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What does D'Eriq King's decision to redshirt mean for college football? How soon will athletes get endorsements? And what are October's must-see games? Adam Kramer takes on those questions and more in a quarterback-heavy second installment of the 2019 college football notebook.

               

Looking back at them now, nearly two months later, Dana Holgorsen's comments resonate differently than they did at the time.       

Holgorsen, the first-year head coach at Houston, fresh off an eight-year stint at West Virginia, thought he had the luxury of inheriting a starting quarterback, D'Eriq King, who was coming off a 50-touchdown year. The thing he didn't have—or so he thought—was more time.

"I really wish I had two years to work with him," Holgorsen told B/R about his senior quarterback for a story published back in late August.

That would have given Holgorsen more than a few months to develop his new QB and acclimate him to a new offense. There wasn't much more to the words, at the time.

But now—after losing three of the first four games, and after it was announced last week that King will redshirt the season, taking advantage of an NCAA rule that allows players to see action in four games and still defer their eligibility—the comments feel different.

Speculation over where King will land has run rampant, especially after his father indicated he planned to transfer. At least temporarily, King has squashed the idea that that's what he's planning.

"I came here to play football for the University of Houston, and that is not changing," King said in a statement. "After carefully thinking through this process with my family and Coach Holgorsen, I have decided the opportunity to redshirt this season gives me the best chance to develop as a player, earn my degree and set me up for the best success in the future. I'm looking forward to being part of the success of this program going forward."

The word "loophole" has been utilized while describing King's tactics. Originally, the spirit of this redshirt rule was meant to focus on underclassmen, affording them the option to see the field late in the season and still hold on to their redshirt.

But given the situation for the player, the coach and the program, this decision is shrewd. Loophole or not, there's no fine print disallowing it. (Although that could soon change.)

For King, a 5'11" player who hopes to crack the NFL as a quarterback, this extra year could be the difference. He's spent the better part of his collegiate career bouncing between wide receiver and quarterback while also battling injuries. The ability to redshirt offers him time that was lost. Reps. Crucial development hours and practices.

For Holgorsen, it's a chance to regroup with one of the most productive offensive players the program has ever developed.

For Houston, it's just plain good roster management. At a time when tanking is taking over the sporting world, this is the closest thing college football has seen. (It's worth noting that Houston pummeled North Texas 46-25 in its first game without King this past Saturday.)

Sitting King won't earn Houston a higher draft pick. It simply allows the program one more year of his services—assuming he sees his commitment through.

And for those who take issue with this, for whatever reason, here's a simple question: Who does it harm? Why should we care or feel negatively if all parties are happy with the arrangement?

Call it a loophole. Fine. But at a time when an athlete's options are limited, more teams and players will and should execute this strategic manipulation.

That is if the NCAA doesn't address this first, which wouldn't be the least bit surprising.

And if for whatever reason you're still hanging on to the impression that this clouds the outdated, evolving definition of a student-athlete, I have news for you: King's redshirt is merely the beginning. If this makes you angry, you're not going to like where the rest of the sport is headed.

(Oh, and nicely done getting that second year, Holgorsen.)

           

Players are about to get paid, one way or another

On the topic of change, behold the Fair Pay to Play Act that California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed. This means that collegiate athletes in the state of California will be allowed to sign endorsement deals without penalty from the NCAA. It will go into effect in January 2023.

There will be more movement before then. Florida, another talent-rich state, has gotten the ball rolling on a similar bill. Other states will soon follow. The NCAA, meanwhile, will have to react with its walls closing in.

The governing body recently assembled a task force to assess the possibility of allowing its athletes to seek sponsors, although California's decision changes the issue's tone and ups the stakes abruptly.

There will be more bills. And there will be extensive time in court fighting over them. But the reality is that the NCAA's future existence is suddenly at its doorstep.

This is not the end. This is the start of something groundbreaking, something that has been threatening the archaic standard for some time. And whether it becomes reality in 2023 or even earlier, it's clear that the players will soon have the ability to capitalize off their stardom.

There is no running from this, NCAA. Change is coming.

(It's about time.) 

        

Death to preseason polls

They move the needle. They stir up conversation. They build interest for the season ahead.

They also linger throughout the year, skew future polls and potential playoff decisions.

The fact that Clemson is the No. 2-ranked football team in the AP poll is maddening. The fact that the Tigers still received 18 first-place votes this week is even more so.

That is not to say Clemson isn't a really good football team and capable of winning everything again. It's simply acknowledging what should be obvious for this year's preseason No. 1 after five weeks of "meh" performances and a close call Saturday against North Carolina.

Other teams have looked much, much better. Alabama should be and now is ranked higher. But also: So should LSU. And Georgia. And Ohio State. And probably Oklahoma. And maybe Auburn.

I'd like to say it won't matter. But human beings are not immune to bias, and these polls will ultimately decide the College Football Playoff entrants. This, unfortunately, does matter.

The Tigers are not alone in this discussion. (Michigan and UCF, I see you.) But they do remind us how silly and counterproductive this exercise is.

There is no good reason a football poll of any kind should exist before October 1.

(Unless it's Bleacher Report's ranking. In that case, violently click on that link and share it with as many people as possible.)

         

Cancel your plans for these five games this month

October is a wonderful month. Halloween. Weather that is conducive to not sweating, at least in many places around the United States. And beefy conference games with massive implications.

It's an SEC-heavy month. That shouldn't be all that shocking given the current Top 10. In fact, the SEC could've made a case for more real estate below.

But in the interest of not having to write about the same program three times in one section, the top five games are as follows. Weeks 7 and 9 are absolute doozies.

1. Wisconsin at Ohio State, October 26 (Week 9): If Ohio State continues on its path of destruction, this highly anticipated game could end up wildly lopsided.

