NIL
Ole Miss' Golding details what Rebels look for on recruiting trail and in the transfer portal
OXFORD — Ole Miss has had tremendous success in the transfer portal during the Lane Kiffin era.
Perhaps even more pointedly, the Rebels’ success in recruiting — both in the portal and via the high school ranks — has ticked up precipitously since Pete Golding left Tuscaloosa for Oxford.
It’s not coincidence. There’s a plan.
Kiffin, Golding and Co. know what they’re looking for in the portal. In some ways, it’s obvious — the Rebels want talented players who can compete and thrive in the Southeastern Conference. In other ways, however, it’s more complicated than that.
“The tape evaluation is easy,” Golding said Thursday following Ole Miss’ practice. “Y’all can watch the tape and say, ‘Man, he’s a good player.’ No. 1, it’s a football intelligence standpoint. He was in English. Now he’s coming here and it’s fixing to be French. Does he have the ability to process it and get on the field and show you the same things he was doing? No. 2 is what system is he in? A lot of systems have baseline certain characteristics that make them good players. You can move them to a different spot and they’re not a good player anymore because it’s not the same system. We’re specifically looking for certain traits.”
The Ole Miss defensive coordinator is beginning his third year with the Rebels after a long stint with Nick Saban at Alabama. In Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide recruited five-stars by the bushel. Ole Miss has taken a different approach under Kiffin. At both places, chemistry and culture were paramount.
“When most guys aren’t playing where they are, there’s a reason,” Golding said. “A lot of times in the portal there’s this five-star recruit, this highly-recruited player who didn’t pan out and never played. There’s a reason he didn’t play, whether he’s not athletic enough, not fast enough or didn’t have a high enough football IQ to understand the defense.
“We don’t take guys in the portal that weren’t starters where they were at, No. 1. Obviously, if you’re not good enough to play for them, you’re not good enough to play for us, regardless of what team you’re on.”
Another thing Golding said the Rebels emphasize in the portal is fit — on the field and off of it.
“Is this someone players want to be around?” Golding said. “We put a lot on our players when we bring a guy in on an (official visit) and they’re hanging out with him. We get their feedback before we ever take a guy because they actually hung out with him outside this building and saw some true colors.
“There are some people that love football and there are some people who love football for what it can do for them. The paycheck looks good, the car is good and the condo is better and they’re going to the country club with the coaches and they’re doing all those things, but at the end of the day, when shit gets hard, they don’t love football. They start running from it.”
Last season, Ole Miss was first in the SEC — and second nationally — in scoring defense. Nine starters are gone from that team, including first-round draft choice Walter Nolen, second-round pick Trey Amos and third-round choice Princely Umanmielen. The Rebels also lost linebacker Pooh Paul and defensive lineman JJ Pegues to the draft.
That defense, Golding said, proved to high school recruits and portal transfer targets alike that they could come to Ole Miss, compete in the best conference in college football and still lead the SEC in defense.
Of course, what happened last year means nothing this fall. A replenished defense will have to prove its own mettle.
“That was last year,” Golding said. “That was the thing when we had our first spring meeting. The legacy of that team is over. This defense hasn’t done anything. The standard is the same but we have to come to work every day. We have enough talent in the room. We have some tough guys in that room who have a high football IQ, love to compete and play football. We have the same kind of guys right now.”
Ole Miss returns to the practice field Friday. The Rebels open the season Aug. 30 at home versus Georgia State.
Keeping it real: Golding said the quiet part out loud on Thursday, admitting what everyone knows is the case in this era of college football. Relationships matter, sure, but the deciding factor is often money, whether in comes in the form of revenue sharing, NIL or some combination thereof.
“Every recruit’s going to tell you the relationship’s the most important thing and you’re going to give them a thousand examples of the guy that recruited them is not even there when they signed,” Golding said. “…There’s the business side of it. You might like this new boss you’re interviewing with but if they only offer you half the money, you’re not going, I don’t care how much you like to drink a beer with him. It’s not going to matter.”
