CFB DeptHITS: Tuesday, April 1
The DeptHITS are here to provide you with the need-to-knows about college football. This includes depth chart updates, portal movement, a coaching carousel, and more.
Today, we’ll start with a lot of news coming out of Palo Alto, CA with Stanford making moves and seeing fallout from the Troy Taylor ousting. We also have some camp news and buzz, followed by suggested further reading and links to all of our State of the Chart™ updates thus far.
|||||| THE HITS
The most pertinent player-related information that directly impact depth charts and on-field performance.
Stanford ::: Andrew Luck and Stanford have found their new head coach. NFL veteran coach Frank Reich will handle the job for one interim season in 2025. They have agreed to let Reich run things this season while they perform a national search for a full-time replacement in 2026. This is a bit of a unique situation and appears to be a wise one, as the candidate pool is not what it would have been had this unfortunate situation with Troy Taylor unfolded earlier this off-season.
The Cardinal also announced that tight ends coach Nate Byham will be promoted to offensive coordinator and play-caller. Taylor handled those duties as the head coach until he was let go for inappropriate conduct a couple of weeks ago.
The fallout from the Troy Taylor ousting is being felt with…
EDGE David Bailey [17.2] is a big-time portal entry as he announced his intention to enter after the dismissal of head coach Troy Taylor. He will make a big impact wherever he goes and should see significant interest across the board. He is already taking visits to Texas Tech, Texas, and UCLA. Other schools are sure to enter the fray.
WR Mudia Reuben [13.2] is entering the portal. He has amassed 24 catches for 283 yards and three touchdowns. He does grade out well in the player-level data and if he finds the right situation, could be an impact player.
Starting center Jake Maikkula [11.9] is entering the portal. He graded out better in pass pro [14.4] than he did in run block schemes [10.6] and will look to play elsewhere with two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Boise State ::: The Broncos are losing a big part of their defensive unit as LB Andrew Simpson [14.9] enters the portal. Simpson was a full-time player and greatly impacted many parts of the game, including posting four sacks and 16 hurries. He has one year of eligibility remaining and will be given looks by some of the top programs. The early word is that Bill Belichick and North Carolina have a leg up in the race to earn Simpson’s commitment for 2025.
Tennessee ::: TE Miles Kitselman [15.5] is the primary tight end for the Vols after transferring in from Alabama. He is going to sit out the rest of spring with a pectoral injury. This is not expected to linger into the summer months, but something to monitor.
Houston ::: Good news for the Cougars defense, as DL Nadame Tucker [14.6] is withdrawing from the portal and returning to the Cougars for 2025. He played in just one game in 2024 before shutting it down. He played 112 snaps in 2023 and has always performed in his limited opportunities to this point in his career. With some big names moving out of Houston, it may have cleared the way for him to have a big role.
Tulane ::: A big loss for the Green Wave as LB Jesus Machado [13.7] will enter the portal. He missed all of 2024 with an injury but was an impact player in 2023 and now heads elsewhere to finish up his college career.
Iowa ::: Hawkeyes quarterback Mark Gronowski [13.2] sat out most of the winter workouts as he worked through an injury. He is said to have begun light throwing and should be back at it fully in a couple of weeks. He is a transfer from South Dakota State and will compete for the starting job, though he'll have a bit of competition with Brendan Sullivan returning and Hank Brown coming in from Auburn.
Temple ::: TE Landon Morris [12.6] is set to enter the portal. He finished with 16 catches this season in nine games and is now seeking his fourth school after having played at both Syracuse and Utah before this stop.
Wyoming ::: S Wrook Brown [11.6] has announced he will enter the portal. He was a full-time player at the nickel spot for the Cowboys and developed into a nice player. He has just one season of eligibility remaining and is looking to spend it elsewhere.
Georgia Tech ::: RB Anthony Carrie [11.9], a true freshman this season for the Yellow Jackets plans to enter the portal when it opens up. He was a 4-star recruit in this past '24 class and received 25 carries over seven games. He remains behind both Jamal Haynes and Chad Alexander on the depth chart, likely prompting his move to find a new home.
Purdue ::: The Boilers get a commitment from LB Sanders Ellis [10.6], who entered the portal following Eddie George's departure from Tennessee State. He figures to work his way into the mix in the rotation for Barry Odom's defensive unit in 2025.
Kent State ::: Head coach Kenni Burns has been placed on administrative leave. No exact details have been given at this time, but they have announced that Greg Glaus, executive deputy athletics director, will oversee the program's administrative responsibilities while this is sorted out. It is very possible that this is an investigation that may have led to his ousting as head coach. We'll be sure to stay tuned.
Tennessee State ::: RB Jaden McGill [12.4] has entered the portal. He already has an offer from his former head coach, Eddie George, at Bowling Green and it is likely he joins him with the Falcons. He took 118 carries for 528 yards and two scores in 2024.
|||||| QUICK HITS
More information on the periphery, including coaching changes, less impactful (but still important) player movement, and more.
John Wozniak is joining the Arizona State staff as an analyst. He worked with some dynamic players in his time as Oklahoma State’s running backs coach — including Chuba Hubbard, Justice Hill and most recently, Ollie Gordon.
