‘Thank you very much. We’re stopping at Buc-ee’s’: The 2024 college football season in quotes
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Dave Wilson, ESPN Staff Writer
Do you remember what life was like way back in the year 2023?
This time last year, Nick Saban and Alabama and Jim Harbaugh and Michigan were getting ready to face off at the Rose Bowl. Florida State was reeling from a playoff omission. Kalen DeBoer’s Washington Huskies were one of the hottest teams in the country.
A year later, Jim Harbaugh has taken his khakis to Los Angeles, Nick Saban is manning the “College GameDay” set and Kalen DeBoer has taken up residence in the pressure cooker that Saban vacated at Alabama.
Oregon won the Big Ten, Arizona State won the Big 12 and SMU took ACC champion Clemson to overtime in the title game. All are part of the new 12-team playoff while Alabama is not. It’s a whole new world out there.
Let’s look back on a historic season, told through the words of the people who lived it. We present our 2024 college football quotes of the year.
Hail to the Victors
“For me personally, I can now sit at the big person’s table in the family. They won’t keep me over there on the little table anymore. My dad, Jack Harbaugh, won a national championship and my brother won a Super Bowl. It’s good to be at the big person’s table from now on.”
— Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, on Jan. 8 after Michigan beat Washington to win the national title.
Farewell to the Victors
“Jim did exactly what he sought to do at Michigan, build our program to consistently win Big Ten championships and compete for national championships. … He will always be a huge part of our rich history and will be remembered as an all-time great Wolverine, as both a championship player and coach.”
— Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, after Harbaugh resigned to take the Los Angeles Chargers job.
The GOAT retires
“So I’m saying to myself, ‘Maybe this doesn’t work anymore, that the goals and aspirations are just different and that it’s all about how much money can I make as a college player?’ I’m not saying that’s bad. I’m not saying it’s wrong, I’m just saying that’s never been what we were all about, and it’s not why we had success through the years.”
— Nick Saban to ESPN’s Chris Low on why he decided to retire.
And you are…?
“I’ve never worn a credential in my life. I was always, for 17 years, able to get in to SEC media day without a credential. I had to go back to the room today to get my credential to get in, so that’s one of the biggest changes I see. It’s not like it used to be.”
— Saban, laughing about being stopped by a security guard and not allowed in without proper ID this year.
“I do want it to be duly noted that I got in here without a credential today.”
— Georgia coach Kirby Smart, a former Saban assistant, in his opening remarks for Georgia at SEC media day, while Saban watched from a set in the back of the room.
All right, man
“Our focus is to embrace the hog.”
— Arkansas coach Sam Pittman, at SEC media days, on his team’s mantra for 2024, which he says means to “be tough, we need to be together, consistent, accountable and do it with pride.”
Pittman is high on the hog lighting at his lake house too:
Sam Pittman, yesterday, on his hog statue at his lake house:
“I can turn that hog 16 colors.” #embracethehog pic.twitter.com/7i3FmABjXl
– Dave Wilson (@dwil) July 19, 2024
The beginning of a bad year for FSU
“It’s very unfortunate that they, who have a good football team and a good football program, are in the position they’re in. … They can say we had our guys and they didn’t have their guys. I can listen to all that. But college football has to decide what they want.”
— Kirby Smart after Georgia beat Florida State 63-3 in the Orange Bowl in January after a devastated FSU team missed the playoff following an injury to Jordan Travis and several players opting out.
Highway to the danger zone
“It’s like you’re a fighter pilot and you’ve got this jet but there’s people that want to kill you. You get to fly it, but you don’t want to die. I feel that all the time.”
— Baylor coach Dave Aranda on calling defensive plays.
Mike Gundy’s year on the mic
“I looked it up on my phone. What would be the legal limit, like in Oklahoma, it is .08, and Ollie was .1, and it was, based on body weight, not to get into the legal side of it, and I thought, really, two or three beers, or four, I’m not justifying what Ollie did, I’m telling you what decision I made, and I thought, I’ve probably done that 1,000 times in my life. And it was just fine. I got lucky. People get lucky. Ollie made a decision he wished he could have done better. But when I talked to Ollie, I told him you got out light because you make a lot of money to play football.”
— Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy, at Big 12 media days, on star running back Ollie Gordon’s DUI arrest.
“Well, I had a little run-in with my cattle over the weekend. I guess they’ve been watching us play, and I got head-butted. I’ve got a bad eye that I didn’t think would be particularly enjoyable for people when they were looking at my pretty face in a live interview. But more importantly, it’s full of blood and I get dizzy, so it’s not easy to be upright and be in a normal function. But other than that, I’m doing great.”
— Gundy, on doing a Zoom interview in October instead of his normal news conference because of a cow accident.
“In most cases, the people who are negative and voicing their opinions are the same ones that can’t pay their own bills. They’re not taking care of themselves, they’re not taking care of their own family.”
— Gundy, amid a winless Big 12 season, on criticism from fans. After blowback, Gundy posted a statement on X saying, “I apologize to those who my comments during Monday’s media call offended. My intent was not to offend any of our fans who have supported us and this program through the years.”
Missing mascots
“Disappointed that Sir Big Spur is not here. I think it’s ridiculous that this is the only place apparently in the SEC that doesn’t allow live mascots in the stadium. That’s what makes this league special is the fact that LSU can have a freakin’ tiger at their stadium tonight but we can’t bring Sir Big Spur. … Come on Vandy, do better.”
— South Carolina coach Shane Beamer, on their mascot, an Old English Black Breasted Red Fighting Gamecock.
“This dog hasn’t been on a plane yet and hasn’t been on a bus yet. He is really young and immature and crazy as hell, and this game just wasn’t a good fit for us.”
— Charles Seiler, the owner of Uga XI, the Georgia mascot, to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on why the English bulldog didn’t make the trip to Austin for a game against Texas.
“The reality is there is limited sideline space at the stadium. We can’t jeopardize the safety of Bevo or the game participants.”
— Statement from the SEC on why Texas’ Bevo XV, who weighs more than 1,700 pounds with a 58-inch horn span, wasn’t allowed at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta for the SEC championship game against Georgia.
Treat yourself
“Thank you very much. We’re stopping at Buc-ee’s.”
–Troy head coach Gerad Parker, ending his ESPN+ postgame interview after the Trojans, who started 1-7, won their first road game of the season 28-20 over Georgia Southern. Parker said he was “coached up at the fudge station” to get some peanut butter fudge.
Holgo’s back, all right
“I was bored”
— Former Houston and West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen, on why he took the Nebraska offensive coordinator job on Nov. 11.
“I remember my second year at Texas Tech in 2001, we played Iowa in the Alamo Bowl. It’s the same thing twenty-some years later. It’s the same scheme, same coach, same everything. This is crazy.”
— Holgorsen, Nov. 26, on preparing for a game against Kirk Ferentz, who has been coaching the Hawkeyes since 1999.
Win, wash, repeat
“When we lose, I don’t even get in the shower until the next morning. I just be mad and brush my teeth. I don’t deserve soap, and I don’t deserve all that. … Winners get washed. If I’m a loser, I just gotta wait a little bit.”
