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Penn State football has almost every position on lock for 2025-26 per PFF’s rankings

PFF gave its top 10 (plus an honorable mention) units heading into the 2025-26 season. Penn State football made it into a majority of the lists. The only area the Nittany Lions didn’t break through was with their linebackers. Every other offensive and defensive unit, though, earned one of the 11 places available according to […]

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PFF gave its top 10 (plus an honorable mention) units heading into the 2025-26 season. Penn State football made it into a majority of the lists. The only area the Nittany Lions didn’t break through was with their linebackers. Every other offensive and defensive unit, though, earned one of the 11 places available according to PFF.

PFF ranks Penn State’s quarterbacks at No. 7

Drew Allar brings in both praise and criticism. Regardless, he was still up to be a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and will more likely than not be one of the first 32 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.

NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah posted on X, “I’ve been studying [Allar] the last couple days. There are areas to clean up but the good is really good.”

Allar is coming off a season without reliable wide receivers. He threw for 3,327 yards and 24 touchdowns on 262 completed passes and had a 66.5 completion percentage. However, he also threw eight interceptions. PFF wrote:

“He’s my No. 4 returning quarterback in college football. Allar was the sixth-most valuable quarterback in the nation this past season, according to our wins above average metric, and his 21 big-time throws were a top-20 mark in the nation as well.”

Heading into 2025-26, the starter has a better wide receiver group that made it onto PFF’s list as well and the NCAA’s No. 1 running back duo of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen.

Behind Allar is redshirt freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer. While Penn State making this list is almost exclusively because of Allar and his NFL probability, Grunkemeyer was the No. 8 quarterback of the class of 2024 and a four-star recruit.

PFF ranks Penn State’s running backs at No. 1

To no surprise, Singleton and Allen are leading PFF’s running back ranking. Getting these two seniors to return is huge for the Nittany Lions. Both came into the program ready to set records, and they;ve continued to do so for the past three years. Their fourth year at Penn State should be nothing but star-quality. PFF wrote:

“The Nittany Lions were the only team to have two players on my top 10 returning running backs list in seniors [Singleton] (No. 3) and [Allen] (No. 6). Among returning Power Four backs since 2023, Singleton has the most receiving yards (682) and is the second-most valuable one according to PFF’s wins above average metric. Allen is second among returning Power Four rushers with a 92.5 rushing grade and 2,000 rushing yards since 2023.”

The Nittany Lions also have Corey Smith, Quinton Martin, and Jabree Wallace-Coleman behind their leading duo for worst case scenario. All three were four-star recruits of their respective classes.

PFF gives Penn State’s wide receivers an Honorable Mention

Penn State’s wide receiver group needed adjustments, and head coach James Franklin made them. In fact, the three starters will all be new transfers to the program heading into 2025-26. Since we have yet to see them in action with the rest of the Nittany Lions, ranking this position any higher than an honorable mention isn’t justifiable. PFF wrote:

“Their starting trio of wide receivers will be made up entirely of transfers: Syracuse’s Trebor Pena, Troy’s Devonte Ross and USC’s Kyron Hudson. Pena’s 475 yards after the catch last season were the ninth most among Power Four receivers, Ross ranked seventh in the Group of Five with 1,050 receiving yards and Hudson tied for fourth in the Big Ten with 13 contested catches.

“While losing superstar tight end Tyler Warren certainly hurts, Penn State has done an incredible job of recruiting at that position. The Nittany Lions have brought in a top-five tight end recruit in each of the past three recruiting classes and still have a solid veteran for the room in redshirt senior Khalil Dinkins.”

PFF gives Penn State’s offensive line an Honorable Mention

Penn State has five returners for the 2025-26 season, including Vega Ioane who is easily the star of the group. However, the other four can’t be overlooked. Nick Dawkins, Nolan Rucci, Drew Shelton, and Cooper Cousins each bring experience and talent to the starting five.

All of the units on PFF’s list noted top players in the line, making Penn State’s honorable mention seem a little low considering how solid the starting five is together with four of them having started together previously. There’s a “certainty” factor that arguably puts Penn State above some other schools ranked. Choosing one school that made the top 10 over the Nittany Lions would be No. 8 Miami, which even PFF has some questions about:

“The left side of Miami’s offensive line is a bit more uncertain. Markel Bell is the favorite to be Carson Beck’s blindside protector at left tackle and is a massive player at 6-foot-9, 340 pounds who started five games for the Hurricanes at left tackle last season. If he’s not up to the task, former five-star recruit Samson Okunlola could be worth a shot as a redshirt sophomore. The left guard will likely be redshirt senior Ryan Rodriguez, who started the opening game last year but suffered a season-ending ankle injury after 38 snaps.”

