Sports
From NCAA Division III to the Big Ten: The unlikely rise of UCLA's Luke Schuermann
Luke Schuermann often gets “the look” whenever he mentions his last football stop. It can be a quizzical expression or a blank stare based on the level of knowledge of the words just spoken.
Johns Hopkins? Wait, give me a second. Oh, you mean the school known for producing renowned journalists, doctors and scientists?
That’s right. That one. Among its most famous alumni are CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, former President Woodrow Wilson and film director Wes Craven.
Something the Baltimore-based private research institution is not known for is its football program. Its first team, in 1882, had to play as the Clifton Athletic Club because of the school’s contempt for the emerging sport. For its first 13 seasons, students served as coaches.
More than a century later, the Blue Jays are still playing in the shadows. They’re a plucky NCAA Division III operation that averages a few thousand fans for home games, its players doubling as promoters.
“I’ve had people be like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know they had a football team, you know, I just thought they had like a med school,’ ” Schuermann said with a chuckle.
Even as a three-time All-American, Schuermann never became a household name outside his own abode. Maybe that’s why UCLA is the transfer edge rusher’s new football home, the next stop on an improbable journey that Schuermann hopes can take him from Division III to the Big Ten to the NFL.
“He’s not like, if it happens, it happens,” said Jennifer Schuermann, Luke’s mother. “He’s going to do everything he can to try to make it happen.”
The NFL is already well-versed in this underdog story, every team having sent a scout to watch Luke play or practice while at Johns Hopkins, according to Dan Wodicka, the Blue Jays coach who was the defensive line coach and defensive coordinator when Luke played there.
Those scouts saw an edge rusher who more than looked the part at a stout 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds. He was faster than most of the team’s skill players in conditioning drills and a blur in the backfield, finishing his career as Johns Hopkins’ all-time leaders in tackles for loss (62.5) and sacks (34.5) despite playing only three seasons.
Like every quality edge rusher, Schuermann has a signature move — his involving the Gumby-like ability to bend his shoulder so that he can elude the offensive tackle on his way to the quarterback.
What makes Wodicka believe that Schuermann can thrive at a much higher level are the smarts and drive that helped him attain a 3.69 grade-point average as a mechanical engineering major while becoming a finalist for the Campbell Trophy — known as the “Academic Heisman” — that was awarded to Oregon’s Bo Nix.
Somehow, Schuermann also found time to serve as a de facto assistant coach.
“He’s the best I’ve ever coached in terms of the preparation he puts in,” Wodicka said. “He would be sending me game-planning notes late at night on a Tuesday as he’s seeing tendencies” of the other team.
Now he’s prepping to go after Big Ten quarterbacks following an assist from another Johns Hopkins success story. Chip Kelly, whose first full-time coaching job came as Johns Hopkins’ defensive coordinator in 1993, always kept tabs on his old team even as he rose to become a major college and NFL coach.
Schuermann’s big showing on the small stage caught Kelly’s interest and earned him a recruiting visit to UCLA, where coaches praised his relentlessness and told him and his father that he could help mentor younger players based on his own constant improvement.
Coach DeShaun Foster and his new staff kept the commitment to Schuermann even after Kelly departed to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator, believing that the redshirt senior’s size and speed (he’s been clocked at 21.23 miles per hour at a dead sprint) could allow him to contribute for a team needing to replace its entire fleet of edge rushers.
“We got some size guys for defensive ends, we got some quick guys, and then I need a motor guy,” UCLA defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe said, referring to Schuermann with his last description. “So, as long as we can teach him the technique and he can unlearn some things because our [style of pass rush] is a little bit unorthodox, I think he’ll be a great addition.”
After one early preseason camp practice, Malloe commended Schuermann in front of the entire defense for his effort in sprinting to the other end of the field as part of a post-play conditioning drill that others sometimes completed with a half-hearted jog.
There remains a lot of ground to cover given that Schuermann was competing with the third string during a practice open to reporters last week. Acknowledging that the early transition has been “a little intimidating,” Schuermann said the challenge could fuel his growth.
“I’ve had good days and bad days,” he said, “but I’m trying not to focus too much on right now, at least, how well I’m doing and focus more on what can I improve on every single day.”
Those closest to Schuermann say he’s never been one to concede defeat. A straight-A student his whole life, Schuermann was frantic in middle school when a teacher gave him a C as part of a summer writing assignment.
“He worked on that like half the night to get the paper right,” Jennifer Schuermann said of revision efforts that proved worthwhile. By summer’s end, Luke won the award for most dedicated student.
He’s already risen from humble football beginnings. As a high school prospect from St. Louis, he was recruited mostly by Football Championship Subdivision schools and Iowa, which offered him a spot as a preferred walk-on. He chose Johns Hopkins because of its academic reputation and coaches who made him feel valued.
