Drafted To The Benz
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2025 NFL Draft is over. We are going to take a look at the Atlanta Falcons draft and see how they did.
Atlanta Falcons: Draft picks
Round 1 (No. 15) Edge Jalon Walker, Georgia
Round 1 (No. 26) Edge James Pearce Jr., Tennessee
Round 3 (No. 96) S Xavier Watts, Notre Dame
Round 4 (No. 118) S Billy Bowman Jr., Oklahoma
Round 7 (No. 218) OT Jack Nelson
I like the fact that Atlanta has addressed the need for pass rushers. That has been an issue for several years. I thought last season that should have been addressed first in the draft.
Instead, they picked QB Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 pick. If they did not sign Kirk Cousins in free agency that would have been a good pick.
“It’s like, ‘Man, how do we get two of these studs,’” general manager Terry Fontenot.
“’Let’s figure out a way to do that and let’s really impact this thing.’”
They did trade up to get the 26th pick to select Pearce. They gave up a 2026 first-rounder for that so they have to hope he lives up to his potential. As a Falcons fan I can’t help but think of recent draft picks that did not pan out.
Defensive end Takk McKinley was picked No. 26 by Atlanta in the 2017 draft. They declined his fifth-year option on his contract and he was waived during the 2020 season.
Linebacker Vic Beasley was selected No. 8 in the 2015 draft. He had a breakout second season in 2016, with 15.5 sacks. That was his only season with double-digit sacks in the five years he played for the Falcons.
Watts is a ball hawking safety and he addressed a huge need in the secondary. They were docked a 2025 fifth-round pick for violating the league’s anti-tampering policy related to signing free agents Kirk Cousins, wide receiver Darnell Mooney and tight end Charlie Woerner.
Bowman should develop into a starter at strong safety. He might play nickel in 2025, if needed.
Nelson will play behind Jake Matthews and Kaleb McGary. He can play either right or left tackle.
“It doesn’t always line up to where the need matches the board in terms of the players that are there,” Fontenot said. “But it really worked out for us and we truly were able to bring in impact players in all areas.”
The biggest needs to address after the draft are center, wide receiver and corner back.
Atlanta signed 11 undrafted rookie free agents after the draft. They are Miami DT Simeon Barrow, Kansas CB Cobee Bryant, Michigan State RB Nathan Carter, Oregon State guard Joshua Gray, North Dakota State LB Nick Kubitz, Oregon CB Dontae Manning, South Carolina TE Joshua Simon, San Jose State WR Nick Nash, Vanderbilt WR Quincy Skinner, Georgia Tech OL Jordan Williams and Iowa State S Malik Verdon.
“We kind of talk about this draft and the fact that we do believe it’s a deep draft,” Fontenot said. “I keep saying this, but it’s true: there is an eighth round this year. We’re going to be aggressive there and get some good players when the seventh-round ends.”
Mel Kiper graded the Falcons draft a C-. I give them a B because they addressed the need for pass rushers.
Closing The Curtains
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Spring football games used to be a big deal.
They were a chance for fans to fill the stadium one last time before summer, for coaches to evaluate their rosters in a live setting, and for recruits to catch a glimpse of what their future might look like.
Schools turned them into full-blown events with some drawing huge crowds. When Kirby Smart became the head coach in Athens, more 93,000 Bulldog fans attended his first G-Day Spring Game. But now? More and more programs are pulling the plug, and it’s not hard to see why.
The truth is, spring games just aren’t what they used to be. What started as a way to simulate game day and test rosters in real time has become something else entirely.
With transfer rules looser than ever and NIL money changing the game, coaches are starting to see spring games less as a team benefit and more as a risk to the roster.
Nebraska’s Matt Rhule put it bluntly: “I don’t necessarily want to open up to the outside world and have people watch our guys and say, ‘He looks like a pretty good player. Let’s go get him.’” The fear now is showing too much and having your players poached before fall camp even starts.
And it’s not just paranoia. It’s actually happening. Take Texas for example. Quarterback Malik Murphy turned heads during their 2023 spring game. Suddenly, SEC schools came calling. Texas threw NIL money at him to stay, but he still left for Duke after the season. And that’s just one case.
