The Virginia Tech Hokies put together a huge 2nd half as they rallied from a 9-point halftime deficit to defeat the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, 87-76. Hunter Cattoor scored 16 of his season-high 26 points after the break as the Hokies outscored the Deacs, 50-30. Lynn Kidd added 21 points and Sean Pedulla chipped in 21 points on 9-11 shooting with 9 rebounds in the win. Wake started off the game 9-10 from three-point range as they built a big 1st-half lead, but cooled off in the 2nd stanza to finish 11-25 from deep.
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Brian Robinson‘s tenure with the Washington Commanders is coming to an end as expected. The fourth-year running back will spend the coming season in San Francisco. The San Francisco 49ers and Commanders agreed to terms on a Robinson trade Friday, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. A 2026 sixth-round pick will head the other way as a result of the swap. San Francisco had been in the market for a backfield addition, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. Efforts to pull off a move have now paid off ahead of roster cutdowns. Washington will retain a portion of Robinson’s 2025 salary ($3.4M), Garafolo adds. It recently became clear Washington was looking to move on from Robinson, who did not dress in the team’s second preseason game, with a trade looming. The team’s Dan Quinn-Adam Peters regime has been open to a trade since last year, and with a swap now agreed to it will proceed with its other in-house RB options. Washington has veteran Austin Ekeler in the fold along with 2023 draftee Chris Rodriguez and seventh-round rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who has enjoyed a strong training camp. Quarterback Jayden Daniels led the Commanders in rushing last year, and today’s deal indicates he will once again be counted on as a central element of the team’s ground game. Expectations are high after Washington made a surprise run to the NFC title game during Daniels’ rookie campaign. Robinson will not play a role in the team’s efforts to duplicate that success, though. Racking up 570 carries across his three seasons in the nation’s capital, Robinson was a key figure on offense with the Commanders. The former third-rounder saw his touchdown total and yards per attempt figure increase with each passing campaign. That included eight scores and 4.3 yards per carry in 2024. Instead of retaining Robinson on the final year of his rookie pact, however, Washington will proceed with a less expensive backfield. The Commanders will recoup draft capital in this swap, something which is needed given the number of veterans on their roster. For the 49ers, meanwhile, today’s deal marks another addition on offense for the 2025 season. A trade was worked out on Wednesday for Skyy Moore, giving San Francisco a healthy receiver option. Moore, like Robinson, is a pending 2026 free agent. The 49ers have Christian McCaffrey atop the RB depth chart, and all parties involved will aim for a healthier season this time around than 2024. After trading away Jordan Mason, the team was in position to have 2024 fourth-rounder Isaac Guerendo handle backup duties. Now, he and Robinson will compete for playing time in the backfield (although using McCaffrey and Robinson on the field together could be an option, per Garafolo). Robinson’s market will of course be dictated in large part by the level of success he has with his new team. San Francisco entered Friday with nearly $49M in cap space. Taking on Robinson will eat into the figure, and it will be interesting to see how much Washington retained on his pact to finalize the trade. The Commanders, meanwhile, should see partial cap savings and thus add to their roughly $17M in available funds ahead of cutdowns. As both NFC teams prepare for the campaign in the coming days, they will do so with differences in their backfields.
Quarterback is the most important position in football, and the money given to top signal-callers — both in the NFL and at the collegiate level — supports that. On3's Pete Nakos detailed on Thursday what some of the top quarterbacks in college football will earn during the upcoming season. Nakos writes that at least five QBs will make roughly $3 million in the 2025 campaign, while more than 20 starting quarterbacks will command at least $1 million. It's important, for context, to note that these financial figures include direct revenue-sharing from schools and/or NIL deals from third-party collectives. Leading the way among 2025 quarterbacks is Duke's Darian Mensah. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound redshirt sophomore, from San Luis Obispo, Calif., will earn $4 million this year, part of a two-year, $8 million contract with the Blue Devils. Mensah transferred to Duke from Tulane, where in 2024 he threw for 2,723 yards with 22 touchdowns against just six interceptions. True freshman Bryce Underwood of Michigan is set to collect $3 million this season, which is a massive number for someone who has never taken an official snap in college. Still, the 6-foot-4, 228-pound Underwood is a significant contender to win the Wolverines' starting QB job in 2025. The native of Belleville, Mich., was the No. 1 national prospect in the 2025 recruiting class. Redshirt senior Carson Beck transferred from Georgia to Miami in the offseason, and he will make $3 million to $3.2 million this season to start, in a deal that could be worth up to $6 million with incentives, per Nakos. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Beck, who is from Jacksonville, Fla., tallied 3,485 passing yards with 28 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2024. According to the On3 article, Nebraska's Dylan Raiola will earn more than $3 million in total compensation during the 2025 season. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound sophomore, who hails from Buford, Ga., threw for 2,819 yards with 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions as a true freshman. Last year, Raiola guided the Cornhuskers to a 7-6 record and a bowl-game triumph. Drew Allar will look to lead Penn State on another deep College Football Playoff run in 2025, and the senior quarterback will earn at least $3 million during the upcoming campaign. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound Allar, from Medina, Ohio, threw for 3,327 yards with 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions a year ago as Penn State made the CFP semifinals. The Nittany Lions are No. 2 in the preseason Associated Press top-25 poll. Other quarterbacks who are expected to make big bucks in the 2025 season include Oklahoma's John Mateer ($2.5 million to $3 million), Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia (at least $2 million), Kansas State's Avery Johnson (at least $2 million), South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers ($1.8 million), TCU's Josh Hoover ($1.75 million) and Cincinnati's Brendan Sorsby ($1.5 million to $1.7 million), among others.
