The 2024 NFL Draft concluded on Saturday with a busy four rounds of action that featured far more defensive players than we saw in the early rounds, but also a strong reflection of the trends we saw in college football the previous season. The SEC finished with the most draft picks of any conference, as has come to be expected after notable dominance in that category over the last 10-15 years. However, the Pac-12 backed up a strong year on the field with a strong year in the draft by producing the second-most draft picks.
The irony, of course, being that the Pac-12 has a terrific NFL Draft showing just as the league is splintering, with four teams heading to the Big Ten (USC, UCLA, Oregon, Washington), four teams heading to to the Big 12 (Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Utah) and two teams joining the ACC (Cal, Stanford) later this summer. But the draft picks we saw this weekend were players from Pac-12 competition, so the league gets to celebrate one last time with one of the top non-SEC counts in college football.
In terms of the school count, there was some intrigue as to whether Michigan would challenge Georgia’s record for the most NFL Draft picks in a single year. Though the Wolverines will end up with even more players getting camp invites, the final total on draft picks is just 13, which is two players short of the Bulldogs’ record from 2022. Michigan did finish as the school with the most draft picks overall, leading a group that also included Texas (11), Alabama (10), Florida State (10) and Washington (10).
Texas’ 11 NFL Draft picks were the most in program history for the seven-round era, and it follows a season that saw the Longhorns win their first Big 12 title since 2009 and make their first-ever College Football Playoff appearance. Steve Sarkisian’s program saw two players picked in the first round (Byron Murphy, Xavier Worthy), three players picked in the second (Jonathon Brooks, AD Mitchell, T’Vondre Sweat), and then six players picked on Day 3, with tight end JT Sanders (Round 4 to the Panthers), offensive lineman Christian Jones (Round 5 to the Cardinals), running back Keilan Robinson (Round 5 to the Jaguars), linebacker Jaylan Ford (Round 5 to the Saints), defensive back Ryan Watts (Round 6 to the Steelers) and wide receiver Jordan Whittington (Round 6 to the Rams) rounding out the group.
Check out the full breakdown of picks by conferences and picks by school below:
2024 NFL Draft picks by conference SEC — 59 Pac-12 — 43 Big Ten — 42 ACC — 41 Big 12 — 31 Independent — 8 Sun Belt — 6 American — 5 Conference USA — 3 Mountain West — 2 MAC — 2 2024 NFL Draft pick by school Michigan — 13 Texas — 11 Alabama — 10 Florida State — 10 Washington — 10 Oregon — 8 Georgia — 8 Penn State — 8 Notre Dame — 7 USC — 7 Missouri — 6 LSU — 6 Clemson — 6 Utah — 5 Auburn — 5 Illinois, Iowa, Louisville, Kentucky, Ohio State, Miami, South Carolina, Texas A&M — 4 Arizona, Duke, Kansas State, Mississippi State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Pitt, TCU, Tennessee, Wake Forest, Washington State — 3 Arkansas, Boston College, Kansas, Marshall, Maryland, NC State, Purdue, South Dakota State, Texas Tech, Troy, Tulane, UCF, UCLA, UTEP, Wisconsin — 2
With the 2024 NFL Draft wrapped, there’s no time wasted looking ahead to 2025, but the process of picking up the pieces from the seven-round extravaganza includes some highlights and lowlights for the biggest programs in college football.
It was a banner weekend for the reigning champion Michigan Wolverines, who had seven players selected in the first three rounds and led all schools with 13 selections. It makes sense that the culmination of a three-year run that included three Big Ten titles, three College Football Playoff appearances and a national championship included some star power at the top of the depth chart. And that CFP success tracks with 2023 playoff participants Texas (11), Washington (10) and Alabama (10), all finishing with double-digit selections in the draft.
The SEC once again led all conferences with 59 picks in the 257-player draft, but the Pac-12 had the second-most at 43. That headline is met with some melancholy, however, with the historic West Coast league losing 10 schools this summer to the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC.
If you want a further breakdown of the 2024 NFL Draft by conference and school, we’ve got you covered. But to dive a little bit deeper than the player is to reveal some interesting storylines and developments coming out of the weekend. And while most of our takeaways are more directly tied to the current state of these programs, we begin with an incredible note on one of the game’s greatest coaches who just recently announced his retirement.
Winner: Nick Saban The NFL Draft production from Tuscaloosa under Saban set a new standard in college football. Alabama has produced 133 draft picks since 2009, the most of any program in that span, and the Tide have had at least seven draft picks for 13 straight years (2012-present). Having 10 or more players drafted has become a notable water mark in recent years; the Crimson Tide have hit it in five of the last eight drafts (2017, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024).
But if we’re going to accept Nick Saban’s Alabama as the most prolific producer of pros, how about also celebrating Saban as a coach who sent every position on the depth chart to the next level.
With the selection of kicker Will Reichard in the sixth round, Saban’s time at Alabama has now produced an NFL Draft pick at every single position — all three levels of the defense, the offensive lines, certainly running backs and wide receivers have all been steady spots to find future pros. In the last six years, though, he’s rounded out the punch card with punter JK Scott (fifth round, 2018), long snapper Thomas Fletcher (sixth round, 2021), and now Reichard as the first kicker drafted from a Saban-led Alabama team. Reichard’s steady leg proved to be a key piece of Alabama’s success in recent years, and that must have had an impact on the current coaching staff as Kalen DeBoer worked quickly to replace him with Lou Groza Award winner Graham Nicholson from the transfer portal via Miami (Ohio).