That's not a knock on Wisconsin, which has looked excellent for much of the year—the exception coming in a sloppy, offensively challenged performance against Northwestern. Rather, it's merely being respectful of Ohio State, which looks like the most balanced team in the sport.

What the Buckeyes look like come late October will be telling. Running back Jonathan Taylor will likely be asked to do the heavy lifting for the Badgers against a gifted defensive front (and we know Taylor will be eager to do so). And Wisconsin will have to slow QB Justin Fields, who's so far shown no signs he can be slowed.

In theory, this game should be close. (In theory.)

2. Auburn at LSU, October 26 (Week 9): The environment in Baton Rouge will be nothing short of organized insanity—especially if both teams are undefeated.

It's hard not to zoom in on the quarterbacks, largely because both have created shock waves in different ways. LSU's Joe Burrow is a man transformed. His throws and decisions (and yes, the playbook) are vastly improved. It's still hard to believe that this is LSU just toying with defenses after years of boa-constrictor football.

For Auburn, Bo Nix isn't quite there in terms of his development, but he's been electric as a true freshman. While he's already played at large, difficult venues, this will be the toughest setting he plays in all year.

One of the best offenses in the country goes up against one of the nation's best defenses. Yes, please.

3. Oklahoma at Texas, October 12 (Week 7): There will be fried food. Lots of it. This much we know about the Red River Rivalry.

We also know that the QBs in this game could score 10 or more touchdowns combined. That's not meant to be a hot take. Jalen Hurts and Sam Ehlinger will put on a show.

The argument could be made that no quarterback has been better this year than Hurts, who has taken to his new football home extraordinarily well, emerging as a top Heisman Trophy contender. He finally threw his first interception against Texas Tech on Saturday, but his performance through his first four games has been nearly perfect.

Ehlinger, meanwhile, has been exceptional, confirming he's ready to carry the load for a Texas team that's fully emerging from its long stretch of (relative) mediocrity. The Longhorns' loss to LSU cooled the hype some, but the offense should do its part. Whether it can keep up with Oklahoma, however, is a different story.

4. Florida vs. Auburn, October 5 (Week 6), and Florida at LSU, October 12 (Week 7): Yes, this is probably cheating. But rather than showcase back-to-back Florida games individually, we're doubling up the No. 4 spot with a brutal stretch for the Gators.

Since the loss of Feleipe Franks to a dislocated ankle on September 14—and really since that sloppy Week 0 performance against Miami—the Gators have largely been overlooked. But that can change come October with matchups against Auburn and at LSU. (Florida also plays Georgia a few weeks later on November 2, which is not the nicest of gifts from the scheduling gods.)

SEC cannibalization is coming, and it will begin immediately. While Florida feels a step below Auburn and probably two steps below LSU, it is very capable team if the offense is going.

Let the conference carnage begin.

5. Penn State at Iowa, October 12 (Week 7): This matchup has produced zingers over the years, including a 6-4 Iowa win in 2004. Who doesn't love 6-4 wins?

But while offense has historically been a challenge in the series, that doesn't seem likely to be the case here.

Both teams, undefeated, seem to be trending upward as October approaches. Iowa just produced more yards in a game (644), against Middle Tennessee State, than any game in the Kirk Ferentz era, which began in 1999. Penn State, meanwhile, just blew the doors off Maryland 59-0.

Iowa will travel to Michigan beforehand, which will undoubtedly be a test and an important game in its own right. But for a series that has manufactured weirdness over the years, this feels like a natural next chapter with significant implications.

        

Final takeaways: Football, food, lawn care and other randomness

1. It's been two weeks, and I still haven't gotten over the fact that Anthony Gordon threw nine touchdowns in a single game…and lost. That Washington State-UCLA game will be burned into my brain until the end of time.

2. Let's talk about Madison, Wisconsin. I made the drive from Illinois to this lovely football town for Wisconsin's shellacking of Michigan—hanging out with the Stick to Football crew from B/R through the weekend. What a city. What a game-day venue. I've been to Madison plenty of times before, and each time I fall more in love with that campus and everything it has to offer. Yeah, the weather sucks for a good chunk of the year. That's about the only negative thing you can offer. If you've never been to a game there, do it. The food, the people and the atmosphere are superb.

3. New (well, the show really isn't new) television show recommendation: Mindhunter. I'm late to this party but just glad to be here. For a dark and, at times, disturbing show about serial killers, it's extremely bingeable. Worth your time if you haven't seen it.

4. NFL tidbit: Why even review pass interference if you're not going to overturn blatant defensive pass interference that was missed on the field? In the college football world, we complain about the gray areas surrounding targeting calls. This is that on steroids.

5. NFL tidbit, part two: I've never seen anything like Patrick Mahomes in the NFL. The throws, the stats, the absurdity. All of it. While he was in college, we knew he was special at certain things. He once threw 88 passes in a game against Oklahoma, and I will never forget watching that game in the airport and cackling the entire time. But what he's doing now is truly unbelievable. I don't watch nearly as much NFL as college, but I will make a point to watch Mahomes whenever possible.

6. Monthly lawn tip: I am a lawn freak. When I'm not watching football or doing dad things with three children, I am doing whatever I can to make my lawn look as obnoxious as possible. I have found an elixir to make that even easier for those who share my lifestyle: Milorganite. Read up on it, purchase it and spread it across your lawn before winter kicks in. It's a game-changer for those of you looking to embarrass your neighbors in every way.

7. I've tried to think of an ascension that parallels what we've seen from Burrow this year. Not just a quarterback who improved drastically over his collegiate tenure, but one who blossomed into a legitimate Heisman candidate and potential first-round draft pick overnight. No one really comes to mind. Burrow has just been unbelievable, and the influence of Joe Brady, LSU's new passing-game coordinator, has been larger than any coaching addition this offseason. Just fascinating growth.

