USC is making some big moves this offseason. The Trojans have landed elite edge rusher Luke Wafle.

Josh Newberg and Steve Wiltfong of On3 sat down for an episode of “Wiltfong Whiparound” on Thursday to discuss how USC pulled off the commitment.

”Relentless recruiting,” Wiltfong said. “Over the weekend, I thought Luke Wafle was gonna go to USC following his official visit to the Trojans campus.”

Wiltfong opined that NIL played a role in Wafle’s commitment. It was originally suggested that Wafle would take his talents to Ohio State. However, according to Wiltfong, the Trojans offered the biggest NIL package to the four-star recruit, with the deal estimated to be two years and $2.2-$2.6 million.

“They came to terms from an NIL perspective and there was the best offer on the table financially,” Wiltfong said. “When Luke Wafle came back, slept on it, was still feeling USC …by Wednesday, they look like the program to beat.”

Regardless of the financial aspect, USC is a good choice for Wafle. He is happy with the campus, already knows how to surf, and is confident that defensive line coaches Shaun Nua and Eric Henderson would develop him well as a player. However, Wiltfong argued that it all came down to money.

“At the end of the day, USC wins the bidding war, modern recruiting, to land one of the most coveted defensive players in the country in Luke Wafle and they add him to the No. 1 recruiting class in the land,” Wiltfong added.

While several top programs were in the running to land Wafle, USC’s bold NIL package secured the deal.

What Luke Wafle brings to USC

Luke Wafle is the top-ranked 2026 prospect from the state of New Jersey and adds to a Trojans class that On3 praises as the best in the country.

According to 247Sports, Wafle is a four-star recruit ranked as the No. 13 edge in his class. The sizable star stands at 6’5” and 245 pounds and is a dominant defensive force. In his junior season, he accumulated 140 total yards over nine games.

Wafle is an athletic edge with a high ceiling who was a highly sought-after defensive player.

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Bill Paulos is happy there will be more oversight, that the House vs. NCAA settlement demands more scrutiny of name, image and likeness deals within college athletics.

That a centralized clearinghouse will be in charge of regulating any NIL transactions.

Friends of UNILV is the collective for UNLV, one in which Paulos leads.

The House settlement allows athletes to be directly compensated by their schools via revenue sharing. There is a limit of $20.5 million this season, though that number has yet to be officially decided.

UNLV has opted in to terms of the settlement and will pay athletes directly. It’s unknown to what threshold the Rebels will reach when deciding how much to distribute.

Then there is the NIL money athletes can continue to receive.

NIL Go is the clearinghouse that will require any athlete to report deals more than $600. Contracts will be reviewed to guarantee they represent fair market value.

Whole new world

“I’m absolutely in favor of there being more (oversight),” Paulos said. “The unfortunate thing is there is a lot of mud in the water. Do you know how many applications there will be for anything over $600? Mind-boggling. We still don’t know what the real definition of revenue is going to be.

“It’s a new world with (the settlement) that will be in constant change. It’s like a new business model — NIL is the startup business. There will be trips and falls and mistakes, but there are a set of rules now. That’s a big step and certainly what the universities want.

“Things have gotten ridiculous with (NIL) across the country. It’s the Wild West. Hopefully, this means you will no longer have someone reach in their pocket and give a kid a million dollars for coming to their birthday party. You won’t be able to do that if you follow these new rules.”

Translation: A large percentage of previous NIL deals would not have been approved under the new system. Most of those were funded by boosters. You have a better chance at being approved via corporate sponsorships.

Which goes to the point about fair market value.

You would guess a starting quarterback at Alabama might be compensated more for a car dealership sponsorship in Tuscaloosa than one with the same deal in Provo, Utah. Even perhaps one in Las Vegas.

But the real goal is to eliminate any “pay for play” situations defined by NIL dollars. To curtail the millions often thrown at recruits to attend certain schools. The real goal is to tame the Wild West.

