Texas
Setter Ella Swindle leads Texas volleyball to sweep of Houston
Texas volleyball wasn’t about to let another two-set lead slip away.
Four days after Miami rallied to win three straight sets to steal a win on the Longhorns’ home court, No. 6 Texas took care of business, 3-0, Wednesday against Houston at Gregory Gymnasium.
More: Texas volleyball downs Indiana, celebrates national title: 3 takeaways from home opener
A return to the starting lineup by setter Ella Swindle coincided with one of the Longhorns’ most efficient attacks of the young season. Texas (3-2) fired 48 kills with just 11 hitting errors for a hitting percentage of .370, which was just a few points short of the .385 hitting percentage last week against Indiana. Swindle had a season-high 37 assists in the 25-19, 25-18, 25-20 win, which matched her career-high for a three-set match set last season in a NCAA Tournament match against SMU.
Averi Carlson, an offseason transfer from Baylor, has played well at setter through the first two weeks of the season and started the previous two matches for Texas.
More: Why future Longhorn Lily Davis’ U19 gold medal for Team USA is just the beginning
Swindle spent most of the match spreading the wealth to her array of outside hitters. The trio of Madisen Skinner (13 kills), Reagan Rutherford (12) and Jenaa Wenaas (11) combined for 36 kills with just seven total hitting errors.
The Longhorns will face a stern test Sunday with a trip to No. 2 Stanford.
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Texas
Surge in hoax threats against North Texas schools prompts districts to make changes
![Surge in hoax threats against North Texas schools prompts districts to make changes Surge in hoax threats against North Texas schools prompts districts to make changes](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/09/11/ee1359a8-ba15-4299-8a2b-ec5888b0d68d/thumbnail/1200x630/9ebc75a11855d155c0afca1d1ea9262d/screenshot-2024-09-11-174235.png?v=eed8fba9acd13199742a248f804168a1)
NORTH TEXAS — A number of North Texas school districts called for added police patrols near campuses on Wednesday after a surge of social media posts threatening violence.
Online threats of school violence spread from Waxahachie to Kemp. Those threats were not deemed credible, but area football games are being rescheduled.
Dallas Independent School District Police Chief Albert Martinez has a long list of social media postings threatening violence for schools.
“What we’re seeing … a picture of a gun,” said Martinez. “And saying they’re saying they’re going to shoot up the school.”
Wednesday, at every Dallas high school, students saw an added police presence on or near campuses.
In Fort Worth, the district’s Wedgwood Middle School also had assigned officers.
In Dallas, the football rivalry match between Lincoln and Madison was scheduled for Thursday; however, DISD rescheduled it for Saturday morning. The district pointed to not only online threats of violence but the deadly violence from last Friday when a 17 year old was shot and killed after a game at Kincaid Stadium.
“Some of these threats, if we go back to Friday at the murder, the shooting that we had at the Lowe’s truck stop next to our Kincaid Stadium, it has spurred from that,” Martinez said.
Dallas’ Kimball against Midlothian game is also being moved to Midlothian.
Martinez and the district emphasized that the actions taken Wednesday are not based on credible threats, but that the added police presence and rescheduling or moving football games are actions deemed necessary for now.
Texas
Michigan Film Study: Breaking down everything that went wrong against Texas
![Michigan Film Study: Breaking down everything that went wrong against Texas Michigan Film Study: Breaking down everything that went wrong against Texas](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/nirvDD5o2v1f67zM5t68G_U9xwA=/0x237:4000x2331/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25612501/2170745984.jpg)
We’ve seen this movie before. It’s been a while, but we have. Going back to New Year’s Eve 2021, the Michigan Wolverines clashed with the Georgia Bulldogs in the opening round of the College Football Playoff (CFP). The buzz around Michigan was deafening coming off its first victory against Ohio State since 2011 and first out-right Big Ten championship since 2003. But before the Wolverines could blink, they trailed Georgia, 27-3, at the half before ultimately falling, 34-11, in the Orange Bowl.
The performance was far from what fans had grown used to from a typical Michigan game that season. The Wolverines only averaged 5.2 yards per play (6.6 per pass, 3.4 per rush) and turned the ball over three times (two interceptions and one uncharacteristic fumble from Blake Corum).
Defensively, Michigan generated zero sacks and allowed Georgia to convert 10-of-16 third downs. The Wolverines were RPO’d and quick-gamed to death and although the defense held the Bulldogs to only seven second-half points, it didn’t matter.
The Orange Bowl defeat alerted the Wolverines to the level they needed to reach to win a national championship. Following that loss, Michigan reeled off a 28-1 record over the next two seasons, culminating in finally reaching the sport’s summit eight months ago. On Saturday, we rewound the tape to 2021 to remember what it takes to reach the top.
The clash with Texas was billed as the biggest game of the young season between two blue-blood programs. But before the Wolverines could blink they trailed, 24-3, at the half before ultimately falling, 31-12.
The performance was far from what fans had grown used to from a typical Michigan game the last two years. The Wolverines only averaged 5.1 yards per play (6.2 per pass, 3.7 per rush) and turned the ball over three times (two interceptions and one uncharacteristic fumble from Colston Loveland).
Defensively, Michigan generated limited pressure resulting in zero sacks, and allowed Texas to convert 10-of-16 third downs. The Wolverines were RPO’d and quick-gamed to death and although the defense held the Longhorns to only seven second-half points, it didn’t matter.
Saturday was a sobering reminder of the level the Wolverines need to reach to repeat as national champions. It remains to be seen if they can develop and grow on the fly, but it is always easier to return to the top of the mountain after you have already seen the view.
Let’s check the tape to see where it went wrong for the Wolverines before focusing on the path to improvement.
Cover 3 Simulated Pressure vs. Stop & Go
The Wolverine defense struggled on Saturday, but the unit is not shouldering the lion’s share of the blame for this one. Michigan’s offense turned the ball over three times and each turnover came after the Wolverines possessed the ball for 101 seconds or fewer. One interception came after a three-second possession. With no time to collect its breath, the unit was running on fumes before halftime.
That said, there are still several aspects where the defense needs to improve regardless of offensive support: tackling (pursuit angles), run fits, forcing turnovers, generating pressure and third-down stops.
On the first drive, Texas made it abundantly clear what it was going to do. Head coach Steve Sarkisian copied Georgia’s game plan from the Orange Bowl and showed remarkable poise as a play-caller. Abandoning his love for shot plays, Sark avoided Michigan’s strengths — Will Johnson and Mason Graham — and attacked its vulnerabilities a few yards at a time. In this instance, Sark targeted Michigan’s other corner, Jyaire Hill, for a big gain.
On the third play of the game, Texas faced a third-and-11 from its own 21. Michigan lined up with six across the line of scrimmage insinuating early pressure was coming, but at the snap, two Wolverines dropped back into a disguised Cover 3 variation and Michigan only brought four rushers.
The Longhorns — who are in a seven-man, max-protect 11-personnel look — easily pick up the rush, including a looping Jaishawn Barham who twisted into the field-side D-gap. The lone receiver (Isaiah Bond) to the boundary is working on Hill, and the ball was never going anywhere else.
Bond sprints hard nine yards down the field and hesitates to sell a stick or an out route before taking off on a “Go” route. Hill turns his hips and bites on the fake, decently recovers, but stumbles trying to catch up. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers easily delivers a strike to Bond a half step before safety Makari Paige can get there.
Third-down conversions were back-breaking, and Hill was too often the victim. In two weeks against USC, look for Wink Martindale to consistently shade a safety to Hill’s side to take away this glaring weakness in the back end.
Speaking of third downs…
Davis Warren’s First Interception
Facing a third-and-two, offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell elected to pass instead of run, but that’s an argument for another day. Campbell dials up a fly motion switch-release Hank concept designed for a quick strike first down.
Loveland comes in motion and works into the flat with the slot receiver (Marlin Klein) running a curl route just beyond the sticks. On the far side, the two receivers switch release (inside receiver goes outside and outside receiver goes inside) with Peyton O’Leary working the middle hook (mirroring Klein) and Tyler Morris running a five-yard curl. This is designed to create separation in man-to-man, but Texas isn’t running man-to-man coverage.
The Longhorns simply rushed four, played shallow Cover 3 with six defenders around the first down marker, and kept one safety deep as a security blanket. The best option on this play is Loveland in the flat — who is the hot option, but technically option three in the progression — but Warren looks him off and works back toward his first two reads. Klein is blanketed, so Warren progresses to his secondary option, Morris.
