TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — On Monday, December 22, Brailsford — the starting center for the Alabama Crimson Tide — hosted a Holiday Shopping event at the Target on 13th Avenue East in Tuscaloosa. Using his own NIL money, Brailsford treated ten children from underserved communities to a Christmas shopping spree, giving each child a gift card to shop for themselves.

“I really wanna make their day,” Brailsford said. “I mean, that’s what this is really about for me.”

The children moved eagerly through the aisles, selecting toys and gifts while checking items off their Christmas lists.

Brailsford said the event was funded entirely through his own NIL earnings.

The sophomore has already made an impact on the field this season, earning SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors multiple times. Off the field, he said giving back has always been important to him.

Adopted as a baby, Brailsford said he grew up with enough, even if his family did not have much.

“We didn’t necessarily have a lot, but we had enough,” he said. “Being able to give back to kids that don’t always have that opportunity at Christmas is something special to me.”

Brailsford is currently studying social work and said he hopes to work with children after school in the future.

“I really want to be able to get into that field and help kids in any way I can,” he said.

While he continues to gain recognition on the football field, Brailsford said moments like the holiday shopping event are just as meaningful.

“I feel like I’m good at helping people,” he said. “That’s something that fulfills me. It’s my purpose in a way.”

For the children involved, the shopping trip was more than just receiving gifts. It was an experience shared with a role model who hopes to continue giving back long after the holidays are over.

Indiana’s rise from perennial Big Ten bottom feeders into national title contenders has been one of college football’s most compelling stories in 2025.

Under second-year head coach Curt Cignetti, the Hoosiers finished the regular season undefeated at 13-0, captured the program’s first Big Ten title since 1967, and earned the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.

Quarterback Fernando Mendoza capped the breakthrough season by winning the school’s first-ever Heisman Trophy, throwing for 2,980 yards with 33 touchdown passes and a 71.5% completion rate that helped propel Indiana into national contention.

That success now intersects with a separate transfer-cycle storyline: North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker, the FBS passing leader (4,129 yards, 31 touchdowns, 70.2% completion rate), is likely to enter the transfer portal when the window opens in January.

On a December 19 episode of “College Football Insiders,” CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer connected the dots.

“He can be somebody you can build your program around for multiple years,” Hummer said. “I’ve heard the same about Indiana. I think they do have a significant interest in Drew Mestemaker, and I think he would be a really good fit for their system.”

Mestemaker is a former walk-on who emerged as the nation’s passing leader this season as a redshirt freshman, posting multiple 300-yard performances and a 608-yard outing in North Texas’ 54–20 win over Charlotte, a game that set single-game passing yardage records for both the school and the American Athletic Conference.

His breakout year earned him the Burlsworth Trophy, American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors, and first-team All-American recognition.

There are clear reasons the fit is being discussed publicly.

Indiana has demonstrated a clear willingness to use transfers to accelerate competitiveness, most notably with Kurtis Rourke’s arrival as a graduate transfer in 2024, followed by Mendoza’s move from Cal.

Both quarterbacks produced elite statistical seasons that propelled the Hoosiers to winning campaigns.

If Mendoza ultimately declares for the 2026 NFL Draft, which is widely expected, Indiana would need either an internal successor or a portal option who can step in at Power-5 level speed. 

Mestemaker’s profile checks several boxes: production, track record under a pro-style system, and remaining eligibility.

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Former Penn State tight end Adam Breneman, on the Will Ventures podcast, revealed his true feelings on the current landscape of college football and the implications of the decisions made by some leaders in the game.

Breneman, on his podcast appearance, highlighted how no one’s actually in charge of college football, whilst also strongly advocating for a college football commissioner.

“No one’s actually in charge of college football. We need a college football commissioner”, Breneman stated on the podcast.

Despite college football not having a designated commissioner, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is one of the most powerful college football figures and is often touted to be in charge of college football as a whole.

Breneman further revealed that Sankey is also in charge of other sports like golf, diving, lacrosse, and men’s & women’s basketball, stating that college football needs a commissioner who will make decisions for the betterment of college football, implying that it’s tough to do that while you have other things on your plate.

“Greg Sankey is also in charge of golf and swimming and diving and men’s basketball and women’s basketball and lacrosse has to make the best decisions for those sports as well. No one’s actually in charge of college football”, Breneman highlighted.

“We need a college football commissioner who actually is in charge of college football and can make decisions for college football because what’s best for college football is not what’s best for men’s basketball”, he further elaborated.