— Syracuse coach Fran Brown, on how he handles losses.
The hills have eyes
“Extra careful. You’ve got people in the hills. They live in the hills and they’ve got binoculars. Mountaineers, man, they’re up there. In the mountains right there. Hey, take nothing for granted.”
— Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi, on why they practiced indoors all week despite good weather before a 38-34 win in the Backyard Brawl against West Virginia this year.
Got that, pal?
“Oregon State’s not our buddy. They would’ve left us as fast as we would have left them.”
— Washington State coach Jake Dickert on the other Pac-12 school left behind, whom he now calls one of their biggest rivals.
Coach didn’t wake up feeling the cheesiest
“Uh oh, Cheez-It Bowl?!”
— Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz upon seeing a Cheez-It Bowl representative at his news conference after the Tigers beat Auburn to become 6-1. They finished 9-3 and will face Iowa in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl.
Coaching insight
“We need to do a better job of coaching, in my opinion. … I’m not so sure that I’ve agreed with our schemes.”
— Mike Gundy, after Oklahoma State’s 42-21 loss to Arizona State. After reviewing film, he changed his tune: “After looking at it, I felt like we were OK.”
The direct approach
“We’ve been an abomination on offense this year.”
— Oklahoma coach Brent Venables after a 35-9 loss to South Carolina, followed by the dismissal of offensive coordinator Seth Littrell.
“We’re paying players.”
— Dave Aranda, to SicEm365, on how Baylor started recruiting better.
Throw it down, big man
“For a big white guy, I can really dance. I wouldn’t say against the general population, but I think for a 300-pound white guy, definitely I’m in the higher percentile for 300-pound white guys.”
— Idaho coach Jason Eck, on busting a move.
Eck on his moves: “I think I’m in the highest percentile for 300 pound white guys.” Literally how do you not love this man https://t.co/WdKTjhhjtc pic.twitter.com/0yewAAQRha
– Andrew Quinn (@andrewquinny) September 9, 2024
Dabo’s down
“When you get beat like that, that’s on the head coach. That’s on me, so, that’s just complete ownership of just an absolute crap second half.”
— Clemson coach Dabo Swinney after a 34-3 loss to Georgia in the season opener.
Dabo’s back
“All we hear is how bad we are and how terrible we are and how stupid I am. … We just keep winning.”
— Swinney, after a 34-31 walk-off win over SMU to claim the ACC championship.
Welcome to Lubbock
“I didn’t know throwing tortillas on the field was legal. … They kept throwing tortillas at me so I had to sign one.”
— Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders on Texas Tech’s tradition of fans flinging tortillas like frisbees during the Buffaloes’ 41-27 win.
“I’m sick of seeing that quarterback. I’ve had enough of him.”
— Auburn coach Hugh Freeze, joking about Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia, who beat Freeze twice when he was at New Mexico State (once against Liberty 49-14 and then 31-10 in a huge upset against Auburn). Pavia threw for two more touchdowns in a 17-7 win over Auburn this season to go 3-0 against Freeze.
“The only place you play in the SEC that’s not hard to play in is Vanderbilt. When you play at Vanderbilt, you have more fans there than they have.”
— ESPN analyst Nick Saban, three weeks before Alabama lost to Vanderbilt in Nashville 40-35.
“Vandy, we’re f—ing turnt!”
— Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, live on ESPN after beating Alabama for the first time in 40 years, its first top-five win in program history.
A historic upset
“We didn’t need luck. That was our theme. I didn’t think we needed luck.”
— Northern Illinois coach Thomas Hammock after the Huskies beat Notre Dame 16-14, the Irish’s only loss this season.
Rise and grind
“If it was up to me, we’d play at 9 o’clock in the morning. Kegs and eggs and football. Let’s go.”
— Nebraska coach Matt Rhule on kickoff times.
B1G beginnings
“That was some pretty good Big Ten football today.”
— USC coach Lincoln Riley, after the Trojans beat LSU 27-20 to open the season in their new conference.
Thanks for the QB
“I should send Ryan Day a bottle of champagne.”
— Syracuse coach Fran Brown, after former Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns in the Orange’s 38-22 season-opening win over Ohio.
Flags are flying everywhere
“It’s just a kid from Austin, Texas, who went to Oklahoma and won his last two Red River games and being rent-free in their heads for almost a decade now.”
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, on Texas players planting a flag through his jersey at the Cotton Bowl after beating Oklahoma this season.
“Some people, they’ve got to learn how to lose. You can’t be fighting and stuff just because you lost the game. All that fighting, we had 60 minutes, we had four quarters to do all that fighting. Now, people want to talk and fight. That’s wrong. It’s just bad for the game. Classless, in my opinion. People got to be better.”
— Michigan RB Kalel Mullins, to Fox’s Jenny Taft, after the Wolverines beat Ohio State 13-10 and planted a flag on OSU’s logo with a fight breaking out afterward, including police pepper-spraying players.
“There are some prideful guys on our team who weren’t going to sit back and let that happen.”
— Ohio State coach Ryan Day on his players’ response to the flag being planted.
“We’re going to win in your house and we’re gonna plant the flag. You should’ve done something about it.”
— Michigan quarterback Davis Warren, after the incident.
Making the Heisman House a home
“After careful thought and consideration I will be humbly removing myself from the Heisman trophy ceremony until @ReggieBush gets his trophy back. Doesn’t sit right with my morals and values that he can’t be on that stage with us every year. Reggie IS the Heisman trophy.”
— Post on X from 2012 Heisman winner Johnny Manziel, on March 2.
“We are thrilled to welcome Reggie Bush back to the Heisman family in recognition of his collegiate accomplishments. We considered the enormous changes in college athletics over the last several years in deciding that now is the right time to reinstate the trophy for Reggie. We are so happy to welcome him back.”
— Michael Comerford, president of the Heisman Trophy Trust, reinstating Bush’s Heisman Trophy that he forfeited in 2010 following NCAA sanctions, on April 24.
Texas trash talk
“Nobody gave us a chance. Your own network doubted us. And then they tried to rob us with calls in this place.”
— Georgia’s Kirby Smart, to ESPN on the field after No. 5 Bulldogs’ 30-15 upset of No. 1 Texas in October in a game marred by a pass interference penalty on an interception by Texas. Longhorns fans threw trash on the field, and while the debris was being removed, officials conferred and changed the call back to an interception.
“Now we’ve set a precedent that if you throw a bunch of stuff on the field and endanger athletes that you’ve got a chance to get your call reversed. And that’s unfortunate because, to me, that’s dangerous. That’s not what we want, and that’s not criticizing officials. That’s what happened.”
— Smart, on officials reversing the call after fans threw trash on the field.
“Let’s get real about the bottle bombing the field glitch we had. Not cool. Bogey move. Yeah, that call was BS, but we’re better than that. Longhorn Nation knows how to show up, show out like no other, and still keep our class. So, going forward let’s clean that kind of BS up and leave that behind us for good. We have to shake hands on that.”
