One of the biggest narratives surrounding the 2016 UNC football team is the run defense and all the concerns surrounding it. It’s fairly hard to argue against the notion that it’s an issue.

The last two games UNC played were not a good look for the run defense. North Carolina gave up 319 total rushing yards to Clemson, and then allowed an all-time bowl record of 645 to Baylor. Those two game made up 954 of the 3463 yards they allowed all season. In Carolina’s only other loss of the season, they allowed 254 to South Carolina. It was a major factor in all three losses.

Add in the fact that UNC loses both Shakeel Rashad and Jeff Schoettmer, and the run defense is definitely something to be worried about.

In six of their wins last season, Carolina allowed over 200 yards. However, the offense was enough to cover it up. While that may be the case again in some games this season, there are some teams on North Carolina’s schedule that may be able to exploit the run defense. Maybe not to a Baylor level, but there are teams that can definitely go for 250-300.

The two teams that are most equipped to take advantage of the run defense are Georgia and Florida State. Georgia will get back Nick Chubb. Even if Chubb is not 100% following his injury, Georgia will probably have someone who can run the ball, because they always seems to have at least one good running back.

Meanwhile, Florida State has Dalvin Cook. Last season, Cook averaged 7.4 yards per carry, and arguably should have been a Heisman Trophy finalist. However, in all likelihood, UNC will be an underdog in those two games anyway. UNC’s run defense can play average in both of those games and still possibly lose. There are some other games where UNC might be a favorite where the run defense might be a big factor.

Last season, UNC held Pitt to just 153 rushing yards. However, 2014 ACC Player of the Year James Conner is returning for the Panthers this season. It will be difficult for Carolina to repeat that performance again this year.

Georgia Tech’s option also could be a problem for North Carolina. Even in a down year for the Yellow Jackets, UNC still allowed a lot of yardage on the ground in last year’s game.

Then there is the NC State game. In last year’s game, Carolina gave up 308 yards on the ground, and that was a State team without both Matt Dayes and Shadrach Thornton. While at least part of that total was due to the fact that the game was pretty much over in the first quarter, not all of it can be discounted. Dayes will return this season for State, making that game a potential worry.

Take this for what it’s worth, but North Carolina faces eight running backs that received All-ACC preseason votes. There are a lot of good players on the schedule that a UNC defense that allowed the 3rd most rushing yards in the country has to face.

North Carolina’s offense has the potential to cover up many problems that arise due to the defense. Last year, UNC allowed 279 rushing yards to Delaware and still won by 27 points. The offense can be really good. However, there are definitely some teams on the schedule that can really make North Carolina pay.

So LSU’s elusive 330-pound unicorn, former five-star defensive tackle recruit Travonte Valentine, is finally clear to return to the LSU football team after more than a year and two junior colleges.

Kind of. Maybe. Possibly.

Sonny Shipp of the LSU 247 Sports affiliate reported the story this afternoon:

Former LSU defensive tackle Travonte Valentine is back with the Tigers and has been ruled eligible to play right away, as first-reported by 247Sports.

He’s now on LSU’s campus, and the elite JUCO product will practice immediately with the Tigers when camp begins this week.

This is a major shot in the arm for LSU’s program heading into the 2016 campaign.

Valentine has three years of eligibility remaining to play for the Bayou Bengals.

This time around, the Tigers get not only a bigger and stronger Valentine, but more importantly a more dialed-in individual.

“I want to focus on my three years at LSU to graduate and hopefully win a few National Championships,” Valentine said. “I’ve matured as a man since I left and want to prove myself to the wonderful fans at LSU.”

Valentine originally signed with LSU and was on the squad in 2014, but wasn’t eligible to play, thus redshirting. He was dismissed from LSU last summer due to team violations.

Valentine played last fall at Yuma, Ariz./Arizona Western Junior College. He then transferred to Perkinston, Miss./Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

However, per the Advocate, LSU is not confirming Valentine’s status with the team.

And then there’s this tweet from 104.9 ESPN Radio’s Derek Ponamsky:

Sooo…what now?

My best guess, after some cryptic texts from #sources, is that while Valentine has cleared his necessary academic hurtles for re-admission to the university, there may be a hoop or two that Les Miles and the coaching staff want him to jump through before he may begin practicing. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Valentine giving quotes to Sonny irked the staff. Valetine’s previous time here was an astounding testament to doing “the wrong things.” After a lost fall due to the SEC league office flagging his transcript, Valentine was suspended for academics in the spring of 2015, and wouldn’t last much longer. I am told that had he not gotten the boot, he would not have been academically eligible for the Fall. He also failed multiple drug tests and had ballooned to well over 350 pounds when he left Baton Rouge.

