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  • Bill Connelly, ESPN Staff WriterJan 10, 2024, 08:44 PM ET

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      Bill Connelly is a staff writer for ESPN.com.

For an entire era, Nick Saban completely broke the definition of success in college football.

Mark Richt won at least nine games in 11 of 15 years at Georgia, with two conference titles and seven top-10 finishes, just one fewer than the legendary Vince Dooley had in 25 years. Richt was fired after the last of those nine-win seasons.

Les Miles never won fewer than eight games in 11 full seasons at LSU. He won a national title with five top-10 finishes, more than the Tigers had managed in the 35 years before his hire. He was fired after losing two games early in 2016.

After a run of six straight top-three finishes with two national titles, Dabo Swinney’s Clemson has merely averaged 10 wins over the past three years, and it kind of seems like a crisis. Lincoln Riley has won 65 games in six full-length seasons and Ryan Day has won 46 in four, and they’re both facing extreme pressure and doubt. And while I’m not going to pretend this is all because of one man in Tuscaloosa — losing three straight to Michigan, as Day has, will always test the patience of Ohio State fans, for instance — Saban’s relentlessly consistent success scrambled the brains of fans and administrators throughout the sport.

Simply put, Nick Saban, who announced his retirement from coaching Wednesday, was the best, most successful coach in college football history. No one — not Bear Bryant, not Bobby Bowden, not Bud Wilkinson, not Bernie Bierman, not Frank Leahy, not Woody Hayes, not Walter Camp — can match his seven national titles. And while the College Football Playoff didn’t come into existence until Saban had already won four titles, it will still take Swinney two more trips or Kirby Smart five more trips to match Saban’s eight appearances in 10 years.

It’s not even just the titles, though. Fluky losses happen, and they can derail title bids, but even when Saban’s Alabama teams didn’t win the title, they were almost always title-worthy.

Here’s a complete list of teams that finished either first or second in SP+ — my opponent-adjusted power rating — for at least five straight seasons:

  • Penn, 1894-98 (five years)

  • Michigan, 1901-05 (five)

  • Georgia Tech, 1917-21 (five)

  • USC, 1925-29 (five)

  • Ole Miss, 1959-63 (five)

  • Miami, 1986-91 (six)

  • Yale, 1884-95 (12)

  • Alabama, 2009-21 (13)

Miami’s five-year run of near perfection was good enough to inspire a 30 for 30. It was the only run of its kind between the mid-1960s and the mid-2000s. But in an era of 85-man scholarship limits, with tougher national title runs — a guaranteed 1-versus-2 matchup starting in 1998, a four-team playoff starting in 2014 — Saban’s Crimson Tide more than doubled Miami’s run and topped that of even late-1800s Yale, which had to compete with only a few dozen football-playing schools.

And even that doesn’t fully capture the brilliance of Saban’s run because it doesn’t capture the complete and total reinvention that happened halfway through it.

Saban won BCS national titles in 2009, 2011 and 2012 with otherworldly defense; SP+, in fact, grades the 2011 unit — which allowed 8.2 points per game and just 3.3 yards per play, pitched a shutout in the BCS Championship and allowed more than 14 points just once all year — as the best defense in college football history. But he saw that the sport was becoming far more offense-oriented. “Is this what we want football to be?” he famously asked of the sport’s increasing tempo and point totals in 2012. But as the joke goes, he wasn’t complaining — he was just confirming. Because starting with the hire of Lane Kiffin as offensive coordinator in 2014, he shifted his program emphasis more to that side of the ball.

“It used to be that good defense beats good offense,” he told ESPN’s Chris Low in 2020. “Good defense doesn’t beat good offense anymore. […] It used to be if you had a good defense, other people weren’t going to score. You were always going to be in the game. I’m telling you, it ain’t that way anymore.”

So be it: After ranking either first or second in defensive SP+ for 10 straight years from 2008 to ’17, his Tide ranked first on offense for five straight years from 2018 to ’22. He completely reinvented his program, and its overall level never really dropped. The Tide continued to rank first or second overall every year and never went more than three years without another national title.

Until 2023. It stands to reason that, even when Bama’s level finally dropped a bit — even as the offense briefly battled its first QB crisis in years, and the Tide both lost at home to Texas by 10 points and had to survive four one-score finishes and a number of performances that were mediocre by their standards — Saban’s final team still went 11-1 in the regular season, won the SEC and derailed Georgia’s nearly two-year winning streak and hopes of a third straight national title. The Tide unjustly secured a CFP bid over unbeaten Florida State, but whether it was deserved or not, they damn near beat eventual national champion Michigan once they got there. Saban seemed to hate dealing with collectives and the NIL era, and he dipped into the transfer portal only so much, but he continued to clear an impossibly high bar when it came to procuring talent, and his worst team in 15 years was still excellent by the standards of anyone other than Saban himself.

