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Former Memphis offensive lineman Xavier Hill announced he'll be transferring to Colorado on Saturday. This comes after the 6-foot-4, 325-pounder made an official visit to Boulder.
The three-star LSU transfer earned first-team All-AAC honors in 2023. He helped the Tigers rank sixth in the NCAA in scoring offense (39.4 points), 10th in passing offense (306.5 yards), 14th in total offense (458.5 yards) and 17th in team passing efficiency (154.79) and completion percentage (66.7%).
Hill has played nearly 2,000 snaps in his career as a two-year starter. Memphis has gone to two straight bowl games during his time with the Tigers. The top AAC team defeated Iowa State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. One of nine players to start in all 13 games in 2023. They followed that up with a 42-37 rout of West Virginia in the Miami Beach Bowl last year.
Out of Olive Branch High (Mississippi), Hill was the No. 12 overall prospect in the state, the No. 27 offensive lineman in the class and the No. 462 overall prospect in the 2020 class.
Colorado lost six offensive lineman after the 2024 season. Sanders and his staff added three via the transfer portal, but will be looking for more depth in the trenches. Hill will be entering his final year of eligibility.
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The Big 12 is a Power 4 conference in name only
When it comes to the Power 4 conferences in major college football, there is one conference that isn't like the others. No, it's not the SEC or the Big Ten. It's the Big 12, and the difference between that league and the rest is the ability to win at the highest level of college football. The Big Ten has won the last two college football national championships. Before that, the SEC won four in a row. Since the inception of the College Football Playoff, the SEC has won six national championships, followed by the Big Ten with three and the ACC with two. The Big 12 has zero. The league hasn't had a team reach the national championship game, and based on current trends, it's not likely to anytime soon. To put it bluntly, there isn't a single national title contender in the entire conference, unless something crazy happens. Bud Elliott of CBS Sports released the "Blue-Chip Ratio," a list of teams that Elliott says "can actually win the national championship." In what Elliott calls the "modern" era of college football, no team has ever won a national championship with a blue-chip ratio (percentage of four and five-star recruits on a roster) below 50 percent. Michigan won with a 54 percent blue-chip ratio in 2023. Clemson was at 52 percent in 2016. Last season, Ohio State's number was 90 percent. The number can vary. Having an elite quarterback is essential. So are culture and development. But no program has won a national championship in this era without more than 50 percent of the roster being made up of blue-chip recruits. According to Elliott, transfers don't move the needle. High school recruiting is the name of the game, and on that front, the Big 12 just can't compete. 18 teams were rated by Elliott, citing the 247 Sports composite ranking, as having the minimum talent required to win the national championship this season. Not a single one resides in the Big 12. Here's a quote from Elliott that explains perfectly how college football's Power 4 is actually a Power 3. "The Big 12 is nowhere close. I thought this was interesting, considering the recent playoff model floated where the Big 12 and ACC are given two auto-bids each. Texas Tech could get there in three or four cycles if it continues to spend like crazy. The Big 12 likes to argue that it is the deepest league, but it has zero national title contenders." That's what happens when you put together a league without a single elite program. Kansas State, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona State are nice programs, but they aren't blue-bloods. This is the collection of teams left at the altar that weren't big enough brands for the other three, and it's painfully obvious. There is a lot of talk about how the Big Ten and SEC are head-and-shoulders above the rest of college football. But there should be more conversation about how the Big 12 is a Power 4 conference in college football in name only.
