Football
6/2/2025 3:09:00 PM

IRVING, Texas – The National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame announced today the names on the 2026 ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, including former Terrapins tight end Vernon Davis and Head Coach Ralph Friedgen.

This year’s ballot features 79 players and nine coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 100 players and 35 coaches from the divisional ranks. This year marks Friedgen’s fourth year on the ballot, while it’s Davis’ first year.

More on each Hall of Fame nominee is listed below.

Vernon Davis, Maryland Tight End (2003-05)

Davis redefined the tight end position as a Terp and throughout his 14-year NFL career. As a Washington, DC native, Davis grew up cheering for Maryland and eventually went on to star for the Terps. He hauled in 83 receptions for 1,371 receiving yards (16.52 yards per catch) in three seasons.

Davis was named an All-American in 2005 by the Associated Press, AFCA and CollegeFootballNews.com. He was also First Team All-ACC and a finalist for the Mackey Award, given to the top tight end in the nation, during his final season at Maryland.

Davis was drafted No. 6 overall in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. He went on to play in the NFL for 14 seasons with the San Francisco, Denver and Washington.

Davis was an NFL All-Pro selection in 2013 and was named to the Pro Bowl twice (2009, 2013). He won a Super Bowl in 2016 as a member of the Denver Broncos.

Davis finished his NFL career with 583 catches for 7,562 yards and 63 touchdowns.

 

Ralph Friedgen, Maryland Head Coach (2001-10)

Friedgen, who restored the Maryland football program to national relevance during his decade tenure as the head coach of the Terrapins from 2001-10, ranks third all-time in program history with 75 wins. He led the Terps to seven bowl games, including a pair of New Year’s Day appearances, and a school-record give bowl wins during his tenure.

A Maryland lifer who suited up as an offensive guard for the Terrapins from 1966-69, Friedgen came back to his alma mater as an assistant coach under Bobby Ross from 1982-86. He took over as the Terps head man in 2001, fostering an immediate turnaround.

The consensus national coach of the year in 2001, Friedgen led Maryland to its first ACC title in 16 years in his first year as head coach. Maryland won its first seven games and earned the league’s automatic berth in the Bowl Championship Series’ FedEx Orange Bowl. By winning the ACC title that season, Friedgen became the first coach in league history to win the championship in his first year as a head coach.

Following that historic 2001 season, Friedgen led Maryland to six more bowl appearances, 12 wins over top-25 teams and the Terps spent 18 weeks in the AP Top-25 during his tenure. Friedgen ranks fifth all-time in ACC history in bowl victories (five), 15th all-time in wins (75), tied for 14th in ACC victories (43) and stands 12th in games coached (125).

Friedgen recruited and coached some of the largest names etched in Maryland lure, including E.J. Henderson, D’Qwell Jackson, Shawne Merriman, Vernon Davis and Torrey Smith. Eighty players earned All-ACC honors under Friedgen’s direction, 37 were named All-Americans and seven were named ACC Players of the Year.

Twenty-seven of Friedgen’s players at Maryland were drafted in the NFL with many, such as Henderson, Jackson, Merriman, Davis, Smith, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Nick Novak, Adam Podlesh and Josh Wilson having sustained professional careers.

 

 

-MARYLAND-

There was plenty of controversy surrounding Duke and Oklahoma State in the NCAA Baseball Tournament, as Chris Pollard explained. The Blue Devils head coach was baffled by the ejection of star play AJ Gracia.

Gracia hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to begin a late rally in a 3-2 win over the Cowboys. After he cut the lead, Pollard’s squad saw Sam Harris drive in two runs with a long single to take a 3-2 lead.

There was a controversial ending due to a runner leaving the lane violation in the ninth, resulting in the final out and an Oklahoma State loss. But, what was even more mind boggling was Gracia’s ejection as Duke took the lead in the eighth as he was in the middle of celebration.

“Incredibly disappointed in the rule and the way the rule was interpreted and executed tonight,” Pollard said postgame. “AJ Gracia, who’s one of the best players in college baseball, hit a home run earlier in the inning to put us within one run. We have a celebration in our dugout where we give the construction helmet to the player that makes a big play. It’s a symbol of our blue collar culture, and it’s something that we rally around, and it gets our guys excited and creates energy. 

“AJ was wearing the helmet because he had just hit the home run later in the inning, Sam Harris hits a single. We score from first on a single to take the lead in the championship game of regional to go to a Super Regional. Our guys are undoubtedly excited, and they should be, and they jump out of the dugout to high five their teammates as they’re running back over to the dugout.” 