During his time dominating college football, he was also defining the future of it, hiring the coaches who would occupy seemingly every major job around him. At Michigan State, he hired future MSU head coach, playoff participant and soon-to-be Hall of Fame inductee Mark Dantonio. At LSU, Saban employed future national champion Jimbo Fisher, plus future SEC head coaches Will Muschamp and Dooley and future NFL head coaches Pat Shurmur and Adam Gase. The Bama staff was constantly raided by rivals hoping to find their own Saban. Current Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, Ole Miss‘ Lane Kiffin, Oregon‘s Dan Lanning, Florida‘s Billy Napier, Maryland‘s Mike Locksley, Miami‘s Mario Cristobal, Indiana‘s Curt Cignetti, Marshall‘s Charles Huff, Arkansas State‘s Butch Jones and Central Michigan‘s Jim McElwain are among the current active coaches who spent time under Saban in Tuscaloosa, as is the New York Giants‘ Brian Daboll. Hell, even Saban’s Miami Dolphins staff featured a number of future NFL coaches.

Then there was Kirby Smart. The former Georgia safety landed on Saban’s LSU staff in 2004, then scored an assistant role with Saban’s Dolphins in 2006. And from 2007 to ’15, Smart was the veritable right-hand man for the sport’s best coach. In 2016, he replaced Richt at UGA and proceeded to build the only Death Star that could consistently rival Saban’s. Georgia lost a heartbreaker to Bama in 2017’s national title game but returned the favor in 2021, then won a second title a year later. The Dawgs have finished either first or second in SP+ for three straight years, and while that’s still 10 years short of Saban’s incredible run, if any active coach has a chance of matching Saban’s exploits, it’s his greatest protege.

Saban’s last win, by the way, came over Smart. There’s some poetry in that.

Michigan State had been stuck in a rut when Saban began his first head-coaching job there in 1995. The Spartans had averaged just 5.9 wins per season in the seven years before his arrival, and after a few years of laying groundwork, his final MSU team went 10-2 with a top-10 finish in 1999.

LSU had been regarded as a sleeping giant for decades when Saban moved to Baton Rouge in 2000. The Tigers had enjoyed only one top-five finish between 1962 and ’99 and had averaged 5.5 wins over the previous 12 years. Saban averaged 9.6, breaking through with a 10-win campaign in 2001 and a national title in 2003.

Alabama, of course, was a spectacular mess when he finally gave in to athletic director Mal Moore’s persistent pleas and signed up after a brief sojourn in the NFL. Despite winning the 1992 national title, the Tide had averaged 8.1 wins per year with three top-five finishes in the 24 years since Bear Bryant had retired. Between 1997 and 2006, the school cranked through four head coaches and finished .500 or worse on five occasions. Boosters and administrators were pulling the program in about 17 different directions, but after a single transition year, Saban had everything aligned. And he unleashed a run of dominance we might never see again.

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ESPN Football Recruiting – 300 Player Rankings

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April 9, 2025

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ESPN Football Recruiting - 300 Player Rankings

