Oregon St. QB Chiles follows Smith to Spartans
-
Pete Thamel, ESPN
Former Oregon State quarterback Aidan Chiles is transferring to Michigan State, he told ESPN, a move that reconnects him with new Spartans coach Jonathan Smith.
Chiles, who hails from Southern California, visited in recent days and decided to commit to Smith, the coach who recruited him out of high school and whom he played for during one promising season at Oregon State in 2023.
Chiles is immediately eligible and has three years of eligibility remaining, giving an immediate offensive identity to Smith’s tenure at Michigan State. Chiles will enroll immediately and arrive in early January.
With all of Michigan State’s scholarship quarterbacks entering the transfer portal, Chiles’ commitment gives Smith a bedrock player to build around and pitch recruits to play with. Chiles pointed out his affinity for Smith and the staff, familiarity with the offensive system, and the “bigger stage” offered by the Big Ten as reasons for his choice.
Chiles, who turned 18 in September, didn’t start any games for Oregon State this season. But he played well enough after enrolling in January to beat out veteran Ben Gulbranson for the backup quarterback job and push starter DJ Uiagalelei for playing time.
“I talked to Coach Smith, and at the end of the day, I told him, ‘I came to play for you,'” Chiles told ESPN. “‘Wherever you go, that’s where I want to be.'”
Chiles is 6-foot-3, 200 pounds and showcased dual-threat ability at Oregon State. Chiles said he didn’t visit any other schools.
Chiles flashed enough potential as a true freshman that Smith began inserting him for the third series of each game, beginning on Sept. 30 against Utah and stretching through the season. He played well for the entire season, showcasing the dual-threat ability that highlighted why the Oregon State staff prioritized getting him snaps during critical parts of games.
Chiles finished with four touchdown passes, three rushing touchdowns and completed 68.6% of his passes. He did not throw an interception in 35 attempts. The Oregon State coaching staff thought enough of Chiles that they considered him a legitimate contender for the starting job during summer camp.
“I knew he trusted in me, simply because I’m 17 and I’m getting a lot of reps I shouldn’t be getting,” Chiles said. “I saw that they believed in me, he’s putting me out there. He trusts me to go win this third drive and put up some points.”
Chiles also said that he developed a strong personal relationship with Smith, who would call him in his office on occasion and just ask him about school and life. The depth of the relationship mattered.
“He talked to me as a person, not as a player,” Chiles said. “I liked having a conversation with a coach who cares for my well-being.”
The move to Michigan State will reconnect him with both Smith and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brian Lindgren. Both were bullish all year on Chiles, with Smith’s public comments to the media in Oregon hinting that he knew he had a future star quarterback on his hands.
Chiles is now headed more than 2,000 miles from home. He joked after his visit to East Lansing that it was a little bit cold, but he enjoyed it.
“It was cool,” he said. “A bigger city than Corvallis. More stuff to do, more places to eat. It was still like a college town. Still felt the college town vibe. It was home-like. I liked it a lot. It was how I felt when I came to Corvallis, and I really appreciated the time I spent out there.”
Chiles described Smith and Lindgren’s system as pro-style, with the capability to evolve to the quarterback’s strengths. He said that with him being more mobile than Uiagalelei that the offense would likely move him out of the pocket some for an opportunity for some bigger plays.
Chiles’ arm talent may best be summed up by a third-and-17 completion to receiver Anthony Gould against Arizona earlier this season when the ball traveled nearly 60 yards in the air.
“The system is a quarterback-driven system, everyone rallies around the quarterback and trusts in him to make plays for the offense,” Chiles said. “I feel like I can make plays when needed to. Being young and being able to play the third drive in [nearly] every game, I’ve been trusted to do that already. The more I build on that trust, the better.”
Ultimately, Chiles’ transfer to Michigan State boils down to a reciprocation of that trust. He said a lot of players asked him about Smith’s culture on his visit, and he told them that Smith’s teams “play loose” and focus on combining “football and fun” with the inherent work required at this level.
