Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer, who led the team in sacks and is a former No. 1 overall recruit, will return to the Buckeyes for the 2024 season.
Sawyer, who had hinted at a return last month, announced his decision Friday on social media. He completed his best season as a Buckeye in 2023, recording 6.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles and 3 quarterback hurries.
The 6-foot-4, 265-pound junior earned second-team All-Big Ten honors from the media and third-team honors from the coaches. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. rated Sawyer as the No. 8 eligible defensive end prospect for the 2024 NFL draft.
He will rejoin lineman Tyleik Williams, who announced his return Wednesday. Ohio State is awaiting a decision from defensive end JT Tuimoloau, Kiper’s No. 2 defensive end prospect, who has played opposite Sawyer throughout their careers.
Sawyer was ESPN’s No. 1 overall recruit in the 2021 class out of Pickerington, Ohio. He has 13.5 sacks, 18 tackles for loss and 3 forced fumbles in his career.
Veteran defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, who just finished his third stint at Alabama under Nick Saban, plans to retire from coaching, sources told ESPN.
Steele, who turns 66 in March, just completed his 40th year in coaching, including 13 years in the SEC. Steele was a finalist for the Broyles Award in 2017 as the top assistant in college football while the defensive coordinator at Auburn.
Alabama was second in the SEC in scoring defense this season and tied for 16th nationally (allowing 19 points per game).
Steele spent the 2022 season as Miami’s defensive coordinator before returning to Alabama to be the Crimson Tide’s defensive coordinator in 2023. Steele has been a defensive coordinator for 12 of his years in coaching at five different schools — Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, LSU and Miami.
A former player at Tennessee, Steele has coached under some of the biggest names in the sport. In addition to Saban, Steele has worked under Bobby Bowden, Tom Osborne, Dabo Swinney and Johnny Majors. Steele also coached in the NFL as linebackers coach for the Carolina Panthers from 1995 to 1998 and was Baylor’s head coach from 1999 to 2002, where he was fired after going 9-36 in four seasons.
Saban now has three openings on his coaching staff. Coleman Hutzler, who coached outside linebackers and special teams, left to be Mississippi State’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Holmon Wiggins, who coached receivers, left for a job at Texas A&M to be co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach.
HOUSTON — The College Football Playoff and ESPN are in the midst of negotiations to maintain the network as the sole rights holder of the event for the next eight years, sources told ESPN on Monday.
The deal would include the final two years on the current CFP contract plus a new six-year agreement for the next iteration of the playoff, sources told ESPN.
If ESPN remains the sole rights holder, it would be a significant change from what the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick had originally wanted, as all had been in agreement that multiple broadcast partners — a model similar to what the NFL has — would be best for college football.
While nothing has been finalized and negotiations are ongoing, sources indicated that ESPN is considering paying approximately $1.3 billion for the rights to the new six-year deal starting in the 2026 season.
ESPN is the sole rights holder in the current, 12-year contract, which expires following the 2025 season. The CFP will expand from four to 12 teams this fall.
CFP executive director Bill Hancock said the organization is no longer in the exclusive negotiating window with ESPN.
“I have to say, this is a negotiation, and so I’m not going to be able to tell you much about it,” Hancock said. “We’re happy with where we are and not quite to the finish line yet.”
A sublicense agreement was a sticking point that has been settled, according to sources. The agreement would give ESPN the ability to sell the rights to some of the games — something Fox Sports would be interested in, sources indicated.
Hancock said that if ESPN were to sublicense any games, the presidents would have to approve it.
The 10 FBS commissioners and Swarbrick convened with the 11 presidents and chancellors who control the CFP for their annual meeting Monday morning before No. 1 Michigan faced No. 2 Washington in the CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T. While nothing concrete has been settled about the future TV rights in the new contract, sources told ESPN that it’s something that all parties are eager to finalize.
