school announced Wednesday. Simon helped Albany reach the FCS playoff semifinals this past season and earned first-team All-CAA honors after recording 55 tackles (37 solo), 12.5 sacks and 21.5 tackles for loss. Simon posted five sacks and 10.5 tackles during the 2022 campaign after transferring from Division ll Bloomsburg.
“The UAlbany football program was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former student-athlete Amitral ‘AJ’ Simon this morning,” UAlbany said in a statement. “AJ was a tremendous young man and even better teammate throughout his time at UAlbany. He was a role model both on and off the field, serving as a pillar to this program over the last two years. He will be profoundly missed.”
Simon was considered a potential draft pick in next week’s NFL Draft. He ranked No. 2 on CBS Sports’ top 25 small college draft prospect list. A cause of death was not immediately released by the school.
“Two joyous year(s) coaching and becoming friends with AJ Simon,” Albany coach Greg Gattuso posted on social media. “My prayers are dedicated to the Simon family. I love you AJ and will always have a special place in my heart for #8.”
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The No. 1 offensive tackle and No. 2 overall prospect in the 2025 class, five-star David Sanders of Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day, is working with a top six and has his unofficial visits behind him.
Next up: the good stuff.
He’ll take official visits to his six finalists, starting with South Carolina (this weekend) and followed by Clemson (May 31), Georgia (June 7), Tennessee (June 14), Alabama (June 18) and Ohio State (June 21).
Sanders plans to make a July or August decision. He’ll certainly factor in his parents’ opinions during the decision-making process. He has three little sisters, and they admire the heck out of their big brother. Proximity from home is something to consider when analyzing the six finalists.
Sanders (6-foot-6, 270 pounds) told 247Sports during a springtime visit to Providence Day that the two biggest factors in his decision will be finding a place he can grow on and off the field and an environment makes him feel most at home.
By decision time, no stone will have been uncovered. Sanders and his parents will continue to diligently and exhaustively gather facts on each finalist.
Boxes are being checked and discussions around the dinner table are being had, but when all the chips are pushed in, it’ll ultimately boil down to a feeling, which is often propelled by relationships in recruiting.
“Now it’s just going to be getting that final ‘this is it’ moment,” Sanders told GoVols247 following his Tennessee visit last weekend. “I’m going to just enjoy all of my officials and just take my time with it.”
Earlier this month, I handicapped Clemson and UGA as the top two teams in this race with Tennessee rounding out the top three.
Well, it’s time to move the Vols up a tier.
Sanders took back-to-back visits to Knoxville the past two weekends, and that’s even before he returns for a mid-June official visit.
Sanders spoke glowingly of Tennessee in an interview with GoVols247, coming off last weekend’s visit. And he got specific: coaching, atmosphere, relationships, incoming quarterback talent and more.
It’s Recruiting 101 not to read an exorbitant amount into post-visit recaps when you know that a prospect will speak highly of all contenders. But read that article and tell me the Vols don’t have his full attention.
It doesn’t hurt that Tennessee is getting the “last” visit among the perceived top group of Clemson and Georgia.
It also doesn’t hurt that Tennessee has been consistent throughout, despite not typically being talked about as the standalone leader by the industry. Tennessee checks all the boxes for Sanders. He said so himself.
Should Clemson and Georgia be concerned? Read more in my latest analysis on No. 2 overall prospect David Sanders for 247Sports.
The lasting moment of Texas’ season was not of beating Alabama, winning the Big 12 or producing Outland Trophy winner T’Vondre Sweat. Instead, it was a viral image of starting quarterback Quinn Ewers alone at an empty podium looking back at his backup, Arch Manning, surrounded by a mob of reporters ahead of the Longhorns’ first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff.
Texas and the Manning family have done a sensational job of protecting Arch from what could be major distractions. He committed to the Longhorns with a simple tweet. When Ewers decided to return for a third season as the starter, Manning never flirted with the transfer portal. His only public NIL deal was a charity drive with Panini America, which also featured his only other tweets since committing. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian publicly named Ewers the starter heading into spring camp — there is zero open competition.
Manning played only two games in his debut season and threw just five passes in a 57-7 win over Texas Tech. While Texas’ 2023 season was defined by protecting Manning during his redshirt season, 2024 is different. The Longhorns need to unleash him.
Few quarterback rooms — if any — in the history of college football match the pedigree of the 2024 Texas room. Ewers and Manning each ranked No. 1 in their respective recruiting classes, becoming the first No. 1 overall quarterback recruits to play next to each other in the modern recruiting era.
