College Football

Alabama football landed one of the top recruits in the country on Wednesday.

Per On3's Hayes Fawcett, class of 2026 cornerback prospect Jorden Edmonds committed to the Crimson Tide over Georgia, Tennessee and Oklahoma.

Edmonds is a 5-star prospect and is considered to be the No. 27th-ranked player in the nation and the top cornerback prospect by 247Sports Composite.

"It's the most home and family feel with the best and truest relationships," Edmonds told Bama247's Brett Greenberg. "I feel like I can be the most successful on and off the field there. Also, it's just an overall feeling that I don't feel anywhere else but 'Bama."

According to Greenberg, Alabama was the frontrunner despite Edmonds delaying his planned commitment date of Feb. 19.

Edmonds plays high school football for Sprayberry in Marietta, Georgia, about two hours away from Georgia. Despite his proximity to Kirby Smart's Bulldogs, Edmonds decided to go with a Crimson Tide team that is trending upward despite a mediocre season in 2024.

Alabama went 9-4 in 2024 with losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma in the regular season before dropping its bowl game against Michigan. It was the first time the Crimson Tide had four or more losses since Nick Saban's first year in 2007.

Kalen DeBoer's first season at the helm yielded some growing pains, but a school with the prestige that Alabama has is bound to return to being a championship contender soon.

An outstanding recruiting year should help. The Crimson Tide boast the No. 3 recruiting class in the country for the Class of 2025, highlighted by 5-star quarterback Keelon Russell.

With Edmonds' commitment on Wednesday, Alabama already has four commits for the Class of 2026 and will only add more throughout the year.

Oklahoma State head football coach brought up an idea Tuesday to help re-ignite the Bedlam rivalry with Oklahoma.

According to David Ubben of The Athletic, Gundy suggested that Oklahoma State and Oklahoma should meet in a preseason scrimmage, which is a common practice among NFL teams:

"We get tired of practicing against each other. It's not going to be a live game because, well, I don't know what [Oklahoma head coach Brent] Venables would say, but I would be concerned with making it live just because of injury. But nobody really has live scrimmages anymore, so you make it a full thud, like we're doing, and practice against them, just like they do in the NFL. We're moving towards the NFL. Why not do that?'"

Gundy expanded on his idea, saying each school could host a scrimmage on consecutive weekends and charge $25 per ticket, which would be put toward the schools' NIL funds.

Alternatively, he said Oklahoma State and Oklahoma could rotate hosting the scrimmage on a yearly basis and split the proceeds rather than having two scrimmages per year.

The Bedlam rivalry between Oklahoma State and Oklahoma has been played 118 times since 1904 with the Sooners holding a commanding 91-20-7 lead.

However, the Cowboys won two of the past three meetings in 2021 and 2023.

Last season marked the first time since 1909 that Oklahoma State and Oklahoma did not play against each other, and it was due to Oklahoma's decision to leave the Big 12 Conference for the SEC.

Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg said "logistical issues" caused the end of Bedlam, and there aren't currently any firm plans to bring it back in college football.

An annual scrimmage between the teams wouldn't be a like-for-like replacement, but it would at least satiate fans to some degree and perhaps drum up more excitement than usual for the start of the season.

Gundy's proposal came just a week after Colorado head coach Deion Sanders publicly said that he would have the option to scrimmage against other teams.

Syracuse head coach Fran Brown expressed interest in scrimmaging against Colorado, but it is currently against NCAA rules for opposing teams to scrimmage against each other.

Even so, Colorado and Syracuse submitted paperwork to the NCAA in an effort to gain exemption from that particular bylaw, per Ubben.

If the NCAA grants the request, it could open up a world of possibilities for college football teams, including Oklahoma State and Oklahoma.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders is setting the record straight after a viral quote that was thought to be from him regarding his preference on the landing spot of his son, Shedeur, in the 2025 NFL draft.

A quote began floating around that Sanders said, "Let's hope it's New York" after being asked where he hopes Shedeur gets drafted. Coach Prime refuted the statement by commenting on an Instagram post, saying, "THIS IS A LIE! We’re thankful for whatever God chooses for them."

Shedeur Sanders is widely viewed as one of the top two quarterbacks in this year's draft class alongside Miami's Cam Ward. The New York Giants and New York Jets own the No. 3 and No. 7 picks, respectively, in the first round, so Coach Prime would've had a good chance of his wish coming true if the quote was real.

Earlier this offseason, Shedeur Sanders told reporters that he wouldn't mind his father's involvement in his pre-draft process:

Still, Coach Prime has yet to publicly advocate for his son to land with a particular team, so it seems that he and his family are prepared for any outcome when the draft commences on April 24.