Coaches across the country are starting to adjust. Some are turning spring games into nothing more than glorified practices. Others, like Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss, have taken a different route altogether. Last year, he swapped scrimmages for hot dog eating contests and tug-of-war games. It was fun, and definitely weird, but it kept eyes off his playbook and roster depth. Turns out, Kiffin may have been ahead of the curve.
Even programs that used to thrive on spring hype are backing off. Texas, Oklahoma, LSU and USC are all scaling back or rethinking how they end spring practice.
The common thread? Everyone’s trying to protect their roster. Coaches like SMU’s Rhett Lashlee and Illinois’ Bret Bielema have admitted it: there’s more to lose than gain by putting players on display.
It’s not just Power Four teams, either. Group of Five schools, which already struggle to compete financially, are especially vulnerable. As Utah State coach Bronco Mendenhall put it, the goal now is “to protect and retain our current roster” while keeping schemes under wraps.
Sure, some programs are still holding spring games, trying to strike a balance between development and caution.
Utah’s Kyle Whittingham says they still see value in it, and he thinks that getting players real reps matters more than the risk. But those programs are becoming the exception.
There was even a push this year from Colorado’s Deion Sanders to try something new: a scrimmage against another team, like the NFL does in preseason. Syracuse was on board. The NCAA? Not so much. The idea got shut down fast.
The TV networks haven’t totally given up pushing for spring games because from their perspective there’s still some value in broadcasting a marquee program during a quiet part of the calendar. But more and more, the action is shifting off-camera.
In a constantly changing college football landscape that makes it easier than ever for players to change teams and chase the money, spring games are looking more like a thing of the past.
What once helped build excitement, evaluate depth, and keep fans engaged is now seen as an unnecessary risk in a cutthroat environment. The transfer portal isn’t going away. NIL offers are only growing. And with the pressure to keep rosters intact, most coaches are leaning toward secrecy.
Or, as Florida coach Billy Napier said: “Pick your poison. Either deal with coaches tampering, or deal with fans mad there’s no spring game.” These days, more coaches are choosing to keep the curtains closed.
Prankster
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Atlanta Falcons, alongside defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich and his son offered public apologies on Sunday to Shedeur Sanders regarding a prank call during the second round of the NFL Draft.
Jax Ulbrich, son of Jeff Ulbrich, also offered an apology via Instagram.
The Falcons have decided not to punish their defensive coordinator for his son’s actions, according to team sources.
While the Cleveland Browns eventually stopped Sanders’ highly publicized slide to the fifth round, a prank call to Sanders’ draft phone Friday night claimed that he would be taken with the 40th pick by the New Orleans Saints.
“This is Mickey Loomis here, (general manager) of the Saints. It’s been a long wait, man. We’re gonna take you with our next pick right here, man,” the caller said. The prank call was captured on video by Well Off Media, a YouTube channel run by Deion Sanders Jr., Shedeur’s older brother.
“Yes sir, let’s be legendary,” Sanders said.
“But you’re gonna have to wait a little bit longer, man. Sorry about that,” the caller said before hanging up. The Saints eventually picked Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough.
Over the weekend, a video that appeared to capture the exchange from the prank caller’s point of view began circulating on social media.
The call was made to a phone Sanders purchased specifically for the draft. He received the phone Thursday and only shared the number in an email thread that the NFL sent to teams.
Prank calls are not uncommon in the long history of the NFL draft. Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean received a prank call during the 2024 draft while in the green room just before his eventual selection, and several other players have their own draft day prank stories.
“Nobody has that number but coaches, strictly for that reason,” Sanders said. “Why get mad? They want you to have a certain type of reaction to it. They want you to feel bad. But I ain’t trippin’.”
Let me just get right to it — from the start of the draft Thursday night until Saturday afternoon (when Sanders was finally picked), I was fascinated by Mel Kiper Jr. and his off the rails behavior; between his accolade as the most prolific and prominent draft analyst of all time, and the reality that his assessment was rejected by the entire league, over and over and over caused Kiper Jr. to lull and backtrack
When Sanders was finally drafted, Kiper Jr. embodied his enthusiasm and rapid-fire cadence like he was suddenly given a shot of adrenaline — a clearly practiced monologue he had been waiting 42 hours and 18 minutes to make. It felt less like a victory for the athlete and more like a catharsis for the analyst.