Winner: Texas Steve Sarkisian has orchestrated what seems to be the proper blend of elite high school recruiting with instant-impact transfer portal additions to produce one of the most talented rosters in the country. Texas finally had its breakthrough moment — dare I say “back?” — in 2023 with its first Big 12 Championship since 2009 and an opportunity to compete for the national title in its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance.
The success on the field was validated yet again this weekend with the Longhorns setting a new program record with 11 NFL Draft picks. Five came in the first two rounds, tied with Alabama, Georgia and Washington for the most, and having five in the first 52 picks was the best of any program. Seven of the 11 picks were on offense, including the running back duo of Jonathon Brooks (first round) and Keilan Robinson (fifth round). That’s back-to-back years now in which Texas has produced two running backs in the draft, following Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson in 2023.
But it’s with an eye to 2024 that we both celebrate Texas’ success in the draft and yet acknowledge the work that’s been done year-over-year by Sarkisian’s staff to help the Longhorns prepare for life in the SEC. As we know, there are future NFL Draft picks on almost every team you’re going to play. While Texas has lost four NFL Draft-bound running backs over the last two years, it has an extremely capable replacement ready with former five-star prospect CJ Baxter ready for a breakout sophomore season.
The pass-catching exodus to the draft was also notable, but that’s where Texas used the portal to bring in players like Isaiah Bond, Amari Niblack and Matthew Golden to make sure there’s no drop off in production. Sustained success at the highest levels of college football means not only collecting future pro talent by the bushel, but replenishing and developing every single offseason. So while Texas has set a new record in 2024, the outlook says the Longhorns will be near the top of these lists frequently moving forward.
Loser: Power Four schools shut out Not every school is going to be Alabama with handfuls of draft picks every single year, but it does end up drawing attention when a power-conference school is shut out from the NFL Draft. Context is important in each of these cases, and there are plenty of situations in which players would rather be undrafted free agents (with the ability to pick their destination) than a late-round pick. But after adding up all the draft picks from power conferences, the schools left without a 2024 NFL Draft include:
Arizona State Baylor Colorado Georgia Tech Indiana Nebraska Northwestern Syracuse Vanderbilt Virginia Tech How this NFL Draft absence impacts each program differs wildly. Indiana, Northwestern and Syracuse are all in the midst of coaching transitions, while Arizona State, Colorado, Georgia Tech and Nebraska are still on Year 2 of a new tenure. Some programs like Arizona State, which signed Jayden Daniels out of high school, do have some claim to helping guide the first-rounder to his ultimate destination, but that’s not the way we count NFL Draft picks by school. And speaking of the transfer portal, Colorado getting shut out is notable, not for Deion Sanders-related reasons, but as a reflection of that program’s roster health. This now marks three years in a row the Buffs have not produced an NFL Draft pick. We do expect that to change in 2025 with Shedeur Sanders among the top quarterbacks that will be draft eligible next season.
Winner and Loser: Ohio State The Buckeyes only had four players picked in the 2024 NFL Draft, which was a notable step down; every draft since 2016 included at least six selections from Ohio State. You could read that as a knock on coach Ryan Day and the state of the program, falling in line with the same number of picks as Big Ten foes Iowa and Illinois, but the buried storyline in Ohio State’s lack of picks is the same reason why many are picking the Buckeyes to win the Big Ten in 2024.
Running back TreVeyon Henderson, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, cornerback Denzel Burke, the pass rush combo of Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau, and defensive lineman Tyleik Williams were all eligible to enter the 2024 NFL Draft. If they had, it would have given the Buckeyes a pick count much closer to the Alabama or Washington than Iowa or Illinois. So while Ohio State doesn’t get to roll out a long draft roster to compete with the top programs in the sport on the draft pick scoreboard, Day instead returns a team with a half-dozen players that absolutely could be playing on Sundays but instead have chosen the pursuit of title contention in Columbus. The way NIL and eligibility rules have extended careers create all kinds of examples where schools aren’t racking draft picks but keeping future pros longer, but nowhere else in the country was there as much high-end talent choosing to return than at Ohio State.
Loser: Conference balance in the draft We mentioned earlier the cruel irony of the Pac-12 backing up one of its best on-field seasons in 2023 with a 2024 NFL Draft showing for the ages, finishing second only to the SEC, with conference members about to splinter. But if we were to rearrange the conference count, the consolidation of pro-producing programs into the Big Ten and SEC becomes even more apparent.
If you arrange the schools into their conferences for 2024, then 140 of the 257 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft came from either the Big Ten or the SEC. Programs like Washington, Oregon and USC don’t always line up with the Alabama’s and Georgia’s of the world, but they are among the top NFL-producing schools in the country in the modern era and now bring that talent to the Big Ten. The SEC is also getting a boost from Texas and Oklahoma, which combined accounted for 14 of the 31 picks from the Big 12, which finished fifth among the power conferences in draft picks this year.
