sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to World Nutella Day!
World Nutella Day celebrates the sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread, Nutella. The day was established by American blogger Sara Rosso, on February 5, 2007. She wanted a day where people could learn about, and start eating Nutella, if they weren't familiar with it, and thought a day towards the beginning of the year would be a great time for it. In 2015, Rosso transferred oversight of World Nutella Day over to Ferrero, the makers of Nutella.
In Post War Europe, there was a shortage of cocoa. Pietro Ferrero, a pastry maker and bakery owner from Alba, Italy, made a paste of hazelnuts (which were prevalent in the Piedmont region where Alba was located), sugar, and just a little cocoa. He made it into a solid block loaf that could be sliced and served on bread, and called it "Giandujot." He officially founded the Ferrero company in 1946. Two years after Ferrero's death, in 1951, Giandujot was transformed into a new product called SuperCrema; it was the precursor to Nutella, and was creamy instead of a solid block. In 1964, Pietro's son, Michele, created Nutella and gave it its name; he made it with the intention of marketing it throughout Europe. He was successful, expanding its reach to Germany in 1965, and to the French market by 1966. It is now eaten all around the world. Nutella is made from sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, skim milk, cocoa, soy lecithin, and vanillin. The sugar and palm oil account for over fifty percent of the ingredients, and hazelnut makes up about thirteen percent.
SU News
https://www.si.com/college/syracuse...can-see-himself-going-to-syracuse-after-visit (SI; McAllister)
Class of 2025 four star athlete Jeff Exinor is one of the best players in Maryland in his cycle. He is a consensus four star and ranked a top 200 overall prospect by 247Sports and ESPN. The 6-2, 220 pounder holds offers from Boston College, Duke, Maryland, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Syracuse, Tennessee, USC, Virginia Tech and West Virginia, among others.
Exinor spent a recent weekend on the Syracuse campus to get a closer look at the program.
"Man, Cuse was amazing," Exinor said. "The experience was exciting with us going to one of the best basketball games of the season and I was able to get a closer closer to a lot of the recruits in my class. The new coaching change is really appealing to me as every coach there has a legit track record whether it be in the NFL or college. I also felt like everything they said was genuine and felt like they didn't sugar coat anything. They were genuine. Honestly one of the best visits I've been on so far."
Exinor raved about his experience watching a buzzer beating victory over Miami.
"It was honestly something out of a movie," Exinor said. "The basketball game itself was a classic and has been one of the best games that I've ever seen in person. And the fan support was on another level. The people are so passionate and kind and they really care about their Syracuse community."
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Hudl
After visit, Syracuse football is big contender for N.J. 4-star edge, top-300 national prospect (itlh; Adler)
Four-star edge and top-300 national prospect Darren Ikinnagbon from New Jersey, an elite player in the 2025 class, is high on Syracuse football after taking an unofficial visit to the Hill last Saturday for one of the team’s junior days.
That’s according to a recent interview conducted by the 6-foot-6, 240-pound Ikinnagbon with SyracuseOnSI publisher Mike McAllister. Following his visit to Central New York, the ‘Cuse is in Ikinnagbon’s top 10, McAllister writes.
Ikinnagbon is a standout at Hillside High School in Hillside, N.J. As I’ve noted in numerous columns of late, Syracuse football is recruiting New Jersey hard, as several Orange coaches, including head coach Fran Brown, hail from the Garden State.
While it’s encouraging that Syracuse football appears to be a significant contender for Ikinnagbon, his recruiting process likely has a way to go, and he holds more than 20 scholarship offers to date.
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Syracuse Football: National analyst dishes on top suitors for ‘Cuse 5-star targets (itlh; Adler)
In recent weeks, Syracuse football coaches have turned up the heat with their 2025 recruiting efforts.
Orange coaches have held a couple of junior days, hosting various 2025 targets on the Hill for unofficial visits. The ‘Cuse has also made list cuts of numerous highly ranked juniors, while also doling out scholarship offers to some of the top prospects in this cycle.
Regarding the latter, two 2025 five-star players who have relatively new offers from the Orange coaching staff are offensive tackle David Sanders Jr. and safety Faheem Delane.
In late January, the ‘Cuse offered the 6-foot-7, 265-pound Sanders out of the Providence Day School in Charlotte, N.C.
In mid-December of last year, the Orange offered the 6-foot-2, 193-pound Delane, who is a standout at Good Counsel High School in Olney, Md.
On December 20, 2023, MaxPreps unveiled its junior All-America teams for the 2023 season. Both Sanders and Delane were placed on the first squad.
Syracuse football may prove a long shot for a pair of 2025 five-star prospects.
Sanders and Delane are elite juniors. Delane, rated in the top 20 nationally, is deemed the country’s No. 1 safety in this cycle by some recruiting services.
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Syracuse Football: 4-star N.J. wide receiver says his interest in ‘Cuse has ‘skyrocketed’ (itlh; Adler)
Four-star junior Michael Thomas III from New Jersey, one of the top wide receivers across the country in the 2025 class, recently made a trip to Central New York and says he’s high on Syracuse football following that visit.
Last month, the Orange coaching staff held a couple of junior days, where numerous 2025 recruits were on the SU campus for unofficial visits.
The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Thomas, a top-150 national prospect in his class, was on the Hill for one of those junior days, and he was in attendance at the JMA Wireless Dome as Syracuse basketball stunned Miami on a last-second 3-pointer from sophomore wing Quadir Copeland.
Thomas, a standout junior at Donovan Catholic High School in Toms River, N.J., received a scholarship offer from the ‘Cuse in May of 2023, when Dino Babers was still at the helm of the ‘Cuse program.