— Texas “Minister of Culture” Matthew McConaughey, on the fans’ behavior.
Colorado trash talk
“We’re about to roll your asses.”
— Colorado safety Shilo Sanders, to Nebraska players before the coin toss. Nebraska won, 28-10.
“I mean, how many times did Raiola get touched?”
— Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders after the Nebraska loss where which he was sacked six times, on his team’s struggles to run the ball and protect him, compared to Huskers QB Dylan Raiola.
A motivation moment
“I grew up a Penn State fan. I wanted to go there my whole life. They didn’t think I was good enough. But I guess we’ll see next week if I was.”
— Ohio State quarterback Will Howard, a Pennsylvania native, who would throw two touchdown passes as No. 4 Ohio State beat No. 3 Penn State 20-13 on Nov. 2.
Harbaugh on changes in college football
“We’ve seen a whole conference go into a portal … If stuff can happen this quick, like we’ve seen this year, then I’m hopeful that there’s a wrong that could be righted quickly as well. There used to be a saying: Old coaches — my dad’s used it, my brother’s used it — like, hey, we’re all robbing the same train here.”
— Harbaugh, on the swift demise of the Pac-12 and the rapid change of pace in college football, advocating for revenue sharing for players in January, saying e.veryone benefits but them.
Big trouble
“This game was absolutely stolen from us. We were excited about being in the Big 12, but tonight I am not. We won this game. Someone else stole it from us. Very disappointed. … I’m disgusted by the professionalism of the officiating crew tonight.”
— Utah athletic director Mark Harlan, after a 22-21 loss to rival BYU. Harlan, who does not normally address the media and did not take any questions, made a surprise appearance in the postgame news conference after a holding call on cornerback Zemaiah Vaughn negated Utah’s fourth-down sack of BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff at the Cougars’ 1-yard line with 1:29 left appeared to have ended the game.
“Mark’s comments irresponsibly challenged the professionalism of our officials and the integrity of the Big 12 Conference. There is a right way and a wrong way to voice concerns. Unfortunately, Mark chose the wrong way.”
— A response from Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, who fined Harlan $40,000.
When a penalty is an advantage
“We spend an inordinate amount of time on situations and some situations don’t come up very often in college football, but this was obviously something we had worked on. You can see the result.”
— Oregon coach Dan Lanning, admitting to intentionally drawing a penalty for having 12 men on the field on defense, running time off the clock and allowing the No. 2 Ducks to escape with a 32-31 win over No. 4 Ohio State. The NCAA changed the rule as a result, allowing officials to reset the game clock to the time of the snap for the penalty.
The mouth of the South
“It means rest for a team that Greg Sankey and his staff sent on the road all year long.”
— Smart, taking a shot at Georgia’s schedule while standing on stage near SEC commissioner Greg Sankey after winning the league’s championship game and earning a bye in the College Football Playoff.
He doesn’t even go here!
“I don’t even know if Shedeur has ever taken a class on campus in his college career.”
— Colorado coach Deion Sanders on “The Bret Boone Podcast,” talking about his son and quarterback taking online classes while lamenting that players are missing out on the best part of college and building relationships with other students.
The haves vs. the have-nots
“Alabama stole our kicker. They illegally recruited our kicker and stole him from us. That’s a fact.”
— Miami Redhawks coach Chuck Martin, in a school video interview, on Lou Groza winner Graham Nicholson transferring to Alabama. Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer denied the allegations, saying, “I mean, he entered the portal and we reached out to him.”
Coach Prime’s time
“I think ever since I stepped into Florida State in ’85 it’s been like that for me. This ain’t new to me. I’m not new to this. Like we say in the hood, I’m true to this. So this is new to some of you all and you want us to change. We’re not going to change. … The cameras and the lights, I think I haven’t seen one kid here today that said he didn’t like that.”
— Deion Sanders, at Big 12 media day, on all the attention around the Colorado program.
“I don’t have bad days, man. I may have a bad moment, maybe even a bad hour, but never a bad day. I don’t. Cause I set my own thermostat.”
— Colorado coach Deion Sanders to rapper Lil Wayne.
“When you lose, you’re going to be ridiculed, you’re going to be prosecuted and persecuted and I’m good. I’ve been on the cross for a long time, and I’m still hanging.”
— Colorado coach Deion Sanders after his team’s 1-1 start.
Inspirations and celebrations in Norman
“We watched that new Gladiator movie last night, and it was right on time. My man Denzel Washington over-delivered again.”
— Oklahoma coach Brent Venables, after Oklahoma beat Alabama 24-3.
“We had to pull over because we ordered so much food they couldn’t get it all ready. We ordered everything. Whatever they put inside of a tortilla, the crunchy stuff, man, it’s freaking — I have no idea what it was. We smashed that and had some fun. It was good. It was worth the wait.”
— Venables, who said he ordered $94 worth of Taco Bell with his daughters after the Oklahoma win.
It’s a party in the SEC
“You said what a joke I was, the ‘Miley Cyrus of college football coaching,’ and I should be fired. They looked at each other and later that night, I was fired.”
— Lane Kiffin, to ESPN’s Paul Finebaum, blaming him for getting fired on the airport tarmac when he was the coach at USC.
Drop the pin
“I’m sure you guys don’t know too much about UCLA, but our football program — we’re in L.A. It’s us and USC. I’m just basically excited. That’s it.”
— UCLA coach DeShaun Foster in his opening statement at Big Ten media days. Foster later wore “We’re in LA” shirt to practice to make light of his speech.
The Drink that stirs the drink
“This will be real disappointing to Bob Stoops, but OU doesn’t always whip Missouri’s ass anymore.”
— Eli Drinkwitz after Mizzou beat Oklahoma 30-23, responding to a quote from Stoops this summer to ESPN’s Jake Trotter on moving to the SEC: “We beat the hell out of Missouri. All of a sudden now we’re supposed to be afraid of them?”
Smokin’ Cig
“We’re picked 17th out of an 18-team league, and I get it. The two times we were picked next-to-last, in 2022, we won the conference championship, and in 2017, we inherited an 8-45 team and … played for the conference championship. Now, I’m not into making predictions. That’s just a historical fact.”
— Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, at Big Ten media days, before going 11-1 and making the College Football Playoff.
Swinney’s semantics
“Honestly, every player is technically a transfer. We just signed a whole class of guys transferring from high school.”
— Clemson’s Dabo Swinney on the school’s lack of additions via the transfer portal.
Heupel’s happy return
“Should be a great crowd. It’s a passionate fan base. I’m expecting them to be extremely quiet for us, out of respect to me and our program, too.”
— Former Sooners quarterback and coach Josh Heupel, with a slight smile, on returning to Oklahoma as the coach at Tennessee. The Vols beat the Sooners 25-15.
“”It’s not one of those moments where you’re happy for [Heupel], because you’re not. But that just kind of comes with the territory.”
— Oklahoma coach Brent Venables after the Sooners’ loss to Tennessee.
Welcome back to Tobacco Road
“I was too young to remember a lot of things at Carolina, but as I grew up, you hear the same story over and over and over again. One story I always heard was, ‘Billy’s first words were, ‘Beat Duke.'”