It’s why handling recruiting losses the right way matters now more than ever. Two years ago, when Amos was in the portal from Louisiana-Lafayette, Golding lost out to Alabama. Golding told Amos, a star cornerback, Alabama wasn’t going to play him in front of future NFL standouts Kool-Aid McKinstry and Terrion Arnold. A year later, when Amos entered the portal again, Golding got his man.
“I’m not getting pissed off when a guy picks Oklahoma over us,” Golding said. “I’m upset. We have to do a better job recruiting and we have to do a better job selling it, but it’s not like I’m going to tell him, ‘Kid, go to hell.’ It’s best of luck to you. We’re here. You know where to find us. Obviously that day comes for everybody.”
Leftovers:
— On Jaylon Braxton:
“We’ve played him at both spots since he’s been here. He came in rehabbing an injury, so we started him at free safety in the spring to learn that position because it’s a harder spot because he’s never played it. In the summer, he worked nothing but corner.”
Braxton will play different spots, based on who is healthy. His versatility is a huge benefit for the Rebels.
“He’s got an elite skill set. He’s got a really high football IQ. He’s just getting back now to where he’s healthy.”
— On Kam Franklin:
“I think Kam, probably, from a defensive standpoint, has the biggest improvement from Day 1 to where he is now. Obviously, from a film evaluation standpoint from high school, we knew he had the tools. …I think he’s really heavy-handed. I think he’s got more twitch than people think and his length becomes a problem.”
Golding said Franklin could move into the role left vacant by Jared Ivey’s departure to the NFL.
“He’s playing himself into an every-down player, which is really exciting.”
— On Princewell Umanmielen:
“Princewell is very heavy-handed. …He can line up as a six-technique over the tight end. He can line up as a five-technique over a tackle. He can put his body, somebody in B-gap and you can try to move him on third down to get the matchup you want because he can be a problem. I think right now he’s more of an every-down player at this time than his brother (Princely) was at that time.”
Dec. 11, 2025, 10:18 a.m. PT
Coaching turnover has always been part of college football’s rhythm.
Programs chase fresh starts. New faces arrive with promises of new visions. Administrators convince themselves the next hire will be the one to deliver on long-held dreams.
This year, though, the churn has reached a new level.
So far, schools have shelled out a record $185 million in buyouts, per Front Office Sports, as programs rush to beat recruiting deadlines, leverage NIL advantages and stay afloat in the transfer-portal arms race.
Twenty-eight head coaches have been fired or moved this cycle — not an all-time high, but part of a striking pattern. Since NIL arrived in 2021, yearly totals have hovered at unprecedented levels: 28 in 2025, 29 in 2024, 31 in 2023, 24 in 2022 and 28 in 2021.
Before that, from 2008 to 2020, only four seasons exceeded 27 coaching changes, per 247Sports. All other years came in at 24 or fewer, and 24 occurred only once.
The explanation isn’t complicated. College football now operates more like the NFL. Coaches earn massive salaries, players earn real money and boosters and administrators expect results immediately.
Miss the playoff? Miss a championship window? A reset often follows. And on the flip side, coaches see opportunities — bigger checks, better NIL setups, deeper recruiting pockets — and don’t hesitate to move.
So what happens to recruits caught in the middle? What happens to the kid who picked UCLA because of DeShaun Foster, only to see him gone three weeks into the season? Or to the recruit who committed to Stanford and watched Troy Taylor lose his job a month later?
Two of San Joaquin County’s top prospects, Edison’s Langdon Horace and St. Mary’s Kenneth Moore III, know the turbulence firsthand.
As Moore III put it, “It’s like recruiting all over again.”
‘UCLA felt like home for me’
The UCLA recruiting camp was winding down, heading into the one-on-one portion of the day.
Recruits circled the field as coaches called out the top wideout and top defensive back for a showcase rep. Moore III was named the receiver.
Not bad for a kid who wasn’t even planning to be there. The four-star recruit had sworn he was finished with camps after Stanford — his dream school — let him walk away from its camp without an offer.