Kevin O'Connell opened his press conference after Friday night's preseason finale in Tennessee by discussing the difficulty of trading away Harrison Phillips, a team captain who had started every single game for Minnesota over the past three seasons. "Did want to start out just talking about Harrison Phillips for a quick second," he said. "Obviously, a tough move to make considering just how impactful he's been to the Minnesota Vikings and our organization, on and off the field. First free agent we signed when Kwesi and I got here, and he was the first one we signed for a reason. The type of man he is, the type of teammate, the type of leader. "Moves like that are not made without a lot of thought. I got a chance to spend a lot of good time with Harrison, and I also had a chance to talk to (Aaron Glenn) and (Darren Mougey) in New York about the type of player they were getting. I know he'll have the same impact there, in a new regime there. As they build their culture up, Harrison Phillips will be great for it." The Vikings clearly felt Phillips was expendable due to the additions of Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, as well as the progress shown by a wave of young defensive tackles on their roster. But to deal away an impact starter so close to the start of the season comes with some risk. Phillips' departure also creates a void of leadership, although O'Connell doesn't sound too concerned on that front. "The thing that you have to understand, in the (DT) room, acquiring veteran presences like JA and Grave, they've really been immediate impact players on and off the field," he said. "Guys that have sustained it and done it at a high level for a really long time. That doesn't go into the hard decision like that, as far as the leadership goes, but you do know that we've got some ascending players on our roster, offensively and defensively, that are ready to assume that void. We've gotta make sure we're on top of that because of his impact." Injury updates O'Connell also gave some updates on a few young players who got banged up in Friday's game. OLB Tyler Batty (right knee) will be evaluated via MRI. RB Zavier Scott (right ankle) had an early 23-yard run but then left the field limping on one of his next carries. DT Elijah Williams (right hamstring) is a candidate to make the roster in the wake of the Phillips trade, but he could also potentially begin the year on IR (designated to return) if he has a hamstring strain. All three of those players have impressed over the course of training camp. Roster cutdown day is Tuesday, which will mean lots of difficult choices for the Vikings as they go from 90 players down to 53. More Vikings coverage
Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris announced that starting right tackle Kaleb McGary will miss “significant time” with a left leg injury suffered in Wednesday’s practice. "The thing I will say to you now is that he will miss significant time," Morris said after the Falcons' last preseason game in Dallas, per the team's official website. "Looks like it will be IR, whatever the case may be, we will have to see there, but he will miss significant time for us." McGary went down during individual drills and had to be carted off the field. Although Morris indicated that the six-year veteran will land on injured reserve, that could come with a return designation if the Falcons believe he can return this season. The 30-year-old just negotiated a $3.5M raise earlier this month with a two-year, $15M extension. With Michael Penix Jr. entering his first full season as a starter, McGary may have had some added leverage as the left-handed quarterback’s new blindside protector. McGary’s injury will stretch an already-injured tackle room even further. Swing tackle Storm Norton is recovering from ankle surgery and former UDFA Tyrone Wheatley Jr. is out for the year. If Norton isn’t ready for Week 1, it’s unclear who will start at right tackle. Morris specifically mentioned Elijah Wilkinson as a player who is expected to step up amid the injuries. He’s currently listed as the backup left guard on the Falcons’ unofficial depth chart, but the eight-year veteran moved to left tackle for the team’s second preseason. He also has 20 career starts at right tackle, though the last came in 2021. Brandon Parker is listed as Atlanta’s backup right tackle, but has lined up at left tackle in the preseason. Like Wilkinson, he has plenty of past experience at right tackle as well. Rookie Jack Nelson could also be a factor after starting both preseason games at right tackle, but the seventh-rounder may not be trusted to protect Penix’s blind side right away. If McGary and/or Norton begin the season on IR, UDFA Jordan Williams could make the roster as extra depth after getting a handful of snaps at right tackle in the preseason.
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