CFP National Championship: Why everyone at Notre Dame bought into Marcus Freeman
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Paolo Uggetti, ESPN
ATLANTA — Rocco Spindler still remembers the feeling that permeated the air in South Bend, Indiana, during late November in 2021.
The Notre Dame offensive lineman — then a freshman — and his teammates had just finished an 11-1 season only to be hit with the news that their head coach, Brian Kelly, was leaving for LSU while they still had an outside shot at making the College Football Playoff.
“There was a lot of uncertainty that whole week,” Spindler said. “We didn’t know who else was leaving, who else was staying.”
As November turned into December, Spindler and the rest of the team found themselves grasping for any semblance of familiarity or comfort. In Marcus Freeman, they found it.
“He was the one guy we all gravitated toward,” Spindler said of the Irish’s then-first-year defensive coordinator.
Naturally, the players who had seen what Freeman could do, who had been coached by him and felt his impact on their game, viewed the idea of Freeman succeeding Kelly as a no-brainer and campaigned for it.
“It was hectic,” said defensive lineman Howard Cross III. “But immediately everybody was like, ‘Why doesn’t Coach Freeman just be the head coach?’ Everybody agreed.”
“Seeing his ability to lead and how he handles certain situations was all we needed,” said defensive lineman Rylie Mills. “I think we all kind of knew what he was capable of.”
The players’ preference was no secret. Spindler remembers upperclassmen who would not be there the following season expressing their desire for Freeman to take over. It didn’t take long for them to get their wish.
a player’s coach@Marcus_Freeman1 | #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/pf9E1OygA8
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) December 3, 2021
The video of the team’s reaction to Freeman’s hiring immediately became a touchpoint for the program’s decision. It wasn’t about hiring anyone connected to Notre Dame. As the caption “player’s coach” alongside the footage of Freeman being mobbed by his players showed, the decision had the potential to start a new era for the program.
“It was absolutely risky to hire somebody at a place like Notre Dame who doesn’t have a track record as a head coach, but he won the job,” former Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, who hired Freeman, told ESPN. “We had plenty of really attractive candidates, but based on my experience with him, based on what the players told me, and based on a really excellent interview, he distinguished himself.”
In the three years since that moment, Freeman has built on that foundation, showing himself not only to be the right person for the job, but also being able to channel his approach into leading Notre Dame here, one game away from its first national championship since 1988.
“We were so excited [in 2021], but it was trust beyond knowing,” Mills said. “Now, he’s taken it to a whole other level.”
Here is a glimpse into some of the moments that make Freeman, the coach.
‘He would be the guy to always bring the juice’
Freeman’s first shot at a Division I coordinator job came at Cincinnati, where then-head coach Luke Fickell hired Freeman to be his defensive coordinator. Freeman was only 30 years old, but it didn’t take long for him to find his footing with a group that had won just four games the year prior.
“He came in and immediately made a first impression on us,” said former Cincinnati defensive lineman Kimoni Fitz. “We were trying to find ourselves and restart the culture with the new staff, and he made it easy.”
It helped that the results materialized quickly. Freeman’s defense led the AAC in rushing defense, scoring defense and total defense, and it ranked among the top 15 in FBS in all three categories.
According to Fitz, as the defense improved over the season, Freeman would get with the Bearcats’ video team and cut up a highlight reel of their best plays from the previous game and show it to the defense as a way of motivation.
“We would already envision ourselves making the plays,” Fitz said.
Then, as Miami’s turnover belt became an object of fascination in the sport, Freeman instituted the “turnover dunk,” where players who created the turnover would dunk the ball on a small rim.
Cincinnati Turnover Dunk pic.twitter.com/Is4rhN8Brq
— NCAAF Nation (@NCAAFNation247) September 26, 2020
“He was such a high-energy guy,” Fitz said. “If we came to practice without any juice that day, he would be the guy to always bring the juice, and we would live off that and play off that.”
Freeman was also able to draw from his playing experience — Freeman had been a linebacker drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round in 2009 — to get the most out of his players, a trait that kept resurfacing as Freeman was rising.
