Latest news with #DiegoPavia
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
NCAA JUCO waiver changed Missouri football's linebacker room. Here's how it made MU stronger
Missouri football may have Vanderbilt's quarterback to thank for the strength of its linebackers. Mizzou's season-opener for the 2025 campaign against Central Arkansas on Aug. 28 on Faurot Field is less than 50 days away. Fall camp is right around the corner, as the Tigers typically have players report to campus in Columbia over the final weekend of July. In the offseason, Vandy QB Diego Pavia sued the NCAA, claiming junior college eligibility should not count toward Division-I eligibility. In response, the NCAA issued a blanket, one-year waiver for former JUCO players to return in 2025. In turn, Mizzou is able to return one of its leading tacklers and top projected linebackers. Here is how Missouri's linebackers shape up heading into fall camp, including a projected (but not finalized) depth chart, the upside and possible questions for the room and some snippets of what the coaches said during the spring: Missouri football projected depth chart at linebacker Starters: Mike: Josiah Trotter, r-so..; Will: Triston Newson, gr. Primary rotation: M: Jeremiah Beasley, so.; Brian Huff, r-fr. W: Khalil Jacobs, sr.; Nicholas Rodriguez, so. Reserves: Dante McClellan, fr.; Jason King, fr.; Brady Hultman, jr. It would be a surprise if Trotter and Newson don't end the season with the highest snap counts among MU's linebackers. Beyond that, the listed rotation is our best estimate of how Mizzou will line up at linebacker this season. However you want to divide up the reps in the rotation behind the top two is as good a guess as any. Jacobs, a former South Alabama player under second-year MU defensive coordinator Corey Batoon, should play frequently at weakside linebacker, especially with his familiarity of the DC's scheme. Rodriguez took his reps there as a rookie, too, and we'd expect to see him take a jump in playing time from Year 1 to 2. Beasley is the most likely backup at middle linebacker, unless Rodriguez makes a slight position switch. Depending on how deep MU wants to go, Huff and McClellan are the likeliest next options. The upside Depth shouldn't be an issue for Missouri at linebacker this season. It's a position that's caught Mizzou out a couple times in the past, with injuries forcing the Tigers into some midseason changes. In 2023, Newson went from reserve to Cotton Bowl starter when Ty'Ron Hopper and Chad Bailey picked up late-season injuries. Last season, Rodriguez stepped into a significant role when Jacobs missed the second half of the season with injury. Missouri is at least three deep at both middle and weakside linebacker this year — potentially more, if the true freshmen are ready. The experience of Newson is absolutely invaluable, too. With the blanket waiver for former junior college players, Missouri immediately returned a player with 123 total tackles, including 13.5 for loss, while wearing the black and gold. Trotter earned a third-team, preseason All-SEC nod from Phil Steele's magazine, and his presence absolutely raises the ceiling of the group. He was good for 93 tackles and a pick in a freshman All-American season at WVU last year. If that translates to the SEC, Mizzou has a stout starting duo. Questions, concerns to answer For starters, Batoon is going to need to be judicious about dividing up the reps. There are at least six players fighting for a couple of spots. That is, of course, one of those good problems. You won't find a coach anywhere in the country disappointed by too much competition. If we're nitpicking, there's also an experience question for this group of linebackers to answer. The Tigers seem to generally be pleased with the group they have assembled this season, but on-paper assessments and live-game production are very different things. Four of the top-six options we have listed on the LB depth chart have spent two or fewer years in college. That's a young room, and although experience doesn't dictate production, Mizzou will want to avoid a drop in performance as it moves down its depth chart. Breakout candidate Rodriguez earned some high praise through spring camp. 'I think Nick Rodriguez probably had the best spring of anybody on the defensive side of the ball,' Eli Drinkwitz said April 8. 'His playmaking ability at the linebacker position was remarkable throughout spring. Really challenging to block. I think him and Coach (Derek) Nicholson really hit it off. His instinctual play (and) physicality has been remarkable to watch.' That's another positive development for the Miami native. He was one of five true freshmen to burn a redshirt in the 2024 season as he appeared in 11 games for the Tigers as a rookie. What Drinkwitz said about him after spring camp sounds like a lot more than plain-ol' coachspeak. That praise sounds like a player who is ready to move into a feature role on the defense. What the coaches said in spring Drinkwitz, April 8, on the room: 'That linebacker group — very deep. Very deep and very impactful. … I look for that room to be as deep and as impactful as the edge position.' More: Deepest on the roster? How Missouri football's defensive ends shape up before fall camp More: Who are Missouri football's 10 best players in EA Sports College Football 26 video game? Batoon, March 5, on Newson's return: 'It's like a reprieve. Like, he was done at the bowl game, hugged his neck, we said our goodbyes, almost. Then, boom — (the waiver) happens. It's been really cool, and he's looked at it as a blessing. … An extra year, what an awesome deal for him, and I'm excited to see what he does with it. He'll make the most of it. … We went in the portal and got some guys, and with (Newson) coming back, there's tremendous competition.' This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Why JUCO eligibility waiver changed Missouri football linebacker depth
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Eligibility of Wisconsin's Nyzier Fourqurean in question after appeals court reverses injunction