Similar thinking went into his decision to transfer to UCLA instead of accepting a spot as a walk-on at Missouri. Schuermann was drawn by the chance to complete a project management program through the extension school that will give him business savvy to complement his undergraduate degree.
There was also the opportunity to play for Malloe, who helped send a slew of players to the NFL when he coached at Washington before developing UCLA’s Laiatu Latu into a first-round pick last spring. If all goes well, Schuermann will join the list of 21 Division III players who have been drafted since 1990, even if his stopover in Westwood adds an asterisk.
Malloe recently asked Schuermann and the other defensive players to read the book “Chop Wood Carry Water,” which provides insight on the discipline it takes to accomplish something extraordinary. It might feel as if Schuermann is on the verge of writing his own epilogue.
“Everything that you’ve seen that he’s done in college at the D-III level,” Foster said, “he’s capable of doing here.”
Caitlin Clark hit in throat during WNBA loose-ball scramble, sparking backlash and game suspension
WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark was hit in the throat during a loose-ball scramble, sparking outrage and a one-game suspension for Alyssa Thomas. Fox News’ Garrett Tenney reports on the ‘absolutely unacceptable’ incident and the coach’s reaction. Political analyst Gianno Caldwell discusses Clark’s immense impact on WNBA viewership, including a $2.2 billion deal, and the role of gender and race in the controversy.
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Phoenix Mercury All-Star Alyssa Thomas is the latest villain to Caitlin Clark fans after punching Clark in the throat during a game on Wednesday night.
The referees missed the punch in real time, but fans and the league office did not.
A viral clip of the punch in slow motion spread across social media, pouring gasoline on the ongoing culture war surrounding Clark’s physical treatment by opposing players, which has been a controversial issue dating back to Clark’s rookie season in 2024.
And Less than 24 hours after the incident, the WNBA slapped Thomas with a one-game suspension for what was deemed a “reckless” and “non-basketball act.”
Who is the woman behind the punch?
If Thomas wasn’t in the WNBA, she says she would go pro in combat sports
In a 2019 interview with Nike PLAYlist, Thomas answered what sport she would have gone pro in if she didn’t go pro in basketball.
“Either boxing or MMA,” Thomas said.
If Thomas never went pro in any sport, she said she would have gotten into dentistry.
“Since I was a kid, I loved going to the dentist. I just was fascinated with teeth and still am. I’m passionate about that whole process of cleaning,” according to a profile on WNBA.com.
The first time Thomas stepped on a basketball court, she threw a ‘hissy fit’
Thomas was signed up to try basketball for the first time at the age of five by her mother, Tina, per the WNBA.
Thomas said she “Threw myself all down the stairs, down the hallway,” while her mom said “She just threw an absolute hissy fit.”
WNBA SUSPENDS ALYSSA THOMAS FOR ‘RECKLESSLY’ HITTING CAITLIN CLARK IN THROAT DURING SCRAMBLE
Her parents didn’t let her win a popular board game
Thomas’ parents never took it easy on her when they played “Candyland” as she was growing up.
“We weren’t the parents that were just going to let you win,” Tina said, per the WNBA.
“In life, you have to fight, and how are you going to fight if you don’t teach your kids to fight? So if she fell over, ‘get up, you’re alright,’ and if she didn’t get up, you knew something was wrong.”
It was a parenting tactic also used by the father of New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter, who famously never let Jeter win in board games or card games when he was growing up, to instill harsh competitiveness at an early age.
Thomas added that her mom was especially hard on her and helped develop her toughness.
“By no means was it easy, and it’s still not easy,” Thomas said.
Thomas plays more physically because shoulder issues hinder her shooting ability
Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas scrambles to get up over Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark during a game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on June 24, 2026. The Phoenix Mercury defeated the Indiana Fever 111-109. (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
Thomas currently plays basketball with torn labrums in both of her shoulders.
The injuries are so severe that she completely lacks the structural integrity to lift her arms and shoot a traditional, fluid jump shot. Instead, she is forced to use a rigid, one-handed pushing motion from her chest just to get the ball to the rim.
Because she cannot rely on outside shooting, Thomas adapted by leaning entirely into her physical frame. She drives directly into the teeth of opposing defenses, absorbing heavy contact in the paint to score closer to the basket.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark shown after falling in the lane while Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas watches the ball at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indianapolis, Indiana on June 24, 2026. (Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
That brutal, driving style requires her to initiate intense physical collisions on nearly every single possession.
Despite the mechanical limitations and constant pain, the tactical shift worked. She transformed herself into a six-time All-Star, three-time First-Team All-WNBA, an Olympic gold medalist and the undisputed triple-double queen of the WNBA.
Thomas has been the center of immense criticism this week
The throat punch on Clark ignited a fierce wave of backlash.
Indiana Fever Head Coach Stephanie White led the charge, completely unloading on Thomas and the league’s officials during her postgame press conference.