Chiles said the underdog ethos of Michigan State is similar to that at Oregon State, as both are tasked with competing with the bigger in-state brands. Chiles said he’s looking forward to locking arms with Smith and the staff and building up Michigan State to a contender in the Big Ten.
“That’s also a big reason I liked it so much,” he said of the opportunity to build. “We can start from scratch. People can see what we build.”
Part of that building will be Chiles turning quickly from recruit to recruiter. He said he’s ready to engage to help Michigan State replenish its roster, which has seen significant portal defections after Mel Tucker was fired.
“I did the same thing at Oregon State when I committed there,” he said. “There’s not too much to it. At the end of the day, if the players want to play with you, they’re going to come.
“I’ll tell them, ‘I’m coming here. I’d love to play with you.'”
-
Michael Rothstein
The Trump administration’s 2026 fiscal budget request to Congress eliminates major federal funding for traumatic brain injury (TBI) research and education, potentially undercutting efforts to address head injuries in sports, particularly at the high school and youth levels.
The White House’s proposed budget, released Friday, includes eliminating the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention umbrella agency responsible for TBI research, including the $8.25 million marked for brain injury research and public education about the dangers of concussions. The CDC is facing $3.59 billion in budget cuts.
Although the president proposes the federal budget, it is up to Congress to approve a final budget bill, so the TBI program could be restored or moved to a different agency. The White House did not respond to an ESPN request for comment.
The budget proposal comes after the CDC on April 1 placed all five staffers devoted to administering the government’s main traumatic brain injury program on paid administrative leave, CDC employees told ESPN. Paid administrative leave means the workers are still government employees.
The budget cuts would “roll back decades of progress,” said Dr. Owen Perlman, a brain injury specialist and board member of the Brain Injury Association of America.
Among the items targeted is Heads Up, a concussion-prevention program for youth and high school coaches, athletic trainers and other sports officials. The CDC staffers put on leave administered the program. Forty-five states participate in the program to varying degrees, a CDC official said, asking not to be identified.
Staffers interviewed by ESPN declined to speak on the record, citing fears of administration retribution.
“We’re really worried about the hundreds of thousands of coaches who have to take this training,” the CDC official said. “This is really built in, and we’ve lost the whole team” behind the program.
Some Heads Up training is part of coaches’ and other sports officials’ state compliance requirements. The CDC official said hundreds of email queries are arriving every week asking how to comply as the federal program shuts down. The Heads Up website says more than 10 million people have participated in its online training programs.
Congress first approved TBI research funding in 1996. Legislation to keep the program going expired at the end of 2024, and a House bill to renew it has yet to advance out of committee.
In a 2018 CDC survey, 12% of adult respondents reported experiencing a head injury in the previous 12 months, including but not limited to sports-related activities. A follow-up study was being prepared when the staffers were placed on leave. The research data was part of a program to measure TBI prevalence and boost prevention, care and recovery efforts.
The Heads Up website remained active Monday but offered no clues regarding the program’s endangered status.
“In the last month, I don’t think the public has felt an impact,” a laid-off CDC employee said. “But when those websites, trainings and materials get pulled down or when they can’t be updated, I think that’s when the public will feel it.”
In the proposed White House budget, the National Institutes of Health would retain an institute devoted to overall brain research, although the name would slightly change. The institute focuses on medical issues such as stroke and migraines, and it’s unclear whether TBI programs would be absorbed into it.
Hospitals and universities conducting TBI research funded by the CDC are bracing for potential funding cutbacks.
“We might not [get] the next year of renewal or the next wave of funding. And that’s sad and scary and impactful for all kinds of people, including myself in this project,” said Christine Baugh, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado’s School of Medicine who is studying how parents decide whether to let their children play contact sports and whether brain-injury awareness campaigns influence their decisions.
