Welcome Back to the Tradition's Finest Podcast! Episode 148 - The "Mooooooose" Episode includes a discussion of the following sports-related topics: - NCAA: News & Storylines - - NCAA College Football: The Big Ten Conference has passed a rule that stops players returning from the NFL from playing for one of its schools: Any player who has declared for the NFL draft and did not withdraw, appeared on an NFL roster or signed a contract with a pro league cannot be on a Big Ten roster, the league announced Tuesday in a statement: The Big Ten's ADs unanimously approved the rule, which then received unanimous approval later Tuesday from the conference's faculty athletic representatives, sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel — **NOTE: Any teams in violation of the rule would be subject to its HC being suspended for 50% of its remaining games plus an undisclosed fine, the Big Ten confirmed - - The Big Ten's ruling comes in the wake of two NFL players - Cleveland Browns TE Dae'Quan Wright and the New Orleans Saints' Zxavian Harris - parting with their respective teams to join Lane Kiffin's roster at LSU — Wright and Harris, who both played for Kiffin at Ole Miss, are returning to college football thanks to a court order that is creating havoc throughout the NCAA by allowing athletes an unexpected fifth year of eligibility - - **NOTE: The SEC Conference - as well as the Big 12 and ACC Conference(s) - also approved a similar ban later this week on players who have declared or appeared on a professional league roster — The NCAA said in a statement that court rulings that grant athletes a fifth-year of eligibility are having a "destabilizing effect" on college sports, meanwhile, LSU HC Lane Kiffin doubled down, defending the program's unprecedented moves on Monday, saying players are "either going to play for you or they're going to play for someone else around the country." . . .Q: What are your thoughts on the Big Ten's unanimous approval of the rule barring NFL players from returning to college competition?. .Hours after the Big Ten passed the rule stopping players returning from the NFL from playing for one of its' programs, the SEC followed suit - - At the conclusion of meetings with league presidents, chancellors and ADs Tuesday, the Conference announced a strict policy on the matter, releasing details across its social media channels - as sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel that the vote to implement the policy was 16-0: With a step-by-step explanation, the SEC announced that its' institutions are "not permitted to have an athlete on its roster who has: (1) Previously declared for the NFL, NBA, or WNBA draft, and did not appropriately withdraw; (2) Signed a contract with an NFL (or other professional football league), NBA/G-League, or WNBA (or affiliate) team, or. . .(3) Been listed on an NFL (or other professional football league), NBA/G-League, or WNBA (or affiliate) roster." -- The announcement concluded with annotation that commissioner Greg Sankey "is authorized to enforce this expectation with penalties against member institutions." - - An SEC spokesperson later told ESPN's Heather Dinich that penalties are "to be announced." - - But where the Big Ten earlier in the day announced its policy for football, saying in its statement that any player who has declared for the NFL draft and didn't withdraw, appeared on an NFL roster or signed a contract with a pro league may not be on a Big Ten roster, the SEC added pro basketball, including the NBA and the WNBA, to its policy -- The SEC and Big Ten do not appear to be along in these beliefs: The Big 12 as well as the ACC Conference(s) also held meetings that resulted in a similar conclusion regarding the return of NFL players to the collegiate level - - Then, on Thursday, a Dallas judge signed an order that prohibits the NCAA, the SEC and its commissioner Greg Sankey from stopping a group of athletes - three (3) of whom are currently listed on NFL rosters - from returning to college sports for one more season of play. . .Q: What are your thoughts on the state of college football with the legitimate possibility that players who were previously on NFL rosters receiving a fifth year of college eligibility?. . ."Should They Have Gone to Jared?:" Vanderbilt senior Blaze Berlowitz will be the starting QB in the Commodores' Week 1 matchup with Austin Peay, sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel on Tuesday: The move follows an extended position battle across spring and fall camp between Berlowitz and five-star freshman Jared Curtis, who is the highest-rated signee in program history and is also expected to play in Vanderbilt's Sept. 5 season opener, the first of three (3) nonconference games on the Commodores' schedule, which also includes September visits from Delaware and NC State - - Berlowitz, a dual-threat passer from Cushing, Oklahoma, is in his third season at Vanderbilt - as he began his career at New Mexico State