How will the Jon Sumrall era live on in Florida football history? With about a month to go before the Gators kick off the 2026 season, the biggest hope for now is that it's at least an improvement over the Billy Napier one.
The plug got pulled on Napier seven games into his fourth season, a barrier that no UF coach has crossed since Urban Meyer. The Gators haven't been in the College Football Playoff rankings since Dan Mullen coached them to the 2020 SEC championship game.
To turn that around, maybe a coach freshly removed from leading Tulane to the CFP will help. He knows he's got a stud at running back in Jadan Baugh, he of 1,170 yards and eight touchdowns in what was otherwise a dismal 4-8 campaign. Who starts at quarterback is a whole different manner: Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo is one of six transfers projected as starters at Ourlads, but redshirt freshman Tramell Jones Jr. could just as easily win the job.
There's still time to decide who best fits in new offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner's Air Raid scheme. The first two games of the season will (barring disaster the likes of the South Florida loss last season) serve as mere tune-ups for the SEC opener at Auburn and former USF two-way QB Byrum Brown. Then it's the big early test: a showdown with Trinidad Chambliss, Kewan Lacy and an Ole Miss team fresh off a CFP semifinal appearance.
If the Gators can tread water through the gauntlet of Texas, Georgia (in Atlanta as Jacksonville updates its stadium) and Oklahoma, there's hope they could lock down a solid bowl résumé against Florida State on Black Friday. And hey, maybe UF can end the year back in the CFP rankings.

#Florida #gators #season #Football

Yes, they'll be playing an Old-Timers' Day game at the Yankees' annual All-Star studded event.
No, Derek Jeter is not part of the roster.
But nine other Monument Park inductees are scheduled to be at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 8 – Joe Torre, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez, Paul O'Neill, Willie Randolph and Ron Guidry.
Hideki Matsui, the 2009 World Series MVP, highlights the list of attendees, along with Orlando "El Duque'' Hernandez, Bucky Dent, Roy White, David Cone, Dwight Gooden and Chris Chambliss.
Also scheduled to attend are David Weathers and Clay Bellinger, the fathers of current Yankees Ryan Weathers and Cody Bellinger.

#scheduled

While talking season is in full swing, only 40 days remain before the preseason predictions cease and SEC football officially begins.
Five head coaches in the league are set to make their debuts with their new respective squads, as they attempt to usher in a new era by rebuilding and revamping. Others, like Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby and South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer, are on the hot seat if they can't turn things around and improve from last season's efforts.
Outside of coaching headlines, major quarterback battles are occurring at Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama, as they look to find their starter for the upcoming campaign. Meanwhile, established gunslingers like Trinidad Chambliss and Arch Manning are looking to exceed expectations and bring hardware to the SEC once again.
That's just a small glimpse of all the storylines set to unfold in a few short weeks. The time for talking is almost over, with Missouri opening the season for the SEC against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on September 3.
Based on talent, coaching staff and scheduling, here are my predictions of where each SEC team will finish the 2026-27 season:

#head #predictions #like

SEC Media Days have come and gone, and now we have the official preseason media predictions for the league.
The Georgia Bulldogs were once again picked to win the SEC, receiving 88 first-place votes. The next highest first-place vote receiver was, by a wide margin, the Texas Longhorns with 57 votes.
No other team received double-digit votes, though Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma and even Kentucky received at least one first-place vote.
The league also released its preseason All-SEC teams, with Ole Miss quarterback and running back duo Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy leading the way on the First Team. Here are the full preseason SEC predictions from the media.
Georgia (88): 2,510