Then came the rep. One snap. One picture-perfect release. One clean grab. That was all Foster needed.
Before Moore could even catch his breath, the UCLA offer arrived.
“It’s a place I’ve always wanted to go,” Moore III said. “It has outstanding academics, the football speaks for itself, and you’re in Los Angeles — the connections you can make there, the networking, the people you meet. The coaching staff and recruiting staff who are still there continue to show me love to this day.”
Not even six months later, Moore made it official, committing on Nov. 23, 2024.
“My advice to him was, don’t pick a school because of a coach,” his father, Kenneth Moore Jr., said. “Obviously, those are the people you build relationships with, but at the end of the day, the school and campus life matter. I told him that has to be at the forefront of his mind when he’s choosing a school.
“Football season lasts for a quarter of the year. You’re still going to be there six months after that.”
It felt like any other Sunday. St. Mary’s had just faced Oak Ridge two nights earlier, and Moore III was trying to make up for lost sleep. His phone kept buzzing, and he kept silencing it — until he finally checked the screen.
“What are you going to do?” the text read.
Foster, the very coach who offered him, was fired on Sept. 14, 2025.
“I didn’t know how to feel at first, because I’d never really experienced a head coach getting fired,” Moore III said. “I didn’t know what to do.”
He dialed his dad, talked it through and hung up — and right then, it hit. Schools were back in the mix instantly.
“It was hard, because there’s no right answer on what to do when a coach gets fired,” Moore III said. “It put me in a tough spot. UCLA was where I committed, it was where I wanted to be, and then all of a sudden, that happens. It’s like recruiting all over again.”
He even took an official visit to Washington State, his father Kenny Moore Jr.’s alma mater, but ultimately decided UCLA was still where he wanted to be. He signed on Dec. 3.
“The positive in all of this is that UCLA’s recruiting staff never stopped making Kenny a priority,” Moore Jr. said. “From day one, he’s been their guy, and even with all the changes, that hasn’t changed. They call him every single day. They always tell him, ‘Other schools are going to love you, but we’re going to love you harder.’”
Graduating from St. Mary’s this month rather than waiting until spring gives him extra breathing room. It’s time he’ll use to settle in under new UCLA coach Bob Chesney, connect with the staff and get familiar with the place he’s about to call home.
“It was cool to see where my dad went to college, because he always talked about why he chose it,” Moore III said. “He had a bunch of offers in high school, too. It was cool to see what drew him there. It was a great place, but it wasn’t for me. It wasn’t home.
“UCLA felt like home for me.”
‘Never left in the dark’
A Stanford offer is different from most. To even be considered, a recruit must first meet the school’s admissions standards.
So when Edison three-star wide receiver Langdon Horace received his offer on Jan. 31, 2025, the decision came quickly. By Feb. 21, he was committed.
“As soon as the offer came, the love was immediate,” Langdon said. “It just felt different. It felt genuine. The coaches call me pretty much every day. Knowing I’m high on their board, I felt like out of all the schools I had, this one gave me the best chance to be good at my sport.”
Soon after, Stanford fired coach Troy Taylor on March 25.
The news was still breaking when wide receivers coach Tyler Osborne — the coach who’d offered him — was already calling. Whatever uncertainty Langdon felt in those first few seconds vanished instantly.
Osborne checked in at every step: when Frank Reich was appointed interim coach, during the search for a long-term hire and again when Tavita Pritchard officially took over.
“I was never left in the dark,” Horace said. “They were able to keep me updated, and that’s what really helped.”
It doesn’t hurt, either, when the general manager is Andrew Luck, the former No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft.
“He definitely knows what he’s doing,” Horace said. “He was one of the great quarterbacks, and he’s so smart that there was never any worry. When someone who’s already done what you hope to do is running the program, it becomes easy to trust him and want to learn from him.”
He added, “Most of our conversations are about how I play and how excited he is for me to get there. And when I got the news that I’d been admitted into the school, coach Luck was the first to call me.”