8. How about SMU? Once a laughing stock and one of the worst teams in college football, the ponies are unbeaten as the calendar flips. We'll see if the success holds against teams like Memphis and Temple, but SMU's been a sneaky-good early storyline.

9. Playing defensive back against Alabama looks miserable. Pick your poison: Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs III or DeVonta Smith. Oh, and Tua Tagovailoa serving it up to them. Just no fun at all.

10. Untitled Goose Game: Let's talk about it. In this video game, which is very real, you are a goose essentially causing goose-like havoc around town—chasing people, stealing mail and doing other goose-related tasks. It sounds ridiculous, yes? It is. It's also an amazing thing you need to experience if you haven't already.

                     

Adam Kramer covers college football for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @KegsnEggs.

Green Waves don’t play for overtime.

Tulane stunned the Houston Cougars in a 38-31 victory in Thursday’s American Athletic Conference showdown with an incredible touchdown on its final offensive play. With the game tied and 12 seconds remaining at the snap, Justin McMillan rifled a pass through multiple defenders before Jalen McCleskey did the rest.

WHAT A FINISH! #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/SEtz8djsTG

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 20, 2019

McCleskey caught the ball and stayed on his feet despite a stumble and broke free from the three defenders in the area for a 53-yard touchdown.

Tulane was only in position to win with the dramatics because of a fake kneel down that resulted in an 18-yard run from Amare Jones on the previous play. 

It was only fitting that such a back-and-forth game ended in memorable fashion. Tulane marched 93 yards in 10 plays to tie the game late in the third quarter and then benefitted from a missed Houston field goal on the ensuing possession. The two sides then traded field goals before the Green Wave’s head-turning final touchdown.

McMillan was just 7-of-20 passing for 186 yards, but he ran for 91 yards and a score. He also threw for three touchdowns and zero interceptions, while his counterpart, D’Eriq King, had two touchdown throws and one pick to go with his 229 yards through the air.

King added 116 rushing yards and a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough to counter Tulane’s offense.

The Green Wave will look to keep the momentum rolling with a game against Army on Oct. 5, while Houston turns its attention toward a contest against North Texas on Sept. 28.

Cincinnati Bearcats sophomore safety Kyriq McDonald collapsed on the field during Saturday's game against the Ohio State Buckeyes, according to Tom VanHaaren of ESPN, and was taken to the Ohio State University hospital for "precautionary measures."

The entire Cincinnati team and a few Ohio State players gathered around Kyriq McDonald as he was placed on a cart and taken off the field. pic.twitter.com/ZHmXceqRCM

— Colin Hass-Hill (@chasshill) September 7, 2019

Per that report, McDonald fell to the ground without contact and began convulsing before being attended to by the medical staffs on both teams. He was reacting to an Ohio State player about to attempt to block him on a run play when he fell over. 

McDonald's mother told ESPN sideline reporter Allison Williams that he has a history with seizures, though it is unclear if he suffered one on Saturday.

Been noted by several folks that McDonald had a seizure during CFP championship game two seasons ago. He's an Alabama transfer.

— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) September 7, 2019

Scary situation in Atlanta: Alabama DB Kyriq McDonald has collapsed on the sideline. A stretcher is out. pic.twitter.com/YDy0bfs6pu

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 9, 2018

He was sitting up and appeared to be communicating with teammates as he was taken off the field. He was also reportedly alert in the locker room.

Kyriq McDonald “alert and responding” in the locker room after being carted off. Out for the rest of the game. @NewsRecord_UC

— Matt Huffmon (@matt_huffmon) September 7, 2019

McDonald was recruited by Alabama in 2017 and redshirted his first year before playing in 11 games for the Crimson Tide last season, posting seven tackles. He transferred in April and was given an immediate-eligibility waiver by the NCAA, allowing him to play with the Bearcats immediately. 

HOUSTON — The silver No. 4 pendant dangling from D'Eriq King's necklace tells a story.    

For starters, he never wanted that jersey number when he arrived at Houston as a true freshman three years ago. He wanted No. 2. But when the team's starting running back at the time, Duke Catalon, wanted to don No. 2 at the last minute, King was forced to give it up. The team gave him No. 4 instead.

Looking back now, inside Houston's football complex one week before fall camp will begin, King can smile about it. And everything else. His jersey number. Injuries. Position changes. Coaches who refused to offer him a scholarship to play quarterback because of his size. Even his own high school coaches who echoed their concerns.

"My dad always told me that when you are 6'3" or 6'4", you've got to prove that you can't play quarterback," King says. "At 5'10" or 5'11", you have to prove you can play quarterback."

Whether King is actually 5'11", the height listed on his official bio, feels almost insignificant in the moment. Not just because Baker Mayfield (6'1" but listed by Oklahoma at 6'2" when he was there) and Kyler Murray (5'10") won Heismans before being drafted No. 1 overall. Or because of the success quarterbacks like Drew Brees (6'0") or Russell Wilson (5'11") have had in the NFL. But also because of all those touchdowns that have already proved everyone who doubted him wrong.

King scored 50 touchdowns in 2018—36 passing and 14 rushing—many of them the result of his electric improvisation, moments made for the highlight reels.

Only two quarterbacks in the country, Murray and Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins, scored more. And they both needed a full 14-game season to score 54 times. King posted his number in only 10-and-a-half games.

Had he not torn his meniscus in his right knee in mid-November, a run at Colt Brennan's FBS record of 63 touchdowns was very possible. Even as is, it ranks 22nd all-time.

