On Facebook
On Flipboard
On Twitter
Utah's best offensive lineman, Spencer Fano, has officially announced that he will return to the program in what may be one of the biggest and most important retainments of the offseason.
Fano, who just concluded his sophomore season with the Utes, made massive strides in his development from year one to year two and solidified himself as one of the most promising pieces on the team.
In a post on his X account, Fano shared four pictures from this past season and a simple caption stating his intent to return next season, "RUN IT BACK."
His brother, Utah defensive end Logan Fano also announced that he is indeed sticking with the program with a post on his X account back on November 26th captioned, "I AM A UTAH MAN, SIR #GOUTES" in which he also shared four pictures from the season including one standing right next to his brother.
A good sign of things to come for the program amid murmurings of locker room discontent as the season continued to play out the way it did, but the team displayed their unity and their allegiance to the Utah way after the win against UCF and are ready to run it back in 2025.
More must-reads:
- Three burning questions about SEC's huge conference schedule change
- Top 2023 quarterback recruit set to make first career start
- The 'Active 20-home run MLB seasons' quiz
Breaking News
Trending News
TODAY'S BEST
'Look out for this dude': Former NFL exec has warning about unexpected SEC quarterback
10 bold predictions for the 2025 college football season
Expect the unexpected when it comes to college football. Though traditional heavyweights like Ohio State, Michigan and Georgia have recently won national titles, there is hardly a sport that produces weekly drama like college football. It's tough to forecast the unexpected, but here are 10 bold predictions for the 2025-26 season. 1. Alabama misses the College Football Playoff again Games at No. 5 Georgia and No. 13 South Carolina, plus Florida State, Missouri and Auburn, make for a tough road slate. Couple that with a new quarterback in Ty Simpson, and questions abound. A stacked defense could cover up for some offensive growing pains, but how quickly does Simpson settle in? The season will depend on it. By the way, you have to go back to 2006 and 2007 to find the last time Alabama missed a BCS bowl game or the CFP two seasons in a row. 2. Penn State finally breaks through This is the year James Franklin and Penn State defeat Ohio State and win the Big Ten. Drew Allar's return at quarterback for PSU for his senior season is the difference. An experienced quarterback is something neither Ohio State, Oregon or Michigan has. 3. Michigan finishes outside the Top 25 Michigan has the on-field talent (don't miss No. 1 QB prospect Bryce Underwood), but the recent sign-stealing sanctions hang like a cloud over the program. It might subside if Michigan wins, but what if it suffers early-season losses at Oklahoma and/or Nebraska? There could be a snowball effect. 4. A wide receiver will win the Heisman Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter excelled as a wide receiver and defensive back, claiming the 2024 Heisman. Another wide receiver will win this year. How about Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith (76 rec, 1,315 yards, 15 TD in 2024) or Alabama's Ryan Williams (48 rec, 865 yards, 8 TD in 2024)? 5. Three SEC programs fire their coach Last season was unusually quiet on the coaching carousel, especially in the SEC. All 16 coaches return, but several are on varying degrees of the hot seat. Billy Napier (Florida), Sam Pittman (Arkansas), Hugh Freeze (Auburn), Brent Venables (Oklahoma) and Mark Stoops (Kentucky) are all coaches to keep an eye on. None of the five programs listed is expected to finish in the top four of the conference, meaning some will be .500 or worse. 