Pritchard was officially hired on Nov. 28, and reached out to Horace the following day. Six days after that call, Horace signed.
“He just told me that he’s seeing my film and likes how I play,” Horace said. “Just him as a coach, what I’ve heard and what I’ve seen, you know, I definitely trust him. I think he’s going to be a great addition to the staff, and I put all my trust in Him, and I think we’re going to be great moving forward.”
BATON ROUGE — LSU Athletics and Nike have announced an extension to their five-decade long partnership through 2036, Director of Athletics announced on Thursday.
Alongside the extension, LSU will be leading off Nike’s Blue Ribbon Elite NIL program, a first-of-its-kind partnership, representing a broad portfolio of athletes across disciplines, reimagining the NIL space by providing schools and athletes an unmatched level of collaboration that prioritizes the future of sport and athlete identity.
“LSU and Nike are two of the top brands in sport and an ideal duo,” said Ausberry. “We are both continuously looking to innovate and stay ahead of the game, and that’s what we intend to do in the future with this extended partnership.
“LSU has always been at the forefront of NIL strategy, and as the launchpad for Nike Blue Ribbon Elite, we look forward to working with Nike to offer our student-athletes unrivaled opportunities to capitalize on their brands.”
Nike’s Blue Ribbon Elite program could have started anywhere in the country, but it launches in Baton Rouge, representing another example of LSU leading the way, and remaining at the forefront, in the new collegiate model.
Among the LSU student-athletes joining Nike’s growing roster of elite NIL athletes are:
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- , Baseball
- , Softball
- , Baseball
- , Football
- , Softball
- , Basketball
- , Football
- , Volleyball
- , Basketball
Nike’s partnership with each Blue Ribbon Elite athlete and their universities will go beyond brand representation, inspiring the student body and community to collaborate through brand campaigns, product innovation and creative direction.
Nike’s commitment to listening to the voices of its NIL athletes takes form in individual, personalized support, both in their performance and training and in their most important moments away from the game.
From product and styling to support with media and content, Nike leverages the full weight of the brand to provide a best-in-class partnership to athletes across the brand’s NIL roster — giving them tools for long-term success across sport, business and culture.
“College sport is woven into Nike’s DNA, and we’ve always believed its future should be shaped in lockstep with athletes,” says Ann Miller, EVP, Global Sports Marketing. “Renewing our partnership with LSU and welcoming 10 new NIL athletes is about more than gear.
“It’s about collaboration, creativity and meaningful impact, giving athletes a platform to influence product, innovation, storytelling and culture. LSU and these athletes aren’t just representing Nike – they’re helping us redefine what partnership means in this new era of college sport.”
Since NIL began in 2021, LSU Athletics has been considered a leader in the space. As college athletics has shifted, LSU has remained at the forefront, leveraging the power of its brand and corporate market to provide unrivaled earning opportunity to its student-athletes.
“As we head into 2026, leading in NIL doesn’t just mean money,” said , LSU Deputy AD for External Affairs. “Excelling in today’s competitive NIL space also means offering the best access to and execution of true third-party deals.
“LSU provides elite earning potential to our student-athletes, but our greatest edge is the volume of special opportunities available to them when they put on the purple and gold.”
Nike and LSU, two iconic brands in the world of sport, continue to set the standard in the NIL landscape – together.
What They’re Saying
DJ Pickett, Football, Freshman
“LSU is just one of those places you fall in love with. They care about you as a person and help you build your brand on and off the field. And throughout my recruiting process, I really wanted to go to a Nike school.
“So being in this position now, I don’t take it for granted. This is just the start of my desire to show people that you can make it in your own way and whatever path you choose.
“For me, it’s about stacking good days and learning and competing on every rep. If I can do that and help someone else believe they can too, that means I’m doing something right.”
Tori Edwards, Softball, Redshirt Sophomore
“Nike has been the brand I’ve worn my whole life, so when I got the call about this opportunity, I was like, ‘Can you please repeat that?’ I was like, wait…hold up. And for Nike to launch this new program and NIL approach with LSU, it makes it even more special.”
