1 hr. ago
All eyes were on Buffalo Bills second-year cornerback Maxwell Hairston during the team's preseason finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Hairston started at cornerback Thursday night, and there's been plenty of attention paid to his missed tackle in the open field early in action.
To that end, Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic shared that head coach Joe Brady gave a very definitive and public vote of confidence in Hairston, stating to reporters that "(h)e's our starting corner" when asked if there's a competition at CB2. That competition query of of course refers to the presence of rookie cornerback Davison Igbinosun.
The question now for One Bills Drive is whether or not they write Hairston's name in pencil or permanent marker. That's something Hairston will have to influence in his second season, and likely hold off any incursion by Igbinosun.
After putting a difficult rookie year behind him that saw his first season bookended by significant injuries, it appeared as though Hairston was setting up to take off in year two. Well, at least that seemed like the plan for as long as Sean McDermott was the head coach.
The trouble for Hairston may have been that McDermott's future at One Bills Drive perished the same night of Buffalo's playoff loss to the Denver Broncos last January. Though that could appear short-sighted when considering that the main person responsible for selecting him in the first round was still in house — Brandon Beane — and received a promotion to include president of football operations within his executive **** le as general manager.
#hairston #year #second
To that end, Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic shared that head coach Joe Brady gave a very definitive and public vote of confidence in Hairston, stating to reporters that "(h)e's our starting corner" when asked if there's a competition at CB2. That competition query of of course refers to the presence of rookie cornerback Davison Igbinosun.
The question now for One Bills Drive is whether or not they write Hairston's name in pencil or permanent marker. That's something Hairston will have to influence in his second season, and likely hold off any incursion by Igbinosun.
After putting a difficult rookie year behind him that saw his first season bookended by significant injuries, it appeared as though Hairston was setting up to take off in year two. Well, at least that seemed like the plan for as long as Sean McDermott was the head coach.
The trouble for Hairston may have been that McDermott's future at One Bills Drive perished the same night of Buffalo's playoff loss to the Denver Broncos last January. Though that could appear short-sighted when considering that the main person responsible for selecting him in the first round was still in house — Brandon Beane — and received a promotion to include president of football operations within his executive **** le as general manager.
#hairston #year #second
16 days ago
The Bills are dealing with injuries at cornerback, so they signed a healthy player to bolster the group on Wednesday.
They announced the signing of Anthony Kendall to their 90-man roster. Defensive lineman Kody Huisman was waived in a corresponding move.
Kendall signed with the **** ans after going undrafted in 2023 and played in 16 games as a rookie. He had nine tackles while seeing almost all of his playing time on special teams. Kendall has also spent time on practice squads in Baltimore and Cleveland.
Maxwell Hairston and Kani Walker have been out of practice for Buffalo recently. The Bills play their first preseason game against the Panthers on Saturday.
#time #anthony
They announced the signing of Anthony Kendall to their 90-man roster. Defensive lineman Kody Huisman was waived in a corresponding move.
Kendall signed with the **** ans after going undrafted in 2023 and played in 16 games as a rookie. He had nine tackles while seeing almost all of his playing time on special teams. Kendall has also spent time on practice squads in Baltimore and Cleveland.
Maxwell Hairston and Kani Walker have been out of practice for Buffalo recently. The Bills play their first preseason game against the Panthers on Saturday.
#time #anthony
1 month ago
Buffalo Bills training camp begins next week… what a fantastic sentence to write after the prolonged time spent away from football. For the Bills there are many different questions heading into camp that fans are waiting to see the answers.
One of the areas to look at is what to expect from the rookie class. It’s not crazy to say this class could be the most productive class in their rookie year that Brandon Beane has had since the 2018 class that, of course, was headlined by Josh Allen.
There’s second-round pick T.J. Parker… could he give quarterbacks problems all season and come close to double digit sacks? We do know Parker has been training this offseason with veteran Bradley Chubb who signed with the Bills in free agency. Not a bad mentor to have as a rookie.
Cornerback Davison Igbinosun was the pick after Parker and again is a question mark in this draft class that could provide a huge impact. He’s a talented cornerback that could even push Maxwell Hairston for a starting spot. We also know that the injury bug has been known to affect Buffalo’s secondary year after year so it is likely that Igbinosun will play meaningful snaps at some point in the season.
In the fourth round the team was able to draft receiver Skyler Bell who is considered by some to be one of the best receivers in the draft and provides a fun blend of speed, quickness, and tenacity at the catch point. Bell has a reasonable path to being in the rotation at receiver. Keon Coleman certainly did not impress last season while Josh Palmer dealt with injuries the second half of the year. The only locks receiver are DJ Moore and Khalil Shakir.
#class #parker
One of the areas to look at is what to expect from the rookie class. It’s not crazy to say this class could be the most productive class in their rookie year that Brandon Beane has had since the 2018 class that, of course, was headlined by Josh Allen.
There’s second-round pick T.J. Parker… could he give quarterbacks problems all season and come close to double digit sacks? We do know Parker has been training this offseason with veteran Bradley Chubb who signed with the Bills in free agency. Not a bad mentor to have as a rookie.
Cornerback Davison Igbinosun was the pick after Parker and again is a question mark in this draft class that could provide a huge impact. He’s a talented cornerback that could even push Maxwell Hairston for a starting spot. We also know that the injury bug has been known to affect Buffalo’s secondary year after year so it is likely that Igbinosun will play meaningful snaps at some point in the season.
