Today: Untold moments from the '26 recruiting cycle, Gus Malzahn reflects, MBB bubble watch, and Bret Bielema's NFL sojourn.

~8 minute read (1,880 words)

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NATIONAL SIGNING DAY

Behind the scenes: The unreported twists and turns of the 2026 recruiting cycle

Zion Elee, Tristen Keys, Ryder Lyons, Richard Wesley

Recruiting isn't just about stars and rankings; it's a high-stakes chess match that is played out in living rooms and high school bleachers across the country. Behind every signed National Letter of Intent is a story—sometimes messy, usually chaotic, and always more interesting than the official highlights.

Here's what really happened behind the scenes in several of the most fascinating recruitments in the 2026 class.

🐅 Brian Kelly's hands-off approach cost LSU

Five-star receiver Tristen Keys initially pledged to LSU in March after a strong run of visits, but Brian Kelly's limited involvement quickly became noticeable. While other head coaches stayed aggressive with communication, Kelly remained passive, even during Keys' official visit in June. That contrast did not go unnoticed. Keys told other recruits he was leaning away from LSU shortly thereafter and ultimately flipped to Tennessee in August. What looked solid early quietly unraveled due to a lack of urgency from the top.

🐢 Zion Elee's recruitment was far from uncontested

Zion Elee's commitment to Maryland surprised some, but it was anything but uncontested. While the hometown Terps pushed hard from the start, Auburn generated early buzz in the spring before South Carolina emerged as the most serious challenger. After an October official visit to Columbia that sparked drama afterward, communication with the Gamecocks stayed strong deep into December. South Carolina believed a late flip was realistic, and Elee gave it real consideration before ultimately signing with Maryland. The Terps held on, but not without pressure.

🦆 Richard Wesley's camp was incensed by Oregon commitment

Richard Wesley's surprise May commitment to Oregon, capped by a viral pool jump with Dan Lanning, immediately created tension behind the scenes. Wesley's father and agent were not present and had explicitly told him not to commit during the visit. The family believed Wesley was pressured, and trust eroded quickly despite Oregon's attempts to repair the relationship. Texas surged soon after, Wesley decommitted two weeks later, and the Longhorns ultimately closed on his official visit while Oregon's bridge quietly burned.

🤘 Texas outbid Georgia for James Johnson

James Johnson looked destined for Miami after a brief Georgia commitment, but Texas changed the equation with a stronger NIL offer. The Longhorns flipped Johnson after just two weeks with the Bulldogs, outpacing both Georgia and Miami. After an injury cut his season short, Miami backed off, and Johnson signed with Texas during the early period. What felt inevitable for the Hurricanes ended with Texas flexing late financial muscle.

🐘 Alabama's misstep with Boobie Feaster cost them

Alabama was the early favorite for Boobie Feaster until a comment during a visit that he was "wanted but not needed" rubbed the family the wrong way. Alabama quickly faded as USC, LSU, and Texas A&M surged. Feaster's long-standing relationship with Lincoln Riley and Dennis Simmons, combined with USC's staff stability, proved decisive. Despite a late Texas A&M push, the comfort level at USC held firm.

🌰 Khary Wilder committed to Ohio State during UCLA visit

Khary Wilder did not commit to the Buckeyes while visiting Ohio State. He committed while visiting UCLA. After being blown away on his Buckeyes official visit, Wilder entered his UCLA trip with Ohio State leading. When Ohio State delivered its NIL offer late Friday night, Wilder committed basically on the spot. UCLA was caught flat-footed and never had a chance to counter. Wilder informed the Bruins the next day and cut the visit short, giving Ohio State a major late-cycle win.

Read all of the unreported drama from Rivals.

NCAA FOOTBALL

Never big on huddling, Gus Malzahn slows down after leaving his mark on the SEC

Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from a longer feature from Chris Low.

Gus Malzhan will always be proud of his high school coaching roots and his unconventional journey to the college ranks.

At 25, Malzahn got his coaching start in 1991 — as a defensive coordinator, no less — at Hughes High School in the Arkansas Delta, not too far from the Mississippi River. The next year, he was promoted to head coach, and within three years, he had Hughes in the state championship game.

