Pac-12 Football

The future of the Pac-12 is perilous at best, but the conference will reportedly have a new commissioner moving forward.

According to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, the Pac-12 and commissioner George Kliavkoff decided to part ways with a negotiated contract settlement. Dellenger noted the league sees Pac-12 deputy commissioner Teresa Gould as a potential replacement.

This comes as anything but a surprise considering the uncertainty and change that has defined Kliavkoff's tenure since he was announced as commissioner in 2021.

By the start of the 2024-25 academic year, Oregon State and Washington State will be the only remaining schools in the Pac-12. Oregon, USC, UCLA and Washington are going to the Big Ten, California and Stanford are going to the ACC, and Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are going to the Big 12.

The timing is certainly less than ideal for the league considering the start of the 12-team College Football Playoff era begins with the 2024 campaign.

Brett McMurphy of Action Network reported the 10 schools leaving will likely still play in Pac-12 affiliated bowls for the next two seasons since the current contract in place between conferences and the bowl system runs through the 2025 campaign.

"Out of a series of not-great options, the most workable—short of blowing up the bowl system and the (35 non-playoff) bowl contracts—is to have the former Pac-12 schools sent to Pac-12 bowls for two more years," a source told McMurphy.

Dellenger noted the Pac-12 has a two-year grace period to reach an eight-school minimum to retain its status as an FBS conference in the NCAA's eyes. It also has a spot on the CFP Management Committee and CFP Board of Managers through a 2025 contract.

Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes told The Athletic's Chris Vannini the school prefers to join a power conference, but the second option "is to build back a power conference with the Pac-12 banner."

In December, the Mountain West announced a scheduling agreement with Oregon State and Washington State that will see all 12 teams from the conference play either the Beavers or Cougars. Those games will not count toward the conference standings, and neither traditional Pac-12 team is eligible for the Mountain West Championship Game.

Kliavkoff has been in charge of the conference during these recent tumultuous years. He previously worked for Major League Baseball Advanced Media and MGM Resorts, among other positions, but had quite the bumpy tenure with the Pac-12.

The Pac-12's future remains an ongoing issue still being figured out, but many of its former members will still reap some of the conference benefits from the NCAA's bowl system.

Per Brett McMurphy of the Action Network, the 10 schools that are leaving the Pac-12 starting with the 2024 football season are "likely" to still play in bowl games affiliated with the conference.

One source told McMurphy this is the "most workable" of the not-great options available to the stakeholders involved in the bowl games until the new bowl contracts begin in 2026.

"Out of a series of not-great options, the most workable—short of blowing up the bowl system and the (35 non-playoff) bowl contracts—is to have the former Pac-12 schools sent to Pac-12 bowls for two more years," the source told McMurphy.

According to McMurphy, the former Pac-12 bowl-eligible teams will be considered as part of the conference's bowl pool after the 12-team College Football Playoff field is announced.

This scenario does lead to more questions about how teams will be selected, with McMurphy noting it won't necessarily be based on conference records:

"One possibility would be allowing the bowls to pick a bowl-eligible team based on the bowl's selection order without regard to the win-loss records, sources said. That could allow a Pac-12 bowl to select a 7-5 current or former Pac-12 team over a 10-2 team. Current bowl contracts with conferences don't allow bowls to skip over teams in the selection process with at least two fewer wins."

There is also the danger of pairing teams from the same conference against each other in a bowl game.

The six bowl games with Pac-12 affiliations for the next two years are the Alamo, Vegas, Holiday, Sun, LA and Independence. The Rose Bowl lost its conference affiliations with the Pac-12 and Big Ten when it was added to the College Football Playoff rotation.

Four of those bowl games have ties to the Pac-12 and one of the conferences adding a former Pac-12 school. The Holiday Bowl is an ACC-Pac-12 matchup. The Las Vegas Bowl is an SEC-Pac-12 matchup. The Alamo Bowl is a Big 12-Pac-12 matchup. The Sun Bowl traditionally pits a Pac-12 team against an ACC team.

Mcmurphy noted the other bowl games—LA and Independence—don't have "any potential conflicts regarding selecting former Pac-12 schools because they feature conferences that did not add Pac-12 schools."

