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Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said he was a little surprised by recent comments from Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, who publicly told Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire that he “better take care of business” against the Longhorns.

The Longhorns will host the rival Red Raiders on Nov. 24, the day after Thanksgiving, in their final Big 12 game before departing for the SEC. Texas Tech beat Texas last year in Lubbock, 37-34 — an upset that Yormark referenced last week while speaking to the Red Raider Club.

“Coach [McGuire], I’m not going to put any pressure on you, but I’m gonna be in Austin for Thanksgiving, OK? And you’d better take care of business like you did right here in Lubbock last year,” Yormark said.

When asked Monday about Yormark’s remark, Sarkisian joked that the reporter was “trying to get him in trouble” before responding.

“I got a letter from the commissioner about sportsmanship the day before that speech, so I’m trying to figure out what are we promoting to our student-athletes,” Sarkisian said. “To go say those types of things? I’m not guessing he’s gonna have his Thanksgiving dinner with us the night before that game.”

Inside the Texas locker room, the message this spring has been to “embrace the hate” that the Longhorns know they’ll face from hostile crowds. Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte has been vocal about it as well, including responding to a fan that sent him a photo of a T-shirt mockup with the mantra.

“Pickin’ up whatcha putting down,” Del Conte said in reference to an “embrace the hate” shirt.

“The reality of it is that a lot has been made about [Yormark’s comments],” Sarkisian said. “A lot has been made about a T-shirt being made. Let’s not make this more than it is. This is about us. We’re focused on what we get to do and why we get to do it. We’re proud to be part of the University of Texas. … We know who’s behind us, and that’s OK. Now let’s go play.”

Texas, ranked No. 11 in the preseason Associated Press poll, hasn’t won the Big 12 since 2009. The Longhorns also were picked as the conference favorite in the league’s preseason media poll.

One reason for the optimism around this year’s season has been the the development of quarterback Quinn Ewers, according to Sarkisian, who said that the lack of a starting quarterback battle has allowed him to handle Ewers differently this year.

“It’s coaching him to be the best that he an be and not feel like sometimes that I’m pointing things out that he’s doing wrong,” said Sarkisian, who added that the backup race between Maalik Murphy and Arch Manning has yet to be determined.

“Who do we feel like come Thursday is the guy that earned that opportunity to be the backup this week, that’ll be who the backup is,” he said.

Texas opens its season Saturday at home against Rice, which has lost the last 15 meetings with the Longhorns.

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Bo Jackson gives up $21M in lawsuit vs. family

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Bo Jackson gives up M in lawsuit vs. family

MARIETTA, Ga. — Bo Jackson is giving up a $21 million judgment against his niece and nephew, who the former football and baseball star said harassed and tried to extort money from him.

A judge in February ruled in Jackson’s favor in the lawsuit he had filed in April 2023 against Thomas Lee Anderson and Erica M. Anderson, also known as Erica Anderson Ross.

Jackson, who won the Heisman Trophy as an Auburn running back and also played in the NFL and in MLB, had alleged in his lawsuit that his relatives tried to extort $20 million from him through harassment and intimidation.

In addition to the monetary award, last year’s ruling included a permanent protective order barring his niece and nephew from bothering or contacting him and his immediate family. It also said they must stay at least 500 yards from the Jacksons and remove social media posts about them.

Cobb County Superior Court Judge Jason D. Marbutt said in his February order that neither Jackson’s niece and nephew nor their attorneys rebutted Jackson’s claims or participated in the case after a May 2023 hearing, when they consented to a temporary protective order. The judge found the Andersons to be in default, accepting as true all of Jackson’s allegations.

After that ruling was issued, a new lawyer for the Andersons filed a motion in March to set aside that judgment and to dismiss the lawsuit, according to court filings. In a filing Tuesday, Jackson and the Andersons jointly asked the judge to throw out February’s order, withdraw the Andersons’ pending motions and enter a consent judgment.

“In the meantime, the Parties have conducted two mediations and have reached a private agreement resolving this dispute,” the filing says.

Marbutt on Wednesday issued an order vacating his February ruling at the request of Jackson and his niece and nephew.

That consent judgment finds in Jackson’s favor on several counts and dismisses others, awards no damages to Jackson or to his niece and nephew, and says the parties shall pay their own attorneys’ fees. It also says the Andersons must not harass or intimidate Jackson and his wife and children and must stay 500 yards away from them except in certain circumstances, including court appearances, sporting events and family functions. The Andersons are also not to have any contact with Jackson and his wife and children.

