TOPEKA — Kansas football has a lot of reason to be optimistic about its chances this upcoming season. There’s the return of redshirt junior quarterback Jalon Daniels from injury. Sticking on the offensive side of the ball, at running back there’s the duo of senior Devin Neal and redshirt junior Daniel Hishaw Jr. At wide receiver, there’s a trio of seniors …

Saints tight end Juwan Johnson is dealing with a leg injury. Johnson suffered an injury to his lower leg and will miss “a good amount of time,” according to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football. The nature of the injury and Johnson’s status when the regular season starts in three months is unclear. Last year Johnson was the Saints’ top tight end, …

BLOOMINGTON — Bloomington South kicker Bryce Taylor had a busy summer ahead. Taylor’s recruitment was heating up after he handled all the Panthers place-kicking and punting duties last season. The five-star kicker was scheduled visits to Miami of Ohio, Toledo, Notre Dame and Ohio State in the coming weeks. Those plans changed on Wednesday after Taylor announced he was verbally committing …

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — There are 11 weekends remaining until the return of Arkansas football. The Razorbacks open the 2024 season in Little Rock against UAPB. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU) on Thursday, Aug. 29. Arkansas is coming off a disappointing 4-8 campaign that saw offensive coordinator Dan Enos get fired midseason and the eventual departures of KJ Jefferson and Raheim ‘Rocket’ …

Nearly $179 million in major facility upgrades to athletic venues are slated to be completed at the University of Georgia over the next eight months. UGA athletic director Josh Brooks is glad that the majority of that construction is done as athletic departments assess how nearly $2.8 billon in NCAA proposed settlements in three antitrust cases with past and current …

The New England Patriots are to retire Tom Brady’s number 12 shirt and build a statue of their legendary former quarterback. The franchise made the announcement while inducting the 46-year-old into their Hall of Fame. After being selected by the Patriots with the 199th pick of the 2000 draft, Brady led them to six Super Bowl wins. “[The statue] will …

HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Marcus “MJ” Daniels Jr., a defensive back at Southern Mississippi, was shot to death at an apartment complex in Hattiesburg, a coroner said. Daniels’ body was sent to a medical examiner for an autopsy, Forrest County Coroner Lisa Klem told news outlets. The 21-year-old Daniels was a starting cornerback for Southern Miss last season. He tied for …

The Ohio State athletic department will again finish in the top ten of the LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup standings and become the highest ranked Big Ten team for the 2023-2024 athletics cycle. Thanks in large part to a third place finish by the men’s tennis and golf teams, as well as a fifth place finish nationally by the men’s volleyball team, …

Longtime Colorado men’s basketball head coach Tad Boyle takes great pride in recruiting nearby talent, and he’s already got his sights set on the state’s top-ranked class of 2025 prospect. A four-star point guard (per the 247Sports composite) from Colorado Prep in Denver, Josiah Sanders told 247Sports that he has been communicating with CU’s coaching staff on a frequent basis. …

Ethan Houck was told he should leave Brunswick High School. It wasn’t a big enough school, they said. Not enough people would see him there to offer him a major football scholarship. The offense might not showcase his talents enough. But Houck ignored all that advice. He chose to stay at Brunswick, where he has shined for three seasons as …

Jun. 12—The University of Idaho has secured the services of football coach Jason Eck through the 2028 season after the Idaho State Board of Education approved a two-year contract extension Wednesday. Vandals athletics director Terry Gawlik “contacted me right after the (2023) regular season. She said they were interested in doing an extension,” Eck said Wednesday. Idaho reached the quarterfinals …

Giants quarterback Daniel Jones was held out of full team drills during mandatory minicamp as part of the Giants’ effort to bring him along slowly from his torn ACL. Giants coach Brian Daboll acknowledged that it wasn’t Jones’ preference. “He’s not too happy about it,’’ Daboll said, via the New York Post. Jones would have preferred more work during minicamp …

Jackson State football will have nine of its 11 football games streamed on ESPN+, starting with the season opener Aug. 29 at Louisiana Monroe. Kickoff is 6 p.m. The Southwestern Athletic Conference announced its 2024 ESPN football schedule Wednesday. The Tigers’ two other games don’t list a TV provider and only the contest against Florida A&M has a kickoff time. …

In the final year of his contract with the Jets, cornerback DJ Reed said he is open to signing a contract extension to remain in New York, but he is already looking forward to free agency. “Quite honestly, the ball is in the Jets’ court,” the cornerback said about getting an extension done. “I love being here, but I’m not …

Southern Miss football player MJ Daniels died after he was shot in his vehicle on Tuesday night, police in Hattiesburg, Mississippi said Wednesday. He was 21. According to Hattiesburg Police, Daniels was pronounced dead where he was found at the 6300 block of Highway 49. An investigation is underway. “We are asking the community for their help and to come …