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean's status for this coming season is now unclear after a federal appeals court overturned a preliminary injunction that granted him another year of NCAA eligibility. Seventh Circuit judges ruled in a 2-1 decision rendered Wednesday to reverse the ruling by a lower court, after the NCAA appealed. Fourqurean, a fifth-year senior, had argued that his first two college seasons at Division II Grand Valley State should not count toward his eligibility. Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia is expected to play again after winning his court case last year on the grounds that his two seasons at a junior college do not count. The NCAA is appealing that decision but granted a blanket waiver that will allow Pavia and other athletes who played at non-NCAA Division I schools prior to enrollment an extra year of eligibility if they were going to exhaust their eligibility this year. The NCAA in a statement said it was 'thankful the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals today reversed the district court's decision. Just as the NCAA and its member schools have always done, we will continue to work together to provide unparalleled opportunities for student-athletes and future generations.' The path forward for Fourqurean, a projected starter, is less clear with Wisconsin's season opener against Miami (Ohio) on Aug. 28 just over six weeks away. Messages sent to attorneys listed as his representatives in court documents, as well as spokespeople for Wisconsin football, were not immediately returned. Fourqurean testified during a U.S. District Court hearing in February that he would make 'hundreds of thousands of dollars' in name, image and likeness compensation if he were to play this season. After judge William Conley granted him the preliminary injunction, Fourqurean pulled out of NFL draft consideration and took part in spring practices. ___ AP sports:
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Eligibility of Wisconsin's Nyzier Fourqurean in question after appeals court reverses injunction
MADISON, Wisc. (AP) — Wisconsin cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean's status for this coming season is now unclear after a federal appeals court overturned a preliminary injunction that granted him another year of NCAA eligibility. Seventh Circuit judges ruled in a 2-1 decision rendered Wednesday to reverse the ruling by a lower court, after the NCAA appealed. Fourqurean, a fifth-year senior, had argued that his first two college seasons at Division II Grand Valley State should not count toward his eligibility. Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia is expected to play again after winning his court case last year on the grounds that his two seasons at a junior college do not count. The NCAA is appealing that decision but granted a blanket waiver that will allow Pavia and other athletes who played at non-NCAA Division I schools prior to enrollment an extra year of eligibility if they were going to exhaust their eligibility this year. The path forward for Fourqurean, a projected starter, is less clear with Wisconsin's season opener against Miami (Ohio) on Aug. 28 just over six weeks away. Messages sent to attorneys listed as his representatives in court documents, as well as spokespeople for Wisconsin football, were not immediately returned. Fourqurean testified during a U.S. District Court hearing in February that he would make 'hundreds of thousands of dollars' in name, image and likeness compensation if he were to play this season. After judge William Conley granted him the preliminary injunction, Fourqurean pulled out of NFL draft consideration and took part in spring practices. ___ AP sports: The Associated Press
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Eligibility of Wisconsin's Nyzier Fourqurean in question after appeals court reverses injunction
MADISON, Wisc. (AP) — Wisconsin cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean's status for this coming season is now unclear after a federal appeals court overturned a preliminary injunction that granted him another year of NCAA eligibility. Seventh Circuit judges ruled in a 2-1 decision rendered Wednesday to reverse the ruling by a lower court, after the NCAA appealed. Fourqurean, a fifth-year senior, had argued that his first two college seasons at Division II Grand Valley State should not count toward his eligibility. Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia is expected to play again after winning his court case last year on the grounds that his two seasons at a junior college do not count. The NCAA is appealing that decision but granted a blanket waiver that will allow Pavia and other athletes who played at non-NCAA Division I schools prior to enrollment an extra year of eligibility if they were going to exhaust their eligibility this year. The path forward for Fourqurean, a projected starter, is less clear with Wisconsin's season opener against Miami (Ohio) on Aug. 28 just over six weeks away. Messages sent to attorneys listed as his representatives in court documents, as well as spokespeople for Wisconsin football, were not immediately returned. Fourqurean testified during a U.S. District Court hearing in February that he would make 'hundreds of thousands of dollars' in name, image and likeness compensation if he were to play this season. After judge William Conley granted him the preliminary injunction, Fourqurean pulled out of NFL draft consideration and took part in spring practices. ___ AP sports:
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Eligibility of Wisconsin's Nyzier Fourqurean in question after appeals court reverses injunction
MADISON, Wisc. (AP) — Wisconsin cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean's status for this coming season is now unclear after a federal appeals court overturned a preliminary injunction that granted him another year of NCAA eligibility. Seventh Circuit judges ruled in a 2-1 decision rendered Wednesday to reverse the ruling by a lower court, after the NCAA appealed. Fourqurean, a fifth-year senior, had argued that his first two college seasons at Division II Grand Valley State should not count toward his eligibility. Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia is expected to play again after winning his court case last year on the grounds that his two seasons at a junior college do not count. The NCAA is appealing that decision but granted a blanket waiver that will allow Pavia and other athletes who played at non-NCAA Division I schools prior to enrollment an extra year of eligibility if they were going to exhaust their eligibility this year. The path forward for Fourqurean, a projected starter, is less clear with Wisconsin's season opener against Miami (Ohio) on Aug. 28 just over six weeks away. Messages sent to attorneys listed as his representatives in court documents, as well as spokespeople for Wisconsin football, were not immediately returned. Fourqurean testified during a U.S. District Court hearing in February that he would make 'hundreds of thousands of dollars' in name, image and likeness compensation if he were to play this season. After judge William Conley granted him the preliminary injunction, Fourqurean pulled out of NFL draft consideration and took part in spring practices. ___ AP sports:
