The German Import spent two seasons at Ohio State recording 14 tackles and a sack.

It won’t be long before Kanu sees his former teammates. Texas opens its 2025 season with a late August trip to Columbus to face the Buckeyes in what could potentially be a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup.

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According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, former Nebraska and Washington running back/wide receiver Will Nixon will join Syracuse before the 2024 season. Nixon has almost 30 games under his belt across four seasons in college football.

The Waco, Texas, native will have the opportunity to play for his father Jeff Nixon, who was named next offensive coordinator of the Orange in January and has built over 27 years of coaching experience across both college football and the NFL.

READ: NCAA, Power 5 announce settlement agreement, plan to pay student-athletes

Will Nixon ran for 201 rushing yards last season and scored a touchdown in his second year with the Huskies. While Washington advanced to its first College Football Playoff National Championship appearance, Will Nixon played an important role as the team’s second-leading rusher.

The 5-foot-11, 202-pound running back also is a threat in the backfield having averaged more than six yards per carry and catch in 2023. Will Nixon posted career highs in many categories, though in the receiving game he caught 84 yards along with 13 receptions.

Will Nixon was sidelined the first year of his college career at Nebraska after suffering a torn ACL in summer 2020.

READ: College Football Playoff, TNT Sports reach 5-year sublicensing agreement; TNT Sports to begin broadcasting 2 first-round games in 2024

The rising fifth-year is also accomplished in the classroom. Will Nixon earned a spot on the 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team and won Washington’s 101 Club Academic Award in the postseason.

Will Nixon was a three-star recruit according to Rivals playing at Midway High School in Texas. He earned district MVP after totaling 2,087 yards from scrimmage and 29 touchdowns as a senior.

Syracuse is heading a new direction with former Georgia secondary coach Fran Brown as head coach and incoming quarterback transfer Kyle McCord from Ohio State. Will Nixon will join the Orange and junior running back LeQuint Allen, who led Syracuse with 1,118 rushing yards and nine touchdowns last season.

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NCAA President Charlie Baker and each of the Power 5 conferences — the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern — jointly announced Thursday that they’ve agreed to settlement terms regarding antitrust and class-action lawsuits. According to Ralph D. Russo of The Associated Press, the NCAA and Power 5 will pay nearly $2.8 billion, expected to be paid over 10 years, to settle several antitrust claims, notably House v. NCAA, Hubbard v. NCAA and Carter v. NCAA, and the joint statement claimed it “is an important step in the continuing reform of college sports that will provide benefits to student-athletes and provide clarity in college athletics across all divisions for years to come.”

Among the longstanding aspects that made up the foundations of the NCAA is set to change: schools can directly pay players.

Here is the full joint statement from Baker, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, Big Ten commissioner Tony Petititti, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey.

“The five autonomy conferences and the NCAA agreeing to settlement terms is an important step in the continuing reform of college sports that will provide benefits to student-athletes and provide clarity in college athletics across all divisions for years to come. This settlement is also a road map for college sports leaders and Congress to ensure this uniquely American institution can continue to provide unmatched opportunity for millions of students. All of Division I made today’s progress possible, and we all have work to do to implement the terms of the agreement as the legal process continues. We look forward to working with our various student-athlete leadership groups to write the next chapter of college sports.”

READ: College Football Playoff, TNT Sports reach 5-year sublicensing agreement; TNT Sports to begin broadcasting 2 first-round games in 2024

READ: Reports: Big Ten Conference made $880 million in revenue during 2023

Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. also reportedly released a statement, calling the settlement “necessary to avoid what would be the bankruptcy of college athletics.” Here is his full statement according to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports.

“The settlement, though undesirable in many respects and promising only temporary stability, is necessary to avoid what would be the bankruptcy of college athletics. To save the great American institution of college sports, Congress must pass legislation that will preempt the current patchwork of state laws; establish that our athletes are not employees, but students seeking college degrees; and provide protection from further antitrust lawsuits that will allow colleges to make and enforce rules that will protect our student-athletes and help ensure competitive equity among our teams,” Jenkins stated via Yahoo! Sports.

Among the expected outcomes from the settlement include the NCAA and universities sharing revenue directly with student-athletes. There could be “millions of dollars” paid to players as soon as fall 2025, according to the AP.

The model for revenue sharing with student-athletes “will cost major conferences a cumulative $1 billion-plus annually,” according to Yahoo! Sports, and schools can share up to $22 million with student-athletes per year — a figure that “was derived from 22% of an average of power conference revenues” and subject to change and exceptions.

According to Dan Murphy and Pete Thamel of ESPN, any Division I athlete dating back to 2016 is eligible to receive a share as part of the settlement class. These athletes therefore drop their claims in three antitrust lawsuits — House v. NCAA, Hubbard v. NCAA and Carter v. NCAA — and cannot sue the NCAA for other antitrust-related reasons.

Roster size could also be affected as a result of the changes expected after the settlement. According to Yahoo! Sports, scholarship restrictions could be eliminated while roster limits would be implemented.

Bankruptcy was reportedly at risk had the settlement not been reached among the NCAA and Power 5 regarding the lawsuits.

READ: Penn State Board of Trustees approves Beaver Stadium renovation before 2027 season

The ability for student-athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness began when the NCAA implemented policy in July 2021. Since, college athletics has seen a flurry of changes in almost the past three years, including in areas such as the conference realignment and the transfer portal. Texas senator Ted Cruz hosted an NIL roundtable on Capitol Hill in March discussing its impacts and urging Congress to pass college athletics legislation.

According to Yahoo! Sports, there is likely a five-to-eight month time period before finalization of the settlement to account for official filing, judge approval and individual plaintiff objections among other things.

Final details will be submitted to the court and Judge Claudia Wilken in the next 30 days, according to ESPN.

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Former UNLV defensive back Ricky Johnson announced on social media Saturday his commitment to transfer and join the Wolverines after four seasons with the Rebels.

Johnson will be part of new head coach Sherrone Moore’s first season at the helm of Michigan’s program. The 6-foot-1 defensive back is a veteran of 30 games, including a career-high 12 last season after battling back from an injury in fall camp 2022 that limited him to three games that year, who has compiled 78 tackles, four interceptions and 14 passes defended.

READ: Reports: Auburn’s Brian Battie injured during shooting in Sarasota on Saturday

READ: EA Sports College Football 25 features, gameplay shared in full reveal

Johnson posted career bests across a number of statistical categories in 2023. He totaled 36 tackles, including 25 solo and a season-high six against Kansas in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, in addition to seven passes defended, which tied for 10th-most in the Mountain West Conference, and three tackles for loss. He was also named to the preseason all-conference third team before the campaign.

Johnson broke out in 2021 when his three interceptions tied for the UNLV team lead. He collected 25 tackles and two pass break-ups. The Houston native is also a standout in the classroom, having been a three-time member of the Academic All-Mountain West Team from 2020-22 and earning recognition as a 2021 Mountain West Scholar Athlete.

According to Austin Curtright of USA TODAY, Michigan has added three players in the secondary in addition to Johnson through the portal this offseason. The Wolverines will see former defensive backs Aamir Hall of Albany, Jaden Mangham of Michigan State and Wesley Walker from Tennessee join their program through the portal ahead of the 2024 season.

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Second-year head coach David Braun and Northwestern will host Ohio State on Nov. 16 and Illinois on Nov. 30 at the home of the Chicago Cubs. The Wildcats are rebuilding Ryan Field across the next two seasons after a historic $480 million gift from the Ryan family, the largest in Northwestern history, and will remain playing home games in the Chicago metropolitan area in 2024.