— Bill Belichick, at his introductory news conference as North Carolina’s new football coach. His father, Steve, served as an assistant coach for the Tar Heels from 1953 to 1955 when Belichick was a toddler.
“Shoot, Bill Belichick will get it, too. We’re going five [straight] years. No matter who the coach is for UNC, we’re going to kick them. It means a lot that I could play against Bill Belichick. But if he comes to play, we’re going to kill them. We’re going to kill them.”
— NC State quarterback CJ Bailey, at a Military Bowl news conference before Belichick’s hire was even official. The Wolfpack have won four straight against North Carolina.
Don’t come to the Sip
“Well, that’s nice of Coach Freeze to compliment our management of our collective. I’m sure he’ll try to steal Walker Jones like he’s tried all of our coaches also.”
— Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, after Hugh Freeze complimented the work The Grove Collective, led by Jones, had done in NIL for the Rebels.
We are … annoyed
“I have no problem with them celebrating, but this is kind of a JV set-up.” pic.twitter.com/FD71tfLoty
– Zachary Neel (@zacharycneel) December 8, 2024
Got him for a steal, too
“He might be the most hated man in college football, but the coaches and kids at Mumford High School love him.”
— Mumford [Michigan] High coach William McMichael, on hiring former Michigan analyst Connor Stalions, allegedly the mastermind behind Michigan’s sign-stealing operation, as his defensive coordinator.
Look at this photograph
“I need to improve my photography skills, not my barbecue skills.”
— A defiant Lincoln Riley, on his oft-criticized brisket photo from Easter 2021.
No offense
“We haven’t been where we’ve wanted to be offensively for a couple years.”
— Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, at Big Ten media days, on hiring Tim Lester to replace his son, Brian Ferentz, as offensive coordinator after the Hawkeyes ranked 132 of 133 teams, averaging 15.4 points per game in 2023. The Hawkeyes improved to 28 PPG this season.
Kiffin loves the committee
“You guys actually meet for days and come up with these rankings?? Do you actually watch the quality of players, teams, and road environments … or just try and make the ACC feel relevant?? Btw one of your teams paid us not to play again next year.”
— Lane Kiffin, on X, to the College Football Playoff committee, also taking a shot at Wake Forest, who told Ole Miss this year they’ll be buying out their return trip to Oxford next year, which Kiffin said violated an “unwritten rule” because it’ll force them to scramble and find a game to schedule.
FSU frustration
“It’s a disappointing ending to an awful season. It’s the best way I can put it.”
— Florida State coach Mike Norvell, after a 31-11 loss to rival Florida to end a 2-10 season after last year’s 13-1 finish.
The bike is parked in Boulder?
“I’ve got a kickstand down. You know what a kickstand is? … That means I’m resting. I’m good, I’m happy, I’m excited. I’m enthusiastic about where I am. … We ain’t going nowhere. We’re about to get comfortable.”
— Deion Sanders, on speculation he could leave Colorado after turning Colorado’s program around.
The perks of on-campus playoff games
“I’m gonna meet Matthew McConaughey!”
— Swinney, on Clemson facing Texas in Austin in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
Goodbye to a good boy
“He wasn’t just my best friend — he was America’s best friend.”
— ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, after the death of his dog Ben, who had become a staple at college football games.
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Eli Lederman
College football coaching staffs are off the trail. Top recruits are flocking to campuses across the country. At long last, official visit season is here.
The busiest stretch of the annual recruiting calendar has commenced with elite prospects traversing the country for official visits from now to the start of the quiet period June 22. As things stand, 146 of the prospects ranked inside the 2026 ESPN 300 are already committed. That number will skyrocket over the summer months as top programs race to fill out their recruiting classes and rising high school seniors settle on their college homes.
USC, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and Clemson entered June with the top five classes in ESPN’s latest team recruiting rankings for the class of 2026. Here’s a primer on the state of play across the class as the latest recruiting cycle begins in earnest this month:
Jump to a tier:
Spring recap | Five-star outlook | QB dominoes
ESPN 300 news | Flip watch | Big visit weekends
What has gone down this spring?
The four months since national signing day closed the door on the 2025 class have delivered plenty of fireworks in the 2026 cycle.
Miami offensive tackle commit Jackson Cantwell (No. 3 overall) and Georgia quarterback pledge Jared Curtis (No. 5) stand among the five five-star prospects who have committed since March 1, leaving only 10 five-star recruits on the board. The 2026 quarterback market has similarly narrowed this spring following the pledges of Curtis, Brady Smigiel (No. 44 — Michigan), Peyton Falzone (No. 235 — Penn State), Kayd Coffman (No. 237 — Michigan State) and Derek Zammit (No. 243 — Washington).
No program holds more ESPN 300 commits than USC with 13, headlined by five-star pledges Elbert Hill (No. 15 overall) and Keenyi Pepe (No. 17). Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Clemson, Texas A&M, Arizona State, LSU and Georgia have charted some of the strongest starts in the latest cycle. Beyond the blue bloods, Kansas, Syracuse, Illinois and Louisville are recruiting at an impressive clip six months out from the early signing period in December.
Five-star outlook
As of Monday, 11 of ESPN’s 21 five-star prospects in the 2026 cycle are committed. What’s next for the remaining 10? Things are about to heat up for the nation’s most coveted recruits.
DT Lamar Brown, No. 1 in the 2026 ESPN 300: The two-way lineman from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, told ESPN he’s now being recruited exclusively as a defensive lineman. Brown took an official visit with Miami over the weekend, and he’ll head to finalists Texas (Friday), Texas A&M (June 13) and LSU (June 20) ahead of his July 10 commitment date after swapping a trip to Florida State for this weekend’s visit with the Longhorns.
ESPN’s top overall prospect attends high school on the LSU campus, and the Tigers are clear leaders in Brown’s process, but plenty can change this month.
“It’d be hard for me to leave Louisiana,” he said. “But it may not be the best option for me. That’s why I’m looking at other teams and relationships with other coaches.”
RB Derrek Cooper, No. 7 in the 2026 ESPN 300: The nation’s No. 1 running back prospect opened his slate of official visits at Miami and will get to Alabama (Friday), Georgia (June 13), Florida State (June 15), Penn State (June 17) and Ohio State (June 20) over the next month.
Cooper, who held a short-lived commitment to Georgia last summer, remains high on the Bulldogs as well as Ohio State. Another prominent contender for the versatile rusher from Hollywood, Florida, is Miami, which is pushing hard to add Cooper alongside offensive tackle pledge Jackson Cantwell as the program’s second five-star cornerstone for 2026.
DE JaReylan McCoy, No. 9 in the 2026 ESPN 300: McCoy’s recruitment appeared wrapped up when he committed to LSU on Jan. 2. But the pass rusher from Tupelo, Mississippi, decommitted from the Tigers a month later.
