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Brian Kelly and LSU land four-star CB Havon Finney
Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers have been making some moves on the 2026 recruiting trail and their latest pickup is quite a big one.
Havon Finney from Sierra Canyon High School in Chatsworth, California, committed to the Tigers on Monday. Notably, Michigan, Oregon and USC were amongst the other schools high up on the list for the four-star cornerback, so this marks another important recruiting win for the Tigers.
At 6-foot-2, 170 pounds, Finney fits that traditional LSU mold as a lanky and tall cornerback who can lock down the outside of a defense. He's also highly ranked as a recruit. According to the 247Sports Composite, he's the No. 7 cornerback recruit in the 2026 class.
He was originally a 2027 recruit, but he reclassified to 2026 and is joining an LSU class that's stacked. LSU can thank his primary recruiter, cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond, for facilitating this recruiting win.
"The corners coach is really cool, Corey Raymond. He’s put a lot of dudes in the league. I’ve grown to know him, and it’s been a cool experience," Finney had told Steve Wiltfong of On3 roughly a month before his commitment.
According to the national recruiting rankings from 247Sports, Kelly's 2026 class is ranked fourth in the nation behind only USC, Clemson and Notre Dame. There's still a lot of time for things to shake out, but Kelly is building one heck of a class in 2026, right after he brought in the seventh-best class in 2025.
Kelly has had a hard time winning the big game as a head coach over the years, but he's brought in some big-time talent to LSU since becoming head coach in 2022.
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Major college football coach says athletes, society 'softer'
West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez didn't hold back on what he thought of his team and the "society" of the United States in general following the Mountaineers' second day of practice on Thursday. "I'm not trying to go on a political rant or whatever but, generally, we're softer as a society," Rodriguez told reporters, via Chris Anderson of 247Sports. "We're softer as athletes...b/c everything they're around is 'How can we make it easier for them' instead of make it hard on them to learn to get through hard times." The comments came after a practice where only two of the Mountaineers' running backs completed practice, per Mike J. Asti. Rodriguez is in his first season in his second stint with WVU. Things were a little different when he last coached the Mountaineers in 2007. There was no NIL, and coaches had more power over players in their program. Rodriguez thinks coaches and players are spoiled in the modern era of college football, as shared by Anderson. "Have you been through this building? Have you seen how we eat? They got it pretty well," Rodriguez said. "They live in a fantasy world. Coaches do, too. We want for nothing. "You want food? You want medical health? You want job help? You want financial help? Cold tubs? Hot tubs? We even got an ice cream machine...free! Probably even got the sprinkles to put on it. They got it pretty good, and now they're getting paid." College athletes do have it better than ever, at least materially. Based on the lucrative TV contracts surrounding the sport, the product hasn't suffered despite the increasing entitlements for players. But that can easily change if the new generation refuses to practice.
Dolphins' Tyreek Hill stirs up drama, calls for teammate to be benched in certain situations
Tyreek Hill was just trying to be a good teammate, but his Miami Dolphins colleague didn't care for the message. On Friday, Hill gave a meaty performance during his media availability, broaching subjects from his mastery of the offense this year to saying he agreed with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa that he needed to be a better leader on the Dolphins for the upcoming season. Then he took a shot at running back De'Von Achane. He suggested the Dolphins keep the 5-foot-9, 191-pound back off the field in third-and-short situations. "Take (Achane) out on 3rd-down," Hills told reporters, via the Dolphins. "What? That's my honest opinion. If it's third-and-short, he's not a power back. I've been telling him that in the locker room... I love De'Von, but If I'm being honest, that's why you got Jaylen Wright, that's why you got Ollie Gordon." Achane responded to Hill giving his opinion to the media. "That's how you feel," Achane wrote with a laughing emoji. Achane rushed for 907 yards and six touchdowns on 203 carries last season. That's an average of 4.5 yards per rush. The Dolphins' backfield as a whole struggled in the run game last season, averaging a pedestrian 105.6 rushing yards per contest. Achane certainly didn't thrive on third-and-short, but Hill's comments feel unnecessary. Last season, Hill caught 81 passes for 959 yards and six touchdowns — his worst production since 2019, when he missed four games due to injury. Is Hill ready to admit that he's washed? Miami's offense was bad, and it didn't help that Tagovailoa missed time due to a concussion. Defenses took advantage of the Dolphins' limited and discombobulated offense last season. Miami's training-camp news conferences are becoming a concern. Hopefully for the team, Achane won't take the slight from Hill too personally.