“He wasn’t ever too big for anybody,” Fitz said. “Because he was a former player, he knew what it takes and he knew what we actually went through every day and respected that. You wanted to play hard for him.”
‘The head coach is telling me he believes in me’
Irish running back Jadarian Price won’t soon forget getting called into Freeman’s office. After a fall camp practice, Freeman pulled the junior aside and flipped on some film from practice. Freeman was neither interested in praising Price nor scolding him. He instead wanted to challenge him.
“He was like, ‘I really believe, and we all believe, that you can make plays like this,'” Price recalled Freeman saying. “We know that you can break away and run, but I want to see you strap up and break through the line.”
Price first took the challenge as a negative criticism, but when he thought about it more, he was able to see what Freeman was doing, not just for him but for all the other players on the team he was challenging.
“The head coach is telling me he believes in me, and he thinks I could do this better,” Price said. “It was a great thing to have. If the coaches are quiet, it’s not such a good thing, but if they’re telling you something, it’s a good thing.”
As Freeman has attempted to get the most out of this particular team, players have become accustomed to his coaching style.
“A lot of people say he’s a great coach. No one really truly understands and experiences that [like us],” Price said. “How he is behind the scenes at his meetings, the way he speaks, his attentiveness, his involvement with every player. I think that’s really rare, him not just being the CEO of the program, but the coach who steps in and figures out a way to make every player better and get to know every player.”
Talk to any Notre Dame player, and they’ll harp on a similar thing: how easy it is to play for Freeman because of who he is and what he does, not just on the field, but off of it.
“He has a relationship with every single person on his team of how that person needs to be interacted with and motivated,” said kicker Mitch Jeter.
Linebacker Jack Kiser perhaps knows this as well as anyone on Notre Dame’s roster. Kiser has been at the program since 2019 and was coached by Freeman as a defensive coordinator in 2021. The list of challenges and motivation, constructive criticism and praise that Kiser has received from Freeman is long, but what sticks out to Kiser the most is how Freeman has been consistent through it all.
“You don’t talk to him and walk away feeling like he just lied to you or he was someone different,” Kiser said. “He’s just a very authentic, genuine person, and I think you see that on the sideline, too. You see his raw emotion come out. You see the way he processes things. He’s not able to hide some of his emotions, and that just goes to show that he really cares about us players and he cares about this place, this program.”
‘The right guy at the right time for Notre Dame’
“What was a place-kicker who had spent most of his time in the Carolinas doing here?”
That’s what Jeter, covered in as many layers as possible, thought to himself as he walked across the Notre Dame campus on a day when the temperature dipped well below freezing. The South Carolina transfer had recently arrived on campus and was experiencing a bit of culture shock. Freeman didn’t exactly coddle him.
“He really instilled in me that you come to Notre Dame to choose hard,” Jeter said with a smile. “Even if that is the weather or the class schedule or the football.”
Although Freeman said he didn’t follow Notre Dame football much before he was hired in 2021, the way that he has embraced the program’s history has stood out to players. Offensive lineman Aamil Wagner recalled a meeting earlier this season where they discussed the 1988 Notre Dame team, the last Irish team to win a national title, and tried to gather inspiration from it.
“All season he has gotten us so invested in the concept of going after team glory,” Wagner said. “Everyone remembers that 1988 team and how they got the crown jewel of the sport. We know what came before us, but we want to chart our own path.”
“He tells us all the time to be misfits,” Price said. “That seems like an unusual word for Notre Dame, but people like me, I’m not Catholic myself, I’m from Texas. I didn’t grow up thinking I would be at Notre Dame, and look, we have a minority head coach at Notre Dame. So it makes you feel a lot more comfortable as a player and just being led by someone who doesn’t care what the world thinks and stands by themselves.”
Whether it’s bringing transfers into the fold seamlessly or reinstituting pregame mass for the program, Freeman — who is the first Black and Asian coach to be in the title game — has struck a deft touch between utilizing Notre Dame’s tradition and history to bring the Irish together.
“He has completely embraced the University of Notre Dame and the University of Notre Dame has fully embraced him,” said offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock.
Said defensive coordinator Al Golden: “Marcus is the right guy at the right time for Notre Dame.”
