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While our readers shared plenty of creative names for a new NCAA subdivision yesterday — NFL2 and Professional Amateur’s Conference among them — my favorite was right in front of us.

“Big (number), but the number has no connection to the number of teams.” It’s a nonsense name that makes complete sense for this sport.

Coaching Updates

Duke, Tulane, JMU still searching

Amid conference championship week and the College Football Playoff field announcement, we haven’t had much time to catch up on the coaching carousel. Here are the top three jobs still on the board:

• Duke (Mike Elko left for Texas A&M): The Athletic has learned that Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz (former Miami HC), Ohio State DC Jim Knowles, Toledo head coach Jason Candle and Troy HC Jon Sumrall are in the mix.
• Tulane (Willie Fritz left for Houston): This is the best job in the AAC, and Bruce Feldman reports Sumrall, Florida State offensive coordinator Alex Atkins and Tulane interim HC Slade Nagle are potential candidates.
• James Madison (Curt Cignetti left for Indiana): Although not the only names in the mix, Holy Cross HC Bob Chesney and Rutgers DC Joe Harasymiak are getting strong consideration.

As for new hires:

All-America Teams

Who got left out?

If you didn’t have time to check out The Athletic’s All-America teams yesterday, be sure to do so today. Let’s start with a program-by-program breakdown.

• Three selections: Georgia, Texas, Notre Dame
• Two selections: LSU, Ohio State, Washington, Michigan, Kansas State, Oregon, Alabama, Iowa, Missouri, Florida State
• One selection: Oklahoma State, Penn State, UCLA, James Madison, Illinois, NC State, Texas A&M, Toledo, Minnesota, Miami (Ohio), Houston, Oregon State, UConn, West Virginia, Louisville, Oklahoma, Clemson, Old Dominion, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Texas State

As with any end-of-season accolades, there are players who just missed the cut. I brought in Matt Brown from The Athletic’s selection panel to discuss the notable nominees not named to our teams:

• Texas RB Jonathan Brooks: “Brooks was a midseason All-America pick who still had a strong case by the end, but he missed the final three games with an injury, and we chose only three running backs because of the depth at wide receiver. The strong second halves of Ollie Gordon II, Cody Schrader and Audric Estime were tough to beat.”
• Penn State DE Chop Robinson: “Robinson is one of the nation’s most disruptive pass rushers for the nation’s top-ranked defense. But the Nittany Lions were more collectively productive than individually as Robinson finished with 7.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. He was more impactful than his stats show, but the competition at DE was steep — even if both Robinson and Penn State DE Adisa Isaac have a case from a team that leads the FBS in sacks.”
• Air Force safety Trey Taylor (a nomination by yours truly): “Trey Taylor is a Thorpe Award finalist who made plays all over the field for one of the nation’s top-ranked pass defenses at Air Force. Cornerback was deeper than safety, however, and we opted for blanket DB designations to ensure that top players from top defenses like Michigan’s Will Johnson, Ohio State’s Denzel Burke and Alabama’s Kool-Aid McKinstry were honored.”

Portal Daily Board

Texas A&M turnover

Of course, yesterday brought more transfer portal frenzy. You can stay up to date on the latest transfer portal news here.

Newest entries to watch:

• Texas A&M TE Jake Johnson: His brother, QB Max, is transferring from Aggieland and has already committed to UNC. Other Aggies entering the portal yesterday were RT Chase Bisontis, CB Tyreek Chappell and DLs Fadil Diggs, Walter Nolen and Micaiah Overton. That makes 13 Aggies in the portal in the past month.
• Marshall QB Cam Fancher: According to a report by WOWK’s Cassidy Wood, the departure of the Thundering Herd’s starting QB doesn’t come as a surprise, as expressed in a (maybe too blunt?) comment from head coach Charles Huff. “There isn’t a lot of money for NIL, and the fans hate him. The kid has been miserable.”
• Indiana RB Jaylin Lucas: A first-team All-America returner last season, Lucas has three career kick-return TDs.
• Hawaii QB Brayden Schager: The Mountain West leader in passing (3,542 yards for 28 TDS with 14 INTs) announced just one week after head coach Timmy Chang shot down rumors of his departure. Sorry, Coach!
• Florida edge Princely Umanmielen: The two-year starter racked up 91 pressures, 24.5 TFLs and 15 sacks per Pro Football Focus.

Movement and commitments:

Quick Snaps

My fellow editor Mitch Light dove into some interesting stats on how recruiting rankings correlate to NFL Draft selections. Top-100 DE recruits in the 2009 through 2018 recruiting classes were drafted more often than any other position while top-100 tackles turned into the most first-round picks.

College football is going through an evolution that is simultaneously ugly and beautiful, columnist Jim Trotter writes today. But why has the sport always feared the unknown?

Kirk Herbstreit’s dog Ben has become a social media star. Tess DeMeyer takes us inside the life of the jet-setting golden retriever.

Michigan’s offense got its toughest challenge against Iowa. What do the Wolverines need to clean up before their Playoff game with Alabama?

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(Top photo of Manny Diaz: Michael Hickey / Getty Images)

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