PFF ranks Penn State’s defensive line at No. 5

For Zane Durant and Dani Dennis-Sutton to be the reason why Penn State made it into the top five of this list is impressive, especially since PFF noted the lack of depth the Nittany Lions have in this position. PFF wrote:

“While the Nittany Lions might not have the depth of other schools on this list, they still place in the top five for the two superstars they have in [Durant] and [Dennis-Sutton]. Durant is my second-ranked defensive tackle in the nation after leading them all with 14 tackles for loss/no-gain last year. His 28 pressures were also a top-25 mark among FBS interior defenders. Dennis-Sutton could be the third-straight Penn State edge defender to go in the first round of the draft.”

PFF ranks Penn State’s secondary at No. 10

A.J. Harris, Elliot Washington II, Zakee Wheatley, and Zion Tracy allowed Penn State’s secondary to just scrape the back-half of this ranking at No. 10. What puts the Nittany Lions in a good position with their secondary is their depth. Players who aren’t, like Washington II, still have a positive impact on the field. PFF wrote:

“[Harris] finished his sophomore year as one of the 10 most valuable cornerbacks in the nation according to PFF’s wins above average metric while only allowing 0.76 yards per coverage snap. On the opposite side is junior [Washington II], who was one of the 10 most valuable Big Ten corners last season, according to PFF’s WAA metric, despite not even starting for the Nittany Lions.”



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Patrick Mahomes Gets Honest About Eli Manning’s Hot Take on NIL: “You’re Bringing So Much Money to the University”

Some college sports fans will tell you that they support the concept of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). Others will tell you that true amateurism should have remained the standard in collegiate athletics. And there are plenty of people, athletic background or not, on both sides of the aisle. Take Eli Manning. In May 2024, […]

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Some college sports fans will tell you that they support the concept of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). Others will tell you that true amateurism should have remained the standard in collegiate athletics. And there are plenty of people, athletic background or not, on both sides of the aisle.

Take Eli Manning. In May 2024, he teamed with Jaxson Dart to raise money for his alma mater’s NIL collective. His general feeling on NIL when it was first introduced, though, paints a picture opposite to that of his future partnership.

“I know how immature I was at 20 years old and I wouldn’t have spent it the right ways. It scares me from that perspective, it scares me from chemistry of the locker room with some guys getting endorsements and if they’re not playing well, how his teammates will handle that.”

Manning has every right to change his mind, especially after experiencing three seasons with NIL. His adaptation of his mindset demonstrates an understanding of the nuance required for NIL debates.

When discussing NIL as a whole, you can’t limit the conversation to future NFL and NBA stars. There are thousands of players in countless other sports, not to mention football and basketball themselves, that will never get professional contracts, let alone generational wealth.

This is why Patrick Mahomes told CNBC’s Alex Sherman that NIL is a boon for college athletics.

“At the end of the day, I think it’s a good thing that players are getting paid. I mean… you’re bringing so much money to a university. There has to be a way that you can earn a profit. It doesn’t have to be a huge profit… it’s cool to see people that might not have the ability to earn this money at any other point of their life… being able to change their families.” 

Non-athletes can use their talents to generate revenue while in college. Prior to NIL, universities saw immediate returns on a team’s hard work while the athletes pocketed nothing.

It wasn’t fair to the players. NIL took some of that power and redistributed it to them. So it’s good that Mahomes and others are recognizing that NIL’s main mission is being accomplished.



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UConn stars Azzi Fudd, Sarah Strong sign NIL deals with Unrivaled league founded by Huskies legends

UConn women’s basketball stars Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong will be among the new collegiate faces of Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 league launched by Huskies legends Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier in 2025, after signing NIL deals with the organization. Fudd and Strong announced they will be a part of the league’s 14-player NIL class this […]

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UConn women’s basketball stars Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong will be among the new collegiate faces of Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 league launched by Huskies legends Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier in 2025, after signing NIL deals with the organization.

Fudd and Strong announced they will be a part of the league’s 14-player NIL class this season during an event at WNBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis on Saturday. The UConn duo appeared at Unrivaled’s All-Star headquarters alongside LSU star Flau’jae Johnson, who signed a deal with the league last year. Johnson and former UConn star Paige Bueckers launched the league’s “The Future is Unrivaled” campaign in Dec. 2024, and Bueckers is expected to compete in Unrivaled this upcoming season after completing her rookie year in the WNBA with the Dallas Wings.