6. Utah wins the Big 12 The Utes are going to bounce back in a wide-open Big 12. Health is the key here as injuries ruined the 2024 campaign. One reason for optimism? New offensive coordinator Jason Beck and incoming quarterback Devon Dampier came from New Mexico, where they engineered the Lobos' best offensive season in eight years. 7. The Group of 6 CFP bid comes from the American Boise State is the favorite to represent the Group of 6 in the CFP, but the American champion will receive the bid this season. Look for as many as five teams to vie for the title. Tulane brought in 20 transfers to bolster its roster, but Navy returns quarterback Blake Horvath (1,353 passing yards, 13 TD, 1,254 rushing yards, 17 TD). It should be an exciting watch. 8. The ACC receives one bid for the CFP The ACC managed to grab two CFP bids last season, but it won't happen again this year. Clemson is the favorite and should be a part of the 12-team field. No. 10 Miami could be in the hunt, but games against No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 15 Florida and at No. 16 SMU pose a threat. Remember, the Canes were left out last season with just two losses. 9. Vanderbilt increases its win total again The Commodores were the surprise story of 2024, going 7-6 after a 2-10 season in 2023. Vandy will win at least eight games this year thanks to 77 percent of its 2024 production returning. Quarterback Diego Pavia (2,293 yards, 20 TD) is the little engine that could. The 'Dores season will be decided between Oct. 4 and Nov. 1 when they play road games at No. 8 Alabama and No. 1 Texas, along with home contests against No. 9 LSU and Missouri. 10. No agreement will be reached to change the CFP format We'll know the answer to this by Dec. 1, as that's the date the CFP committee has set to determine the format for 2026-31. With the Big Ten still throwing out radical ideas, people are upset and it seems no deal is imminent. "We sound like immature children throwing garbage against the wall," one CFP executive recently told CBS Sports.
Urban Meyer pushes for Chargers or NFL to suspend Jim Harbaugh
Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer thinks the Los Angeles Chargers or the NFL should take it upon themselves to punish Jim Harbaugh. On Aug. 15, the NCAA punished Michigan for violations connected to the Connor Stalions sign-stealing scandal. Harbaugh received a 10-year show-cause order. During Wednesday's episode of "The Triple Option" podcast, Meyer compared Harbaugh's situation to that of Jim Tressel in 2011. Meyer argued that the league or the Chargers should suspend Harbaugh, like the Indianapolis Colts did to Tressel. "There's an elephant in the room here, boys, though, that no one's talking about," Meyer said. "When Jim Tressel was fired at Ohio State and he was given a suspension, Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League, came out and said that, 'We're going to honor that suspension.' And you remember, he went to the Indianapolis Colts to work in the replay room or something. "The Colts, because of the respect they had for the NCAA and the suspension, you realize suspended Jim Tressel? So he was unable to perform his duties for the first six games of the year for the Indianapolis Colts. I think we all know the answer. Any chance that Roger Goodell and the NFL, of course not. And I don't know why." There is a belief that Harbaugh bolted to the Chargers after winning the national title in 2023 because he knew the NCAA was getting ready to punish the Wolverines. A six-game suspension is not comparable to a 10-year show-cause order, and punishing Harbaugh so lightly would be more symbolic than substantive. Frankly, it's bad business for the league to suspend Harbaugh and to connect the outspoken head coach to a trivial scandal that happened in college. Punishing Harbaugh would draw unwanted attention to the Chargers and the league, who knew what happened before he jumped to the NFL before the 2024 season.