That said, coaches aren’t in the habit of giving this many chances to average players, and the reports of Valentine’s limited appearances in those 2014 practices being very impressive. What’s more, he’s the perfect type of two-gap defensive lineman LSU needs for Dave Aranda’s 3-4 defense, either as a nose tackle or a 4/5-technique defensive end.

I would guess we’ll have some clarity to this situation at Les Miles’ next press conference on Thursday. But for now, the unicorn remains shrouded in mystery.

The Arizona State Sun Devils opened up their second week of training camp Monday at the Verde Dickey Dome in Tempe.

The media viewed opening stretches, individual drills, two series of two-minute drills, Oklahoma drills, and special teams drills before being removed. Players wore shells (just helmets and shoulder pads).

Twelve players were honored for their outstanding work over the summer: tight end Kody Kohl, defensive back Gump Hayes, receiver Ellis Jefferson, linebackers Malik Lawal, Carlos Mendoza and Christian Sam, left guard Sam Jones, defensive ends JoJo Wicker, Renell Wren and Jalen Bates, and running back Kalen Ballage.

Things became intense when several offensive and defensive linemen took part in a shoving match during the Oklahoma drill portion of the practice. No punches were thrown, however.

Redshirt senior offensive lineman Evan Goodman was at the center of it.

After Brady White directed the first team during Saturday’s two-minute drill session, Monday it was Manny Wilkins who headed the first unit under center. White took snaps with the second team, as both groups worked through ASU’s two-minute offense facing no defense.

Here’s how the offenses lined up:

Team 1

QB: Manny Wilkins

RB: Kalen Ballage

WR (outside): Ellis Jefferson, Jalen Harvey

WR (slot): Tim White

TE (slot): Kody Kohl, Raymond Epps

LT: Evan Goodman

LG: Sam Jones

C: Stephon McCray

RG: Zach Robertson

RT: Quinn Bailey

Team 2

QB: Brady White

RB: Nick Ralston

WR (outside): N’Keal Harry, Cameron Smith

WR (slot): Frederick Gammage

TE (slot): Raymond Epps

LT: Mason Walter

LG: Connor Humphreys

C: Cohl Cabral

RG: Cade Cote

RT: Steven Miller

Notes: Running back Demario Richard is not injured; he did not take part in any of the two-minute drill reps, just as Ballage did during Saturday’s practice.

• An Atlanta Falcons scout attended Monday’s practice.
• Tim White once again sported the coveted, camouflage PT42 jersey, and is the only player to do so.
• Media caught a glimpse of one 11-on-11 play before being removed. It appeared the team is still experimenting with sophomore JoJo Wicker at Devilbacker with Edmond Boateng manning the defensive end role.

The Sun Devils will practice again tomorrow as fall practices continue.

OK, so Monday was technically the second day of Ole Miss’ fall camp—the Rebs reported on Sunday—but it was the first day of media availability and therefore the first day that we got to hear anything of substance.

Leading the list of newsworthy information is Hugh Freeze’s revelation that left tackle Jeremy Liggins is sitting out for an indefinite period of time because of “a violation of team standards.” Despite being listed as the projected starter in the early (and meaningless) preseason depth chart, Liggins probably wasn’t starting as the blind side protector anyway.

Daniel Paulling of The Clarion-Ledger reported that the offensive line reps were distributed thusly:

Here’s some other notable info that came out of Monday’s media availability:

Charles Wiley is being allowed to practice.

The freshman defensive end was initially suspended from all team activities after being arrested on a charge of domestic violence two weeks ago. Freeze said that Wiley was practicing but wouldn’t play if the season started today. The police report on the incident—which ended in both Wiley and his girlfriend being arrested—was scarce on details, but Freeze said the info he’d acquired was enough to keep Wiley on the practice field.

Fadol Brown isn’t practicing, but he’s out of his walking boot.

That’s a great sign for a guy who’s taken an alarming amount of time to heal up from a foot fracture that he had surgery for back in December.

Having Brown back in time for the opener could be critical to slowing down Florida State running back Dalvin Cook. Until then, John Youngblood is filling in as the first-team strong-side defensive end.

Eric Swinney took first-team reps at running back.

Let’s not get too lost in reading the training camp tea leaves, but it’s interesting that the redshirt freshman, who missed last season with an injury, took the field in front of presumed favorites Akeem Judd (who took second-team reps) and Jordan Wilkins (third team). Swinney was the talk of spring camp after ripping off a handful of highlight runs, but most figured he was still a year away from competing for the top spot on the depth chart. It looks like Hugh Freeze is at least giving him a chance to compete for it.

