Josh Cooper, a former Cleveland Browns wide receiver, will return to his Oklahoma high school football roots. This time, he will take over as the Hinton Comets’ head football coach. He will replace Grant Potter, who had a 28-33 record in six seasons.

Cooper will take over an Oklahoma high school football program that went 5-7 last season. While they started by winning four of their first seven games, they went 1-3 since, with their only victory coming against Sayre. Despite the losing record, Hinton competed in the Oklahoma Class A-I state tournament but suffered a shutout loss to Christian Heritage.

Josh Cooper was a three-way player for Mustang High School. During his senior season, his 81 catches for 1,328 yards and 15 touchdowns helped the Broncos finish with a 10-2 record. Likewise, he had 84 tackles and six interceptions, while making eight field goals as a placekicker.

After finishing his Oklahoma high school football career, Cooper stayed in-state by attending Oklahoma State University. As voted by the coaches, he became a 2011 Second-Team All-Big 12 member after finishing his junior year with 68 receptions for 736 yards and six touchdowns in 13 games. Cooper also returned punts for the Cowboys, tallying 182 yards and a punt return touchdown in two seasons.

While Josh Cooper went undrafted in 2012, the Browns signed him, hoping he would pan out with former Cowboys teammate Brandon Weeden. However, he finished his rookie season with eight catches for 106 yards in six games. The following year (2013), Cooper had nine catches for 60 yards in five games. His low production prompted the Browns to waive him in May 2014.

A month later, the Minnesota Vikings signed him, but he didn’t make it to the active roster after being waived in July. After his playing career, he had coaching stints as the offensive coordinator at Deer Creek High School and as a volunteer coach at Mustang.

With NIL now in play, college football recruiting has reached unprecedented heights. Programs across the nation are pushing financial boundaries to land elite talent. Five-star prospects now draw attention not only for their talent on the field but also for their potential to earn through NIL deals. Recently, one program made an offer that has made headlines.

Kaiden Prothro Reveals Massive Texas NIL Package Worth $500,000

Five-star tight end Kaiden Prothro has surprised the recruiting world by announcing that Texas presented him with an NIL offer close to $500,000. That’s not a typo. The elite 2026 prospect, who is currently weighing offers from Georgia, Florida, and Texas, said most schools are in the same ballpark, except LongHorns.

NEWS 5-star TE Kaiden Prothro will announce his commitment on July 12, he tells @samspiegs

Prothro is down to Texas, Florida and Georgia.

Read: https://t.co/y5JDLXgdZ9 pic.twitter.com/WJNNdgdMYX

— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) June 23, 2025

“I’d say most of the schools are about the same,” Prothro said. “Besides, like, Texas is probably like half a mil.”

Since stepping into the SEC spotlight, Steve Sarkisian has been relentless on the recruiting trail. The Longhorns know that to compete in the conference’s brutal weekly grind, they need elite playmakers, and they’re willing to spend for them. A half-million-dollar NIL offer speaks volumes about Texas’ vision and commitment to becoming a powerhouse.

Prothro is one of the most sought-after recruits in the 2026 class. He is ranked No. 2 tight end nationally and No. 29 overall by On3. His size, speed, and receiving skills fit modern college offenses perfectly.

As his hometown, Georgia will surely become an easy favorite. The Bulldogs have a strong track record of developing top tight ends and winning championships. Their recent success gives them an edge beyond just NIL deals.

Billy Napier’s program is also among his top three favorites. The Gators are rebuilding and seeking impact talent for the SEC, and strong NIL offers might help their case.

College football values tight ends like never before. Programs invest big in players who can dominate in the passing attack. Prothro’s talent makes him a smart investment.

Experts say large NIL offers like this will become standard. With growing revenue, programs can spend more on top players, and the competition for recruits isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

Prothro’s commitment may come at any time around July 12. He’s carefully weighing all his options. The $500,000 offer from Texas has definitely made his choice even more compelling.

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This year, the NBA Draft saw its fewest early entrants in a decade. Just 106 players entered the draft by the end of April, which continues a downward trend from 363 declarations in 2021 just before the NIL era began.

More players are opting to stay in college and hone their skills now that they are able to enter into NIL deals and make money. To ESPN’s Jay Bilas, that helps both the college and professional games.

