CFB DeptHITS: Monday, January 27
Getting you caught up on the news that matters over the past 48 hours on this Monday morning version of the HITS.
Today, we’ll get you caught up on the news that you’ll want to know over the last 48 hours. We are working in the background to set up our State of the Chart™ updates that we will feature here on Substack.
[ numbers inside the brackets is our CFBDepth.com player rating, out of 20 ]
|||||| THE HITS
Texas State ::: EDGE Tunmise Adeleye [13.1] is a familiar name in the portal. After stops at both Michigan State and Texas A&M before moving to San Marcos in 2024, he was limited to seven games and didn't have the impact he'd hoped for the Bobcats. He was a 4-star recruit back in the 2021 class and retains one year of eligibility.
Ohio State ::: DL Hero Kanu [11.8] is entering the portal after a career that has yet to really get started in earnest after being labeled a class of 2022 top-120 recruit out of Racho Santa Margarita, CA. He has recorded just 14 tackles and now heads elsewhere to see more of the field and reach that potential.
Toledo ::: The Rockets land an impact tight end from the FCS level as Jacob Petersen [11.2] is heading to Toledo from Holy Cross. In '24, Petersen caught 35 passes for 503 yards and six scores for the Crusaders. He'll step into the role Anthony Torres leaves behind as he runs out of eligibility. Torres was a big part of the offense with 31 grabs for 404 yards and nine touchdowns. Similar production can be reasonable expected from Petersen here in 2025.
Troy ::: The Trojans get a solid pick-up for the defense in Elijah Davis [11.6] coming over from South Carolina. The former 4-star JUCO prospect didn't see much of the field for the Gamecocks in a crowded defensive line room and now will head to Troy and show what we can do. He played 2022 and 2023 at East Missisippi CC and assumning he gets those years back (via the Diego Pavia rule), he could have three years of eligibility remaining after spending two seasons in Columbia.
Penn State ::: James Franklin has convinced Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to leave the National Champion Buckeyes and head back to his home state and take over the reigns as the new DC at Penn State. The deal is worth north of $3 Million annually, which is a new record for an assistant coach. Ohio State could match the money and they were certainly willing to do that, but this was a decision by Knowles that has personal ties. He grew up in Philadephia. That’s tough to compete with. Meanwhile, Ryan Day is now the one searching for his next leader on the defensive side of the ball.
Florida ::: The Gators poach Jacksonville State defensive coordinator Vinnie Sunseri. He never really got going with the Gamecocks in the role as he was hired just recently. He spent the 2024 season as the safeties coach at Washington. He was a linebacker at Alabama and had a three year run in the NFL. He received some coaching experience in the NFL with the Patriots. He will serve as co-defensive cooardinator and safeties coach for the Gators at age 33.
Indiana ::: The Hoosiers have finalized a new contract with defensive coordinator Bryant Haines. He's the architect of the Indiana defense that took major leaps forward and finished second in the country in total defense. These extensions are only as good as the word of their holder. We know that Haines would have to listen if Ryan Day comes calling following the departure of Jim Knowles - as an example. There is no ties or speculation of that being a possibility, simply circumstantial at this point.
|||||| QUICK HITS
Here is some other interesting information and further reading from so many great sources out there…
Portal Withdrawals. We had a record number of portal entries again this season and now that the dust is beginning to settle and players have had an initial chance to gauge their individual markets, we are seeing more and more withdrawals. Here are a few notable ones over the past 48 hours":
Washington State CB Warren Smith Jr. [12.7]
Western Kentucky WR Moussa Berry [11.9]
Western Kentucky RT Marshall Jackson [13.2]
Syracuse LB Anwar Sparrow [12.6]
Ball State LB Caden Johnson [12.3]
Tulsa WR Zion Steptoe [11.0]
New Mexico C Malik Aliane [13.0]
Temple RB Terrez Worthy [13.0]
Northern Illinois DE Jalonnie Williams [11.5]
Louisiana Tech CB Cedric Woods [11.7]
Charlotte EDGE Donovan Spellman [10.7]
UAB S AJ Brown [11.1]
USC: With the hiring of Chad Bowden away from Notre Dame, the Trojans announced that Dave Emerick will shift to a “Chief of Staff” role, remaining very involved with Bowden taking over more of the recruiting and personnel. Emerick has been with head coach Lincoln Riley for a while now and was one of his first hires when he moved from Oklahoma to USC. Emerick held a similar off-field role with Mike Leach at both Washington State and Texas Tech.
We know defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is moving on from the dynamic coaching staff at Ohio State and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly is reportedly (and unsurprisingly) at the top of many NFL teams wish lists this off-season.
2026 4-star QB Brady Smigiel created some buzz this weekend as he de-committed from Florida State. He’s out of Newbury Park, California, just outside of Los Angeles.
That’s our show for today. Lots of exciting content coming at you here starting soon as we begin our off-season ‘State of the Chart’ updates for all 136 FBS schools.
Thanks for following along. Please consider subscribing and sharing with your cohorts!