Now, this is a tight throw where you’d still like to see Morris fight back for the ball more to open up a bigger window. The ball still hits Morris in the hands but, in his defense, this would have been a difficult reception for any receiver to haul in with two defenders draped over him.
Instead, the ball is tipped and eventually intercepted for Warren’s first of the day — for the record, Warren was far from great on Saturday, but the second interception was on Loveland running the wrong route — and put the defense back on the field after a 94-second drive.
This play was doomed from the beginning and could have been avoid by simply running the damn ball. Michigan’s identity crisis is growing more glaring every week, but more on that later. For now, let’s end with something semi-positive.
Jet Motion Fake Reverse CH Counter
On the second drive of the game, Michigan found some rhythm as it marched down the field for its first points of the game. Two plays after a well-executed flea flicker, the Wolverines got back to one of their bread-and-butter run plays, counter.
The Wolverines have practically run every variation of counter imaginable the last three years, and this iteration involves the center and H-back with a little window dressing thrown in for added misdirection.
Just before the snap, Semaj Morgan comes in motion to sell the reverse. Warren fakes the give to Morgan, continues to pivot, and hands the ball off inside to Donovan Edwards.
Center Dom Giudice and Loveland pull, with Giudice tasked with kicking out the defensive end, while Loveland leads through the hole to take out the linebacker or the first player to show. Giudice looked more comfortable on the move in his second start, but his pad level still needs improvement. He is out-leveraged when he cracks the end, leading to Loveland having to help double-team instead of working to the second level.
But wait, I thought this was a positive play? Hold fast.
Edwards reads the backside of this play beautifully, cuts off Loveland’s hip and heads toward the open field. Edwards tries to cut to the sideline for a chance to score a touchdown, but the backside safety just gets enough of his shoelace to bring him down for a gain of 12 yards.
Even when a run play wasn’t executed perfectly, Michigan turned it into chicken salad.
The Wolverines had three running backs average 4.2 yards or more per carry, with Edwards leading the room with 5.1. However, no running back had more than nine carries and the Wolverines as a team only registered 22 rushing attempts. This is not the way.
Heading into Week 3, there are myriad improvements needed for this team to take the next step. Winning third down and protecting the football are simpler places to start, but I think two massive underlying issues need to be addressed before this season slips away.
Commit to an identity
When Sherrone Moore took over as interim head coach for Michigan last season, it was established that it was going to be business as usual until Jim Harbaugh returned. And it was. Moore went undefeated as acting head coach and performed so well that he was named the permanent head coach once Harbaugh returned to the NFL. However, Moore is still treating this position like a substitute teacher, filling in until Harbaugh returns.
But Harbaugh isn’t coming back to Ann Arbor. Neither are J.J. McCarthy, Blake Corum, Junior Colson, Roman Wilson, Trevor Keegan, Zak Zinter or Mike Sainristil. This is a new team that needs a new identity, and that starts from the top down with Moore.
Moore needs to put his original stamp on this program and carve his own path instead of trying to cosplay as the third Harbaugh brother. What is this team’s identity going to be? If it’s truly going to be Moore’s catchphrase “SMASH,” then this team needs to commit to running the football and be more creative and resolute in doing so. If this team wants to focus on balance, then Kirk Campbell needs to call plays specifically for Warren’s skillset instead of treating him like McCarthy who constantly bailed Michigan out on third downs.
Once Moore and this team understand and commit to who they are, everything on the field will begin to take care of itself.
Player Leadership
Michigan prides itself on being a player-led team and locker room. Now, who are the leaders of this team? We know who the team captains are, but which players will speak up and be heard by the collective that this level of execution is unacceptable?
In 2021, Aidan Hutchinson and Josh Ross demanded more accountability from the defense, and center Andrew Vastardis reshaped the offensive line’s mentality in the trenches. In 2022, we saw Sainristil step up to galvanize this team on the sidelines in Columbus. And in 2023, the Wolverines had team leaders at every positional unit.
But now those guys are all gone and someone else needs to step up and demand more. It could be a team captain or it could be a freshman, but accountability needs to be a top priority.
Week 2 Superlatives
The Best Actor in a Bad Movie Award also known as Ewan McGregor in Attack of the Clones
Thank the Arkansas State gods that kicker Dominic Zvada wanted to move north. Zvada was perfect for the second consecutive week, connecting on field goals of 37 and 52 yards. The constant scoring bright spot for the Wolverines, Zvada has been flawless to begin his tenure in Ann Arbor. Of the 13 kickers in college football with five or more makes this season, Zvada is one of only four without a miss.