“In this moment, I am reminded why I chose LSU in the first place. It’s never been just about the sport or championships. LSU cares about us as people, and they’re invested in us to make sure we’re prepared for life. With Nike, it’s the same feeling. It’s exciting to be a part of two powerhouses, and I want little girls to know that if you love something, work hard, and stay determined, you can make it to the stage you want.”
Casan Evans, Baseball, Sophomore
“How would I describe Nike? GOAT. I’m so thankful, and I’m excited to be a part of a special group, a special brand, and a special school.”
Dedan Thomas Jr., Basketball, Junior
“I feel like what’s special about Nike is how well they take care of their athletes. There’s a reason Nike is known for being at the forefront of athlete marketing. It feels really good to be a partner with the brand now, and I’m excited to see what we do with the shared values we have.”
Jayden Heavener, Softball, Sophomore
“It’s really important to me to be able to help build softball and get it recognized more. This partnership will help enable that. I’m also excited to just be able to spread the love of the Swoosh. When I told my mom about this, she freaked out and jokingly already asked for Christmas gifts.”
Zakiyah Johnson, Basketball, Freshman
“The only way is up for women’s basketball. Nike recognizes that and is all about empowering athletes. So, I am thrilled to continue to bring my personality, energy and style to everything I do, on and off the court, and push the game forward.”
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The jump from college football to the NFL is a difficult transition for the average college football player. That jump is magnified for the average college football coach.
National champion head coaches such as Lou Holtz, Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban have left prominent college football jobs only to return after unsuccessful stints in the NFL. Coaches such as Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh have succeeded in the NFL after many years in the college ranks, but the former is true for most coaches looking to make the jump.
The NFL currently has two head coaching vacancies: the Tennessee Titans and the New York Giants. Among the coaches being floated around for the Giants’ vacancy is Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman.
Since Notre Dame was excluded from the 2025 College Football Playoff field, Freeman’s odds have spiked to become the next head coach of the Giants.
Marcus Freeman now favored for Giants HC job
Full Odds 🔗 https://t.co/BaCltfep4A pic.twitter.com/sHRTkkzMtX
— 104.5 ESPN (@1045espn) December 9, 2025
Freeman joined the Notre Dame staff as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2021. He had served in the same roles at Cincinnati in the previous four seasons.
Brian Kelly left Notre Dame to take the LSU head coaching vacancy at the conclusion of the 2021 season. Freeman was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach.
Despite a start with losses at Ohio State (21-10) and against Marshall (26-21), Freeman guided the Fighting Irish to a 10-3 season in 2022 that culminated in a 45-38 victory over South Carolina in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. The Fighting Irish suffered losses to Ohio State (17-14), at Louisville (33-20), and at Clemson (31-23) in 2023, but they once again reached 10 wins.
The 2024 season was an upward surge for Freeman at Notre Dame. Despite an early loss to Northern Illinois (16-14), the Fighting Irish won their other 11 games to return to the College Football Playoff for the first time in four seasons. Notre Dame took down Indiana (27-17), Georgia (23-10) and Penn State (27-24) before falling to Ohio State (34-23) in the national championship.
THE OHIO STATE BUCKEYES ARE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 🏆 pic.twitter.com/hmUfs8cuGw
— The Triple Option (@3xOptionShow) January 21, 2025
Should Freeman leave for the Giants, he will head to an organization that has not had the same head coach for more than four seasons since Tom Coughlin (2004-15). Ben McAdoo (2016-17), Pat Shurmur (2018-19) and Joe Judge (2020-21) each coached the Giants for about two full seasons before their terminations.
Brian Daboll was the last head coach terminated by the Giants on Nov. 10. Despite winning the NFL Coach of the Year in 2022, he finished his tenure with the Giants 20-40-1.
The #Giants are firing coach Brian Daboll, sources say. A promising and frustrating season leads NYG to have an opening. pic.twitter.com/0hB84Yb6s8
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 10, 2025
Nike is taking another major step into the NIL space. In the process, the company is also strengthening its relationship with LSU.