Massive Brawl Breaks Out For The Steelers As Rookie Makes His Presence Known
The Pittsburgh Steelers are fully engulfed in training camp ahead of the 2025 season, and tempers have been flaring ever since the team put pads on for the first time on Wednesday. This is seen every year, and it also seems to be heightened when the team participates in its annual "Friday Night Lights" practice. The team always goes out to a local high school and completes a practice there in front of a stadium full of fans. Emotions are running high as it is the closest practice the players will have to a game prior to the first preseason matchup. Fights will break out during team periods, but they are also seen during individual competition. This was the case on Friday for Pittsburgh, as the team went through backs on backers as well as one-on-ones between receivers and the secondary. Backs on backers is a pass protection drill for running backs and tight ends, and they will line up across from defenders and attempt to block them. It gets chippy, and that was the case for rookie running back Kaleb Johnson and linebacker Mark Robinson. Robinson might not be a major contributor on the defense for Pittsburgh, but he is a true athletic specimen. He is fast and powerful, and that presents a pretty tall task for Johnson, who is trying to improve his pass protection. According to the reporting from insider Brian Batko, Johnson and Robinson began fighting, which turned into other players fighting from the offense and defense. It led to a fairly large brawl. Johnson was very vocal about wanting to step up his pass protection. It is the best way to see the field as a young running back in the league. Luckily for him, he is in the same room as Jaylen Warren, who is one of the top backs in the league in that regard. He can learn from his teammate, and is clearly catching onto a thing or two as he was able to beat Robinson in the rep after the fight broke out. The rookie running back still has a long way to go in pass protection, but he has been making strides throughout camp. That has certainly been because of tips he has picked up from Warren, as well as getting used to life in the NFL. He made his presence known on Friday by starting a major brawl during the drill, and then coming back a minute later to win the rep. Steelers Running Backs Wanted All The Smoke During Friday Night Lights The fight between Johnson and Robinson was not the only one. Players came rushing into the fold as a brawl broke out, and veteran running back Trey Sermon found himself in the middle of a fight with linebacker Devin Harper. It was reported by Brooke Pryor that their fight began just after the initial brawl was broken up. Those are two guys that are fighting for a spot on the final roster, so it is a bit risky to get into a brawl in the middle of practice, especially after the fight was just broken up. However, Head Coach Mike Tomlin has been known to smirk as brawls like these as they breakout during practice.
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Vikings training camp recap, Day 8: Theo Jackson, J.J. McCarthy's day
Vikings safety Theo Jackson has been ready for the opportunity that's now in front of him for a while. Poached off of the Titans' practice squad as a rookie in 2022 after Lewis Cine got hurt, Jackson has impressed behind the scenes over the last three years in Minnesota. He shined on the scout team and was deserving of playing time, but he was blocked by Harrison Smith, Camryn Bynum, and Josh Metellus at his position. Over just 222 total defensive snaps, Jackson managed to record a couple interceptions (one in each of the last two seasons). Most of his work came on special teams. But this year, before Camryn Bynum departed in free agency, the Vikings bet on Jackson by signing him to a two-year extension for low-end starter money. Like they did with Josh Metellus two years ago, they locked in a player who they think is about to become a big-time contributor on their defense. All Jackson has done this offseason is validate that decision. He's been one of the standouts of training camp, making plays just about every day. On Wednesday, he snagged an interception off of Sam Howell to end the practice. "I always called Jonathan Greenard 'The Closer,' but when (Jackson) made that play to end practice the other day, people were coming up to me saying that Theo actually already had that nickname," Kevin O'Connell said. On Friday, Jackson secured two more picks. First, he athletically contorted his body to catch a J.J. McCarthy pass that had deflected off of Jordan Addison's hands. Later, he read and jumped in front of a route to intercept Howell for the second straight practice. "When you're doing things the right way, the