Ewers has lived up to the hype, throwing for 5,656 yards and 37 touchdowns in two seasons. During a run to the College Football Playoff, he completed 69% of his passes, averaged 8.8 yards per attempt and pushed his passer rating 25 points. He returns as potentially the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Still, production from the red-zone offense was one area in which the Big 12 champs struggled last season, ranking 90th nationally in scoring percentage and 120th in touchdown percentage. Manning’s versatility could play a part in improving those standings.
Quarterback remains a difficult nut to crack for high-profile staffs. Only one player at a time takes the field, which leaves high-profile players on the bench. In that way, compiling riches at the quarterback position has diminishing returns. Sarkisian, one of the preeminent quarterback gurus in the sport, can try another way.
Use Manning as a rushing complement Manning is not a true dual-threat quarterback, preferring to deal from the pocket. Regardless, he boasts a more dynamic athletic profile than his famous uncles Peyton and Eli.
“The thing about him that I think most people probably don’t give him enough credit for, he is a really good athlete,” Sarkisian told reporters. “He’s big, he’s strong and he’s fast. Sometimes he’ll lean into using his legs to create explosive plays … we like that, but we want that to almost be the last resort.”
Manning was tracked at reaching a speed of 20 miles per hour in a scrimmage last August, Sarkisian said. That’s per Texas’ in-house tracking analytics, and if it’s close to accurate, would make Manning one of the fastest players on the entire team (Xavier Worthy was tracked as the fastest player in college football last fall at 22.7 MPH, per Reel Analytics).
During his time at Isidore Newman (Louisiana) High School, Manning rarely shied away from taking advantage of defenders with his legs. In 43 games, Manning rushed for 1,155 yards and 25 touchdowns on 7.5 yards per carry. Against Texas Tech, Manning had a 12-yard run in his 23 snaps of action.
Arch Manning’s first collegiate drop back leads to a 1st down run 🏈pic.twitter.com/0E2Km42NIG
— 247Sports (@247Sports) November 25, 2023 The most successful two-quarterback system in recent memory featured Florida quarterbacks Chris Leak and five-star recruit Tim Tebow. Leak was a three-time All-SEC selection and former top recruit, but the bulldozing Tebow entered the lineup for key packages and red-zone situations. Tebow played a key role in Florida’s 2006 national championship, finishing second on the team in rushing attempts (89) and yards (469) as well as first in touchdowns (eight). Leak, for his part, still got plenty of burn; his 23 passing touchdowns were tied for 20th nationally.
Texas has one of college football’s best running back groups and does not need Manning to be Tebow in the way Florida might have needed Tebow. But Manning is already up to 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds with room to grow during this summer’s offseason training.
“He’s not typically known as a runner, but he has size and athleticism — that part of his game shouldn’t be quickly overlooked,” said 247Sports analyst Cooper Petagna, who scouted Manning in high school. “He’s probably not going to seek contact in the open field, but he’s gutsy. He has some nimbleness, too, from his days playing high school basketball that suggest he could be used situationally.”
If the Leak-Tebow timeshare is too much for Sarkisian, then perhaps Manning could play a role more similar to the one Michigan quarterback Alex Orji played to JJ McCarthy in 2023. Orji often took running snaps in the middle of the field, eating up space. It was enough game action to get him prepared to be Michigan’s likely QB1 this fall (Texas and Michigan play in Week 2 in Ann Arbor, by the way).
Manning is a better passer than Orji, too, and would give Sarkisian much more short-term arm upside to build passing concepts and counters off — a potential game-changer against SEC defenses and beyond.
Give Ewers some insurance Ewers ranks as a top three returning quarterback in college football, but his career has not always gone smoothly as he’s struggled to stay on the field.
In 2022, Ewers took a big hit from Alabama linebacker Dallas Turner that knocked him out of a potential upset victory. Backup Hudson Card stepped into the starting lineup for three games. One year later, Ewers suffered another shoulder injury against Houston during a run. Maalik Murphy, who has since transferred to Duke, started two games.
Of course, Manning will be waiting in the wings if Ewers gets hurt again. Still, Texas has a good excuse to limit Ewers’ snaps so he’s fresh for a potential College Football Playoff trip.
The Longhorns’ schedule features a few bangers but plenty of fluff into the middle. Colorado State, UTSA and Louisiana-Monroe should be blowouts. Vanderbilt, Arkansas and Mississippi State will likely miss bowls. That leaves six games for Manning to play meaningful snaps and gain live ball experience, and Texas should push him into the lineup as much as possible. Even starting Manning against UTSA or ULM could be an interesting choice. A positive performance could bring some outside calls for Manning to start, but Sark can trust his mature quarterback room to shut out the noise.
