Former Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams tosses first CFL touchdown pass

Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

After a long, strenuous road to professional football, Vernon Adams finally tossed the first touchdown pass of his professional career on Friday night for the Montreal Alouettes. While it’s not an official touchdown pass as it was just a preseason game, it was nice to see some success for Adams.

Adams had struggled in Montreal’s preseason debut, completing just one of four passes for seven yards with an interception in a 36-13 loss against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. However, the former Duck bounced back this week as he tossed a 16-yard touchdown pass to BJ Cunningham for the first touchdown pass of his pro career. The Alouettes would go on to defeat the Toronto Argonauts 22-15.

Next week, Montreal opens the season against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on June 30. Adams is not projected to start for Montreal, but things can change real quick, so you can bet Adams will be ready to go at any moment.

Written on June 19, 2016 at 7:32 pm


Jarren Williams commits to Kentucky Wildcats; Has offers from FSU, UL, WVU among others

The Kentucky Wildcats have been the victims of several decommitments in recent weeks.

That string of bad luck ended on Father’s Day as UK scored a big-time commitment in the Class of 2018. It came when quarterback Jarren Williams announced his commitment on his Twitter page Sunday evening:

The 6-3, 205-pound Williams hails from Central Gwinnett High School in Lawrenceville (GA). Between Rich Brooks, Joker Phillips and now Mark Stoops, UK has landed some of their best players from the Peach State, and Williams certainly has the potential to be the latest.

After all, Williams already holds offers from the likes of Florida State, Colorado, Colorado State, Louisville, Maryland and West Virginia among others. In other words, this is a huge get for Mark Stoops and his staff, especially after losing 2017 four-star quarterback Mac Jones to Alabama recently.

Williams talked with Rivals.com about what went into his commitment and what he hopes to accomplish at UK.

“What made me decide so early was I talked to my parents when we finished up our visit (to Kentucky). We wanted to hurry up and narrow it down so we don’t miss out on (the right opportunity),” Williams said. “Kentucky just by far stood out from a lot of the other colleges recruiting me.

“Take nothing away from them, but it really felt like home. I want to be a part of something great and get Kentucky back to the days like when Tim Couch was there and the offense was a major factor. It’s a great opportunity for me, to work with the coaches and all.”

Of course it’s hard to put too much stock into a recruit committing to a school two years before he begins his first college semester, but Williams feels UK is the best fit for him

“I’m 100-percent solid with UK,” Williams said. “(Hinshaw) told me to make sure I commit before I do because he wants to make sure I’m ready. So I talked to my parents and I really feel good about it.”

UK now has a commitment from a big-time QB prospect in the future, something they needed in either the 2017 or 2018 class. Williams is also currently UK’s only commitment in 2018.

Here are some highlights of the newest Cat in action:

Written on June 19, 2016 at 6:56 pm


York 2018 DT Masry Mapieu Commits To Nebraska Friday Night

The second commitment for the Nebraska Cornhuskers tonight is also the second Nebraska commitment of the 2018 class.

The Huskers have gotten the commitment of York, Nebraska Defensive End Masry Mapieu.

Mapieu has not been ranked by any recruiting service yet. He has offers from Iowa, Iowa State, UCLA, and South Dakota State as well as the committable offer to the Huskers.

Mapieu is obviously a guy that a few schools have come into town and gotten good looks at, and the fact that he’s a Junior this coming year and you’re watching him dominate Class B action in his Sophomore year is something.

Here are a couple videos after Mapieu committed, discussing why the time was right.

He has the size to grow into a monster. That alone must make John Parrella and Mike Riley happy.

Mapieu joins Cameron Jurgens as the two 2018 commits in the Nebraska fold. Will more come this weekend? Find out soon!

Written on June 17, 2016 at 10:37 pm


Cornerback commit Travon Stott will not join Maryland football’s 2016 class

He was Maryland’s 12th-highest rated recruit in the class.

Maryland football cornerback commit Travon Stott will not enroll at the university and will not join the Terps’ class of 2016, he announced Friday night on Twitter.

The three-star Good Counsel (Md.) product committed to Maryland in April of 2015, and signed his national letter of intent this past February. Maryland was the only team to offer Stott, who told Testudo Times, “Keandre Jones is my best friend, so when he committed there, it was like ‘Woah we may have a possibility of playing together for four more years,’” before he committed to Maryland. Jones was one of the Terps’ highest-rated commits in the 2016 class before he flipped his commitment to Ohio State in January.