Jackson, 62, had alleged that the harassment began in 2022 and included threatening social media posts and messages and public allegations that put him in a false light. He also alleged that public disclosure of private information was intended to cause him severe emotional distress. With the help of an attorney, the Andersons demanded $20 million to stop. Jackson said he feared for his own safety and that of his family.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Saban, Meyer, Vick, Strahan top ’25 HOF class

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Saban, Meyer, Vick, Strahan top '25 HOF class

Urban Meyer will join Nick Saban in the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame class, and Michael Vick and Michael Strahan are among the former players who will be inducted.

The National Football Foundation announced Saban’s selection last week and the rest of the 18-player, four-coach class Wednesday.

Saban retired last year as the NCAA’s active leader in wins with 292-71-1 over 28 seasons at Toledo, Michigan State, LSU and Alabama. His seven national championships — one at LSU, six at Alabama — is the most by a Football Bowl Subdivision coach.

Meyer was 187-32 with three national championships over 17 seasons at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State. He won 22 of 24 games at Utah before taking over at Florida, where he won national titles in 2006 and 2008. He moved to Ohio State in 2012, won his third national championship in 2014 and went 83-9 over seven seasons.

Vick was the consummate dual-threat quarterback in his two seasons at Virginia Tech, where he led the Hokies to a 22-2 record and the 1999 national championship game. His 13-year NFL career was interrupted by his 2007 conviction for his involvement in a dogfighting ring. He pleaded guilty and served 21 months in federal prison before resuming his career in 2009. Last month he was hired as Norfolk State’s head coach.

Strahan, now co-host on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and a “Fox NFL Sunday” analyst, was a terror as a defensive lineman for Texas Southern from 1989 to 1992. He recorded 41.5 sacks in four seasons before he went on to play 15 seasons for the New York Giants. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014.

Terry Hanratty, 24-4-2 as Ara Parseghian’s quarterback at Notre Dame 1966-68, also was selected. He helped lead the 1966 team to a share of the national championship and joins teammates Jim Lynch, Alan Page and Joe Theismann in the Hall of Fame.

Among other picks was Wisconsin’s Montee Ball, who won the 2012 Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best running back. The year before, he had tied Barry Sanders’ NCAA record of 39 total touchdowns in a season. He finished his career with 5,140 rushing yards, averaging 104.9 per game, and 77 rushing touchdowns.

Other players in the 2025 class are Gregg Carr of Auburn, Blake Elliott of Saint John’s (Minnesota), Greg Eslinger of Minnesota, Graham Harrell of Texas Tech, John Henderson of Tennessee, Michael Huff of Texas, Jim Kleinsasser of North Dakota, Alex Mack of California, Terrence Metcalf of Mississippi, Haloti Ngata of Oregon, Steve Slaton of West Virginia, Darrin Smith of Miami, Dennis Thurman of Southern California and Ryan Yarborough of Wyoming.

Other coaches in the class are Larry Blakeney of Troy and Larry “Bub” Korver of Northwestern College (Iowa). Blakeney guided the Trojans from Division II to the FBS from 1991 to 2014 and remains the Sun Belt Conference’s coaching wins leader with a 178-113-1 record. Korver was 212-77-6 with two NAIA championships in 28 years (1967-94) at Northwestern.

The 2025 class will be inducted Dec. 9 during an awards dinner in Las Vegas. The Hall of Fame is in Atlanta.

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QB Sluka, who left UNLV over NIL, chooses JMU

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QB Sluka, who left UNLV over NIL, chooses JMU

Quarterback Matthew Sluka, who sparked a national conversation about the ramifications of name, image and likeness deals after departing UNLV, has transferred to James Madison.

His new school posted a graphic of Sluka draped in a royal purple robe with a crown atop his head to celebrate his transfer to the Dukes.

Sluka announced after starting the Rebels’ first three games this season that he was leaving because he said the program didn’t follow through on a $100,000 NIL payment that was promised upon transferring from Holy Cross. He preserved his final season of eligibility because he didn’t play in four games.

UNLV and its collective, Friends of UNLV, pushed back on Sluka’s assertion.

Sluka led the Rebels to a 3-0 start, passing for 318 yards and rushing for 253 with a combined seven touchdowns.

Hajj-Malik Williams took over as the starter the rest of the season, and the Rebels finished 11-3 and ranked No. 24 in the AP poll and CFP rankings. They appeared in the Mountain West championship game and won the LA Bowl.

James Madison went 9-4 this season and won the Boca Raton Bowl.

Sluka could compete with Richmond transfer Camden Coleman for the starting job, largely depending on incumbent Alonza Barnett‘s health. Barnett suffered a late-season knee injury that required surgery.

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