AJ Gracia ejection baffles head coach Chris Pollard

Now that Pollard set the stage, the celebration seemed pretty harmless right? Pollard thought so, but Gracia was still ejected.

“AJ still had the helmet on from where he had hit the home run and celebrated,” Pollard said. “He took two steps out of our dugout, not to show anybody up, not to not be disrespectful of the game, not to disrespect Oklahoma State, to cheer on his teammate and give him high fives. This rule and this type of action by the umpire is why people get so frustrated with the NCAA. I’m disappointed for AJ Gracia, that he won’t play in one of the biggest games of his life when we start the Super Regional. 

“I’m disappointed for Duke baseball, and I’m disappointed for college baseball, and I want to get that off my chest, and if I get fined, I get fined, but we deserve better than that. AJ Gracia deserves better than that. Our sport deserves better than that.”

There’s no doubt disappointment for one of the most exciting players in college baseball not playing. But Pollard and Duke will take on Murray State or Ole Miss in the Super Regional without Gracia.

Bill Belichick has never coached a game in college football before. That leaves many, including Joel Klatt, with no clue yet of what his debut season will look like in Chapel Hill.

Klatt, during an appearance on ‘The Herd’ with Colin Cowherd, answered what this fall would look like for Belichick at North Carolina. He, like others, has no idea what it’ll look like for the Tar Heels, especially considering they’re bringing in 40-plus transfers into the program.

“I have no idea,” admitted Klatt. “I think it’s a huge question and it’s boom-or-bust when you go in the transfer portal that heavy. We’ve seen teams succeed, like Indiana, and we’ve seen teams fail, like Florida State, you know”

“So, like, trying to predict what’s going to happen with Bill Belichick and North Carolina is a fool’s errand,” Klatt said. “They could been an eight-win team, they could be a two-win team. I have no idea what to expect from the Tar Heels.”

Again, North Carolina is in a complete reset coming off of last season under Mack Brown. UNC moved on from Brown in the last week of November last year and, two weeks later, hired Belichick as their next head coach. That’s led to a full program overhaul with forty-plus transfers coming in, with thirty commitments as well, with forty plus transfers coming out over the course of this offseason for the Tar Heels.

That’s coming off of a losing season for North Carolina. They went 6-7 in 2024 after going 17-10 the pair of seasons prior, showing a regression off of the sixth season under Brown. Four of his six seasons were winning ones but his latest tied that worst record of his tenure, leading to the coaching change for UNC.

That said, the Tar Heels also play one of the easier schedules this season in the Atlantic Coast Conference. They play Clemson in their conference opener but play only two teams, Syracuse and Duke, in their remaining seven that had winning records, overall and in league play, last year.

With all the changes as well as their strength of schedule, there really is a varying feel of what this season could be for North Carolina. There’s three months, though, until they take the field that first time to see what Belichick does in his collegiate tenure.

Belichick embracing role as ‘rookie’ coach in ACC

Bill Belichick is the self-proclaimed rookie this season in the ACC. When Belichick was announced as the next head coach at North Carolina earlier this offseason, it came as a shock to many. The eight-time Super Bowl-winning coach, at 73 years old, is making his debut coaching in college football.

“I’m not as familiar with things as a lot of the coaches, especially like Coach (Dabo) Swinney here,” Belichick admitted. “You know, he’s got way more experience in doing a lot of the things that that we do in the ACC than I do. Way more. So I’m watching him. I’m looking into the program, a great program. I want to try to copy and do some of the things that he’s been very successful with, and understand why he does them and it makes sense.

“He’s turned out a great product year after year after year after year. That speaks volumes,” Belichick said.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Has your heart stopped pounding yet?

West Virginia University’s Cardiac, Comeback Kids did it again on Sunday night in Clemson, South Carolina, by overcoming 6-1 and 12-7 deficits to defeat Kentucky 13-12 and capture the Clemson Regional.

“A special win,” West Virginia coach Steve Sabins said afterward. “I think this team has been doubted throughout the season, and it’s the most resilient bunch of kids I have ever had the pleasure of coaching.”

For the second consecutive year, the Mountaineers are going to a Super Regional, the site to be determined once tonight’s LSU-Little Rock game in Baton Rouge is completed.

“I’d think it would be fair to say we’re a top-16 program in the country, for the last two years at least,” Sabins noted.