In fact, of schools that had six or more players selected, only Florida State (10), Notre Dame (7) and Clemson (6) will not be a Big Ten or SEC program in the 2024 season. The two super conferences have long enjoyed an edge when it comes to the NFL Draft, but after this summer’s realignment, the gap is only going to widen.
The 2024 season should be a fascinating one for the SEC. Its membership will swell for the first time since 2012, and just the second time since the turn of the century, with Texas and Oklahoma set to officially join in July.
Thanks to the increased strength of the conference, the SEC feels like a virtual shoe-in to put multiple teams in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff field. Even so, spots are going to come at a premium, and the level of competition just got significantly more difficult for the SEC’s myriad playoff hopefuls.
Internally, conference stalwarts like Alabama underwent plenty of change. Legendary coach Nick Saban retired, making way for a new regime in Tuscaloosa for the first time in almost two decades. Ex-Washington boss Kalen DeBoer is set to lead the Crimson Tide in this time of immense transition, with championship expectations ever-present around one of college football’s premier programs.
Ahead of a highly anticipated 2024 campaign, each SEC school took the field in March and April for their respective spring practice slates. Most capped the spring window with an exhibition game, giving us a peak at what teams look like in a simulated game setting. Given that the last couple of months provided the first real action of this athletic cycle, there’s plenty to overreact to now that each SEC team has put a bow on its spring practice slate.
Alabama Crimson Tide facing trouble along the defensive front: Thanks to recent stars like Will Anderson Jr. and Dallas Turner, we’ve grown accustomed to the Crimson Tide churning out elite pass rushers on a consistent basis. Alabama’s spring game showed that DeBoer and Co. have work to do in that area. None of the Crimson Tide’s edge rushers really stood out, despite the fact that they were going against a shorthanded and largely inexperienced Alabama offensive line that was breaking in two new offensive tackles.
The defense did get decent sack totals, but that was largely due to the fact that the quarterback wasn’t live — a defender merely needed to get in the vicinity of a signal caller to be credited with a sack. Even then, quarterback Jalen Milroe had 65 sack-adjusted yards rushing, including a 35-yard touchdown, while backup Ty Simpson added 58 yards of his own. That brings up another concerning pattern: though Alabama’s defensive interior is filled with veterans, and potential starter Jaheim Oatis was out with an injury, the line got pushed off the ball way too often and allowed frequent chunk plays in the run game.
Arkansas The offense will be better despite major losses: Arkansas lost the soul of its offense when quarterback KJ Jefferson and running back Raheim Sanders hit the transfer portal. That left new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino scrambling to find replacements for the Razorbacks’ two most important players from the past few seasons. Surprisingly, if the spring game is any indication, Arkansas will be just fine. More than fine, in fact. Even with Jefferson and Sanders (who did miss half the year due to injury) present last season, the Razorbacks fielded one of the SEC’s most ineffective offenses.
Fast-forward to April, and Petrino’s unit looked like a well-oiled machine with an almost entirely new cast taking the field. Boise State transfer quarterback Taylen Green fit right in, completing 17 of his 22 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns. Ex-Utah running back Ja’Quinden Jackson, a 6-foot-2 and 228-pound tank reminiscent of Arkansas running backs of yore, ran rampant with at least 80 combined yards and three total touchdowns in relatively limited action. Those two are the new duo to watch in Fayetteville, and that could translate into big numbers for the Hogs.
Auburn WR Cam Coleman will lead the team as freshman: Auburn’s offense was hampered by inconsistent quarterback play and a lack of quality receivers last season. No one on the team finished with more than 400 yards receiving. Seeing a clear need, coach Hugh Freeze worked hard this offseason to completely revamp the position. He worked the transfer portal to bring in a pair of instant-impact players in Robert Lewis (Georgia State) and Sam Jackson V, a converted quarterback from California who got first-team reps in the spring.
But it’s a true freshman that already looks like the Alpha of the group. Former five-star prospect Cam Coleman, the No. 5 overall player in the Class of 2024, was the best player on the field in Auburn’s spring game. He just brings a different dynamic to this offense with his 6-foot-3 frame, his tremendous speed and athleticism, and his contested catch ability. Don’t be surprised if, by season’s end, Coleman is well out in front of Auburn’s other receivers despite his limited experience at the collegiate level.
More: Auburn WR depth chart projection after KeAndre Lambert-Smith transfers in
Florida QB DJ Lagway needs a role this season: Graham Mertz was quietly great for Florida last year. He was efficient as a passer with a good command of the offense, and he elevated the play of those around him with accurate throws and sound decision-making. He’s back for another year in Gainesville, and his starting spot should be relatively secure, but freshman quarterback DJ Lagway has to see the field. If nothing else, he can give Gators faithful reason to hope about the future after a couple of lackluster years under coach Billy Napier. The No. 3 prospect nationally and No. 1 quarterback in the Class of 2024 lived up to the billing in his unofficial Florida debut, completing 12 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns. Both of his touchdown throws absolutely jumped out of his arm and zipped into a tight window to the wide receiver. Lagway is also an excellent rusher, so perhaps Florida can get creative with some packages to get him on the field early on into his career.
