NIL

Saturday Scrimmage Recap

Published

5 months ago

August 9, 2025

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia had its first major scrimmage of fall training camp Saturday morning inside Milan Puskar Stadium. Coach Rich Rodriguez said the team got about 100 plays in for the coaching staff to evaluate.

“Everybody was getting reps, which was good to see,” he said. “Everybody was live, including the quarterbacks and they all got hit a little bit and we needed to see that.”

Overall, Rodriguez thought it was a productive first scrimmage for his transfer-laden football squad.

“From a head coach standpoint, to see the defense win some and the offense win some, that’s probably a pretty good thing,” he said. “Now, it’s on to the next thing.”

Some scrimmage notables, according to Rodriguez:

* He thought all of the quarterbacks ran competitively today, but he also saw some eyes in the wrong places at times.

“There are a lot of decisions for them to make, so we’ve got to get that corrected,” he observed. “I didn’t see a lot of missed tackles; I thought we tackled okay. The one thing we did have was way too many penalties. We had a full Big 12 crew here and we had four or five procedure penalties, which should never happen. We had three or so holding penalties and those are like turnovers.

“We had a critical offsides on fourth and four, and that should never happen. Then we had one unsportsmanlike conduct after a touchdown,” he added. “I just told the guy the next time that happens just keep running into the locker room.”

* The tackling aspect of the scrimmage was actually an encouraging sign, according to Rodriguez.

“We’ve had a couple of live periods and part of it is being a dynamic receiver or runner and making you miss,” he said. “I hope we have some of that and there were a couple of instances when we missed some tackles, but I thought we rallied to the ball okay on defense.

“We’re still not getting enough push on the O-line up front in short yardage situations, and I think we’re stalemating too much,” Rodriguez mentioned. “We’re not getting off the ball and changing the line of scrimmage in a lot of short yardage situations today.”

* Both sides of the ball seemed to handle the game planning and scheming that went on today from the offenses and the defenses. Rodriguez said he’s purposeful about not sharing plans before practices so both units can adjust on the fly.

“I normally restrict things when we’ve got the younger guys in there,” he explained. “But hell, nowadays, is there really a younger group? Maybe next year there will be a younger group, but they’re all new so I said, ‘What the heck, just throw everything at them and just go out and play.’

“From an assignment standpoint, we missed a couple defensively, and then offensively, I didn’t think there was a lot of missed assignments, but there were a couple easy ones that we can correct,” he said. “We are not a walk and talk and teach type of tempo at practice.

“Now, we have walk-throughs, of course, every day and that’s when we get our teaching done, but when we’re practicing there is not a lot of slow, deliberate (play calls) because I want our practices to be short and crisp.”

* The coach said he purposely had his assistants on the sidelines and not yelling out instructions so they could evaluate the players’ ability to process things in real time today. “I didn’t want them shouting out or yelling out what to do so those guys could be in game mode,” he said.

* The coach said there was no live special teams work this morning, but that will be in the practice planning for next week.

“We kicked some field goals and punted a couple of times,” he said. “I wanted to do more but we’re going to have one day next week we will go live with special teams just to see what we’ve got there.”

He mentioned place kicking right now is still a three-man battle between Coastal Carolina transfer Kade Hensley, Tulane transfer Ethan Head and holdover RJ Kocan.

“We’ve got three guys battling pretty good right there,” he said. “It’s all going to be earned. I need to put some pressure on our field goal kickers at the end of practice.”

Both Head and Hensley have experience kicking field goals in college games, which is helpful.

The coach indicated Head is probably the “leader in the clubhouse” on kickoffs right now.

“That’s one of the reasons (we brought him in). I don’t know what his percentage was of touchbacks, but it was pretty high. He’s got a strong leg,” he said.

Generally, Rodriguez said he prefers his kickoffs to go into or through the end zone.

“If we can kick it out, we’ll kick it out,” he said. “Sometimes, if you’ve got wind in your face, you’ll do an alternate kick, a sky kick or a squib kick or something like that. If you don’t want them to have any return at all, you’ll do a squib kick.”