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Syracuse bolsters defensive line in transfer portal (cbssports; video; Finneral)
247Sports' James Finneral discusses Syracuse's incoming defensive line transfers.
(youtube; podcast; WakeUpCallDT)
“From Mother’s Cupboard to Table” - DT & Rob Drummond, Syracuse Football, NFL, & CFL alum, come to you from Syracuse, New York Staple Restaurant Mother's Cupboard Fish Fry & Diner as the Central/Upstate NY Natives discuss this new era of Syracuse Football, Fran Brown, & pray together w/ you on the bigger things…
Syracuse Football: 4-star, top-20 cornerback with ‘Cuse in final 6 makes college decision (itlh; Adler)
Syracuse football hasn’t prevailed in the recruiting battle for 2024 four-star cornerback Kevyn Humes from Baltimore, who is staying home for college.
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Humes, who had the Orange in his final six, said via his X page that he is committing to Big Ten Conference member Maryland.
While it’s a bummer that the ‘Cuse didn’t win out for this top-150 national prospect, Humes deciding to play for the Terrapins is completely understandable, given it’s a hometown college squad for him.
Humes is a standout at the Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore who took an official visit to Syracuse football last month. His half-dozen finalists consisted of the Orange, Maryland, Penn State, Southern California, Notre Dame and Florida.
Syracuse football does have talented cornerbacks in its 2024 class.
Last Christmas Day, Humes announced that he would move from the 2025 cycle to the 2024 class.
According to his bio on , Humes has received around 30 scholarship offers from a range of high-major programs throughout his recruiting process.
The new Orange coaching staff, led by head coach Fran Brown, “re-offered” a scholarship to Humes on December 4 of last year.
Media reports had indicated that Humes was eyeing a commitment announcement on February 7, which is the start of the traditional signing period for high school seniors. But he didn’t need to wait that long, electing to commit to Maryland this week.
When recently updated its 2024 national rankings, Humes checked in at No. 137 overall, up two spots, along with No. 18 at cornerback and No. 3 in Maryland.
At the time of this writing, both the industry-generated 247Sports Composite and the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking placed him in the top 450 nationally, in the top 40 at his position and within the top 15 in Maryland.
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Syracuse Football: Deeper dive on the Orange’s opponents during the 2024 season (itlh; Adler)
In late August, the Fran Brown era as the Syracuse football head coach will commence, and it’s undeniable that Orange fans are pumped about the team’s prospects in the 2024 season.
I’m anxious to see what Brown and his terrific assistants will do on the field come next fall and winter. The ‘Cuse coaching staff has, without question, fared quite well on the recruiting trail with the squad’s 2024 class.
However, recruiting is one thing. Actual games are quite another. Not too long ago, the Orange’s full 2024 docket came out, and some national experts have opined that it’s a favorable slate for the ‘Cuse, and that Syracuse football has an opportunity to contend for the Atlantic Coast Conference’s top tier in the upcoming campaign.
The Orange’s 2024 schedule is intriguing. Seven home games. A couple of first-time opponents. Trips out west. The ‘Cuse will start the season with four straight encounters at the JMA Wireless Dome, but then it will play five of its next six affairs on the road.
Here are some interesting tidbits on the Syracuse football 2024 foes, per SU Athletics.
Saturday, Aug. 31 – Ohio at homeThe Orange and Ohio have met three times in the past, with the ‘Cuse undefeated versus the Bobcats. They last squared off in 2021, with the two prior meetings occurring back in 1916 and 1921, more than 100 years ago.
Saturday, Sept. 7 – Georgia Tech at home
Syracuse football kicks off ACC play early in the 2024 season, suiting up versus a Yellow Jackets squad that is 3-1 overall against the Orange. However, the lone ‘Cuse victory over Georgia Tech in their series did come on the Hill, 37-20 in 2020.
Friday, Sept. 20 – Stanford at home
Stanford is one of three new ACC members in 2024, along with California and SMU. This match-up with the Cardinal will represent the first-ever meeting between Stanford and Syracuse football.
Saturday, Sept. 28 – Holy Cross at home
This non-conference encounter will be the 30th game between Holy Cross and the Orange, but only the second affair over the past 50 years. These squads last met in 2019, as the ‘Cuse prevailed, 41-3.
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TNIAAM Reacts: Orange fans have mixed emotions about Syracuse sport futures (TNIAAM; Wall)
This week we asked Syracuse Orange fans to put on their prediction hats and give us thoughts on some future outcomes. Let’s get to the results.
Posting this right after the Orange lost at Boston College probably had a significant impact, but we’ll see if Adrian Autry’s squad can get a big win tonight and restore some optimism.
Having lost two in a row, it seems like the Orange women will need to rebound down the stretch to get a top-four seed and home court advantage in the women’s NCAA Tournament. With a loaded ACC, they still have that opportunity to enhance their resume.
Lacrosse season starts today and both Orange squads enter as top-10 teams with high expectations. Most of you think at least one of the teams will find their way into the Final Four in May.
Things around Syracuse football are a little quieter as the team is preparing for Fran Brown’s first spring practice. The majority of you expect seven or eight wins and a good number are thinking nine or higher.
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ACC News
SEC, Big Ten uniting to tackle pervasive issues in college athletics — 'Pressures are mounting' - Yahoo Sports (yahoo.com; Dellenger)
College football’s kings are aligning in an effort to pave the sport’s future path.
Amid one of the most pivotal times in college athletics, the SEC and Big Ten, the two wealthiest conferences in America, are creating a joint advisory group of university presidents, chancellors and athletics directors to address the turmoil enveloping the industry, the league’s two commissioners told Yahoo Sports in an exclusive interview this week.
This nameless joint effort, a historic cooperative movement between the country’s most powerful leagues, is an initial step in their intent to steer the future of college athletics — the latest example of authority shifting from the NCAA’s age-old national governance model to its more prominent conferences.
