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🏈 Good morning to everybody, however particularly to …

BO NIX (AND THE TRANSFER PORTAL)

Meet your latest quarterback, Broncos followers. On your sakes, I hope this one sticks. Sean Payton introduced rookie Bo Nix would be the crew’s Week 1 starter. As I discussed a couple of days in the past, he’ll be the franchise’s first rookie quarterback to start out Week 1 since John Elway in 1983. No strain!

• Nix, the twelfth choose within the draft, beat out Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson for the job. They weren’t the stiffest competitors, certain, however credit score Nix for going out and taking the spot: He is 23 for 30 for 205 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions via two preseason video games.
• Nix will probably be Denver’s 14th completely different starter behind heart since Peyton Manning retired after successful Tremendous Bowl 50. Solely two of these 14 — Brett Rypien and Trevor Siemian — have a successful report.

Nix, 24, was a little bit of a divisive prospect. Whereas he put up large numbers at Oregon, they got here in his fifth yr and as a part of a terrific scheme that featured excellent help and beaucoup brief throws. Nonetheless, his accuracy and talent to play on time — one thing he discovered as a Duck — might be an awesome match for Payton’s exact offense and proved him one of many switch portal’s high latest success tales, David Cobb writes.

• Cobb: “Along with Nix, the Bears‘ Caleb Williams (Oklahoma to USC) and the Commanders‘ Jayden Daniels (Arizona State to LSU) are starting their rookie season as starters within the NFL following two years of prolific manufacturing at their respective second colleges. … The switch portal is an imperfect system, certain. However look no additional than the highest of the Broncos’ depth chart for a reminder of the life-changing energy that comes with freedom of motion for faculty athletes.”

👍 Honorable mentions

👎 Not so honorable mentions

🏈 SEC knowledgeable picks: Who’s overrated in loaded convention?

Ah, sure, right here we’re. The SEC. The convention that is house to 4 of the final 5 nationwide champions can be house to 4 of the highest six groups on this preseason’s AP Prime 25: No. 1 Georgia, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Alabama and No. 6 Ole Miss.

Six of our eight specialists are backing the Bulldogs as convention champions, however David defined why he went with the Longhorns.

• Cobb: “Texas faces a manageable schedule in its first season as a part of the SEC. Whereas the Longhorns should play Georgia, that sport is at house on Oct. 19. Preseason top-15 groups from the AP Prime 25 reminiscent of Alabama, Ole Miss, Missouri, LSU and Tennessee are every absent from the slate. … With continuity at quarterback and within the head coach/coordinator spots, the Longhorns are poised to rifle via this slate.”

The rankings and the general public perceptions communicate to the SEC’s energy. Not solely are there 4 groups within the high six, however 9 within the high 20. So, which crew will not reside as much as that hype? Shehan Jeyarajah says …

• Jeyarajah: “LSU — The Tigers misplaced their high passer, high two rushers, high two receivers … Flipping playcallers on each side of the ball and counting on a bunch of unproven choices to tackle starring roles makes it tough to see LSU severely touchdown within the Faculty Soccer Playoff dialogue like a preseason No. 13 rating would possibly assume.”

Brandon Marcello, in the meantime, polled out SEC crew specialists about high issues for every program, and even with all of the adjustments on offense, Bryce Koon of Geaux247 says the protection is the largest fear in Baton Rouge.

Lastly, the SEC would not simply have a brand new look as a result of Texas and Oklahoma joined. The convention can be going divisionless, which means there might be so many tiebreakers it will make your head spin. Wednesday, the SEC introduced the following order of tiebreakers.

1. Head-to-head competitors among the many tied groups
2. Report in opposition to all widespread convention opponents among the many tied groups
3. Report in opposition to highest-placed widespread convention opponent within the convention standings, continuing all through the convention standings. 
4. Cumulative convention successful share of all convention opponents
5. Capped relative complete scoring margin vs. all convention opponents
6. Random draw of the tied groups

Random attracts?! Let’s get loopy.

🏀 Which faculty basketball applications have the perfect NIL setup?

Matt Norlander and Gary Parrish have carried out their glorious “Candid Coaches” collection since 2012, and identical to faculty coaches themselves, they’ve adjusted so as to add NIL to the curriculum. This one caught my eye: Which applications do coaches imagine have the perfect NIL?

They requested for lists of three. And the most well-liked, unsurprisingly, was Arkansas. The Razorbacks employed John Calipari this offseason, and as one coach mentioned, “You recognize Cal. He isn’t going wherever until he has all the pieces in place.”

Right here was the highest 5:

1. Arkansas: 73.7% of ballots
2. Kansas: 43.2%
3. BYU: 30.6%
4. Kentucky: 25.3%
5. Indiana: 16.9%

However not far off that checklist was Louisville, the once-proud program that has fallen on actually onerous instances of late. The Cardinals appeared on 11.6% of ballots, they usually helped produce my favourite quote from the story: “They’re handing out f—ing cash prefer it’s Monopoly.”

That is one candid coach certainly!

In case you missed it, Matt and Gary additionally polled coaches on “What’s probably the most somebody has requested you to pay a participant?”

⚾ Joey Votto retires. Is he a Corridor of Famer?

Joey Votto known as it a profession, retiring after 17 MLB seasons, all spent with the Reds. He signed with the Blue Jays this offseason however did not crack the majors for them.

Listed here are the numbers and accolades:

• 2010 NL MVP, 2011 NL Gold Glove at first base, six-time All-Star; six top-seven MVP finishes
• Led the NL in on-base share seven instances (led all of MLB twice); led NL in on-base plus slugging twice
• Profession .294/.409/.511 hitter with 2,135 hits and 1,365 walks
• In Reds historical past, he ranks … First in walks; second in OPS, house runs, complete bases; third in RBI; fourth fourth in WAR, runs

So … is he a Corridor of Famer? Matt Snyder — who has a vote — dove headfirst into Votto’s candidacy for Cooperstown.

• Snyder: “I at all times thought-about him a Corridor of Fame-caliber participant. When he was really locked in, watching his plate appearances was so aesthetically pleasing. You so not often see gamers work a pitcher like he did. … It may not occur on the primary poll, however I do imagine Votto will get in. He needed to struggle via a number of nonsense from naysayers, however I believe he emerged much more revered than he was earlier than. The dearth of benchmarks and postseason success means it’d take a couple of years, however in the long run, I believe his resume is greater than ok to get him in.”

📺 What we’re watching Thursday

⚾ Guardians at Yankees or Rockies at Nationals, 1:05 p.m. on MLB Community
⚾ Phillies at Braves or Astros at Orioles, 7:15 p.m. on Fox
🏈 Preseason: Colts at Bengals, 8 p.m. on Prime Video
🏈 Preseason: Bears at Chiefs, 8:20 p.m. on NFL Community