Yankees trading for Rockies' Jake Bird would be a mistake
The New York Yankees still have multiple holes to fill in their roster before MLB’s July 31 trade deadline. One of those holes is in the bullpen, as New York’s 4.38 relief squad ERA is good for the fifth highest in the American League. However, one of the main relievers Yankees GM Brian Cashman is targeting doesn’t appear to be much of an upgrade. Colorado Rockies RHP Jake Bird is reported to be at or near the top of the Yankees’ bullpen wishlist. A month or so ago, a glance at his stat line made the idea of New York acquiring him seem like a great idea. On June 21, the 29-year-old had a sterling 2.06 ERA. Entering play on Monday, that number has nearly doubled, up to 4.05. And that’s the type of pitcher Bird is. His career monthly ERA splits indicate he’s a middling reliever who pitches well at the beginning of the season and then tapers off by the end: April/March: 3.29 May: 2.92 June: 4.46 July: 8.31 August: 3.31 September/October: 5.21 One of the main problems with Bird is that he allows too many hits. He’s given up a few more hits than innings pitched in every season since he broke into the league in 2022, and he’s on pace to do the same in 2025. That’s not ideal for a reliever who often has to come in with runners on base. Bird’s issues aren’t a result of his notoriously hitter-friendly ballpark in Denver, either. Over his career, he’s pitched to a 4.60 ERA at home and a 4.20 ERA on the road. Also, some of his worst performances this year have come on the road, including a July 8 outing in Boston when he allowed five runs (four earned) on three hits and a walk in just a third of an inning. Maybe the Yankees see Bird as a guy they can help reach his full potential, like Fernando Cruz or Tim Hill, both of whom produced drastic ERA drops immediately upon donning pinstripes. What’s more likely, though, is that they view Bird as a decent player who they’ll have control over for the next three seasons. That kind of thinking is great for the bottom line. But it won’t bring the World Series trophy back to the Bronx.
How Aaron Rodgers has been 'frustrating' Steelers teammates during training camp
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers only officially joined the Pittsburgh Steelers shortly before their three-day mandatory minicamp in June and, thus, is still learning about his new teammates in the early days of training camp. Rodgers is also using summer practices as a way to introduce himself to members of the Steelers' defense. During a Wednesday appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," Steelers star pass-rusher T.J. Watt detailed what it's been like to go against a Rodgers-led offense on the practice field. "Frustrating, because he talks a lot of smack," Watt said about Rodgers, as shared by Eva Geitheim of Sports Illustrated. "He really does. A lot of the no-look passes are things that we're getting used to. I like to bat down a lot of passes at the line of scrimmage. He's able to manipulate the defense good, so that's been very frustrating. Hopefully, one day we get the better of him." Steelers reporter Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently gushed over the arm talent Rodgers flashed during his first handful of training camp practices with the club. This past Tuesday, Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Arthur Smith mentioned that Rodgers' "release and how he generates power" is still "unbelievable" even though the future Hall of Famer will turn 42 years old this coming December. Multiple injury issues slowed Rodgers last fall when he was with the New York Jets. Current Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Davante Adams was Rodgers' teammate last season and is convinced the veteran signal-caller can still be among the top half of the quarterbacks in the NFL if he's able to stay healthy through a grueling campaign. "His cadence is deadly," longtime Steelers defensive lineman and team captain Cameron Heyward added about Rodgers during the show segment. "The thing he does best is he knows how to abuse the play clock. It's ridiculous, but it's gonna make us better." It remains to be seen if Rodgers will take even a handful of snaps in Pittsburgh's preseason opener at the Jacksonville Jaguars on Aug. 9. History shows he could give Steelers fans a highlight-reel moment or two if he participates in that exhibition contest.
Former Angels Outfielder Calls Out Halos as Trade Deadline Nears
The Los Angeles Angels have just a few more hours until the trade deadline, and a former player recently called out his former squad for not selling. The Halos are four games back from the final Wild Card spot and recently brought in a pair of veteran relievers, but retired centerfielder Cameron Maybin thinks that the Angels should be parting ways with more pieces to build towards the future. "What are the Angels waiting for," asked Maybin on his Twitter/X account. "...start selling already!" Maybin went a step further, later asserting that closer Kenley Jansen was signed purely for trade deadline movement. "Dodgers might as well go get Kenley Jansen back at this point," Maybin wrote on X. "Pretty sure he signed with the Angels just to make the trade deadline commute smoother. "Just feels right to me!" If the Angels believe that they can make a run, holding onto a revered closer such as Jansen is certainly what the correct course of action is. After the Halos acquired Luis Garcia and Andrew Chafin from the Washington Nationals, for Jake Eder and minor leaguer Sam Brown on Wednesday, it looks like it could be the start of building a contender for this season. Another piece that the Halos would get a ton of value from is adding another starting pitcher. Perhaps flipping an expiring contract for a rotational piece so as not to give up a prospect keeps the Angels in contention for 2025, but doesn't mess with the future of the franchise. Regardless of what happens next, the Angels are still a piece or two away from being seen as a team that can make an impact in October. If the Halos do, in fact, start selling as Maybin urged, the deals must start coming in before 3:00 p.m PT.
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