RK PLAYER POS HOMETOWN HT WT STARS GRADE SCHOOL

1 DT Baton Rouge, LA
University Laboratory School 6’5” 285 93

2 DE Baltimore, MD
St. Frances Academy 6’4” 220 92

3 OT Nixa, MO
Nixa High School 6’8” 315 92

4 WR Santa Ana, CA
Mater Dei High School 6’6” 200 92

5 QB-PP Nashville, TN
Nashville Christian School 6’4” 225 92

6 QB-PP Plantation, FL
American Heritage High School 6’3” 215 91

7 RB Hollywood, FL
Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School 6’2” 205 91

8 QB-PP Greensboro, NC
Grimsley High School 6’4” 195 91

9 DE Tupelo, MS
Tupelo High School 6’7” 260 91

10 WR Hattiesburg, MS
Hattiesburg High School 6’3” 190 91

11 TE-Y Reidsville, NC
Reidsville High School 6’6” 250 90

12 OT North Bethesda, MD
Georgetown Prep 6’7” 350 90

13 OLB Loganville, GA
Grayson High School 6’2” 215 90

14 ATH Spring Valley, CA
Mount Miguel High School 6’1” 180 90

15 CB Akron, OH
Archbishop Hoban High School 5’11” 180 90

16 ATH Spring, TX
Legacy The School of Sport Sciences 6’3” 185 90

17 OT Bradenton, FL
IMG Academy 6’8” 325 90

18 DE Chatsworth, CA
Sierra Canyon High School 6’5” 245 90

19 TE-H Bowdon, GA
Bowdon High School 6’7” 210 90

20 OT Mansfield, TX
Lake Ridge High School 6’7” 285 90

21 DE Bradenton, FL
IMG Academy 6’3” 235 90

22 S Las Vegas, NV
Bishop Gorman High School 6’5” 200 88

23 WR DeSoto, TX
DeSoto High School 6’1” 180 88

24 TE-H Santa Ana, CA
Mater Dei High School 6’5” 225 88

25 OLB Mobile, AL
Saint Paul’s Episcopal School 6’4” 220 88

26 WR Miami, FL
Miami Northwestern High School 6’6” 190 87

27 RB Mineral, VA
Louisa County High School 6’0” 200 87

28 CB Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Rancho Cucamonga High School 6’0” 185 86

29 OLB Gainesville, GA
Gainesville High School 6’4” 205 86

30 S Baltimore, MD
St. Frances Academy 6’3” 210 86

31 RB Jackson, AL
Jackson High School 5’11” 210 86

32 S Flowood, MS
Hartfield Academy 6’0” 200 86

33 TE-Y Saint George, UT
Pine View High School 6’7” 240 86

34 S Baton Rouge, LA
Catholic High School 6’1” 205 85

35 ATH Ogden, UT
Fremont High School 6’2” 175 85

36 RB Frisco, TX
Lone Star High School 6’1” 190 85

37 OT Santa Ana, CA
Mater Dei High School 6’6” 290 85

38 CB Marietta, GA
Sprayberry High School 6’3” 180 85

39 OLB Tavares, FL
Tavares High School 6’1” 215 85

40 DT Suwanee, GA
Collins Hill High School 6’2” 280 85

41 OLB Bradenton, FL
IMG Academy 6’2” 220 85

42 CB Fort Lauderdale, FL
Saint Thomas Aquinas High School 6’1” 185 85

43 OLB Jacksonville, FL
The Bolles School 6’2” 195 85

44 OT Fort Worth, TX
North Crowley High School 6’4” 305 84

45 QB-PP Newbury Park, CA
Newbury Park High School 6’5” 210 84

46 S Bradenton, FL
IMG Academy 5’11” 195 84

47 OT Vero Beach, FL
Vero Beach Senior High School 6’6” 320 84

48 WR Alexander City, AL
Benjamin Russell High School 6’4” 210 84

49 CB Sarasota, FL
Booker High School 6’2” 175 84

50 QB-PP Folsom, CA
Folsom High School 6’2” 205 84

51 OT Durham, NC
South Garner High School 6’6” 270 84

52 WR Knoxville, TN
Knoxville Catholic High School 5’11” 175 84

53 DE Picayune, MS
Picayune Memorial High School 6’5” 250 84

54 OLB Orange, CA
Orange Lutheran High School 6’4” 215 84

55 DT Buford, GA
Buford High School 6’2” 255 84

56 CB Toledo, OH
Central Catholic High School 6’0” 165 84

57 DE Charlotte, NC
Myers Park High School 6’4” 220 84

58 WR Morton, MS
Morton High School 6’3” 160 84

59 DE Douglasville, GA
Douglas County High School 6’3” 235 84

60 TE-H Great Bend, KS
Great Bend High School 6’6” 210 84

61 DE Pensacola, FL
Pensacola Catholic High School 6’4” 220 84

62 WR Cartersville, GA
Cartersville High School 6’1” 185 84

63 CB Westlake Village, CA
Oaks Christian High School 6’0” 180 84

64 WR Destrehan, LA
Destrehan High School 6’0” 200 84

65 CB Gadsden, AL
Gadsden High School 6’0” 175 84

66 WR Knoxville, TN
Webb School Of Knoxville 6’4” 195 84

67 OT Mechanicsburg, PA
Cumberland Valley High School 6’7” 335 84

68 WR Jackson, AL
Jackson High School 6’4” 190 84

69 CB Baltimore, MD
Loyola Blakefield High School 6’2” 175 83

70 QB-PP Tampa, FL
Jesuit High School 6’4” 230 83

71 WR Richmond, VA
Trinity Episcopal School 6’2” 200 83

72 CB Chatsworth, CA
Sierra Canyon High School 6’2” 170 83

73 OT Richmond, VA
St. Christopher’s School 6’4” 290 83

74 DT Santa Ana, CA
Mater Dei High School 6’3” 295 83

75 RB Cibolo, TX
Byron P. Steele II High School 6’1” 210 83

76 OT Charlotte, NC
Providence Day School 6’6” 280 83

77 WR Douglasville, GA
Douglas County High School 6’3” 180 83

78 OT Orange, CA