An important caveat here is that behind Ewers and Manning, Texas has just one other scholarship quarterback on the roster, true freshman Trey Owens. That’s not rare in the transfer portal era, but if Sarkisian had insurance for Ewers and Manning, perhaps he’d really warm up to going all-gas, no-brakes with our suggestion for Manning’s usage.
“As fun as that might be just to get him involved in the game, I don’t see Sark ever doing it,” Jeff Howe of Horns247 said. “The run game is never going to be something he wants to come from his quarterbacks other than extending the play and the occasional scramble. Plus, the combination of Texas being so deep and talented at running back and the fact that Quinn has yet to make it through a full season healthy makes the risk far greater than the reward with Arch, who’s very realistically one play away from being the guy.
“Can you imagine the criticism raining down on Sark if something happened to Arch in a speciality package and then Quinn got hurt?” Howe added.
With the most famous name in football, Manning had every excuse to turn his career into a circus. Instead, his quiet, workmanlike approach sets the tone. In Manning’s Class of 2023, five of the top eight players have already transferred. The other two — Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava and Oklahoma’s Jackson Arnold — were gifted starting jobs heading into Year 2. Out of nine quarterbacks in the Top247, none returns to their team as a backup … except Manning.
Now, Sarkisian needs to take his greatest advantage and leverage it into a national championship chase. As one of the best offensive coaches in the sport, he should have no shortage of ideas.
Former LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels is hoping to hear his name called early in the 2024 NFL Draft, and he could be the second player off the board to the Washington Commanders. However, a picture that went viral this past week raised some concerns about a specific body part of Daniels’.
In a report revealing which teams would meet with Daniels at his pro day, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport used this photo on social media:
Immediately following his Pro Day, #LSU QB and potential Top 3 pick Jayden Daniels is scheduled to meet with the #Patriots, #Commanders, #Giants, #Vikings, #Broncos and #Raiders, per his agent Ron Butler. Daniels has not previously met with any teams. pic.twitter.com/1wM92chLz8
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 27, 2024 As you can see, something looks off with Daniels’ right elbow. On Friday, the quarterback took to social media to address the issue everyone was now talking about.
my elbow is perfectly fine .. stop the cap!!🧢🥱
— Jayden (@JayD__5) March 29, 2024 Whatever is wrong or not wrong with Daniels’ elbow didn’t affect his play. The Arizona State transfer won the Heisman Trophy this past season after dominating through the air and on the ground. Daniels recorded the highest passer efficiency in a season in FBS history (208.0), led the FBS in total yards per game (412.2) and total touchdowns per game (4.2) and led all FBS quarterbacks in yards per attempt (11.7) and yards per rush (8.4).
He is without a doubt one of the top quarterbacks in this class, and a mystifying image of his elbow won’t change that.
ORLANDO, Fla. — The NFL has embarked in the streaming revolution over the last few seasons. The league had its first playoff game exclusively to streaming and it was a tremendous success, prompting the league to have a playoff game exclusively on a streaming service every year.
This comes on the same year there was an exclusive regular season game on Peacock and a new “Black Friday” game on Amazon in addition to having the entire “Thursday Night Football” package on Amazon and an international game exclusively on ESPN+.
Games exclusively to streaming have grown around the NFL, as the first international game for the 2024 season between the Philadelphia Eagles and an unnamed opponent will be on Peacock. This is the first international game in Brazil and the league iis banking on new subscribers to watch football on a Friday night on the first week of the season.
As the streaming population is growing and more NFL inventory is being placed on a streaming service, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie doesn’t see a significant amount of games getting taken off broadcast television. The NFL’s bread and butter is being over-the-air.
“I don’t see it more and more, but what I do see is population embraces streaming in certain ways, tremendously,” Lurie said at the NFL Annual Meetings this week. “So technically it was the wild-card game on Peacock that was a huge success. I think they had 21, 22 million viewers, technologically it was excellent. And so it’s also a younger demographic.
“The NFL like other sports leagues but we’re proactive when itself comes to demographics, we want to be younger at times, streamers and Amazons have the ability to deliver younger audiences. The beauty of NFL is most of it is on free television and it’s going to remain that way a long, long time, that’s the basis of the popularity of the NFL.”
Under the NFL’s current contract, the league has an all-digital package with “Thursday Night Football” with Amazon, an exclusive game on ESPN+ and an exclusive game on Peacock. CBS games are also simulcast on Paramount+, NBC games are simulcast on Peacock, and ESPN/ABC games are also simulcast on ESPN+. Amazon added the exclusive “Black Friday” game and a wild card playoff game over the past year, as part of the growing inventory of streaming.
