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LSU athletic director Scott Woodward, who has made a name for himself by hiring high-profile coaches, is set to receive a four-year contract extension that would pay him $1.85 million per year.

LSU’s board of supervisors is scheduled to vote on the extension Friday afternoon.

Woodward’s new contract would run through April 30, 2029, and includes academic incentives that could boost his pay by as much as $250,000 per year. Should he meet certain benchmarks, he could earn $500,000 bonuses in fiscal year 2025 and 2029.

Also included in the contract is a “milestone performance payment” of $500,000 should any varsity sport team win a national championship or three teams win SEC championships.

Woodward returned to his hometown and alma mater in 2019 after stints as athletic director at Texas A&M (2016-19) and Washington (2007-16). He helped make former Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher an Aggie in December 2017, signing him to an unprecedented fully guaranteed contract of 10 years and $75 million.

Woodward’s first big move at LSU was hiring Hall of Fame women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey from Baylor in the spring of 2021.

In October, Woodward fired football coach Ed Orgeron, who had led the Tigers to a national championship during the 2019 season but struggled to .500 seasons in 2020 and 2021.

Woodward made yet another splashy move when he replaced Orgeron with Notre Dame‘s Brian Kelly, the winningest active coach in college football and a three-time Coach of the Year winner. Woodward signed Kelly to a 10-year, $95 million contract in December.

LSU football has experienced ups and downs during the first part of Kelly’s inaugural season, losing the season opener to Florida State in New Orleans before bouncing back to win four straight games.

The Tigers lost 40-13 at home to Tennessee two weeks ago but recovered to beat Florida on the road on Oct. 15. They host No. 7 Ole Miss on Saturday.

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.

Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.

O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.

Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.

In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”

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Gators’ Lagway ‘ready to play,’ will start vs. LSU

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Gators' Lagway 'ready to play,' will start vs. LSU

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.

Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.

Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.

The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.

LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.

Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

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Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

No. 12 Georgia will be without leading rusher Trevor Etienne for Saturday’s showdown against No. 7 Tennessee.

Etienne was downgraded from questionable to out on Thursday night’s SEC availability report.

Etienne left Georgia’s win over Florida with an upper-body injury on Nov. 2 and did not return. He played limited snaps in last week’s 28-10 loss at Ole Miss, carrying the ball six times for 24 yards.

Etienne leads the Bulldogs with 477 rushing yards and seven touchdowns this season.

The loss is another blow to Georgia’s banged-up backfield. Cash Jones is also listed as questionable while Branson Robinson remains out after missing the past three games with a knee injury.

That leaves true freshman Nate Frazier as the only healthy Bulldogs running back who has played meaningful snaps this year. Frazier is second on the team with 333 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

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