#team

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - JANUARY 08: Trinidad Chambliss #6 of the Ole Miss Rebels scrambles with the ball out of bounds defended by Jaboree Antoine #16 of the Miami Hurricanes in the fourth quarter during the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium on January 08, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
For the past three seasons, no Southeastern Conference team has played in the College Football Playoff championship game. It is a sore subject in a league that had previously won four consecutive national ***** les from 2019 through 2022. This season, the SEC could again have a team playing for the championship, as several top teams have returning quarterbacks.
The SEC had eight quarterbacks in the top 19 of The Athletic’s recent rankings, including six who started for their teams last season in No. 1 Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss), No. 7 Arch Manning (Texas), No. 11 Gunner Stockton (Georgia), No. 13 Marcel Reed (Texas A&M), No. 16 John Mateer (Oklahoma) and No. 18 LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina). The other two highly-ranked SEC quarterbacks are transfers in No. 8 Sam Leavitt (LSU) and No. 19 Byrum Brown (Auburn).
Chambliss is coming off the best season of any SEC quarterback, as he led the Rebels to the CFP semifinals. Although Chambliss wasn’t supposed to start and came from Division II Ferris State, he took over the starting job in September and threw for 3,937 yards and 22 touchdowns and ran for 527 yards and eight touchdowns. In three CFP games, he completed 67.9% of his passes for 921 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.
In February, a Mississippi judge ruled in Chambliss’s favor, granting him a preliminary injunction in a case against the NCAA and giving him another year of eligibility. After finishing eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting last year, he should contend for the award this year. He will be among the most hyped players this season, especially when Ole Miss on Sept. 19 hosts LSU, whose coach, Lane Kiffin, coached at Ole Miss for six seasons before leaving last November before the CFP began.

#yards

With the conclusion of Texas A&M's appearance at SEC Media Days on Wednesday afternoon, the Aggies are full speed ahead towards the 2026 season opener vs. Missouri State on Saturday, Sept. 5, and for third-year coach Mike Elko, building on last season's immense success after making it to the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history remains the primary focus.
Already establishing a strong culture, Elko's decision to elevate wide receivers coach Holmon Wiggins as the new offensive coordinator received plenty of skepticism from both the fan base and national media alike, but during Wednesday's press conference, Elko continued to cheerlead his decision, which should pay off given that Marcel Reed returns at quarterback for his second full starting season.
Among the national media, ESPN and Amazon Prime Video college football and NFL ****** yst Kirk Herbstreit, one of the hardest-working men in the sports broadcasting landscape, shares a history with Marcel Reed after his sons played with the redshirt junior signal-caller at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Tennessee.
However, that doesn't mean Herbstreit has avoided criticizing the Aggie QB when warranted, especially after his poor performance against Texas and Miami in the first round of the CFP, but he remains one of the few, now including former Alabama coach Nick Saban, who fully believe Marcel Reed, similar to Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss, to be one of the best overall athletes in the country.
During his appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, Herbstreit stated that he believes Texas A&M could "make a run" towards a national ****** le this season with Marcel Reed leading the way.

#herbstreit

Pete Golding was in attendance at SEC Media Days on Wednesday and spoke with reporters.
He gave a passionate speech about tampering in college football, but his more interesting answer was about how he approached quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy about staying with the Rebels after former head coach Lane Kiffin infamously left for LSU.
Golding’s quote was targeted at Kiffin, but more in the eyes of creating a legacy and what it means for the players’ future, per ESPN’s David Hale.
“Football’s gonna end. What are you going to use? You gotta use an alumni base to be able to get you a job. Where are you gonna bring your kids to? What jersey are they wearing?
Y’all two created a legacy in one season that’s gonna be hard for anybody to overtake, and for what’s going on now, for Coach Kiffin to leave — go Google Lane Kiffin. I had them both do it in my office. Google Lane Kiffin, the dude they’d have built a statue of here three days ago. Google his name right now. They wouldn’t ******* on him if he was on fire.

#lane #golding

Will Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning win the Heisman Trophy? Right now, Manning is one of two favorites to become the third Longhorns player to win the prize.
BetMGM has released the Heisman Trophy odds and betting favorites For 2026. Two names share the top spot in the developing futures market for college football's top award. Manning and Notre Dame QB Marcus Freeman are both +750 to take home the award. Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss, Ohio State's Julian Sayin and Miami's Darian Mensah round out the top five.
Last offseason, as the national media rushed to crown Arch Manning as the greatest quarterback of his generation, there were plenty of early predictions of a third Heisman Trophy at Texas. It didn't work out that way in 2025. In hindsight, it wasn't very realistic. But for 2026? It is very realistic.
The redshirt junior passed for 3,163 yards with 26 touchdowns to seven interceptions in 2025. Manning also rushed for 399 yards with 10 touchdowns. He ended the season with a huge game against Michigan in the Citrus Bowl, totaling 376 yards with four touchdowns in the 41-27 win.
Player (2026 Team)

#trophy #yards

Boston College Exciting Transfer QB Given Shock Ranking by The Athletic with Trinidad Chambliss Comparison originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Boston College is following the Trinidad Chambliss playbook.
The former D-II QB Chambliss went to Ole Miss, was a superstar, and is now ranked the No. 1 quarterback in college football by The Athletic.
For the season ahead, BC will be relying on a Division II transfer of its own, Mason McKenzie.
From Saginaw Valley State in Michigan, McKenzie has a lot of physical tools.