Orange Lutheran High School 6’5” 295 83

79 CB Los Angeles, CA
Loyola High School 6’3” 165 83

80 OT Harrisburg, PA
Harrisburg High School 6’5” 245 83

81 RB Forney, TX
Forney High School 5’9” 190 83

82 DT Cherry Valley, AR
Cross County High School 6’4” 300 83

83 TE-H Fairburn, GA
Langston Hughes High School 6’5” 215 83

84 CB Carrollton, GA
Carrollton High School 6’1” 175 83

85 DE Sarasota, FL
Cardinal Mooney High School 6’4” 255 83

86 OT Gonzales, LA
East Ascension High School 6’6” 280 83

87 CB Goodyear, AZ
Desert Edge High School 6’1” 180 83

88 DE Washington, DC
Gonzaga College High School 6’6” 220 83

89 RB Texarkana, TX
Texas High School 5’10” 180 83

90 DT Eugene, OR
Willamette High School 6’5” 275 83

91 RB Valencia, CA
Valencia High School 6’0” 185 83

92 DE Gainesville, GA
Gainesville High School 6’3” 255 83

93 DT New Orleans, LA
Edna Karr High School 6’4” 345 83

94 CB Brandon, MS
Brandon High School 5’11” 180 83

95 RB Painesville, OH
Thomas W. Harvey High School 5’10” 205 83

96 DE Temple, TX
Temple High School 6’5” 235 83

97 WR Mission Viejo, CA
Mission Viejo High School 5’10” 170 83

98 CB Cornelius, NC
Hough High School 6’0” 185 83

99 OT Avon Lake, OH
Avon Lake High School 6’5” 265 83

100 S Rock Hill, SC
South Pointe High School 6’4” 205 83

101 CB Richmond, VA
Hermitage High School 6’2” 170 83

102 WR Jacksonville, FL
The Bolles School 6’0” 175 83

103 ATH Wyndmoor, PA
La Salle College High School 6’4” 180 83

104 DE Princeton, NJ
The Hun School Of Princeton 6’4” 235 83

105 QB-DT Jackson, AL
Jackson High School 6’3” 195 83

106 DT Highland, UT
Lone Peak High School 6’5” 275 83

107 RB Carthage, TX
Carthage High School 5’10” 180 83

108 WR Plantation, FL
American Heritage High School 6’0” 170 83

109 ATH Frisco, TX
Panther Creek High School 6’0” 170 83

110 WR Chesapeake, VA
Oscar Frommel Smith High School 6’4” 180 83

111 RB De Kalb, MS
Kemper County High School 5’10” 195 82

112 WR Aledo, TX
Aledo High School 6’1” 195 82

113 QB-PP Mustang, OK
Mustang High School 6’3” 215 82

114 DT Richardson, TX
Richardson High School 6’4” 290 82

115 WR Mansfield, TX
Mansfield High School 6’3” 180 82

116 DT Clemmons, NC
West Forsyth High School 6’4” 305 82

117 WR Mineral, VA
Louisa County High School 6’0” 175 82

118 RB Westlake Village, CA
Oaks Christian High School 5’10” 185 82

119 WR Carrollton, GA
Carrollton High School 6’3” 210 82

120 ATH Detroit, MI
Cass Technical High School 5’10” 175 82

121 OG San Francisco, CA
Archbishop Riordan High School 6’6” 340 82

122 WR Naples, FL
First Baptist Academy 6’4” 200 82

123 DT Miami, FL
Miami Northwestern High School 6’3” 275 82

124 OT Clearwater, FL
Clearwater High School 6’5” 260 82

125 OLB Wadley, AL
Wadley High School 6’4” 220 82

126 S New Orleans, LA
Edna Karr High School 6’2” 195 82

127 WR Potomac, MD
Bullis School 6’1” 190 82

128 S Roebuck, SC
Dorman High School 6’2” 185 82

129 RB Moultrie, GA
Colquitt County High School 5’11” 200 82

130 WR Douglasville, GA
Douglas County High School 6’1” 175 82

131 DE Jemison, AL
Jemison High School 6’5” 220 82

132 OLB Torrance, CA
Bishop Montgomery High School 6’2” 205 82

133 DE Arlington, TX
James Martin High School 6’5” 230 82

134 CB Brownsville, TN
Haywood High School 6’0” 165 82

135 RB Harrisburg, PA
Harrisburg High School 5’11” 200 82

136 ILB West Palm Beach, FL
Cardinal Newman High School 6’2” 210 82

137 DE Columbus, GA
Carver High School 6’4” 220 82

138 TE-H Dunlap, IL
Dunlap High School 6’5” 220 82

139 OLB Auburn, AL
Auburn High School 6’2” 205 82

140 RB Carrollton, GA
Central High School 5’10” 200 82

141 TE-H Lexington, OH
Lexington High School 6’3” 220 82

142 OLB Miami, FL
Carol City High School 6’2” 220 82

143 DE Matthews, NC
Weddington High School 6’3” 250 82

144 WR Charlotte, NC
Providence Day School 6’3” 185 82

145 DE Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
Santa Margarita Catholic High School 6’5” 250 82

146 OLB Matthews, NC
Weddington High School 6’2” 210 82

147 WR Coconut Creek, FL
Monarch High School 6’2” 205 82

148 DE Duncanville, TX
Duncanville High School 6’4” 240 82

149 WR Saint Augustine, FL
Saint Augustine High School 6’2” 180 82

150 DT Bastrop, TX
Bastrop High School 6’3” 265 82

151 S McDonald, PA
Fort Cherry High School 6’0” 180 82

152 OLB Marietta, GA
Kell High School 6’3” 200 82

153 S Leesburg, GA
Lee County High School 6’3” 175 82

154 TE-Y Mount Zion, IL
Mount Zion High School 6’6” 235 82

155 OT Washington Court House, OH
Miami Trace High School 6’7” 280 82

