NIL
As Bryce Underwood talk picks up, Michigan QB learns rigors of college
BELLEVILLE, Mich. — Three weeks in, practice doesn’t seem to be the issue for freshman Bryce Underwood. It’s the school part that has his head spinning most. The five-star quarterback has been the talk of Michigan’s spring practices so far, both for his athleticism and ball placement, all while Underwood balances an academic load of […]


BELLEVILLE, Mich. — Three weeks in, practice doesn’t seem to be the issue for freshman Bryce Underwood.
It’s the school part that has his head spinning most.
The five-star quarterback has been the talk of Michigan’s spring practices so far, both for his athleticism and ball placement, all while Underwood balances an academic load of four classes per week.
And there’s an unfortunate kicker.
“Three of them are on Tuesday and Thursday,” Underwood said Sunday. “We practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so my days go from 8 (in the morning) to 8 (at night).
“Just running.”
Underwood, who spoke to The Ann Arbor News/ MLive following a name, image and likeness event at Belleville High School, candidly admitted that it’s been “a lot” but he’s “ready to take on that challenge no matter what.”
“Football is football,” he said. “School is a little bit more overwhelming now.”
More: Michigan OC: ‘If (Underwood)’s ready to go, he’ll play’
Complaints have long come from Michigan student-athletes in their freshman year about the difficulty of managing classes and the school’s summer bridge program, aimed to try and help acclimate them to the rigorous academic standards and expectations.
And while wall-to-wall Tuesdays and Thursdays might mean a lighter load the rest of the week for Underwood, there’s still another class to attend, the need to maintain his grades and work to do inside the walls of Schembechler Hall.
“I’ve been enjoying it,” Underwood said. “Honestly, it’s been going great. I’ve been enjoying the process of it, having school go along with it as well.”
Underwood confirmed that he’s been sharing a bulk of the reps in practice with sophomore Jadyn Davis, who redshirted last season after only appearing in one game. Transfer Mikey Keene is apparently dealing with an undisclosed injury, leaving the No. 1-ranked player in this year’s high-school recruiting class with little competition at the moment.
And while that might seem like a lot for a freshman, Underwood’s teammates have acknowledged a sudden step up in play at the quarterback position compared to last year.
“It’s been going great,” Underwood said of sharing reps with Davis, who saw the field in 2024 despite Michigan struggling to find reliable QB play. “Just building a bond with Jadyn, making each other better and everything.”
As for the speed of the game, the jump from high school to college can be a lot for some players. Underwood, who accounted for nearly 13,000 all-purpose yards at Belleville, where he was a four-year starter and two-time state champion, says he got the hang of everything in December during bowl practices. That hasn’t been an issue.
Meanwhile, his coaches continue to leave the door open for him to claim the starting job this fall. First-year offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, who doubles as the team’s quarterbacks coach, has said that Underwood will start “if he’s ready.” Head coach Sherrone Moore has not ruled it out, praising his young quarterback’s work ethic and thirst to get better.
The school is clearly invested, too, handing him a multi-million dollar name, image and likeness package to flip his commitment from LSU to Michigan. It’s just a matter of it — not when — Underwood takes his first collegiate snap.
Asked Sunday about starting Michigan’s Aug. 30 season opener against New Mexico, Underwood, who said recently that he wants his Michigan legacy to be “a couple Heismans and at least one (national title),” had a simple, four-word response.
“That’s in due time,” Underwood said. “That’s in due time.”
Until then, don’t expect to see him much, especially on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He’s busy.
NIL
Legal warning issued to NCAA, power conferences amid NIL standoff
Another cog in the Name, Image and Likeness wheel, college football programs are facing significant difficulties with the NIL approval process, and House attorneys have answered by threatening legal action The $2.8 billion settlement by the NCAA ushered in a new era, in part, for third-party NIL deals. Those agreements now must be vetted by […]

Another cog in the Name, Image and Likeness wheel, college football programs are facing significant difficulties with the NIL approval process, and House attorneys have answered by threatening legal action
The $2.8 billion settlement by the NCAA ushered in a new era, in part, for third-party NIL deals. Those agreements now must be vetted by the NIL Go clearinghouse – established by the College Sports Commission and run by Deloitte.
Unfortunately for athletes and programs alike, the new process is facing significant backlash, as deals are being denied for failing to meet the “valid business purpose” criteria.
Despite these pending deals including deliverables like public appearances, the College Sports Commission doesn’t view that as enough to meet the new standards. And in conjunction with the NCAA and power conferences, doubled-down on their reasoning on Thursday.
House attorneys issued a notable response on Friday to the NCAA and power conferences, according to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports.
“Jeffrey Kessler, a co-lead House plaintiff attorney along with Steve Berman, requested that the NCAA and conferences ‘retract’ a statement of guidance released Thursday from the College Sports Commission and, presumably, reinstate name, image and likeness deals that the CSC has denied — many of them from booster-backed NIL collectives,” Dellenger wrote.
Dellenger previously reported that out of over 1,200 NIL deals submitted after July 1, 80 of them have been denied with even more currently stuck in limbo.
There appears to be a sticking point between the House attorneys, programs and the NCAA/College Sports Commission on what constitutes a valid business purpose within NIL deals.
“There is nothing in the Settlement Agreement to permit (NCAA and conference) or the CSC, acting on their behalf, to decide that it would not be a valid business purpose for a school’s collective to engage in for-profit promotions of goods or services using paid-for student-athlete NIL,” the letter reads via Yahoo Sports. “To the extent the NIL payment is for the promotion of a valid business purpose, it is irrelevant whether that payment comes from a NIL collective or any other third party.”
House council plans to bring the issue before Judge Nathanael Cousins, the appointed magistrate in the settlement, if no action is taken by the College Sports Commission, according to the report.
NIL
Paul Finebaum casts doubt on Gunner Stockton’s ability to carry Georgia
Based on the standards in Athens, Georgia had a down year in 2024. Paul Finebaum now thinks the Bulldogs could have a hard time correcting that in 2025 with Gunner Stockton being the Bulldogs’ QB1. Finebaum, in an appearance on Friday morning on ‘First Take,’ named how Georgia and Alabama each follow up last season […]