Oregon State and Washington State are the only schools that will remain in the Pac-12 starting with the 2024-25 academic year. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are set to join the Big 12. UCLA, Oregon, USC and Washington will move to the Big Ten.

The ACC is set to add California and Stanford.

The Athletic's Chris Vannini noted NCAA bylaws allow conferences a two-year grace period to get back to a minimum of eight members in the event of departures.

Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes told Vannini the school's first priority is to join an existing power conference, but the second option "is to build back a power conference with the Pac-12 banner."

The Mountain West conference announced a football scheduling agreement with Oregon State and Washington in December. The two schools have announced their list of opponents for the 2024 season, but dates for games against Mountain West programs have yet to be finalized.

HEIGHT: 6'2"

WEIGHT: 247

HAND: 9 1/4"

ARM: 30½"

WINGSPAN: 75"

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40-YARD DASH: 4.68

3-CONE: N/A

SHUTTLE: N/A

VERTICAL: 39.5"

BROAD: 10'3"

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POSITIVES

— Impressive overall athlete who is quick, agile and has good change of direction, giving him the potential to be an effective pass-rusher in the NFL.

— Works to get on an edge when bull-rushing and has a nice swim move as a counter off the bull.

— Keeps his legs moving through contact as a pass-rusher and has a high motor to help get coverage sacks.

— Decent bend with a flexible lower half to help turn the corner at the top of the rush.

— Can use his quickness and athleticism to make offensive linemen miss against the run.

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NEGATIVES

— Use of hands as a pass-rusher needs work. Drops his hands and doesn't play the offensive tackle's hands well, which is currently limiting his pass-rush arsenal.

— Needs to finish pass-rush moves with a more violent rip to get clean wins.

— Isn't physical at the point of attack as a run defender. Lacks the strength to hold his ground against one-on-one blocks from good competition.

— Subpar block recognition, which can lead to him getting reached.

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2023 STATISTICS

— 13 G, 38 TOT, 8 SK, 16 TFL, 2 PD

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NOTES

— 3-star recruit in the 2019 class, per 247Sports

— Transferred to UCLA from North Texas ahead of the 2022 season

— Twin brother, Grayson, also is an edge-rusher for UCLA, UNT transfer and NFL draft prospect

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OVERALL

Gabriel Murphy has the potential to develop into an effective third-down rusher in the NFL. His athleticism and bend are apparent on film, which helped him win in college and be an effective looper in line games.

However, he does need to improve his use of hands to develop a go-to move or two. Murphy currently struggles with the accuracy and timing of his initial chops to begin his moves, making it difficult for him to "defeat the hands and defeat the man." But the movement skills are there for him to develop a nasty stick move and build on his overall arsenal.

Against the run, the UCLA product relies on his quickness and agility to make offensive linemen miss. That can work occasionally, but more athletic and patient offensive linemen will be able to stay in front of him and push him around. He even struggles to hold ground against good blocking tight ends and may never be a three-down player in the NFL.

Schematically, Murphy would be best as a standup outside linebacker who can contribute on passing downs.

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GRADE: 6.4 (High-Level Developmental Prospect — 5th Round)

OVERALL RANK: 130

POSITION RANK: EDGE14

PRO COMPARISON: Cameron Goode

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Written by B/R NFL Scout Matt Holder

Visit B/R's NFL Scouting Department hub for scouting reports on all of the top prospects.

Shedeur Sanders is returning to Colorado for the 2024 season, but if he had chosen to declare for this year's NFL draft, he believes he would have been the first quarterback off the board.

"I'm biased, but I don't see a quarterback that's better than me," he told SI.com's Brice Butler. "I don't see a quarterback that went through as much adversity as me, that had four [offensive coordinators] in four years. Coming from an HBCU, coming to a Power Five [program], having real pressure on me. A lot of people don't understand, that's a lot more adversity than you think just even being the son of Deion Sanders."

Most NFL draft pundits probably wouldn't agree with Sanders' assessment of his own draft stock, however.

Both Caleb Williams and Drake Maye were regularly considered the top two quarterback prospects in this year's draft, and while Sanders got legitimate first-round buzz, it's hard to imagine him jumping over a Heisman Trophy winner in Williams and a player like Maye who has the prototypical size and tools that NFL teams covet.