Here’s one fear, however: that many of the bigger deals simply won’t be reported for approval. That it will be more of a wink-wink situation between collectives and athletes.

“Look, if there’s a rule, someone out there is going to cheat it, unfortunately,” Paulos said. “But at least this is a beginning to try to control things. That’s a positive thing right now.”

Paulos said UNLV’s collective will pay the university some out of its donations while still compensating athletes via NIL deals. That there is still a Rolodex of donors willing to pay and that the collective can be a conduit between them and UNLV.

That commercial donors use such deals as business expenses when the athlete performs a service for them once cleared through NIL Go. The contract just can’t be excessive in what will be deemed fair market value or risk being rejected.

“We’ll be another fundraising arm for the university as long as it wants us,” Paulos said.

Coaches matter

The collective has taken in more money in the past four months than the past four years, Paulos said. He credits much of it to the excitement and anticipation of the football season, but also to coaches the Rebels have hired.

Lindy La Rocque reaffirmed her commitment to the women’s basketball program, ending rumors that she might be on the way out to take the head coaching job at Arizona.

Former Mississippi State and Florida coach Dan Mullen was hired to continue the historic levels football reached over the past two years under Barry Odom.

Josh Pastner, a former coach at Memphis and Georgia Tech, now leads the men’s basketball program.

It has all made for more interest in UNLV athletics and more donations to NIL efforts.

“Quite frankly, the entire university has also stepped up,” Paulos said. “We’re doing this the right way in accordance with every rule. I can tell you exactly what each kid has made over the last four years — how many hours he or she has worked and where. And we will continue to operate in this manner.”

Get those contracts ready to be approved.

It’s a whole new NIL world, is right.

Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.

Olivia “Livvy” Dunne set social media abuzz Friday after making an apparent sexual reference about her and actress Madelyn Cline. 

The comment came in response to a post on X referencing the College World Series final matchup as the “Madelyn Cline vs Livvy Dunne bowl,” since Cline briefly attended Coastal Carolina and Dunne went to LSU, where she was on the gymnastics team.

Dunne quoted the post, writing: “Gooner World Series.”

“Gooner” is a slang term for a person who masturbates to pornography for a prolonged period of time, sometimes hours or days, without climaxing. 

The post instantly went viral, with some users in the comments questioning whether Dunne had been hacked, while some joked that she was referencing a different meaning of “Gooner” — a nickname for Arsenal fans.

“I sweat this can’t be real,” wrote on user on X.

“This is crazy work,” wrote another.

Besides her gymnastics career, Dunne is an influencer with more than 5 million followers on Instagram.

The 22-year-old is also a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and the boyfriend of Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes, who led LSU to the 2023 national title with a 1.69 ERA and 209 strikeouts.

Cline, 27, is best known for her portrayal of Sarah Cameron in the Netflix series “Outer Banks,” which propelled her into stardom. 

She also gained notoriety for her role in the film “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.”

Cline dropped out of Coastal Carolina to pursue acting full-time in 2017, reportedly just six weeks into her freshman year. 

Coastal Carolina, which has become a college baseball powerhouse despite being a mid-major, is 56-11 and enters the College World Series final on a 26-game winning streak that dates back to April 22. 

Since arriving in Omaha for the College World Series, the Chanticleers have defeated Arizona (7-4), Oregon State (6-2) and Louisville (11-3). 

LSU, on the other hand, clinched its spot after a thrilling come-from-behind 6-5 win over Arkansas on Wednesday. 

The Tigers are riding the momentum of a six-game winning streak. 

Game 1 of the best-of-three series begins Saturday night in Omaha.

MITCHELL — We’re not good. We’re scrappy.

That’s the unofficial motto of Dadhats Football Club.

Though a humble statement for a collection of local players, several of whom played collegiately or even beyond, it’s indicative of the spirit of the club, one formed by four adult friends looking for a fun, competitive outlet and a way to stay connected.