Based on the standards in Athens, Georgia had a down year in 2024. Paul Finebaum now thinks the Bulldogs could have a hard time correcting that in 2025 with Gunner Stockton being the Bulldogs’ QB1.
Finebaum, in an appearance on Friday morning on ‘First Take,’ named how Georgia and Alabama each follow up last season in this upcoming season as one of his top storylines going into kickoff this fall. However, that came with his doubts about the ‘Dawgs with Stockton set to be their starting quarterback.
“It was a disappointing year and, as I say that, I’m like checking myself. Georgia won the SEC Championship but it still fell flat because they looked so bad against Notre Dame, completely blowing up in the final seconds of the first half and the opening stanza of the second half,” Finebaum said. “Kirby Smart needs to bounce back but I’m not sure it’s going to be easy because Gunner Stockton is not an elite quarterback. He’s serviceable and that is about it.”
Stockton, having made seven appearances in his collegiate career to that point, was forced into action due to the elbow injury to Carson Beck in the biggest games of the season in the second half against Texas in the SEC Championship and versus Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl as their quarterfinal in the College Football Playoff. In that game and a half, Stockton was 32-48 (66.7%) for 305 yards, a touchdown, and an interception while showing some mobility as well.
Considering all things about the spot he found himself in, that’s fine play from Stockton, especially leading an offense that struggled throughout last season at times, regardless of who was taking snaps at quarterback. Still, taking the place of your injured starter as the backup isn’t the same as being the full-time starting quarterback.
That said, even if no one else is confident in what Stockton can do, Georgia at least seems to be. The Bulldogs eventually didn’t add anyone from the transfer portal this offseason to compete with him, while all indications are that Stockton will be the starter over the other two options on the roster in Ryan Puglisi or Ryan Montgomery. They’ll need that belief in him now if they’re going to make up for — despite winning the conference and being the second overall seed in the playoff — what was technically their worst season in six years.
Stockton is as big of a question mark at quarterback as Georgia has had in its tenure under Smart. It’s now on him to have the answers, starting next week at SEC Media Days and come kickoff to the season in seven weeks’ time on August 30th.
NIL
Baker discusses NIL in new revenue sharing world
The House Settlement is set to change a lot of things in the world of college athletics. With that will come the rise of revenue sharing allowing college programs to distribute money to student athletes, but the world of NIL isn’t necessarily going away either. But with the settlement will come some guardrails and will […]

The House Settlement is set to change a lot of things in the world of college athletics.
With that will come the rise of revenue sharing allowing college programs to distribute money to student athletes, but the world of NIL isn’t necessarily going away either.
But with the settlement will come some guardrails and will allow for a certain amount of matchmaking for those real NIL opportunities.
“You know, the old system of donors just throwing money into one big collective bundle, thus the name collectives. And then making up some reason to pay for play is very much the target of the settlement implementation. They want to eliminate that,” Athletic Director Wren Baker told 3 Guys Before the Game.
But would be permitted are any kind of forward-facing business that has goods and services for sale that want to do deals with student-athletes according to Baker.
Those deals have to pass the Deloitte Clearinghouse if they’re greater than $600 according to Baker.
“You just put the deal in and it’ll kick you out a range of compensation,” Baker said. “So you have really three options. If you kick in a deal and the range of compensation is $100,000 and you had signed this deal for $200,000 you can either go back and make the deal $100,000. You could change the amount of activity that you were going to do for the $100,000 potentially to make more value creation there. Or you could shift some of that deal.”
NIL
NCAA, college athletic departments need to fully embrace athletes as employees
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NIL
Hugh Freeze blasts Paul Finebaum for not understanding Auburn football’s recruiting
Auburn head football coach Hugh Freeze doesn’t think Paul Finebaum, and similar talking heads, understand the nuances of NIL in the modern recruiting landscape. Freeze called out Finebaum by name for criticizing him for not signing every in-state receiver, given that he has already committed to time and salary for players already on the program’s […]