"I'm not trying to be cocky, but I think I would have got pretty close to the record," King says. "In the back of my mind, I always knew what I was capable of. Proving it to everyone else feels good."

Caught between what almost never was and what might have been, King is the subject of endless questions. What if he played at Oklahoma or Ohio State rather than Houston? What if he was just three inches taller? And what if his right foot hadn't gotten awkwardly caught in the turf?

The hypotheticals no longer concern him. Not after a lifetime of doubt. Perhaps there is a more appropriate question as he enters his final collegiate season, hoping to provide an encore.

What if the best is still to come?

---

He was 125 pounds when he arrived at Manvel High School, a Texas powerhouse 23 miles from where he plays today. The coaches didn't think much of him at the time of his arrival, burying him at eighth-string on the depth chart before his sophomore year.

As a freshman, King played at Westbury Christian High School, coached by his father, Eric, who decided that Manvel would be a better place for his son's gifts to thrive. D'Eriq protested the idea, but he and his older brother, KeShon, changed schools regardless.

He was offered few opportunities to showcase much of anything in practices at first. But then, as the season approached, King got a look.

The call was 13 Zone, a zone-read play to the left side of the field. King tucked the ball and did what he does: Scored. Easily. And like that, the coaching staff was interested.

Over the days that followed, he was given more chances and climbed the depth chart. Fifth string. Third string. By the first game, he rotated series with another quarterback. In a matter of weeks, he was cemented as the starter.

King eclipsed 10,000 yards passing and 3,000 rushing in his four high school seasons. He threw for 140 touchdowns and only 21 interceptions. He also scored 48 touchdowns on the ground. His senior year, he broke the career Texas 6A passing touchdown record, which was previously set by Murray, widely considered to be one of the greatest high school football players ever.

Despite King's production, only seven schools wanted him as a quarterback. Dozens more wanted him to play wide receiver or cornerback—positions he had never tried.

"The whole country wanted him as an athlete," Eric King says on his son's recruitment. "But many of them didn't see him as a QB because of his size. I had one defensive coordinator call me and tell me they wanted him on defense. I told that coach that he wasn't a f--king cornerback. He's a quarterback."

King initially committed to TCU but then flipped to Houston after Ed Oliver, the former 5-star recruit from the area, pledged his commitment to the Cougars.

He loved the idea of playing for his city. He also felt this was his best opportunity to stay at quarterback.

"Most coaches I talked to told me about my height," D'Eriq says. "Even coaches on my high school team were telling me I won't be able to do it because of my size. I'd kind of just brush it off, and it'd add fuel to the fire."

---

His dream of staying at quarterback lasted six months.

Injuries hit the receiving corps hard during his first fall camp, and senior Greg Ward Jr. was returning as the starter at quarterback after leading the team to a 13-1 record the previous year. So Tom Herman, Houston's former head coach and currently the coach at Texas, asked D'Eriq and his father if D'Eriq could switch to wide receiver. Although the move was billed as temporary, it forced Eric and his son to mull their options.

"I had a contact with Oregon at the time, and I told him we could go wherever he wanted to go," Eric King says. "He could redshirt or transfer. But he wanted to stay. He wanted to play for his city."

Having never played wide receiver, King practiced for less than a month before his debut. It came against Oklahoma in his first game as a true freshman. The advice he got from Herman when the coach, to his surprise, inserted him into the game was clear. Just don't fumble.

Houston beat the Sooners, and King played a role in the upset. He finished with three catches for 28 yards, assuming his new position with ease. Three weeks later, King caught a touchdown, threw a touchdown on a trick play and returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown against Texas State.

"I took it pretty serious," King says. "I just wanted to be good at it in case I had to switch positions."

He finished his freshman campaign with a respectable 29 catches for 228 yards. But after the season, he moved back to quarterback as promised. And then just as he was gaining momentum leading into the year, he tore his right meniscus for the first time. After he recovered following surgery, King moved back to wideout with the quarterback situation temporarily solved. He caught at least four balls in each of his five games there, reacclimating himself to the role once again.

Then the breakthrough came. Houston was off to a mediocre 4-3 start, and quarterbacks Kyle Allen and Kyle Postma had combined for nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The team that had averaged 40.4 points per game in 2015 and 35.8 in 2016 was down to 27.3. So King, who had taken no reps in the days and weeks leading up to Houston's game against 17th-ranked South Florida, was abruptly inserted as quarterback.

He didn't have a huge passing workload—completing 12 of 20 passes for 137 yards—but there were glimpses of what he could do, like the long, game-tying touchdown pass early in the third quarter. Then there was the final drive. Down three with a little over a minute remaining, King converted on a 4th-and-24—an unlikely throw through traffic that somehow found Courtney Lark—and then, with 11 seconds remaining, scored on a 20-yard scramble. Houston came from behind to win 28-24, giving South Florida its first loss of the year.

"Every position he's ever played he earned," Eric King says. "Nobody has given him anything. He's had to go take it. I'm not surprised by any of it. But I'm proud at how he's gone out there and earned it."

---

Braylon Jones can vividly recall the greatest football play he's ever seen, largely because his mistake allowed it to transpire.

Facing South Florida again, a year after seizing the starting quarterback job, King found himself once again creating in the backfield last fall. After Jones missed a block on a defensive end charging up the field, King took off.

He slipped through the defender's arm, pushing forward. He broke a tackle. Then another. Then, as the secondary seemed to close in, he weaved into open space. With one man left to beat, he uncorked a violent spin move into the open field. He then galloped the remaining 20 yards into the end zone.

"It felt like I was watching it in slow motion," Jones says. "It was unbelievable. You only see stuff like that in video games."

No one was stopping Houston's QB from getting to the endzone 😮 pic.twitter.com/dwzTvwUfKA

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) October 27, 2018

King finished the game with 419 passing yards, 132 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, and Houston upset No. 21 USF 57-36.