Less than three years into its existence as a club, Dadhats FC, co-founded by Mitchell natives Riley Kurtenbach, Tyler VandenBerge, Dalton Kummer and Courtney Miller, is helping a building soccer community blossom.

“We thought this would be something we could do to get together regularly while we all still live in the same area,” Kurtenbach said. “But it’s already grown into something bigger than just playing soccer on Wednesday nights.”

A member of the Dakota Alliance men’s 11-versus-11 league in Sioux Falls, Dadhats FC is in its third season of operation, competing weekly from early May until mid-to-late July. Captained by Kurtenbach, who played for Mitchell High School during his prep career (also captaining the Kernels in 2017), Dadhats FC has become a landing spot for several former local talents.

Of the 22 players on this year’s Dadhats FC roster, five are former Kernel soccer players, including Riley Kurtenbach and his younger brother, Skylar, while a sixth is a Mitchell product from before the sport was sanctioned at the high school level in South Dakota. Five Dadhats FC players also played college soccer at Dakota Wesleyan University. Caleb Larson, a 2015 MHS captain, is a notable member of both groups, and Trevor Lambert, a 2019 MHS captain, went on to placekick for the DWU football program.

Strong bonds between Dadhats FC players have helped attract new players, too. This season, the club is at the league roster limit of 22 players, and Kurtenbach said he had almost that many more looking to join for the 2025 season.

“With the level of team camaraderie we have, I think that we’ve established a community on our own. It’s not just about the 22 guys on the roster, but the however-many people who are brought together through us,” Kurtenbach said. “Seeing the progression of our team and thinking about what we can do moving forward, that’s what brings me back every Wednesday.”

Photo courtesy of Logan Kurtenbach / Hidden Hills Media

According to Kurtenbach, the club’s namesake, Dadhats — a common term for six-panel caps without a firm front lining — started as something of an inside joke. His friends would poke fun at him for frequently wearing hats to cover up a thinning hairline. However, given the uniqueness of the club nickname, Kurtenbach is quite fond of it and is content to be the butt of the humor.

Ahead of the second year, Kurtenbach’s older brother, Logan, got heavily involved by sponsoring the club through his media production company, Hidden Hills Media. Serving as the team’s videographer and photographer, Logan is also helping grow the club’s presence on social media.

“It had been almost 10 years since I’d seen most of these guys play, but it’s been great to see everyone get back into it,” Logan said. “There was an instant click with this group, almost like it was just last week they were playing (back in high school or college).”

“There’s definitely a switch that a majority of us haven’t turned off from our time playing at a higher level,” Kurtenbach added. “It’s great when you can go and compete every week and still want to go win something, but know that it’s also just for fun.”

As Dadhats FC continues to flourish on the pitch, the club also has ambitions to contribute to local youth soccer and help grow the game. In the short term, the club is exploring options to host skills development camps and small-sided tournaments such as 3-on-3 or 5-on-5.

“We’re going to keep it going for as long as we can,” Logan said.

“It seems like the way soccer is heading in South Dakota, it’s more of an elitist type of sport, and that just pains me to see,” Kurtenbach added. “We just want as many people to be able to play the game and be afforded those opportunities as possible.”

Dierks covers prep and collegiate athletics across the Mitchell Republic’s coverage region area. His focus areas include: Mitchell High School football and boys basketball; area high school football, volleyball, basketball, baseball and track and field; and South Dakota State football. He is also at the forefront of the Mitchell Republic’s podcasting efforts. Dierks is a Mitchell native who graduated from South Dakota State University with his bachelor’s degree in journalism in May 2020. He joined the Mitchell Republic sports staff in August 2021. He can be reached at ldierks@mitchellrepublic.com and found on Twitter at @LDierksy.

The 4 Nations Face-Off in February was meant to provide a taste of international competition a year before the Winter Olympics because it had been nearly a decade since the NHL’s top players were able to represent their countries in the same tournament.