before following eventual Heisman runner-up Diego Pavia and OC Tim Beck to the Commodores before the 2024 season - - While Berlowitz has been named the Commodores' starter for Week 1, the occasion should also be the stage of Curtis' college debut: The 6-foot-3, 230-pound QB from Nashville signed late last fall as ESPN's No.1 pocket passer and No.12 overall prospect in the 2026 cycle, and arrived in January as the most coveted recruit in school history. . .Q: What are your thoughts on Vanderbilt's decision to tab Blaze Berlowitz as the Commodores' starting QB for the 2026-27 season? Are you somewhat surprised that Berlowitz got the nod over five-star freshman QB Jared Curtis?. . ."One Man, One Drive:" Marty Whims II's phone rang Tuesday - and on the other end of the call was University of Akron AD Andrew Goodrich offering Whims the opportunity of a lifetime on the football team's sideline: When Akron hosts Robert Morris for its Sept. 12 home opener, the Zips plan to turn offensive playcalling duties over - somewhat - to the Executive from a Cleveland-based real estate firm - - Weeks after the school launched its' viral "Offensive Coordinator of the Game" promotion, Akron announced Whims as the contest winner, thrusting the alumnus and longtime season-ticket holder into the role of assisting Zips HC Joe Moorhead script plays during the opening offensive series of the Week 2 matchup: "It's super cool," Whims said in a video released by Akron Football's social media account. "My boss shared it on LinkedIn, so business contacts are reaching out, friends, family. I mean, everybody's just super excited about it, wishing me good luck. It's been awesome." -- An alumnus of Akron's College of Business and the chief financial officer at Stark Enterprises, Whims has held Zips season tickets since at least 2009 - - Akron generated national attention earlier this month when the school announced the raffle offering season-ticket holders the chance to call plays alongside Moorhead: The promotion not only generated buzz but also reportedly produced record-setting sales of season tickets and stadium suites -- According to Akron, the Zips have fully sold out their inventory of 17 suites at InfoCision Stadium for the first time since it opened in 2009 - - Such an uptick in revenue was at least part of the campaign's mission - as the senior deputy AD at Akron, Matt Pottorff, told The Beacon Journal that the school intends to allocate 70% of all ticket sales across all sports towards the Zips' NIL and revenue-share programs - - Naturally, the opportunity to call plays for an FBS football team attracted interest well beyond NE Ohio, as the Zips' initial social media post announcing the contest on Aug. 4, has generated more than 23 million views as of Tuesday evening, and the school has seen ticket purchases from coast to coast: Among Akron's most prominent new season-ticket holders is ESPN's Pat McAfee. .So, how did the promotion work?: According to Akron, all season-ticket holders were automatically entered into a random drawing - and on Aug. 19, the school announced nine (9) finalists spanning five (5) states, a group that included longtime local fans such as Whims, seemingly unaffiliated newcomers based in Nebraska, New York, New Jersey and Texas, as well as pair of prominent social media figures: Dan "Big Cat" Katz of Barstool Sports and YouTube streamer James Bordeaux, whose channel centered on the EA Sports College Football video game, which has nearly 600k subscribers - - Whims will also be helping Moorhead break in a new QB: Transfer Reese Poffenbarger, who joined the Zips this offseason after stops at Old Dominion, Albany, Miami and North Texas, is set to lead the program's offense this fall -- Whims will also be operating in seasoned company alongside Moorhead, the veteran playcaller who stewarded an Akron offense that ranked fifth in the MAC Conference in yards per game (353.5) last season. . .Q: In the first offensive drive for the Akron Zips in their season opener versus Robert Morris, what set of plays do you think Marty Whims II calls on the opening drive?. . .**Name That Starting QB: In this next segment, JD & Spencer discuss and analyze the starting QB(s) that have been recently announced across the college football landscape, including the following programs: Alabama, Nebraska, Tennessee, and Florida. . . HC Kalen DeBoer announced that Soph. _____Keelon Russell_____ has been named the starter for the Alabama Crimson Tide over Austin Mack. . . Nebraska has named UNLV transfer ____Anthony Coleandra____ its starting QB, HC Matt Rhule announced. . . HC Josh Heupel has named true freshman ____Faizon Brandon____ as the Tennessee Volunteers' starting QB over George MacIntyre. . . Florida has named Georgia Tech transfer ___Aaron Philo___ as the Gators' starting QB, per HC Jon Sumrall. . . 2026 NCAA College Football Week 0 Preview & Predictions: - Aer Lingus College Football Classic [Dublin, Ireland]: North Carolina vs. TCU (-7.5)