Stott was the Terps’ 12th-highest rated recruit in the class of 2016. He was the No. 106 cornerback in the class of 2016 and the No. 30 player in Maryland, according to the 247Sports Composite.

He was one of six defensive backs in the class. Maryland’s secondary is full of question marks entering the season, as corner Will Likely is the unit’s only returning starter.

Written on June 17, 2016 at 10:30 pm


Vanderbilt football gets its first 2017 recruit, three-star QB Jacob Free

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

When June hit and Derek Mason had still failed to land (and keep) a recruit for his class of 2017, Vanderbilt fans began to worry. Well, worry no more.

The Alabama quarterback became the second class of ’17 athlete to say yes to the Commodores and the first member on the books for next year’s National Signing Day. Tailback Lamont Atkins decommitted from the team this spring. The three-star passer announced his decision through Twitter on Friday afternoon.

Free chose Vandy over offers from Louisville, Memphis, and Temple, among others. He’s a 6’5 drop back passer with a solid arm and good straight line speed. He’s still got room to fill out, but he’s an accurate passer with a soft touch and the ability to fit the ball into tight windows and make plays downfield.

Something’s wrong over at Hudl, so we can’t embed his highlights, but you can head over to his main page and see what he’s capable of here.

Free will join a Vanderbilt depth chart that will features players like Kyle Shurmur, Wade Freebeck, Shawn Stankavage, Deuce Wallace, and John Webb.

Written on June 17, 2016 at 10:20 pm


COMMIT: Florida Defensive End Jonathon MacCollister Chooses Notre Dame

Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The first Irish Invasion commitment has already come.

The first commitment from Irish Invasion came early tonight when Orlando, Florida’s Bishop Moore Catholic defensive end Jonathon MacCollister verbally committed to Notre Dame. The 247 Composite lists the 6’4″/250-pounder as the #41 strong-side defensive end and #847 overall in the country.

Recruiting Service Rankings

247 — 3 star (87 rating), #520 overall, #17 position, #70 in Florida

Scout — 3 star, NR overall, #78 position (OT), NR state

Rivals — 3 star (5.6 rating), NR overall, NR position, NR state

ESPN — 3 star (70 rating), NR overall, #59 position, #120 in Florida

247 Composite — 3 star (.8459), #847 overall, #41 position, #120 in Florida

Cohort

Jonathon chose the Irish over offers from Ohio State, Auburn, Duke, Miami, Oregon, Tennessee, and many others. His offer list would imply that he’s much better than the #847 overall player in his class.

Highlights

After watching Jonathon’s highlights, the first thing that will probably stick out to you is his versatility. Aside from being a really good prospect on the defensive line, he’s also a very good tight end (that’s the position that Ohio State was recruiting him at). He’s a pretty dang athletic kid with a quick burst off the line.

Jonathon’s full Junior year highlights can be viewed here.

Impact

MacCollister will need to bulk up a bit in order to play the strong-side like Rochell currently does, but he’s got a ton of upside. This really helps the depth along the defensive line, as this is a guy who could potentially play in the three-technique as well. His versatility is sure to open doors for him, and should give him plenty of opportunities to see the field in some capacity early on.

Welcome to the Irish family, Jonathon!

Written on June 17, 2016 at 9:33 pm


Surprising News: DB Maurice Smith to Transfer

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The DB depth chart is thinning out…

Interesting news broke this afternoon that DB Maurice Smith will be transferring from Alabama:

Veteran defensive back transferring out of Alabama | AL.com

Senior Maurice Smith, who was in the mix to be the Tide’s starting nickel back, is leaving and will join another program as a graduate transfer, a source told AL.com. The Dulles, Texas native was the first-team nickel back during Alabama’s spring game in April, helping the first-team defense hold the Tide’s first-team offense to just three points.

Smith joins Shawn Burgess-Becker as the second DB to transfer in the past couple of weeks. His is a more surprising choice since he was apparently looking at significant playing time. Good luck to him, wherever he lands.

As far as the Tide secondary depth chart, this should open up a significant opportunity for Anthony Averett and Kendall Sheffield along with an impressive freshman class.

Written on June 17, 2016 at 8:50 pm


Arizona football recruiting: 3-star safety Xavier Bell verbally commits to Wildcats

The Arizona Wildcats have landed yet another commitment for the 2017 class. Xavier Bell, a 6-foot-2, 185 pound safety out of Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA), announced his verbal commitment to Arizona on his twitter account.

He is a 3-star prospect according to Scout, who was receiving interest from Arizona State, Florida State and Texas A&M.