ball finds you," Jackson said afterwards. "Really since we acquired him, he's always kind of been an ascending player," O'Connell said earlier on Friday. "But at times, with how deep that safety room was and has been, just without opportunity. But when coaches have identified having Theo in the game in some of those three or four-safety grouping defenses over the past couple years, we've had some real positive things happen. Any time he's around the football, in the deep part of the field or getting a vision or a key to break on something underneath, he's gonna make the play." Jackson is set to step into a major defensive role in 2025. He'll be on the field alongside Smith and Metellus whenever Brian Flores has three safeties in the game. That may not be an every-snap look like it was the last couple seasons, but it'll be quite common. And for as much as the Vikings liked Bynum, they feel like Jackson's ball skills and tackling ability will help him step into that role without the defense missing a beat. The daily McCarthy update The theme of J.J. McCarthy's training camp has been ups and downs. There were more ups early on and more downs this week, particularly during Tuesday's practice. But even if there was still some inconsistency, Friday may have been McCarthy's best day since he put on a show last Saturday. The practice started out nicely for the Vikings' No. 1 quarterback. His first throw, in a drill with three receivers going against three defensive backs, was a dime to T.J. Hockenson that the veteran tight end couldn't pull in. McCarthy's next throw was a perfectly-placed deep ball to Thayer Thomas. Later in that period, he rifled a ball with zip to Hockenson for a completion. 11-on-11 action didn't start as smoothly for McCarthy, who threw a ball behind Jalen Nailor and then threw the deflected pick to Jackson (which seemed to largely be Addison's fault). But he then found Hockenson again and connected with Addison for a big gain down the right sideline against the first-team defense, which has largely dominated so far in camp. One thing we've seen from McCarthy is the ability to bounce back and shake off bad reps. He missed a couple throws in the next period, then connected with Addison for another chunk gain. In a red zone period, McCarthy made an impressive throw on the move to find Lucky Jackson in the back of the end zone. To end practice, the Vikings did a situational period where the offense trailed 27-21 and had 1:15 (and one timeout) to go down and score a touchdown. McCarthy did well in that setting. He scrambled on the first play and then dinked and dunked his way down the field with short completions, taking what was available. He very nearly won the drill for the offense when he delivered a beautiful throw for a would-be touchdown that Nailor was unable to bring in (though there was a defensive penalty on the play). It ended with a sack and a completion inbounds that ran out the clock, which may have been on the receiver for not getting out of bounds. All in all, it was a solid day that McCarthy will look to build on. Other notes The Vikings' backup quarterback situation is worth keeping an eye on. Sam Howell usually takes all of the reps with the second-team offense, but he's had an underwhelming camp, including an interception in each of the last four practices (five total in camp). After his pick by Jackson on Friday, Howell seemed to lose that role briefly. QB3 Brett Rypien got more reps with the second-team offense than we've seen in any previous practice. Howell was back out there with that group in the situation drill at the end of practice, and was unable to lead much of a drive. I wonder if we could see more and more opportunities for Rypien and/or rookie Max Brosmer — or if the Vikings' QB2 for the regular season isn't currently on the roster. One of the more eye-catching plays of the day came on a short pass from McCarthy to Jordan Mason in the red zone. It looked like an easy completion until Dallas Turner popped Mason and jarred the ball out for a PBU. Turner continues to show up every day and impress (as does Mason, to be fair). It's only been a little over a week, but third-round rookie Tai Felton is another player having an underwhelming camp. On Friday, he slipped on an end-around, couldn't come down with a pass from Howell in the red zone, and then had some weird ball tracking on a deep ball from Howell on the final play of the day. It was a 4th and 15 desperation heave, but it actually looked like Felton had a chance to make a play if he had kept running under it instead of spinning his body too early. Of course, there's still all kinds of time for the rookie to find his groove. More Vikings coverage
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