Let’s take a look at the subsequent 20-minute discussion about Shedeur by ESPN — especially when Rece Davis and Louis Reddick thoughtfully discussed what Sanders needed to take from his draft experience.
Suddenly, Mr. Mel let 48 hours of frustration explode, culminating in this absolute banger of a quote:
“The NFL has been CLUELESS evaluating quarterbacks!”
Was the Shedeur Sanders story compelling TV or, especially in the end, a little lamentable? What do we think of the relationship between the media frenzy and the end result?
Draft Day
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
On April 24th, the NFL world flocked to Lambeau Field where over 100,000 fans from across the 32 NFL teams showed out to see who the newest additions to NFL rosters would be as the home of the Packers hosted the 2025 NFL Draft.
The first couple of picks were as expected in the sense of which players were going with which pick, but there was a little shakeup with who would be taking those players.
The night began with Miami QB Cam Ward going first overall to the Tennessee Titans.
Ward has an incredible story of climbing from FCS Incarnate Word to Washington State before finishing his college career for the Hurricanes in Coral Gables.
Ward took the ACC by storm leading all of FBS with 39 touchdowns, and I think could see even more success in the NFL in a pro system.
Not many were shocked to see Travis Hunter go off the board with the second pick, but there was a “Draft Day”-like trade made as the Jacksonville Jaguars traded up to pick up the second overall selection from the Cleveland Browns.
The Jags and first year Head Coach Liam Coen get what many have called “the Unicorn” of football as Hunter is expected to continue to play both offense as a wide receiver and contribute as a defensive back on the flip side as well like he has for Coach Prime at Colorado and Jackson State.
This can be a franchise changing and possibly league changing selection if it goes how DUVAL expects. Like the way the Shohei Ohtani has changed the Dodgers and the game of baseball as a two-way player, Hunter can be that for the Jags and the NFL.
The trenches took the show for much of the first round as eight of the next eleven selections (3-13) were a combination of four offensive linemen and four defensive linemen.
The hometown Atlanta Falcons would stay in the state of Georgia and select a Georgia Bulldog from Athens as LB/DE Jalon Walker would become the newest “Dirty Bird.”
Rece Davis shocked many by bringing up the fact that the Falcons had never picked a UGA player in the first round in the modern history of the draft, but this selection finally addresses a need that the Falcons have had for a number of years in pass rush.
I think you may see Walker more as a defensive end in the Atlanta version of the red and black, but the versatility of Walker makes him an extremely appealing selection for the Falcons.
Walker was the second Kirby Smart disciple off the board as four picks earlier, the San Francisco 49ers would select Georgia Edge rusher Mykel Williams.
The 49ers have a huge history of developing pass rushers, and Williams becomes a fantastic option to play opposite of Nick Bosa for San Fran.
The Falcons made a late trade for the 26th overall pick from the LA Rams in order to add another SEC pass-rusher with the selection of Tennessee’s James Pearce Jr.
I was concerned when I saw the Falcons give up a 1st rounder for next year’s draft as part of the trade, but love where Atlanta goes with this pick.
In the span of about an hour, Atlanta completely changed the outlook of the defensive side of the ball in the Benz.
As Ohio State O-Lineman Josh Simmons was selected by the Chiefs to wrap up the first round, the final tallies have come in.
The trenches continued to run the show as 8 O-Line and 10 D-Line were taken in the first 32 picks.
There were also only 2 QBs (Cam Ward 1st overall and Jaxson Dart 25th overall) and 4 DBs off the board.
Non-surprisingly the SEC led the way with 15 picks hailing from the SouthEastern Conference and the Big Ten setting a conference record with 11 1st round selections.
We mentioned earlier that there was a lot of “chalk” in the first round, but a couple of surprises of names that have to wait for day two would be Will Johnson (Michigan CB) who has been dealing with questions about injuries over the years and Shedeur Sanders (Colorado QB) who, along with his dad, have been vocal about being “picky” of what team to select.
Pirates Keep Sailing
By: Cameron Miller
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Brunswick High Pirates Baseball team is moving on to the Sweet 16 in the state playoffs.
The Pirates are the Class AAAAA Region 1, 3 seed, which lead them to taking a trip up to Villa Rica, Ga this past week to face off against the Villa Rica High School Wildcats.