‘Every week is now a playoff game’
The game that kept Notre Dame from heading into the title game with an undefeated record is also the one that likely allowed them to reach the championship. That particular thesis about the Irish’s shocking loss to Northern Illinois in September has now become folklore for this year’s players and coaches, in large part due to the way they say Freeman handled the defeat.
“After the NIU loss, a lot of coaches may scream and yell, and I’ve been in the building before where that’s happened,” Mills said. “But he wasn’t doing that.”
“The mood of the team and the feeling around the team always comes from the top down,” Denbrock said. “His ability to compartmentalize it a little bit, to analyze it, to kind of be willing to be vulnerable, us as a coaching staff, him as the leader of the program, and look at the things that we felt like we really needed to fix.”
Freeman, like he had done at Cincinnati, turned to a video, this time not of anything related to football, but of a high school hurdler who was tripped up by the second hurdle in a 100-meter race. The hurdler got back up and made a comeback, qualifying for the final heat where she won and set a personal record.
“He was like, ‘This is us and this is what we can do. Every week is now a playoff game,'” Mills said. “He just brought that intensity that we knew we didn’t have with NIU, and we kept that with us the rest of the season.”
Instead of burying the loss, Freeman utilized it, and it fueled the team’s dominance the rest of the season.
“He’s big about remembering the scars in the past. He’s always mentioning the scars and the troubles and the adversity, how to handle success,” Price said. “Even when we have success, even when we beat big teams like Penn State, Georgia, he always refers back to the past. Remember how you felt at this moment. That’s going to give us motivation.”
When the Irish faced off against USC in the last week of the regular season and headed into halftime tied with the Trojans — the first time since NIU they hadn’t had a halftime lead — they were able to remember their shortcomings, come out of the locker room and not let it happen again, outscoring the Trojans 35-21 in the second half. After the game, no one was shy about remembering exactly how many days it had been since that fateful NIU loss.
“To see where we were 84 days ago to where we’re at now, it’s a testament to trust and the decisions of those guys in that locker room,” Freeman said then. “This is what it’s all about, man. It’s the journey.”
‘One of us’
As the clock struck midnight in Miami on Friday Jan.10, Notre Dame players were celebrating their Orange Bowl victory over Penn State in the locker room when suddenly, Kiser made an announcement: It was Freeman’s birthday.
After congratulating him and singing happy birthday, the Irish players took the opportunity to poke fun at their head coach.
“Someone said he was turning 39,” defensive lineman Junior Tuihalamaka said. “We were all like ‘S—, Coach, you’re old’.”
Tuihalamaka laughs now thinking of the moment, while acknowledging the reality that underscores the barb: Freeman is one of the five youngest coaches in FBS.
“When he recruited me as a defensive coach, I felt the vibe and the chemistry I had with him right off the bat,” Tuihalamaka said. “He felt like an older brother and still feels kind of like an older brother.”
And while age does nothing to determine a win-loss record, to hear Notre Dame players talk about it, Freeman’s youth and the way he carries himself is a monumental part of his magnetism.
“Freeman is very personal and player-focused,” Cross said. “Kelly was a strategist. Coach Freeman is a players’ coach.”
Whether it’s letting players decide on the practice playlists and, as Prince put it, “vibing with us,” or making an effort to be invested in players’ lives outside of the sport, Freeman has struck the ideal balance between coach, mentor and friend.
“Everywhere he goes, he’s one of us,” said quarterback Riley Leonard. “You’ll see him [in Atlanta], he’s just wearing a jumpsuit, chilling with the boys, hanging out for media day. Then he knows how to flip the switch.”
“He understands us on a level that other coaches probably wouldn’t understand us on,” running back Jeremiyah Love said. “We love him. We respect him. We want to make him look good. He wants to make us look good.”
Notre Dame looks better than it has in a long time, and at the crux of it all is this symbiotic relationship between Freeman and the players. What started back in 2021 as a decision that had an entire team jumping up and down with Freeman as he was promoted to be their head coach has turned into one of the best runs the Irish have had in recent memory.
