Connect with us

Published

on

USC quarterback Caleb Williams will enter the 2024 NFL draft, he announced on social media Monday. The decision comes on the final day that underclassmen are allowed to declare.

Williams’ decision formalizes his status as the favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the draft. His formal entry highlights the Chicago Bears‘ offseason conundrum of keeping Justin Fields or trading him to (presumably) build around Williams.

Williams’ decision is not a huge surprise. It had been clear since USC’s disappointing 2023 season ended that he’d wait until the final day he could make a decision, similar to how C.J. Stroud waited until the final day to decide last year.

The debate surrounding Williams in scouting circles isn’t whether he’s the No. 1 pick in the draft, but rather whether he is a once-a-decade type prospect or a generational one. Williams’ use of varied arm angles, his improvisational wizardry and his ability to use his legs combine for an intriguing package.

Williams won the Heisman Trophy at USC in 2022 and put together another strong season in 2023, even as USC’s record dipped from an 11-3 playoff contender to an 8-5 Pac-12 also-ran. Williams completed 68.6% of his passes for 3,633 yards in 12 games in 2023, compared to 66.6% for 4,537 yards in 14 games the previous year.

While Williams didn’t replicate his Heisman magic and USC’s team performance dipped — much because of an apathetic defense — he maintained consistent performance, and his status as the top player and quarterback in this class is secure.

ESPN polled a half-dozen scouts and executives Monday, and none could see a scenario other than Williams going No. 1. “I’d be shocked if he wasn’t,” one veteran scout said. Another added: “He’s the best player at the most important position.”

Williams finishes his career, including his freshman year at Oklahoma when he won the starting job from Spencer Rattler, with a total of 93 touchdown passes, 14 interceptions and 10,082 yards in three seasons. He went 23-10 as a starter and appeared in 37 total games, per ESPN Stats & Information.

In his two seasons at USC, Williams also accounted for 21 rushing touchdowns. Perhaps no statistic sums up his pure talent and potential more than him executing 10 career games of being responsible for five or more touchdowns. Per ESPN Stats & Information, only Patrick Mahomes had more in the College Football Playoff era.

Williams and former North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye entered the season as the projected No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the draft. Both of their teams had uneven seasons, but neither quarterback did anything to change that status. LSU‘s Jayden Daniels thrust himself into the fringes of that conversation with a resplendent Heisman Trophy season, as no quarterback did more to increase his stock than Daniels in 2023. One year after Alabama‘s Bryce Young and Stroud went No. 1 and No. 2, the wholesale expectation is for quarterbacks to fly off in the top two spots again. If two quarterbacks go No. 1 and No. 2, it would mark the 10th time in NFL history that quarterbacks have gone at that position.

Williams gives the 2024 draft its definitive headliner, as the Bears’ decision on the pick will loom over the league in the coming months.

Continue Reading

Sports

Hurricanes: ‘Tough look’ not sticking up for Aho

Published

on

By

Hurricanes: 'Tough look' not sticking up for Aho

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Carolina Hurricanes regretted not sticking up for star center Sebastian Aho when he was mauled by Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk late in their Game 3 loss on Saturday night.

In the third period, with the Panthers cruising to a 6-2 win and a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals, Tkachuk went after Aho with a series of shoves and cross-checks, eventually putting him in a headlock and bringing him down to the ice. The incident was seen as retaliation for Aho’s low hit on Florida’s Sam Reinhart that injured him in Game 2 and kept the forward out of the lineup on Saturday.

“I don’t really look at it as intent or intimidation at all. It’s just sticking up for teammates,” said Tkachuk, who was given a roughing penalty and a 10-minute misconduct. “We’re a family in there. It could happen to anybody and there’s probably 20 guys racing to be the guy to stick up for a teammate like that. That’s just how our team’s built. That’s why we’re successful. I don’t think any of us would be thrilled at that play in Game 2.”

But while Tkachuk was on top of Aho, who remained in the game, there was no chaotic response from the Hurricanes, nor any retaliation for the rest of the game. Carolina forward Taylor Hall said, in hindsight, there needed to be some reaction.

“I think what happened is that we don’t want to take penalties after the whistle, and they’re very good at goading you into them. But we have to support each other and make sure all five of us are having each other’s backs,” Hall said. “That was a tough look there, but we’ll battle for each other to no end.”