READ: ABC, ESPN unveil Weeks 0-1 broadcast schedule

READ: Colorado-Nebraska primetime kickoff announced for Week 2 matchup on NBC

The Wildcats will open the season with three-straight home games against defending Mid-American Conference champion Miami (OH), Duke and Eastern Illinois, and those games will be played inside the Lanny and Sharon Martin Lakeside Facility.

While the Big Ten Conference expands welcoming Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington — all from the Pac-12 Conference — and goes divisionless in 2024, Northwestern will play a nine-game conference schedule including bouts against last season’s College Football Playoff National Championship participants on the road against the defending Pac-12 champion Huskies on Sept. 21 and reigning national title winner and Big Ten champion Michigan on Nov. 23.

Kickoff times and television networks along with additional game information will be announced by the Big Ten office at a later date, according to a release.

READ: Joe Alt cherishes Notre Dame career, hopes to put ‘best foot forward’ with Los Angeles after No. 5 overall NFL Draft selection

Braun and the Wildcats are building on an 8-5 season in 2023 which ended with a 14-7 win over Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl. Braun earned Big Ten Coach of the Year after leading Northwestern on a seven-win turnaround, the largest by any Football Bowl Subdivision team in college football.

Former Mississippi State and Vanderbilt quarterback Mike Wright announced his commitment to transfer and join Braun and the Wildcats last week. Wright is expected to command the starting quarterback competition, and he has over 2,500 passing yards and 20 touchdowns at the college level.

Here is Northwestern’s full 2024 schedule.

Week 1 (Aug. 31) — Miami (OH) at Northwestern (Lanny and Sharon Martin Lakeside Facility)

Week 2 (Sept. 7) — Duke at Northwestern (Lanny and Sharon Martin Lakeside Facility)

Week 3 (Sept.14) — Eastern Illinois at Northwestern (Lanny and Sharon Martin Lakeside Facility)

Week 4 (Sept. 21) — Northwestern at Washington (Husky Stadium)

Week 5 (Sept. 28) — BYE

Week 6 (Oct. 5) — Indiana at Northwestern (Lanny and Sharon Martin Lakeside Facility)

Week 7 (Oct. 12) — Northwestern at Maryland (SECU Stadium)

Week 8 (Oct. 19) — Wisconsin at Northwestern (Lanny and Sharon Martin Lakeside Facility)

Week 9 (Oct. 26) — Northwestern at Iowa (Kinnick Stadium)

Week 10 (Nov. 2) — Northwestern at Purdue (Ross-Ade Stadium)

Week 11 (Nov. 9) — BYE

Week 12 (Nov. 16) — Ohio State at Northwestern (Wrigley Field)

Week 13 (Nov. 23) — Northwestern at Michigan (Michigan Stadium)

Week 14 (Nov. 30) — Illinois at Northwestern (Wrigley Field)

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King Mack, a rising sophomore safety who played in all 13 games with the Nittany Lions last season, posted his commitment Friday to Alabama on social media.

“1000% committed,” Mack posted.

READ: Conference USA expanding to add Missouri State in 2025

READ: Former Colorado, Houston RB Alton McCaskill IV transfers to Arizona State

Mack saw most of his playing time on special teams in 2023. The first two tackles of his career came in Week 2 against Delaware in addition to a quarterback hurry.

The 5-foot-10, 188-pound safety won multiple state championships in three years at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Mack was twice named a team captain on his way to being considered a consensus four-star recruit after being named 3M Defensive Player of the Year two times.

READ: Former Mississippi State, Vanderbilt QB Mike Wright transfers to Northwestern

Mack’s uncle is Keith Ferguson, who played at Ohio State from 1977-80 and in the NFL from 1981-90. He’s also related to former Miami Hurricane Tremain Mack, who played from 1993-96 and also in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals from 1997-2000.