Syndication: Ocala StarBanner Florida QB DJ Lagway throws a pass during the Gators’ 2024 spring game. USATSI Georgia The Bulldogs’ passing attack will finish top-3 nationally: Carson Beck is a known commodity after a breakout 2023 season with the Bulldogs. Thanks to his 3,941 yards passing, the Bulldogs finished just outside of the top-10 with 305.3 yards passing per game. Despite the loss of stalwarts like tight end Brock Bowers and wide receiver Ladd McConkey, Georgia is going to take it to another level this year. Its insane depth at wide receiver was on display in the spring game, with former Missouri transfer Dominic Lovett stealing the show as he reeled in a few circus catches. Dillon Bell, Rara Thomas and Miami transfer Colbie Young are all legitimate weapons. Freshman Anthony Evans brings elite speed to the group and can carve out a niche thanks to his toolset. It might be lacking in star power, but this Georgia offense has plenty of punch.
Kentucky The team’s pass-catchers will make QB Brock Vandagriff a hit: On paper, Vandagriff is perfect for what Kentucky likes to do on offense. There’s some concern about his inexperience, though, given the fact that the former top-50 prospect attempted just 21 passes in three seasons at Georgia. Though there might be some growing pains as a first-year starter, Kentucky’s deep receiving corps will ensure that Vandagriff has success in his first year. The Wildcats have steadily built one of the SEC’s most impressive groups of receivers. The 6-foot-3 Dane Key is a steady hand who led the Wildcats in receiving last season. Barion Brown is a dynamic play-maker with game-breaking speed when he has the ball in his hands. Texas A&M transfer Raymond Cottrell Jr. has plenty of upside as a former blue-chip prospect, while North Texas’ Ja’Mori Maclin should continue Kentucky’s stretch of excellent play from the slot position. There’s enough pieces here for a very potent passing attack.
LSU LSU will go 2-0 against California’s Big Ten schools: LSU boasts a unique schedule in 2024 with a particularly challenging nonconference slate. The Tigers have to play not one, but two of California’s premier programs in USC and UCLA, newcomers to the Big Ten. Fortunately for LSU, it doesn’t have to travel to either team’s stadium. The Tigers open the year against the Trojans in Las Vegas at an ideal time as USC will be breaking in both a new quarterback following Caleb Williams’ departure and a new defensive direction after coach Lincoln Riley moved on from longtime collaborator Alex Grinch. Three weeks later, LSU welcomes a UCLA team that is moving forward after coach Chip Kelly’s offseason departure. Those are prime opportunities for the Tigers to make an early season statement and build momentum towards a loaded conference slate.
Ole Miss The Rebels will push for an SEC title: Ole Miss didn’t have a proper spring game, so it’s hard to draw any major takeaways from largely closed off spring practice sessions. Still, this Rebels team has the talent to compete on a national stage. Quarterback Jaxson Dart is back to run the offense, and he has an arsenal of weapons to which he can spread the ball. To offset the loss of star running back Quinshon Judkins, Ole Miss has loaded up on a stable through the transfer portal and recently nabbed a commitment from ex-New Mexico rusher Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who had 1,000 yards rushing last season.
The defense got better via the portal as well. Former Texas A&M defensive lineman Walter Nolen and Florida edge rusher Princely Umanmielen vastly improve a defensive front that got overwhelmed at times last season. Ole Miss also plays an extremely favorable schedule. The Rebels dodge Alabama, the biggest thorn in their side from the past few years, and get both Oklahoma and Georgia at home. With the conference’s new format, Lane Kiffin’s squad can brunt one loss and still make it to Atlanta — and likely even more.
Syndication: The Clarion-Ledger Lane Kiffin’s Rebels have their eyes on the CFP with a loaded roster in 2024. USATSI Mississippi State The Bulldogs will miss out on a bowl game: Jeff Lebby is going to face some growing pains in his first year as coach. The Bulldogs won a single SEC game last season and lost several starters to both the transfer portal and NFL Draft, including one of the conference’s best linebacker duos in Jett Johnson and Nathaniel Watson, plus record-holding starting quarterback Will Rogers.
Though Rogers’ expected replacement, Baylor transfer Blake Shapen, carved up Mississippi State’s secondary in the spring game, it’s hard to see him as a high-impact starter at the SEC level after his career at Baylor. The offense has some talent and the offensive line looks solid, but that spring game dredged up some serious questions about the defense. The front seven couldn’t get a whole lot of push at the line of scrimmage, and the secondary looked lost at certain points. Mississippi State probably isn’t built to play catch-up on a schedule that features road games against Texas, Georgia, Tennessee and Ole Miss.
Missouri The Tigers will make the College Football Playoff: Its window is certainly now. Missouri will likely only enjoy the duo of quarterback Brady Cook and wide receiver Luther Burden for one more season, so they may as well take advantage of it. Outside those two, Missouri has plenty of experience at receiver, an offensive line that plugged its missing pieces with a transfer haul that includes Cayden Green, a top-15 overall prospect in 247Sports’ transfer rankings, and replaced the outgoing Cody Schrader with a likely stable of running backs highlighted by another pair of transfers in Marcus Carroll (Georgia State) and Nate Noel (Appalachian State). The Tigers will likely be at least slight favorites in 10 games on their schedule, which means they’ll have to steal a win against either Alabama or Oklahoma to feel really good about their chances of making the 12-team field. That should be doable for this darkhorse squad.