Tony Conner and Issac Gross are back on the practice field.

Conner, who was in and out of the lineup last season after tearing his meniscus in Tuscaloosa, wore a brace on his surgically repaired knee. Gross, who missed most of 2015 after suffering what at one point was rumored to be a career-threatening neck injury, has been given the green light to make a full return to contact. Chuck Rounsaville of the Ole Miss Spirit claims the 260-pound nose tackle was doing backflips on the practice field.

Gage Cervenka was a three-star DT prospect out of Greenwood High School largely recognized for his excellent high school wrestling career.

While he wasn’t particularly struggling at defensive tackle, the depth chart at the DT is especially star-studded for Clemson. Carlos Watkins, Christian Wilkins, Albert Huggins, Dexter Lawrence, Scott Pagano, and Jabril Robinson are all listed ahead of him.

Conversely on the offensive line, he will train at Center and Guard where there are three players on the field at once instead of just two and only Jay Guillermo, Maverick Morris, Taylor Hearn, and Justin Falcinelli are clearly entrenched in front of him. He remains unlikely to contribute this year, but will have a very good opportunity to begin providing depth in 2017 (with Jay Guillermo’s departure).

Coach Swinney believes he is a good fit for the offensive line and the depth chart shows he has a much bigger opportunity to make an impact there. I love the move, but would like to know what you think in the poll and comments below.

As expected, five-star 2017 defensive back prospect JaCoby Stevens committed to LSU today, choosing the Tigers over Alabama and Georgia.

The 6-1, 200-pound Stevens is a composite five-star prospect and the No. 2 safety in the class of 2017. He is LSU’s 19th commitment in this class and second safety, joining four-star Grant Delpit of the IMG Academy. Stevens moves LSU up to No. 3 in the 247 Sports composite class rankings.

While Austin Thomas deserves a lot of credit for discovering Stevens early on, give

Dave Aranda and Corey Raymond plenty for re-securing his pledge this summer.

#SoonerSquad17 ⭕️ pic.twitter.com/huRaa0DHp3

— Creed Humphrey (@creed_humphrey) August 8, 2016

TCU’s defense is expected to be dominant in 2016 thanks to a lot of returning talent, plus an injection of new blood to bolster the depth chart. The defensive line is no exception, as the Frogs see a wealth of talent, both young and old, filling up the depth chart. Here’s how the chart stacked up at the end of spring practice.

2015 First Team All-Big 12 defensive end Josh Carraway anchors one end of the line, looking to improve on his nine sacks from a season ago. 2015 was a “growing up” year for Carraway, who saw his playing time increase dramatically, especially with the injury to James McFarland. Carraway was far and away the most effective end for TCU in 2015, but he also had a tendency to take unnecessary penalties, which put TCU’s defense in tough situations from time to time. For Carraway, 2016 should be about eliminating the mental mistakes while continuing to be a sack machine.

Fortunately for Carraway, the guy set to play across from him is a beast in his own right. James McFarland missed all of the 2015 season due to a broken toe, suffered over the summer. McFarland used his redshirt in 2015, which allowed him to come back to TCU this year.

McFarland has been an integral part of TCU’s rotation at defensive end ever since stepping foot on campus in 2012. As a freshman, McFarland appeared in all 13 games, and he didn’t miss a game until 2015. He has 64 tackles, 17.5 TFL, and 10.5 sacks for his career.

Mat Boesen, a transfer from Long Beach City College (and before that, Boise State) will push McFarland for playing time on the right side of the line. Boesen is a terrific pass rusher, and he will absolutely find himself on the field as a rotation guy this fall.

Other defensive ends who should be seen regularly include Tipa Galeai, who saw a good amount of playing time as a true freshman in 2015, freshman Isaiah Chambers, and redshirt freshman Semaj Thomas.

The middle of the line will be anchored by senior Aaron Curry. Who starts beside him is the big question right now, but it might be a name that’s not on the chart above. Freshman Ross Blacklock is an absolute monster of a human being, and his raw ability may be enough to see him get some starts early in the season.

Behind Curry and Blacklock are a whole host of tackles, including Chris Bradley, L.J. Collier, Joseph Broadnax, and Breylin Mitchell, all of whom should see a lot of time on the field as a part of a very deep rotation.

The defensive line is just one of three very stacked units for TCU’s defense, and if they play like they’re capable, they’ll be an absolute nightmare for opposing offenses.