156 QB-DT Frankfort, IL
Lincoln-Way East High School 6’2” 200 82

157 RB Delaware, OH
Rutherford B. Hayes High School 6’0” 195 82

158 QB-DT Del Valle, TX
Del Valle High School 6’0” 190 82

159 TE-H Newberry, SC
Newberry High School 6’4” 215 82

160 S Manhattan, KS
Manhattan High School 6’3” 190 82

161 DE Saint Louis, MO
De Smet Jesuit High School 6’5” 240 82

162 S Winter Park, FL
Winter Park High School 6’3” 170 82

163 OG Exeter, NH
Phillips Exeter Academy 6’5” 285 82

164 QB-PP Lake Mary, FL
Lake Mary High School 6’4” 220 82

165 OLB Santa Ana, CA
Mater Dei High School 6’3” 240 82

166 ILB Lakeland, FL
Lakeland High School 6’1” 225 82

167 ATH Chicago, IL
Morgan Park High School 6’0” 180 81

168 RB Fairburn, GA
Langston Hughes High School 6’1” 195 81

169 OT Lexington, MS
Holmes County Central High School 6’4” 295 81

170 ATH Buford, GA
Buford High School 6’0” 195 81

171 ILB Mobile, AL
Cottage Hill Christian Academy 6’3” 215 81

172 WR Pearland, TX
Shadow Creek High School 6’0” 180 81

173 ATH Vero Beach, FL
Vero Beach Senior High School 6’2” 165 81

174 OG Prosper, TX
Prosper High School 6’3” 280 81

175 CB Avon, OH
Avon High School 5’10” 180 81

176 DT Oradell, NJ
Bergen Catholic High 6’6” 270 81

177 WR Willis, TX
Willis High School 6’0” 165 81

178 OT Brunswick, GA
Brunswick High School 6’5” 265 81

179 DT Petal, MS
Petal High School 6’6” 300 81

180 WR Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
Santa Margarita Catholic High School 5’10” 170 81

181 OLB Cleveland, OH
Glenville High School 6’3” 225 81

182 DE Thomasville, GA
Thomas County Central High School 6’3” 230 81

183 S Milton, FL
Milton High School 6’3” 200 81

184 DT Monroe, LA
Ouachita Parish High School 6’3” 330 81

185 OLB McMurray, PA
Peters Township High School 6’3” 230 81

186 OG Cartersville, GA
Cass High School 6’4” 305 81

187 OT Tampa, FL
Berkeley Prep 6’6” 280 81

188 CB Waco, TX
Connally High School 6’2” 165 81

189 DE Las Vegas, NV
Bishop Gorman High School 6’3” 250 81

190 OG Bradenton, FL
IMG Academy 6’6” 295 81

191 WR San Antonio, TX
James Madison High School 6’3” 200 81

192 OT Sarasota, FL
Cardinal Mooney High School 6’5” 340 81

193 QB-PP Downey, CA
Downey High School 6’3” 175 81

194 WR Bronx, NY
James Monroe High School 6’1” 185 81

195 OT Virginia Beach, VA
Green Run High School 6’7” 275 81

196 DT Decatur, GA
Southwest DeKalb High School 6’6” 285 81

197 OG Kennesaw, GA
North Cobb High School 6’4” 340 81

198 S Oradell, NJ
Bergen Catholic High 6’1” 180 81

199 QB-PP San Marcos, CA
Mission Hills High School 6’4” 200 81

200 DE Rolesville, NC
Rolesville High School 6’6” 230 81

201 OT Bauxite, AR
Bauxite High School 6’7” 325 81

202 DT Birmingham, AL
A. H. Parker High School 6’3” 305 81

203 OG Klein, TX
Klein High School 6’4” 325 81

204 WR Harrisburg, PA
Harrisburg High School 6’3” 190 81

205 OLB Bogart, GA
North Oconee High School 6’4” 225 81

206 S Warner Robins, GA
Houston County High School 6’2” 185 81

207 ATH Honey Grove, TX
Honey Grove High School 5’10” 175 81

208 OG Flower Mound, TX
Flower Mound High School 6’4” 290 81

209 WR New Orleans, LA
McDonogh 35 High School 6’0” 160 81

210 DE Burien, WA
John F. Kennedy High School 6’6” 250 81

211 RB Dallas, TX
Lake Highlands High School 6’1” 205 81

212 ILB Lewis Center, OH
Olentangy High School 6’3” 225 81

213 OT Portage, MI
Portage Northern High School 6’5” 260 81

214 RB Spartanburg, SC
Mountain View Preparatory 5’10” 210 81

215 CB Tuskegee, AL
Booker T. Washington High School 6’0” 165 81

216 OT Chicago, IL
Mount Carmel High School 6’6” 310 81

217 CB Windermere, FL
Windermere Prep 6’0” 165 81

218 ATH Tuskegee, AL
Booker T. Washington High School 6’5” 200 81

219 CB Jonesboro, GA
Jonesboro High School 6’0” 175 81

220 S Boca Raton, FL
West Boca Raton High School 6’3” 190 81

221 WR Santa Ana, CA
Mater Dei High School 6’2” 185 81

222 TE-H Visalia, CA
Redwood High School 6’5” 205 81

223 ATH Baltimore, MD
Milford Mill Academy 5’11” 180 81

224 WR Carrollton, GA
Walton High School 6’4” 190 81

225 OG Draper, UT
Corner Canyon High School 6’4” 295 81

226 WR Leakesville, MS
Greene County High School 6’2” 190 81

227 DE Irmo, SC
Dutch Fork High School 6’5” 230 81

228 OT Waterloo, IA
West High School 6’7” 270 81

229 DE Garner, NC
South Garner High School 6’4” 220 81

230 OG Orlando, FL
Lake Minneola High School 6’4” 290 81

231 S Windermere, FL
First Academy 6’2” 190 81

232 TE-H Old Hickory, TN
Donelson Christian Academy 6’6” 220 81

233 DE Duncanville, TX
Duncanville High School 6’4” 235 81