The joint advisory board is tasked with tackling the most pressing challenges before the industry in what Big Ten and SEC commissioners describe as an “urgent” mission to find solutions for issues such as ongoing antitrust lawsuits, most notably the multi-billion dollar House case; disagreements over the NCAA’s new governance proposal, Project DI; and the unsettled landscape of athlete transfer movement, tampering charges and name, image and likeness (NIL) inducements.
Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti calls the joint move a “meaningful step” in an effort to “fix things.” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey described it as a search for “a common-sense solution” that, he hopes, will lead to a “much brighter horizon.”
The commissioners both strongly rebuke any notion that the creation of this advisory board is a move toward a breakaway from the college sports’ governing body. The Big Ten and SEC remain prominent members of the NCAA, both in governance and national competition, they say. The joint board does not hold unilateral authority and they will have “no motivation to simply declare” anything, Sankey said.
“From our perspective, we have a lot that is linked to the NCAA,” he said. “We want to see a healthy national organization. I think that’s very much a need.”
However, “pressures are mounting,” he continued. “We’re going to have conversations about what might a path forward mean for college sports.”
Said Petitti: “You can see the pace that others are getting involved in college athletics is increasing. So the pace of solutions to the problems being identified has to increase.”
College sports' two wealthiest conferences are creating a joint advisory group to address the turmoil enveloping the industry. (Michael Wade/Getty Images)
While commissioners say their expressed goal is not secession, the creation of the joint board feels like something much more grandiose in the making — college football’s two behemoths sharing ideas, plans and models for the future.
After all, officials from the two conferences hold more authority than any other leagues — they own much of the value, money and historic success. Next year, the leagues will encompass 34 schools in 27 different states. In college athletics’ only real profit-turning sport — football — those teams have won three times as many AP national championships as the other leagues combined. From a revenue perspective, schools in the Big Ten and SEC will soon earn at least $25 million more than the next conference’s media rights deal.
The similarities have brought them together. Their commissioners have grown close. A pair of New York state natives leading rival billion-dollar businesses, one is a longtime media and Major League Baseball executive, Petitti, and the other a lifelong college athletics administrator, Sankey.
In Petitti’s first few weeks on the job last spring, he visited Sankey in Birmingham to start a dialogue that reached a crescendo with this week’s announcement. In between was a golf outing together over the summer and multiple meetings at various NCAA and College Football Playoff events — a relationship that seems to have even surpassed the rivalries of their predecessors, Mike Slive and Roy Kramer in the SEC and Jim Delany in the Big Ten.
Some within college athletics look at this budding bond between the two goliaths as the latest threat on the enterprise. Others describe it as a necessary evil that may generate real, accelerated progress in an era of urgent modernization.
“We thought in the Big Ten that coming together this way to share ideas was the fastest and best way to increase the pace of what we are doing,” Petitti said.
'When are you and the Big Ten going to tell us what you want?'
While circumstances have long pointed toward an affiliation between the two leagues, an event just last month triggered the move. While at the NCAA convention in Phoenix, Sankey participated in meetings of the Division I Council, the NCAA’s second-highest ranking DI governance body.
He left meetings realizing that many of these most challenging issues “reside here with us,” he said of the two conferences.
“I was asked in Phoenix (by administrators), ‘When are you and the Big Ten going to tell us what you want?’ That was a motivating factor,” Sankey said.
In the past, both men have expressed an intent to find a way to expedite NCAA governance and condense the amount of schools making decisions — a concept somewhat foreign to the NCAA’s laborious bureaucratic process.
They believe the joint advisory board, encompassed by like-minded representatives, provides a more streamlined and efficient path to quicker consensus on decisions — a decades-long struggle in a national association that spans three divisions, 97 conferences and more than 1,000 schools, all of them with varying resource levels, missions and goals.
Sankey, however, left open the door for the joint group to grow, possibly incorporating representatives from other leagues.
“We can start it together and I think it can populate itself outward and we can draw people in and work in larger rooms,” he said before pausing, “but having been in a lot of larger rooms, we haven’t seemed to make a lot of progress with bigger numbers.”
Over the years, Sankey has expressed his frustration publicly for the small number of representatives that power leagues hold on NCAA governance bodies. He often points toward the NCAA Division I Council, of which most key decisions are adopted. The group is made up of 40 members, just six of which are representatives from the Power 4 conferences.
“We have to think about how we accelerate our own thinking,” Sankey said.
Sankey and Petitti will hold positions on the joint board, but its membership and exact composition have not yet been finalized. While the group will only include athletic directors and chancellors from the two conferences, leaders are expected to lean on athletes as well, they say.
The leagues choreographed a Friday rollout of the joint move in a subtle and subdued way. There is no specific name attached to the advisory group or the joint operation in general.
There is no logo, no news conference or flashy backdrop.
Such bells and whistles were part of the introduction in 2021 of The Alliance, a partnership between the Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 that lasted less than a year and is deemed by many as one of the sport’s greatest failures. The Alliance spectacularly imploded when the Big Ten and then-commissioner Kevin Warren broke what was termed a “gentleman’s agreement” by poaching USC and UCLA.
Nearly three years later, the Big Ten has found a new dance partner.
“I don’t expect we’ll agree on everything,” Sankey said. “We want our teams to succeed. I was hoping the way the (CFP) semifinals played out that it was going to be Texas and Alabama. Tony got to smile more than I did.”
As the 2023 football season played out, their plans were not kept secret within the college athletics world. Over the last several days, in fact, Yahoo Sports learned of a “special project” between the two conferences, the details of which were only known by their commissioners, a select group of presidents and high-ranking league office personnel.