Could Zvada be Michigan’s second Lou Groza Award winner in three years?
The Come On Do Something Award
Michigan defensive tackle Kenneth Grant is on pace for six tackles, zero sacks, and zero tackles for loss this season. Now, production isn’t the end all, be all, but SIX and nothing behind the line of scrimmage?! This is by far the worst two-game stretch for Grant since he entered the rotation at the beginning of last season.
Three weeks ago, Grant was being touted as a first-rounder with freakish traits. But at this pace, are we sure he leaves for the NFL at the end of this season? Grant is far too talented to let this continue, but if it does, it will be one of the most disappointing individual regressions in recent Michigan history.
This Mean Something to Me Award
Wide receiver Semaj Morgan did not have a great game. He struggled to get open consistently, misread blocks and even dropped a pass. But the effort and fight Morgan displayed on Michigan’s lone scoring drive late in the fourth quarter were commendable.
Facing a fourth-and-five, Warren connected with Morgan short of the sticks, but Morgan fought off the defender and extended the drive. Two plays later, the duo connected again.
Rolling out to his right, Warren connected with Morgan — who was masterfully working back to his quarterback — for his best throw of the game, and Morgan fought to extend the ball to break the plane. Despite the game being out of hand, Morgan still cared enough to fight for every inch to extend the drive and get the ball across the goal line. Perhaps, even as a sophomore, he’s the fiery leader this team needs to help save its season.
This fourth-quarter drive was reminiscent of McCarthy connecting with Andrel Anthony in the fourth quarter against Georgia for Michigan’s lone touchdown. It was too late, but it was encouraging to see it still meant something to a few players.
Texas
First and 10: Texas is roaring into SEC, while Oklahoma is limping. What’s up with Oregon?
![First and 10: Texas is roaring into SEC, while Oklahoma is limping. What’s up with Oregon? First and 10: Texas is roaring into SEC, while Oklahoma is limping. What’s up with Oregon?](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/09/11/USAT/75168152007-usatsi-24178257.jpg?auto=webp&crop=3810,2143,x0,y86&format=pjpg&width=1200)
US LBM Coaches Poll: Michigan in big trouble after blow out loss to Texas
The latest US LBM Coaches Poll is here and the lopsided result in Texas’ win over Michigan sends both teams in different directions.
Sports Pulse
You’ve heard it before, but now it’s undeniable: Texas football is back. That, plus Oregon’s struggles and a Notre Dame revelation in this week’s First and 10.
1. Texas football was lost but now it’s found in the SEC
A quick refresher for those forgetting just how unbearably lost Texas football was not so long ago.
The big, bad Longhorns, the most valuable television property in all of college sports, the kings of excess and the good life, actually complained to the Big 12 because rival Oklahoma — are you ready for this? — flipped the Hook ‘Em hand gesture and pointed down.
Mommy, the mean men are making fun of us again!
It’s enough to make every red-blooded college football fan puke.
I’m not sure what was more emasculating for once loud and proud Texas: that it complained, or that the Big 12 capitulated and started throwing flags on those flashing horns down.
Personal foul, Team Soft.
Now here we are, and the thought of that nonsense — with the ugly end to the golden era of Mack Brown, and the failed versions of Texas Is Back under Charlie Strong and Tom Herman — is far in the rearview.
Texas, everyone, is roaring into the SEC in its first season in the best conference in college football. Oklahoma is limping behind, scrambling for answers.
“We are capable of anything,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday at his weekly press conference. “We are entitled to nothing.”
Welcome, Texas, to officially being back.
It’s almost like the program with every possible advantage has been drawn into some strange football vortex with its entry into the SEC, the conference with every possible advantage. From annoying once-was demanding everything or else, to surging what-is taking anything it wants.
Meanwhile, there is bitter rival Oklahoma, which seemingly snuck into the SEC party on the tails of Texas (more on that later) — despite dominating Texas since the birth of the Big 12 in 1994.
Even with two losses in three games to the Sooners, Sarkisian is doing just about everything right. Recruiting at an elite level, developing NFL Draft picks and, more than anything, changing the longheld narrative of Texas football.