"I had no idea he could spin it like that," an AFC scouting director told ESPN's Matt Miller in January (h/t Josh Tolle of SI.com). "You saw him against small-school dudes before Colorado, but he came in dealing, and his poise in the pocket really impressed me. He would be in the QB3 conversation this year if he came out."

Four other NFL scouts agreed with that general assessment, per Tolle.

Sanders, 22, threw for 3,230 yards, 27 touchdowns and just three interceptions this past season, completing 69.3 percent of his passes. He added four touchdowns on the ground.

Colorado struggled mightily in the first season of Coach Prime's tenure, going 4-8 overall and just 1-8 in the school's final Pac-12 season, but the quarterback play from Sanders was absolutely a bright spot. He absolutely has a future in the NFL.

But Williams has earned loose comparisons to Patrick Mahomes. The B/R NFL Scouting Department has Maye as the top overall quarterback in this year's draft, calling him the "prototypical quarterback prospect. Size, speed, arm strength; he's got all the tools you look for in a franchise quarterback."

Sanders very well could be a top-five pick in next year's draft, and the top quarterback off the board. In that regard, waiting one more year before heading to the pros probably makes sense, because it's hard to imagine he would have leapfrogged Williams or Maye this year.

Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders has officially promoted Pat Shurmur.

Shurmur will take over as the program's offensive coordinator in 2024, Colorado announced Friday. He replaces Sean Lewis, who took the head coaching job at San Diego State in November.

Shurmur served as the team's co-offensive coordinator and offensive analyst last season.

Pat Shurmur has been named as our Offensive Coordinator.#GoBuffs pic.twitter.com/G5lAfjUgKn

— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) February 9, 2024

The move was expected as Sanders previously said in an interview with USA Today's Brent Schrotenboer in December that Shurmur would "most likely" take over as offensive coordinator of the Buffs.

Sanders gave Shurmur offensive play-calling duties for the final four games of the 2023 regular season, but the team's production wasn't nearly as good as it was under Lewis.

Through the first eight games with Lewis calling plays, Colorado averaged 32.1 points and 408.6 yards per game. With Shurmur calling plays, they averaged 20.3 points and 273.5 yards per game

However, the decline in production could have been due to the declining health of quarterback Shedeur Sanders and the offensive line.

Luckily for Shurmur, he'll still get to coach a talented offense highlighted by Sanders and wide receiver/corner back Travis Hunter next season. Sanders opted to return to Colorado for another season instead of entering the 2024 NFL draft.

The Buffaloes will be looking to improve upon a disappointing 4-8 finish to the 2023 season.

Prior to joining Colorado, Shurmur spent time as offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos from 2020 to 2021. He has also served as offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings, the then-St. Louis Rams and Philadelphia Eagles.

Shurmur also has NFL head coaching experience, having served as head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 2011 to 2012 and the New York Giants from 2018 to 2019.

Former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly is expected to be named the offensive coordinator for Ohio State, according to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic.

Kelly spent the past six seasons with the Bruins and is set to succeed Bill O'Brien as the offensive coordinator on Ryan Day's staff. He previously served as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles as well as the San Francisco 49ers. Kelly informed the Bruins on Friday that he planned to leave for a new job, per Matt Zenitz of 247Sports.

The two have history together, as the current Buckeyes head coach was a member of Kelly's staff in each of his two NFL head coaching stops. Day served as the quarterbacks coach for the Eagles in 2015 and the 49ers in 2016 before heading to Columbus the following year.

Kelly was also considered for the Seattle Seahawks' vacancy at offensive coordinator, interviewing with the team about potentially joining new head coach Mike Macdonald's staff on Tuesday, per Benjamin Solak of The Ringer. It appears that he'll now be heading to the Big Ten instead, though.

Despite Kelly's 7-17 record in his first two years with UCLA, the team gradually improved as he established himself as one of the most innovative offensive coaches in the sport once again. The Bruins owned one of the country's top scoring offenses in 2022 and went 8-5 in 2023 despite having multiple quarterbacks start throughout the season.