Bilas said the amount of talent returning to college programs means those players can become more well-rounded by the time they reach the NBA. As a result, both levels can benefit – and it makes the later rounds of the draft a bit more interesting.

“I think what we’re seeing is that NIL and the opportunity to make money while you’re in college has caused players that may have been fringe-first rounders or second-round picks to stay in school longer,” Bilas said on FOS Today. “Why go in when you’re doing so well financially in college? You can wait now and go when you really feel like you’re ready. So we’ve seen, the second round is a lot different with NIL that it would have been in past years, you would’ve seen a lot of players go. And now, they’re staying, and I think that’s nothing but a good thing, certainly, for college basketball, to keep more talent in the game.

“But I think it’s also good for the NBA that they’re getting finished products when they decide to go and players that are really [feeling] like they’re truly ready. I think that’s a good thing for the NBA, as well.”

One of the most notable draft withdrawals was Labaron Philon, who announced his decision to return to Alabama despite having first-round potential and initially saying he’d stay in the draft. On3’s James Fletcher III ranked the former touted recruit as the No. 27 overall player on his Big Board prior to his announcement.

Florida also won big with NBA Draft withdrawals, keeping Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu on the roster after last season’s national title. Former Memphis guard PJ Haggerty also withdrew from the draft and eventually announced his decision to transfer to Kansas State for an NIL deal reportedly in the “neighborhood” of $2.5 million. He was considered a fringe second-round pick.

The 2025 NBA Draft officially gets underway Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. Round 2 will take place Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.

Danny Wolf bet on himself when he made the decision to transfer from Yale to Michigan.

He wanted to prove he could play on the perimeter. He wanted to prove he could play against the best in the Big Ten. He wanted to prove he had the talent to play at the next level.

Jim Harbaugh is entering his second season with the Los Angeles Chargers, but the former Michigan football coach is still supporting the program he took to three straight Big Ten championships and the 2023 national title. 

Champions Circle is currently auctioning team-issued gear that Harbaugh wore during his time with the Wolverines. Proceeds from the online garage sale will support Michigan football NIL. 

“A lifelong football man and one of the sport’s most vocal advocates for student-athlete rights, Coach Harbaugh was among the most prominent college coaches in support of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) during his time at Michigan,” reads a press release.

“Before departing for Los Angeles, Coach Harbaugh generously donated a wide array of team-issued gear, much of it worn by him during his nine seasons at Michigan, to NIL collective Champions Circle. These items are now up for bid and funds from the items will benefit Michigan Football NIL.” 

The auction includes cleats, shirts, jackets and other memorabilia collected during Harbaugh’s tenure in Ann Arbor. Some of the featured items: 

• A team-issued “MICH1GAN 1,000 Wins” bomber jacket given to the Michigan football team after becoming the first program to reach the 1,000 all-time win mark during the 2023 season.
• Autographed “career hat” pack including one autographed hat from Jim Harbaugh’s high school football team, the Ann Arbor Pioneer Pioneers, one autographed hat from Jim Harbaugh’s college football team, the Michigan Wolverines, and one autographed hat from Jim Harbaugh’s second NFL team, the Indianapolis Colts.
• Team-issued Air Jordan 13 football cleats worn by Jim Harbaugh. 

Those interested in the auction can shop the collection by clicking here. Bidding closes Wednesday, July 9 at 7 p.m. ET. 

Champions Circle was the first name, image and likeness (NIL) collective to become an official partner of Michigan Athletics. 

“We welcome the Champions Circle as the first U of M collective to achieve the status as an official partner of the Michigan Athletics,” Athletic Director Warde Manuel said when that news was announced in 2023. “Champions Circle has been thoughtful and proactive in its approach to support NIL activities for student-athletes across our entire athletic department. They have done a tremendous amount of work to properly leverage our marks to benefit our young people.”

Other Champions Circle initiatives have included the “One More Year Fund,” which helped retain Blake Corum, Mike Sainristil, Zak Zinter, Trevor Keegan, Kris Jenkins and others for the 2023 national championship run. The “Those Who Stay (Home)” campaign helped welcome the nation’s No. 1 recruit, Bryce Underwood, to the program. According to Champions Circle, more than 11,000 individuals have donated to the NIL collective. 

“We want to thank our Founding Members and others associated with Champions Circle who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make it possible to continue our work building championship teams at Michigan,” the organization said.