Though Auburn, Ole Miss and Texas A&M have lingered in McCoy’s process this spring, sources told ESPN that the nation’s No. 2 defensive end is down to three schools: Florida, LSU and Texas. McCoy is taking official visits with all three programs — starting with Florida this past weekend ahead of trips to Texas (June 13) and LSU (June 20) — before announcing his commitment July 1.
OT Immanuel Iheanacho, No. 12 in the 2026 ESPN 300: The nation’s top uncommitted offensive tackle is down to Auburn, LSU, Oregon and Penn State and plans to announce his pledge in early August. Iheanacho opened his series of spring official visits with LSU then will be at Auburn (Friday), Penn State (June 13) and Oregon (June 20).
After Oregon missed out on Cantwell and five-star quarterback Jared Curtis last month, sources told ESPN that the Ducks entered June as the leader in Iheanacho’s process. His three other finalists will all get their chance to sway the 6-foot-7, 350-pound lineman this month, with LSU seen as the most serious contender to challenge Oregon for Iheanacho’s commitment.
OLB Tyler Atkinson, No. 13 in the 2026 ESPN 300: ESPN’s top linebacker opened his official visit slate with a trip to Clemson over the weekend. Atkinson does not yet have any other official trips on the calendar, but Auburn, Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon stand among the prominent powers expected to land visits in the coming weeks and months.
Georgia might enter the summer with a slight edge for the productive in-state linebacker from Loganville. However, Atkinson’s recruitment remains wide open as of now.
ATH Brandon Arrington, No. 14 in the 2026 ESPN 300: Projected to play cornerback at the next level, Arrington will have taken official visits with Penn State, Washington, Texas A&M, Alabama and USC by the time he wraps his trip to Oregon on June 20.
Oregon, Texas A&M and USC have been the consistent leaders in Arrington’s recruitment over the past year. Washington has entered the mix as a late-arriving contender. All six schools will continue to be involved in the chase for Arrington’s pledge up to his July 5 commitment date.
DE Richard Wesley, No. 18 in the 2026 ESPN 300: Wesley’s May 10 commitment to Oregon lasted all of 17 days. Upon pulling his pledge from the Ducks last week, Wesley’s recruitment remains open as the coveted 2027 reclass works through an accelerated process.
The circumstances of Wesley’s surprise pledge and subsequent decommitment from Oregon hasn’t soured his relationship with the program. He’ll return for an official visit with the Ducks on Friday before trips to Texas (June 20) and Ohio State (Aug. 30). Tennessee and Texas A&M are among others working to land an official visit date with Wesley.
TE Kaiden Prothro, No. 19 in the 2026 ESPN 300: The lanky 6-7, 210-pound receiving tight end from Bowdon, Georgia, opened an all-SEC run of official visits at Georgia over the weekend. Alabama (Friday), Auburn (June 10), Florida (June 13) and Texas (June 20) are next in line as the recruitment of the highly rated tight end prospect gains steam.
Georgia, with family ties and a history of developing tight ends, appears the most likely destination for Prothro while Auburn and Florida are two other programs pushing especially hard in his recruitment this spring.
OT Felix Ojo, No. 20 in the 2026 ESPN 300: A promising offensive line recruit, Ojo will end up taking a whopping eight official visits between April 18 and June 20. He already has made stops at Ole Miss, Texas Tech, Colorado, Florida and Ohio State this spring and will travel to Michigan (June 7), Texas (June 13) and Oklahoma (June 20) over the next month.
Ojo tells ESPN that Ohio State, Texas and Texas Tech have been the most aggressive programs in his recruitment this spring. He’s aiming to commit before the start of his senior season, so the relationships Ojo builds over the next month of visits will be central to his process.
DE Jake Kreul, No. 21 in the 2026 ESPN 300: A disruptive pass rusher from Florida’s IMG Academy, Kreul will visit Florida (June 7), Texas (June 13) and Oklahoma (June 20) this month following previous officials to Colorado and Ohio State this spring.
No program has worked harder to assert itself in Kreul’s recruitment than Oklahoma. Per ESPN sources, the Sooners view the 6-foot-3, 235-pound defender as a priority target in 2026. Among the top challengers for Kreul’s pledge, expect Texas and Ohio State to be heavily involved this summer.
Landing spots for the top uncommitted quarterbacks
The month began with only four of the 18 passers ranked inside the 2026 ESPN 300 uncommitted with nearly a dozen top programs still searching for a 2026 QB pledge. How might things unfold for the quarterback market’s top recruits over the next three months?
QB Ryder Lyons, No. 49 in the 2026 ESPN 300: ESPN’s fifth-ranked pocket passer has courted interest from BYU, Michigan, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Oregon and USC this spring. Three of those programs — BYU, Oregon and USC — will get Lyons on campus over the next month.
BYU has made some surprise splashes on the recruiting trail this spring, and USC is working to get the in-state quarterback to join his brother, Walker, with the Trojans. But ahead of official visits on each of the next three weekends, it’s Oregon that looks most likely to land Lyons, who will enroll in 2027 following an LDS mission after his high school graduation.
QB Landon Duckworth, No. 104 in the 2025 ESPN 300: Auburn, Florida State, Ole Miss and South Carolina are all-in on the nation’s top dual-threat quarterback. While all four programs will host Duckworth for officials this spring, sources tell ESPN that Ole Miss and South Carolina have established themselves as clear leaders in his process this spring.
Coach Lane Kiffin and the Rebels have worked harder than any other school in Duckworth’s recruitment, selling the mobile passer on his fit in the Ole Miss offense and the program’s record of development at the position. South Carolina, which previously held Duckworth’s pledge from August 2023 to June 2024, continues to maintain a strong presence in his process, as well. Visits with both programs in the coming weeks will be pivotal for Duckworth.
QB Oscar Rios, No, 192 in the 2026 ESPN 300: The former Purdue pledge holds a list of seven finalists — Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, Oklahoma State, UCLA, Utah and Virginia Tech — ahead of visits to Utah, UCLA, Arizona and Colorado this month following earlier trips to Kentucky, Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech.
Kentucky remains a leader among the schools Rios has already visited. Plenty can change across the string of visits in front of him in the coming weeks ahead of a June 25 commitment date, days after Rios closes his run of officials with a visit to Colorado.
QB Bowe Bentley, No. 261 in the 2025 ESPN 300: The dual-threat quarterback from Celina, Texas, is down to LSU and Oklahoma. Bentley spent this past weekend with the Tigers and will make his latest trip to the Sooners this coming weekend, part of a swing of back-to-back officials that could help decide one of the most intriguing quarterback recruitments in the cycle.
Sources within both programs feel confident about their chances with Bentley, who is likely to make a decision not long after wrapping up his pair of official visits early this month.
Elite skill position recruits and top defenders
Past the five-star firepower, there’s plenty more available talent in the upper crust of the 2026 class.
Four of the nation’s top five running backs remain uncommitted this month, led by No. 1 Derrek Cooper. No. 2 rusher Savion Hiter (No. 27 overall) will take officials with Ohio State, Georgia, Michigan and Tennessee prior to the quiet period. Ezavier Crowell, a reclass from the 2027 cycle, is set to commit on June 26 after ESPN’s No. 30 prospect visits Georgia, Texas, Auburn, Florida State and Alabama. Baylor, Florida and Houston are all on the list for four-star rusher Davian Groce (No. 35), whose recruitment remains “wide open,” per ESPN sources.
LSU and Texas A&M stand as the top contenders for four-star wide receiver Ethan Feaster (No. 23 overall) ahead of his July 4 commitment date. Elsewhere in the wide receiver class, sources tell ESPN that Florida, Florida State and LSU are setting the pace for Calvin Russell (No. 26), while Alabama continues to lead the chase for in-state pass catcher Cederian Morgan (No. 47).
On defense, Alabama and Oregon hold a slight edge with four-star safety Jett Washington (No. 22 overall) as the nation’s top safety preps for officials with both schools along with Ohio State and USC. The Crimson Tide are also leading the charge for outside linebacker Xavier Griffin (No. 28), the former USC commit who will visit Florida State, Georgia, Texas after a trip to Ohio State over the weekend.
Four-star safety Jireh Edwards (No. 29) has set his commitment date for July 5 and already visited Auburn and Maryland in recent weeks. Edwards told ESPN that he’s heading into upcoming trips to Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M and Oregon with “an open mind.” Sources tell ESPN that defensive end Anthony Jones (No. 25) and outside linebacker D.Q. Forkpa (No. 40) are two of the top defenders on the board this spring for Miami and coach Mario Cristobal.
Flip watch
DE Zion Elee, No. 2 in the 2026 ESPN 300, Maryland commit
Elee was slated for a series of summer officials across the Big Ten and SEC before he closed his recruitment and cancelled those trips in February. That’s why his official visit to Auburn last month raised eyebrows, even while Elee asserts he’s still locked in with the Terps.
“I have a bunch of former teammates there so I just wanted to check it out,” he told ESPN. “I wasn’t thinking anything of it. I’m still firm with Maryland. I just wanted to take pictures.”
The historic local class Maryland dreamed of building around Elee — think Iheanacho, Edwards et al — doesn’t appear likely. And with blue bloods still pursuing Elee this spring, his recruitment will remain one to watch from now to signing day. As things stand, Elee is committed to the Terps with plans to return to Maryland for his only scheduled official visit of the month on June 20.
WR Tristen Keys, No. 10 in the 2026 ESPN 300, LSU commit
Keys has been the top-ranked member of the Tigers’ 2026 class since March 19, but the LSU pledge hasn’t kept ESPN’s No. 2 wide receiver from taking other visits. After spring trips to Auburn, Miami, Ole Miss and Texas A&M, Keys was back at Miami for an official over the weekend.
Following his Hurricanes visit, sources tell ESPN that Keys will get to Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee and Texas A&M for officials this month before his June 20 trip to LSU. As Keys keeps his recruitment, coach Brian Kelly’s ability to hang onto five-star talent will be tested again this cycle.
QB Keisean Henderson, No. 16 in the 2026 ESPN 300, Houston commit
Programs across the Big Ten and ACC spent the spring chipping away at Henderson’s Houston commitment. Florida State finally broke through this month, landing a June 9 official visit from the mobile, 6-foot-3 passer.
Henderson has held firm on his pledge to the Cougars while maintaining dialogue with multiple programs this spring. While sources tell ESPN that there has been no change in his commitment status or plans with Houston, Henderson’s visit to Florida State marks new territory in his recruitment.
QB Jaden O’Neal, No. 122 in the 2026 ESPN 300, Oklahoma commit
Despite 11 months spent in the Sooners’ 2026 class and an offseason transfer from California to Oklahoma’s Mustang High School, O’Neal could soon be on the move.
The departure of Sooners offensive coordinator Seth Littrell last fall unsettled O’Neal’s camp, and sources tell ESPN that the program’s full-throttle pursuit of Bowe Bentley under new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle has damaged the trust between O’Neal and Oklahoma. O’Neal visited Arizona over the weekend, and his upcoming official trip to Florida State looms especially large with Bentley nearing a decision and quarterback dominoes getting ready to fall this month.
Biggest visits
Alabama (June 6-8): The Crimson Tide’s first recruiting class under coach Kalen DeBoer got rolling in June last year. Alabama could go a long way toward turbocharging its 2026 class this weekend with four top-30 recruits on campus between five-star skill talents Derrek Cooper (No. 7 overall) and Kaiden Prothro (No. 19) and four-star defenders Xavier Griffin (No. 28) and Jireh Edwards (No. 29).
Auburn (June 13-15): The Tigers will have a big name on campus this weekend when five-star offensive tackle Immanuel Iheanacho (No. 12 overall) takes his official trip to Auburn. But the weekend of June 13 will give coach Hugh Freeze and his staff a shot at multiple elite targets, including running back Ezavier Crowell (No. 30), safety Bralan Womack (No. 31) and wide receiver Cederian Morgan (No. 47).
Florida (June 13-15): While the Gators will have elite prospects on campus all month, Florida has a chance to build momentum with several top targets two weekends from now. Prothro and No. 4 running back Davian Groce (No. 35 overall) headline a talented group of visitors that could also include top-40 linebacker Izayia Williams — who flipped from Florida to Ole Miss last month — and defensive tackle Kendall Guervil (No. 253), a priority in-state recruit.
Florida State (June 9-15): It’s not exactly a weekend, but the Seminoles will embark on a defining stretch of quarterback visits in the middle of the month. It’ll start with a visit from five-star passer Keisean Henderson (No. 16 overall) before top dual-threat passer Landon Duckworth (No. 104) on June 13 and Oklahoma pledge Jaden O’Neal (No. 112) on June 15 also make visits.
Georgia (June 6-8): The Bulldogs will host a series of heavy hitters this weekend with running back Savion Hiter (No. 27 overall), cornerback Chauncey Kennon (No. 48) and offensive tackle Ekene Ogboko (No. 50) set to visit. Georgia gets Cooper, another top running back target, on campus starting June 13.
Michigan (June 13-15): Coach Sherrone Moore and the Wolverines will welcome eight top-150 prospects on June 13. Hiter, No. 3 athlete Salesi Moa (No. 34 overall) and outside linebacker D.Q. Forkpa (No. 40) lead the group of blue-chip visitors. Top-75 offensive tackles John Turntine III (No. 43) and Leo Delaney (No. 75) mark another pair of key visitors.
Notre Dame (June 20-22): The Fighting Irish will host roughly a dozen commits from June 13 to 15 but could continue to bolster the nation’s second-ranked class a week later. Notre Dame will look to leave a lasting impression on Ogboko, ESPN’s No. 8 offensive tackle, four-star defensive tackle Elijah Golden (No. 84 overall) and athlete Joey O’Brien (No. 102) on the final weekend before the summer quiet period.
Oregon (June 20-22): Coach Dan Lanning will get his top 2026 commit — five-star tight end Kendre’ Harrison — on campus on the final official visit weekend of June with a chance to make a mark with a number of other key Oregon targets. Iheanacho and Edwards are set to visit on June 20 alongside five-star athlete Brandon Arrington (No. 14 overall), outside linebacker Talanoa Ili (No. 53), cornerback Khary Adams (No. 68) and athlete Jalen Lott (No. 108).