Typically, the leading kickoff coverage units in the country are the ones who don’t cover a lot of kickoffs because their kicker has a strong enough leg to kick it deep into the end zone.

* Some of the cadence and ball get-off issues Rodriguez was concerned about earlier this week were improved this morning.

“Now, again, we had five procedure penalties,” he noted. “Some of that was not the quarterback’s cadence; some of it was our center wasn’t consistent in his snaps. When the cadence goes the center should be snapping the ball, so we’re still not consistent every time and the short yardage stuff, we ought to be in tune with that.”

* Rodriguez thought having the Big 12 officiating crew on the field today was extremely helpful to him and his staff. “I was able to ask them some questions on how they were going to manage this or that, and some of them are seeing us for the first time and how we go about our business in a game,” he explained. “I thought that was really valuable and we need more of that, for sure.”

* The coach was asked specifically today about 6-foot-5, 288-pound Missouri transfer Eddie Kelly Jr., who has one year of college football eligibility left.

“He’s a one-year guy we brought in to make an impact and he’s worked hard,” Rodriguez opined. “He’s in better shape than he was when he got here. I think he loves football, but everything is different for him in a new system and all that. I think he’s got a chance to contribute, and you can’t have enough of those guys. Big guys who can maybe rush the passer, those are pretty valuable.”

* Among the pass catchers, he singled out North Carolina tight end transfer Ryan Ward’s performance during today’s scrimmage. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound, redshirt freshman made a couple of touchdown catches during the team and situational portions of the scrimmage.

“Ryan Ward made a big catch and the tight ends looked like they had a pretty good day blocking,” he observed. “All of the slot receivers had some big catches today. I don’t know if we had any (catches) on the perimeter, but I thought the quarterbacks ran competitively.

“This was really the first time they were live,” he added. “Sometimes they ran a little sideways, but I thought they were pretty competitive running today.”

* As far as first scrimmages go, Rodriguez thought some of the penalties were to be expected with a full officiating crew on the field and the coaches on the sidelines.

“I think we put the ball on the ground twice, which is totally unacceptable, and defensively, I don’t think we attacked the ball as much as we can,” he said. “That’s a big point of emphasis at all levels – guys that are punching the ball, tackling the ball and getting it out, especially in short yardage situations. For a first scrimmage, there is plenty to teach off of.”

* The coach thought redshirt freshman running back Diore Hubbard showed a few things today and there were a few more running backs available to work with this morning. He mentioned a couple of times that the backs needed to stick their foot in the ground and get the required yardage in short-yardage situations.

Presently, the one missing piece in the backfield is a bigger, physical runner to help with that. The quarterbacks are the biggest ball carriers on the team right now.

“We are still actively recruiting (running backs),” Rodriguez said. “When does school start, the 20^th? So, we’ll see.”

* Defensive coordinator Zac Alley gave his instant analysis of today’s practice as well.

“We started fast,” he said. “The first couple of series we got off the field and did a good job executing and near the end of practice I felt like we just fell off a little bit. I challenged the guys afterward just to maintain from the first play of the first quarter to the last play of the fourth quarter. Both are important and you don’t know which one is going to win the game.”

Overall, the tackling from his guys was encouraging.

“It was one of the better overall first scrimmages I’ve had,” he admitted. “Usually, you get out there the first day and you are whiffing left and right because you haven’t actually had to go body-on-body at any point up to that time, but I felt like, overall, we tackled pretty well today compared to first scrimmages of the past. Hopefully we can build on that.”

* Alley said he front-loads the installation of his defensive packages and expects his guys to know everything as soon as possible.

“I tell them, ‘Just because you are a freshman linebacker, it doesn’t mean Robert Morris puts a freshman running back in, so you better be able to execute all the calls the same way,'” he explained. “The expectation is everybody knows everything that we do every time. I’d say some of the older guys who are more experienced definitely have a good grasp, and some of the younger guys it’s probably a little fast for them. The good news is we still have three weeks until we play.”