While his performance surprised many, it didn't shock Houston safety Deontay Anderson.

"I've seen that kind of play he made against South Florida so many times," says Anderson, who played with King in high school and transferred from Ole Miss to Houston at least in part to reunite with him. "I mean, that's nothing. I've seen him do some incredible things over the years."

For the season, King ended up accounting for 2,982 passing yards and 674 rushing yards, along with the 50 touchdowns. He eclipsed 100 rushing yards and 400 passing yards three times apiece. He scored at least five touchdowns in five of the 10 full games he started. And all that came with only six interceptions on 345 passing attempts, which again doesn't surprise Anderson. For years, he's tried to lure King into throwing interceptions. And for years, he's mostly failed. "It can be frustrating playing safety against this guy," Anderson says. "He doesn't throw any picks."

"If he stays healthy," Anderson adds, "I think he could win the Heisman."

King might have been on his way to consideration for the award last season if it hadn't been for the torn meniscus, which he suffered on a non-contact injury against Tulane. It was an unassuming play, during which his foot seemed to latch onto the turf and turn his knee.

He recognized the pain immediately, and having torn the same meniscus the season prior, he knew what it meant. There would be no awards or records. His year was over.

---

Even before he took the job of head coach at Houston in January, Dana Holgorsen couldn't help but notice what the school's undersized quarterback was up to. The staggering numbers and highlights were too much to ignore for a coach who had spent much of his professional life in Texas.

"He's got the abilities," Holgorsen says. "He's incredibly electric. He's done it all, and he can do it all."

After spending eight years at West Virginia, Holgorsen returned to the state of Texas in search of a professional reset. Knowing how important King would be to that and aware they'd only have one year together—"I really wish I had two," Holgorsen says—he met him before anyone else, providing King with a flurry of highlights of Murray's last season at Oklahoma.

The two have comparable body types. And Holgorsen hopes King can emulate the way Murray was able to be active and still avoid contact.

"One of the first things he said to me was that sometimes he feels like he's got to run somebody over to get his teammates fired up," Holgorsen says. "I told him he needs to get rid of that right now. I don't want to take that part of his game away from him. I just want to limit the amount of hits that he takes." 

Playing for then-offensive coordinator Kendal Briles last season, King was taught to move fast and allowed the opportunity to create on the fly. This year's offense will be different. The tempo will be slower. The play-calling will be tweaked.

The Cougars will still need King to be himself, but the hope is it will look slightly different and provide him with the best opportunity to showcase his talent for a full season.

"I've tried to get him to understand that I don't want him to have 50 touchdowns this year," Holgorsen says. "We need him to score and do what he has to do to win the game. But if we've already won, then I'm not interested in him getting a couple of rushing touchdowns."

---

His knee his healthy now, and it has been for some time.

For the first time since he arrived at Houston, King has been allowed to prepare and focus on only one position without distraction.

His senior season will begin in Norman against Oklahoma on Sunday. Given how his college career began, it seems like a fitting place for the beginning of the end. Only this time, he won't be playing wide receiver and just trying not to fumble. He will be asked to engineer what would be a sizable upset against a team planning to vie for the College Football Playoff.

He will go head-to-head with Jalen Hurts, a fellow Texas high school QB trying to redefine himself as a senior. In 2015, King led Manvel to a 71-21 victory over Hurts and Channelview High School, ending Hurts' high school career. The two have stayed in contact ever since.

The idea of eclipsing his 50-touchdown season has yet to cross his mind. "I had a pretty good year last year," he says. "But if I could replace all those touchdowns with wins, I would."

Houston was 8-3 in games King started last season. It finished with two straight losses without him and comes into the 2019 season unranked.

If he can pull off that upset over Oklahoma and keep the Cougars rolling from there, he could be on his way to more Heisman buzz, whether he's setting touchdown records or not.

Along the way, he will watch and root for Murray as he attempts his own conquest of the NFL. B/R draft expert Matt Miller has reservations about King's potential at the next level because of his size but adds, "Kyler taught us to never say never." If Murray has a strong rookie season for the Arizona Cardinals, it could help pave the way for a quarterback of a similar size.

But King doesn't expect Murray's performance to sway his future one way or another as he looks to play quarterback this year and beyond.

That part will have to be earned, which is exactly how he wants it.

          

Adam Kramer covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @KegsnEggs.

The Navy Midshipmen changed their team motto for the 2019 season from "Load the Clip" to "Win the Day" after concerns were raised about insensitivity toward victims of gun violence.

Chase Cook of the Capital Gazette provided a statement from Naval Academy superintendent vice admiral Sean S. Buck about Friday's decision.

"It is always my priority, part of my mission statement, for the Navy to be a good neighbor," he said. "The bottom line is, we missed the mark here. The initial internal football team motto selected, 'Load the Clip,' was inappropriate and insensitive to the community we call home, and for that, I take responsibility for, and apologize to not only the Capital Gazette, but the entire Annapolis community."

Maryland, the home of Navy football, was the location of two mass shootings last year. Five members of the Capital Gazette staff were killed by a gunman in the newspaper's Annapolis newsroom in June 2018, and three people were killed at an Aberdeen Rite-Aid store last September, per Cook.

Midshipmen head coach Ken Niumatalolo previously told the Capital Gazette he was "leery" about the proposed slogan.

"Clearly it's a metaphor that speaks to the fact we're going to battle every weekend and when you go to battle you need to have enough ammunition," he said. "It means you have to be prepared for the fight and that is a process that happens every day."

Naval Academy athletic director Chet Gladchuk said the coaching staff and players decided to change the slogan after they realized it "created sensitivities that were not aligned with the original intent," per Cook.