“I think the special thing about that video is he’s the defensive coordinator, and yet if you look, the whole offense was ecstatic when he walked through that door,” Kiser said. “Everyone believed in him then, and everyone believes in him now.”
With less than two months left before college football is back in full swing, we’re taking a look at players who could be considered sleepers — under-the-radar players who could make a big impact — on each team in our post-spring top 25.
From true freshmen who could make a name for themselves to players coming back from injury to transfers looking to make an immediate impact, there are plenty of players to watch for this fall.
Our reporters break down the potential sleepers they’re keeping tabs on.
Sleeper: C Nick Dawkins
Offensive linemen naturally get overlooked, and Dawkins is no exception, but he once again will occupy a vital role as Penn State chases its first Big Ten title since 2016 and its first national title since 1986. Dawkins is at the heart of an offensive line that has stabilized and excelled in recent years. He earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors last fall, when he served as a captain, started all 16 games and allowed only two sacks. The 6-foot-4, 297-pound senior has drawn excellent reviews from the staff and will lead a line protecting quarterback Drew Allar and creating space for running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. — Adam Rittenberg
Sleeper: WR Tyler Brown
One of the reasons Clemson is expected to compete for a national championship this season is the return of its stellar receiver group, which made vast improvements a year ago to help the Tigers offense rediscover its footing. Antonio Williams, Bryant Wesco Jr. and T.J. Moore have received the bulk of the headlines nationally, but don’t forget about Brown, a freshman All-American in 2023 who was forced to take a redshirt last season with an ankle injury. Coach Dabo Swinney spoke highly about Brown during spring practice and is expecting him to have a big role in the offense. Adding depth to a position that had been a weak spot until last season is crucial. — Andrea Adelson
Sleeper: TE Jack Endries
Endries had a breakout season at Cal last year, catching 56 passes for 623 yards and two touchdowns, making him less of an off-the-radar prospect. But the former Golden Bears tight end signed with Texas in April and slides into a talented Longhorns offense. With star recruits Ryan Wingo and DeAndre Moore returning at receiver, 1,000-yard rusher Quintrevion Wisner back at running back with Cedric Baxter and Christian Clark returning from injuries alongside him, Arch Manning will have weapons. But Manning singled out Endries, a former walk-on, as someone who could emerge as a household name by season’s end as he solidifies a position of need after Gunnar Helm, who caught 60 passes for 786 yards and seven TDs last year, developed into a fourth-round pick of the Tennessee Titans and Amari Niblack transferred to Texas A&M. — Dave Wilson
Sleeper: RB Bo Walker
Walker wasn’t the most heralded prospect in Georgia’s most recent recruiting class, but he turned some heads in spring practice with his physical style and speed. Walker ran for more than 2,000 yards as a high school junior before spending his senior year at a smaller private school. Nate Frazier and Illinois transfer Josh McCray will probably be the top two backs entering preseason camp, but Walker has a chance to earn playing time. Would you expect anything less from a tailback named both Bo and Walker in the SEC? — Mark Schlabach
Sleeper: WR Carnell Tate
Tate was overshadowed by first-round pick Emeka Egbuka and true freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith last season. But Tate still played a key role for the Buckeyes, starting every game for the national champions. In the playoff semifinals against Texas, he made the Longhorns pay for their coverages taking away Smith by hauling in a game-high seven passes for 87 yards. With Egbuka gone to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tate is set to play an ever bigger role for the Buckeyes as a junior. He could easily surpass the 52 receptions and 733 receiving yards he had last season, and he should be a valuable wingman to Smith in yet another talented Ohio State receiving corps. — Jake Trotter
Sleeper: WR Barion Brown
If you’re familiar with Brown from his high school days, you may not consider him a sleeper. But the Kentucky transfer could finally reach his full potential in Baton Rouge. After a standout freshman season in Lexington, he never made the big statistical leaps many expected. But with Garrett Nussmeier at quarterback and other talent at receiver (Aaron Anderson, Oklahoma transfer Nic Anderson) and tight end (Trey’Dez Green, Oklahoma transfer Bauer Sharp), perhaps Brown can break out in 2025. — Harry Lyles Jr.
