Kendal Briles returns to Big 12 as TCU offensive coordinator

Associated PressJan 20, 2023, 12:43 AM EST

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FORT WORTH, Texas — Kendal Briles is headed back to the Big 12 as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at TCU, leaving Arkansas after three seasons.

The former Baylor assistant takes over for Garrett Riley. The younger brother of Southern California coach Lincoln Riley is taking over play-calling at Clemson.

Briles served under his dad, former Baylor coach Art Briles. The elder Briles was fired in 2016 because of allegations of sexual assault by football players.

Kendal Briles was a finalist for the 2015 Broyles Award, which goes to the nation’s top assistant coach, in his first season as Baylor’s offensive coordinator. He stayed on for another year after Art Briles was fired.

TCU will be Kendal Briles’ fifth stop as an offensive coordinator since leaving Baylor. He served in that role for one season each at Florida Atlantic, Florida State and Houston before joining the Razorbacks in 2020.

Arkansas ranked seventh nationally in rushing last season at 237 yards per game and 15th in total offense at 471. The Razorbacks finished with 3,075 yards rushing, their most in 19 years.

Briles inherits an offense that helped the Horned Frogs to a 13-2 finish that included a College Football Playoff semifinal victory over Michigan before a 65-7 loss to Georgia in the title game.

Quarterback Max Duggan, the Heisman Trophy runner-up who threw for 32 touchdowns with eight interceptions and ran for nine more scores, is skipping a final season of eligibility to turn pro.

Briles was a Texas state championship-winning high school quarterback at Stephenville in 1999 before Art Briles, the head coach, took a job as an assistant at Texas Tech. The younger Briles led Wolfforth Frenship to the state semifinals as a senior.

South Carolina gives AD Tanner raise, two-year extension

Associated PressMar 18, 2023, 4:44 PM EDT

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COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner received a two-year contract extension that ties him to the school through June 2026.

Tanner, 64, is a two-time College World Series champion as the Gamecocks’ baseball coach who moved to leading the athletic department in July 2012.

The new deal was approved by the school’s board of trustees Friday and replaces Tanner’s old agreement that was set to expire in June 2024. Tanner will receive a raise of more than $153,000 per season, increasing his total compensation to $1.175 million.

Tanner has had his ups and downs leading the department. He took over when football coach Steve Spurrier was in the middle of three straight 11-2 seasons with players like defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney and receiver Alshon Jeffrey.

Tanner’s hire to replace Spurrier, Will Muschamp, lasted less than five seasons before he was let go in the middle of 2020. Muschamp’s replacement, current coach Shane Beamer, has had back-to-back winning seasons and been to a bowl game his first two yeas.

Tanner has also overseen the rise of women’s basketball under coach Dawn Staley, who signed a seven-year contract before the 2021-22 season worth $22.4 million. Staley and the Gamecocks won the national title last April and are favorites to repeat this season.

Michigan RB Blake Corum says he’ll be back by fall camp

Associated PressMar 16, 2023, 1:14 PM EDT

Junfu Han/USA TODAY NETWORK

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan All-America running back Blake Corum said his surgically repaired left knee has gotten strong enough that he’s been cleared to run on an anti-gravity treadmill next week.

Corum said that he is “100%” sure he will play in the season-opening game on Sept. 2 against East Carolina

Corum tore a meniscus and sprained a ligament in his left knee against Illinois on Nov. 19. After playing sparingly against Ohio State, he sat out when the Wolverines won the Big Ten title and advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Instead of entering the NFL draft, Corum decided to stay in school for his senior year.

“Feeling great all-around mentally, physically spiritually,” Corum told The Associated Press.

The 5-foot-8, 210-pound Corum ran for 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns last season and had 952 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2021.

“I’ll be back definitely by fall camp,” he said. “I plan on doing everything in the summer workouts, depending on on what doctor says. He told me I shouldn’t be cutting until maybe June. I’m taking my time, but I will be ready by the season.”

Corum will be watching when his teammates face each each other in the Maize and Blue spring game on April 1 at Michigan Stadium.