After spending only one year at Missouri, quarterback Jake Garcia entered the transfer portal and per 247Sports, is set to commit to the AAC's East Carolina University.
Jake Garcia is in fact expected to transfer to ECU, sources tell @247sports.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 11, 2024
The former Miami and Missouri QB was a Class of 2021 top-50 overall recruit. Threw for 803 yards at Miami in 2022.https://t.co/bSUXZSDcWg https://t.co/3v34LoNwuA pic.twitter.com/tArmoHKhzR
This past season for the Tigers, Garcia didn't see any action, but in his two years with the Miami Hurricanes, he played in nine games and threw for 950 yards, seven touchdowns and completed 79 of 129 passes.
Garcia goes to a Pirates team that went 2-10 this past season, but the offense will certainly improve under someone like Garcia who will now have the opportunity to lead what would be a rebuild for the Pirates.
Coming out of high school, Garcia was a four-star player. Coming out of the portal this time around, he went down to a three-star player with three years of eligibility remaining. With such a long runway, Garcia copuld help ECU find stability at the position for the future.
With quarterback Mason Garcia off replacing Cam Ward at Washington State, the Pirates needed a quarterback and certainly brought one that not only gives them great arm strength and above average accuracy, but the ability to extend plays through his feet.
Currently on the roster, the Pirates have three quarterbacks, but Garcia would be the second-oldest.
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After Penn State’s Orange Bowl loss to Notre Dame, the Nittany Lions had some reflecting to do. Coach James Franklin’s record against AP top-10 teams fell to 4-19, according to ESPN, and quarterback Drew Allar’s record dropped to 1-5. Yet, the numbers tell only part of the story. Four of Allar's five losses were by one possession, with the fifth just a nine-point defeat. A handful of plays have been critical to Allar’s biggest losses, and those come down to execution. Allar zeroed in on that this offseason. “We definitely need to find different ways to come out with different results in those games,” Allar said at Big Ten Football Media Days. “I think for us, at least me specifically, it’s about execution from a player standpoint. At least in my career, we haven’t really been blown out of the water by any team. So it’s really just about finding those areas to make one or two more plays throughout those games, because when you’re going against those great opponents that have equal talent as you and also an equal coaching staff, it comes down to maybe just four or five plays throughout the game.” With those losses come learning curves. Allar’s gone through the disappointment of rewatching tape of his most painful losses, including reliving his costly interception against Notre Dame, to become a better version of himself. What he found is that his mistakes, while frustrating, are “easily correctable.” Allar noted them as “bad habits” and made a consistent effort through the offseason to improve so they don’t show up in marquee matchups. “Maybe I didn’t know throughout the season that I was doing some certain stuff. So now, when I was in the offseason, [I'm] hammering those things down so when those moments and games do come, the bad habits don’t show up in the most critical moments, where it does cost us,” Allar said. Another topic of the offseason has been Allar’s mentality. Entering his third year as the starter, Allar is known to wear his emotions on his sleeve, which could contribute to his tight performances in big games. The emotion and passion is resourceful in some situations but could be a negative when it comes to dwelling on certain plays, potentially snowballing them into something much worse. Allar has noticed that and made an effort to work on it during the offseason. “I think for me, the consistency of just no matter if the drive is good or bad, interception or touchdown, just bouncing back from good or bad,” Allar said. “That’s something I’ve been focusing on since really spring ball. … Learning how I should be able to flush things, it’s just something I’ve been working on.” Outside of his mechanics, Allar has worked extensively in the weight room this offseason. He’s down about 10 pounds, to 235, and, as offensive quarterback Andy Kotelnicki said, looks quite different than he did last season. “I’m the leanest I’ve been, probably the lightest I’ve been and then also the fastest and strongest I’ve been since I’ve been at Penn State,” Allar said. Allar’s quarterback trainer Brad Maendler recently posted a video on X of Allar shirtless and throwing deep balls. Franklin joked in Las Vegas that it was the first time he had seen Allar with his shirt off. “He's leaner than he's ever been,” Franklin said. “I saw a video that Brad Mendler posted the other day, and his shirt is off. I've never seen Drew with his shirt off. He's feeling good about himself out there, can make every throw on the field, is holding himself accountable, is challenging his teammates. So it's really valuable.”
The Indiana Fever’s starters turned in a strong all-around effort in Thursday’s 80-70 win over the Las Vegas Aces. The starting unit scored at least 13 points each, save for Aari McDonald, who registered nine points in 22 minutes of action. Indiana’s starters combined for 76 out of the team’s 80 points on the evening, which only means that the four other players who came off the bench accounted for just four points in the game. All that came from Sydney Colson, who went 2-of-5 in 18 minutes of playing time. Lexie Hull, Makayla Timpson and Damiris Dantas all failed to score in the win. Stephanie White Calls Out Fever's Bench Be that as it may, offense wasn’t even the biggest concern for head coach Stephanie White. In her postgame press conference, the veteran shot-caller called out Indiana’s bench for their lack of intensity on the defensive end, particularly in the first half. “Our bench has to be ready,” she said. “I felt like our bench in the second half was really good defensively. In the first half, I didn't feel that way. You got to be ready to come in and you got to be ready to guard your matchup and execute the game plan. "We have depth for a reason. We've got quality depth and we've got to be able to use it. So if fatigue is a factor in execution, then they just need to ask for a sub and I'll get them out and get them back in." It has been a bit of a busy stretch for the Fever at the midway point of the season. Thursday’s matchup against the Aces was their second game in three nights, and they will be back in action again on Sunday in a rivalry showdown against the Chicago Sky. White, however, isn’t accepting fatigue as an excuse. This is regardless of the fact that Caitlin Clark remains out with a re-aggravated groin injury. White is adamant that this roster has been built for adversity, and she didn’t hesitate to put her bench on notice after Thursday’s showing.
There may be more to Christian Wilkins’ recent surprise release from the Las Vegas Raiders. NFL reporter Josina Anderson reported Saturday that "some sources believe an incident involving a teammate may have factored in-part into the Raiders' fatigue and release" of Wilkins. The nature of the incident is not clear. However, many believe the Raiders had a very good reason to move on from Wilkins considering the money they had invested in him. It also suggests the Raiders saw no alternative if they went straight to a release. Wilkins was dumped by the Raiders just one year into a four-year, $110 million deal. The Raiders suggested Wilkins failed to take rehab seriously as he tries to work his way back from a foot injury. Other teams do not appear to have the same concerns about Wilkins as the Raiders did, and he should find a new landing spot fairly easily. That is one of the reasons some suspect there is more to the Raiders’ decision than they are publicly saying.
Ichiro Suzuki made sure to call out the lone Hall of Fame voter who left him off their ballot at Sunday’s induction ceremony. Ichiro infamously fell one vote short of a unanimous induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the unidentified voter who snubbed him was a major talking point when results were announced. Ichiro himself took the snub in stride, and he publicly invited the voter over to his house for a “chat.” During his hilarious Hall of Fame speech on Sunday, Ichiro brought up the vote, and publicly revoked that invitation. “3,000 hits or 262 hits in one season are achievements recognized by the writers — well, all but one of you,” Ichiro said. “And by the way, the offer for that writer to have dinner at my home has now expired.” The crowd on hand for the induction ceremony absolutely loved the jab, and it drew a rousing ovation. Ichiro delivered his entire speech in English and had several other great one-liners. His remarks were well-received by the Cooperstown crowd. Ichiro was an obvious Hall of Fame pick. He tallied 3,089 career hits and a lifetime .311 average, and that does not even account for his numbers in Japan. The one voter who left him off their ballot deserved to be roasted.
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