In the fourth round the team was able to draft receiver Skyler Bell who is considered by some to be one of the best receivers in the draft and provides a fun blend of speed, quickness, and tenacity at the catch point. Bell has a reasonable path to being in the rotation at receiver. Keon Coleman certainly did not impress last season while Josh Palmer dealt with injuries the second half of the year. The only locks receiver are DJ Moore and Khalil Shakir.
#class #parker
2 months ago
The Rutgers football 2026 season is set to kick off in just under 2 months, meaning that it is time to start looking at the opponents the Scarlet Knights have on the schedule.
First up on the slate is the UMass Minutemen, who Rutgers will be taking on Thursday, June 3 at 6 p.m. UMass is led by second-year head coach and former Rutgers defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak. The Minutemen did not win a single game during Harasymiak's first year with the team, even falling to 3-9 FCS Bryant by one point.
The Minutemen's starting quarterback for most of last season was AJ Hairston, although he did miss a few games at the end of the season with an injury. Last year as a freshman, he totaled 957 passing yards, four touchdowns, and four sacks while completing 49.5% of his passes. However, after just one season with the program, Hairston opted to transfer to Merrimack. His backup, Grant Jordan, decided to transfer elsewhere as well. That leaves junior quarterback Brandon Rose as the only UMass quarterback to get playing time with the team last year.
Rose started two games last year and ended the season with 424 passing yards and one touchdown against three interceptions. He also posted a 59.1 percent completion percentage. UMass also added Virginia Tech transfer Pop Watson III in the portal. He has a total of 558 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions over three seasons with the Hokies.
UMass' leading rusher, Brandon Hood, transferred out after last season, leaving Rocko Griffin as their best returning running back. Griffin recorded 53 carries for 246 yards and 2 touchdowns last season while averaging 4.6 yards per carry. UMass also brought in former Marshal running back Justin Williams-Thomas, who carried the ball 35 times for 197 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 5.6 yards per carry for the Thundering Herd last season.
First up on the slate is the UMass Minutemen, who Rutgers will be taking on Thursday, June 3 at 6 p.m. UMass is led by second-year head coach and former Rutgers defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak. The Minutemen did not win a single game during Harasymiak's first year with the team, even falling to 3-9 FCS Bryant by one point.
The Minutemen's starting quarterback for most of last season was AJ Hairston, although he did miss a few games at the end of the season with an injury. Last year as a freshman, he totaled 957 passing yards, four touchdowns, and four sacks while completing 49.5% of his passes. However, after just one season with the program, Hairston opted to transfer to Merrimack. His backup, Grant Jordan, decided to transfer elsewhere as well. That leaves junior quarterback Brandon Rose as the only UMass quarterback to get playing time with the team last year.
Rose started two games last year and ended the season with 424 passing yards and one touchdown against three interceptions. He also posted a 59.1 percent completion percentage. UMass also added Virginia Tech transfer Pop Watson III in the portal. He has a total of 558 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions over three seasons with the Hokies.
UMass' leading rusher, Brandon Hood, transferred out after last season, leaving Rocko Griffin as their best returning running back. Griffin recorded 53 carries for 246 yards and 2 touchdowns last season while averaging 4.6 yards per carry. UMass also brought in former Marshal running back Justin Williams-Thomas, who carried the ball 35 times for 197 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 5.6 yards per carry for the Thundering Herd last season.
2 months ago
DETROIT (AP) — Matt Vierling and Kerry Carpenter hit home runs to lift the Detroit Tigers past the Chicago White Sox 4-3 on Friday night.
Tarik Skubal allowed three runs and seven hits with a walk in 5 2/3 innings in the left-hander's second start since returning from the injured list after having a loose body removed from his elbow last month.
Drew Anderson (3-3) earned the win in relief, allowing one hit in 1 1/3 innings. Kenley Jansen got three outs for his eighth save for Detroit, which entered having lost four of five.
Tigers rookie Trei Cruz struck in his three at-bats in his major league debut. He batted ninth and played right field joining grandfather Jose Sr. and father Jose Jr. as the fifth three-generation family in MLB history. They joined Gus, Buddy, David and Mike Bell; Ray, Bob, Bret and Aaron Boone; Joe P., Joe H. and Casey Coleman; and Sam, Jerry, Jerry Jr. and Scott Hairston.
Randal Grichuk homered and doubled, and Junior Perez hit his first major league homer for Chicago, which had won five of its last eight.
Tarik Skubal allowed three runs and seven hits with a walk in 5 2/3 innings in the left-hander's second start since returning from the injured list after having a loose body removed from his elbow last month.
Drew Anderson (3-3) earned the win in relief, allowing one hit in 1 1/3 innings. Kenley Jansen got three outs for his eighth save for Detroit, which entered having lost four of five.
Tigers rookie Trei Cruz struck in his three at-bats in his major league debut. He batted ninth and played right field joining grandfather Jose Sr. and father Jose Jr. as the fifth three-generation family in MLB history. They joined Gus, Buddy, David and Mike Bell; Ray, Bob, Bret and Aaron Boone; Joe P., Joe H. and Casey Coleman; and Sam, Jerry, Jerry Jr. and Scott Hairston.
Randal Grichuk homered and doubled, and Junior Perez hit his first major league homer for Chicago, which had won five of its last eight.