Alabama’s secondary in particular will be part of a revamped defense under new head coach Kalen DeBoer. The Crimson Tide are tasked with replacing former starters Terrion Arnold and Kool-Aid McKinstry, who were selected among the 2024 NFL Draft’s top 41 picks, as well as safety Jaylen Key who was picked with the final choice in the seventh round.

King is the third defensive back DeBoer and Alabama have added through the portal this offseason. Former Wake Forest cornerback DaShawn Jones and former Charlotte defensive back Kam Howard also transferred into the program this spring, according to Alex Scarborough of Bama247 via 247 Sports.

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Alton McCaskill IV earned AAC Rookie of the Year and a spot on the all-conference second team with Houston in 2021 after rushing for 961 yards and 16 touchdowns and then transferred to Colorado before last season. On Thursday, he announced in a social media post his commitment to Arizona State.

READ: Former Mississippi State, Vanderbilt QB Mike Wright transfers to Northwestern

McCaskill redshirted each of the past two seasons. After his breakout freshman year, the Conroe, Texas, native tore his ACL in spring 2022 and missed the next season.

READ: Former Rutgers QB Gavin Wimsatt transfers to Kentucky

READ: Former MLB outfielder Monte Harrison joins Arkansas as walk-on wide receiver

Upon a transfer to join head coach Deion Sanders and Colorado before the 2023 campaign, McCaskill redshirted with the Buffaloes, appearing in four games with one start and rushing for 59 yards and catching 19 more.

McCaskill set Houston’s freshman rushing touchdown record in his debut season. In addition to leading all true freshmen with 16 scores on the ground, he also provided a threat in the receiving game catching 113 yards and two more touchdowns making him second on the team with 1,074 all-purpose yards.

McCaskill helped Oak Ridge High School to its first playoff win in 18 years in his final season. He earned District MVP after running for 1,141 yards and 11 touchdowns. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound running back was rated a four-star recruit by ESPN and On3 and a three-star recruit by 247 Sports and Rivals as part of the class of 2021, and he also was a member of Oak Ridge High School’s track and field team.

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Mike Wright, who played in all 12 games and started three at Mississippi State last season, announced Thursday on social media his commitment to the Wildcats.

READ: Former Rutgers QB Gavin Wimsatt transfers to Kentucky

According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, Wright visited Northwestern and was hosted by receivers A.J. Henning, Calvin Johnson II and Bryce Kirtz, who combined for 1,151 yards and nine touchdowns in 2023.

READ: Reports: Former MLB outfielder Monte Harrison joins Arkansas as walk-on wide receiver

READ: Snoop Dogg, Arizona Bowl announce collaboration renaming bowl to Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl Presented by Gin & Juice By Dre and Snoop

Wright will enter his fifth season of college football this fall. He arrived at Vanderbilt in 2020 as a three-star recruit from Fayetteville, Georgia. The 6-foot-4, 195 pound quarterback also claimed Woodward Academy’s record in the 200-meter dash.

Wright spent three seasons at Vanderbilt earning 11 starts, 2,067 passing yards, 21 touchdowns to 11 interceptions and a nod as one of the Commodores captains in 2022.

READ: Marvin Harrison Jr. brings ‘consistent and disciplined’ approach to Arizona after No. 4 overall pick in NFL Draft

Overall, Wright has played in 38 games, passing for 2,520 yards and 24 touchdowns and rushing for 1,229 more yards and 10 more scores at the college level.

The talented multi-sport athlete also joined Mississippi State’s track and field team in apiary. He competed in his first track meet Jan. 13 at the Vulcan Invite part of the Bulldogs 4x200m Relay Team.

Wright will use his final year of eligibility with Wildcats head coach David Braun and Northwestern. The Wildcats saw starter Ben Bryant graduate from the program after last season, and backup Brendan Sullivan transferred to Iowa, according to ESPN.

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Wimsatt returns to his home state where he attended Owensboro High School and earned Kentucky Class 5-A Player of the Year as well as a spot in the Elite 11 finals.