Sleeper: DL Bryce Young
With Rylie Mills and Howard Cross III leaving for the NFL, the Fighting Irish are looking for another player who can rush the quarterback. The answer might be sophomore Bryce Young, who certainly looks the part at 6 feet, 7 inches and 273 pounds. Last season, he played in all 16 games and had 23 tackles with a team-high three blocked kicks. Young has the right potential too. His father, Bryant Young, was an All-American at Notre Dame and a Pro Football Hall of Famer after a standout career with the 49ers. His mother, Kristin, ran track and field for the Fighting Irish. — Schlabach
Sleeper: WR Malik Benson
It’s difficult to call a four-star wide receiver a sleeper, but given the kind of season Florida State had last year, Benson was not exactly the talk of the sport after putting up 25 catches for 311 yards and one touchdown. Now in Eugene, Benson has the tools to be exactly the kind of wideout that flourishes in Will Stein’s offense. With a new quarterback in Dante Moore taking the reins and Evan Stewart dealing with a serious injury, I wouldn’t be surprised if Benson becomes Moore’s top target this coming season. — Paolo Uggetti
Sleeper: S Bray Hubbard
Now in his third season in the program, Hubbard is poised to be an All-SEC caliber player and will team with a healthy Keon Sabb to give Alabama one of the best safety duos in the SEC. Hubbard, who chose Alabama out of high school over Mississippi State, Navy and Tulane, started the final six games a year ago after Sabb suffered a season-ending injury against Tennessee and made a name for himself with three interceptions. Look for Hubbard in 2025 to be one of the top names on Alabama’s defense. — Chris Low
Sleeper: RB LJ Martin
After rushing for 518 and 718 yards in the past two seasons, Martin has steadily become a key player for BYU, but he hasn’t quite broken out nationally. He already figured to see his role grow as a junior in 2025, but with quarterback Jake Retzlaff set to transfer, Martin could be relied on more heavily — especially early in the season as the QB situation gets settled. Martin had a pair of 100-yard rushing games last season and finished with a strong performance in the bowl win against Colorado, with 88 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns. — Kyle Bonagura
Sleeper: S Miles Scott
Miles Scott isn’t even the most decorated Scott in the Illinois secondary — Xavier (no relation) earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in 2024 — but contributes to a unit that could be among the Big Ten’s best this fall. Miles had two interceptions last season and finished fifth on the team with 55 tackles (33 solo). The team captain also forced and recovered a fumble last fall. Scott has played in all 38 games during his Illinois career, starting the past 25, beginning his career as a walk-on wide receiver before moving to safety. He joins his roommate Xavier Scott, leading tackler Matthew Bailey, cornerback Torrie Cox Jr. and others in one of the nation’s most experienced secondaries. — Rittenberg
Sleeper: CB Nyland Green
The Arizona State defense returns eight starters, including both cornerbacks (Keith Abney II and Javan Robinson) — the Sun Devils are blessed with continuity on that side of the ball that most top-25 teams don’t have. But that makes cornerback Nyland Green one heck of a luxury add: The Purdue transfer, who started his career as a blue-chipper at Georgia, was an all-or-nothing playmaker with an overwhelmed Boilermakers defense last year, but in more select roles, with better experience and talent around him, he could turn into a major difference-maker for the defending Big 12 champs. — Bill Connelly
Sleeper: Edge Bryan Thomas
Much of the attention within the Gamecocks’ pass-rush depth will be centered on sophomore phenom Dylan Stewart and Charlotte transfer Demon Clowney, cousin of former two-time All American Jadeveon Clowney. But as South Carolina works to replace the production of 2024 SEC sack leader Kyle Kennard, fourth-year edge Thomas will have an important role to play as well. The 6-foot-2, 247-pounder logged career highs in sacks (4.5) and total tackles (23) a year ago, and he’s poised to step into a starting role opposite Stewart this fall following Kennard’s jump to the NFL. If the Gamecocks are going to feature one of the nation’s fiercest pass rushes again in 2025, Thomas will have to be a big part of it. — Eli Lederman