On April 23, the National Academy of Sciences received orders to cancel work on two TBI workshops, one of which analyzed the risks of repeated head impacts on children. Both workshops had already been held. One of the workshop organizers, Dr. Fred Rivara, a pediatrics professor at the University of Washington, told ESPN that the cancellation affected funding for publishing the information, and he called the potential cuts “tragic.”
“That’s a perfect example of how this change in, or devastation of, funding at the CDC is impacting people,” Rivara said. “They want to know, for sports: What about these repetitive impacts? Are they bad for kids? It’s a perfect example of the impact of this.”
Traumatic brain injuries have lifelong repercussions on a person’s physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioral health, Perlman said.
Even though some states fund TBI-treatment programs independently of the federal government, concerns are growing about a domino effect if Congress fails to renew funding.
“For many people with concussions or certainly moderate or severe brain injuries, there’s no endpoint,” Perlman said. “It’s a lifetime problem, and there needs to be lifetime funding for it.”
The first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs is complete. Eight of the teams that made the postseason bracket have moved on, and eight others have been eliminated.
Before the second-round series begin, ESPN’s experts have identified their picks for each matchup. Which four teams will move on to the conference finals?
More: Full schedule
Betting intel
Atlantic Division
John Buccigross: Panthers in seven
Ryan Callahan: Panthers in six
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Panthers in six
Sachin Chandan: Panthers in six
Meghan Chayka: Panthers in six
Ryan S. Clark: Panthers in seven
Linda Cohn: Panthers in six
Rachel Doerrie: Panthers in six
Ray Ferraro: Panthers in six
Emily Kaplan: Panthers in seven
Tim Kavanagh: Maple Leafs in six
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Panthers in six
Steve Levy: Panthers in six
Vince Masi: Panthers in six
Victoria Matiash: Panthers in six
Sean McDonough: Panthers in six
Mark Messier: Panthers in six
AJ Mleczko: Panthers in six
Arda Öcal: Maple Leafs in six
Kristen Shilton: Maple Leafs in seven
John Thoering: Panthers in six
Bob Wischusen: Panthers in six
Greg Wyshynski: Panthers in six
Consensus prediction: Panthers (20 of 23 picks)
Metropolitan Division
John Buccigross: Capitals in seven
Ryan Callahan: Capitals in seven
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Capitals in six
Sachin Chandan: Capitals in six
Meghan Chayka: Hurricanes in six
Ryan S. Clark: Capitals in seven
Linda Cohn: Capitals in six
Rachel Doerrie: Capitals in six
Ray Ferraro: Capitals in seven
Emily Kaplan: Capitals in seven
Tim Kavanagh: Capitals in six
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Hurricanes in seven
Steve Levy: Capitals in five
Vince Masi: Hurricanes in six
Victoria Matiash: Hurricanes in six
Sean McDonough: Capitals in seven
Mark Messier: Hurricanes in six
AJ Mleczko: Hurricanes in five
Mike Monaco: Hurricanes in six
Arda Öcal: Capitals in six
Kristen Shilton: Hurricanes in six
John Thoering: Capitals in seven
Bob Wischusen: Capitals in seven
Greg Wyshynski: Capitals in seven
Consensus prediction: Capitals (16 of 24 picks)
Central Division
John Buccigross: Stars in seven
Ryan Callahan: Stars in five
Sachin Chandan: Stars in six
Ryan S. Clark: Stars in seven
Linda Cohn: Jets in seven
Rachel Doerrie: Stars in six
Ray Ferraro: Stars in six
Emily Kaplan: Stars in six
Tim Kavanagh: Stars in seven
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Stars in six
Steve Levy: Stars in seven
Vince Masi: Jets in seven
Victoria Matiash: Jets in seven
Sean McDonough: Stars in six
Mark Messier: Stars in six
Mike Monaco: Stars in six
Arda Öcal: Stars in six
Kristen Shilton: Stars in six
John Thoering: Stars in seven
Bob Wischusen: Jets in seven
Greg Wyshynski: Stars in six
Consensus prediction: Stars (17 of 21 picks)
Pacific Division
John Buccigross: Oilers in seven
Ryan Callahan: Golden Knights in six
