CFB DeptHITS: Sunday, March 2
Getting you caught up on the news and happenings as the 'off-season' rolls along.
Today, we’ll take a look at the ‘need to know’ and some of the ‘sure, that’s good to know’ as we roll through the off-season. There is another group of five head coach leaving for the NFL, with some portal news and more coaching changes. We’ll get you some ‘suggested further reading’ for some of the additional off-the-field stuff. Enjoy!
|||||| THE HITS
Georgia State ::: Another breakthrough running back is leaving the Panthers as Freddie Brock [15.2] has announced his intention to enter the portal. He ran for 795 yards and eight touchdowns after coming in from Maine and replacing Marcus Carroll, who went to Mizzou after a big 2023 season. Brock would be a very nice addition to any squad, even a depth play at a bigger school. We'll see where he lands in 2025.
Bowling Green ::: Falcons head coach Scot Loeffler is leaving the program to take the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles' quarterbacks coach job. Bowling Green will begin searching for his replacement immediately and needs to move quickly with spring practices already underway. Players will have a 30-day window to enter the transfer portal.
The first impact player to hit the portal after Loeffler exited the program is All-MAC S CJ Brown [11.9], who announced he is entering the portal. A nice player who would level up and be a depth piece or move within the group of five and find another starting role.
DL Marcus Moore Jr. [12.2] is going back on his commitment to the Falcons after news broke of Loeffler's leaving the program. He will re-enter the portal and look for a new home after his two-year career getting started at Akron.
Add S Tracy Revels [9.3] to the early list of those hitting the portal for the Falcons. He didn't play a ton but did make 40 tackles for Bowling Green in his redshirt freshman season.
Maryland ::: Maryland has found their defensive coordinator for 2025, Ted Monachino. He comes to College Park from Chapel Hill, where he spent the past two seasons on Mack Brown's staff. His resume includes many years in the NFL, rising as high as defensive coordinator for the Colts in 2016-17.
UNLV ::: EDGE Antonio Doyle Jr. [11.9] is hitting the portal as a grad transfer with a 'do not contact tag, meaning he has his next destination figured out. The top defensive lineman and former top-100 recruit at Texas A&M is heading to his fourth school after a stop also at Jackson State. He had eight sacks in 2024 for the Rebels. The logical expectation is that he follows his head coach, Barry Odom, to Purdue.
Duke ::: The Blue Devils are losing some depth on the offensive line as backup tackle James Pogorelc is hitting the portal to find a spot to play in his final season. He came to Duke from Stanford and signed out of the 2020 class. He saw just one snap for the Blue Devils in 2024.
Samford ::: DB Dontae Pollard [11.0] has entered the portal. The former Akron Zip is heading back to the portal after spending one season with the Bulldogs. He's a group of five fringe starter depending on the landing spot. If he goes any higher, we'll be depth-only, most likely.
|||||| MORE NEWS & NOTES
Nebraska is making what many view as a ‘splash hire’ by getting Patrick Stewart as their new general manager. He spent 2024 as the New England Patriots director of pro personnel and has a lot of experience in the NFL. He worked for Cornhuskers’ head coach Matt Rhule during his stint as Carolina Panthers head coach.
Most position coaches leaving programs leave openings that can be filled without a major impact on the operation. Bo Davis at LSU is not viewed as one of those position coaches. Brian Kelly had to dig deep to get Davis back to his alma mater last year and paid him over $1 Million/year. He did come back, and that lasted just one season. Davis is taking the same role for the NFL’s New Orleans Saints.
South Alabama has poached now former Eastern Michigan defensive tackles coach James Steckel. Steckel spent the past two seasons with the Eagles and is said to be getting the defensive line job with the Jags.
Jim Mastro is returning to an on-field role for the Nevada Wolfpack. After spending 2024 in the GM role after two seasons serving as director of football operations after being retained by head coach Jeff Choate, who took over for Ken Wilson in 2023. He returns to the running backs coach role that he is familiar with and believes to be a good move for all involved — especially Nevada running backs.
The NFL isn’t just stealing the big programs’ coaches - they are also hitting the group of five. Georgia Southern is losing their special teams coordinator, Turner West, who the Buffalo Bills hired.
Tony Washington Jr. is moving from UCLA, where he was the defensive line coach in 2024, taking the assistant defensive line coach role for the National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes.
|||||| SUGGESTED FURTHER READING
If you are interested in the ‘off-field’ business that is our game, you’ll want to get to know the acronym MMR. It stands for “multi-media rights” and schools will sell these rights for huge sums of cash to gain an advantage. Texas A&M just signed a deal with “Playfly Sports” for $515 Million over 15 years »
Want to keep up with all of the canceled spring games? On3 has you covered. When Matt Rhule announced that the Huskers wouldn’t play their annual exhibition for fans, many others followed suit. Check out the full article here »
|||||| STATE OF THE CHART™ UPDATE SERIES
We are rolling right along with our ‘off-season’ State of the Chart™ update series. These are in-depth articles on each team and where they currently stand as a program. Knowing we have another portal window, spring and summer practices upcoming, the purpose is just to give you a glimpse into the current standing, and we’ll finish up with everything pulled together for our official preview magazine coming in July (with updates leading up to kickoff). To learn more about that, head here:
Get all caught up on our updates here:
Southeastern Conference (SEC)
2/1: Alabama Crimson Tide
2/3: Georgia Bulldogs
2/4: LSU Tigers
2/5: Auburn Tigers
2/6: Arkansas Razorbacks
2/7: Florida Gators
2/8: Ole Miss Rebels
2/10: Tennessee Volunteers
2/11: Missouri Tigers
2/12: Texas A&M Aggies
2/13: Oklahoma Sooners
2/14: Texas Longhorns
2/15: South Carolina Gamecocks
2/16: Vanderbilt Commodores
2/17: Mississippi State Bulldogs
2/18: Kentucky Wildcats
Big Ten Conference
2/19: Ohio State Buckeyes
2/20: Michigan Wolverines
2/21: Penn State Nittany Lions
2/22: Indiana Hoosiers
2/23: Wisconsin Badgers
2/24: Northwestern Wildcats
2/25: Oregon Ducks
2/26: Nebraska Cornhuskers
2/27: Minnesota Golden Gophers
2/28: Iowa Hawkeyes
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