No on-field activities are scheduled for Sunday.

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College football: Four key Gophers coming back in unique NIL campaign

Published

36 minutes ago

December 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

PHOENIX — Four important Gopher football players were part of a unique media campaign on Tuesday.

Offensive linemen Greg Johnson and Nathan Roy, and defensive backs John Nestor and Kerry Brown allowed the Gophers’ NIL collective, Dinkytown Athletes, to share news they will play in the Rate Bowl against New Mexico on Friday, and will return to Minnesota for the 2026 season.

The social media posts were “presented by Cub Foods,” and those players will be recipients of the grocer’s NIL contribution next year. Dinkytown Athletes serves as a subcontractor.

Athletics Director Mark Coyle called Cub Foods a “foundational partner” of Gopher sports.

“That is how we take the next step, with that type of involvement with NIL side of it,” Coyle told the Pioneer Press. “We are so grateful for their support.”

A few more current Gopher players are expected to join the Cub Foods campaign after the bowl game. But if players on the current roster aren’t included in this specific rollout, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are leaving the U to go into the transfer portal.

For instance, quarterback Drake Lindsey said, independently, two weeks ago that he would return to Minnesota for his redshirt sophomore season in 2026. Other current players have shared they will be back with the Gophers next year.

Meanwhile, the futures of defensive end Anthony Smith, safety Koi Perich and running back Darius Taylor have yet to be shared. Smith and Taylor said Wednesday they have not yet made decisions on their plans for 2026; both are in line to play in the bowl game at Chase Field.

“I really haven’t thought about that stuff,” Taylor said. “I’m just worried about the game. I will figure all that out after the game.”

Smith said he hasn’t ruled out entering the transfer portal. “I don’t know,” he said.

Johnson, who started all 12 regular-season games at guard, will return for his senior season next fall. The Prior Lake native played nearly 700 snaps and was Minnesota’s highest-graded starting offensive lineman in 2025 (75.3 overall mark, per Pro Football Focus).

“Being from Minnesota, I personally didn’t have any thoughts of going elsewhere,” Johnson said. “I think Drake really set the tone for the team. This is Drake’s team. He’s our leader and it’s easy to come back and want to play for a guy like that.”

Roy stepped in as the U’s left tackle during his redshirt freshman year with aplomb, playing a team-high 702 snaps with a 69.0 grade from PFF. The Mukwanago, Wis., native will be back for his redshirt sophomore year.

Nestor transferred in from the Iowa Hawkeyes last year, and the Chicago native started 10 of 12 games as Minnesota’s most-reliable corner. He had a team-high five interceptions, adding 47 tackles in 538 total snaps. He will be a senior in 2026.

Brown continued as a linchpin in Minnesota’s defense for second straight season. The safety and nickel back from Naples, Fla., was fourth on team with 55 tackles and added two interceptions in 579 snaps. He will return for his redshirt junior year.

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Three Mizzou staffers following Kirby Moore to Washington State

Published

1 hour ago

December 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

When Kirby Moore got the Washington State head coaching job, Eli Drinkwitz knew a few members of his staff would likely be headed to Pullman soon.

“Moving forward, could lose a couple more people off our staff from analyst roles, as coach Moore finalizes and puts his staff together,” Drinkwitz said on December 16. “It shouldn’t change the dynamic of what we do at all.”

Three of those moves were reported on Wednesday morning by Chris Hummer and Matt Zenitz of CBS and 247Sports.

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The first is Tiger tight ends coach Derham Cato. Cato has coached Mizzou’s tight ends for the last three seasons. He spent six years at Washington, including an overlap with Moore when Moore was a graduate assistant for the Huskies. PowerMizzou.com had alerted subscribers to this move being likely a week ago.

The second coach is assistant offensive line coach Jack Abercrombie. Hummer and Zenitz report that Abercrombie will be the full-time offensive line coach for Moore with Washington State. Prior to his time at Mizzou, Abercrombie was on staff at VMI.

The final Mizzou to Washington State move is a front office move. Brad Larrondo, who has served as the CEO of Every True Tiger Brands, which is Missouri’s third-part partner for name, image and likeness deals. In his role, Larrondo helps Mizzou athletes line up NIL deals and also negotiates NIL and revenue sharing contracts for Mizzou football and men’s basketball players. Larrondo came to Missouri as Drinkwitz’s Director of Football External Relations and Recruiting in March of 2023. Prior to that, he had been the Chief of Staff at Auburn.

Larrondo had spent the previous 28 years in the athletic administration at Boise State, which is just 300 miles from Pullman. He still has family in Boise and sources told PowerMizzou.com the move to Washington State is heavily based in family reasons.

Larrondo’s position is technically not a University or a football program hire. However, the position works very closely with both and whoever replaces him will do so with influence and blessing from both of those entities. Missouri plays Virginia in the Taxslayer Gator Bowl on Saturday night. Any personnel moves or replacements will almost certainly not come until after that game.

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Missouri Damon Wilson files countersuit against Georgia in NIL case

Published

2 hours ago

December 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Updated Dec. 24, 2025, 11:28 a.m. ET

Missouri football defensive end Damon Wilson has sued Georgia athletics, a move that counters a Georgia lawsuit filed against Wilson earlier this year and intensifies what was already a novel and likely first-of-its-kind case over an NIL contract dispute.

A 42-page document reviewed by the Columbia Daily Tribune was filed in Boone County on Tuesday.

Georgia is attempting to take Wilson into arbitration and is seeking $390,000 in liquidated damages from the star edge rusher, who transferred to the Tigers in January 2025, over what the university views as an unfulfilled contract with the Bulldogs’ former NIL collective, Classic City Collective.

In response, escalating what was already an attempt at a potentially precedent-setting case, Wilson’s attorneys allege his former team “falsely (told) at least three programs” unnamed Power Four teams that “Wilson would be subject to a $1.2 million buyout.”

The suit also alleges Georgia violated a confidentiality provision in Wilson’s term sheet, which was provided as part of the UGA lawsuit in a public court filing.

Wilson’s suit argues he also was urged to sign the term sheet without legal counsel, and that Georgia did not “immediately submit his name to the transfer portal” but instead “launched an all-out offensive to convince Wilson to remain at Georgia.”

Also of note: The suit argues the term sheet Wilson signed states it would “be used to create a legally binding document” and therefore is not enforceable in its current format, and that he was urged to “seek legal counsel” before the agreement was finalized.

If the document is determined not to be finalized, it is quite likely Wilson will not owe Georgia the $390,000 it seeks.

Per The Athletic, Wilson is seeking “a ‘fair and reasonable amount of damages’ for the ‘financial and reputational harm he has suffered’ along with legal fees” from Georgia.

“Georgia appears intent on making an example of someone, they just picked the wrong person,” Jeff Jensen, one of Wilson’s attorneys, said to the Columbia Daily Tribune. “Damon never had a contract with them. I don’t see how Georgia thinks intimidation and litigation will help their recruitment efforts — maybe players could bring lawyers with them to practice.”

Multiple Missouri representatives, including a team spokesperson and athletic director Laird Veatch, have declined to comment on Wilson’s lawsuit. The Georgia lawsuit is not against the University of Missouri; it is only against Wilson.

“This matter involves pending litigation, and we have no comment at this time,” Georgia spokesperson Steven Drummond told USA TODAY on Tuesday. “We refer you to our previous statement.”

The previous Georgia statement in question: “When the University of Georgia Athletic Association enters binding agreements with student-athletes, we honor our commitments and expect student-athletes to do the same.”

Georgia has argued Wilson signed a contract — a common practice in the NIL era — with what was then Georgia’s main, but now-shuttered, NIL and marketing arm, Classic City Collective, in December 2024.

That collective has since shut down, as Georgia has partnered with Learfield to negotiate and facilitate NIL deals in the revenue-sharing era.