The former ASU tight end coach’s comments come on the backdrop of college football going through a turbulent period as far as player transfers, NIL issues, and the overall backlash the playoff committee is facing as far as the selection of the 2025 playoff teams is concerned.

Greg Sankey Pushes for Expansion to a 16-Team College Football Playoff

Sankey recently appeared on The Rich Eisen Show this December, emphasizing the need to adopt a 16-team playoff format, potentially moving away from the current 12-team format, while also keeping in mind other conferences and their playoff qualification, which was a point of contention amongst analysts and fans alike.

Meanwhile, the college football portal, which is set to officially open in January 2026, has already seen a record number of entries, with the likes of star QBs like DJ Lagway and Dylan Raiola entering, potentially fueled by NIL incentives.

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USC defensive tackle Devan Thompkins, a 6-5, 290-pound veteran who started 12 games in 2025, announced his intention to enter the NCAA transfer portal on December 17. 

Thompkins finished the 2025 season with 31 combined tackles (18 solo), three sacks, two pass breakups, and a forced fumble; across three seasons at USC, he compiled 56 total tackles (32 solo), 4.5 sacks, and five pass breakups.

Those figures made him one of the more productive interior linemen on a unit that struggled at times but improved to finish ranked and bowl-eligible.

USC closed the 2025 regular season 9–3 (7–2 Big Ten) and will face TCU in the Valero Alamo Bowl on December 30, a season that left the program ranked inside the top 25 (No. 16) but short of College Football Playoff contention.

The Trojans’ record and bowl bid reflect progress under head coach Lincoln Riley while also exposing lingering gaps across the roster.

Those gaps have since been amplified, as Thompkins’ departure brings USC’s total number of players set to test the transfer market to 15.

The list of known departures is sizable and spread across position groups. 

According to 247Sports, the 15 players who have announced portal entries include: WR DJ Jordan, RB Bryan Jackson, CB Braylon Conley, DE Gus Cordova, OL Makai Saina, S Steve Miller, LB Matai Tagoa‘i, DL Carlon Jones, S Anthony Beavers Jr., OL Micah Banuelos, LB Garrison Madden, RB Harry Dalton, WR Prince Strachan, TE Walker Lyons, and Thompkins.

That grouping hits starters across the trenches, secondary, and skill positions — areas that will require immediate replacements via the portal, incoming freshmen, and retained depth.

After a successful five-year run at Oklahoma from 2017 to 2021, Riley took over as USC’s head coach in November 2021 and has delivered steady results built on quarterback development, high-powered offenses, and aggressive recruiting, highlighted by USC securing the No. 1-ranked 2026 recruiting class.

The current exodus provides the latest test for Riley as USC works to build toward a stronger Big Ten finish in 2026.

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The last of the Power Four college football head coaching openings remains available at Michigan.

The Wolverines decided to part ways with head coach Sherrone Moore on Dec. 10 due to inappropriate relations with a staffer. Michigan had its sights set on Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer, Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham and Washington head coach Jedd Fisch.

Though nothing was made official, Fisch was the first to bow out of the race. Alabama’s College Football Playoff victory over Oklahoma eliminated DeBoer from the conversation, and Dillingham inked an extension with Arizona State on Saturday.

With all of those candidates off the board, one who has emerged in the next round is current Wolverines interim Biff Poggi. The interim said he had been interviewed for the job on multiple occasions this offseason.

Poggi began his college football coaching career as an assistant with stops at Brown, Temple and the Citadel in the late 1980s. He coached at his high school alma mater, The Gilman School, as an offensive coordinator and offensive line coach from 1988 to 1995. He spent the next 20 seasons as Gilman’s head coach before returning to the college ranks.

The now 65-year-old spent two prior stints with the Wolverines under Jim Harbaugh. He worked as an analyst with the 2016 team and served as Michigan’s associate head coach in 2021 and 2022.

Poggi was hired away from Michigan to succeed Will Healy as Charlotte’s next head coach in the 2023 offseason. The 49ers were 3-9 in Poggi’s first year at the helm, tying for eleventh place in the American Athletic Conference.

After a 3-7 start to the 2024 season, Charlotte decided to part ways with Poggi. The 49ers hired Tim Albin as his replacement for 2025.

This will not be the first time Poggi has served as the Wolverines’ interim head coach. He was the interim for Michigan’s games against Central Michigan and Nebraska.

The Wolverines accepted an invitation to the Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. No. 18 Michigan (9-3, 7-2) will face No. 13 Texas (9-3, 6-2) on Dec. 31 (3 p.m. EST, ABC).