LAWRENCE — Lance Leipold downplayed the topic of the College Football Playoff recently, during a press conference that largely touched on his new contract. Leipold, Kansas football’s head coach, alluded to it being way too early to think about something like that. He mentioned the Jayhawks, like every other Division I program, haven’t played their 12 regular season games this year. …

Saturday’s open practice offered a 6-foot-2, 231-pound reminder of just what Mizzou football needs to replace. Walking along the perimeter at Faurot Field, an arm’s length from the white lines he commanded for two years in Columbia, was former linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper, visiting after appearing at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. He’s far from the only Tiger in Indy. …

Timing of players at the Scouting Combine isn’t just done with stopwatches. It’s also done with chips worn by every player, that tracking their speed during every drill. And last year, that player tracking data showed off the talents of Puka Nacua, a relatively unknown receiver out of BYU who went from fifth-round pick of the Rams to the most …

Jaelyne Matthews, one of the top offensive linemen in the nation, announced his top six on Sunday. In it, he included Rutgers football. Rutgers was the first program to offer Matthews when he was a freshman. He visited the Scarlet Knights in the fall for the win over Wagner. A four-star offensive tackle. Matthews is coming off a solid year …

INDIANAPOLIS — And then there were four. Well, at least four. That seems to be the general consensus among personnel men regarding the quarterback class coming out of this past week’s NFL scouting combine. More precisely: As we roll toward the pro day circuit and personal workouts, a swath of talent evaluators believe that Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy has joined USC’s …

MIAMI — Chris Ewald Jr. has been a star on state title teams at Chaminade-Madonna, but he earned an individual honor on Sunday afternoon. The four-star prospect was one of more than 200 high school prospects to suit up for Under Armour’s Next Football Camp series at Miami’s Ives Estates Park, but he was one of two who earned invitations …

Report: 49ers expected to address Aiyuk extension after free agency originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area Another 49ers offseason, another contract extension saga — this time, for wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. But San Francisco has an excellent track record of paying its proven stars what they deserve, and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport doesn’t believe that will change with Aiyuk. …

INDIANAPOLIS — Caleb Williams marketed the decision differently. As USC’s star quarterback confirmed he was indeed declining to participate in medical evaluations at the NFL scouting combine, he clarified that he wasn’t declining to undergo medical evaluations altogether. Rather, Williams will cycle through medical evaluations with teams whom he visits in the coming weeks leading up to the NFL Draft. …

The NFL scouting combine has come and gone, with many prospects showing off their skills in front of league personnel for the first time. This year’s crop of players had some strong performances and some duds, giving us the perfect avenue for a classic winners and losers evaluation from the 2024 combine. Winners Fiske turned heads with his performance during …

Ex-NFL QB believes drafting Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze would give Bears ‘scariest’ rookie duo originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago Former Chicago Bears quarterback Chase Daniel believes the Bears have an opportunity to make a huge splash in the 2024 NFL Draft if they play their cards right. On NFL Network, Daniel said if the Bears draft USC quarterback Caleb …

If you can’t beat ’em, hire ’em. Apparently, that’s what the 49ers considered after firing defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. Via Taylor Wirth of NBC Sports Bay Area, ESPN’s Dan Graziano recently reported that the 49ers explored luring Steve Spagnuolo away from the Chiefs. Spagnuolo’s contract was expiring. He could have gone anywhere. He signed an extension with the Chiefs. The …

WASHINGTON — Longtime Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov cleared waivers Sunday after not being claimed by any of the NHL’s other 31 teams and has been assigned to Hershey of the American Hockey League. The Capitals put Kuznetsov on waivers Saturday, hours after he was cleared to practice by administrators for the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. It’s unclear if Kuznetsov …

Chris Mortensen, an award-winning ESPN reporter who covered the NFL, dies at 72 originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago Chris Mortensen, the award-winning journalist who covered the NFL for close to four decades, including 32 as a senior analyst at ESPN, died Sunday morning. He was 72. ESPN confirmed Mortensen’s death on Sunday. There was no immediate word on the …

One of the top linebackers in the 2025 recruiting class has narrowed his list of schools down to a final list of 10. Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers have made the list. LSU joins Alabama, Florida State, Oregon, Ohio State, USC, Texas A&M, Nebraska, SMU and Texas in the final 10. Elijah Barnes is a 6-foot-2, 225-pound, four-star linebacker …

USATSI Former NFL wide receiver Braylon Edwards rescued an 80-year-old man who was being assaulted inside a Michigan YMCA locker room this past Friday.  Edwards, a standout receiver at Michigan who enjoyed an eight-year NFL career, stopped a 25-year-old from further assaulting the elderly man. Edwards said he initially heard an argument about music and how loud it was being …