College Football

The USC defensive staff makeover continues. Donte Williams has left the program, which means the Trojans and Lincoln Riley needed a new defensive back coach. Riley needed to give D’Anton Lynn more high-quality help. Mission accomplished. You will notice that USC has hired an FCS head coach as a linebacker coach (Matt Entz from North Dakota State). Now the Trojans …

The Georgia Bulldogs have hired former USC Trojans defensive backs coach Donte Williams as the Dawgs’ latest defensive backs coach. Williams replaces Fran Brown, who served as Georgia’s defensive backs coach in 2023. Fran Brown is now the head coach at Syracuse. Brown has already added a few Georgia football transfers this offseason and is building an impressive roster at …

For weeks we have heard the message loud and clear from the SEC. “It Just Means More” is still the main theme for the conference, but we have been reminded constantly about the “New Era of SEC Football.” If you can still call it the SEC. Think about the league when I started in the newspaper business in 19** (I …

Folsom (California) 2026 quarterback Ryder Lyons took to social media to announce he received a scholarship offer from the USC Trojans and Lincoln Riley. Lyons currently has offers from Oregon, Utah, Washington, Cal, BYU, and Notre Dame early in his recruitment. Ryder Lyons is the younger brother of Walker Lyons, a 2023 tight end who committed to USC but is …

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football picked up a verbal commitment from Wisconsin transfer offensive lineman Trey Wedig. The Hoosiers were in the market for experience on the offensive line after losing four of their five starters after the season. Wedig could be a versatile piece for new coach Curt Cignetti’s staff given his versatility — he played more than 118 snaps …

This past week, the USC Trojans extended an offer to Class of 2025 four-star athlete Kelshaun Johnson. At the college level Johnson is expected to play the wide receiver position. The offer is the 16th for Johnson, who is out of Hitchcock, Texas. Johnson is ranked as a four-star prospect by both On3 and Rivals while 247Sports ranks the Texas …

This roundup covers all the area’s recruiting news from November and December in multiple sports, all leading up to Football’s Early National Signing Day on Dec. 20. See someone missing? Reach out to Ben Grieco (bgrieco@gannett.com) or Patrick Bernadeau (pbernadeau@gannett.com). Commitments Ryland Bragg, Pensacola Catholic Football – University of West Florida Ryland Bragg (72) engages the Braves defensive line as …

Langston Hughes (Fairburn, Georgia) offensive tackle prospect Tavaris Dice trimmed his list of prospective schools to eight a few days ago. The final eight schools Dice is considering are USC, Auburn, Georgia, Florida, Missouri, Miami, NC State and LSU. The 6-foot-6, 275-pound lineman is the No. 24-ranked offensive tackle and the No. 273 player in the 2025 recruiting class. A …

The USC Trojans have offered a scholarship to Class of 2027 running back recruit Ezavier Crowell. He plays for Jackson High School in Jackson, Alabama. Crowell — a 5-foot-11, 205-pound running back — has received scholarship offers from Georgia, South Carolina, Arizona, Auburn, Miami, Ole Miss, Oregon, and more top college football programs. The Alabama native was named the state’s …

SHREVEPORT, La. — By the time college football teams meet in bowl games, the amount of tactical guesswork is diminished somewhat with coaches having a full season’s worth of game video to study on the opponent. There might be even fewer secrets among the defensive staffs of the California and Texas Tech football teams. Tech and Cal, both 6-6, play …

SHREVEPORT, La. — Texas Tech football running back Tahj Brooks and his California counterpart Jaydn Ott, two of the FBS’s top seven rushers, were billed as the reason to tune in to an Independence Bowl matchup of 6-6 teams. The Red Raiders made sure one of the two gave nowhere near his usual performance. A swarming Tech defense limited Ott …

The Hurricanes’ busy recruiting weekend continued into Saturday night, as UM’s coaches landed commitments from a key transfer safety and one of the nation’s top 2025 linebackers. Late Saturday afternoon, Miami got a commitment from Vanderbilt safety transfer Savion Riley. Later in the night, 2025 linebacker Elijah Melendez announced his commitment, as well. Those commitments came a day after the …

Former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski is always up for new experiences, and he made quite the business decision at the L.A. Bowl on Saturday. Actually, the full name of the bowl game is “Starco Brands LA Bowl hosted by Gronk,” which is a different story. Per USA Today’s Brent Schrotenboer, Gronk got naming rights to the game without throwing …

Texas Tech’s high octane offense took advantage of California’s inability to tackle well, and the Red Raiders continued their strong finish to the 2023 football season Saturday night with a 34-14 victory over the Golden Bears in the 47th Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl. Played in primetime on ESPN in Shreveport’s Independence Stadium, the game attracted 33,071 fans and was the …

The 2023 New Mexico Bowl features the New Mexico State Aggies (10-4) and the Fresno State Bulldogs (8-4) battling on Saturday.  The Bulldogs have dominated the series against the Aggies, logging a 7-1 record all-time. The most recent matchup happened in 2019 with Fresno State winning 30-17. Fresno State dropped its final three games of the season, while New Mexico …