The NCAA has denied the joint request from Colorado’s Deion Sanders and Syracuse’s Fran Brown, to hold a spring game against each other. The reasoning provided actually makes good sense as it would be a little late into spring practices to get the logistics together, academic concerns and potential recruiting advantages over other schools. It was a fun idea, born on social media, but it does not appear to be coming together. Hopefully, they can get ahead of this in the future and there could be some fun spring matchups in the off-season.
Iowa released their spring depth chart. Note that this does not include most new players to the roster. These will help inform us when we move these to ‘2025 mode’ in the coming weeks.
NOTABLE PORTAL ENTRIES, VISITS & OFFERS + RECRUITING NEWS
Utah State DL Cian Slone [12.9] has picked up an offer from NC State.
2026 CB Jorden Edwards, a five-star recruit out of Marietta, GA, has signed with Alabama.
EDGE Ravon Johnson [8.8] is entering the portal, again. The 3-star recruit out of Georgia, spent his first season at a JUCO, followed by his one year at Alabama A&M.
Ferris State CB Jacarvis Alexandre [7.0] has visits set up at Jacksonville State, Western Michigan, UTEP and Arkansas State over the coming weeks.
Pittsburg State (D2) DL Malik Berry [8.5] has officially entered the portal. He has confirmed visits to Arkansas State (April 2), Ball State (April 5) and Charlotte (Apri 11).
North Alabama CB Philjae Bien-Aime [8.9] has entered the portal after coming to UNA from UCF, where he didn’t get much meaningful playing time in three seasons. He found playing time with the Lions and may be looking to level back up.
Utah DB Quimari Shemwell [10.8] has entered the portal.
UCLA DL Joquarri Price [8.6] has entered the portal.
Old Dominion CB Rasheed Reason [10.1] is entering the portal.
FAU QB Jayden George [4.2], the son of legendary NFL quarterback Jeff George, has entered the portal (again). It may be time to level-down and see the field and show what he can do.
Division-II Emory & Henry WR Cameron Abshire [9.8] is entering the portal as he looks to level up after a season that saw him catch 64 passes for 1,057 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2024 for the Wasps. He will have to seasons of eligibility remaining.
|||||| SUGGESTED FURTHER READING
We can’t do it all. Others can get in-depth on other topics around college football, and we encourage you to broaden your knowledge base by reading further.
A Sea of Red, the great Liberty fan site, released their projected depth chart following spring practice and the most intriguing part of this is who will take over for Kaidon Slater at quarterback — they have Coastal Carolina transfer Ethan Vasko taking over. See it all here »
Peter Gonzalez may not be on your radar, or even fans of the Penn State Nittany Lions. He missed the entire 2024 season with an injury and is working his way back and hopefully into the rotation in ‘25. He was a four-star recruit in the ‘24 class. Lions247 site “Fight On State” has more »
Volume Pigs has a great feature on a Colorado wide receiver that you will certainly want to know about. Check out this article on 2025 recruit Quentin Gibson >>
Read more about a potential star in the making, as wide receiver Sincere Brown, a Campbell transfer, is being linked to Michigan and may be exactly what they need for 2025.
GoVols247 has a feature on WR Braylon Staley [10.9] and how he has ‘shot up’ this spring as he looks to earn the slot role in the high-powered Tennessee offense. The 2024 4-star recruit played in three games to perserve a year of eligibility and could be a big part of this offense in 2025. Check out the full article »
|||||| STATE OF THE CHART™ UPDATES
We have been pumping out State of the Chart™ updates throughout the ‘off-season.’ These updates are point-in-time looks at each school. We recap the year that was, discuss important coaching changes, take a look at each position group, and look ahead at the 2025 schedule. These updates will lead to our first State of the Chart™ digital magazine, set to be released in July. This will be our official ‘preview’ magazine with a data-driven look at all 136 schools, including depth charts, playing time projections, win total predictions, and more. Learn more about that here or by clicking on the banner below. Enter your email at the website for updates, sneak previews, and more…
Get all caught up on each program 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
3/1: Michigan State Spartans
3/2: Maryland Terrapins
3/3: Purdue Boilermakers
3/4: Rutgers Scarlet Knights
3/5: Illinois Fighting Illini
3/6: Washington Huskies
3/7: USC Trojans
3/8: UCLA Bruins
Big 12 Conference
3/9: TCU Horned Frogs
3/10: Baylor Bears
3/11: Oklahoma State Cowboys
3/12: Kansas State Wildcats
3/13: West Virginia Mountaineers
3/14: Iowa State Cyclones
3/15: Texas Tech Red Raiders
3/16: Kansas Jayhawks
3/17: BYU Cougars
3/18: Cincinnati Bearcats
3/23: UCF Knights
3/24: Houston Cougars
3/25: Arizona Wildcats
3/26: Arizona State Sun Devils
3/27: Utah Utes
3/28: Colorado Buffaloes
Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)
3/29: Florida State Seminoles
3/30: Louisville Cardinals
Thank you for following along and your support of our little endeavor. Your support fuels our work every day. Please consider subscribing and/or sharing.