SEC, Big Ten on Project DI
The buzz within the two conferences grew louder last week, when Yahoo Sports published a story ahead of a meeting in Washington D.C. between the five major conference commissioners and NCAA president Charlie Baker — a story that outlined the Big Ten and SEC’s internal pushback of Baker’s proposed new college athlete model, dubbed Project DI.Project DI will be one of the first topics addressed by the joint advisory group, Sankey said. Project DI, revealed in December, would permit schools to strike NIL deals directly with athletes while also creating a separate subdivision in FBS for high-revenue producing schools. Those schools in the new subdivision will be required to put away into a trust a minimum of $30,000 annually per athlete for at least half of a school’s athletes.
The first portion of the proposal — permissive school-to-athlete NIL pay — is on a fast track for potential adoption as soon as August. However, the joint board is expected to address the project and give feedback to NCAA leaders and/or the Division I Council, which is charged with adopting a framework around the proposal.
Sankey described last week’s meeting with Baker as a “candid conversation” and was encouraged at Baker’s insistence that the proposal is not, in any way, set in stone.
“Charlie seemed open that there is not one predetermined path to accomplish some of the things he suggested,” Petitti said. “There isn’t just one path and he’s open to listening to maybe some other ideas.”
In interviews with Yahoo Sports this week, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips and Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark expressed similar encouragement from the meeting.
“Charlie Baker has a better understanding now of what we need,” Phillips said. “He listened.”
“It was a great meeting. Open and honest,” Yormark said.
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National Signing Day 2024: Every ACC football team's most impactful recruit (247sports.com; Hughes)
National Signing Day is around the corner, and we've tapped insider sources for information on every ACC team's most impactful recruit from the class of 2024. Miami leads the conference in the 2024 Recruit Football Team Rankings with the No. 3 overall class, but the Hurricanes' top-rated recruit, five-star DL Justin Scott, is not listed as the team's most impactful recruit next fall, one of many surprises on this list.
Clemson joined Miami as the only ACC program to sign multiple five-star recruits for the 2024 cycle, but the Tigers' generational defensive commitment made their selection easy. Florida State rounds out the trio of ACC teams to assemble top-25 classes, while North Carolina finished just outside at No. 26 overall.
Stanford signed the No. 6 class in the ACC, the highest of the conference's three newcomers. Cal finished No. 12 and SMU ranks last with just 10 total commitments, the fewest in the conference by three.
Here is every ACC team's most impactful recruit for the 2024 college football season:
STANFORD CARDINAL
Impact Recruit: QB Elijah Brown | Four-Star | No. 192 OVR, No. 11 QB"Stanford's quarterback competition went back and forth throughout the 2024 season. Both QBs had their moments, especially Ashton Daniels, but the position is up for grabs as Brown arrives on campus. He enrolls early for spring camp and has a chance to cement himself within the competition. Brown finished as 247Sports' No. 11 QB, but his 42-2 record as a starter at Mater Dei represents tangibles beyond his physical attributes." — Cardinal247's Jackson Moore
SMU MUSTANGS
Impact Recruit: S Ka'Davion Dotson | Three-Star | No. 89 SPonyStampede's Jordan Hofeditz said Dotson is the most "college-ready" player in SMU's recruiting class. The Texas native has solid size at 5-foot-11, 170-pounds and is a former track star.
"The biggest obstacle for Dotson getting on the field this year is depth at the safety position," Hofeditz said. "He might be the most college-ready player in the class, but SMU returns five players who combined for all safety starts last year. But his ability might make them find a place for him."
CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS
Impact Recruit: JUCO S Isaiah Crosby | Three-Star | No. 43 OVR, No. 5 S"Cal has to replace starting safety Patrick McMorris, and a junior college commit, Isaiah Crosby, is an immediate candidate to fill that void. He had a stretch of five interceptions in a three-game stretch and pulled in 25 offers as a JUCO prospect from Trinity Valley (Texas). Cal made a late run for Crosby to beat out the likes of Texas Tech, Washington State and Houston. The Golden Bears have been aggressive in the portal but did not bring in any transfer safeties with Crosby already committed." — BearTerritory's Jackson Moore
WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS
Impact Recruit: WR Jeremiah Melvin | Four-Star | No. 204 OVR, No. 34 WRMelvin is the ninth-highest-rated prospect to commit to Wake Forest since 2000. He's the only four-star prospect in the Demon Deacons' class and should contend for early playing time next season. National recruiting analyst Brian Dohn projects him as a future NFL Draft pick.
"Big-framed receiver who is a red zone threat and can be a mismatch nightmare for defensive backs because of his size," Dohn wrote. "Will devour smaller cornerbacks because of his ability to get in the air."
PITTSBURGH PANTHERS
Impact Recruit: IOL Caleb Holmes | Four-Star | No. 188 OVR, No. 10 IOLPat Narduzzi loves building his teams from the trenches out, and Holmes is a guy with a chance to develop into a future NFL Draft pick along the offensive line. It's easy to like his size at 6-foot-4, 290-pounds, and hard not to love the nastiness he plays with.
"Holmes is a big, mean, nasty, aggressive, physical, and relentless offensive lineman," Panther247's Ed O'Brien wrote. "He's a nasty finisher who utilizes great hand work to sustain blocks."
BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES
Impact Recruit: WR Syair Torrance | Three-Star | No. 125 WRBoston College is in dire straits after losing head coach Jeff Hafley to the Green Bay Packers. The Eagles own the No. 67 recruiting class in the nation but could see it drop even further if Hafley's departure allows players to earn releases from their national letters of intent. With that in mind, Torrance is the likeliest player to make an impact next season. Boston College needs all the help it can get on offense, and the three-star recruit is the program's highest-rated pass-catcher this cycle.
VIRGINIA CAVALIERS
Impact Recruit: ATH Kameron Courtney | Three-Star | No. 82 ATHIt was another lackluster effort on the recruiting trail for head coach Tony Elliott and his staff. The Cavaliers' class ranks No. 65 in the nation and doesn't feature a four-star recruit. Courtney is an intriguing option for next season. The Virginia native has the tools to see early playing time on special teams and in the return game, according to Wahoos247's Jacquie Franciulli.
"Courtney is poised to have the biggest impact of any freshman because he can help on special teams and in the return game," Franciulli said. "He is also an early enrollee and getting adjusted."
GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS
Impact Recruit: WR Isiah Canion | Four-Star | No. 50 WRBrent Key deserves credit for Georgia Tech's quick turnaround, which has resulted in improved returns on the recruiting trail. The Yellow Jackets managed to keep Canion in-state despite offers from Notre Dame and Auburn. He's got great size at 6-foot-4, 195-pounds. With Leo Blackburn nursing an ACL tear, Canion is set to be the Yellow Jackets' tallest receiver to start the season and has a chance to see the field early.
VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES
Impact Recruit: JUCO DT Kemari Copeland | Three-Star | No. 64 OVR, No. 18 DLFour-star linebacker Gabriel Williams headlines Virginia Tech's high school recruiting class, but Copeland has the most immediate path to playing time, according to VTScoop's Evan Watkins. Copeland recorded 38 tackles, nine tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks at Iowa Western CC last season.
"Kemari Copeland will be in the two deep at DT right away," Watkins said. "They lost their three top defensive tackles to graduation, so he will make a big impact immediately. A dark horse is safety Quentin Reddish."
SYRACUSE ORANGE
Impact Recruit: ATH Jamie Tremble | Four-Star | No. 167 OVR, No. 6 ATHTremble is the lone Top247 commit in Fran Brown's inaugural signing class at Syracuse and is a candidate to play early and develop into a big-time playmaker down the road, according to CuseNation's James Finneral.
"Tremble is expected to be a hybrid tight end/wide receiver, and he will have the opportunity to learn from Oronde Gadsden II over the next season," Finneral said. "Very athletic and has the potential to be a star for Syracuse down the road."
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ACC football transfer portal additions: One newcomer for each team ready to make impact in 2024 season (cbsports.com; Patterson)
The 2024 college football season will feature a new-look ACC with 17 football members after California, Stanford and SMU join officially this summer. And across the conference there is a wide range of approaches to the transfer portal, with schools like Florida State and Louisville using highly ranked transfer classes to help power runs to the ACC Championship Game, while other schools pick and choose their spots.
Below, we have named one player from the transfer portal class for each ACC team that should have an immediate impact on the 2024 season. Most of the conference has somewhere close to 10 new additions from the portal, per 247Sports, but there are also outliers like Louisville welcoming in 26 new players from the portal. Meanwhile, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Stanford and Clemson all have five or fewer.
The Tigers stand out in particular with no transfer portal additions in the 247Sports database, continuing a trend of going against the grain when it comes to transfers. Coach Dabo Swinney and his staff recruit at a high level out of high school and often go toe to toe with the other top programs in the sport, but they have not seen as much of an influx from the portal as other conference title contenders from across the country.
So let's get into the nitty gritty of it, with one player to know from the transfer portal class for every ACC team (except Clemson).
ACC transfers ready to make impact in 2024 season
Jerand Bradley, WR, Boston College: This first one comes with the caveat that Bradley has an opportunity to seek yet another transfer without penalty now that Jeff Hafley has left to become the new defensive coordinator with the Green Bay Packers. Bradley was a big get for Hafley and the offensive staff as the former Texas Tech receiver possesses the size (6-foot-5, 220 pounds) and experience (1,175 yards and 10 touchdowns in two seasons) to have an immediate impact. If he stays on board, he should be a primary target in the passing game in the fall.Mikey Matthews, WR, Cal: A somewhat undersized but dangerous skill position talent, Matthews finished second on the team in all-purpose yards during his true freshman season at Utah thanks to his contributions as both a kick returner and punt returner. The Irvine, California, native has familiarity with the team thanks to former high school teammate wide receiver Marvin Anderson, and he joins an offense where he can provide a complement to one of the top running backs in the country in Jaydn Ott.
Maalik Murphy, QB, Duke: A strong showing in Texas' spring practice back in 2023 had Murphy locked in ahead of five-star freshman Arch Manning on the Longhorns' depth chart. He got two starts in place of Quinn Ewers and led Texas to wins against both BYU and Kansas State, and now the 6-foot-5, 238-pound signal-caller is a key piece for new coach Manny Diaz. Murphy not only answers the immediate concern at quarterback with Riley Leonard off to Notre Dame, but allows Duke to build around him moving forward with three years of eligibility remaining.
DJ Uiagalelei, QB, Florida State: The former Clemson and Oregon State quarterback makes his return to the ACC as the presumed frontrunner to be QB1 in Tallahassee. The fifth-year senior has 57 passing touchdowns and 21 rushing touchdowns in 47 career games, and he's one of double-digit blue-chip transfer prospects that Mike Norvell has added in the winter window. Florida State also is bringing in six players from Alabama, with wide receiver Malik Benson among the former Tide players who could have the biggest impact in 2024.
EJ Lightsey, LB, Georgia Tech: A former 2A Defensive Player of the Year in the state of Georgia, Lightsey did not see any action with the Bulldogs in 2023 due to injury after redshirting in 2022. Now he gets a fresh start with the Yellow Jackets, who were in on Lightsey's recruitment before his commitment to Kirby Smart and can provide opportunities for him to recapture that promise he had as a high school prospect.
Ja'Corey Brooks, WR, Louisville: In three years at Alabama, there were times when Brooks was clearly the most impactful wide receiver in the offense. Injuries in 2023 limited his contributions, and now Brooks is eyeing the chance to follow in Jamari Thrash's footsteps by becoming Louisville's leading receiver out of the transfer portal. Brooks caught 57 passes for 896 yards and 10 touchdowns with the Crimson Tide and added plenty of value during his career on special teams with a couple of blocked punts.
Cameron Ward, QB, Miami: After initially declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft, Ward committed to Miami and gave the Hurricanes the top quarterback in this transfer portal cycle. Ward totaled 48 passing touchdowns and 13 rushing touchdowns combined in just two seasons with Washington State, throwing for 6,968 yards on 65.5% passing. An electric playmaker and upgrade at the position, Ward raises Miami's ceiling to ACC title contender.
Jake Johnson, TE, North Carolina: While initial headlines were focused on quarterback Max Johnson, Jake's brother, committing to the Tar Heels, the outlook for North Carolina in 2024 could see the gifted pass-catcher playing a big role in the offense. Johnson was the No. 1 tight end in his class as a high school prospect, and 247Sports had him as the No. 3 tight end in this transfer portal cycle. He joins a tight end room that has experience but also lost veteran Kamari Morales. With a 6-foot-6, 240-pound frame, Johnson could be a matchup advantage and safety blanket for whoever takes over the QB1 duties in the wake of Drake Maye's departure.
Grayson McCall, QB, NC State: There has not been stability at the quarterback position in recent years for NC State, but what they're getting in McCall is one of the most celebrated active players in the sport. McCall was named the Sun Belt Player of the Year three years in a row, leading Coastal Carolina on transformative and memorable campaigns from 2020-22. That run included setting the NCAA passer rating record (at the time) in 2021 and a 29-4 record as a starter. Injuries limited his contributions to Coastal Carolina in 2023, but now healthy, he is an important piece of a portal class that has made NC State one of the teams to watch in the ACC title race in 2024.
Keye Thompson, LB, Pitt: Just a two-star prospect coming out of Barberton, Ohio, in the 2018 recruiting class, Thompson needed a few years before his breakout as one of the top defensive players in the MAC. Thompson earned all-conference honors at Ohio each of the last two seasons, with first-team recognition at the end of 2023. Now, the former Bobcats standout joins a Pitt defense that has routinely put players in the NFL, and he hopes to help the Panthers return to their program standard after a disappointing 2023 season.
Brashard Smith, WR, SMU: While there are plenty of important pieces that SMU has added in this portal cycle, it's hard to ignore the potential for a gifted skill position player to have an immediate impact in coach Rhett Lashlee's offense. Smith appeared in 34 games over the last three seasons with Miami, earning 10 starts and helping out on special teams as both kick returner and punt returner. He earned All-ACC honors as a specialist and all-purpose threat in 2023 following a campaign that saw him boast the fifth-best kickoff return average in the country (29.0) and finish second on the team with 979 all-purpose yards.
Jaivion Green, CB, Stanford: The transfer portal era has been difficult for a Stanford program that operates with different standards when it comes to admissions at both the graduate and undergraduate level. As such, you don't have waves of transfers like at other schools, but of the Cardinal's two portal additions we think Green could have an impact on the 2024 season. The former Washington cornerback appeared in 24 games over the last two seasons, including all 15 of the contests in the Huskies' 14-1 run in 2023.
Fadil Diggs, DL, Syracuse: One of coach Fran Brown's biggest recruiting wins since taking over was bringing Diggs, a Camden, New Jersey native, back to the Northeast after a couple years at Texas A&M. Fans are doubly excited that Diggs is coming along with Elijah Robinson, the highly touted defensive line coach who served as the Aggies interim coach after Jimbo Fisher's dismissal, and together they represent a new era and raised expectations for Syracuse on defense. Diggs was a four-star prospect coming out of high school when he committed to Texas A&M and was later ranked as the No. 7 edge rusher in this transfer portal class, per 247Sports.
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Power Ranking each ACC team’s performance in the transfer portal (saturdayblitz.com; Yourish)
More than any other conference, the ACC has been defined by the transfer portal over the past few seasons. Clemson had a chokehold on the rest of the conference for nearly a decade, but Dabo Swinney refused to embrace the new way of things in college football. Meanwhile, Mike Norvell and Florida State built a national championship contender almost entirely on transfers.
The dichotomy between those who embrace change and those who reject it is fully encapsulated by this football conference. The demise of Clemson is obvious and isn’t stopping.
The shifting balance of power is tied directly to the portal, so it can be instructive to analyze which teams are exploiting this new fruitful avenue for acquiring talent. Norvell at FSU and Jeff Brohm at Louisville have ridden the portal to the top of the ACC, so who will be next to breakthrough in the 17-team conference?
With the additions of SMU, Stanford, and Cal, the conference is no longer limited to the Atlantic coast. The college football landscape is in flux and the coaches who learn to survive in this new environment will end up on top.
17 Clemson Tigers Incoming: 0 | Outgoing: 10
Dabo Swinney is convinced that he can win the same way he did in 2018 and if he just ignores the transfer portal then maybe it will go away. Swinney didn’t take a single transfer this season after a 9-4 record. Clemson is clearly in decline and the coaching staff is doing nothing to stop it.
Swinney couldn’t even keep his team together. If you aren’t going to add in the portal, it’s a necessity to keep players like Beaux Collins and Andrew Mukuba, but Clemson saw both walk out the door this offseason.
Over the past five years, Clemson has taken just two transfers, both backup quarterbacks. If the options truly are, adapt or die, the Tigers have chosen the latter.