234 DT Bradenton, FL
IMG Academy 6’1” 315 81

235 DE Cross Plains, TN
East Robertson High School 6’4” 220 81

236 WR Bossier City, LA
Airline High School 6’0” 180 81

237 QB-DT Nazareth, PA
Nazareth Senior High School 6’5” 205 81

238 OT Leesburg, VA
Loudoun County High School 6’5” 275 81

239 QB-DT Kentwood, MI
East Kentwood High School 6’2” 190 81

240 WR Bluffton, SC
Bluffton High School 6’4” 200 81

241 S Cocoa, FL
Cocoa High School 6’1” 180 81

242 WR Iowa Colony, TX
Iowa Colony High School 6’2” 185 81

243 DT Jackson, MS
Jackson Academy 6’2” 315 81

244 WR Bellflower, CA
St. John Bosco High School 6’2” 190 81

245 OLB Princeton, WV
Princeton Senior High School 6’2” 225 81

246 QB-PP Wayne, NJ
DePaul Catholic High School 6’1” 200 80

247 DE Fort Worth, TX
Fort Worth Christian High School 6’3” 245 80

248 DT Clayton, NC
Clayton High School 6’4” 260 80

249 DE Naperville, IL
Naperville North High School 6’2” 240 80

250 OT Cold Spring, MN
Rocori High School 6’6” 275 80

251 WR Red Oak, TX
Red Oak High School 5’9” 165 80

252 CB New Orleans, LA
Edna Karr High School 6’2” 175 80

253 WR Savannah, GA
Benedictine Military High School 5’10” 180 80

254 DT Owasso, OK
Owasso High School 6’3” 275 80

255 WR Norman, OK
Norman North High School 5’11” 175 80

256 DT Fort Myers, FL
Fort Myers High School 6’4” 270 80

257 DE Gardena, CA
Junipero Serra High School 6’4” 245 80

258 CB Seffner, FL
Armwood High School 6’1” 175 80

259 DE Irvine, CA
Crean Lutheran High School 6’2” 270 80

260 CB Duluth, GA
Duluth High School 6’0” 195 80

261 DE Chicago, IL
Simeon Career Academy 6’5” 230 80

262 S Homestead, FL
Miami Northwestern High School 6’4” 180 80

263 OG Toms River, NJ
Monsignor Donovan High School 6’5” 290 80

264 QB-DT Celina, TX
Celina High School 6’1” 205 80

265 DT Eugene, OR
Willamette High School 6’3” 305 80

266 QB-DT Queen Creek, AZ
Queen Creek High School 6’2” 205 80

267 OLB Jackson, MS
Jackson Academy 6’2” 225 80

268 WR Sarasota, FL
Booker High School 6’0” 180 80

269 OT Akron, OH
Archbishop Hoban High School 6’7” 305 80

270 WR Wolfforth, TX
Frenship High School 5’11” 175 80

271 OT Honolulu, HI
Kamehameha Schools 6’6” 310 80

272 DT Calypso, NC
North Duplin High School 6’3” 310 80

273 RB Boca Raton, FL
West Boca Raton High School 6’1” 205 80

274 DE Miami, FL
Miami Southridge Senior High School 6’5” 210 80

275 WR Gainesville, FL
Buchholz High School 5’11” 190 80

276 OLB Venice, FL
Venice High School 6’2” 225 80

277 ILB Carthage, TX
Carthage High School 6’1” 215 80

278 OG Goodyear, AZ
Desert Edge High School 6’5” 315 80

279 S Miami Lakes, FL
Goleman High School 6’0” 190 80

280 OT Fruitland, ID
Fruitland High School 6’5” 270 80

281 OG Bradenton, FL
IMG Academy 6’4” 330 80

282 OT Clarksville, TN
Kirkwood High School 6’6” 245 80

283 TE-H Jacksonville, FL
The Bolles School 6’4” 220 80

284 OLB Newnan, GA
Newnan High School 6’1” 210 80

285 OG Pace, FL
Pace High School 6’4” 300 80

286 S Jonesboro, GA
Jonesboro High School 6’0” 185 80

287 OLB Loganville, GA
Grayson High School 6’2” 195 80

288 OT Prosper, TX
Prosper High School 6’4” 270 80

289 WR Hollywood, FL
Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School 6’1” 185 80

290 OG Davison, MI
Davison High School 6’6” 320 80

291 OT Prosper, TX
Prosper High School 6’5” 265 80

292 DT Richland, NJ
Saint Augustine Prep 6’2” 275 80

293 ILB Lawndale, CA
Leuzinger High School 6’4” 230 80

294 OT Hemingway, SC
Carvers Bay High School 6’5” 295 80

295 WR Pataskala, OH
Watkins Memorial High School 6’0” 190 80

296 OG Willis, TX
Willis High School 6’4” 300 80

297 TE-H Billings, MT
Billings West High School 6’4” 230 80

298 DE Rogers, AR
Rogers High School 6’2” 230 80

299 S Pascagoula, MS
Pascagoula High School 6’2” 185 80

300 WR Powder Springs, GA
McEachern High School 6’3” 210 80

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Auburn’s Freeze ‘at peace’ with cancer diagnosis

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6 hours ago

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April 9, 2025

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Auburn's Freeze 'at peace' with cancer diagnosis

  • Chris LowApr 8, 2025, 08:53 PM ET

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    • College football reporter
    • Joined ESPN.com in 2007
    • Graduate of the University of Tennessee

AUBURN, Ala. — About three months after his second straight losing season at Auburn, Hugh Freeze found out in February that he had prostate cancer.