Oklahoma The offensive line will be fine: The talk surrounding Oklahoma’s spring practice slate orbited around the offensive line, for good reason. The Sooners have to replace five players uwith starting experience up front and break in a first-year starting quarterback in former five-star Jackson Arnold. All of this coincides with Oklahoma’s move to the SEC, where winning along the line of scrimmage is paramount if a team hopes to have any success. With that in mind, the Sooners hit the portal during the winter window and brought in four potential starters to mesh with returning players pushing for bigger roles. The first team that Oklahoma put on the field in its spring game did a good job despite missing key players due to injury. The unit should see further improvement when SMU transfer Branson Hickman joins the team over the summer.
South Carolina LaNorris Sellers will be the starting QB: Coach Shane Beamer won’t commit to it until closer to the season, but it’s clear who will be running South Carolina’s offense this fall. Sellers, a former three-star prospect out of Florence, South Carolina, looked well ahead of his competitors in the Gamecocks’ spring game. He completed 9 of 11 passes for 70 yards and rushed for another 38 yards. On the first drive of the game, he connected on all four of his pass attempts and capped things off with a rushing touchdown. The 6-foot-3 and 240-pound Sellers has excellent athleticism and a strong arm. If how he performed in the spring is any indiction, he could give defenses fits in 2024.
Tennessee The defensive line will be among the nation’s best: Tennessee’s defense has steadily improved over the first few years under coach Josh Heupel, though it’s still a work in progress. A big reason for that steady climb is the improved play of the defensive front, mentored by one of college football’s best position coaches in SEC veteran Rodney Garner. That development will hits its peak in 2024. The Vols boast one of the deepest and most experienced defensive line rooms in the entire nation. Tackle Omari Thomas is a big-bodied run-stuffer, while fellow interior standout Omarr Norman-Lott brings some disruption to the middle. Oh, and there’s edge rusher James Pearce Jr., who tied for the SEC lead with 10 sacks last season and has the potential to be a top-five pick in the 2025 NFL Draft with immense athleticism and a deep tool bag of pass rush moves. There are other players with starting experience behind those names, and with such an extensive rotation, Tennessee’s front seven has all the potential in the world.
gettyimages-1774758519-1.jpg Tennessee’s pass rush features a potential high draft pick in James Pearce Jr. Getty Images Texas QB Arch Manning is ready to go: Manning won’t have to go this season — Quinn Ewers is firmly entrenched as Texas’ starter — but be it due to unforeseen circumstances in 2024 or beyond once the starting job opens up, Manning showed that he’ll be able to live up to the lofty billing often associated with his name. He completed 19 of his 26 passes for 355 yards and three touchdowns in Texas’ spring game, unquestionably his most impressive performance in a Longhorns uniform yet. He had two separated 75-yard touchdown throws, including one to DeAndre Moore that traveled at least 50 yards through the air. It’s time to get this hype train rolling down the tracks once more.
Texas A&M Mike Elko will match Jimbo Fisher’s best regular-season win total: This isn’t necessarily the highest bar to clear. Fisher never won more than eight games in a full regular season during his time with the Aggies, and things really took a dip in recent years, culminating in Texas A&M’s costly (literally) firing of Fisher. After a whirlwind coaching search, the Aggies brass landed on Elko, a former Texas A&M defensive coordinator and Duke’s coach, as Fisher’s replacement. Elko immediately went to work rebuilding a Texas A&M roster that lost a lot of talent in the wake of Fisher’s termination and netted the No. 2 class in 247Sports’ Team Transfer Rankings.
On top of that, the Aggies return starting quarterback Conner Weigman who, when healthy, has shown upside as one of the best signal-callers in the SEC. Elko won eight regular-season games in his first year at Duke and led the Blue Devils to a 7-5 record last season despite dealing with some major injuries, so there’s plenty of reason to think that he can achieve even more with the talent-base available to him by coaching at Texas A&M.
Vanderbilt The Commodores will have the SEC’s worst passing attack: This despite a robust quarterback transfer haul that features two former starters from other programs. The Commodores were actually quite effective moving the ball through the air last year, finishing ahead of the likes of Alabama, Kentucky and Auburn 223.7 passing yards per game. But both of Vandy’s highest-upside quarterbacks in AJ Swann and Walter Taylor transferred out of Nashville to fill backup spots elsewhere. Vanderbilt’s three leading receivers — Will Sheppard, London Humphreys and Jayden McGowan — all left via the portal as well. The Commodores have tried to use the portal in their favor to stop the bleeding. New Mexico State transfer Diego Pavia is a steady hand at quarterback, while Utah transfer Nate Johnson brings another dimension to the offense with his rushing ability. But there’s just not much reason for optimism around this Vanderbilt offense given what it has to replace.
As lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan prepares for his return at UFC 300 against former champion Charles Oliveira on April 13, the idea that he’s one step away from securing a rematch against Islam Makhachev remains on the front of his mine.
“It’s not a maybe, it’s 100%,” Tsarukyan told “Morning Kombat” this week. “After this fight, I’m going to be contender No. 1 for the title. That’s it.”