Auburn head football coach Hugh Freeze doesn’t think Paul Finebaum, and similar talking heads, understand the nuances of NIL in the modern recruiting landscape.
Freeze called out Finebaum by name for criticizing him for not signing every in-state receiver, given that he has already committed to time and salary for players already on the program’s payroll. He also took issue with criticism of his golfing habits.
To Freeze, Finebaum and his ilk are assuming things are still like the old days, when in reality, college football functions more like pro sports. Freeze hammered home the point by using Jackson Arnold and Deuce Knight as an example of why he wouldn’t get another quarterback.
“The other thing that nobody talks about–and y’all may, I don’t listen to much–I’m not on social media, my daughter does it… ‘Well, Freeze is not getting this receiver in-state.’ Do y’all realize, on paper, I am not losing a single receiver? This is not like the old days where you sign 25 guys and then figure out who the 85 are. This is actually a salary cap world and I like our receiver room. How do I go and make offers to receivers at numbers that these other schools are when, come January, I kind of want to keep the one I have. I don’t think the Finebaum’s of the world or any of them think about all of that. They just say he’s playing golf and not recruiting,” Freeze told David Pollack on the “See Ball Get Ball” podcast, per On3.
“There are just a lot of dynamics into it right now. I’m confident that our staff–we have not changed a single approach with our recruiting, people love it when they come to Auburn. But, there are just a lot of dynamics that go into their decisions currently. Come August 1, everybody has to put this in writing now and we will see where everything shakes out after that. How in the world are you going to convince a third 5-star quarterback to come to you when you have Jackson Arnold and Deuce Knight? If we’re really operating under a true salary cap where we have no idea what an NIL value is until they decide that, which is our interpretation of the new rules, how do you do that?”
Freeze’s recruiting may be over-scrutinized right now, but given the number of high-level recruits he brought on that ended up elsewhere in short order, perhaps he was being overrated before.
His results on the field don’t speak for themselves. Not in a good way, anyway.
He doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt from people like Finebaum. That’s earned by not making him look like a fool for having faith in the Tigers the last two years.
NIL
Martin Newton, son of late C.M. Newton, named chair of DI Men’s Basketball Committee in 2026-27
A familiar name and face in the Bluegrass is set to hold a massive role in college basketball this season at the national level. Samford Director of Athletics Martin Newton, the son of the late C.M. Newton and a former Kentucky men’s basketball staff member, has been named chair of the NCAA Division I Men’s […]

A familiar name and face in the Bluegrass is set to hold a massive role in college basketball this season at the national level. Samford Director of Athletics Martin Newton, the son of the late C.M. Newton and a former Kentucky men’s basketball staff member, has been named chair of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee for the 2026-27 season.
He will serve as vice chair this season alongside Sun Belt Conference commissioner and 2025-26 chair, Keith Gill.
Newton has been at Samford since 2011, leading the Bulldogs to 87 regular-season and postseason Southern Conference championships over the past 14 years. As a student-athlete, he was an honorable mention All-Southern Conference basketball player and earned a degree from Samford in 1983. After his playing days, he spent over a quarter century in marketing with major shoe companies before joining John Calipari at Kentucky as his director of operations for men’s basketball.
In two years in Lexington, Newton managed budget, fundraising, compliance, scheduling, marketing and academic support for the men’s basketball program under Coach Cal. From there, he was hired as AD at Samford and has become one of the best in the country at his job.
”Samford University is not only bringing home one of their own, but they are getting one of the brightest and most progressive athletic administrators I have ever been around,” Calipari said of Martin’s departure at the time. “(He) has been a huge asset for the University of Kentucky basketball program over these past two years and on a personal level he has become a dear friend and trusted confidant. …
”This is the greatest part of occupying the seat I have at UK — seeing our staff members reach their dreams and further their own careers. Everyone at UK wishes Martin all the best and we thank him for all his hard work and dedication.”
His father, C.M. Newton, was a legendary college basketball player, coach and administrator, who served on the DI Men’s Basketball Committee from 1992-99 and chaired it his final two years as AD at Kentucky. He played from 1948-51 under Adolph Rupp and won the ’51 championship as a Wildcat, then served as AD from 1989-2000 where he added three sports — men’s and women’s soccer and softball — and expanded facilities and grew revenues in response to the increasing financial pressures of college athletics. Kroger Field’s playing surface is named C.M. Newton Grounds in his honor after he helped expand the stadium, along with the baseball stadium, while also acquiring a golf course, building softball and soccer complexes, a new tennis stadium and the Nutter Field House.
He was also known for hiring Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith — the latter, along with Bernadette Mattox — marked the first two African-American head coaches for UK men’s and women’s basketball, respectively.
C.M. Newton, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee in 2000, passed away in 2018. Now, his son is continuing to follow in his footsteps well.
“It is a tremendous honor to be elected to this prestigious position by my colleagues on the committee,” Martin Newton said. “When I was appointed to the committee in 2022, I considered it one of the highlights of my professional career, not only for the opportunity it presents but because I got to follow in my father’s footsteps. To further follow those steps by taking a leadership position within this group is a bit surreal. My family and I feel an extraordinary sense of pride to have this opportunity.”
Certainly making his father and the University of Kentucky proud.
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