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Houston‘s Shannon Dawson is set to be named Miami‘s offensive coordinator, sources confirmed to ESPN, completing coach Mario Cristobal’s coordinator hires.

Last week, the Hurricanes hired Lance Guidry to be their defensive coordinator after Kevin Steele left for Alabama.

Dawson has spent the past four seasons at Houston under Dana Holgorsen and was also with Holgorsen at West Virginia. Dawson was promoted to offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Houston in 2020 after spending the 2019 season as tight ends coach.

In other Miami coaching moves, Kevin Smith, who spent last season as the Hurricanes’ running backs coach, is returning to Ole Miss in the same position, sources told ESPN. Smith will reunite with Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss, where Smith coached the Rebels’ running backs in 2020 and ’21 and helped recruit Quinshon Judkins, who led the SEC in rushing last season as a freshman.

Smith had followed Kiffin to Ole Miss from Florida Atlantic, where Smith was the Owls’ running backs coach from 2017 to ’19. While Smith was at FAU, Devin Singletary became the first running back in NCAA history to score 29 touchdowns in a season since Smith did it while playing at UCF, where he set 17 school rushing records. Smith is the fifth Miami assistant this offseason to leave or be fired.

In Dawson’s three seasons as Houston’s quarterbacks coach, the Cougars combined to throw 87 touchdown passes (13th nationally) with a 65.3 completion percentage (19th).

Houston quarterback Clayton Tune threw an AAC-record 40 touchdown passes last season. The Cougars averaged 36 points or more per game each of the past two seasons.

Dawson, 45, was the offensive coordinator at West Virginia for three seasons from 2012 to ’14, then the offensive coordinator at Kentucky for a season in 2015 and at Southern Miss for three seasons in 2016-18 before going to Houston. One of Dawson’s first coaching jobs was with Hal Mumme at Southeastern Louisiana.

Dawson replaces Josh Gattis, who was fired in January after just one season at Miami.

Sports Illustrated first reported Tuesday that Dawson was expected to be named Miami’s next offensive coordinator.

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Rich Rod bans Mountaineers from TikTok dancing

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Rich Rod bans Mountaineers from TikTok dancing

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez, like all football coaches, wants his players to show up on time, work hard and play their best.

Oh, and another thing: Don’t dance on TikTok.

“They’re going to be on it, so I’m not banning them from it,” he said Monday. “I’m just banning them from dancing on it. It’s like, look, we try to have a hard edge or whatever, and you’re in there in your tights dancing on TikTok, ain’t quite the image of our program that I want.”

Making TikTok dance videos is a popular activity among high school- and college-age users of the social media platform. Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, Boise State star Ashton Jeanty and Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola are among college football players who have posted dance videos.

Rodriguez is beginning his second stint as Mountaineers coach. He said he has talked to his players about the tendency in society to emphasize the individual rather than the team and that banning TikTok dancing is something he can do to put the focus where he thinks it belongs.

“I’m allowed to do that. I can have rules,” he said. “Twenty years from now, if they want to be sitting in their pajamas in the basement eating Cheetos and watching TikTok or whatever the hell, they can go at it, smoking cannabis, whatever. Knock yourself out.”

As for now, he said: “I hope our focus can be on winning football games. How about let’s win the football game and not worry about winning the TikTok?”

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Battle, DB star at USC and former Jet, dies at 78

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Battle, DB star at USC and former Jet, dies at 78

LOS ANGELES — Mike Battle, an All-American defensive back and a member of USC‘s 1967 national championship team who later played two seasons for the New York Jets, has died. He was 78.

He died of natural causes on March 6 in Nellysford, Virginia, the school said Tuesday.

In 1967, Battle led a USC defense that allowed only 87 points all season. The Trojans were 26-6-1 and won three conference titles during his three-year career. Battle played in the 1967, 1968 and 1969 Rose Bowl games, all won by the Trojans.

Battle was USC’s annual punt return leader in each of his three seasons and still owns the school record for most punts returned in a season. He was the NCAA statistical champion in 1967, when he had 49 returns for 608 yards, a 12.4-yard average. He also holds the school mark for most punts returned, with 99 during his three years.

He was chosen in the 12th round of the 1969 NFL draft by the Jets and played for two seasons in 1969 and 1970.

Battle appeared in the 1970 film “C.C. and Company,” a biker film starring Jets teammate Joe Namath and actor Ann-Margret.

He is survived by his wife Laura and children Christian Michael, Hunter, Frank, Michael, Kathleen, Murphy and Annie.

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Stars forward Hintz out a week with facial injury

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Stars forward Hintz out a week with facial injury

Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz will be sidelined for a week with a facial injury but avoided a fracture.

General manager Jim Nill said Tuesday that Hintz has to keep his heart rate down for 5-7 days to avoid pressure or swelling.

Hintz, 28, was struck in the face by a puck midway through the second period in Saturday’s 5-4 loss at Edmonton. He did not return.

Hintz is tied for second on the Stars in goals (25) and is fourth in points (52) through 59 games this season.

He has 362 points (172 goals, 190 assists) in 451 career games in seven NHL seasons. Dallas drafted him in the second round in 2015.

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