The Wildcats were the Class AAAAA Region 5, 2 seed in this year’s state playoffs. They made it to the sweet 16 last year but ultimately, due to the great play of the Pirates, fell short of a repeat.
The first round in the bracket for this year had the Pirates scheduled to play games 1 and 2 on Wednesday the 23rd and if needed, game 3 would be played on Thursday the 24th.
The Pirates made the trip up with zero intentions of needing a game 3. They made the trip short and sweet, with a 1-0 win in game 1 and a 7-5 win in game 2, giving them a clean sweep of the series.
In Game 1, Trenton Robinson was on the mound for the Pirates, where he once again had an absolute lights-out performance.
Robinson pitched 7 full shutout innings, in which he struck out 7 batters, didn’t walk a single one of them, and only gave up 3 hits the entire game.
Brett Hickson had the game’s only RBI, with a groundout in the first inning, it was just enough for Jordan Lodise to be able to make it home to score and give the Pirates an early 1-0 lead that they held onto until the end.
In Game 2, Jordan Lodise made the start for the Pirates. Lodise pitched 4 innings for the Pirates before others such as Brett Hickson, Braxton Johnson, and Hunter Neal took the mound in relief.
Despite giving up 5 runs, the Brunswick bats were hot in this game, scoring 7 runs against the Wildcats.
Jordan Lodise led the Pirates batting going 3 for 4, with one of his hits being a double that scored 2 runs.
Garrison Strickland was also able to bring home 2 runs with a hard-hit ground ball that got through due to an error by the shortstop.
Another big hitter for the Pirates in this game was Trenton Robinson. Robinson went 1 for 2 with 2 walks, but his only hit came when they seemed to need it the most.
In a close 5-4 ball game in the bottom of the 6th inning, with Dawson Parke standing on 2nd base, he launched a series sealing, 2 run homerun over the left field wall.
Villa Rica tried to mount a comeback in the 7th, but the Pirates held on to close it out with a final score of 7-5.
The Pirates will now have to make the trip up to Warner Robins, Ga on April 29th for their Sweet 16 matchup where they will face off against the Houston County High School Bears.
Houston is the Class AAAAA Region 2, 1 Seed, so I’m sure the Pirates will be tested in this matchup, but if they can continue to stay this hot I have zero doubts in their ability to get the job done and advance to the Elite 8.
With The 1st Pick
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
“With the First Pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Tennessee Titans select Cameron Ward, Quarterback, Miami…”
That’s not only the phrase that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell uttered making Cam Ward the first overall selection in the Draft on Thursday night, but it’s also a phrase that many people would have laughed at even a year ago. Cam Ward’s path is one that isn’t replicable but it’s one that is special and untraveled.
Ward’s story really takes off at Columbia High School, a (in relation to Texas High Schools) smaller school less than 60 miles southwest of Houston. The Columbia High tradition isn’t of star quarterbacks going to the NFL, their tradition is…. the wing-T offense.
In an offense that is well known for quarterbacks that are more magicians than gunslingers, Ward’s offense ran the ball four times as much as throwing.
Cam’s family knew the talent that ward possessed in the arm, and his mom, Patrice (who was a basketball coach at Columbia) went to the coaches to talk about it. Cam finally told his mom to not say anything else and he would “show everyone in time.”
The first glimpse of stardom came at a 2019 football camp at Incarnate Word. UIW’s head coach at the time was Eric Morris who was the one who recruited Patrick Mahomes to Texas Tech when he was the offensive coordinator for the Red Raiders.
Morris saw Ward standing out pass after pass and asked his QB Coach, Mack Leftwich and asked, “Who is this kid?” and the response was “I have no clue.” As the day went on and Ward continued to impress Morris and Leftwich tracked down his name and directly after the camp to look at the tapes and were surprised to see the Wing-T offense.
Through a relatively light recruiting process, Ward would land at Incarnate Word and hit the ground running as a freshman. In year one as a collegiate quarterback, Ward would upset the FCS #19 McNeese State on the road in his first college start and average 47 pass attempts per game including 65 pass attempts in one game.
Two seasons at Incarnate Word would see 71 touchdowns and just shy of 7,000 passing yards, then questions would come.