Sleeper: DL Elijah O’Neal
O’Neal turned in a productive 2024 season, finishing with four sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss in what was expected to be his final season in Tempe. However, as a former junior college transfer, O’Neal benefited from the ruling that granted juco transfers an extra year of eligibility and will return for his final season with a chance to develop into a more well-rounded pass rusher. He started six games last year, and with the strong possibility of an expanded role, it wouldn’t be a surprise if O’Neal chases double-digit TFLs or sacks. — Bonagura
Sleeper: RB Derrick McFall
Aside from SMU’s game against FCS Houston Baptist, McFall got just eight carries as a true freshman in 2024, but he flashed a skill set that could make him an apt replacement for Brashard Smith in the Mustangs’ backfield. A four-star recruit, McFall is quick, elusive and versatile — a lot like his predecessor at SMU. At 5-11, 183 pounds, he’s still looking to fill out his frame a bit, but his explosiveness and ability to catch the ball out of the backfield figure to be serious weapons. More importantly, with Smith on to the NFL and LJ Johnson‘s transfer, McFall is the clear favorite to fill a major hole on SMU’s offense. — David Hale
Sleeper: DL Romello Height
A transfer from Georgia Tech, Height is not necessarily an unknown. But for as bad as the Texas Tech defense was last season (only Tulsa allowed more passing yards, and the Red Raiders allowed 35 points or more eight times), Height could play a massive role in Lubbock if he’s able to help fix what was a painful watch for Texas Tech fans at times in 2024. The more high-profile transfer on this defensive line unquestionably is David Bailey, who comes in from Stanford, but Height could very well become a name that Red Raiders fans will become familiar with given his potential. — Lyles Jr.
Sleeper: RB Roman Hemby
Stepping into a Hoosiers backfield without a settled returning starter, Maryland transfer Hemby has the opportunity to emerge as Indiana’s leader on the ground in 2025. Hemby hasn’t matched the 989-yard, 10-touchdown production he delivered in 2022 in either of his past two seasons, but the 6-foot, 208-pound rusher has averaged at least 4.5 yards per carry in each of his past three seasons and can be a threat in the passing game as well. Indiana spread its carries nearly evenly between top rushers Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawton a year ago, and will likely do the same again with upperclassmen Kaelon Black and Lee Beebe Jr. also vying for carries. But Hemby has the potential to break through in a big way in 2025. — Lederman
Sleeper: Edge Tobi Osunsanmi
Kansas State returns four starters from last year’s defensive front six, but the Wildcats will need someone to replace the lost production of sacks leader Brendan Mott (13.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks). Enter Tobi Osunsanmi. The converted linebacker played a backup role last season, averaging about 22 snaps per game, but he actually averaged more havoc plays (TFLs, forced fumbles, passes defended) per snap than Mott — a 3.0% rate to Mott’s 2.5%. Between Osunsanmi and sophomore Chiddi Obiazor (2.5% havoc rate at 23 snaps per game), K-State has a couple of exciting options on the edge up front. — Connelly
Sleeper: LB Myles Graham
We saw what Graham was capable of as a freshman for the Gators with 30 tackles. He also had three tackles for loss, one sack, an interception and a forced fumble. With a line that should only be stronger in front of him, along with playing next to Grayson Howard, Graham has the potential to take another step in 2025. The great Florida teams of the 21st century have all had good linebacker play, and it feels like Graham could play that part for this team as it looks to rise again. — Lyles Jr.
