Ohio State pushes four assistants above the $1 million mark

By Zach BarnettMar 9, 2020, 2:07 PM EDT

In 2019, Ohio State had one assistant earn at least $1 million in base salary. In 2020, it’ll have four.

The Buckeyes on Monday revealed that new defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs, offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, co-defensive coordinator Greg Mattison and defensive line coach Larry Johnson have all joined the 7-figure club.

Coombs leads the pack at $1.4 million, a whopping $900,000 raise from his last season at Ohio State in 2017. Wilson will earn $1.2 million, a $250,000 raise from last year. Mattison and Johnson will both earn $1.133 million; Mattison was Ohio State’s lone $1 million earner last year ($1.1 million), while Johnson made $900,000.

With the moves, Ohio State is the first college football programs to pay a quartet of assistants top the $1 million mark, besting the 2019 Clemson staff’s three. The Tigers dropped from three to two in 2020 with Jeff Scott‘s departure for South Florida, but Clemson will still pay its assistants ($8.145 million) slightly more than Ohio State ($8 million).

All ten of Ryan Day‘s assistants are under contract through the next two seasons, with the four millionaires plus offensive line coach Greg Studrawa, wide receivers coach Brian Hartline, special teams coordinator/assistant secondary coach Matt Barnes and quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis are under contract through 2022.

“I couldn’t have been more impressed with the performance of our coaching staff under the direction of Ryan Day in 2019,” Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said in a statement. “What they accomplished both on the field and in the way they led and mentored our student-athletes was exemplary. We look forward to much of the same in 2020.”

Vick, Fitzgerald and Suggs among stars on College Football Hall of Fame ballot for 1st time

Associated PressJun 5, 2023, 9:04 PM EDT

RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Vick, Larry Fitzgerald and Terrell Suggs are among the college football stars who will be considered for induction to the Hall of Fame for the first time this year.

The National Football Foundation released Monday a list of 78 players and nine coaches from major college football who are on the Hall of Fame ballot. There also are 101 players and 32 coaches from lower divisions of college football up for consideration.

Vick, who led Virginia Tech to the BCS championship game against Florida State as a redshirt freshman in 1999, is among the most notable players appearing on the ballot in his first year of eligibility.

Vick finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1999. He played one season of college football before being drafted No. 1 overall by the Atlanta Falcons in 2001. Vick’s professional career was interrupted when he served 21 months in prison for his involvement in dog fighting.

Fitzgerald was the Heisman runner-up in 2003 to Oklahoma quarterback Jason White. He scored 34 touchdowns in just two seasons at Pitt.

Suggs led the nation in sacks with 24 in 2002 for Arizona State.

The 2024 Hall of Fame class will be chosen by the National Football Foundation’s Honors Court and announced in January. Induction into the Atlanta-based hall is the following December.

Alabama freshman DB Mitchell says he wasn’t sure he’d get to play again after arrest

Associated PressJun 5, 2023, 8:59 PM EDT

Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama defensive back Tony Mitchell said he feared his football career was over after his arrest on a drug charge.

The Crimson Tide freshman said in a video posted Sunday on social media that he knew “something much bigger could have happened.”

A judge in Holmes County, Florida, sentenced Mitchell to three years of probation with a fine and community service on May 24 after Mitchell pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of more than 20 grams of cannabis.

“I didn’t know if I’d be able to play football again, but I continued to work out and stay close with the Lord and those who love me unconditionally,” Mitchell said. “During those times, it helped me to keep my mind off it. But when I was by myself looking at social media, what everybody had to say about it, it just felt like it happened again.

“I didn’t sleep at night.”

He was suspended from the Alabama team following the arrest, but Mitchell’s father, Tony Sr., posted on Facebook last week that the defensive back had been reinstated. An Alabama spokesman declined to comment on Mitchell’s status.

Tony Mitchell Sr. shared his son’s video on Facebook, saying it was filmed during a talk to youth.

“I was doing things I knew I shouldn’t to try to fit in,” the younger Mitchell said, “but not everybody’s your friend.”

Mitchell, who is from Alabaster, Alabama, was a four-star prospect and the 15th-rated safety in the 247Composite rankings.

He had been charged in March with possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell after a traffic stop when authorities said he drove over 141 mph (227 kph) while trying to evade deputies in the Florida Panhandle. A deputy had spotted Mitchell’s black Dodge Challenger traveling 78 mph (125 kph) in a 55 mph (88 kph) zone on a rural highway north of Bonifay.

He also received 100 hours of community service and paid a fine of $1,560.

Mitchell and a passenger were both charged with possession of marijuana with the intent to sell or deliver, according to a Holmes County Sheriff’s Office arrest report. The other man also was charged with carrying a concealed gun without a permit.