grading the 2020 nfl draft by team

May 1 - May 7, 2020 Vol. 18, Issue 36 www . s p o r t s p agd fw . c om F R E E

Grading the 2020NFL Draft by team

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AROUND THE AREA

RANGER REPORTBY DIC HUMPHREY

GOLF, ETC.BY TOM WARD

GREEN MILE CHANGES AHEADOF THE PRESIDENTS CUPBY PGATOUR.COM

AROUND THE PGA BY PGATOUR.COM

GRADING THE 2020 NFL DRAFTBY TEAM BY NFL.COM

COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS ANDNOTESBY BO CARTER

AUTO REVIEWBY KBB.COM

THE TICKET WINDOW

RESTAURANT REVIEWBY RICHARD POLLAK

May 1, 2020 - May 7, 2020Vol. 18, Issue 36

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LOCAL NEWS OF INTERESTAROUND THE AREA

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Cover Photo:

Matchups set for the 2020 Big East-Big12 Challenge

The 2020 Big East-Big 12 Battlematchups have been set according to CBSSports College Basketball Insider JonRothstein. The annual tournament began in2019 and runs through the 2022-2023 sea-son.

The slate has several prime matchups.The main attraction features Creighton fac-ing Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse. There isVillanova taking on Texas in Austin and apotentially high-scoring matchup betweenOklahoma State and Marquette.

Other games include Baylor at SetonHall; Providence at TCU; St. John’s atTexas Tech; Oklahoma at Xavier; WestVirginia at Georgetown; DePaul at IowaState; and Kansas St. at Butler.

Last season, the Big East went 8-2against the Big 12. Villanova capped theBig East’s strong showing by knocking offthen No. 1 Kansas 56-55 in the final sec-onds. The conference won each game byan average of nearly eight points.Providence had the biggest victory with a22-point win over Texas.

The 2020 matchups will feature seventalented freshmen ranked inside the top-50of 247Sports rankings. Oklahoma Statesignee Cade Cunningham leads the groupas the nation’s No. 2 overall recruit. Texas

phenom Greg Brown is No. 10 overall andKansas freshman Bryce Thompson is No.15 overall.

In NBC Sports’ preseason top-25, theconference had six teams make the list.Villanova claimed the top spot as Baylorwas ranked third. Kansas ranked sixth andTexas Tech ranked seventh. West Virginiaand Creighton rounded out the top teams.Some of the top returnees includeVillanova senior Collin Gillespie (15.1points per game) and sophomore JeremiahRobinson-Earl (10.5 ppg and 9.4 rebs).Kansas is loaded with several wings withthe addition of Thompson and returningscorer Ochai Agbaji (10.0 ppg). WestVirginia will have leading scorer OscarTshiebwe (11.2 ppg) back as well.

Volunteers of America Classic DatesMove to Nov. 30 – December 6, 2020

Tournament organizers alongside theLPGA announce today that the Volunteersof America Classic LPGA event will nowtake place November 30 – December 6,2020 in The Colony, TX. Players will bevying for a $1.75 million purse, a signifi-cant increase from the previous $1.3 mil-lion purse. The event was originally sched-uled for Sept. 28 – October 4 of this year.

“We are a proud partner of the LPGAand are very pleased to have the opportuni-ty to bring this event back to The Colony,TX,” said Volunteers of America CEO,Mike King.

Golf Clubs at The Tribute is excited tohost the event for the third consecutiveyear on its Old American course whilewelcoming back defending champion andTexas native, Cheyenne Knight, alongsidefellow Texas natives Gerina Piller, StacyLewis and others. The new dates for the2020 Volunteers of America Classic sets upgolf fans for two weeks of women’s golf inTexas with the US Women’s Open takingplace in Houston directly following theVOA Classic.

“Golf Clubs at The Tribute are proud tohost the best female golfers in the worldagain in 2020,” said General ManagerMike McCabe, “and we’re happy to workwith the LPGA and event partners to final-ize new dates for the VOA Classic that willallow as many Tour events as possible tobe rescheduled this year.”

Event officials are working closely withthe LPGA, local health officials and otherresources to ensure that all guidelines andstandards are met to create a safe environ-ment for all those at the event. For moreinformation, please visit the tournamentwebsite at www.voaclassic.com.

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1. Kansas2. Gonzaga3. Dayton4. Baylor5. Florida State6. San Diego State7. Kentucky8. Duke9. Creighton10. Villanova11. Maryland12. Michigan State13. Louisville14. Oregon15. Seton Hall16. BYU17. Virginia18. Ohio State19. Wisconsin20. Auburn21. Butler22. Illinois23. Houston24. West Virginia25. Iowa

Matchups set for Big East-Big 12 Challenge

1. Kansas2. Gonzaga3. Dayton4. Florida State5. Baylor6. San Diego State7. Creighton8. Kentucky9. Michigan State10. Villanova11. Duke12. Maryland13. Oregon14. Louisville15. Seton Hall16. Virginia17. Wisconsin18. BYU19. Ohio State20. Auburn21. Illinois22. Houston23. Butler24. West Virginia25. Iowa

Matchups for the 2020 Big East-Big 12 Challenge

Villanova at TexasCreighton at KansasBaylor at Seton HallProvidence at TCUSt. John’s at Texas TechOklahoma at XavierWest Virginia at GeorgetownOklahoma St at MarquetteDePaul at Iowa StKansas St at Butler


WITH DIC HUMPHREY

The latest rumor on MLB season

BY DIC [email protected]

DALLAS, Texas – Last week’s articlespeculated that the MLB season might startwith one to three warm weather hubs(Florida, Texas and Arizona). There werecertainly problems to solve for any of theseoptions.

This week, speculation centers on a 100-110 game season that would begin aroundthe end of June or the first of July andcompleted in late October. The traditionalAmerican and National League alignmentswould be thrown out the window. For thisseason only, there would be three 10-teamdivisions. The schedule would have eachteam playing just the other nine teams intheir division. If adopted, facing each ofthe other nine divisional opponents 12times would produce a 108 game schedule.

The likelihood is that the games willstart at the teams’ home fields with no fansin the stands. Working with the social dis-tancing aspects of resuming play will betricky. Hopefully, at some point the occu-pancy requirements would be eased suchthat fans at the park could be accommodat-ed. For sure, television money is a big partof each team’s revenues, but they reallyneed the revenues generated by fans – tick-et sales, parking, concessions, sales of teamparaphernalia, etc.

One likely divisional alignment has theRangers in the West. They would be

joined by the five California teams – thePadres, Dodgers, Angels, Giants, andAthletics, as well as Seattle, Colorado,Arizona and Houston. This would not nec-essarily be good news for Ranger fans.Such an alignment would result in numer-ous 9:00 PM start times when the Rangersare on the road, and the Rangers and Astroswould have the most rigorous travel sched-ule in baseball. It would also be stiff com-petition. This winter when the Dodgersacquired Mookie Betts, they became theodds on favorite to win the NationalLeague. The Astros have won theAmerican League West the last three years,with Oakland also appearing as a WildCard team. The Padres have been rebuild-ing and look poised at last to challenge fora playoff berth. The Angels were certainlyahead of Texas last year and look better onpaper now with their off season additions.

The other two divisions could look likethis:CENTRAL: St. Louis and Kansas Cityfrom Missouri, the two Chicago teams (theCubs and White Sox), Milwaukee, Detroit,Atlanta, Cincinnati, Minnesota, andClevelandEAST: The two New York teams (Yankeesand Mets), Boston, Baltimore,Philadelphia,Tampa Bay, Florida, Washington,Pittsburghand Toronto.

There is nothing set in stone about thealignments, but the above gives some feelfor how the divisions could work out.

The post-season format will be interest-ing. One thing that looks likely is the play-offs will be scheduled at warm weathersites and stadiums with roofs, irrespectiveof the teams involved, to assure weatherwill not interfere since the games will beplayed in November. This may be goodnews for fans in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area

that want to watch playoff baseball. Thenew Globe Life Field will surely be consid-ered as one of the playoff sites; and withthe Rangers unlikely to make the playoffs,Globe Life will probably be a neutral site.

It is hoped that the social distancing pro-tocols will allow for MLB to reconvenespring training late this month or earlyJune. It would last three to four weeks,and there is some thought to holding theseworkouts at teams’ home parks instead ofthe teams’ usual spring training location.This would save money, but also limitsmost teams to inter-squad games to preparefor the season. It would also give anadvantage to the two New York, Chicagoand Los Angeles teams as well as SanFrancisco, Oakland, Washington andBaltimore that could play their crosstownrivals in exhibition games.

Also, it’s very unlikely that there will bea minor league season. Minor league teams

don’t have television contracts. Most oftheir revenue comes from fans attendinggames. It would not be financially possibleto play games without fans as the MajorLeague teams are expected to do.

The Major League teams’ rosters willsurely have to be expanded beyond thisyear’s new limit of 26 to allow teams tohave enough pitching. Starting pitcherswill not be ready for the work load normal-ly expected with the abbreviated springtraining. The rest of the organization’splayers will report to the spring trainingfacilities and work out there.

The date for the amateur draft has notyet been set, though it will be later than theearly June date as originally scheduled.The number of rounds have not been decid-ed either. It almost certainly will be nomore than 20 rounds after being 40 roundsin recent years, and it could be as few asfive rounds. RANGER NOTES:

• The Rangers estimate that if the gameshad been played in March and April asscheduled that the roof would have beenopen for 12 games and closed for six.

• The Rangers are now taking requestsfor ticket refunds for single game ticketholders for games scheduled through April30. They are asking fans to hang on totickets for the March 31 game, which wasscheduled as the opening game in the newstadium. The Rangers plan for those ticketsto be good for the first home game when(perhaps if) fans are allowed to attendgames this summer. Season ticket holders,partial season ticket holders, suite ownersand people participating in group sale pro-motions will be contacted by Rangers salesreps to discuss their options. The gamesthat were scheduled but not played to dateare being termed as “impacted games”,rather than officially cancelled games.

RANGERS

The likelihood is that the games will start at the teams’ home fields with no fans in the stands


WITH TOM WARD

Exercises for the back and stomach

TOM [email protected]

While in isolation during these turbu-lent times of uncertainty it is a great timeto do the little things that can have animmense impact on your golf game as wellas overall health.

In the photographs is a friend, whose alicensed Physical Therapist, helping todemonstrate some important exercises thatcan help build strength and prevent injuriesas it relates to the golf swing.

In golf, there is a lot of twisting andturning in the swing. Players can injurethemselves if they’re not careful andhaven’t warmed up properly. Having strong

stomach and back muscles (the core) areessential to success in the game as theytake the brunt of the winding up motionthat a golf swing requires.

The top 3 photos showcase the PhysicalTherapist sitting on an exercise ball withher feet close together to work on stabiliz-ing balance. She is using a small medicineball but golfers can use a golf club to repli-cate the same motion.

First, bring the ball, or club, to shoulderlevel high and slowly make a turn to theright and hold for a moment and then pro-ceed to go to the left. Then slowly raise theball or golf club above your head and leanback as far as you can while maintainingbalance. Start off doing this exercise fortwo minutes and then proceed up to fiveminutes. All of these exercises are primari-ly working the abdominals, back extensorsas well as the upper shoulder girdle.

Next, notice the lower middle photowhich is called the Prayer. According tomy Physical Therapist, rolling out to a niceextension position can really help with discgenetic back pain.

Finally, the bottom photo is called the

Bird Dog which works the gluts and ham-strings plus the shoulder girdle with therhomboids and trapezes.

Most Physical Therapists that I havetrained with recommend doing three setsfor 45 seconds working your way up tothree sets of a minute and a half.

I highly encourage my students to

incorporate these exercises into their golf-ing game plan. By doing these exercisesyou will target the specific areas needed tobuild strength and prevent injuries and theresult will be reflected in more power andstamina on the links this year.

To learn more about Tom visit his websiteat www.teetimewithtom.com

GOLF, ETC.


PGA TOUR

Green Mile changes for Presidents Cup

By Jim McCabepgatour.com

True, the on-ramp will arrive earlier andthe exit number will be altered, but com-petitors will have no problem next yearrecognizing a familiar mile marker whenthey make their way along the QuailHollow Club for the 2021 Presidents Cup.