With 23 million tuning into a wild card playoff game, the NFL will milk the streaming cow as long as it can. Lurie doesn’t want fans to be concerned the league will have a bulk of its inventory on streaming.
“I wouldn’t want anyone to think — it’s just another way to go to expand distribution of games,” Lurie said. “But the bulwark of NFL games are free and direct access for all consumers.”
The San Francisco 49ers attempted to poach a tight end from an NFC foe, as general manager John Lynch signed Detroit Lions restricted free agent tight end Brock Wright to a three-year, $12 million offer sheet that included $6 million guaranteed, per ESPN. However, the Lions matched the offer, keeping Wright on the roster, per NFL Media.
The Lions reportedly initially tendered Wright with a one-year, $2.98 million offer. If Detroit did not match San Francisco’s offer, the Lions would not have received any compensation back, because Wright was originally an undrafted free agent, per the Detroit Free Press.
The 25-year-old tight end found his way to Detroit after going undrafted in 2021. Wright played his college ball at Notre Dame, but was not a major receiving threat, as he caught just seven passes for 78 yards and one touchdown in 28 games played. However, for the Lions, Wright has served as an effective blocker in the run game.
In 41 NFL games played, Wright has caught 43 passes for 424 yards and seven touchdowns. He recorded a career-low 91 receiving yards and one touchdown this past season, and did not play in the NFC Championship matchup vs. the 49ers.
Dealing Haason Reddick appeared inevitable based on how the Philadelphia Eagles offseason transpired. Philadelphia signed Bryce huff on the first day of free agency and restructured Josh Sweat’s contract a week later, setting the stage for Reddick’s final days as an Eagle.
Reddick wanted a pay raise for past performance and it was easy to understand his case. Only Reddick and Myles Garrett had 10+ sacks in each of the last four years — and Reddick accomplished the feat with four different defensive coordinators and three different teams. The Eagles paid Reddick an average annual salary of $15 million per season, good for 20th amongst edge rushers in the NFL.
By all accounts, Reddick was underpaid. The Eagles weren’t going to give Reddick a significant bump in pay or a new contract for a 30-year-old pass rusher. Reddick was traded to the New York Jets for a conditional 2026 third-round pick (which is bumped up to a second-round pick if Reddick gets 10+ sacks or plays 67.5% of the snaps).
The trade did make sense for the Eagles, yet they are taking a huge gamble by moving on from Reddick when he has some good football left.
One-year left on the deal The Eagles could have altered Reddick’s deal similar to how they restructured Sweat’s contract, allowing him to walk after the 2024 season as a free agent. The 2026 conditional third-round pick is valuable for the franchise to remain at a Super Bowl contending level in future years, yet Reddick keeps the team in Super Bowl contention for 2024.
Regardless how the Eagles pass rush fared at the end of the year last season (29th in sack rate at 5.3%), Reddick was still the best pass rusher of a group that disappeared. His 2.5 sacks trailed only Fletcher Cox during that stretch and his 7.9% pressure rate also trailed only Cox.
The Eagles lost their two best pass rushers this offseason with Cox retiring and trading Reddick. By signing off, the Eagles had the money to allow Reddick to keep playing in 2024 in a rotation with Huff and Sweat. The pass rush could have returned to 2022 form with those three leading the way, Nolan Smith having another year to develop, and Brandon Graham playing a limited role.
That group could have arguably been the best pass rush in the NFL. Paying Reddick guaranteed money and parting ways with him after next season could have increased the chances at making the Super Bowl again. Reddick’s ability to get to the passer was massive in Philadelphia winning the NFC Championship two seasons ago.
Too many wild cards in pass rush The Eagles have more “ifs” in the pass rush, than the certain “sure thing” in Reddick. Sweat has 31 sacks over the last four seasons, but didn’t have any sacks and a 10.3% pressure rate from Week 13 through 18 last season (when the Eagles lost five of six to close the regular season). In the year prior, Sweat had 6.5 sacks from Weeks 13-18 with a 12.6% pressure rate and he had 4.0 sacks with a 15.8% pressure rate in 2021.
The Eagles appear to be treating 2023 as an anomaly for Sweat rather than the norm. Huff, on the the other hand, is what the Eagles are banking on to replicate Reddick’s production. Huff’s 21.3% pressure rate last season trailed only Micah Parsons amongst pass rushers with 250+ snaps. He finished with 10 sacks despite playing 47% of the snaps.
Philadelphia is hoping an increased volume of snaps for Huff will result in more sacks and a high pressure rate. Being 25 years old to Reddick’s 30 was another reason the Eagles decided to pay Huff at a value they were comfortable with. Philadelphia is paying for future production instead of past production.
