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June is a busy month for every top prospect as official visit season is upon us. The Ohio State Buckeyes have been keeping up with their own lofty expectations in the early part of the 2026 recruiting cycle, but there will be a swell of commitments made over coming months.
Now is when Ryan Day and his staff makes its money on the recruiting trail until it's finally signing day.
Unfortunately, the Buckeyes enter June without a defensive lineman locked into place for next year. After chasing Georgia legacy Carter Luckie hard until the finish line, the Georgia native stayed in-state and followed his brother to the Bulldogs.
Hayes Fawcett of On3 first reported the move.
BREAKING: Four-Star DL Carter Luckie has Committed to Georgia, he tells me for @on3recruits
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) May 31, 2025
The 6’5 275 DL from Norcross, GA chose the Bulldogs over Florida State, NC State, & Ohio State
“The red and black runs deep, Go Dawgs!!!”https://t.co/3uhINC27Ml pic.twitter.com/GbIUBaV6cU
Without the top 40 prospect on board, the Buckeyes only have a top few names they appear to be in the race for. Defensive line coach Larry Johnson has been under fire for quite some time for not recruiting at an excellent level, and the 2026 class appears to be following suit.
Right now, On3 has Ohio State in the race for only four four-star edge-rushers. They're favored for one of them, Aiden Harris. They're slightly better positioned amongst defensive tackles, but the Buckeyes will be plucking late bloomers and three stars soon.
Johnson could be in his final season after a legendary coaching career, but the Buckeyes have to grimace every time they've missed on valued out-of-state contributors like Luckie. It would've been tremendously valuable to add the 6-foot-5, 265-pounder to a unit needing help sooner than later.
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The Colorado Buffaloes have once again been met with outside expectations lower than their own entering a new season. Both analytically and from the mouths of pundits, many are expecting coach Deion Sanders' squad to take a mini step back from last year's nine-win campaign. Losing quarterback Shedeur Sanders and cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter to the NFL is the biggest reason why those outside of Boulder anticipate a more average season ahead. Either Liberty Flames transfer Kaidon Salter or incoming freshman Julian "JuJu" Lewis will start at quarterback, and it may take several playmakers to match Hunter's production. With Colorado set to open its preseason training camp on Monday, below is a look at what the analytics expect from the 2025 Buffs. ESPN's Football Power Index Projected Win Total: 6.5 ESPN's Football Power Index predicts Colorado to just barely qualify for a bowl game, tabbing the Buffs with a projected record of 6.5-5.5. In 69.5 percent of the simulations, Colorado reaches a bowl game, the 10th-highest mark in the Big 12 Conference. Colorado wins the Big 12 in only 2.4 percent of the simulations and reaches the College Football Playoff in only 3.1 percent. The Buffs reached the national championship game in 0.1 percent of the simulations. Sports Analytics Expert Parker Fleming Projected Average Win Total: 6.1 Sports analytics expert Parker Fleming isn't quite as high on the Buffs compared to ESPN's FPI. Six wins would still give the Buffs their second straight bowl game, but a .500 season would likely be considered a failure by "Coach Prime" and his staff. Fleming's model uses 10,000 simulations based on his preseason priors. Kelley Ford Ratings Projected Average Big 12 Win Total: 3.8 Another respected analytics outlet, Kelley Ford projects the Buffs to win 3.8 of their nine Big 12 games, a drastic decrease from the seven conference games Colorado won last season. If the projection holds, Colorado would finish 11th in the 16-team conference. The Kansas State Wildcats were projected to finish first in the Big 12 Conference (6.2 average wins), followed by the Arizona State Sun Devils (5.8), BYU Cougars (5.5) and Texas Tech Red Raiders (5.5). Colorado Football's Complete 2025 Regular Season Schedule (All Times MT) Aug. 29 vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (6 p.m., ESPN) Sept. 6 vs. Delaware Blue Hens (1:30 p.m., Fox) Sept. 12 at Houston Cougars (5:30 p.m., ESPN) Sept. 20 vs. Wyoming Cowboys (TBA) Sept. 27 vs. BYU Cougars (8:15 p.m., ESPN) Oct. 4 at TCU Horned Frogs (TBA) Oct. 11 vs. Iowa State Cyclones (TBA) Oct. 25 at Utah Utes (TBA) Nov. 1 vs. Arizona Wildcats (TBA) Nov. 8 at West Virginia Mountaineers (TBA) Nov. 22 vs. Arizona State Sun Devils (TBA) Nov. 29 at Kansas State Wildcats (TBA)
Steelers' Troy Fautanu Admits To Internal Beef That Has Been Obvious Throughout Training Camp
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been easing their way into training camp ahead of the 2025 season. The players have just been wearing helmets and shorts, and the pads will come on soon. Pittsburgh's training camp is always known as being one of the most intense in the league, and that is because Head Coach Mike Tomlin has his team go full contact, which is something other coaches around the NFL try to avoid. The pads will come on on Tuesday, and fans should expect to see some skirmishes as emotions rise throughout the rest of camp. Practices in just helmets and shorts are difficult for the big guys in the trenches. It is essentially impossible to simulate blocking without pads on, so the defenders and offensive linemen are itching for when the team gets to go full contact. Second-year offensive lineman Troy Fautanu spoke to the media on Sunday, and he shared how things have been going at practice, while also noting that the two