Tsarukyan (21-3) enters having won eight of his last nine bouts since a memorable UFC debut loss in 2019 in a competitive decision to Makhachev (25-1), some three years before the sport’s current pound-for-pound king went on to claim the vacant lightweight title from Oliveira at UFC 280.
It’s Tsarukyan’s most recent performances amid a three-fight win streak that began after his disputed 2022 decision defeat to Mateusz Gamrot that has everyone buzzing about the muscular native of Georgia, who proudly represents his Armenian culture. Tsarukyan has knocked out his last two opponents, including a brutal finish of Beneil Dariush in December to secure the Oliveira fight.
So, how does Tsaurkyan feel about Makhachev’s recent comments that his preference is to defend his title against former interim titleholder Dustin Poirier, who stopped red-hot contender Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 299 earlier this month?
“I feel like Islam wants to avoid us,” Tsarukyan said. “He feels like I’m going to win and, for him, it’s better to fight Poirier than me. I am more of a danger for him because I know wrestling. Maybe he can make more money with Dustin. It’s probably because of that, he’s more interested. Anyway, for me it doesn’t matter. I’m just focused on Charles Oliveira because he is one of the best in our division. I have to focus on him. This is the biggest fight for me.”
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Tsarukyan said that although he respects Poirier, his teammate at American Top Team in south Florida, he’s excited to see the division finally turn over to allow the next generation to take their shot.
“I was supporting Dustin Poirier [against Saint Denis,] I wanted him to win and I was super happy,” Tsaurkyan said. “But now, all the top five are still here and just me. I am one of the youngest and new ones because of [Michael] Chandler, Poirier, [Justin] Gaethje, Oliveira, Islam. The top five is still there but I’m there also. I want to change those names and want to become No. 1 and become champ.”
One thing Tsarukyan is most confident about is how much he has grown since the Makhachev loss, when the two took turns reversing position in a grappling showcase that ended in Makhachev winning by scores of 30-27 (twice) and 29-28.
“It [feels] like one year ago but it’s almost five years ago,” Tsarukyan said. “I was super young and it was my first fight [in the UFC]. I can’t wait to fight again with Islam Makhachev. Everybody knows it will be me or Oliveira that will fight Islam Makhachev next. It’s a No. 1 contender fight so definitely one of us will fight for the title.”
Conor McGregor insists his return to mixed martial arts is imminent. McGregor, during a press tour for his new movie “Road House,” claimed this week that he’s been in communication with UFC for a fight against Michael Chandler sometime this summer.
“We got confirmation a few days ago that it’s all systems go,” McGregor told ESPN on Tuesday.
UFC fans have lost confidence in the fight materializing thanks to start-and-stop efforts by McGregor and Chandler to drum up interest. Chandler further complicated the situation with what seemed to be a sarcastic tweet.
“I’m not sure I’ll be ready for a summer fight…this came out of the blue,” Chandler wrote on Tuesday. “I’ve been out of the loop. Can y’all ask Dana [White] to confirm this?”
But when a journalist wrote, “The amount of people taking this tweet seriously is… wow,” Chandler replied, “Haha! Right?”
Hahah! Right?
— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) March 20, 2024 McGregor — who has fought as low as featherweight — previously posed a middleweight fight against Chandler but said he was teasing his potential opponent. McGregor did not specify a date, event or weight class for the big fight but claimed he’s been preparing for a long time.
“I had [my training] camp in Dubai [months ago], I had a camp in Cannes,” McGregor said. “I was preparing, and then I was kind of getting nothing back. And then other things came up and I kind of dipped out. But now, it’s on. So, there’s no messing now. I cannot dip out now.”
McGregor also took a shot at Chandler who called him out on the Feb. 19 episode of WWE Raw.
“Shut up, Michael, you f—ing imbecile,” McGregor said. “The man doesn’t shut up. I seen him on ‘Raw.’ I like Mike — I’m going to bust him up. I’m going to bust Mike up, yeah? If I say it, I do it. … If I say it, it gets done. Put that on my stone.”
McGregor vs. Chandler will be a spectacle should it materialize but the build has overstayed its welcome. The fight was first presented to fans when UFC president White announced “The Ultimate Fighter” season 31 in February 2023. The fight has yet to be formally announced 13 months later. McGregor claimed in January the fight would take place at UFC International Fight Week on June 29 before the annual event was announced by the promotion. White previously denied the fight was in the works for that weekend. UFC 303 will be the marquee event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
McGregor revealed he had two fights left on his UFC contract. A trilogy fight against Nate Diaz at the promotion’s Mexican Independence Day event at The Sphere is a top priority.
“I think that’s an absolute perfection of a fight.
“Do we sign a new deal?” McGregor said of the UFC. “Do I go? Am I a free agent? I love the UFC dearly. My heart is in the UFC — my catalogue, my life. I love everyone in the company and all the fighters and all the events and all the shows and cards. I wish to continue this. How that looks, I have no clue.”
Conor McGregor and Jake Gyllenhaal got into some method acting by mistake on the set of the “Road House” remake.
Gyllenhaal and McGregor co-star in the reimagining of the 1989 action movie. Gyllenhaal stars as a former UFC middleweight who comes to blows with various antagonists, including one portrayed by McGregor in his feature film debut. Gyllenhaal revealed this week that McGregor caught him with an errant punch while choreographing one of several fight scenes between them.