Sports
‘As wired at breakfast as he is at game time’: What Brad Marchand has brought to the Panthers
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Greg Wyshynski
SUNRISE, Fla. — Brad Marchand has regrets.
He didn’t want to leave the Boston Bruins, the team that drafted him in 2006, won a Stanley Cup with him in 2011 and that he captained for the past two seasons after Patrice Bergeron retired. The team with whom he gained fame with 976 points in 1,090 games, as well as infamy as one of the NHL’s most accomplished agitators. He dreamed about being a one-team guy, one of the rarest accomplishments for veteran stars in a transient sport.
Marchand regrets not being able to say goodbye to Boston fans on his own terms before the NHL trade deadline.
“I got hurt before I got traded. The last game I’ll ever play in a Bruins jersey was not the last game I thought I was ever going to play in a Bruins jersey,” he said.
Marchand’s final home game in Boston was a loss to the New York Islanders on Feb. 27. His final game with the Bruins was March 3 in Pittsburgh. He was traded to the Florida Panthers on March 7, the result of a contract impasse with Boston management and the team’s pivot to a retool.
He fought back tears in his first public appearance as a Panther. “At the end of the day, I know the business is the business and everybody has a shelf life,” he said. “I am grateful, beyond words, for everything that organization has done for me.”
Marchand regrets not appreciating all the experiences he had in Boston.
“When you come to the rink, it can be stressful. You start overthinking things. There’s this pressure you sometimes put on yourself. You start stressing about things that you don’t need to stress about,” he said. “I know that there are moments that I missed out on or didn’t really appreciate because I was stressing about other things.”
For example, the Bruins had 135 points in 2022-23, becoming the most successful regular-season team in NHL history. The Panthers shocked the league — and began their nascent dynasty — with a seven-game upset in the first round of the playoffs that ended the series at a funeral-pitched TD Garden.
“We thought we were going to go to the finals that year. We thought we were going to win it all, and then we got pushed out in the first round,” Marchand said. “You start looking back at those moments and you realize you took all we did that season for granted because we were so worried about going to the finals. We weren’t living in the moment.”
Those are old regrets for the new Brad Marchand. The playoff disappointment, the breakup with the Bruins, the deadline trade … they were all shocks to his system that reoriented his thinking.
“I’m just not going to do that to myself this time around,” he said. “I’m coming to the rink every day just having fun and trying to live in the moment, not taking anything too seriously.”
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Marchand started to rethink his own mindfulness when he arrived in Florida.
“My family’s not here and I have a lot more time to sit home and think and go over things in my head than I normally do,” he said. “Being here, they talk about being in the moment. Just going day by day. About taking time to reflect on things and appreciate them.”
And so Marchand decided he was just going to enjoy himself during this run with the Panthers, which finds them back in the Stanley Cup Final, seeking a second straight championship against the Edmonton Oilers, whom they defeated in Game 7 for the Cup last season.
“I’m literally just trying to have fun out there and have fun in here,” he said, motioning to the dressing room.
“The Dairy Queen thing is a great example.”
THE “DAIRY QUEEN THING” sprang from an interview between Marchand and Sportsnet rinkside reporter Kyle Bukauskas. He asked Marchand about a run to Dairy Queen that the Panthers made during the Eastern Conference finals games in Raleigh, and then introduced a clip of Marchand eating something with a spoon in between periods of Florida’s Game 3 win. Bukauskas asked Marchand if he was “refueling with a Blizzard” in the locker room.
Marchand extolled the virtues of the chocolate chip cookie dough Blizzard as “the best dessert in the world,” and made a pitch to DQ PR for a lifetime supply of the frozen treats for that endorsement.
“We had a little fun on the off day. There was a DQ by the hotel. We popped over and enjoyed our night,” Marchand explained.
This interview went viral, with many fans (and media) taking it as gospel that Marchand had been eating ice cream in between periods. His teammates were interviewed about it. Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice was asked about it during his news conferences.
Days later, Marchand was finally asked about eating ice cream in the locker room during a game.
“It wasn’t a Blizzard,” Marchand said, with a tone that rendered the accusation absurd. “I was not eating a Blizzard in the middle of a game.”
Marchand explained that he was referencing the Panthers’ trip to Dairy Queen during the Sportsnet interview. “I was referencing that. I was making a joke about our excursion a couple of nights before. Just kind of making a joke off of it and I think people took it seriously,” he said.
After the interview went viral, Marchand said his phone blew up with messages from people saying they were inspired by him to go to Dairy Queen.
“I appreciate the support,” he said. “I love a good Blizzard more than anybody, but it’s not something I’ve had in the middle of the game.”
For many, this was never really about whether Marchand was wolfing down ice cream in his dressing room stall. It was essentially a tribute to the mercurial nature of the star winger that he reasonably could have been the guy eating Dairy Queen between periods. There’s something indelible about the most agitating player on the ice celebrating his wickedness with spoonfuls of cookie dough ice cream during intermission.
But it wasn’t ice cream or cookie dough or peanut butter. Marchand eventually revealed he was caught consuming “something healthy” on camera.
“It was honey. I was having honey. It was a spoonful of honey.”
Because he’s sweet?
“Because I’m a bear,” he responded.
Marchand said he has always had an affinity for honey.
“Actually, when I was growing up, I loved Winnie the Pooh. So I used to have a Winnie the Pooh [doll] and I used to feed the bear honey. So it was covered with honey and would get rock hard,” he said. “I don’t think [my parents] enjoyed cleaning up the mess. But I had fun.”
Marchand paused for effect.
“It’s what we do in Halifax. We feed teddy bears honey.”
Everyone laughed.
IT’S STILL SURREAL to think about where Marchand started in his NHL career to where he has ended up.
When the Bruins won the Cup in 2011, Marchand was a brash 23-year-old winger whose burgeoning offensive game was secondary to his extracurricular activities on the ice. Like when he used Vancouver Canucks winger Daniel Sedin as a punching bag in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, delivering around six shots to his face without the on-ice officials stepping in.
When asked why he kept punching Sedin, Marchand responded, “Because I felt like it.”
He was the guy who got a misspelled tattoo after the Bruins won the Cup.
“Let me clear something up. After we won, a bunch of us got tattoos here in the dressing room of the Garden. Mine originally was misspelled,” he said in an ESPN player diary. “Instead of saying Stanley Cup Champions it said ‘Stanley Cup Champians.’ I don’t even know how that happened.”
(It was fixed before the next season.)
He was the player who was suspended six times by the NHL between 2011 and 2018 for illegal hits, and was given a six-game suspension as recently as 2022. He was a player known as much for his goading as his goal scoring.
But in 2025? Marchand was “an elder statesman” for Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off, according to coach Jon Cooper.
“Love him. I can’t say enough great things about him, his energy and passion. He seems to find the fountain of youth any time he comes into one of these tournaments. He’s one of the guys everybody turns to when everything’s under fire,” Cooper said. “The loudest guy on the bench, pumping everybody up, is Brad Marchand. For somebody that’s been around as long as he has, he doesn’t have to do that.”
