Nick Marshall was one of the biggest breakout stars in college football last season. His follow-up to that brilliant 2013 campaign has already hit its first snag. Although the Auburn Tigers quarterback wasn't arrested, he was reportedly cited for tinted windows and marijuana possession equaling less than one ounce, per WSFA 12 News in Alabama, via Rick Karle of WBRC Fox6 in Birmingham: Joel A. Erickson of AL.com has a few more details: Marshall, the returning quarterback who ...

In continuing our summer series of major college basketball conference projections for the 2014-15 season, this Friday we're diving into the SEC. For the bulk of the past decade, the SEC has been Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and a bunch of cannon fodder. Alabama is the only other team in the SEC that has won at least 57 percent of its conference games in more than one of the past eight seasons—and the Crimson Tide didn't ...

USC has been touted as Quarterback U and Linebacker U, but if The Opening is any indication, it may be building toward becoming Defensive Back U in the near future.  Isaiah Langley announced his pledge to the Trojans this week, scoring another impressive recruiting victory for head coach Steve Sarkisian and his staff for 2015. The 4-star cornerback and wide receiver from Foothill High School in Pleasanton, California, made it official on Tuesday.  Langley detailed the process ...

The Opening may be the best indication that the future looks very bright for the Florida State football team. FSU's verbal commitments and a number of prospects that are considering the Seminoles were among the standouts at the four-day showcase event, which wrapped up on Thursday in Oregon. Derwin James, a 5-star safety who has verbally committed to FSU, was named to the all-tournament team for the second straight year, according to  247Sports' Josh Newberg. "Derwin James has been ...

The marquee event of the summer recruiting season is over, with The Opening in the rearview mirror after three days of SPARQ (speed, power, agility, reaction and quickness) testing, Elite 11 quarterbacking and seven-on-seven touch football at Nike's headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.  For college football fans following recruiting, The Opening gave us a rare apples-to-apples comparison of some of the nation's top recruits. With NFL combine-like testing, live drills and reps for linemen, and a seven-on-seven tournament ...

The 2014 college football season won't kick off for another seven weeks, but the past four days gave the Oregon Ducks plenty of reason to anticipate 2015.  Dozens of the nation's top 2015 recruits converged in the Ducks' backyard—Beaverton, Oregon—for The Opening 2014. The Nike-hosted event featured several top Oregon targets, as well as some recruits already committed to head coach Mark Helfrich's 2015 class.    Waller Wows   The latest addition to Oregon's 2015 recruiting class, 4-star quarterback Travis ...

Alabama was represented well at Nike's The Opening in Beaverton, Oregon, this past week, sending 10 of its 19 committed players—and many more of its targets—to the nation's most high-profile recruiting exhibition. All of the future Crimson Tide players acquitted themselves well at the camp, and some of them were awarded MVP honors in the process. That shouldn't come as a surprise, though, as Alabama once again checks in with the No. 1 class on the 247Sports team ...

Different Verse, Same as the First? Alabama running back Kenyan Drake isn't doing anything alarmingly bad, but it seems like he's always getting into trouble. He was suspended for violation of team rules in 2012 and didn't make the trip to Atlanta to open the 2013 season vs. Virginia Tech after getting into head coach Nick Saban's doghouse, according to AL.com's Mike Herndon. Last weekend, he was arrested for misdemeanor obstruction of governmental operations.  "I'm aware of the situation with ...

The Opening is over, and a lot went down this week in Beaverton, Oregon. While the focus of the event concerned on-field performance and competition, several recruits used the camp as a platform to announce where they will play college football. A 5-star defensive tackle made his decision, while Miami got itself another 4-star running back. Plus, a pair of Pac-12 programs made some noise. This list will not be complicated, as we will quickly run down all of ...

Michigan head coach Brady Hoke lured offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier away from Alabama with a clear mandate to rebuild the running game. Michigan’s offense, once known for producing a steady stream of elite collegiate running backs and offensive linemen, had devolved during the post-Lloyd Carr era into one that relied on the quarterback position to power its running attack. Last season was supposed to be different—but a patchwork offensive line and tentative running by senior back Fitzgerald Toussaint ...