“At the time, the only thing you hear is that ‘C’ word,'” Freeze told ESPN on Tuesday.

Admittedly rattled, and more scared for his family than anything else, Freeze has since settled on a course of treatment, and after getting some encouraging news recently from doctors that his form of cancer was low aggressive, he has decided to wait until January and let doctors reexamine his situation instead of having surgery.

“I’m only 55. We’re a family of faith, and I just didn’t feel like it was time to rush into surgery,” Freeze said. “I’m at peace with it.”

The same goes for his football team as Freeze enters his third season on the Plains. He’s by no means content with the results the past two seasons — and neither is he naïve about the lack of patience within the realm of SEC football — but Freeze was outspoken when he arrived that it would take three full recruiting classes to get Auburn back into championship contention. His first two have both been top-10 classes nationally.

“I think it’s as settled as we’ve been as a program, the continuity of our staff, the pieces of our staff that we’ve added and what we’ve been able to do in building our roster in high school recruiting and in the portal,” Freeze said. “Now, we’ve got to go compete and win some more games, but I don’t feel any sense of panic.

“We’re on our way to getting where we want to be and where we should be.”

Auburn last had a winning season in 2020, when it was 6-5, and has won more than eight games only twice (2017 and 2019) since playing for the national championship in 2013. The Tigers finished 5-7 last season.

Freeze said the support and commitment from Auburn chancellor Christopher Roberts and athletic director John Cohen couldn’t be stronger, and in the world of name, image and likeness, Auburn is going all-in on locking in key players financially. The payroll for the 2025 roster will exceed $20 million.

One of the key acquisitions was quarterback Jackson Arnold, who transferred from Oklahoma. Arnold was ESPN’s No. 2-ranked dual-threat quarterback prospect in the 2023 signing class, but he was benched for part of last season after some early struggles.

“One hundred percent, I needed a reset,” Arnold said. “It was just time to move on. I needed to go to a place where I was going to put myself in a better position. I’m never going to say anything bad about OU or any of the people there, but it just wasn’t a fit. And as the season went on, maybe it was them losing confidence in me or whatever, but I never doubted that I could play at this level and win at this level.”

Arnold said it was especially important to him to play for an offensive-minded head coach and one with a history of coaching and developing quarterbacks. Freeze said he plans to call the majority of the plays this season (although new offensive coordinator Derrick Nix might call some), and Freeze said he will spend more time with the quarterbacks on the practice field this fall.

“[Quarterbacks coach] Kent Austin is great,” Freeze said. “From fundamentals and coverage recognition and all that, he’s better than I am, but I think it’s vital that they’re hearing my thoughts, and I just think this fall it would be even more vital that Jackson is hearing my thoughts.”

As spring practice winds down this week for Auburn, Arnold said his rapport with the receivers grows stronger every practice. And for Freeze, he said he has seen a “monumental difference” in the receivers, particularly with the addition of transfers Eric Singleton Jr. from Georgia Tech and Horatio Fields from Wake Forest.

“We’ve got more depth, and there’s a maturity factor, too,” Freeze said. “I know quarterbacks take the brunt of the deal, but there were times that [last year’s starter] Payton [Thorne] was ready to pull the trigger on something that should have been there and we didn’t run the right depth of a route or the right route.”

Cam Coleman, who averaged 16.2 yards per catch and had eight touchdown receptions a year ago as one of the more heralded true freshman receivers in the country, said his emphasis has been more consistency. He said the entire receiving corps has taken on a leadership role to push each other and hold each other accountable, which wasn’t necessarily the case a year ago.

“Every receiver brings something different to the table, and our identity is we’re going to catch anything and everything, by any means as possible,” Coleman said. “That’s no matter if we make the quarterback look good or the quarterback makes us look good. We’re going catch the ball and make things happen.”

Singleton’s speed should complement Coleman’s ability to win one-on-one battles down the field, and Malcolm Simmons is equally explosive. He returns for his sophomore season after catching 40 passes last season. The 6-3 Coleman said he’s up to 205 pounds.

“Good luck. That’s all I can tell anybody trying to cover him,” Singleton said of Coleman.

Arnold said his role is to come in and “play point guard” and that Freeze also likes his ability to extend plays. The Tigers struggled mightily to score last season. They finished 14th in the SEC in scoring offense (19.1 points per game) and were 13th in third-down conversions, while scoring just six rushing touchdowns in eight SEC games. But they did move the ball on offense and finished second in the league in yards per play (6.67 yards). Three of their seven losses last season were by a touchdown or less.

What plagued the Tigers were crippling turnovers, coming up empty on key third downs and not being able to finish drives — or even make field goals. They were 8-of-17 on field goal attempts in SEC play, but the good news is that regular kicker Alex McPherson is back after missing almost the entire past season a with gastrointestinal issues.

