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Arizona State lands four-star WR over Florida, Missouri and Nebraska
Head coach Kenny Dillingham had a wonderful season in his second campaign with the Arizona State Sun Devils. A year after going 3-9 in his inaugural season as head coach, he led ASU to an 11-3 record with a berth in the College Football Playoff.
Arizona State ultimately lost to Texas in the quarterfinal at the Peach Bowl, but it was one heck of a run for Dillingham and the Sun Devils.
Now they're looking to improve on that season and establish themselves as a power in the new-look Big 12 and that comes down to Dillingham and his staff's abilities on the recruiting trail and transfer portal.
As far as the former is concerned, ASU got a big win on Monday evening. Nalin Scott, a four-star wideout from Powder Springs, Georgia, committed to the Sun Devils.
BREAKING: Four-Star WR Nalin Scott has Committed to Arizona State, he tells me for @on3recruits
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) April 28, 2025
The 6’2 205 WR from Marietta, GA chose the Sun Devils over Florida, Missouri, & Nebraska
“I’m home!! Forks Up”https://t.co/c6qpdpRaZM pic.twitter.com/x5DT0iL4uG
Florida, Missouri and Nebraska were also in the running for Nalin's commitment, but ASU ultimately won out after the Georgia wide receiver took an official visit to Tempe this past weekend.
This is a big-time commitment for ASU. Scott is a four-star, ranked as the No. 49 wideout in the 2026 class. He's also the No. 39 recruit from the talent-laden state of Georgia.
Scott caught 29 passes for 541 yards and two touchdowns as a junior, which aren't eye-popping numbers. What he has that ASU likely covets, though, is speed. He's a track and field star as well, and owns a 100-meter sprint time of 11.50 that he ran as a freshman. According to Chris Karpman at 247sports, he ran a 10.98 100-meter while at ASU's last spring practice of the offseason.
Scott is the 11th commitment to Dillingham's 2026 class. With his addition, the Sun Devils boast the No. 13 recruiting class in the country.
More must-reads:
- Brian Kelly and LSU land four-star CB Havon Finney
- Arch Manning hype grows with way-too-early No. 1 pick odds for 2026 NFL Draft
- The '2024-25 NFL passing-yard leaders' quiz
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Insider has no idea what to expect from this ACC program
Six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick is closing in on beginning his first season at North Carolina. In a move that came as a surprise to many, Belichick took the Tar Heels job as former head coach Mack Brown's replacement, signing a five-year deal in the offseason. Belichick's decision was particularly surprising given he has never coached at the college level before. ESPN college football insider Heather Dinich appeared on Thursday's edition of "Get Up" and made it clear that she has no idea what to expect from Belichick's Tar Heels in 2025. "North Carolina is the biggest mystery in college football. Even Bill Belichick doesn't know what he has," Dinich said. "His players haven't really put on the pads yet, particularly on the offensive and defensive lines. These guys have to go against each other and hit each other. This is an unheralded roster full of transfers, unproven playmakers at different positions all over the field and an entirely new defense." One area that held North Carolina back last season was its abysmal defense, which allowed an 89th-worst 29.6 points per game. Its defense was so bad, it reached the half-century mark against James Madison and still lost, 70-50. As Belichick gets acclimated to the collegiate level, he will at least have a favorable schedule, something Dinich made note of. "The biggest thing they have going for them is a manageable schedule. It's winnable. It's about 70th in the country in terms of difficulty," Dinich said. "They don't leave the state more than three times." For a team full of transfers and a lot of unknowns, that certainly does not hurt. While the Tar Heels play six road games in 2025, three of those are against in-state competition when they face Charlotte (Sept. 6), Wake Forest (Nov. 15) and N.C. State (Nov. 29). Although they begin the season at home against TCU on Sept. 1, the Horned Frogs won four straight games to end the 2024 season and should not be overlooked by North Carolina, providing a solid opening test in Week 1. What the Tar Heels have going for them, though, is an experienced head coach who knows the game as well as anybody. How his coaching will translate to the collegiate level remains to be seen, but it cannot hurt having someone like Belichick on the sidelines given the success he has achieved in the NFL. Most of the hype at North Carolina is typically centered around the hardwood, but all eyes are going to be on the football program to see if Belichick can right the ship in Chapel Hill. It might happen, but don't count on an immediate turnaround after so much roster overhaul.
Jaydon Blue injury update: Major news emerges on Cowboys RB after Thursday practice exit
According to Nick Harris of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Cowboys running back Jaydon Blue suffered a bone bruise in his heel on Thursday. Blue was stepped on during practice, initially looking at an ankle sprain. Thankfully, the MRI came back with some positive news. “Cowboys RB Jaydon Blue’s MRI revealed a bone bruise in his heel after it was stepped on in today’s practice, according to a @startelegram source,” Harris said via X. “No ankle sprain. Good news for the young back who has emerged as an offensive playmaker in camp.” Blue previously told Harris that an ankle injury was what he suffered. Questions about the running back’s availability for Saturday’s preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams are now present. Something to watch as kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT from SoFi Stadium. Dallas took Blue in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, hoping to address its running back situation. Blue played his college ball inside the Lone Star State, suiting up for the Texas Longhorns. Plenty of guys at the position have come out of Austin and found quick success. Blue is hoping to be the next one. For now, there is an injury for him to deal with. No exact timeline has been provided per a report or by a team official. Hopefully, Blue is able to get things cleared up quickly and get his first taste of the NFL before Sept. 4’s season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. More on Jaydon Blue, Cowboys running back situation Running back was a position the Cowboys needed to desperately figure out this offseason. Rico Dowdle, the team’s leading rusher, was no longer on the roster. Behind Dowdle, Dallas did not have much else. A nice mix of veteran presence and youngsters was needed. Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders provide the former, while Blue was a part of the draft class alongside Phil Mafah. A combination of those four figures to be on the opening night roster. Exactly how head coach Brian Schottenheimer splits up the carries is not yet known. Blue’s injury certainly does not help the situation. Cowboys players, in general, have been going down throughout training camp thus far. Making sure everyone is healthy will be critical heading into the season. Especially an explosive back like Blue, someone who can change the outcome of any game in just the snap of your fingers.