UCLA won bowl games in each of those years, including a dominant 35-22 victory over Boise State in the 2023 LA Bowl.

He'll be taking over a Buckeyes offense that previously averaged a commendable 30.5 points per game, although the team will be losing Biletnikoff Award winner Marvin Harrison Jr. to the 2024 NFL draft.

College football recruiting can be a difficult field to navigate, but Colorado head coach Deion Sanders believes other coaches have resorted to questionable tactics.

Sanders said during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show that he believes other coaches badmouth him to recruits, and he has seen the evidence himself.

"Most definitely," Sanders responded when asked if he knew who the coaches were. "My kids that we recruited, that signed with us, they have video conversations, tape of coaches badmouthing us and talking about us like a dog."

Sanders said he embraces the way other coaches choose to talk about him.

"I love it because they have so much confidence in me," he said. "They tell kids, 'Well he's not gonna be there, he's gonna leave.' Well if he leaves, that means he's advancing, he's going to another level, he's going to another school, which, I don't need that to be who I am. I don't inherit legacies, I build them."

Colorado's 2024 recruiting class ranks 117th in the nation in 247Sports' composite. The Buffaloes have signed just seven high school players. Per CBS Sports' Will Backus, it's "by far the smallest recruiting class among power conference programs."

However, out of those seven players, four are 4-star recruits or better. The Buffaloes' class is highlighted by 5-star offensive lineman Jordan Seaton, who is ranked as the No. 1 interior offensive lineman and No. 13 overall prospect in the nation. The team will also add 24 transfer players for the 2024 season, the second-highest among power conference schools behind Louisville's 26.

Colorado had a strong start to the 2023 season with three straight wins before finishing the year with a 4-8 record. Sanders is certainly hoping that this year's recruiting class will help the Buffaloes have a better showing next season.

Colorado is reportedly turning toward the NFL for its next defensive coordinator.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders met with Cincinnati Bengals secondary coach Robert Livingston Wednesday and is "expected" to name him the team's new defensive coordinator.

The DC spot is open because Charles Kelly left Colorado for Auburn.

Colorado will need to make strides on the defensive side if it is going to compete in the Big 12 in 2024.

Following a 3-0 start to the 2023 campaign, Sanders' team went 1-8 the rest of the way. It allowed more than 40 points in losses to Oregon, USC, Stanford and Washington State, underscoring how far away it was defensively from realistically competing with the best teams in the Pac-12.

A move to the Big 12 might not offer much respite, as Colorado still faces UCF, Arizona, Utah, Kansas, Oklahoma State and others in the upcoming campaign.

Enter Livingston, who will be tasked with leading a turnaround.

He was a veteran coach for the Bengals who was on the staff for nine seasons. Eight of those years were spent as the secondary coach, and six of them specifically focused on the safety position.

Most notably, his safety duo of Jessie Bates III and Vonn Bell were instrumental in helping lead the Bengals to the Super Bowl in the 2021 campaign.

Yet the Bengals didn't have either one in 2023, and the pass defense took a major step backward. Cincinnati finished 28th in the league in passing yards allowed per game, which, along with injuries across the roster, is one reason it missed the playoffs for the first time in three years.

Now Livingston will start a new challenge and look to help lead Colorado to more than five wins for the first time since the 2016 season.

After taking a step back in 2023 and losing star quarterback Caleb Williams to the NFL, head coach Lincoln Riley has a lot of work to do this offseason to get USC back into the national title picture.

The Achilles heel for the Trojans during Riley's tenure has been on defense. They've finished 94th and 121st in FBS in points allowed per game in the past two seasons. The 2023 team allowed 28 points in 11 of 13 games, including 10 straight to end the year.

Riley's first attempt to solve the problem was to hire D'Anton Lynn as the new defensive coordinator in December.

Improving the defensive talent on the roster is the next step in the process. But the Trojans also have to worry about replacing arguably the most-talented quarterback in college football.

While most recruiting for 2024 is done thanks to the early national signing period, there are still some things left to be sorted out that could benefit USC with the start of signing day on Wednesday.