B/R's NFL Scouting Department predicted that the Cleveland Browns would use the No. 2 pick to select Sanders in its latest mock draft.

"Sanders is a great fit with head coach Kevin Stefanski's system," B/R NFL scout Dame Parson said. "Sanders is a precise pocket passer with functional mobility. He is familiar with the pressure of the bright spotlights and the challenge of transforming a team's fortunes. The reigning Johnny Unitas Golden Arm winner will bring a point guard-style approach to quarterbacking, thus helping to stabilize Cleveland's passing offense in crucial moments."

Following the revelation that Stanford head coach Troy Taylor has been the subject of two investigations into allegations of hostile behavior, the school has decided to make a change.

Stanford football general manager Andrew Luck announced on Tuesday that Taylor has been fired.

"It has been clear that certain aspects of the program need change,” Luck said in a lengthy statement. “Additionally, in recent days, there has been significant attention to Stanford investigations in previous years related to Coach Taylor. After continued consideration it is evident to me that our program needs a reset. In consultation with university leadership, I no longer believe that Coach Taylor is the right coach to lead our football program."

Luck added that the search for a new head coach is already underway, though he noted that there's a possibility that an acting coach will be named.

Taylor had coached Stanford for the last two seasons after replacing David Shaw, the winningest coach in program history. The Cardinal went 3-9 in back-to-back years with Taylor at the helm. However, the 56-year-old's lack of success on the field wasn't the sole reason for his ousting on Tuesday.

ESPN's Xuan Thai reported on March 19 that Stanford commissioned an investigation in 2023 and another in 2024 after multiple employees filed complaints against Taylor, several of which alleged that he showed "aggressive and hostile behavior" toward colleagues, many of whom were women. Thai noted that the investigations determined that Taylor's behavior was "inconsistent with the standards” of Stanford, though he remained employed even after he received a warning letter after the first investigation.

Taylor responded to the ESPN report in a statement, saying: "I willingly complied with the investigations, accepted the recommendations that came out of them, and used them as a learning opportunity to grow in leadership and how I interact with others. I look forward to continuing to work collaboratively and collegially with my colleagues so that we can achieve success for our football program together."

Instead, Stanford will be seeking a new coach to lead the team back to prominence. The Cardinal haven't finished with a winning record since going 4-2 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

Bill Belichick didn't let a pro day getting in the way of his responsibilities as North Carolina's head football coach.

The Athletic's Joseph Person noted Belichick wasn't present for the Tar Heels' pro day for NFL teams on Monday because he was busy in pre-planned meetings with his coaching staff as the event was going on.

Josh Washburn, a scouting consultant for The 33rd Team and former North Carolina receiver, told Person he thinks Belichick also wanted to let the players who were on the team under former head coach Mack Brown stand on their own.

"I think Bill’s just letting Mack’s guys be Mack’s guys, then he wants his guys to be his guys," Wasburn said. "None of us really expected to see Bill or (general manager Mike) Lombardi."

Belichick signed a five-year deal with North Carolina in December to get back into coaching after sitting out the 2024 season. This marks his first stint as a coach at the college level.

Person noted that Washburn described the vibe as "different" since Belichick replaced Brown, with "longer and more intense" practices that are generally closed off to outside visitors.

Former Tar Heels cornerback Alijah Huzzie, who is a prospect in the 2025 NFL draft, told Evan Rogers of Inside Carolina that Belichick requires players to schedule an appointment if they want to speak with him rather than just being able to walk into his office:

"They can't walk up to his door and be like, 'all right, Coach, I've got something going on.' You've got to set an appointment time (with Belichick). If you're a player, I feel like you should have that right to go up to your head coach that's basically like a mentor to you, or damn near like a father figure in your life. You should be able to go up and access him and talk about anything, or just have access to him at all times. Coming from a player, I think just the security, the Belichick era, all that is just a little much coming to a college program like this that's had a total flip and a rebuild. But it also can go a good way. It can be a positive, so I'm just sitting back and seeing how it plays out."

According to Person, there weren't any NFL head coaches or general manager at Monday's pro day since the Tar Heels' lone potential first-round pick is running back Omarion Hampton.

By comparison, their 2024 pro day featuring Drake Maye had coaches and general managers from the New England Patriots, Washington Commanders and Denver Broncos in attendance.

Belichick is still getting acclimated to his new job at a level he's never coached at before, so his absence from the event doesn't mean anything. It wouldn't be a surprise if he attends next year when he's more familiar with how to run things.

North Carolina is hoping Belichick can lead a quick turnaround for the program. The Tar Heels went 44-33 under Brown dating back to 2019. They have just one season with at least 10 wins since 1998 (11-3 in 2015).

Belichick won at least 10 games in 19 of his 24 seasons with the Patriots from 2000 to '23.