READ: Reports: Former MLB outfielder Monte Harrison joins Arkansas as walk-on wide receiver

Over three seasons at Rutgers, Wimsatt threw for 2,537 yards and 14 touchdowns to 17 interceptions across 25 games including 19 starts in three seasons.

“We are excited to add Gavin to our program,” Stoops stated in a release. “Game experience is extremely valuable at quarterback and this is a unique opportunity to add talent and experience to the room.”

READ: Snoop Dogg, Arizona Bowl announce collaboration renaming bowl to Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl Presented by Gin & Juice By Dre and Snoop

READ: Marvin Harrison Jr. brings ‘consistent and disciplined’ approach to Arizona after No. 4 overall pick in NFL Draft

Wimsatt has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

In 2023, Wimsatt started all 13 games passing for 1,735 yards and nine touchdowns to eight interceptions. He also led quarterbacks in the Big Ten Conference with 497 rushing yards which set a new Rutgers program record.

Wimsatt was a four-star recruit as part of the class of 2021. The 6-foot-3 quarterback totaled 5,304 passing yards and 62 touchdowns in high school at Owensboro.

Wimsatt will be part of a Kentucky program entering a new era after former starting quarterback Devin Leary was selected in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens.

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Former Toledo running back Peny Boone posted Wednesday on social media a photo of himself in a UCF uniform captioned “Committed.” Multiple reports have confirmed Boone’s transfer.

Boone originally transferred from Toledo to Louisville following the end of last season. After spring practice, Boone reentered the transfer portal and connected with the Knights.

READ: Jayden Daniels realizes draft dream after No. 2 overall selection by Washington Commanders

READ: Entire UAB football team signs up for Athletes.org

Boone, who spent the past two seasons with the Rockets after beginning his college career at Maryland, ran for a conference-leading 1,400 yards finishing third in the NCAA with an average of 7.22 yards per carry in 2023.

The Detroit native was Toledo’s third-leading rusher in 2022 collecting 443 yards on the ground and three touchdowns. Boone totaled 18 rushing touchdowns in his Rockets career.

At Maryland Boone ran for 258 yards and two touchdowns across the 2020-21 seasons.

Boone was part of two state championship teams at Martin Luther King High School on his way to becoming a four-star recruit part of the class of 2020.

Boone figures to pair up with returning UCF running back RJ Harvey, who earned an All-Big 12 Conference Honorable Mention nod last season after running for 1,416 yards and 16 touchdowns.

The portal opened for the spring window April 16 and closed Tuesday, and players can still commit to new programs after the portal’s closing. According to Chris Hummer of 247 Sports, more than 2,100 Division I undergraduate players are in the transfer portal.

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In the 24 hours after Jayden Daniels heard his name called and he walked on stage in Detroit when the Washington Commanders selected him with the No. 2 overall draft pick, the reality of his childhood dream is setting in more and more.

Daniels thought back to waking up on Friday and texting former LSU wide receiver teammates Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr., who were chosen No. 6 overall by the New York Giants and 23 overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars, respectively. He said it “kind of” set in the night of Round 1 kick-starting the 2024 NFL Draft last Thursday.

READ: Entire UAB football team signs up for Athletes.orgEntire UAB football team signs up for Athletes.org – Saturday Glory

“I was just sitting, laying in bed, and I was texting with Malik and Brian, man, and we were just like, ‘You know, we woke up as pros officially,’” Daniels said. “We’re all on our teams and we’re able to live out our childhood dreams. So it still hasn’t hit me yet but it’s starting to get there.”

READ: Colorado RB Dylan Edwards to transfer to Kansas State

READ: No. 1 pick Caleb Williams says he wants to be part of ‘a big portion’ of winning with Chicago Bears after NFL Draft

Daniels grew up in San Bernardino, California, where he helped lead Cajon High School on multiple deep postseason runs, breaking both school and state records, on the way to becoming a four-star recruit as part of the class of 2019.

