Fisher names King starting QB for No. 6 Texas A&M in opener

Associated PressAug 29, 2022, 5:53 PM EDT

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Haynes King will start for the sixth-ranked Texas A&M Aggies in their opener against Sam Houston State.

Coach Jimbo Fisher announced that King had won the job after vying with Max Johnson and Conner Weigman during camp.

“We felt Haynes had a great camp and puts us in a great spot to be successful going in right now,” Fisher said. “That’s what we believe. There’s no one thing. It’s a multitude of things on a daily basis. From on-field, off-field, throwing, running, reading, checking.”

King won the job last year and threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns in Texas A&M’s season-opening 41-10 win over Kent State. But he broke his right leg in the first quarter of the team’s second game against Colorado and missed the remainder of the season.

Zach Calzada started the rest of the season before transferring to Auburn.

Receiver Ainias Smith said he’s seen a lot of growth in King from last year to now.

“I can definitely say he’s matured a lot,” Smith said. “That leadership role that he’s stepping into definitely changed. He’s not going to be the type of person to sit back and stay quiet.”

Fisher said Johnson, who was the starter at LSU last season before transferring to A&M, would back up King. Johnson, the son of Super Bowl-winning QB Brad Johnson, threw for 2,815 yards with 27 touchdowns and six interceptions for the Tigers.

Weigman, a five-star prospect and one of the stars of Fisher’s top-ranked recruiting class, will be the team’s third quarterback.

Fisher said it was a tough decision because all three quarterbacks performed well in camp.

“It took a while because you had guys that were matching each other,” he said. “Guys played very well off of each other and kept pushing each other. But we had to make a decision for the first game.”

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.