Football season is a little more than a month away, and the Texas Longhorns will need to prepare for the talent they will face in 2014. Head coach Charlie Strong's team has a decent number of questions that will need to be answered soon in order to keep up with the competition. According to CBSSports.com's Jerry Palm, the Longhorns' schedule is the toughest in the Big 12. Nonconference opponents BYU and UCLA will be no walk in ...

It was a good year for blue-chip true freshmen in 2013. Of the top 22 players on the 247Sports composite rankings, 18 saw at least a fair amount of playing time—everyone except for Reuben Foster, Matthew Thomas, Kenny Bigelow and Max Browne—and appear to be on track for nice college careers. Further down the list of top 50 overall prospects, players such as Alabama defensive end A'Shawn Robinson, Ole Miss safety Tony Conner, Ohio State defensive end ...

When Jonathan Bonner signed with Notre Dame, it didn't give the Irish much of a bump in the recruiting rankings. A 3-star prospect from Missouri, Bonner only checked in at 599th on the 247 Sports composite rankings. While he had offers from the home-state Tigers and Michigan State, his offer and commitment after attending the Irish summer camp raised a few eyebrows.  But Bonner was a late-bloomer on the football field. He was named the St. Louis ...

SEC media days are over. And Les Miles, yet again, was one of the brightest stars of the show.  Miles gave updates on all three of his kids, "Smacker," Manny and Macy, multiple times throughout the day before briefing the media. He also shared his affinity for the World Cup and New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter's performance in the MLB All-Star Game. Miles' also shared a story of a family vacation to Austin, Texas. He said ...

With so many departures from last year's Wisconsin football team, depth becomes something of an issue throughout the team.  As the Badgers' talent level continues to increase, who fills in those key backup spots will be important as they look to improve off last year's 9-4 season. With a lot of the starting spots still up for grabs, let's take a look at four players without a home in the starting lineup that will be vital ...

A point of pride for USC in 2013 was overcoming its limited numbers. The toll of NCAA-mandated scholarship reductions, combined with the typical build-up of injuries during a season, left the Trojans' roster thin.  The number 13 is now etched in USC lore, roughly equivalent to the 300 of Sparta. Thirteen is the number of defenders USC played in its upset of then-No. 5 Stanford last November—and as Reign of Troy notes via Twitter, the Trojans' ...

Arkansas coach Bret Bielema may have given us the best sports quote of the year during a media session Wednesday.  When talking about freshman defensive tackle Bijhon Jackson, Bielema had nothing but good things to say about the player—or at least his body. The Razorbacks coach's quote definitely makes for an awesome Vine. Arkansas players should be able to have some fun with both Bielema and Jackson about that fantastic quote. Warning: Vine contains NSFW language. [Vine]Read more College ...

The notion that Urban Meyer is obsessed with speed is more of a fact than it is an opinion. A year ago, I was watching high school prospects run 40-yard dashes at Ohio State's summer camp when a recruiting reporter turned to me following a particularly impressive showing. "Urban's not going to be able to help himself," the reporter said with a smile. No more than 10 minutes later, wide receiver Terry McLaurin had a scholarship offer from ...

For Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich, the 2013 season was about settling in and getting a feel for his new role. His second year is more about putting his own signature on the Ducks after following the tough act of predecessor Chip Kelly. "When you go through something more than once, you better be more efficient and better," Helfrich said on the coaches teleconference call in May, via Pac-12.com.  Helfrich is through his second spring practice season, and ...

Alabama's turn finally came on Day 4 of 2014 SEC media days, and with only Kentucky—a team that hasn't won a league game since 2011—in the room during their session, the Tide had the lion's share of the spotlight to themselves. Nick Saban and his three carefully selected players held court in their home state after what has been an interesting offseason. Most of the players on this team are used to ending the season with ...