Sleeper: CB Zeke Berry
From Mike Sainristil to Will Johnson, Michigan’s dominant defenses in recent years have featured a big-time cornerback. Berry is primed to become the next one, on the heels of a breakout junior season. After starting the year at nickelback, Berry slid to the outside following an injury to Johnson and thrived. Berry finished the year with 37 tackles and a team-high 11 pass breakups. He also forced a fumble to go along with his two interceptions. If Berry can take another step forward as the leader of the Michigan secondary, he quietly figures to be one of the top corners in the Big Ten — if not the country. — Trotter
Sleeper: S Zechariah Poyser
You may have heard of Poyser, one of the top available players in the transfer portal this past season. But he should still be considered a sleeper because of the impact he is projected to have in his first year with the Hurricanes. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound safety played his first two seasons at Jacksonville State, earning Freshman All-America honors as a redshirt freshman this past season with 75 tackles and three interceptions. His addition gives the Hurricanes an instant upgrade at safety, where they struggled at times last season. Miami made other additions at defensive back in the portal, but safety was the most glaring area of need and it appears to be filled. — Adelson
Sleeper: S D’Angelo Hutchinson
The Cardinals struggled against the pass last season, and they’ll enter 2025 with a markedly different secondary that comes with its own share of questions. But one carryover from 2024 could help provide some answers. Hutchinson, a 6-foot-3 senior, saw action in all 13 games last season and came on strong down the stretch, including a standout performance in a win over Clemson in which he racked up nine tackles, two pass breakups and a blocked kick. Hutchinson brings length and speed to the back end, and head coach Jeff Brohm said he thinks the veteran could be in line for a breakout campaign. — Hale
Sleeper: CB Tyreek Chappell
Chappell returns after missing almost all of last season with an lower leg injury suffered in a non-contact setting in practice, making just three tackles. The Aggies’ secondary play was particularly frustrating to Mike Elko as last year wore on, and the return of Chappell, a former starter who was a three-star recruit and the team’s top defensive newcomer in 2021, is a key to the Aggies’ hopes of bolstering that unit. With the return of Will Lee III and the addition of Georgia transfer Julian Humphrey, Chappell, who had 88 tackles in his first two seasons, but just 24 in the past two, might be overlooked by fans. But inside the program, Chappell is expected to have a big year at the nickel spot. — Wilson
Sleeper: WR Cayden Lee
It’s odd to classify Lee as a sleeper following his breakout sophomore campaign in 2024, but hype around the third-year pass catcher has been buried this offseason amidst the Rebels’ additions of five transfer receivers, headlined by De’Zhaun Stribling and Harrison Wallace III. Lee finished second among Ole Miss receivers a year ago with 57 receptions, which he converted into 874 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. As the Rebels enter a new era at quarterback in 2025 with first-year starter Austin Simmons, Lee has the potential to become a critical, go-to target, particularly if he can find the end zone more. — Lederman
Sleeper: WR Zion Kearney
The Sooners were besieged with injuries at the receiver position last season, and some of their more talented pass catchers hit the transfer portal, including Nic Anderson. With new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and his Air Raid offense coming to Norman, that means Oklahoma will utilize even more receivers. Kearney, a true sophomore, has a chance to make a big jump after playing as a backup in 11 games as a freshman. He has the size (6-1, 207 pounds) and speed (4.28 40-yard dash in high school) to be a staple in the Sooners’ passing game, especially with John Mateer stepping in at quarterback. — Low
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Kristen Shilton
The Vancouver Canucks have come to terms with forward Brock Boeser on a new seven-year contract, carrying a $7.25 million AAV.
Canucks GM Patrik Allvin announced the deal on Tuesday during the first hour of NHL free agency. Boeser, 28, was an unrestricted free agent on a previously expiring contract.
Drafted by Vancouver 23rd overall in the 2015 NHL draft, Boeser has collected 204 goals and 434 points in 554 games with the Canucks to date. A top-six scoring threat, Boeser has elite playmaking skills and the potential to produce big numbers offensively. He had his best year offensively in 2023-24, producing 40 goals and 73 points in 81 games.
Boeser didn’t hit those marks again last season — settling for 25 goals and 50 points in 75 games — but was still second amongst teammates in output. He also plays a prominent role on Vancouver’s power play and when he can generate opportunities at 5-on-5, he is a true difference-maker up front for the Canucks.
The extension is a happy ending for Vancouver and Boeser. When the regular season ended, Boeser admitted “it’s tough to say” whether he’d be back with the Canucks. Boeser reportedly turned down a previous five-year extension offer with the club and Allvin subsequently looked into deals for him at the March trade deadline, with no takers. Boeser looked — and sounded — poised to explore his options on the open market.
Ultimately, Boeser decided to stay put by committing the best years of his career to the Canucks.
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