Nike announced an extension with the Tigers through 2036, continuing a partnership that spans more than five decades. In addition, the brand launched the new Blue Ribbon Elite NIL program, featuring 10 LSU athletes as its first NIL deals.
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Two LSU football players, DJ Pickett and Trey’Dez Green, are part of the initiative. Gymnastics’ Kailin Chio, baseball players Derek Curiel and Casan Evans, softball players Tori Edwards and Jayden Heavener, volleyball’s Jurnee Robinson, men’s basketball’s Dedan Thomas and women’s basketball’s ZaKiyah Johnson are also on board.
“LSU and Nike are two of the top brands in sport and an ideal duo. We are both continuously looking to innovate and stay ahead of the game, and that’s what we intend to do in the future with this extended partnership,” said LSU athletics director Verge Ausberry in a statement. “LSU has always been at the forefront of NIL strategy, and as the launchpad for Nike Blue Ribbon Elite, we look forward to working with Nike to offer our student-athletes unrivaled opportunities to capitalize on their brands.”
Blue Ribbon Elite makes Nike the latest company to launch an NIL-focused initiative with its partner schools. Adidas has been doing something similar, including NIL components in new agreements at schools such as Tennessee and Penn State.
Through Blue Ribbon Elite, Nike will collaborate with athletes through campaigns with the brand, as well as product innovation and creative direction. Nike has already been active in the NIL space, signing multiple notable deals with college football stars this year, not to mention its growing basketball roster. Now, The Swoosh is taking the next step toward working with athletes in addition to their schools.
“College sport is woven into Nike’s DNA, and we’ve always believed its future should be shaped in lockstep with athletes,” said Ann Miller, Nike executive vice president of global marketing, in a statement. “Renewing our partnership with LSU and welcoming 10 new NIL athletes is about more than gear.
“It’s about collaboration, creativity and meaningful impact, giving athletes a platform to influence product, innovation, storytelling and culture. LSU and these athletes aren’t just representing Nike — they’re helping us redefine what partnership means in this new era of college sport.”
Nike is expanding its footprint in the name, image and likeness space.
The renowned footwear and apparel company announced Thursday that a new approach to partnering with college athletes is underway. In conjunction with announcing a long-term partnership extension with LSU that runs through 2036, Nike is unveiling the Blue Ribbon Elite NIL program. The program is a new collective within Nike that will feature 10 LSU athletes across football, basketball, gymnastics, softball, baseball and volleyball.
The Blue Ribbon Elite program — named after one of the first shoe brands created by Nike founder Phil Knight — will not only feature monetary and product-based contractual deals with athletes but also will expand to collaborations with product innovation, brand campaigns and creative designs for each athlete.
“I would tell you LSU is one of the first; it won’t be the last,” said Ann Miller, Nike executive vice president of global sports marketing, in an interview with The Athletic. “As you can imagine, lots of colleges and universities are excited about that, and we’re working with many of them. This one opportunistically came at the right time with the announcement of the renewal.”
Collectives are typically backed by boosters, businesses and fans to create NIL opportunities for college athletes, and now Nike wants to get in the mix with its own. Though the company has numerous existing NIL partnerships with individual college athletes, the latest move to create an LSU-based collective signals Nike’s desire to leverage the brand of a particular program.
LSU athletes joining Nike’s NIL list are Kailin Chio (gymnastics), Derek Curiel (baseball), Tori Edwards (softball), Casan Evans (baseball), Trey’Dez Green (football), Jayden Heavener (softball), ZaKiyah Johnson (basketball), DJ Pickett (football), Jurnee Robinson (volleyball) and Dedan Thomas Jr. (basketball).
“With Nike and LSU’s help, I’m excited to show little girls — especially the ones that look like me — that being yourself is all you need to do to get to where you want to be,” Robinson said.