Coach Rod Brind’Amour said there needed to be a response, especially since the game was all but over on the scoreboard

“In that situation, there probably does. There’s a fine line. You don’t want to start advocating for that kind of hockey, necessarily. But with the game out of hand, yes, we have to do a better job of that with the game out of hand,” he said.

The Hurricanes face elimination on Monday night in Sunrise. They also face a 16th straight loss in the Eastern Conference finals, a streak that stretches back to 2009.

“We’re going to give our best tomorrow,” Hall said. “I think that we have a belief in our room, honestly. We’re playing for our season.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Stars rule forward Hintz out for Game 3 vs. Oilers

Published

on

By

Stars rule forward Hintz out for Game 3 vs. Oilers

EDMONTON — Dallas forward Roope Hintz has been ruled out for Game 3 of the Stars’ Western Conference finals series against the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.

Hintz was a game-time decision for Dallas after leaving the third period of Game 2 on Friday with an injury. The center took a slash from Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse less than four minutes into that final frame and was helped off the ice without appearing to put weight on his left leg.

Stars’ coach Pete DeBoer said on Saturday they were awaiting test results on Hintz before determining his status for Game 3. Hintz travelled with the team from Dallas and arrived at Rogers Place on Sunday without wearing a walking boot.

DeBoer still declared Hintz’s status uncertain about an hour before puck drop. Hintz took warmups with the Stars before Game 3 but left several minutes early without participating in line rushes.

Hintz has five goals and 11 points in 15 postseason games and ranked fourth on the Stars in regular-season scoring with 28 goals and 67 points in 76 games.

Continue Reading

Sports

Horse trainer Clement dies from rare eye cancer

Published

on

By

Horse trainer Clement dies from rare eye cancer

Christophe Clement, who trained longshot Tonalist to victory in the 2014 Belmont Stakes and won a Breeders’ Cup race in 2021, has died. He was 59.

Clement announced his own death in a prepared statement that was posted to his stable’s X account on Sunday.

“Unfortunately, if you are reading this, it means I was unable to beat my cancer,” the post said. “As many of you know, I have been fighting an incurable disease, metastatic uveal melanoma.”

It’s a type of cancer that affects the uvea, the middle layer of the eye. It accounts for just 5% of all melanoma cases in the U.S., however, it can be aggressive and spread to other parts of the body in up to 50% of cases, according to the Melanoma Research Alliance’s website.

The Paris-born Clement has been one of the top trainers in the U.S. over the last 34 years. He learned under his father, Miguel, who was a leading trainer in France. Clement later worked for the prominent French racing family of Alec Head. In the U.S., he first worked for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey.

Clement went out on his own in 1991, winning with the first horse he saddled at Belmont Park in New York.

“Beyond his accomplishments as a trainer, which are many, Christophe Clement was a kind and generous man who made lasting contributions to the fabric of racing in New York,” Dave O’Rouke, president and CEO of the New York Racing Association said in a statement.

Clement had 2,576 career victories and purse earnings of over $184 million, according to Equibase.

“I am very proud that for over 30 years in this industry, we have operated every single day with the highest integrity, always putting the horses’ wellbeing first,” he wrote in his farewell message.

One of his best-known horses was Gio Ponti, winner of Eclipse Awards as champion male turf horse in 2009 and 2010. He finished second to Zenyatta in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic.

In the 2014 Belmont, Tonalist spoiled the Triple Crown bid of California Chrome, who tied for fourth. Tonalist won by a head, after not having competed in the Kentucky Derby or Preakness that year.

Steve Coburn, co-owner of California Chrome, caused controversy when he said afterward the horses that hadn’t run in the other two races took “the coward’s way out.” He later apologized and congratulated the connections of Tonalist.

Clement’s lone Breeders’ Cup victory was with Pizza Bianca, owned by celebrity chef Bobby Flay, in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. Clement had seven seconds and six thirds in other Cup races.

“It was Christophe’s genuine love for the horse that truly set him apart,” Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National Horseman’s Benevolent and Protective Association, said in a statement. “He was a consummate professional and a welcoming gentleman whose demeanor was always positive, gracious and upbeat.”

Clement’s statement said he would leave his stable in the hands of his son and longtime assistant, Miguel.

“As I reflect on my journey, I realize I never worked a day in my life,” Clement’s statement said. “Every morning, I woke up and did what I loved most surrounded by so much love.”

Besides his son, he is survived by wife Valerie, daughter Charlotte Clement Collins and grandson Hugo Collins.

Continue Reading

Trending