16 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Incoming: 5 | Outgoing: 14
In these rankings, I always award teams who address the most important position on the field, but when you get it wrong at quarterback, it can send you plummeting to No. 16. That’s what Dave Clawson and Wake Forest did by bringing Hank Bachmeier for his sixth year of college football.
Bachmeier showed promise at Boise State, but last season at Louisiana Tech he only managed to throw 10 touchdowns with five interceptions and 20 sacks. Maybe he can thrive in Wake Forest’s unique offense, but relying on 24-year-old Bachmeier as a one-year fix after a 4-8 season is bad process.
The Demon Deacons should reload and build around a young QB because it takes time to master Clawson’s offense. By the time Bachmeier grasps it, the season will be nearly over and the team will be forced to look for another QB next offseason.
Capone Blue was the team’s best defensive transfer after a year with 10 pass breakups at Kent State.
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8 Syracuse Orange Incoming: 11 | Outgoing: 18
Editor's note: Syracuse is NOT in Western New Year, Haynes is a WR and the name is spelled Fadil.
Fran Brown is one of the heroes of the offseason because of how he’s stockpiling talent in Western New York, but I’m not as high on his portal class as consensus. Yes, players like edge rushers Zeed Haynes from Georgia and Fadill Diggs from Texas A&M raised the talent level on the Syracuse roster immediately, but Brown, like Dave Clawson at Wake Forest got the quarterback position wrong.
Playing at Ohio State, Kyle McCord struggled terribly against pressure and had no ability to create out of struggle. He could competently operate an offense with an elite offensive line and Marvin Harrison Jr. at wide receiver, but on this Syracuse offense, McCord will be a disaster.
Last season, when facing pressure, McCord ranked 82nd out of 99 quarterbacks with at least 90 pressured dropbacks in yards per attempt when pressured. If you can’t succeed at Ohio State as a quarterback, where can you?
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Friedlander: 5 ACC players who helped their draft stock at the East-West Shrine Bowl ... and 1 who didn't - Saturday Road (saturdayroad.com; Friedlander)
Zay Flowers had a successful enough career at Boston College to ensure his selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. But as a small receiver who played for a losing college team, his stock was undervalued.
That is until he arrived at the East-West Shrine Game.
Flowers’ impressive performance at the nation’s oldest college football all-star game opened enough eyes for him to catapult into the 1st round, where he was chosen 22nd overall by the Baltimore Ravens.
It’s a trajectory several players are hoping to follow this year.
No one from the ACC stood out in the actual game, which the West won 26-11 in Frisco, Texas, on Thursday.
But that doesn’t really matter.
The most important work at any postseason all-star event takes place during the week of practice leading up to the game, under the watchful eyes of scouts and general managers from every NFL team.
Here’s a look at the 5 ACC players who, like Flowers a year ago, saw their draft prospects bloom with strong East-West Shrine performances:
5. Xavier Thomas, DE, Clemson
Although Thomas is a former 5-star prospect poised to continue Clemson’s tradition of being Defensive Line U, the former Freshman All-American has spent a majority of his 6 college seasons overshadowed by others. That includes current teammate Tyler Davis, who was invited to the more prestigious Senior Bowl.Regardless of the stage, Thomas finally had the spotlight all to himself at the East-West game. And he used it to remind the NFL scouts of his immense physical skills by being a disruptive force all week. So much so that he didn’t feel the need to play in the game.
According to Tony Catalina of Pro Football Network, Thomas showed “all the physical tools to be a quality pass rusher at the next level. … His speed stands out and impresses for a man as physical as he is.”
4. Myles Murphy, DT, North Carolina
Murphy punctuated a strong week of practice by making several big plays in the game for the winning West team. Even though he showed up on the stat sheet only once, he was a presence all night as a run-stopper and as a pass-rusher.His highlight came late in the 1st quarter when he sacked Louisville quarterback Jack Plummer for an 11-yard loss on a 3rd down play inside the 20, forcing the East to settle for a field goal. His work occupying blockers on the interior of the line helped open things up for teammates to make plays for a unit that held its opposition to just 206 total yards and a single touchdown.
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Realigned TV Ratings, 2016-23 (RX; HM)
Realigned TV Ratings, 2016-23
Here's Tony Latimore's latest work:
Lattimore projects that if they were in the Big Ten or SEC, Florida State would be 4th biggest draw in the nation (behind Alabama, Ohio State, and Texas), and Notre Dame would be right behind FSU (and ahead of Michigan, Georgia, Oklahoma, and everyone else).
The only other team which could make a strong argument for inclusion in the so-called P2 is Clemson. With an average of over 3 million viewers in rated national tv broadcasts, the Tigers are far and away the best team after Notre Dame that isn't already in either the SEC or the Big Ten.
After Clemson, the next four highest-viewership teams are all in the ACC. In fact, the ACC will have 11 of the top 13 teams (Clemson, Miami, Louisville, Pitt, NC State, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia Tech, and Boston College).
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Details of the Calfordstang Deal (RX; HM)
Details of the Calfordstang Deal
From "How the ACC's contentious, back-and-forth expansion deal ultimately got done" written by Ross Dellenger and posted on Yahoo! Sports, here are two key components of the deal:
This is some very dense information, so let's take a moment to unpack it...
Point #1 makes the statement that a TV share is worth $24 million. It also states that SMU is giving up all of its share, and Stanford and Cal are each surrendering 70% of their shares, and the total of all this is "more than $50 million", all for 7 years...
| school | gets | ACC | gets | |
| SMU | 0 | million | 24 | million |
| Stanford | 7.2 | million | 16.8 | million |
| Cal | 7.2 | million | 16.8 | million |
| totals | 14.4 | million | 57.6 | million |
$57.6 million is, indeed, more than $50 million. A little more than half of that money is earmarked for unequal revenue distribution based on performance.