“We had, actually, by mistake, he clocked me in the face,” Gyllenhaal told “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon. “We would do a take where we were like fighting, and fake fighting, fake fighting, and then we’d go watch the monitor to see it back, to see what worked, and he was always great with me. He would show me, tell me to do things, and like, ‘Oh, you know, turn your head, move a little bit more this way to try and make it look more real,’ and it was late because we shot a lot of these fight scenes at night.
“So it was like 3 a.m., and he was talking to me really close, and he was like, ‘Yeah, like that left hook looks good, but then when you do it like, boom [showing fake punch],’ and he hit me by mistake. It was almost like … and I was like, ‘Oh!’ And he was like, ‘Oh!'”
Gyllenhaal was admittedly nervous about working with the former two-division UFC champion.
“When I got word that he was going to be doing it, I was super psyched, because they chased him for a long time to play the part,” Gyllenhaal said. “But then I got totally terrified and I thought, ‘Oh God, I actually have to fake fight this guy and I got to look like I can.’
“I stay in pretty good shape, but we trained for two months pretty hard — grappling, and a lot of MMA.”
The “Road House” remake debuted at SXSW on March 8 ahead of its March 21 premiere on Amazon Prime Video.
The class action lawsuits against the UFC that many believed would shake the foundation of the business of mixed martial arts appear to be coming to a close. It was announced on Wednesday that the two class action antitrust suits (Le vs. Zuffa and Johnson vs. Zuffa) had reached a settlement of $335 million.
That $335 million amount will be split among the fighters who participated in UFC fights during periods covering both suits — Le vs. Zuffa covering 2010 to 2017 and Johnson vs. Zuffa covering the period after 2017 — after any fees are paid to the plaintiffs’ lawyers. Initially filed as five separate lawsuits between December 2014 and March 2015, the cases were merged into the Le vs. Zuffa case, with the Johnson vs. Zuffa case being filed in 2021.
“On March 13, 2024, TKO reached an agreement to settle all claims asserted in both class action lawsuits (Le and Johnson) for an aggregate amount of $335 million payable by the Company and its subsidiaries in installments over an agreed-upon period of time,” a TKO statement to the SEC reads. “The terms will be memorialized in a long form agreement and then submitted to the court for approval. The Company anticipates that the settlement amount will be deductible for tax purposes.”
The antitrust suits, which claimed the UFC used practices that stifled fighter ability to negotiate with other promotions and locked fighters into restrictive contracts, which combined to suppress fighter pay, were seeking up to $1.6 billion in damages, meaning the UFC and parent company TKO will likely see a $335 million settlement as a major victory, especially if the settlement came with no meaningful changes to the structure of UFC contracts moving forward.
“We are pleased with the settlement and will disclose more when we file with the court in 45-60 days,” a tweet from the Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Association read.
We are pleased with the settlement and will disclose more when we file with the Court in 45-60 days.
We Love All of these guys!
👊 pic.twitter.com/jetH24vUQ1
— MMAFA (@MMAFA) March 20, 2024 TKO Group Holdings stock shot up nearly five and a half points after news of the settlement broke.
The proposed settlement still must be approved by the court. Prior to news of the settlement, the next stage in the trial was set for April 15.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement to settle all claims asserted in both the Le and Johnson class-action lawsuits, bringing litigation to a close and benefitting all parties,” A UFC statement acquired by reporter Kevin Iole said. “The final terms of the settlement will be submitted to the court of approval.”
Ronda Rousey reached the pinnacle in UFC and WWE but had an unceremonious exit from both organizations. It turns out an undisclosed history of concussions abruptly ended her run with each promotion.
The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion left the promotion in 2016 following consecutive knockout losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes. Her swift split from mixed martial arts and dismissive attitude towards her UFC tenure soured fans who perceived her as bitter. According to Rousey, it was her “concussion history” predating her MMA run that had her tight-lipped.
“I had to keep [it] secret for years, so I would be able to continue to compete and perform,” Rousey told fans on Instagram Live while teasing content from her upcoming memoir, Our Fight.
“I think that there was just so much to [that Holm loss], that I couldn’t talk about it in the form of like an interview or an article or anything like that, or there would be several filters between my words and people reading it. So much had to do with having so many concussions when I was in judo before I even got into MMA, I couldn’t talk about it at all when I was doing MMA. Because it would literally put a target on my head, and I might not have been allowed to compete any further.”
Rousey’s concussions played a direct role in ending her legendary MMA career.
“That’s basically why I had to retire,” Rousey said.
Rousey kept the concussions under wraps even after she retired from combat sports. It was a calculated risk to afford her a second high-profile career. Rousey made sporadic appearances for WWE starting in 2014 and signed onto the company full-time in 2017. Her time in professional wrestling led to four championship reigns, becoming the eighth women’s triple crown champion and winning the 2022 women’s Royal Rumble match.
“Same thing with WWE,” Rousey said. “They have a complicated history with their performers getting concussions, and it would be a bad look on them. So I felt like I really couldn’t talk about it at all. So I feel like this [is the] long form that I would be able to adequately address it.”