Miller said investing in players at this level goes beyond just putting a Swoosh on their shirt or shoes. Nike wants to do what it has done for decades: help tell the stories of its athletes.
“What’s fundamentally different is that we’ve taken our time to really think about, how do we develop partnerships that are richer and deeper than just a, ‘Hey, we’ve signed you, it’s transactional and we don’t actually get to you know, we don’t get product insight, we don’t listen to your voice,’” Miller said.
“We’re really trying to flip it on its head and say if we’re going to work with you, it’s because we not only believe in you, not for what you might be later, but for what you are right now and the value you have right now.”
Miller said before the launch of the school-specific collective, Nike had NIL partnerships with about 50 athletes at 15 universities across the country. Some recent prominent Nike NIL athletes include USC star basketball player Juju Watkins, Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams and former UConn star Paige Bueckers, who was the first NIL athlete to have a Nike player edition shoe last December.
Miller said this particular approach, launching a collective with one school, is a chance to see how a move like this could work elsewhere.
“(College is) a perfect playground to learn. It’s a perfect playground to try new things,” Miller said. “It’s one of the best things about having this roster of both athletes and colleges and universities. They’ll try stuff with you. It’s the best place to learn.”
Miller did say that although Nike could extend these types of partnerships swiftly across the college landscape if it wanted to, her team will instead take a more disciplined approach. Asked whether she had a target number of schools she’d like to extend NIL collective partnerships to in the future, she said there isn’t one currently, “but if there’s an amazing athlete, an amazing college out there, I want them.”
As for Nike’s NIL budget as a whole, Miller declined to offer specific numbers.
“I think it’s safe to say this is a growing area where every day what you thought you’d spend is off,” she said.
“I think it’s going to continue to be an area of rich interest and investment.”
Indiana defensive end Stephen Daley will likely miss the College Football Playoff due to an injury he sustained after the Hoosiers’ victory over Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game, coach Curt Cignetti said on Wednesday. Daley appeared to hurt his leg during the postgame celebration while jumping to high-five Hoosiers fans in the stands. He was later seen in an air cast as trainers took him into the locker room on a cart.
Daley underwent tests over the weekend that revealed the extent of the injury, which Cignetti called “serious” and said is anticipated to keep him out for the remainder of the season.
Daley would have been one of the top defensive players in the CFP if not for the injury. The senior led the Big Ten this season with 19 tackles for loss and racked up 5.5 sacks in his first year on a Power Four roster. He joined Indiana through the transfer portal last offseason after spending the first three years of his career at Kent State.
“This postgame was a little different than most,” Cignetti said to reporters on Wednesday. “So I didn’t get into the coaches room probably until 45 minutes after the game, and that was the first I had heard about [Daley’s injury] and then we were walking to my press conference.
“Sunday was still sort of waiting a little bit on images to come back, that sort of thing. So when I had my press conference (on Sunday), there was a little more information that still had to come in. I was still processing the whole thing because it was sort of unbelievable when I heard about it, and I think that is why I said we had nobody hurt in the game, during the game.”
While Daley was not a full-time starter during the regular season, he made an immense impact for one of college football’s most formidable defenses. He recorded at least one tackle for loss in all but two games and hit his stride down the stretch with 2.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage against Penn State, 3.0 against Wisconsin, 4.5 against Purdue and 1.0 in the Big Ten Championship Game.
The absence of a premier force on the defensive front could prove problematic for the Hoosiers given that their road to a national championship runs through a few of the sport’s top offenses. Indiana will play the winner of Alabama and Oklahoma in the quarterfinals when it opens CFP play as the No. 1 overall seed.
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has always dreamed in Mercurial. Now his initials are on the boots.
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Rec Sports2 weeks agoFirst Tee Winter Registration is open
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Rec Sports2 weeks agoFargo girl, 13, dies after collapsing during school basketball game – Grand Forks Herald
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Motorsports2 weeks agoCPG Brands Like Allegra Are Betting on F1 for the First Time
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Sports2 weeks agoTexas volleyball vs Kentucky game score: Live SEC tournament updates