#chambliss #boston #mckenzie

Pro Football Focus is a highly respected and widely recognized **** ytics organization that is often used in both sports media and NFL front offices. That just means, what they put out, should be heard out.
They recently released their top 50 rankings heading into the 2026 college football season and three Ole Miss Rebels made the cut. That leaves them tied for fourth most on the list behind Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame.
Kewan Lacy is the first on the board at no. 10. He led the country in rushing attempts and power four running backs in rushing touchdowns. He finished second in yards, yards after contact and missed tackles. He is the second running back on the board behind Ahmad Hardy (6) of Missouri.
Trinidad Chambliss checks in at no. 12 on the list and the 4th quarterback. He is behind Julian Sayin (4), Dante Moore (7) and Arch Manning (9). Chambliss had the second highest rating against pressure in the country. Wanna talk about pressure? He put up his best score against Georgia in the playoffs.
Will Echoles is the final Reb to make the list, slotting in at no. 19. I did not know this but Echoles led the P4 in pressures and stops as an interior defensive lineman. Only AJ Holmes Jr of Texas Tech finished the season graded higher.

The Heisman Trophy is arguably the best individual award in American sports, professional included. There are weekly columns, year-round odds, and continual commentary on who will win the bronze statue, and once a player does, he is announced from that point forward as "Heisman Trophy winner ..."
Maybe the only other ***** le before a name that means more is "Sir," as those who are knighted by the Royal Family of the United Kingdom. Okay, maybe that's a stretch, but still, becoming a Heisman winner is something that will follow a player all of his life, and in fact, changes his life.
So, it's no surprise then that many focus on the Heisman so much. To that end, Brad Crawford of 247Sports shared the six players that he would bet on to win the bronze statue. Not all the players who have the best odds by the sportsbooks out there, mind you, but which ones he believes actually have a legitimate shot at winning the award.
So, which two Buckeyes does Crawford like to be in the Heisman conversation? It's the same two that you would likely think of: quarterback Julian Sayin and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. The OSU quarterback has been among the top, and sometimes on top of some of the Heisman odds in the preseason, but he currently sits among the top four or five on most sportsbooks' odds. As far as Smith goes, he could very well be the best college football player, and in fact, probably will be, but it'll be hard to win the Heisman because he's not a quarterback, and there's the built-in bias.
In other words, there's a good chance that Ohio State will again have another representative in New York as a finalist for the storied award, but who else might be there, according to Crawford? The other four players he'd put a wager on are Notre Dame quarterback C.J. Carr, Texas gunslinger Arch Manning, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, and Miami (FL) signal-caller Darian Mensah.

Tristan Smith will have to keep waiting to hear the final decision on whether he will play for the Tigers in 2026 or not.
After a June 8 court hearing in Smith’s case against the NCAA, there was no immediate ruling on whether the Tigers receiver will be eligible for the 2026 season. According to Derrian Carter, Judge Salvini said she expects to have a decision “by the end of the week.”
Smith is fighting for an extra season of eligibility after the NCAA denied his waiver request. His case centers around junior college eligibility rules and his argument that the NCAA has applied those rules inconsistently. Smith has also argued that being denied another season would cost him the chance to continue his college career, along with potential NIL and revenue-sharing opportunities.
College football has already seen multiple eligibility battles spill into courtrooms, with players such as Trinidad Chambliss and Brendan Sorsby receiving legal wins that allowed them to continue pursuing another season. Those cases are not exact copies of Smith’s, but they do point to the same uncomfortable question hanging over the sport: how much authority does the NCAA actually have when eligibility decisions are increasingly being challenged, delayed, or blocked in court?
Smith's return would give the Tigers another experienced receiver in the room after he caught 24 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown in his first season at the FBS level. Before arriving at Clemson, he posted 76 catches for 934 yards and six touchdowns at Southeast Missouri.