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Oilers in seven
Sachin Chandan: Oilers in seven
Meghan Chayka: Golden Knights in seven
Ryan S. Clark: Golden Knights in seven
Linda Cohn: Oilers in seven
Rachel Doerrie: Golden Knights in seven
Ray Ferraro: Golden Knights in seven
Emily Kaplan: Golden Knights in seven
Tim Kavanagh: Golden Knights in six
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Golden Knights in six
Steve Levy: Golden Knights in seven
Vince Masi: Oilers in six
Victoria Matiash: Golden Knights in six
Sean McDonough: Golden Knights in seven
Mark Messier: Oilers in seven
AJ Mleczko: Golden Knights in six
Mike Monaco: Oilers in six
Arda Öcal: Oilers in six
Kristen Shilton: Oilers in seven
John Thoering: Golden Knights in seven
Bob Wischusen: Golden Knights in seven
Greg Wyshynski: Oilers in seven
Consensus prediction: Golden Knights (14 of 24 picks)
-
Greg Wyshynski
The Los Angeles Kings will not bring back Rob Blake, the team’s general manager and vice president of hockey operations, after a fourth straight first-round playoff exit.
Blake didn’t have a contract beyond the 2024-25 season. The status of coach Jim Hiller, who has two years left on his contract after Blake elevated him to head coach this season, will be in the hands of the next general manager.
Blake, 55, was elevated to the job in April 2017 after serving as assistant general manager under Dean Lombardi beginning in 2013-14, the last time the Kings won the Stanley Cup.
In eight seasons as GM, Blake’s teams made the Stanley Cup playoffs five times. However, Los Angeles failed to advance past the first round each time, getting swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018 and then being eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers for four straight postseasons, including the Kings’ Game 6 elimination last week.
The Kings had a .557 points percentage in the standings during his eight seasons as general manager, as Blake attempted to bridge the team’s two Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and 2014 to the next wave of stars like 22-year-old forward Quinton Byfield.
“On behalf of the entire organization, I would like to thank Rob for his dedication to the LA Kings and the passion he brought to his role,” Kings team president Luc Robitaille said in a statement. “Reaching this understanding wasn’t easy and I appreciate Rob’s partnership in always working toward what is best for the Kings. Rob deserves a great deal of credit and respect for elevating us to where we are today. He has been an important part of the Kings and will always be appreciated for what he has meant to this franchise.”
Blake’s tenure with the Kings saw them take big swings in acquiring key players, sometimes at a significant cost. In 2022, he shipped defenseman Brock Faber, a runner-up for rookie of the year last season, to the Minnesota Wild for winger Kevin Fiala, who tied with Adrian Kempe for the lead in goals this season for Los Angeles. He signed veteran forwards such as Phillip Danault and Warren Foegele as free agents and swung trades for players such as winger Viktor Arvidsson and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.
His most notorious trade was the one that sent three roster players to Winnipeg for center Pierre-Luc Dubois in 2023 and getting him on an 8-year, $68 million contract as the potential successor to franchise center Anze Kopitar. But Dubois was a one-and-done bust in Los Angeles and was flipped to the Washington Capitals for goalie Darcy Kuemper last offseason. Blake saved face on that one: Kuemper is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top regular-season goaltender. Blake also traded away franchise goalie Jonathan Quick and young defenseman Sean Durzi, now a steady hand for the Utah Hockey Club. Blake also traded draft assets to dump the contract of goalie Cal Petersen, whom the GM signed to a regrettable 3-year, $15 million deal.
In moving on from Blake, the Kings are also parting ways with a franchise icon. He spent 14 seasons of his Hall of Fame career with Los Angeles, and his No. 4 is retired with the team.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway