Category: NCAA Football (NCAAF)

Arkansas defensive tackle recruit Dion Stutts died in an ATV accident this week. He was 18.

He crashed Tuesday on his family’s property in Batesville, Miss., the Panola County sheriff confirmed.

Stutts was a three-star recruit who committed to the Razorbacks’ Class of 2024 in March.

“We are heartbroken over the passing of Dion Stutts,” the Arkansas football team said in a statement. “He was a tremendous young man with a bright future ahead of him. We were as excited to add him to our program as he was to be a Razorback. Our thoughts and prayers are with his mother Shante and father Dino along with his entire family as they deal with this loss.”

–Field Level Media

Jordan Thomas, a four-star defensive lineman in the Class of 2024, committed to two-time defending national champion Georgia on Tuesday.

Thomas is ranked No. 105 overall in his class and the No. 13 defensive lineman, per the 247Sports composite rankings. He is the top-ranked player from New Jersey entering his senior year at football power Don Bosco Prep.

Thomas chose the Bulldogs over finalists Florida, Rutgers and Tennessee.

“The thing that stood out about them is how the coaches hold their players to a high standard,” Thomas told On3 Sports regarding Kirby Smart and his staff. “They are great and I’m really close with them.”

The 6-foot-6, 315-pounder will head to a Georgia program that has churned out NFL players, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The Bulldogs had five defensive players drafted in 2023, eight in 2022 and six in 2021.

–Field Level Media

The board of trustees at South Florida approved a plan Tuesday for a new on-campus stadium that will cost an estimated $340 million and be ready for use by fall of 2026.

The new stadium will hold 35,000.

The board approved debt spending of $200 million. The remaining $140 million will come from four other sources, including $81 million from future capital gifts ($50M) and the capital improvement trust fund ($31M), according to a news release.

Raymond James Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is the current home of the Bulls. USF opened a new $22 million indoor football facility in January.

The Bulls are coming off a 1-11 season and are 4-29 over the past three seasons.

–Field Level Media