The Midshipmen open the regular season Aug. 31 against Holy Cross.

ORLANDO, Fla. — It flashes across our television screens and social media feeds as an invitation into a gruesome, voyeuristic world where careers and lives are in limbo. We can't help but watch. And rewatch. Until eventually, the spectacle fades. And the fallout—the pain and heartache and collateral consequences—isn't nearly as alluring.

Then comes McKenzie Milton, and this time, with this career-threatening injury and its aftermath, you just can't turn away.

Milton was on his way to a Heisman Trophy invitation and a second straight undefeated season with UCF last November heading into a rivalry game with USF. Then came the injury that put everything in doubt. Except to him.

"Football will end for me someday, whether it was November 23 or 10 years from now," Milton says. "But that will never change who I am."

Your life is defined, Teresa Milton used to tell her son when he was young, by how you care for others.

Even the very player who may have ended your football career.

Want to stare at something and not look away? Here's your invitation to a beautifully ironic story, where healing a soul is just as important as healing a career. Where the lives of two football players crossed at the worst possible time, then intersected again when both needed it more than anything.

"[Milton] didn't have to do what he did," Mazzi Wilkins says. "It meant the world to me."

Wilkins is the USF defensive back who dove at Milton's lower body to make a routine tackle in the second quarter of the game that day, hitting Milton's right knee and beginning a fateful turn of events.

Wilkins immediately popped up after the play, putting his hands on both sides of his helmet in disbelief and walking to the USF sideline. Milton could only lie on the ground with his right leg in a gruesome contortion.

"Just a football play," Milton says. But not everyone saw it that way. When Wilkins turned on his phone after that game, a flood of social media hell awaited him. Death threats. Racial slurs. Vicious verbal assaults. Threats against his family and friends. The phone froze from the whizzing scroll of message after message after message.

"It's really stuff I don't want to repeat; I've blocked it from my mind," says Wilkins, who recently signed a free-agent contract with his hometown team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. "If it was just about me, I could take it. When they bring in my family, it's different. I already had a thick skin from growing up. I'm not a soft individual."

Wilkins stops here because, frankly, he knows what you're thinking.

Just ignore it. Put down the phone.

But this is how the world communicates, how friendships are built and how life moves day after day.

And fittingly, how Milton reached out and found him.

---

This is so much more than an injury. More than UCF and its two-year public tantrum to be heard by the elite College Football Playoff club. More than Milton's two seasons of playing as well as anyone in the country.

This is about one of life's great treasures, picked up by Milton growing up in the paradise of Hawaii.

The world doesn't stop where the sea ends and rolls onto your beach. It stretches far and wide, to the horizon and beyond.

But when you're alone in a hospital bed and medical professionals are coming into your room every two hours to check the pulse in your leg—the same pulse they couldn't find on the field, when the popliteal artery tore and the clock began to tick on Milton's right leg—that big world is your phone.

And that's where Milton began to see the ugliness unfold. His knee injury, he says, "didn't really hurt as much as you'd think." It was a fraction of the pain he was witnessing play out on social media.

So there he was in Tampa General Hospital, days after surgery that took the saphenous vein from his left leg and used it as an artery in his right leg to avoid amputation, thinking about someone else.

In a simple message to Wilkins on Instagram, Milton wrote:

Hey Mazzi

I have no ill will toward you. Don't listen to that noise, it's just stupid. Between you and I, as long as we're good, it doesn't matter what other people say.

KZ

---

Four months after the injury, Milton had been asked to be part of a speaking group at The Better Man Event—"an annual three-hour power-packed men's event designed to equip, encourage and engage men to become 'better'"—at UCF's CFE Arena.

Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield was also set to speak.

What the event organizers didn't tell Milton: They had invited Wilkins too.

That night, Milton texted Wilkins to see how he was doing. Wilkins said he was at the event in a backstage room. They were sitting in back-to-back rooms at the UCF arena.

"I was by myself for a long time, waiting to go out there," Milton says. "We figured out where each other was, and I walked out of the room, and he's right next door."

It was the first time they'd seen each other face to face.

"When you're a player, the helmet is on and you don't know the personality," Wilkins says. "When the helmet comes off, you see the guy. When we were in that room, it just felt like we were friends for a long time. We talked about family and fishing and nothing about football."

That night was the first time since the injury that Milton walked—ever so briefly—without crutches. Those precious seconds where he felt whole again were a respite from the physical and mental toll he has endured since the injury, including:

• Surgery to replace his artery. He has a thick, 12-inch scar on his left inner thigh as a daily reminder.

• Surgery to open his right leg to release pressure and fluid buildup and prevent damage to the new artery. "Basically," Milton says, "so it wouldn't blow up."

• Surgery to implant a metal fixator that stretched from his thigh to his shin to keep the leg stabilized, prevent damage to his new artery and allow his damaged nerve to begin to heal without sudden movement. "You know the halos you see around people with head injuries?" Milton says. "That's what I had around my leg. It couldn't move."

• Surgery, three weeks later, to remove the fixator.

• Surgery to repair the lateral collateral ligament and the posterior cruciate ligament. There was no torn anterior cruciate ligament, the most common tear with dislocated knee injuries and the most important ligament in the knee. No medial collateral ligament tear or torn meniscus (also typical). "Usually, you tear everything," Milton says. "The doctors can't explain it. If I didn't have nerve damage, I'd probably be playing this year."

But here he is now with that nerve damage in his right leg, the injury that leaves his limb feeling heavy and numb. Sort of, he says, like when a typically healthy person sits awkwardly on their leg and it falls asleep and gets numb and tingly.

The long road back to playing—something many close to him don't want to see—begins with a frustrating waiting game. There is nothing doctors can do to facilitate the nerve's healing.