Ward has said that he would have been content to play his entire career as an FCS quarterback, but after his sophomore season, Eric Morris would get the chance to become the Washington State offensive coordinator.
Because of the trust between Morris and Ward, Cam would follow to the Pacific Northwest. Although Morris would only spend one season with the Cougs before returning to the Lone Star State to North Texas, Ward stayed for two seasons at Washington State then declared for the NFL Draft.
Ward thought that a mid-round selection would determine his path, but his cousin, Quandre Diggs (NFL Pro-Bowl Safety) convinced him to return to college. Ward says that Diggs told him “If you’re not a first-round pick, you’re looked at as a project. Sometimes it works, sometimes you get buried in the organization.” With that in mind, Ward welcomed offers to transfer and finally landed in Coral Cables, Florida with Mario Cristobal and the Miami Hurricanes.
It turned out to be a great decision as Ward paced the FBS with 39 touchdowns and finished second in the nation with 4,313 passing yards. That sets Ward up for the night he’s always dreamed of.
In the shadows of Labeau Field, Cam Ward became a Tennessee Titan and looks to get the franchise that has struggled mightily the last few years back on track, and through all the naysayers, against all odds, Cam Ward is the number one pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Run
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
They all should have known better.
Jarred Kelenic should have ran. Brian Snitker should have benched his talent. And Ronald Acuña Jr. should have addressed the double standard internally rather than taking to X to say, “If it were me, they would take me out of the game.”
Acuña, who is not with the Atlanta Braves while recovering from a torn left ACL, later deleted his controversial post. The problem for Snitker, a Braves lifer, is that his star right fielder essentially stated a fact.
Snitker removed Acuña from a game in August 2019 for the same offense Kelenic committed Saturday night; failing to run hard on a fly ball out of the batter’s box he thought would be a home run.
He also pulled Ender Inciarte for lack of hustle in July 2018 and Marcell Ozuna for the same misstep in June 2023. Do you sense a pattern?
Snitker defended Acuña when the Miami Marlins repeatedly drilled Acuña in 2018. He continued playing Ozuna when many Braves fans booed him and wanted him released during his slow start to the 2023 season. And those are just two examples.
Still, just as players make mistakes, so do managers. Snitker hardly distinguished himself with his failure to bench Kelenic and his feeble responses to reporters’ questions about the incident the past two days.
Consider what Snitker said after benching Acuña, then the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, in 2019:
“He didn’t run. You’ve got to run. It’s not going to be acceptable here. As a teammate, you’re responsible for 24 other guys. That name on the front is a lot more important than the name on the back of that jersey.
“You can’t do that. We’re trying to accomplish and do something special here, and personal things have to be put on the back burner. You just can’t let your team down like that.”
Snitker should have taken the same stance with Kelenic, a struggling player and easier target than Acuña, a future MVP. Kelenic very well could be the player sent to Triple A when Acuña rejoins the Braves, possibly in early May.
Acuña was 21 then. He is 27 now, married with two sons. The general consensus around the Braves in recent seasons was that he matured, in the way most young players do in the MLB.
His post on X, like many reactions on social media, was made in the heat of the moment. But if there’s one thing players detest in managers, it’s inconsistency. Snitker was inconsistent with Kelenic. Acuña can be forgiven for lodging an objection.
How will this play out?
On The Clock
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
With the 2025 NFL Draft just days away, the Jacksonville Jaguars have the entire league guessing. Sitting at the No. 5 overall pick, they’ve become one of the hardest teams to predict, maybe even the hardest.
What once seemed like a sure thing now feels wide open, and nobody really knows what they’re going to do.
For months, the Jags were closely tied to Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham.
That talk didn’t slow down before or after the NFL Combine, or even once free agency hit.
But now? Doubts are creeping in. ESPN’s Adam Schefter, one of the most plugged-in voices in football, recently said on the Unsportsmanlike Podcast that he no longer thinks Jacksonville is going to take Graham at No. 5.
“I don’t believe Mason Graham will go No. 5,” Schefter said. “I feel pretty comfortable in saying that.” Instead, he hinted that the Jags could be looking at offense. Names like Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty and Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan have started getting thrown around as possible targets.