A decade later, he made the enormous jump to the SEC as Arkansas' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach despite having no previous college coaching experience.

On Monday, Malzahn announced his retirement after 35 years in coaching, including this past season at Florida State as the Seminoles' offensive coordinator. Malzahn owns the distinction of being the game's only person to win 100-plus games as an FBS head coach in college (105) and 100-plus games as a high school head coach (144).

At the rate Joey McGuire is going at Texas Tech, he could join Malzahn on that list somewhere down the road.

But for now, Malzahn is one of one, and when you peel back the layers of his coaching career, the impact he had on the game during his 11 seasons at Auburn (eight as head coach and three as offensive coordinator) is still being felt around the sport. He helped revolutionize the SEC by daring to bring with him from the high school ranks a warp-speed, no-huddle offense filled with misdirection and option principles that spread defenses out and then pounded them with the running game.

Not only that, but Malzahn was one of the few coaches to beat Nick Saban (at least some) during a time when Saban was devouring the rest of the SEC and college football.

"That was a special time at Auburn, the players and coaches we had. Counting my time as an assistant, in 11 years at Auburn, we won a national championship, two SEC championships and played in three SEC championship games," Malzahn told On3 this week. "And we were doing things on offense nobody else was really doing back then in the SEC."

Indeed, the Tigers set the SEC rushing record in 2013, Malzahn's first season as head coach, with 4,596 yards on their way to an appearance in the national championship game, where they lost 34-31 to Florida State in the final seconds. During four of his first five seasons, Auburn finished in the Top 25 of the final AP poll. And in those first two seasons, Auburn operated at a blistering pace on offense with one of the best athletes in the league, Nick Marshall, carving defenses apart with run-pass option plays from the quarterback position.

"It was a huge advantage when we were the first ones to play that way. Nobody was used to seeing it, and now everybody's doing some version of it," Malzahn said.

Read the full interview with Malzahn.

NCAA BASKETBALL

2026 NCAA Tournament Predictions: Bubble watch sees new teams enter the mix

Johnny Dawkins, Danny Sprinkle, Mike White, Jai Lucas

The NCAA Tournament bubble has remained largely stagnant over the past month, with most teams moving only incrementally as resumes continue to resemble one another. Without a clear surge from the pack, several teams have quietly worked their way into the conversation, while others have slipped after missed opportunities.

At this stage, positioning remains extremely fluid. Teams sitting on the 8-line or better are generally safe, while those hovering around the 9-line are likely in but still vulnerable. Programs below the Next Four Out category still have significant work to do as February unfolds.

Here is a look at the teams whose stock is trending up, and whose is trending down.

📈 Stock Up

UCF: UCF delivered one of the most impactful bubble wins of the week by defeating Texas Tech, extending its Big 12 winning streak to three games. That result strengthened an already impressive 17-4 overall record and helped separate the Knights from the congested middle of the bubble. The schedule remains unforgiving, beginning with a matchup against Houston that could firmly remove UCF from bubble discussions. A manageable stretch afterward should determine where the Knights ultimately land on the seed line.

Washington: Washington's overall record remains a concern at 12-10, but a weekend win over Northwestern moved the Huskies slightly upward in the metrics. At 4-7 in Big Ten play, Washington is still on the wrong side of the cut line, but upcoming games against Iowa and UCLA present opportunities to make a move quickly. To feel secure, the Huskies will need to pair quality wins with better overall results in a demanding conference.

California: Cal has quietly positioned itself in the bubble picture by winning three of its last four games. Victories over North Carolina, Stanford, and Miami helped offset a stumble against Florida State and showed tangible momentum. The Golden Bears still have some resume holes to address, but upcoming games against Georgia Tech and Clemson give them a chance to continue climbing.

📉 Stock Down

Georgia: UGA dropped its final three games of January and slid into bubble territory following a loss to Texas A&M. The Bulldogs now sit at 4-5 in SEC play after once projecting as high as a 6-seed earlier in the season. February offers a chance to reset, beginning with a critical matchup against LSU that could stabilize the resume.