The report, citing documents attached to Georgia’s legal filings, shows that Wilson signed a 14-month term sheet worth $500,000 with the Bulldogs. He was set to earn monthly payments of $30,000 through the end of the contract, as well as two $40,000 bonus payments.

Before announcing his intention to transfer in January, he reportedly was paid $30,000.

The contract states if Wilson left the team or transferred, as he ultimately did to Missouri, he would owe the collective that issued the payments a lump sum equal to the amount remaining on his deal.

The bonus payments seemingly were not included, which brings that total to the $390,000 that Georgia is now seeking in court.

Wilson was paid only a fraction of that sum, but the university argues he owes the full amount in damages. It’s unclear why Georgia is claiming it is owed the full amount in liquidated damages.

According to documents viewed by the Tribune through the Georgia courts records system, Georgia filed an “application to compel arbitration” on Oct. 17 in the Clarke County Superior Court, which includes Athens and the University of Georgia. Wilson was served with a summons to appear in court, according to documents, on Nov. 19, three days before the Tigers faced Oklahoma.

Wilson spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Georgia. He transferred to Missouri ahead of spring camp in 2025 and has emerged as one of the top pass rushers in the SEC.

Per Pro Football Focus, Wilson generated 49 pressures on opposing quarterbacks this season, which was the second-most in the SEC behind only Colin Simmons at Texas. He’s listed at 6-4, 250 pounds and could declare for the 2026 NFL Draft, where he would likely be a Day 1 or 2 pick.

This case marks the first time a school has taken a player to court over an NIL buyout. It also looks likely to be the first time a player has filed suit against a school over NIL.

Missouri has multiple players on two-year contracts. Part of that is in the hope they do not move on after one season.

If Georgia’s arbitration case against Wilson is successful, that would be a groundbreaking ruling in college athletics that could give more weight to liquidated damages clauses in athlete contracts.

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College Football Playoff team loses key starter to NCAA transfer portal

Published

3 hours ago

December 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The first round of the College Football Playoff is in the books. Eight teams remain in the hunt to win it all, with Miami and Ohio State kicking off the quarterfinals slate in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl on December 31.

There were quite a few memorable games in the opening round of the playoffs, including Miami’s hard-fought victory against Texas A&M and Alabama’s wild comeback to secure a road win over Oklahoma.

The lone blowout came from Ole Miss over Tulane, winning 41-10 over the Green Wave. Both programs are in transition after their head coaches were hired away by other schools. The Green Wave, in particular, has seen some attrition since concluding its season last week.

Another Tulane Starter Enters Transfer Portal

On Wednesday afternoon, redshirt sophomore cornerback Jahiem Johnson announced his plans to move on after three seasons at Tulane, per On3’s Haye Fawcett.

Johnson developed into a productive defender for the Green Wave in 2025, starting in all 14 games. He totaled 42 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 forced fumble, 9 pass deflections, and 4 interceptions. Johnson’s 9 pass deflections led the American Conference.

He deflected a pass in 6 different games and recorded a pick in 4 separate outings. In Tulane’s conference championship victory against North Texas, Johnson tied his season-high with 5 tackles, 1 pass deflection, and 1 interception.

The Louisiana native played the most snaps (834 snaps) of any player on Tulane’s defense. He was the third-highest-graded player on the unit (77.1 overall grade), per Pro Football Focus.

Johnson signed with Tulane as a three-star prospect in the 2023 class, joining the program under former head coach Willie Fritz. He redshirted as a true freshman, sticking with the Green Wave when Jon Sumrall took over.

In 2024, appeared in 14 games as a reserve, totaling 4 tackles and 2 pass deflections. Johnson’s rise this past season resulted in him earning honorable mention conference honors.

Johnson is the fifth starter to transfer from Tulane, joining defensive end Santana Hopper, linebacker Harvey Dyson, defensive tackle Tre’Von McAlpine, and running back Javin Gordon in the portal.