Two nights ago, the 24th-ranked Mountaineers rallied with four runs in the top of the ninth and then brought in Bridgeport’s Ben McDougal to register the final out in a heart-stopping 9-6 victory over 12^th-ranked Clemson, an 11 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

On Friday night, it was regional MVP Armani Guzman’s sacrifice fly to score Brodie Kresser in the bottom of the ninth that gave West Virginia a walk-off, 4-3 victory over the Wildcats.

“That’s the best three-game set I have ever been a part of as a player or as a coach,” Sabins observed. “It literally had everything you could imagine, including walk-offs, a six-run eighth, heroic plays, performances and at-bats. It was the best television you could ever watch for three straight games.”

Guzman, a sophomore utility infielder from New York City who prepped at Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School in rural Georgia, has been a late-season revelation. He got a couple hits in the Big 12 Tournament blowout loss to Arizona and that earned him a spot in the regular lineup for the NCAA Tournament.

He responded with eight hits in 12 at bats and drove in six runs in the Clemson Regional.

“More than just myself … for the team, it just shows that we all have it,” Guzman said. “I was a guy who didn’t play the last month and a half and now I’m here in this position.”

Saturday’s triumph at Clemson gave WVU 24 road wins, the most in college baseball. Adding its three neutral site victories, the Mountaineers’ 27 wins away from Kendrick Family Ballpark equal the total number of home games they have played in Morgantown in 2025.

For comparison’s sake, those 24 road wins equal the total number of road games Kentucky played this season – the most of any team in the SEC.

No. 1-seed Vanderbilt, prematurely knocked out of the tournament on its home field, played 19 road contests this year, which is about right in the middle of the pack for SEC teams.

Tennessee, facing Wake Forest tonight at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, and Arkansas, which defeated Creighton in Fayetteville last night to advance to the Super Regionals, have played the fewest road games in the SEC with 15.

LSU, meeting Little Rock tonight at home for the right to move on to the Supers, has played 16 road games.

That’s a great advantage when you are almost always playing games on favorable terms! LSU has batted last 38 times at Alex Box Stadium, not to mention the instances it was the home team in its six neutral-site games this year.

So, it really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise watching West Virginia produce these late-inning rallies to win baseball games. This team is battle-hardened and tough.

“People stepped up and just kept playing hard, regardless of the score or situation,” Sabins said. 

“It was really difficult because there were some pitchers who really showed great tonight, but we knew we’d have to use them tomorrow if we didn’t tie the game or get the lead,” the first-year coach explained. “The math just didn’t add up tomorrow for trying to piece together nine innings. So, you have to play aggressive and try and win, but I needed the players’ help today because I was having to make aggressive moves with the pitching staff to try and keep the score where it was.

“It was a really weird balancing act that we haven’t had to do much this year,” he added.

From a 30,000-foot perspective, the Mountaineers’ season profile probably looks rather ordinary to outsiders at first glance.

West Virginia’s strength of schedule rating of 93 isn’t awe-inspiring, nor is its 220 nonconference strength of schedule. The Mountaineers were just 8-5 in Quadrant 1 games and 11-6 in Quad 2 games.

But go and look at where most of these were played – on other teams’ fields.

I don’t care where you are playing, it’s not easy getting those last three outs on the road, and you can’t run out the clock in baseball.

West Virginia (44-14) has gotten outs 25, 26 and 27 a total of 24 times this year compared to, say, LSU, for instance, which has done it just eight times. That means the Mountaineers have had to get 48 more outs to achieve their road record compared to LSU’s.

The Tigers’ impressive 45-15 overall record includes a 32-6 mark at Alex Box Stadium. At other venues, their record is a much more pedestrian 13-9.

Auburn, still alive in the NCAA Tournament, is only 13-12 away from Plainsman Park. Arkansas is 35-4 at home and 11-9 away from there.

Do you see a pattern forming here?

Among top 20 RPI teams, the two most successful on the road this year have been Coastal Carolina (18-7) and The University of Texas at San Antonio (19-9).

Not surprisingly, both have advanced to the Super Regionals. UTSA upset Texas in Austin and Coastal was rewarded for its regular-season success by defeating East Carolina at its home venue in the regional.

Now, the Chanticleers get to take their show on the road at Auburn.

As for West Virginia, it will likely be purchasing airline tickets to Baton Rouge on Tuesday morning for games there this weekend, that is unless Little Rock does the unthinkable, which it already did once last night.

Stay tuned!