Time is the only answer.

"Sometimes," Milton says, "I look down at my leg and say, 'Hurry up!'"

---

He has been told it typically takes a year for the nerve to fully heal, and only then can he begin rehabilitation.

It's not hard to add the months and figure a timeline, something Milton refuses to speculate about because, he says, his rehab "is in God's hands."

"I've beat every benchmark the doctors have set for me," Milton says.

Best-case scenario, he says, is a healthy, strong nerve by January 2020 and rehab that doesn't take longer than nine months. If it does, there's no sense in playing in 2020.

A rising senior, Milton will use his redshirt for the 2019 season, and if the rehab rolls into the 2020 season, he'll have to apply for a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA to play in 2021, a season during which he'd turn 24 years old.

He's adamant about playing again, which doesn't sit well with everyone.

"I purposely told him no interviews because I didn't want him to be put into a situation where he has to make a decision about playing again," Teresa says. "I'm very protective of him. He was weak emotionally, mentally, everything. But every day, God puts people in his path that help him move forward."

In the six months since the injury, he has received thousands of cards and letters, hundreds and hundreds of text messages and never-ending goodwill wishes on social media. So many that Milton hasn't had the chance to see them all.

Peyton Manning called to wish him well, as did Joe Theismann and countless other football dignitaries. Former NFL tight end Zach Miller, whose career ended because of a similar injury, called to give support.

But none of that, Teresa swears, had a greater impact on McKenzie than a chance meeting with a boy at Tampa General Hospital. Eleven days earlier, the boy lost his leg to an injury.

"I knew when he saw that kid get his prosthetic leg—I saw my son's face—I knew right then he planned to play again," Teresa says. "My heart sunk."

Her voice trails off, and the enormity of what she just said—of hearing herself say it aloud—has made it reality all over again. She is sobbing now, because the last thing any mother wants to see is her child put themselves in harm's way.

"I asked him, 'Why are you saying that?'" Teresa says. "He told me, 'Mom, if I don't believe it, no one else will.' I went into my room and just bawled, screamed into my pillow. Whatever it takes to motivate him, for him to not lose his mind, to not be bound by depression, I understand it. Most athletes can't survive when their passion is taken away from them."

She stops midsentence again, because it's more than just a football game. This is her youngest child. The one who wasn't planned and she had when she was 40. The one who used to get scared at night and crawl into bed with her and her husband. The one who worked so hard as a young boy to just keep up with (and live up to) his three older brothers.

She moved to Orlando three years ago when McKenzie chose UCF over Hawaii. She was there during the first season when she says fringe UCF fans were just as brutal on him as they were on Wilkins—before they grew to love her son and treat him as family.

Who knows what could've happened had she not been there from that very moment her son's 5'11", 185-pound body crumpled to the turf?

"He's not a big guy, but he plays like he's 7 feet tall because that's his mindset," Teresa says. "I don't want to see his body broken. When they took the bandage off his leg, it was something I'd never seen before. I could see the doctor tearing up. To see your son in that situation…I just can't."

This strong woman who grew up in a broken household, who promised herself she would take care of others and that her children would do the same, knows she must come to grips with it. She and her husband, Mark, built a football league in Hawaii for youths whose parent or parents had been incarcerated.

It grew to become the largest, most successful youth league in the area and for 17 years a critical factor in youth development in Kapolei, Hawaii.

"I get it, surfers in Hawaii ride until the last wave," Teresa finally says, almost willing herself to find peace with it. "That's what McKenzie is doing."

---

Late last season, in the middle of UCF's nation-best 25-game winning streak and days before a critical, nationally televised game against Cincinnati, Milton was asked where he thought his career was headed. He said he wanted to play in the NFL. Or if not, he wanted to coach football. Just like his dad and mom did in Kapolei, or maybe even on the collegiate level.

"I want to be involved, in some way, reaching young guys and helping them with football and life," he said at the time.

Fast-forward to this spring, and there was Milton, gingerly moving around the UCF spring practice on crutches and helping coach the Knights quarterbacks.

"He is a strong guy, a fierce competitor. I wouldn't doubt any goal he has for himself on or off the field," UCF coach Josh Heupel says. "When his playing days are over, he's going to make a heckuva coach. He knows the game, he thinks like a coach, and the guys love playing for him. Don't ever doubt him."

Milton says he has reached every benchmark doctors have given him earlier than expected, so why would his return to the game be any different? He points to his path to UCF and figures this injury is all part of the plan that has played out over the last three years.

He wanted to play for Oregon, but the Ducks didn't offer him a scholarship. When then-Oregon assistant Scott Frost accepted the head-coaching job at UCF in December 2015, he asked Milton to play for him.

He took a flier on leaving the islands for Florida because he wanted to help change a program. His mom and dad both decided Teresa would go with McKenzie to Orlando to help the transition. They have lived together since.

Milton met his longtime girlfriend, Alennix Merejo, at UCF, where she was studying to be an athletic trainer. She currently works at Jacksonville State, and her knowledge was invaluable to the Milton family during the initial stages of the injury.

She just happened to be at the game—she was on Thanksgiving break from her job at JSU—and eventually stayed seven straight nights in a chair next to Milton's hospital bed.

"It was a blessing to be where he was at that specific time," Merejo says. "If that would've happened at ECU, or some school not within 20 minutes of a Level 1 trauma center, he would've lost his leg. "

Milton is told that, and there is no hesitation in his response. Just another example of how everything has lined up since he arrived at UCF. All part of a plan, he says.

"The way I look at it, it could've been much worse, and it's not," Milton says. "Think about it: There were only two ligaments torn. They were able to restore the blood flow with a vein from my other leg. The nerve damage isn't permanent. Everything has been best-case scenario for me."