USC's 2024 Recruiting Class (Enrolled/Signed Letter of Intent)

4-star offensive lineman Jason Zandamela (Clearwater, FL)

4-star EDGE Kameryn Fountain (Atlanta, GA)

4-star wide receiver Xavier Jordan (Chatsworth, CA)

4-star cornerback Marcelles Williams (Bellflower, CA)

4-star defensive lineman Carlon Jones (Bay City, TX)

4-star linebacker Elijah Newby (Cheshire, CT)

4-star tight end Walter Matthews (Hiram, GA)

4-star safety Marquis Gallegos (Chatsworth, GA)

3-star athlete Desman Stephens (Clarkston, MI)

3-star offensive lineman Makai Saina (Arlington, TX)

3-star offensive lineman Justin Tauanuu (Huntington Beach, CA)

3-star tight end Joey Olsen (Lake Oswego, OR)

3-star safety Jarvis Boatwright (Clearwater, FL)

3-star defensive lineman Jide Abasiri (Prior Lake, MN)

3-star offensive tackle Kalolo Ta'aga (San Francisco, CA)

3-star cornerback Braylon Conley (Humble, TX)

3-star running back Bryan Jackson (McKinney, TX)

3-star offensive tackle Hayden Treter (Englewood, CO)

3-star EDGE Lorenzo Cowan (Savannah, GA)

A complete list of USCs 2024 class can be found at 247Sports.

National Signing Day Predictions

It's notable there's not a quarterback among USC's incoming recruits, but the team did land an intriguing prospect in the transfer portal.

Jayden Maivia is transferring to USC after spending his freshman year at UNLV. He's rated a 4-star transfer prospect after throwing for 3,085 yards and 17 touchdowns in 14 games last season.

Maivia's arrival came after Malachi Nelson, a 5-star recruit in the 2023 class, transferred to Boise State. Miller Moss is also returning for his fourth season. He threw for a career-high 681 yards and seven touchdowns in five games during the 2023 campaign.

Per 247Sports, Trever Jackson is the only 2024 recruit among the top-50 quarterback prospects who hasn't committed. Florida State is viewed as the favorite to land him, and USC hasn't even offered him a scholarship.

Among potential late additions to Riley's recruiting class, all eyes are going to be on Terry Bussey. The 5-star athlete gave a verbal commitment to Texas A&M in September, but he has not yet signed a letter of intent.

Bussey said at the Under Armour All-America Game in December that USC and Georgia made a move in his recruitment. The Trojans still feel like a long shot, with Sam Spiegelman of On3.com reporting on Jan. 31 that Texas A&M and LSU are the favorites.

Barring some late surprises, USC is looking at a solid-not-great incoming class. Its ranked No. 17 by 247Sports' composite rankings with 20 total commitments, including 13 4-star players.

Among Big Ten programs, the Trojans are behind Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and Michigan.

Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders and receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter are two of the most talented players expected to be in the 2025 NFL draft class, and they received a lofty projection on Tuesday.

ESPN's Field Yates said he believes Shedeur and Hunter can be the first and second picks in next year's draft, with the top 10 being the floor for both of them:

“Top 10 pick feels like the absolute floor for those guys, and the ceiling would be legitimately 1-2”

- @FieldYates on Shedeur and Travis Hunter’s 2025 draft projections pic.twitter.com/UBrT1Gs4L6

— DNVR Buffs (@DNVR_Buffs) February 6, 2024

The Buffaloes started the 2023 season 3-0 but finished with a 4-8 record. Still, Sanders and Hunter showcased skills that had scouts salivating at the thought of what they'd be able to do at the professional level.

Sanders started 11 games and threw for 3,230 yards, 27 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Hunter appeared in nine games and played on both sides of the ball, recording 57 catches for 721 yards and five touchdowns on offense and 30 total tackles, five passes defended and three interceptions on defense.

Unlike the 2024 draft where USC star and 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams is widely expected to be the No. 1 pick, the 2025 class doesn't have a prospect who has distinguished himself as the potential top selection.

A veteran scout recently told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Pete Thamel that the quarterback crop in the 2025 class "won't be anything close to this year." Along with Sanders, Georgia's Carson Beck and Texas' Quinn Ewers are the only other quarterbacks in the conversation for the No. 1 pick next year.

The 2024 season will present the opportunity for these players to separate themselves from the pack.