Browns' Shedeur Sanders addresses controversial Dillon Gabriel comment
Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel raised eyebrows when he spoke with well-known NFL reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala during Cleveland's preseason game at the Philadelphia Eagles on Aug. 16 and said that "there’s entertainers and there’s competitors...and my job is to compete and that’s what I’m focused on doing." Gabriel later insisted his comments weren't some type of shot at teammate and fellow rookie signal-caller Shedeur Sanders. While speaking with reporters on Thursday, Sanders revealed that he and Gabriel have addressed the matter behind the scenes. Sanders also teased that a reporter was "trying to start something" by asking if he believed that Gabriel wasn't referencing the former Colorado star this past weekend: For an article published on Thursday, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic wrote that it was "nonsensical" to think Kinkhabwala set Gabriel up "to take a swipe at a teammate" during what otherwise would've been a rather forgettable on-the-sideline conversation: Gabriel spoke with Kinkhabwala after the 24-year-old completed 13-of-18 pass attempts for 143 yards with a pick-six and a lost fumble against the Eagles. Sanders didn't play in that contest because of an oblique injury, but he will be third in the rotation for Cleveland's preseason finale versus the Los Angeles Rams this coming Saturday as long as he's deemed healthy. Week 1 QB1 Joe Flacco will start against the Rams and will take part in about "20 to 25 plays." Gabriel will then replace Flacco, followed by Sanders. Both Sanders and Gabriel will make their unofficial home debuts on the afternoon of Aug. 23. Sanders completed 14-of-23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns in Cleveland's preseason opener at the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 8. There continues to be no indication that the Browns will part ways with one of their four main active quarterbacks before Week 1, even though presumed backup Kenny Pickett won't participate in any preseason games because of the hamstring injury he suffered on July 26. That said, Pickett could potentially begin the campaign on injured reserve. Depending on Pickett's health, Saturday's contest at Cleveland's Huntington Bank Field could determine who serves as Flacco's primary backup for the Browns' regular-season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7.
Kent Hughes requested Nick Suzuki approval before making trade
As captain of the Montreal Canadiens, it’s clear that Nick Suzuki gets a lot of respect from the fans and everyone in the organization; however, a sneak peek of the Montreal Canadiens show on Crave, "The Rebuild: Behind The Scenes," shows that GM Kent Hughes asked Suzuki’s opinion before pulling the trigger on the Patrik Laine trade. The fact that Suzuki has this much say in things with the higher-ups proves just how much respect he has with them. This also isn’t the first time we’ve heard that Suzuki was involved in a big decision for the team. It’s well known that Suzuki and Hughes spoke just after the Four Nations break, where the captain pleaded with his GM on behalf of his teammates to not sell any players at the trade deadline as they all wanted to stay together as a group. Hughes told Suzuki that the team must prove themselves to be worthy of staying in the mix until the deadline. Following that chat, the Canadiens went 5-0-1 up until the deadline, placing themselves right in the middle of the mix. Hughes listened to his captain, and the team managed to sneak into the playoffs as a result. While this was more of an agreement between the two, it still shows that Hughes respects Suzuki’s word. Another thing that Suzuki has managed to change within the organization is that morning skates are now at the Bell Centre as opposed to Brossard, as they were before the 2023-24 season. Suzuki argues that skating at the Bell Centre would motivate the players more during the skate. Suzuki is also the reason why Juraj Slafkovsky never went to Laval when he was struggling early in the 2023-24 season. When things weren’t going well early in the Slovak’s career, it was Suzuki who told management to keep him in Montreal and have him play on his line. It turns out that decision proved to be the best thing for Slafkovsky as he’s managed 2 50-point seasons since then, and their line with Cole Caufield is considered a top 10 trio in the entire league. It seems like there is always a new story on just how influential Suzuki is on everyone throughout the Habs organization. Now, we are talking about how Suzuki also has enough influence on the team to have input on a trade before it happens. In that clip, it seemed Suzuki was excited for Laine to come to Montreal — and with good reason, as the Canadiens got a former 40-goal scorer with the potential to do it again. As a fan, it’s hard to know what else Suzuki has influence on when it comes to management and the higher-ups, but it does seem as captain that he is the perfect bridge between management and the players. Not only does he help the players with their demands, but the fact that he tries to make things work for management when dealing with the players just proves why he was born to be an NHL captain. Maybe we will see more situations where management and Suzuki discuss things on behalf of the team as the second season of "The Rebuild" progresses. With the success the Canadiens had during the 2024-25 season, this season of "The Rebuild: Behind The Scenes" should be a fun one to watch.
Customize Your Newsletter
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
PRIVACY POLICY EDITORIAL POLICY CONTACT US
ABOUT YARDBARKER TERMS OF SERVICE
Use of this website (including any and all parts and
components) constitutes your acceptance of these
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
This site is for entertainment purposes only.
There is no gambling offered on this site.
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