It’s a bit of a shock, especially considering how consistently Graham’s name had been tied to Jacksonville. But not everyone is sold on Graham’s fit, especially among analytics-driven teams. Ole Miss tackle Walter Nolen is a higher-ranked prospect, but Nolen has some character red flags to clear up.
There’s also talk that Jaguars head coach Liam Coen wants to bring in another offensive weapon to help quarterback Trevor Lawrence. That would make sense. Lawrence has had a lot on his plate, and adding a dynamic playmaker, whether it’s a running back like Jeanty or a wide receiver like McMillan, could help take some of the pressure off him and last year’s rookie sensation, wideout Brian Thomas Jr.
Other options on offense include LSU’s Will Campbell and Missouri’s Armand Membou if they’re looking to beef up the O-line instead. But no matter who it is, it’s clear that offense is on the table in a big way.
Another twist? Jacksonville might not even stay at No. 5. Some pundits see the Jags as a team that could trade down, and that’s something that starts to make a lot of sense once you look at their roster.
Right now, they’ve only got 59 players under contract, the fewest in the NFL. Even if they use all 10 of their picks, they’ll still be relying on a bunch of undrafted free agents just to fill the team out. Trading back and getting more picks could help with that.
James Gladstone, the Jags’ new GM, comes from the Rams, where he helped turn things around with a massive draft haul of 24 picks over two years.
He’s already said he wants to build through the draft, so don’t be surprised if he tries something similar in Jacksonville.
Then there’s the Travis Etienne situation. Schefter named him as one of the players who could be traded during draft week. No one’s saying the Jags are definitely shopping him, but it’s interesting that his name came up at all.
Etienne hasn’t exactly lit it up lately, averaging just 3.8 yards per carry over the last two seasons, and the O-line hasn’t helped much. Still, he’s been a big part of the passing game and could be a fit in Coen’s offense.
But if the Jaguars do take a running back early, it could mean fewer carries for Etienne, and maybe even a fresh start elsewhere for him.
The running back position is important in Coen’s system, so if they’re planning a change, they’ll have a replacement ready.
The Jaguars are a great example of what makes the NFL draft so interesting. They could really go in any direction with their current No. 5 pick by drafting for offense, for defense, by trading down, or maybe even a surprise move I haven’t even thought about yet.
One thing’s for sure though, with a new coach, a new GM, and a franchise QB still looking to fully break out, this pick has to count. And until they’re on the clock, the mystery rolls on.
Spring Buzz
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Georgia Tech played their spring game and Team Wreck ‘Em beat Swarm 20-19 in the White and Gold game.
Starting quarterback Haynes King played limited snaps in this game. I’m sure they wanted to make sure he stays healthy. King went 5-7 for 31 yards on the first drive for Team Swarm. The drive stalled so they had to punt.
Aidan Birr made a 47-yard field goal with 7:23 left in the first quarter to give Team Wreck ‘Em a 3-0 lead.
Wide receiver Zion Taylor had seven catches for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns. Bailey Stockton had six receptions for 107 yards.
QB Aaron Philo completed a 58-yard pass to Taylor and a 17-yard touchdown pass to Luke Harpring to put Swarm within one point. Philo’s game winning two-point conversion pass attempt was incomplete.
“It’s really about just staying patient, trusting the process and now I got the opportunity to go show my abilities and what I can do,” Taylor said of his day. “I just gotta make the most of it every time I get the chance.”
QB Graham Knowles threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Taylor with 1:40 left in the game. That turned out to be the game winner.
King completed 9 of 12 passes for 66 yards. Philo was 19 of 34 passing for 275 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Knowles completed 11 of 20 passes for 133 yards, a touchdown and a pick.
“Today was a perfect example of why I think it’s important to play spring games,” Tech coach Brent Key said. “There’s a lot of reasons behind it from external, fans and student body and people around, but the importance is when you go out and scrimmage and you have people in the stands, it’s a different environment. You don’t know how you’re gonna scrimmage by the way you practice, necessarily. You hope you do.
“Then you don’t know how you’re gonna scrimmage in a stadium with people in it as opposed to a stadium that is empty. Everything we’re doing trying to shrink that gap between our preparation and playing in a game. This is another step toward that.”