That energy is one of the things Maurice likes best about Marchand.
“He is such a unique guy. He’s as wired at breakfast as he is at game time,” he said.
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Maurice remembered when GM Bill Zito told him that the Panthers would be acquiring Matthew Tkachuk in 2022 and not believing he’d be able to pull it off. He had a similar reaction when Zito told him last summer that Chicago defenseman Seth Jones might be available. When Zito told him about Marchand, he knew it was real. “If he says it, then it could happen,” Maurice said.
Truth be told, Maurice didn’t believe the Panthers had “a huge hole” in their lineup for Marchand to fill. He was also concerned about how the 37-year-old would fit on a roster that was largely the same as the one that captured the Stanley Cup last season.
Two of Marchand’s former Bruins teammates are Panthers executives: Shawn Thornton, chief revenue officer, and Gregory Campbell, assistant general manager. They assured Maurice that Marchand would be an ideal Panther.
“There’s just many stories about bringing them high-end guys toward the end of their career and it doesn’t work and it doesn’t fit. But they were sure,” the coach recalled.
When Marchand arrived with the Panthers, Maurice soon understood the fit — on the ice and off the ice.
“His personality took some pressure off the rest of the guys. I actually have more quiet guys than we have loud guys. You all know that [Aleksander] Barkov is not doing a podcast when he’s done [playing],” Maurice said. “They’re like, ‘OK, Marchy’s here, he can do all the talking and we can just relax.'”
The Panthers had some talkers last season in forward Ryan Lomberg and defenseman Brandon Montour, who both left via free agency.
“Some of these guys start talking in their car and don’t stop until they left the rink. They just go on all the time,” Maurice said. “It was nice to have that element again that we kind of lost a little bit of it. He’s brought it back.”
Marchand has also learned through years when to hold his tongue with the media. Like when Carolina defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere intentionally shot the puck at Marchand in Game 1 of the conference finals, which led to Marchand getting a misconduct penalty. When Marchand was asked about his thoughts, he replied: “Yeah, I’m not much of a thinker.”
Maurice nodded to that moment in his news conference later that day.
“He’s a great interview. He’s very, very bright, even though I hear he is a man of very few thoughts,” he said, drawing laughs. “That’s a good line. I’m stealing it.”
ON THE ICE, Marchand has been primarily paired with center Anton Lundell, 23, and winger Eetu Luostarinen, 26, during the Panthers’ run to the Final, forming one of the most effective lines in the postseason. In 17 games together, the line has had 55% of the shot attempts when on the ice, 56% of the expected goals, has 4.2 goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 and just 0.82 goals against per 60 minutes.
Maurice raved about what Marchand “has done with those two young players” on Florida’s third line. “The way they’ve expanded, the way they play … part of it is playing off him,” he said.
Marchand has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in the playoffs. Luostarinen has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) while Lundell has 12 points (five goals, seven assists).
Marchand had high praise for Luostarinen.
“He plays a man’s game. He plays through bodies. He’s hard on pucks, wins a lot of battles,” Marchand said. “He’s very, very skilled. He’s great with the puck. He doesn’t force plays. He’s very smart in the way that he plays.”
Marchand then bestowed the greatest accolade he could muster onto Luostarinen: He reminds Marchand of Bergeron, his six-time Selke Trophy-winning teammate with the Bruins.
“He’s so defensively good with the stick. It reminds me a lot of Bergy, where he leads with the stick a lot, kills a lot of plays that way and creates offense from that,” Marchand said.
Marchand said he enjoys playing with his Panthers linemates because they have similar “simple, direct” games.
“We just complement each other all over the ice because we read the game pretty well on both sides of it. We support each other pretty well, all the way up and down the ice and then in the corner,” he said. “So I think we just because of that, we’re able to create offense out, little scrums, stuff like that.”
He said skating with Lundell and Luostarinen has been revitalizing.
“They play fast and they play hard and they’re young, energetic guys. It keeps me feeling young,” Marchand said. “I’m lying to myself. I feel 25 again. I feel rejuvenated and part of that comes to playing with some younger guys and part of a really good group of guys in here.”
0:36
Panthers take care of Hurricanes in 5 to advance to Stanley Cup Final
The Florida Panthers win 5-3 in a back-and-forth Game 5 battle vs. the Hurricanes to advance to their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final.
Marchand didn’t always feel they were good guys. Not when Matthew Tkachuk was terrorizing his Bruins in the playoffs in 2023 and 2024.
“He’s a competitor. He’s there to win. His reputation proceeds him,” Marchand said of Tkachuk. “One of the most gifted players in the league around the net. He brings an element to the group that brings guys swagger.”
Someone asked what opponents think about having Marchand and Tkachuk — two legendary provocateurs — on the ice for Florida.
“I mostly feel sorry for the guys in our room. Not too many guys are going to get a break here now,” Marchand said of him and Tkachuk. “It’s nice to be on his team rather than going against him, for sure.”
Then there’s Sam Bennett, who appeared to sucker punch Marchand during the Panthers’ playoff series win over the Bruins in 2024. It knocked Marchand out of the series for two games and didn’t result in further discipline for Bennett. At the trade deadline in 2025, they became teammates.
“I didn’t hold a grudge. Again, I know how this game’s played. I played a similar way,” Marchand said. “It’s something that we joke about. I can laugh it off. I joke about it all the time. I joke about it more than he does, but I definitely joke about it.”
Maurice said there’s a reason that hockey players who were the fiercest rivals can become teammates without much acrimony.
“I think you find out when a player walks in the room, even if he’s had his great battles, they’re so happy that it’s over. They don’t have to fight you anymore. They don’t have to hack and whack in the corner for 60 minutes,” Maurice said. “Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett are best friends now. A year ago, you would’ve never thought that could happen.”
A year ago, Brad Marchand becoming a Florida Panther wasn’t something many believed could happen, although it makes perfect sense now: The Rat King, joining the franchise that celebrates wins by throwing plastic rats on the ice.
In fact, Marchand has become a new part of that tradition. After Florida wins, if there are rats on the ice, his teammates have taken to shooting the faux rodents at Marchand as they’re leaving for the dressing room.
“They see my family on the ice and want us to be together,” Marchand deadpanned.
As the playoffs have progressed, “they’re shooting to hurt now,” according to Marchand. “Matthew Tkachuk caught me with one last game that I actually really felt there,” he said.
Marchand is feeling a lot these days. The sting of the trade dissipates a little more with every playoff win. He’s having more fun and stressing less, among teammates with whom he has quickly bonded. And he’s a few wins from another Stanley Cup, in the third Final he has reached since winning his first ring 14 years ago.
“It’s exciting. You hope that you get to this point. Obviously, we have a great team and we played well so far. We got to the point where we want to be, but we haven’t accomplished anything yet,” Marchand said.
“I may never get back this late in the playoffs ever again in my career. These are memories and moments that you want to embrace.”
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