Rousey had a quiet departure from WWE after losing an “MMA Rules” match to her longtime friend and fellow UFC alum Shayna Baszler at SummerSlam in 2023. She subsequently wrestled two matches elsewhere — including one in Ring of Honor — teaming with MMA fighter-turned-pro wrestler Marina Shafir. Rousey subsequently retired for the second time.
“A really hard decision to understand, but one that my body really made for me,” Rousey said. “I feel like this is the only way to really get that across in the best, most complete way that it’s not just a tweet and a headline short.”
Rousey’s autobiography Our Fight will be released on April 2.
Bellator MMA returns to Belfast on Friday for the promotion’s first event since being acquired by Professional Fighters League. Bellator 302 is the first Bellator event held in Belfast since Bellator 173 in February 2017. Unlike that event, which featured no title bouts, the Bellator 302 card is topped by a pair of championship showdowns.
In the main event, Corey Anderson and Karl Moore will battle for the vacant light heavyweight championship. The belt became available after Vadim Nemkov chose to vacate the belt in a move up to heavyweight. Nemkov won the title in August 2020 and successfully defended it four times before officially making the jump to heavyweight at February’s PFL vs. Bellator event, where he defeated PFL’s Bruno Cappelozza.
Anderson is one of the men who failed to wrestle the title from the grasp of Nemkov. In the pair’s first meeting, Anderson was seemingly winning the fight when an accidental clash of heads in the third round opened a cut over Nemkov’s eye, ending the fight in a no contest five seconds before the end of the round. Had the fight ended after the completion of the third round, Anderson likely would have won a technical decision.
Anderson would get his rematch with Nemkov, but found little of the success he had the first time around, with Nemkov taking a clear unanimous decision.
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The fights with Nemkov are the only times Anderson has entered the Bellator cage and left without having his hand raised, compiling a 4-1 record with three stoppage victories. In his most recent outing, Anderson took a split decision win over Phil Davis.
Moore will have the home cage advantage as he competes in front of his hometown Belfast fans. Moore has fought four times in Bellator, winning all four fights, with three wins coming by decision.
Moore last fought at Bellator 297, earning a decision win over Alex Polizzi.
In the co-main event, the greatest fighter in Bellator history returns to the cage as Patricio Pitbull puts his featherweight championship on the line against Jeremy Kennedy.
Pitbull will be looking to pull out of a spiral that has seen him lose back-to-back fights for the first time in his accomplished professional career.
At Bellator 297, Pitbull, a former lightweight champion who is on his third stint as featherweight king, attempted to drop down to bantamweight to win a title in the third weight class of his career. Instead, Pitbull was outworked and dominated by Sergio Pettis, who took a lopsided decision.
This past July, Pitbull made the fateful decision to take a fight with Chihiro Suzuki on extremely short notice in Japan’s Rizin promotion. Pitbull lost the fight by first-round knockout.
Pitbull was set to return to action at PFL vs. Bellator only to see both scheduled opponents fall out of the event with injuries.
Kennedy has plenty of big-fight experience, with a 3-1 record in the UFC and a stint in PFL. Since joining Bellator, Kennedy has gone 4-1, with a loss to Adam Borics as the lone blemish on his Bellator record.
Since dropping a decision to Borics, Kennedy has won three consecutive fights, with wins over Emmanuel Sanchez, Aaron Pico and Pedro Carvalho setting up his shot at the title.
The rest of the undercard features more intriguing matchups with a European flair. Fabian Edwards, brother of UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards, looks to take the next step toward gold when he takes on fast rising contender Aaron Jeffery at middleweight. Plus, Irish sensation James Gallagher is back in a featherweight bout against veteran Leandro Higo. And Lightweights open the main card when Tim Wilde takes on Manouel Sousa.
Bellator Belfast fight card, odds Corey Anderson -500 vs. Karl Moore +360, vacant light heavyweight championship Patricio Pitbull (c) -105 vs. Jeremy Kennedy -115, featherweight championship Fabian Edwards -150 vs. Aaron Jeffery +125, middleweights Leandro Higo -135 vs. James Gallagher +110, featherweights Tim Wilde -135 vs. Manouel Sousa +110, lightweights Viewing information Date: March 22 | Location: SSE Arena — Belfast, Northern Ireland Time: 4 p.m. ET (noon ET for prelims) Channel: Max (subscription required) Predictions Corey Anderson vs. Karl Moore: When breaking down the level of competition, it’s easy to see that Anderson has faced tougher competition than Moore, and has responded to that tough competition with many stoppage victories. Moore will have a rabid local fanbase cheering him on, to be sure, but it shouldn’t be expected that the adrenaline bump will carry him to victory over a fighter who we have every reason to believe is simply better and more dangerous. Pick: Corey Anderson via TKO3
Patricio Pitbull vs. Jeremy Kennedy: Were this the Pitbull of just a few years back, one would have every reason to believe that he should retain his title and keep right on being the best fighter in Bellator history. But this is a Pitbull who has looked noticeably slower, a bit less capable of pulling the trigger when needed, coming off of two losses and who is coming off a cervical spine surgery that he said he will “never be the same” after. Kennedy doesn’t carry the traits of a “special fighter” but he is good enough to beat a diminished version of Pitbull. The champion retaining his title wouldn’t be a shock, but Kennedy likely has enough to take a hard-fought decision. Pick: Jeremy Kennedy via UD