sides of the ball have been going at it. "You know, there's a lot of banter going on between the offense and the defense right now." Fautanu said. "As you guys could tell yesterday, things got a little rowdy. I mean, that's something that's normal. I'm super excited just to finally be able to play real football, because as an offensive lineman it's the worst thing to play football in shorts and t-shirts." Fautanu is probably itching to get back to full contact more than others after missing nearly all of his rookie season in 2024. He played in one game in Week 2 before suffering a knee injury that kept him out for the rest of the year. Tuesday will be the first time he gets to put the pads on and get truly physical in nearly a year. The way he described things, it sounds like there will probably be some confrontations as the offense and defense have already been going at it. Training camp is going to be a true test for Fautanu. He is the team's starting right tackle going into the season, and the organization is relying on the offensive line to take a step forward. He needs to try to live up to his first-round label, and he is going to have to do so while blocking TJ Watt in every practice. Watt is going to be moving around the defensive formation more often than usual, but most of his snaps will come when he is lined up over the right tackle. Fautanu is going to be tested on every snap, and if he can handle Watt, he can handle anyone in the league. Having to go up against Watt every day in practice is good for Fautanu in the long run. Practicing against the best is only going to make him better, and he won't have to block anyone during the 2025 regular season that is as good of a pass rusher as Watt. Steelers' Fautanu Could Solidify 2024 Draft For Pittsburgh It is already looking like the Steelers made a ton of right decisions during the 2024 NFL Draft. Zach Frazier had a spectacular rookie season in 2024, and he is looking like he could be one of the best centers in the league. Mason McCormick was a pleasant surprise at right tackle when he was thrust into the starting lineup, and it seems he has gotten considerably better over the course of the 2025 offseason. If Fautanu can prove he is the starting right tackle of the future for the Steelers, then the organization would have nailed three cornerstones of the franchise in just one draft. All contenders have solid offensive lines, and it looks like the Steelers might have one that could be great in the near future.
New report suggests Christian Wilkins release related to 'incident' with teammate
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.
Top three notable names to leave the NBA for Europe this summer
There are only 450 spots in the NBA, 540 if you count two-way contracts. Each year, there's a group of players who hit the free-agency market and quietly fade into the obscurity of professional basketball outside of the NBA's bubble. Most of those players head overseas, either to Europe, Australia or China. In recent years, the jump from the NBA to Europe has grown in popularity. The talent level across the top European leagues has dramatically increased, with some teams now closing in on NBA levels of skill and athleticism. And with that talent increase, the pay has started to rise, too. It makes sense, then, that some notable names for NBA fans have made the jump across the Atlantic this summer. Here are the top three players to head to Europe since the start of the offseason. Lonnie Walker IV This time last summer, there was significant chatter about whether Lonnie Walker IV would earn the 15th and final spot on the Boston Celtics roster. The same roster that had won the NBA championship just months earlier. After seeing his Exhibit 10 deal with Boston expire, Walker ended up heading to Lithuania to play for Zalgiris Kaunas before the Philadelphia 76ers brought him back for the second half of the season. Now, after failing to secure a new contract with the Sixers, Walker is heading to Israel, where he's signed a three-year, $10 million deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv. Walker will now be one of the highest earners within all of European basketball. Oshae Brissett Walker will join Oshae Brissett over in Tel Aviv, as the former NBA champion has also signed with the franchise this summer. Brissett is just 18 months removed from playing a role on the Celtics roster that won the 2024 championship. Brissett doesn't have the athleticism and scoring skill that Walker brings to the table. As such, he won't be bringing home the same level of pay packet. However, he will undoubtedly be one of the better players, both in the Israeli league and in Europe. Brissett leaves the NBA having played in 233 games, averaging 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds on 41.9 percent shooting from two-point range and 33.7 percent from deep. Shake Milton Nobody can deny that Shake Milton has outperformed expectations after entering the NBA as the 54th pick in the 2018 draft. He leaves the NBA having suited up for 359 regular-season games and 40 postseason outings. Milton has spent time with the Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers. Impressively, he's consistently earned playing time, regardless of what roster he's been on. Nevertheless, it would appear that Milton has sought out an opportunity where he can be a core member of a rotation. According to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews, Milton has signed a two-year deal to play in Serbia for Partizan Belgrade. If he can adjust to the physicality of the Serbian league and the slightly different rules set, Milton could become a high-level player in the domestic league and perhaps even in Europe.
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