Elite players, elite coaching. We all know where this is headed.
2. Meanwhile, what’s up with Oklahoma football?
For every action, there’s a corresponding reaction. Or in this case, bad football at Oklahoma.
By the time it ended last weekend, Oklahoma had 252 total yards, punted eight times and averaged 5.2 yards per pass attempt in a four-point win over Houston.
All of that ugly underscored a growing narrative that – fair or not, real or not — has taken hold. Texas is is new SEC darling, the Sooners are the team tagging along.
Even though Oklahoma and coach Brent Venables have won two of three games against Sarkisian and Texas, even though one of Texas’ two losses in last year’s breakout season was to the Sooners, there’s skepticism in and outside Norman.
The same Oklahoma that couldn’t stop anyone in Venables’ first season lost twice by a combined eight points in the 2023 regular season to straighten the curves. That is, until Arizona thumped the Sooners in the Alamo Bowl, and until fans booed often last weekend during the uninspiring win over a rebuilding Houston team that was blown out by UNLV a week earlier.
If you think that’s a problem, let me introduce karma: In two weeks, after this weekend’s home game against Tulane, Oklahoma will play its first SEC game against white-hot Tennessee.
It was Vols coach Josh Heupel, who won a national title in 2000 as a plucky quarterback at Oklahoma, who helped kickstart the Sooner’s two decades of dominance over Texas with a Heisman Trophy finalist season. And it was Heupel who was summarily fired as offensive coordinator after the 2014 season – a move that, to this day, still motivates him.
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3. Texas is back, The Epilogue
Elite players win championships. It’s why Alabama, Clemson and Georgia have dominated the first decade of the College Football Playoff.
It’s why Texas truly is back.
Sarkisian’s first four recruiting classes at Texas were ranked 15th, fifth, third and sixth in the nation, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
“It’s an acquisition game,” Sarkisian said in July. “How many impact players can you acquire, and can you develop them and get them to work toward the same thing?”
Especially at the most important position on the field.
The current Texas quarterback (Quinn Ewers) was the No. 1 overall recruit in 2021 and is a projected first-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft. His backup (Arch Manning) was the No. 1 overall recruit in 2023.
Alabama, Georgia and Clemson combined for six national titles since 2016, and produced a combined four first-round picks at quarterback over that span. Every quarterback from those championship teams is playing in the NFL: Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones, Deshaun Watson, Trevor Lawrence and Stetson Bennett.
Meanwhile at Oklahoma, the offense dried up once Lincoln Riley left for Southern California after the 2021 season. Even the last two seasons with Dillon Gabriel, while productive, haven’t been program-defining like the past (see: Hurts, Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield).
Texas has taken the Oklahoma offensive model, added some beef and bravado on defense and sped past the Sooners.
4. Notre Dame and the lost intangibles
College football has quickly become talent vs. experience and chemistry. The current formula is a roster of high school recruits mixed with transfer portal additions built to win now.
But that road many times lacks core principles of championship teams: the organically-built intangibles of leadership and chemistry. Case in point: the Northern Illinois upset of Notre Dame.
Notre Dame has 12 players on its two-deep roster that are either true freshmen, or transfers from the portal. There’s one true freshman on the Northern Illinois two-deep. And a whole lot of organically-developed upperclassmen.
It’s still about talent, but once emotion and motivation enter the picture, the dynamic of what should be a glorified scrimmage turns into a white-knuckle ride. It’s no different than the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, where a team full of one-and-dones is eliminated in the first round by a mid-major full of players – grown men – who have been with the program for years.
5. The Weekly Five: Southern California’s flex
Five teams that are better than we thought … maybe.
1. USC: New DC D’Anton Lynn’s unit has given up 20 points in two games, and QB Miller Moss is the next in a long line of prolific Riley quarterbacks.
2. Iowa State: Primed to roll in the next six weeks: Arkansas State, at Houston, Baylor, at West Virginia, Central Florida, Texas Tech.
3. Vanderbilt: With a win over Georgia State, Commodores will be 3-0 for the first time since 2017.
4. Syracuse: Ohio State gave up on QB Kyle McCord, who has changed his fortunes with the Orange..
5. San Jose State: New coach Ken Niumatalolo isn’t all about the triple option anymore.
6. An NFL scout’s view of Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan
An NFL scout analyzes a draft eligible player. This week: Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan. (The scout requested anonymity to protect the team’s draft preparations.)