This now gives Arizona 17 commitments for the 2017 class and their third defensive back, including Greg Johnson and Scott Young. Add that with the five safeties from the 2016 recruiting class and Arizona is steadily growing their secondary with some extremely talented pieces. Nine of the 2017 commits are on the defensive side of the ball.

This commitment is tapping into another winning football program. Since Rich Rodriguez has taken over in 2012, the staff had been steadily climbing up to the powerhouse programs. Now with this defensive staff, there has been an obvious and abrupt culture change in recruiting.

What I like about Bell is his size. He’s a rangy free safety that can patrol the top of the field and also step into the gap to stop the run. Here are his junior year highlights at Mater Dei

Written on June 17, 2016 at 8:48 pm


Shavar Manuel, 4-Star FSU DT Commit, Will Attend Junior College

Shavar Manuel, 4-Star FSU DT Commit, Will Attend Junior College

Credit: 247Sports.com

Coveted defensive tackle prospect Shavar Manuel, who signed a national letter of intent with the Florida State Seminoles on Feb. 3, has reportedly opted to attend junior college instead of proceeding with his plan to play for the ACC powerhouse.

Citing a source in Manuel’s family, Josh Newberg of 247Sports reported the 4-star stud will enroll at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas.

“The same source says that Florida State has been working with him over the past few weeks in picking a JUCO to attend,” Newberg wrote. “Manuel will need to get his AA degree before becoming eligible.  The family believes he could be out of JUCO in a year-and-a-half.”

Manuel committed to the Florida Gators on Jan. 3, per 247Sports, but he reversed that decision a month later and latched on with the Seminoles.

He explained his decision in a conversation with Bleacher Report’s Stephen Nelson:

The Blake High School and IMG Academy product has been lauded as one of the nation’s top high school run-stuffers for some time. According to 247Sports’ composite rankings, Manuel is the ninth-ranked defensive tackle and 67th-ranked player overall in the 2016 class. He’s also the 11th-ranked player in the state of Florida.

Since Newberg Manuel will ultimately make his way to Tallahassee, head coach Jimbo Fisher and Co. will merely need to exercise some patience before they can get their hands on the potential cornerstone.

All recruit information courtesy of 247Sports.

Written on June 17, 2016 at 6:13 pm


4-star LB Willie Gay commits to Ole Miss over Mississippi State

Hugh Freeze and Co. steal another one from Starkville after Gay verbally commits to the Rebs.

Ole Miss secured a commitment from linebacker Josh Clarke earlier this week and they’re continuing to put even more of an emphasis on the position after securing a commitment from four-star Willie Gay. The Starkville native committed to the Rebs via Twitter and is now the ninth commit in the 2017 class.

Gay was always thought to be a Mississippi State lean during his recruitment (as high as 70 percent on his 247Sports’ Crystal Ball) but Ole Miss and Dave Wommack stayed vigilante throughout his recruitment. You have to think that the No. 3 player in the state of Mississippi and the No. 11 outside linebacker in the nation felt some continuity and comfort knowing that his former teammate A.J. Brown is now a Rebel.

Willie collected 84 tackles his junior year, 11 of those for loss, 6 sacks, 9 pass breakups and 4 interceptions. He was a key cog in the Yellowjackets’ state title run in 2015 where they ended the year with a 14-1 record.

Securing another verbal pledge from a linebacker is one thing but to once again get another recruit from your rival’s backyard shows the recruiting reach that Hugh Freeze and his staff have. Gay may not have been a lifelong State fan growing up but it is still a huge deal to snag a recruit from right under a Power 5 program’s nose.

How does he fit in?

Gay is a rangy outside linebacker who already has the size at 6’2 and 215-pounds to step in and contribute right away. The biggest question is where will he play for the Landsharks? He’s definitely a strong enough tackler to play at the second level as an outside linebacker but could also serve well in the Tony Conner role. With Conner departing from Ole Miss due to graduation, Willie will be set up to take over for him in 2017 if need be. Gay’s 4.6 speed will serve him well in space when covering screens and stretch run plays.

Gay will come in with Clarke and be counted on to contribute immediately. The Rebs are losing Terry Caldwell, Rommel Mageo and Temario Strong due to graduation so Gay will get plenty of opportunities to try and earn a starting spot. The struggle to find elite talent at the linebacker position has been a struggle in Hugh Freeze’s four years at the helm but he has finally gotten his man.

And he’s from Starkville. What a time.

Highlights

Written on June 17, 2016 at 6:07 pm


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