Nolan Smith had one sack and eight pressures in 182 snaps last season, as the Eagles are ready to give the 2023 first-round pick an expanded role. Brandon Graham is playing his 15th and final season at 36 years old and free agent signing Zack Baun will also be part of the pass rush rotation.
The Eagles don’t have an elite pass rusher like Reddick on the roster. They are hoping Huff becomes one over the life of his contract and Sweat becomes the closer he was at the end of the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Philadelphia is also hoping Smith takes the next step as well.
This is a major gamble for 2024, one that could have been avoided by paying Reddick top dollar for this year than moving on. The trade was a good one, but keeping Reddick on the roster would have been better.
Jadeveon Clowney is about to enter his first season with the Carolina Panthers, coming off one year with the Baltimore Ravens and the 31-year-old is ready to continue to prove himself in 2024. This offseason, the edge rusher signed a two-year, $20 million contract, worth up to $24 million, with his hometown team, marking the sixth franchise he has played for in his NFL career.
The Rock Hill, South Carolina native finished with 9.5 sacks last season, tying his career high. Clowney, who played in 17 games last year and finished with 43 total tackles and two forced fumbles, said last year was a crucial one.
“That was very important, really for myself because I already knew I could play the game and make plays,” Clowney said (via ESPN). “I tell people all the time if I play in 16, 17 games, it’s going to look like a Pro Bowl season. That’s all I got to do, is just be out there playing.”
He continued, saying, “I know I can make the plays no matter what team I’m on. I’ve just got to be available and take care of myself. The older I get the more I figure out how to stay healthier.”
Clowney changed his number from No. 90 to No. 24 ahead of his 2023 campaign, which ended up being his first year since 2017 that he played a full season. He said one reason for the change was to separate himself from his bad ending with the Browns.
“That was my Kobe Bryant year, the return of the killer,” Clowney said. “I said Kobe [year] because when I was in Cleveland a lot of stuff happened my last year there when I didn’t have my best season.”
Upon leaving the Browns, he said he had people to prove wrong.
“I said I just need one opportunity to show these people I still can do this at a high level and I’m not the guy they make me out to be,” Clowney said regarding last season. “That’s all I wanted to do that whole offseason, prove that to people.”
Whether it was the symbolic changing of the number, a new team or the extra motivation following a rough time in Cleveland, Clowney’s plan to return to his old way of playing worked. His solid season meant he was sought after in free agency, with the New York Jets also wanting him in their uniform in 2024.
Clowney ended up choosing the Panthers, in part due to his history with the Carolinas. Playing for his hometown team he says is “allowing me to live out my dream.” The potential of helping improve the team that finished 2-15, the worst record in the league, last season, was another reason he decided to make Bank of America Stadium is home field.
“I think we can turn this thing around and have some fun here,” Clowney said. “I’m looking for something great for this upcoming season.”
The South Carolina alum believes his new team can beat out the reigning divisional champ Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as well as the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons.
“The division [NFC South] was tight last year regardless of what people say. It’s no reason to think the Panthers can’t come out on top of the division this year and make the playoffs,” Clowney said.
Clowney said he is hoping former Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore, who he played with in high school and college, will be joining him on the Panthers. The edge rusher said Gilmore has been wanting to join the Panthers.
He will be changing his number once again, going back to No. 7, which he wore in high school in college, despite No. 24 being available. He said No. 24 has already done its job.
Could Ezekiel Elliott be back in a Dallas Cowboys jersey next season? There is mutual interest between the two parties, according to ESPN.
A deal to make the reunion happen has not been finalized, but Elliott and the Cowboys are both willing to make it happen.
In 2023, Elliott played his first season in a different jersey, after spending the first seven seasons in Dallas. With the New England Patriots, he finished with 184 rushes for 642 yards, both team highs, with an average of 3.5 yards per carry, with three touchdowns in 17 games. He also had 51 receptions, a team high, for 313 yards and two touchdowns in the air.
Elliott had career lows in multiple categories, including rushes, yards and touchdowns, but when Patriots lead rusher Rhamondre Stevenson went out with an injury toward the end of the season, his involvement in the run game increased. The Cowboys liked how he concluded the 2023 season, according to ESPN.
The veteran was released by the Cowboys last offseason and signed with the Patriots in August on a one-year deal worth $3 million.
He was selected at No. 4 overall in the 2016 NFL Draft and lead the league in rushing in two of his first three years with the Cowboys. The 28-year-old is a three-time Pro Bowler, with 8,904 rushing yards, 71 touchdowns on the ground, 356 receptions for 2,649 yards and 14 touchdowns in the air.