Freshman running back J.P. Powell scored a 1-yard touchdown early in the second quarter to give Team Wreck ‘Em a 10-0 lead. That capped of an 11-play drive.
Junior running back Jamal Haynes only had one carry but he did throw a touchdown pass. Haynes led the Yellow Jackets in rushing last season with 944 yards, 9 TD’s and he averaged 5.6 yards per carry. In 2023 he had 1,059 yards and 7 scores.
King threw a pass to Haynes in the right flat and Haynes caught it on the 45 and tossed a pass to Taylor who caught it at the 10. He dragged a defender into the end zone.
“We’re trying to build depth at quarterback,” Key joked during the ESPN livestream after the play.
Said Haynes postgame: “We put it in (Friday). We just wanted to bring a little fun to the game. Luckily, I had a great receiver to track down the ball because that (throw) was a little duck.”
“This is a reward for the players, too,” Key added. “You go through 14 days of practice, and I promise you our practices are real practice now. That’s the thing about spring; you go through all those practices and there’s no real reward other than the spring game. The reward is you’re getting better. So, give them an opportunity to go out there and play and you wanna see guys have fun, too.”
Show Me The Money
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I don’t know about you, but college football is my favorite sport.
It’s my favorite sport to watch, it’s my favorite to talk about, and it always been my favorite to report on.
Guys used to play the game by giving all they had, dreaming of the riches that may come for those fortunate enough to play in the NFL.
The collegiate game is definitely changing and looks more like the NFL because of Name Image and Likeness (NIL) money, and the ease of changing schools through the Transfer Portal.
Nico Iamaleava’s messy exit from Tennessee might’ve just shown us what college football’s new normal is going to look like.
After trying to renegotiate his NIL deal from around $2.2 million up to $4 million for the upcoming season, Iamaleava skipped a spring practice without telling anyone.
That was the final straw for head coach Josh Heupel, and now the once highly touted QB is in the transfer portal, looking for a new team and a bigger payday.
This wasn’t totally out of the blue. Iamaleava originally made headlines back in high school with an $8 million NIL deal, setting a new bar for recruits.
But now, with top quarterbacks like Carson Beck and Darian Mensah landing $4 million deals at Miami and Duke, Iamaleava’s camp, mainly his dad and agent, wanted to get him a raise to stay competitive.
The problem? It’s April, and most teams already have their rosters set. Plus, SEC rules mean he can’t transfer within the conference and play right away.
Options like North Carolina and Tulane were mentioned, but they’ve either backed off or just don’t have the budget for a $4 million quarterback.
All this has caused a lot of debate. Holding out is a move we’re used to seeing in the NFL, not college.
But with how NIL works right now, or doesn’t work, it’s kind of inevitable. There are no real rules or structure.
Deals vary wildly from one school to another, promises sometimes fall through, and the NCAA hasn’t done much to bring order to the chaos.
Without contracts that actually mean something or rules that apply to everyone, it’s a free-for-all.
Some folks say the fix is simple: treat players like coaches. Coaches sign contracts with buyouts. If they leave early, someone pays a fee. It could be the coach or the school hiring him, but that money changes hands.
That system doesn’t stop movement, but it does slow things down, maybe even helps with renegotiations or smoother exits.
If NIL deals worked the same way, with built-in buyouts, players and schools might think twice before jumping ship or playing hardball.
But that kind of fix only works if all the major schools are on board.
If some schools do it and others don’t, players will just follow the money to the places with fewer restrictions. And as long as athletes aren’t considered employees, there’s no collective bargaining to create consistent rules.
The NCAA keeps hoping Congress will step in, but let’s be real, that’s probably not happening. And any attempt to enforce tighter rules is likely to get challenged in court, like everything else the NCAA tries.
This isn’t about blaming Iamaleava or calling players greedy. It’s about recognizing that the system is broken and something has to give.
Right now, college football is stuck in this weird space where players have more power than ever, but the infrastructure hasn’t caught up.
Boosters and collectives are throwing around big money, but without guardrails, stories like this will keep popping up.
Iamaleava might not get the deal he wants this time around, but more players are going to try. This isn’t the end of college football, but it is a sign that the game’s rules, both on and off the field, are changing fast.
It’s time to stop reacting with shock every time something like this happens and start figuring out real solutions.