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The new class of NIL athletes also includes USC’s JuJu Watkins, UCLA’s Lauren and Sienna Betts and Kiki Rice, Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, Texas’s Madison Booker, Iowa State’s Audi Crooks, LSU’s MiLaysia Fulwiley, TCU’s Olivia Miles, South Carolina’s Ta’Niya Latson and Michigan’s Syla Swords.

Johnson and Bueckers, like every professional player who competes in Unrivaled, received an investment stake in the league as part of their agreements, so the same will likely be true for the 2025 NIL signees. Watkins is also already part of Unrivaled’s star-studded investor group, which includes UConn coach Geno Auriemma, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, NBA stars Steph Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo, 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps and USWNT legend Alex Morgan.

Unrivaled exceeded expectations in 2025, reportedly generating more than $27 million in revenue and nearly breaking even in its inaugural season. The league averaged 221,000 viewers on TNT during the regular season and the playoffs, and the championship saw a significant increase drawing 364,000 viewers. Unrivaled also paid its 36 players an average of $220,000, which is higher than the WNBA’s regular maximum salary in 2025.

Fudd has always had a national presence as the former No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2021, but she joins Unrivaled amid a spike in popularity following UConn’s run to the NCAA Championship. The redshirt senior’s first three college seasons were heavily impacted by injuries, but she completed a triumphant comeback from an ACL tear in 2024-25 and was recognized as the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. Fudd’s NIL portfolio includes partnerships with Bose, TurboTax, skincare brand Paula’s Choice and hair color brand Madison Reed among others. She also announced Thursday that she is hosting a new podcast on the iHeart Radio network titled “Fudd Around and Find Out,” the viral phrase that her mother Katie wore on a t-shirt during the national title game.

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Strong is also a rising star in the college game after coming to UConn as the No. 1 ranked recruit in the 2024 class and winning WBCA Freshman of the Year in 2025. She had a historic first season with the Huskies, making the All-Final Four team and breaking the record for most points by a freshman ever in an NCAA Tournament. Unrivaled will be one of Strong’s most prominent NIL deals to date, but she has also partnered with Epic Games and VKTRY, a performance shoe insole for athletes.



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Patrick Mahomes Gets Honest About Eli Manning's Hot Take on NIL

Some college sports fans will tell you that they support the concept of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). Others will tell you that true amateurism should have remained the standard in collegiate athletics. And there are plenty of people, athletic background or not, on both sides of the aisle. Advertisement Take Eli Manning. In May […]

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Patrick Mahomes Gets Honest About Eli Manning's Hot Take on NIL

Some college sports fans will tell you that they support the concept of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). Others will tell you that true amateurism should have remained the standard in collegiate athletics. And there are plenty of people, athletic background or not, on both sides of the aisle.

Take Eli Manning. In May 2024, he teamed with Jaxson Dart to raise money for his alma mater’s NIL collective. His general feeling on NIL when it was first introduced, though, paints a picture opposite to that of his future partnership.

“I know how immature I was at 20 years old and I wouldn’t have spent it the right ways. It scares me from that perspective, it scares me from chemistry of the locker room with some guys getting endorsements and if they’re not playing well, how his teammates will handle that.”

Manning has every right to change his mind, especially after experiencing three seasons with NIL. His adaptation of his mindset demonstrates an understanding of the nuance required for NIL debates.

When discussing NIL as a whole, you can’t limit the conversation to future NFL and NBA stars. There are thousands of players in countless other sports, not to mention football and basketball themselves, that will never get professional contracts, let alone generational wealth.

This is why Patrick Mahomes told CNBC’s Alex Sherman that NIL is a boon for college athletics.

“At the end of the day, I think it’s a good thing that players are getting paid. I mean… you’re bringing so much money to a university. There has to be a way that you can earn a profit. It doesn’t have to be a huge profit… it’s cool to see people that might not have the ability to earn this money at any other point of their life… being able to change their families.” 

Non-athletes can use their talents to generate revenue while in college. Prior to NIL, universities saw immediate returns on a team’s hard work while the athletes pocketed nothing.

It wasn’t fair to the players. NIL took some of that power and redistributed it to them. So it’s good that Mahomes and others are recognizing that NIL’s main mission is being accomplished.

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Memphis guard Sincere Parker arrested on assault charge after girlfriend says he choked her

Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis guard Sincere Parker was arrested Saturday on an aggravated assault charge for an attack on his girlfriend, who told police that he choked her and hit her, according to court documents. The woman told police that the attack occurred on May 27 at the Memphis apartment the couple […]

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Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis guard Sincere Parker was arrested Saturday on an aggravated assault charge for an attack on his girlfriend, who told police that he choked her and hit her, according to court documents.

The woman told police that the attack occurred on May 27 at the Memphis apartment the couple shared. She reported that Parker pushed her, slapped her in the face and choked her, leaving her bruised and bloodied, according to a police report.

