey full-time.

He is committed to play at Michigan State next year on a hockey scholarship. You can be sure some Michigan State fans will be calling for him to join the team the moment a major injury at quarterback or defeat hapens.

The Hawks will just have to deal with that speculation.

Potts did say West has not thrown for any major programs and seems committed to playing hockey once the football season ends.

West even talked with controversial Super Bowl-winning head coach Jon Gruden on his Barstool show about his commitment to hockey over football.

The Blackhawks are reportedly fine with him playing one more year of high school football. The chances of him getting severely injured are just as good in the USHL as they are on a Minnesota high school football field.

Both are contact sports.

It is good that the Hawks are not sweating a potential injury.

What they will need to sweat out is the draw of college football and the NIL money that comes along with being a college quarterback. College QBs are getting millions. He could potentially make more playing one season of college football than he can on his NHL entry-level contract.

He can still draw NIL dollars playing college hockey. Also, he is already an NHL first-round pick with a chance to have a pro career. An NFL future is a huge unknown, so it makes sense for him to take the better odds of being a professional hockey player.

That still does not mean the draw of playing college football will go away. It will probably not go away until West signs his entry-level deal.

LAS VEGAS — College football’s future wore a baby blue suit, a gold pin that read “UCLA” and a pair of diamond-encrusted hoop earrings.

He glided toward the microphone, sat down, then prepared for the grilling about how much money he makes, why he left the University of Tennessee, who betrayed who when he departed Knoxville, and what it all means for the college football world that his story now defines.

Bottom line: If quarterback Nico Iamaleava handles this season as well as he did his half-hour Q&A on Thursday as the Big Ten Conference’s media days event wrapped up, chances are, UCLA will be good — maybe even very good — in 2025.

“I think it’s just: Keep my head down and be humble,” the 20-year-old California native said. “And try not to let the outside noise affect you.”

If he succeeds at that, he will have more discipline than a great majority of fans, experts and journalists who have filled the internet and airwaves with timelines and tick-tock analysis of a decision that shook college football and seemed to say everything about the burgeoning power that players wield in a world of name, image and likeness deals and a rapidly rotating NCAA transfer portal.

The thumbnail of the story is that Iamaleava was a successful quarterback who led Tennessee to the College Football Playoff last season, then abruptly picked up stakes to head much closer to home and play for UCLA.

Money seemed to be the most obvious motive. Reports circulated that he was looking for a raise — maybe a doubling to nearly $4 million a year — to remain with the Volunteers for his redshirt sophomore season this fall. Then in mid-April, he missed Tennessee’s final spring practice the day before its Orange & White intrasquad scrimmage. Just as abruptly, he was gone.

Tennessee coach Josh Heupel handled it diplomatically.

“Today’s landscape of college football is different than it has been,” he said at the time. “It’s unfortunate — the situation and where we’re at with Nico.”

Before he’d even enrolled at Tennessee, Iamaleava was causing his share of turmoil. It was his NIL deal with the Vols that triggered an NCAA investigation and a lawsuit by the attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia in January 2024.

The NCAA settled that lawsuit, and though there aren’t as many questions about who makes the payments to the players (the colleges can do it themselves now as result of another lawsuit settlement), recriminations that flowed when Iamaleava enrolled at Tennessee kept flowing after he made his move to UCLA.

Asked about what triggered his move and exactly when it happened, Iamaleava said it came around the time “false stuff about whether it was a financial thing or not” started coming out that made him “not feel comfortable in the position I was in.”

Then, in a revelation that not everyone appears quite ready to accept, he said moving closer to where he grew up — in Long Beach, about 30 miles from the UCLA campus — was the biggest piece of the puzzle. He was soon after joined by younger brother Madden, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound freshman quarterback who went through spring practices at Arkansas this year before transferring to UCLA.

“My driving factor to come back home was my family, and I hope every Tennessee fan understands that,” Iamaleava said. “It was really one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make.”

He will not delve into finances, though most of the reporting has shown that Iamaleava will make about as much, or just barely more, with the Bruins than he was making at Tennessee.

“All that stuff is for my business team and my agents to handle,” he said. “I just focus on football.”

Among the other questions consuming college football, and that Iamaleava’s saga reflects as well as anyone’s, is how a player who makes more money and generates more hype than anyone else in the locker room can possibly fit on a team that is still, at its core, filled with teenagers whose football lives will end in college.

UCLA’s second-year head coach, DeShaun Foster, said he scouted that part when the prospect of Iamaleava coming to Westwood became real.

“He’s a team guy and a family guy,” Foster said. “It just felt good that we were getting the right kind of quarterback.”

From a pure talent standpoint, hardly anyone argues that. Iamaleava was considered one of the country’s top prospects coming out of high school. The 6-6, 215-pounder threw for 2,616 yards and 19 touchdown last season, his first as Tennessee’s full-time starter, while leading the Vols to a 10-3 record overall, a 6-3 mark in the powerful Southeastern Conference, and the first 12-team edition of the College Football Playoff. Tennessee lost in the opening round, 42-17, at eventual national champion Ohio State.

As one of the theories about his departure goes, though, he and his family were less than thrilled about Tennessee’s ability to protect him. The Buckeyes sacked him four times, which meant Iamaleava finished the season having been sacked 28 times.

None other than ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit — a former Ohio State quarterback — dove into the mix when he said he’d heard Iamaleava’s dad had gone to Heupel in December and said, “Like, hey, listen, you’ve got to get better at offensive line, better at receiver.”

Speaking not so much about that specific story but to the realities of football, Foster said he knows keeping things clean in the pocket for Iamaleava will be key to his success.

“If he stays upright, things are going to go the right way,” said Foster, a former NFL running back who led the Bruins to a 5-7 overall record (3-6 in Big Ten play) last season in his debut campaign as his alma mater’s head coach.

And if things do “go the right way,” there’s at least a chance Iamaleava could be a one-and-done player at UCLA. He is widely thought to have NFL talent if he improves his mechanics and accuracy — two areas that will be helped by better protection — and might need only this season before declaring for the draft.

During his news conference at Big Ten media days, the quarterback brushed aside questions about pro football.

He also said he pays no mind to the billion-dollar questions swirling around the college game every day — most of them revolving around student-athlete compensation, freedom to transfer and other issues that have turned UCLA’s quarterback into a villian in some places, a hero in others, and a player to watch everywhere.

“I love college football,” Iamaleava said. “Everything that goes on with my name, that’s not going to change my love for the game. Obviously, everyone has to move on. I’m excited about what’s next for me. But I’m where my feet (are), and right now, I’m a UCLA football player and I’m excited to go to camp.”