“We’re all in this together, and I know for a fact these coaches believe in me and they know I can do it, and in turn, I’ve been able to play a lot more,” Arnold said. “Mistakes are going to happen. No one’s going to be perfect, but my confidence is really high right now. I’m playing free and just being myself.”

Even with the cancer diagnosis, Freeze has also felt a sense of freedom. His players have seen it up close and personal.

“He’s out here every day, and it gives the whole team the sense that he cares, and that whatever he’s going through, he’s going to push through,” junior defensive end Keldric Faulk said. “It gives us the confidence to just ride behind him.

“The only difference I see is that he’s brought way more energy, and it’s contagious to the whole team.”

Freeze would tend to agree that his cancer diagnosis has helped him to narrow his focus, although life as an SEC head football coach tends to have that effect naturally.

“I don’t know. I think as much as anything it’s just been a reminder that every day is a gift, and man, I’m going to give my best to these kids, my family and our fans,” Freeze said. “That’s what I should be concerned about.”

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Northwestern working to settle hazing lawsuits

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April 9, 2025

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Northwestern working to settle hazing lawsuits

  • Adam RittenbergApr 8, 2025, 10:53 AM ET

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      College football reporter; joined ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.

Northwestern is finalizing settlements with former athletes who filed hazing-related lawsuits against the university and former coach Pat Fitzgerald, whose $130 million wrongful termination lawsuit against the school is set to go to trial in November.

In a motion filed last week, requesting a continuation of the trial date in Fitzgerald’s claim, Northwestern stated it recently began mediation with the athletes that resulted in an undisclosed settlement currently being finalized. Northwestern said athlete plaintiffs “will be witnesses in the ongoing litigation” involving Fitzgerald.

“While the terms of the provisional settlement are confidential, we intend to continue to work through the remaining outstanding issues to finalize a settlement that will hopefully allow both sides to move forward in a positive way,” attorneys Patrick Salvi and Parker Stinar, who are representing some of the former football players, said in a statement.

Fitzgerald’s attorneys on Tuesday said Northwestern’s motion for continuation was denied, and that the trial date for his case remains set for Nov. 3. They have repeatedly requested earlier trial dates so that Fitzgerald, fired in July 2023 for cause, can return to coaching college football.

“Coach Fitzgerald committed no wrongdoing,” Fitzgerald’s attorneys Dan Webb and Matthew Carter said in a statement. “Despite extensive written and testimonial discovery, there remains no evidence to show or suggest that Coach Fitzgerald was aware of any hazing at Northwestern. The discovery has thus confirmed what Northwestern said through President Michael Schill both before and after Coach Fitzgerald’s termination: that there is no evidence that Coach Fitzgerald was aware of any hazing.”

Dozens of former athletes filed hazing-related lawsuits against Northwestern and Fitzgerald in 2023 and 2024. They cited sexualized acts and other troubling rituals that occurred during Northwestern’s preseason training camp and at other times.

In last week’s filing, Northwestern said that after repeated requests, attorneys representing the athletes responded Jan. 29, noting that 81 athletes had relevant information. Northwestern said it had conducted six depositions and has 33 more scheduled, and has identified 40 former athletes to be witnesses in its defense against Fitzgerald’s claim, as well as non-plaintiffs “identified as having information related to the hazing and other conduct in the football program during Fitzgerald’s tenure.”

The school requested the continuation so it could finish depositions with athletes and depositions or document requests with approximately 70 “third-party” individuals identified as having relevant information, including many who live outside of Illinois.

Northwestern fired Fitzgerald three days after announcing a two-week offseason suspension for the coach, following the completion of a university-commissioned investigation into allegations of hazing from a sole football player in late 2022. The investigation found that hazing had occurred in the program but that there was no evidence Fitzgerald knew about what had happened.

The player went public with his allegations to The Daily Northwestern and then ESPN, and Schill ultimately fired Fitzgerald amid significant backlash. Fitzgerald had led the program since 2006 as is Northwestern’s all-time winningest coach and a two-time national defensive player of the year at linebacker.

Fitzgerald filed his lawsuit in October 2023, claiming that Northwestern violated a verbal contract by firing him for cause, after agreeing to the suspension following the conclusion of its own investigation. He also claimed Northwestern and Schill violated his written contract. He’s seeking $68 million that remained on his contract, which ran through 2030, as well as future earnings losses of approximately $62 million. Fitzgerald has been a volunteer assistant for his son’s high school team but has not re-entered college coaching.

“Coach Fitzgerald has proven himself a staunch advocate of student well-being, including consistently emphasizing a zero-tolerance policy on hazing,” Webb and Carter’s statement reads. “He implemented and maintained some of the strongest anti-hazing programs and policies in collegiate sports.”

They added that every Northwestern player signed a hazing policy form before being allowed to practice, and that his actions to prevent hazing were “fully integrated” into the program.

“He continues to assert that Northwestern illegally terminated his employment, violated an oral contract, and defamed him, causing significant damage to his sterling reputation,” the attorney statement reads.

Former Northwestern offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian also sued the school for defamation and spreading false information in the wake of the hazing scandal. Bajakian’s case has been consolidated with Fitzgerald’s and also could go to trial. Bajakian spent the 2024 season at Utah and is currently offensive coordinator at Massachusetts.

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