The woman also told police that Parker broke her cellphone because he didn’t want her to have the digital key to the apartment.

A warrant for Parker’s arrest was issued Friday and the 22-year-old was taken into custody Saturday. An arraignment was scheduled for Monday on charges of felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor vandalism.

It was not immediately clear whether Parker had an attorney.

The 6-foot-3 Parker transferred to Memphis after averaging 12.2 points last season for McNeese, helping the Cowboys and coach Will Wade reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He played his first two seasons for Saint Louis.

___

AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll





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Unrivaled Announces NIL Deals With College Stars JuJu Watkins, Azzi Fudd, More

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! JuJu Watkins, Flau’Jae Johnson and Azzi Fudd are three of 14 top women’s college basketball players that Unrivaled is signing to name, image and likeness deals, the league announced Saturday. It’s the second consecutive year that the 3-on-3 league that was founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna […]

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NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

JuJu Watkins, Flau’Jae Johnson and Azzi Fudd are three of 14 top women’s college basketball players that Unrivaled is signing to name, image and likeness deals, the league announced Saturday.

It’s the second consecutive year that the 3-on-3 league that was founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart has had NIL with college players. In its inaugural season, Unrivaled had deals with Paige Bueckers and Johnson.

Watkins, who plays for USC but is sidelined with an ACL injury, has also previously been involved with Unrivaled as an investor in its Series A funding round.

Johnson, who is at LSU, and Fudd, at UConn, both were on hand for the announcement, as were Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo and UConn’s Sarah Strong.

Other players signed include TCU’s Olivia Miles, UCLA’s Kiki Rice and Lauren and Sienna Betts, Texas’ Madison Booker, Iowa State’s Audi Crooks, LSU’s MiLaysia Fulwiley, South Carolina’s Ta’Niya Latson and Michigan’s Syla Swords. The players range from sophomores to seniors.

Women’s basketball players have been able to take advantage of NIL opportunities over the last few years with Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Bueckers and Johnson at the forefront of it. Reese played in Unrivaled in its first season.

[MORE: Top 10 Women’s College Basketball Players with the Highest NIL Valuations]

As part of the initiative, the class will be attending a multi-day event at the league’s headquarters in Miami, which will include skill development and content shoots.

“This transformational, first-of-its-kind initiative brings together the best of the best and reflects our deep commitment to elevating the women’s game and holistically supporting athletes,” Luke Cooper, President of Basketball Operations at Unrivaled, said in the initiative’s announcement. “Investing in elite women’s basketball talent is central to Unrivaled’s mission.”

Unrivaled completed its inaugural season this past March, and is gearing up for its second this coming January.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Kentucky baseball adds Belmont pitcher to 2026 roster through transfer portal

Nick Mingione continues to fill out Kentucky baseball’s 2026 roster through the portal. On Thursday night, Belmont right-handed pitcher Will Pryor announced he’s transferring to play for the Wildcats. A 6-foot-2 rising redshirt junior, the Tennessee native pitched 140.1 innings across his three seasons with the Bruins, posting 146 strikeouts with a 9-7 record and […]

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Nick Mingione continues to fill out Kentucky baseball’s 2026 roster through the portal.

On Thursday night, Belmont right-handed pitcher Will Pryor announced he’s transferring to play for the Wildcats. A 6-foot-2 rising redshirt junior, the Tennessee native pitched 140.1 innings across his three seasons with the Bruins, posting 146 strikeouts with a 9-7 record and an ERA of 4.94 in 36 total appearances. As a sophomore in 2024, his opponents batted just .239 while his 62 strikeouts led the team.

“God is so good! I am blessed and beyond excited to announce that I’m continuing my college career at the University of Kentucky,” Pryor wrote on social media. “I want to thank the coaches for this amazing opportunity and my whole support system that’s helped me through this process. I am fired up to be a part of Big Blue Nation! Go Cats!”

Pryor will have two years of eligibility remaining at Kentucky. He becomes the 13th portal addition this offseason for Mingione and Co.

This past season, Pryor threw 25 innings, recording a 7.56 ERA with 26 strikeouts. He even took the mound against Kentucky back on Feb. 21, allowing two runs with six strikeouts in six innings of action, but was ultimately tagged with the loss. Of his five games played in 2025, his showing against the ‘Cats was arguably his best performance of the season.

Now, he’ll be the one pitching for Kentucky.

Kentucky Baseball 2026 Transfer Class

Join KSR Plus! With a KSR Plus membership, you get access to bonus content and KSBoard, KSR’s message board, to chat with fellow Cats fans and get exclusive scoop.



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