He began his college career at Arizona State under head coach Herm Edwards, then transferred before the 2022 season to play for Brian Kelly and LSU. Daniels led the Tigers to a 10-4 record and Citrus Bowl victory his first year before winning the Heisman Trophy after throwing for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns to four interceptions as well as a 10-3 record.

Getting to the NFL was a dream Daniels said he’d had since he was a kid. In fact, he knew he wanted to get there when he was 7 years old.

“I got a blank piece of paper, wrote, ‘I’ll play in the NFL,’ and put it above my door so I’ve seen it every morning,” Daniels said. “The workouts with my dad, you know, when I didn’t want to work out, when I started doubting myself when I was younger, like, ‘Can I really do this, man?’ All the perseverance, I’ve been through the adversity in my life, led me to this point now.”

Daniels credited “the stability I was able to have at LSU” under Kelly and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Joe Sloan and others as a reason for his improvement from his first season as Tigers starting quarterback to his second — which ultimately would be the one he won college football’s top award.

“Same coaching staffs, same coordinators, and you know, it’s just the camaraderie and the trust that me and my guys built this past offseason and being able to find ways to take my game to another level,” Daniels said. “I didn’t want to come back to college to do the same thing I did the year before, so I wanted to take my game to another level. And you know, shout out to LSU and the support staff that helped me out whether that’s the Oculus VR stuff that I was doing or even after practice, the equipment people, the equipment assistants, the students catching footballs for me while when I’m the last one on the field, so I appreciate all of them.”

Daniels is the only player in Football Bowl Subdivision history to pass for 12,000 yards and run for 3,000.

In Week 11 last season, Daniels became the first player in FBS history to throw for 350 yards and 200 yards in the same game when he did it in a 52-35 win over Florida. He said that game “catapulted me back to win the Heisman Trophy.”

READ: Missouri hires Memphis’ Laird Veatch as athletic director

Daniels will now move on to professional football in Washington D.C., where he’ll be coached under a new regime led by Dan Quinn, who has coaching ties to both the NFL and college including a two-year stint at Florida as defensive coordinator from 2011-12.

There have been 12 quarterbacks to start at least one game for the Commanders since they moved on from Kirk Cousins following the 2017 season. Daniels aims to be the one to stick around and lead Washington into the future.

“God put me in this place for a reason,” Daniels said. “My life is already written out. He got a plan. I’m just following it. But that comes with the work at the end of the day. Nothing is given to me. It’s not a given I’m a starter Week 1. I got to go out, I got to earn it. I got to put in the work. I got to learn the playbook, earn the respect of my teammates and go out there and try to win football games.”

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Colorado running back Dylan Edwards will transfer to Kansas State ahead of the 2024 season, and he posted a photo on X of himself in a Wildcats jersey on Sunday.

READ: No. 1 pick Caleb Williams says he wants to be part of ‘a big portion’ of winning with Chicago Bears after NFL Draft

Edwards made an instant impact as a true freshman last season. He earned Colorado’s starting running back role and became the first Colorado true freshman to have the first points of the season since 2002.

READ: Missouri hires Memphis’ Laird Veatch as athletic director

READ: Heisman Trophy Trust reinstates Reggie Bush’s 2005 Heisman

Edwards ran for 321 yards and a touchdown across 76 carries, and he’s a threat to catch a pass as he hauled in 299 yards and four touchdowns through the air. He became the first true freshman in Colorado history with more than 250 rushing and receiving yards in the same year and the ninth Buffaloe to do so.

The Derby, Kansas, native will return to his home state where he developed into a four-star recruit. Edwards earned Gatorade Kansas Player of the Year his junior year of high school when he rushed for 2,603 yards and 38 touchdowns, eclipsing the 100-yard mark in every game.

The Buffaloes will enter Year 2 under head coach Deion Sanders this fall, and they also added former Ohio State running back Dallan Hayden through the transfer portal.

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