Sumrall was hired away from the Green Wave to be the next head coach of the Florida Gators. Considering Johnson’s breakout campaign, he may want to continue playing for a familiar face if that option is on the table.

Four key Gophers will be back in 2026

Published

4 hours ago

December 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

PHOENIX — Four important Gopher football players were part of a unique media campaign on Tuesday.

The social media posts were “presented by Cub Foods,” and those players will be recipients of the grocer’s NIL contribution next year. Dinkytown Athletes serves as a subcontractor.

Athletics Director Mark Coyle called Cub Foods a “foundational partner” of Gopher sports.

“That is how we take the next step, with that type of involvement with NIL side of it,” Coyle told the Pioneer Press. “We are so grateful for their support.”

“I really haven’t thought about that stuff,” Taylor said. “I’m just worried about the game. I will figure all that out after the game.”

Smith said he hasn’t ruled out entering the transfer portal. “I don’t know,” he said.

Gophers defensive back John Nestor returns an interception against Northwestern State — Minnesota Gophers defensive back John Nestor (17) returns a interception for a touchdown against the Northwestern State Demons on the very first play from scrimmage in the first quarter of a NCAA football game at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Gophers defensive back Kerry Brown breaks up a pass against Wisconsin. — Minnesota Gophers defensive back Kerry Brown (14) disrupts a pass from Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Hunter Simmons (15) to wide receiver Trech Kekahuna (2) in the fourth quarter of a NCAA football game at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

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Georgia case could determine if schools can get damages from transfers

Published

5 hours ago

December 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Are top-drawer college football teams and their name, image and likeness collectives simply trying to protect themselves from willy-nilly transfers or are they bullying players to stay put with threats of lawsuits?

Adding liquidated damage fee clauses to NIL contracts became all the rage in 2025, a year that will be remembered as the first time players have been paid directly by schools. But some experts say such fees cannot be used as a cudgel to punish players that break a contract and transfer.

It’s no surprise that the issue has resulted in a lawsuit — make that two lawsuits — before the calendar flipped to 2026.

Less than a month after Georgia filed a lawsuit against defensive end Damon Wilson II to obtain $390,000 in damages because he transferred to Missouri, Wilson went to court himself, claiming Georgia is misusing the liquidated damages clause to “punish Wilson for entering the portal.”

Wilson’s countersuit in Boone County, Mo., says he was among a small group of Bulldog stars pressured into signing the contract Dec. 21, 2024. The lawsuit also claims that Wilson was misused as an elite pass rusher, that the Georgia defensive scheme called for him to drop back into pass coverage. Wilson, who will be a senior next fall, led Missouri with nine sacks this season.

Georgia paid Wilson $30,000, the first monthly installment of his $500,000 NIL deal, before he entered the transfer portal on Jan. 6, four days after Georgia lost to Notre Dame in a College Football Playoffs quarterfinal.

Bulldogs brass was not pleased. Wilson alleges in his lawsuit that Georgia dragged its feet in putting his name in the portal and spread misinformation to other schools about him and his contractual obligations.

“When the University of Georgia Athletic Association enters binding agreements with student-athletes, we honor our commitments and expect student-athletes to do the same,” Georgia spokesperson Steven Drummond said in a statement after the school filed the lawsuit.

Wilson’s countersuit turned that comment on its head, claiming it injured his reputation because it implies he was dishonest. He is seeking unspecified damages in addition to not owing the Bulldogs anything. Georgia’s lawsuit asked that the dispute be resolved through arbitration.

A liquidated damage fee is a predetermined amount of money written into a contract that one party pays the other for specific breaches. The fee is intended to provide a fair estimate of anticipated losses when actual damages are difficult to calculate, and cannot be used to punish one party for breaking the contract.

Wilson’s case could have far-reaching implications because it is the first that could determine whether schools can enforce liquidated damage clauses. While it could be understandable that schools want to protect themselves from players transferring soon after receiving NIL money, legal experts say liquidated damage fees might not be the proper way to do so.

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