After 7 years, Cal and Stanford get their full shares, but SMU still has to wait two more years.
Point #2 addresses travel. We already know that the football schedule has been crafted in such a way that each of the current 14 ACC teams in the Eastern Time Zone only need to travel to California three times in the next seven years. Here we are also told that other sports such as basketball and baseball will travel to the Bay Area "once every two years." Does that mean playing both teams in one trip? That remains to be seen.
Finally, we're told that "eastern members and the two new western members would meet in Dallas to conduct competition in Olympic sports." So it sounds like things like ACC track and field, swimming, and other sports matches involving the California schools will always be played in Dallas. Of course, they will have non-conference matches closer to home. ACC Championship matches will no doubt remain in the main footprint.
ACC releases unorthodox 2024 FSU football schedule (fsunews.com)
The ACC unveiled its 2024 football schedule for all 17 teams that belong to the conference on Jan. 24, laying the plans for one of the most highly anticipated seasons in college football history.
The season should be an exciting one for Florida State fans across America. This very well could be the last season in the ACC for the Seminoles and unlike last year, if the ’Noles go undefeated, they will not be left out of the now-expanded 12-team CFP.
The ACC will feature three new members this season, all of which FSU has never played. California, Stanford and Southern Methodist are conference opponents now, although Stanford isn’t on the ’Noles schedule in 2024.
The Seminoles will start their season earlier than most teams. Florida State will be playing their first game against conference foe Georgia Tech on Aug. 24 in Dublin, Ireland, the first time the 'Noles will travel overseas for a game. The Seminoles have had months to prepare for the trip across the pond and are expected to travel well.
Florida State will return home after their trip to Ireland to face another ACC opponent in Boston College for a Monday primetime matchup on Labor Day.
The Seminoles will have a bye week to rest up after their first two games. When they return to Doak Campbell Stadium on Sept. 14, head coach Mike Norvell’s former team – the Memphis Tigers – will be awaiting them.
After Florida State’s game with Memphis, they welcome the California Golden Bears to Doak Campbell Stadium on Sept. 21, then hit the road the following week for a matchup in Dallas against SMU. It is their first ACC road game in a new venue for the Garnet and Gold.
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Other
Floors are cracked, uneven and crumbling at the Syracuse Department of Public Works annex building. (Provided by city of Syracuse)Provided by City of Syracuse
Before trucks sink through floor, Syracuse eyes $9.1M in public works garage repairs (PS; $; Boyer)
A massive garage where the city of Syracuse parks snowplows, garbage trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles has a failing floor that’s caused more than $9 million in damage.
The Syracuse Common Council on Monday will vote to authorize borrowing $9.1 million to pay for repair work at the Department of Public Works annex building on Canal Street Extension.
The building’s poorly supported concrete slab floor has cracked, crumbled and shifted considerably as a result of unstable soil conditions, leading to damaged walls and columns. In addition, the floor’s trench drainage system has failed.
The conditions create a walking hazard due to the severely uneven floors, although no one has been injured yet, city officials said. Large voids under the floor also compromise its ability to hold the weight of the heavy equipment and material.
“The floor is not safe,” Mary Robison, the city engineer, wrote in a memo to councilors.
The council authorized an engineering study on the building in 2022, paid for by $600,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds. At the time, the city’s engineering department anticipated recommended repairs would cost $7.4 million.
But with the study now completed, that total has shot up to $9.1 million, a result of more extensive damage than anticipated and higher material costs. City officials said the state’s Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program should reimburse the city for the project costs.
Planned repairs include a complete replacement of the concrete slab floor, but the new floor will also have pile foundations to prevent the new floor from settling. The floor drainage system will be replaced, damaged walls and columns will be fixed and new overhead doors will be installed.
After the council’s authorization, the project should go out to bid this month and work will begin in the spring and be completed by the end of the year.
Built in the 1970s, the DPW annex helps the city keep its heavy equipment maintained longer by protecting them from weather damage when not in use.
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A Syracuse nonprofit steps in to give mortgages to Black homeowners neglected by banks (PS; $; Knauss)
When Arian Reed and her husband bought their home on the South Side of Syracuse, they did not get a mortgage from a bank.
Instead, they got financing from Home HeadQuarters, a nonprofit housing organization that is trying to make up for the lack of bank mortgages provided to African Americans and other minority borrowers.
Only 30% of African Americans in Onondaga County own their homes, compared with 72% of whites. That disparity is even worse than the national average gap of 29 percentage points.
Home HeadQuarters doesn’t have the resources of a bank. But the group has come up with a novel way to finance home purchases for people who might not get mortgages otherwise and in neighborhoods mostly shunned by traditional lenders.
Rosa Dunlap lives in one of those neighborhoods on the Near West Side. Six out of 10 people in her Census tract live below the poverty level. Dunlap assumed she would always be a renter.
But Home HeadQuarters worked with her to consolidate her debts and arranged a mortgage for her. Dunlap is buying the same house on Gifford Street she has rented for the past 23 years. The closing is this month.
“I look at it more like it’s mine now,’’ she said.
Dunlap and the Reeds are among dozens of Syracuse families who have taken out mortgages from Home HeadQuarters in the past three years. More than 60% of the borrowers are African American.
Kerry Quaglia, the CEO of Home HeadQuarters, said his agency targets minority and low-income borrowers in the city because those groups are consistently under-served by most banks, mortgage companies and other traditional lenders.
Home HeadQuarters made 207 home-purchase loans in Syracuse during the past three years. Those loans totaled $22.4 million. Some 126 of the 207 borrowers were Black or mixed-race, the organization reports.
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