Miami: The U still boasts a strong 17-5 overall record, but a loss to Cal stalled what could've been a move above the bubble. The Hurricanes continue to lack strength in Quadrant 1, an issue as peers add quality wins. While Miami is not in immediate danger of falling out, an upcoming game against Boston College carries importance to prevent further damage.

TCU: TCU followed recent upward momentum with an 0-2 week, losing to Houston and Colorado. While the loss to Houston is understandable, the defeat against Colorado stands out as a blemish when compared to other bubble teams. The Horned Frogs have a chance to steady themselves against Kansas State before another opportunity to boost their resume against Iowa State.

See the full tournament projections by conference.

🚨Headlines

NCAA FOOTBALL

An NFL sojourn prepared Illinois coach Bret Bielema for the world college football has become

Eight years ago, as Super Bowl weekend approached, Bret Bielema had no clear plan for what came next. He had been fired at Arkansas two months earlier and sounded burned out on college football. NFL teams had expressed interest. Television was an option. And in an interview at the time, Bielema openly questioned whether the college game was still worth it.

That uncertainty led him to the NFL. Bielema spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons working with Bill Belichick and the Patriots, celebrating a Super Bowl win after New England shut down the Rams. He followed that with a season with the Giants before returning to college football at Illinois.

Now, as another Super Bowl weekend arrives, Bielema sounds nothing like the coach he was eight years ago. Illinois has won 19 games over the past two seasons, and Bielema is openly optimistic about the future. He believes this is the best era there has ever been to be a college head coach, provided coaches are willing to accept change and adapt.

That shift in perspective traces directly to his time in the NFL, which helped him understand where college football was heading. When Bielema coached at Arkansas and Wisconsin, recruiting advantages were often determined by things that operated in the shadows. A handful of programs could hoard elite talent, stash future NFL players on the bench, and create ceilings for everyone else.

Bielema experienced that reality firsthand. At Arkansas, the SEC West was dominated by Alabama, LSU, and Auburn. At Wisconsin, he won Big Ten titles in an era when programs were recruiting for Rose Bowls rather than national championships. Once recruiting escalated across the sport, those structural disadvantages became harder to overcome.

By the time Bielema returned to college football at Illinois, the landscape had changed. Transfer rules loosened. NIL laws passed. Elite programs could no longer stockpile talent indefinitely. The balance of power shifted from waterfalls and follower counts to direct compensation.

Unlike many coaches, Bielema embraced the change. His NFL experience helped him understand roster construction in a world that blended development with movement. At Illinois, he structured his recruiting department like an NFL personnel office, separating high school scouting from portal evaluation before many programs followed suit.

That approach reshaped Illinois' roster. Bielema still values development, as seen in players like Devon Witherspoon and Gabe Jacas, but he now supplements those success stories with targeted portal additions. Quarterback Luke Altmyer arrived from Ole Miss when Bielema needed stability. His replacement, Katin Houser, followed a similar path after developing at East Carolina.

The Illini have prioritized retention with players like Xavier Scott and Matt Bailey while reinforcing key spots with experienced transfers such as center Jake Renfro. On defense, the personnel suggests schematic change, and Bielema hinted that the Super Bowl will give a preview of it.

Nothing about this evolution feels accidental. Bielema has said his NFL sojourn was a breath of fresh air. It reset his outlook, and that's accurate. It breathed new life into Bielema, and it prepared him to be a better college coach.

Read Andy Staples' full story here.

TRIVIA

Now here's a guy...

Below, you'll find 3 facts about a random college football player. You'll try to guess who the player is based on the facts. Let's go.

I started multiple seasons at left tackle at Wisconsin, served as an offensive captain, and finished my college career as a unanimous All-American and Outland Trophy winner.
I helped power dominant Badgers rushing attacks for Brian Calhoun and P.J. Hill, won back-to-back Capital One Bowls, and also competed in shot put and discus for Wisconsin.
I was drafted third overall in 2007, made 10 straight Pro Bowls, played more than 10,000 consecutive snaps, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot.

Answer at the bottom.

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