If he saw that injury happen to someone else, would he think that person would ever be able to play again?

"It depends on the person. His faith, what he believes, how badly he wants it," Milton says.

He looks down and wiggles his right foot, the same foot he wiggled right after his first surgery when doctors didn't think he'd have nerve feeling in the leg.

"I'm going to heal," he says. "And I'm going to compete again at a high level."

Texas running back Kyle Porter is moving closer to home as the Houston Cougars announced on Wednesday that Porter has decided to transfer to their backfield. 

Porter spent his first three collegiate seasons with the Longhorns, where he appeared in 27 games, rushing for 468 yards and five touchdowns. The 5'11", 215-pound back will be immediately eligible for Houston with two years of eligibility remaining. 

Porter is a native of Katy, Texas, which is just under an hour away from Houston.

Per MaxPreps, Porter was the No. 1-ranked running back in Texas—ranked third nationally—while at Katy High School. 

At the start of last season with the Longhorns, Porter was behind Tre Watson, Daniel Young and Keaontay Ingram on the first released depth chart.

Trying to find space in that crammed backfield, Porter only registered one rush for two yards and a touchdown in four games for the 2018 Longhorns before sitting out the rest of the season.

While Porter is seeking greener and more open pastures in Houston, that might not be the case.

Patrick Carr led the way for the Cougars in 2018 with 868 yards and five touchdowns in 13 games (11 starts), and Carr will return for his senior season in 2019. The Cougars' second-best rusher was quarterback D'Eriq King, who tallied 674 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground before tearing the meniscus in his right knee in November.

While at Texas, Porter's best season came in 2017 when he posted 261 yards and four touchdowns on 83 rushes across 12 games. 

Former Texas Longhorns quarterback Shane Buechele will transfer to Southern Methodist University.

He announced his decision on Thursday via Twitter:

https://twitter.com/BGShaneBuechele/status/1093628728968708097

Buechele entered the NCAA transfer portal on Jan. 16 as he looked to explore his options as a graduate transfer. 

247Sports rated the 6'1", 210-pound quarterback as a 4-star recruit and the No. 3 dual-threat passer in the class of 2016 coming out of high school. In 2016, he became the first true freshman quarterback to start the season opener for the Longhorns since 1944.

Buechele started all 12 games as a freshman, leading Texas to a 5-7 record while completing 60.4 percent of his passes for 2,958 yards, 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2016. That performance earned him an honorable mention for the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year.

He would begin his sophomore campaign as the starter under center, but Buechele's shoulder and ankle injuries opened the door for freshman Sam Ehlinger to see playing time. Ultimately, Ehlinger grabbed hold of the starting job, pushing Buechele to the bench.

Buechele appeared in just two games last season, completing 30-of-44 pass attempts for 273 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

With Ehlinger entrenched as the No. 1 after leading the Longhorns to a 10-4 season in 2018 that featured an appearance in the Big 12 Championship Game as well as a victory over the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl, Buechele decided it was time for a change of scenery. The transfer should give him an opportunity to see the field and potentially turn into an NFL prospect.

The fact that Buechele appeared in just two games in 2018 makes him eligible for a redshirt season under the NCAA's new rules. That gives him two years of eligibility remaining.

As a graduate transfer, the junior will be eligible to play immediately.

Head coach Dana Holgorsen took a unique approach to announcing his arrival at the University of Houston after spending the previous eight years at West Virginia. 

In a Twitter video posted by the Cougars' football account, Holgorsen attempts to rile up the fan base by telling them "let's go win some games."

Y’all want to go win some games?

Let’s go win some games!

Help us welcome Coach Dana Holgorsen to H-Town! #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/rhZyjtc5xL

— Houston Football (@UHCougarFB) January 2, 2019

Houston's hiring of Holgorsen has been expected since the school announced Major Applewhite's firing on Sunday.  

Holgorsen's one-line declaration probably won't end up on a list of great motivational speeches in sports, but the 47-year-old brings a track record of success from West Virginia with him.

The Mountaineers have won at least eight games three times in the past four seasons and made seven bowl appearances in eight seasons under Holgorsen's watch.

Dana Holgorsen is reportedly leaving West Virginia for Houston.  

Holgorsen agreed to a five-year, $20 million contract with Houston on Monday, per Bruce Feldman of The Athletic.

The 47-year-old coach will replace Major Applewhite, who was let go after Houston's 70-14 loss to Army in the Armed Forces Bowl. Applewhite went 15-11 during his tenure.

Holgorsen's buyout decreased to $1 million on Jan. 1, which is the reason for the timing. He went 61-41 in eight seasons at West Virginia, finishing with a winning record seven times. The Mountaineers were a disappointing 2-5 in bowl games, though, and finished the season with a Top 25 ranking under Holgorsen just twice.

West Virginia closed the 2018 season with a loss to Syracuse in the Camping World Bowl.

"It's always nice to be able to end the year with a win, but we know we had a good year," Holgorsen told reporters after the game. "People can be disappointed all they want to. We know we had a good year. We battled hard all year long and came up a little bit short. Welcome to big-time football."

While some may see Holgorsen as taking a step down to a non-Power Five school, there are several reasons behind this move. The first is that West Virginia was not willing to give him the same long-term security as Houston. Holgorsen is now the highest-paid Group of Five coach in the nation. 

Holgorsen has strong ties to the state of Texas. This will be his second stint at Houston, where he served as offensive coordinator in 2008 and 2009 and orchestrated one of the most explosive offenses in the nation. He also spent eight seasons as an assistant at Texas Tech. Holgorsen is well-known for his heavy recruitment of the area and could turn Houston into a perennial contender for a New Year's Six bowl.