“Tall, long and strong. He’s not a burner, but he does just about everything else at a high, high level. We’re so consumed with getting guys who can run well to stretch defenses that we overlook what the position is all about. It’s gaining separation and making difficult and routine catches. You’re talking about a guy who is all of 6-feet-5, with a large catch radius and terrific body control.”
7. Power Play: Tennessee moving up
This week’s College Football Playoff Poll (the 12-team bracket ranking and first four out) — and one big thing.
1. Georgia: Kentucky quit in last week’s loss to South Carolina, and now gets the king.
2. Ohio State: A lot of hype for an offense that has played two truly pitiful defenses (Akron, Western Michigan).
3. Miami: The defense – eight sacks, five turnovers forced, third-down conversion rate of 18.1%.
4. Oklahoma State: Don’t ignore a bad Tulsa team with Big 12 opener against Utah on horizon.
5. Texas: The Georgia game on Oct. 19 can’t get here soon enough.
6. Ole Miss: QB Jaxson Dart is averaging a whopping 14.7 yards per attempt.
7. USC: Two weeks to prepare for the first Big Ten game at Michigan.
8. Tennessee: If you’re not a believer in QB Nico Iamaleava and the Vols, check your pulse.
9. Alabama: Some things never change: Tide has 14 pass breakups, 13 QB pressures and five sacks.
10. Penn State: The Bowling Green struggle – an anomaly or an indicator?
11. Missouri: After two gimme putts, time to see if Mizzou is for real against Boston College.
12. Oregon: Ducks have 17 penalties, and only five other Power Four conference teams have more.
13. LSU: Same as it was – LSU is 107th in the nation in average yards per play (6.18), and 95th in third-down conversions (40.9%).
14. Utah: QB Cam Rising has seven touchdowns, no interceptions, 11.9 yards per attempt.
15. Clemson: Was way too early to file away QB Cade Klubnick and OC Garrett Riley.
16. Kansas State: Time to crank up dynamic QB Avery Johnson.
8. Mailbag: What’s up with Oregon?
Matt: Gently, please. Should I be worried about my Ducks? — Mindy Baker, Seattle.
Mindy: One is an anomaly, and two is … time to wonder what in the world is going on with a team full of talent on both sides of the ball that just can’t seem to play complementary football.
After games against Idaho and Boise State, Oregon is 84th in the nation in scoring defense (24 ppg) and 72nd in scoring offense (30.5 ppg). The problem this season is the very area where Dan Lanning made the greatest impact in his first two seasons: the lines of scrimmage.
The Ducks aren’t winning consistently at the point of attack on either side and are significantly worse on the offensive line. It’s not just missed assignments, it’s penalties (false starts and holding), bad snaps, poor technique from offensive tackles in pass sets and a lack of intensity from the middle three.
9. The numbers game: Introducing Jahvaree Ritzie
5. NFL scouts call it a money year – a final season when players reach their ceiling, knowing they’re playing for NFL money. College coaches call it development. Some players simply take longer to reach their potential.
Welcome to the argument, North Carolina DT Jahvaree Ritzie, who had eight career starts and 2½ career sacks in three previous seasons as a cog in the middle of the defensive line.
Now he leads the nation in sacks (five) as an interior lineman, no less. The obvious grand (and ridiculous) statement is Ritzie is on pace for 30 sacks.
The North Carolina single-season record for sacks is 16, set by Lawrence Taylor in 1980. If UNC plays 13 games (12 games plus a bowl game), Ritzie needs to average a sack a game to tie Taylor’s record.
10. The last word: Ryan Williams, Cam Coleman lead freshman receiving class
In this quarterback-heavy sport, we often become fixated on the most important position on the field and ignore the rest of the offense.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the ridiculously talented freshmen receiving class.
After two weeks, blue-chip recruits Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State), Cam Coleman (Auburn), Ryan Williams (Alabama) and Bryant Wesco Jr. (Clemson) have combined for 25 catches and eight touchdowns.
More impressive is the combined average yards per catch of 26.7, and big plays of 84, 76, 70, 55 and 51 yards. They also have four combined plays of at least 41 yards.
We’re two games into the season, and this group already is must-see.
Matt Hayes is the national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at MattHayesCFB.
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