Padres already demoting one of their trade-deadline acquisitions
The Padres announced they’ve optioned JP Sears to Triple-A El Paso. They recalled reliever Sean Reynolds and will go with a nine-man bullpen in the short term. Sears will spend at least 15 days in the minors unless he’s brought up to replace a player going on the injured list. San Diego acquired Sears alongside Mason Miller in last week’s massive deadline deal. The 29-year-old southpaw made his team debut Monday night. He allowed five runs in as many innings on 10 hits and a walk against the Diamondbacks. Sears took the loss in a 6-2 defeat. He’d carried a 4.95 earned run average over 22 starts with the A’s. Monday's performance pushed his ERA to 5.12 across 116 innings. It’s a bottom-10 mark among pitchers to log at least 100 frames. Sears had the highest home run rate among that group, offsetting his nearly league-average 20.3% strikeout rate and solid 6% walk percentage. This is the first time in two-and-a-half years that Sears heads to the minors. He broke camp with the A’s in 2023 and has been in the majors since then. Sears has also avoided the injured list for that entire time. As a result, he’s tied for fifth in MLB with 87 starts since the beginning of the ’23 season. The durability is the big selling point, as his production (4.62 ERA/4.56 SIERA) over that stretch is that of a fifth or sixth starter. The demotion shouldn’t have any impact on Sears’ service trajectory. He has already surpassed the three-year mark and will qualify for arbitration next winter. He’s under team control for three seasons beyond this one. While he’ll probably be back up at some point this year, it may require an injury elsewhere in the rotation. San Diego optioned Randy Vásquez over the weekend. They have a four-man rotation of Dylan Cease, Nick Pivetta, Yu Darvish and deadline acquisition Nestor Cortes. Darvish and Cortes will get the ball for the next two outings. San Diego is off Thursday and could turn back to Pivetta and Cease on extra rest for their first two games of the weekend series against the Red Sox. That’d point to the series finale on Aug. 10 as Michael King’s return date. King threw 61 pitches in what is expected to be his final rehab start on Sunday, via the MLB.com injury tracker. He’d be on six days' rest for his first MLB appearance since he went on the injured list in late May with a nerve problem in his throwing shoulder.
Cardinals All-Star Addresses Future; Hints Time In St. Louis Is Ending
The St. Louis Cardinals made changes this summer but the winter is going to be even more transformational. Trading away guys like Ryan Helsley, Steven Matz, and Phil Maton certainly hurt. But, these were necessary moves with the Cardinals' chances at a playoff spot just barely hanging on for dear life. The Cardinals are one game below .500 at 57-58 right now through 115 games played as of writing ahead of their showdown with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday afternoon. Sure, the Cardinals could go on some long winning streak and change the perception around the club once again. That would be great, but right now, the odds of the club making the playoffs are slim and that's why the Cardinals traded the three relievers before they could hit the open market in free agency. Once the season ends, bigger changes are coming, though. Cardinals at crossroads that will start to be answered this winter The Cardinals used the trade deadline to move on from some of the team's players heading to free agency that didn't have no-trade clauses. The Cardinals opted against trading players under team control beyond this season and guys with no-traded clauses made it clear that they wanted to stick around, including Miles Mikolas, Sonny Gray, and Willson Contreras. Nolan Arenado also reportedly didn't expand his list of approved teams from this past offseason. Of the no-trade clause guys specifically, Gray, Contreras, and Arenado still control their destiny beyond the season. Mikolas will be a free agent and spoke about his future and noted he wants to continue pitching, but made it sound like he won't be back with Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I want to finish strong," Mikolas said. "And I want to do my best to be a good example for the young guys. There are some young guys in here who I’ve seen from their rookie years, seen them mature and get better. Hopefully, I’ve left a little bit of an imprint on them. Show the younger guys what it’s like to go about your work – day in, day out, rain or shine. I’ll be in here tomorrow working out, busting my tail in the gym, getting my work done with the trainers, watching video, trying to get better. Bottom line: I want to finish strong and show teams that I’ve still got a lot of good baseball left in me... "I know teams look beyond that. They’ll look at everything. Teams are going to sign you after they go back and look at all of your starts and go, ‘What was the difference? Can we fix him? Can we help him? Can we do this? Can we do that?’ If my stuff is good – and the ball is coming out of my hand good – and I’m available wire to wire, that’s something. That’s something I take a lot of pride in...I’ll play as long as I can. The ball is still coming out of my hand pretty good for being almost 37. I’ll play as long as they let me." Mikolas has been with the Cardinals since 2018 and has earned two All-Star nods with the team, but his future is in question now.
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