“We have a generational talent and a WNBA superstar who had two cheap shots right there that weren’t called,” White said, pointing directly at Thomas’s actions. “Absolutely unacceptable.”
White argued that Thomas regularly crosses the line from playing physical defense into inflicting dangerous, non-basketball contact.
“It’s absolutely egregious and utterly disrespectful,” White continued to fume to reporters. “The fist in the throat is crazy. It’s crazy. It’s dangerous.”
On Thursday, Fever President Kelly Krauskopf released a statement praising the decision to suspend Thomas.
“Player safety should be paramount in our league. We appreciate the WNBA’s review of last night’s incident and the action taken. Right now our focus is on Caitlin and our entire team as we prepare for Saturday,” Krauskopf wrote.
Former Minnesota Vikings captain and prominent conservative activist Jack Brewer said the punch would be considered a “hate crime” if the roles were reversed.
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“This would be considered a hate crime if it were the other way around,” Brewer told Fox News Digital.
Other critics have expressed their own outrage on social media.
Sports
Parents of ex-NFL player Doug Martin allege excessive force by Oakland police in wrongful death suit
The parents of Doug Martin filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging that police officers used excessive force in trying to subdue the former NFL running back while he was “experiencing a mental health crisis” last October.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Northern District of California, also claims that paramedics contributed to Martin’s death by failing to “provide timely medical care.” The city of Oakland, several police officers and emergency medical service provider Falck USA/Northern California were named as defendants.
Martin died Oct. 18 in a hospital following his arrest by officers responding to reports of a break-in at a residence. He was 36. His death remains under investigation by Oakland police.
According to the Alameda County coroner’s office, Martin’s autopsy reports still are being finalized. Martin family attorney John Burris told the Athletic that an independent pathologist told the family that Martin potentially died from restraint asphyxia.
“Plaintiffs allege, on information and belief, that Decedent Martin died from restraint asphyxia caused by Oakland police officers and the FALCK NORCAL paramedics’ failure to provide timely medical care,” the lawsuit states.
The Oakland Police Department and Falck Norcal did not immediately respond to messages from The Times.
According to the complaint, Martin was “experiencing a mental health crisis” when his mother called for paramedics. He then fled and hid in a neighbor’s basement, where officers found him.
“After a brief struggle, defendant police officers physically restrained him,” the complaint states. “During the restraint, decedent Martin was placed face down while one or more officers pressed on his back. After a period of time, defendant Officers turned him onto his side.
“When they did so decedent Martin was unresponsive seemingly unconscious; However, the defendant officers initially believed he was sleeping or pretending to be sleep. When decedent Martin remained unresponsive, an officer requested medical assistance.
“Plaintiffs are informed and believe that decedent Martin did not receive immediate medical attention. Falck paramedics arrived over 15 minutes after the call for service and, and when they arrived, did not promptly provide medical care.”
A Stockton native, Martin was a first-round pick by Tampa Bay in the 2012 draft. He played six seasons for the Buccaneers, making the Pro Bowl in 2012 and 2015, before spending his final season with the Oakland Raiders in 2018. In his career, Martin rushed for 5,356 yards and 30 touchdowns.
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With 48 teams competing and a grueling path through the knockout stage, reaching the semifinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be an accomplishment in itself.
Only four nations will survive the tournament’s first 100 matches and earn a spot in the final four, putting themselves within two victories of lifting the most coveted trophy in sports.
Let’s take a look at the latest odds to reach the semifinals at FanDuel Sportsbook as of June 26.
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To Reach Semifinals
Argentina: +100 (bet $10 to win $20 total)
France: +110 (bet $10 to win $21 total)
Spain: +120 (bet $10 to win $22 total)
England: +165 (bet $10 to win $26.50 total)
Portugal: +210 (bet $10 to win $31 total)
Brazil: +270 (bet $10 to win $37 total)
Netherlands: +300 (bet $10 to win $40 total)
Germany: +330 (bet $10 to win $43 total)
USA: +380 (bet $10 to win $48 total)
Norway: +550 (bet $10 to win $65 total)
Colombia: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
Belgium: +700 (bet $10 to win $80 total)
Morocco: +750 (bet $10 to win $85 total)
Switzerland: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Mexico: +850 (bet $10 to win $95 total)
Japan: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Croatia: +1300 (bet $10 to win $140 total)
Ecuador: +1600 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
Canada: +1700 (bet $10 to win $180 total)
Austria: +1900 (bet $10 to win $200 total)
Here’s what to know about this oddsboard:
The Top 10: Argentina, France, Spain, England, Portugal, Brazil, the Netherlands and Germany — all considered powerhouse countries — stand at the top of the board, with each nation listed at +330 or better to reach the semifinals. But right after that group? The USA and Norway. The Americans have never made it to the semifinals of the World Cup, and this is Norway’s first appearance in the tournament since 1998.
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