Danger and treachery are impossible todisguise.

Especially when you’re talking about astretch of three holes as heralded as thosethat conclude your round of golf at QuailHollow. “Just great, great golf holes,” saidMark Russell, the PGA TOUR’s Vice-President of Rules, Competitions andAdministration.

So great, in fact, that when the match-play format of the TOUR’s biennial teamcompetition was taken into consideration,there was unanimous agreement that “theyare such a supreme challenge, we’ve got toget them into the mix,” said Johnny Harris,the president of Quail Hollow.

In other words, it was imperative to getnext year’s Presidents Cup matches tothese demanding tests – the 16th, a par 4 of506 yards; the 17th, a white-knuckle par 3of 223 yards over water; and the 18th, a494-yard par 4 that is guarded entirely onthe left by a small creek that looks widerthan the Atlantic Ocean.

The Green Mile is the nickname that has

stuck for 16-17-18 since it was born on aradio talk show live from the playing of the2004 Wells Fargo Championship at QuailHollow more than 15 years ago. A callersuggested it was like the Stephen Kingnovel turned into a Tom Hanks movie bythe same name, a tale about that final walkfrom death row. A bit grim, perhaps, butthe Green Mile has since remained part ofthe dialogue on annual trips to QuailHollow.

Sadly, the visit was bypassed this yearas this week’s Wells Fargo Championshipwas canceled due to the coronavirus pan-demic. But when it returns to the PGATOUR landscape in 2021, Quail Hollowwill bring all its glory to the PresidentsCup, albeit with a different routing so thatplayers get the full package of pressure andfans the complete complement of entertain-ment. (Next year’s Wells FargoChampionship will be played at TPCPotomac as Quail Hollow prepares for thePresidents Cup.)

Thanks to the new routing, the GreenMile (annually, 16-17-18 rank the threetoughest holes at the Wells FargoChampionship) will play as Nos. 13-14-15,and if you’re looking for the definition of“no-brainer,” consider this: At the 2019Presidents Cup in Australia, all 30 matchesreached the 15th hole at Royal Melbourne,but 18 of them failed to get to the 18th.

“It was probably part of our first conver-sation with the TOUR and Adam (Sperling,executive director of the Presidents Cup)and his team,” said Johno Harris, Johnny’sson and chairman of the 2021 PresidentsCup. “Everyone was on board and it wasan easy conversation to have; we were allthinking that we wanted 16-17-18 to be inplay.”

(After playing the Green Mile as holes13-14-15, the adjusted routing will takeyou to 16-17-18 – what is currently thepar-5 10th, then the par-4 11th, then overto the par-4 ninth.)

For all the passionate care he pours intoQuail Hollow, Johnny Harris concedes that“it was almost by accident” that the re-routing will be seamless for the 2021Presidents Cup. When players complete theshort, dogleg right par-4 eighth hole, ratherthan turn left and head to what is the ninthtee, they’ll proceed to what is presently thetee box at the par-4 12th and close out theiroutward nine at a very tight driving holethat features a demanding approach to anelevated green. (The par-3 13th will serveas the 10th hole.)

The path that is roughly 80- to 100-yards long meanders behind what is the11th green and sets up beautifully.

While making No. 12 the ninth hole willaccommodate the desire to get 16-17-18earlier into the mix, there is significantly

more to the back than the Green Mile. Thefun really starts when players step into aunique amphitheater beginning with the teeshot at the par-4 14th, which will be the11th hole for the Presidents Cup.

It’s a 344-yard par 4 that will enticeplayers to try and drive a green that is pro-tected on the left by an expansive body ofwater that will put a headlock on players’attention. The water also serves as the cen-terpiece to an amphitheater designed byTom Fazio that will be the source of elec-tricity.

“You have to step back and marvel atwhat Tom did to create that amphitheater,”said Johno Harris.

“Players (on the 11th) will be lookingacross the water to see players (at 13 and14). Crowds will be listening to crowds.That’s what’s going to be fun,” addedJohnny Harris. “I’m not sure you get sucha wide view anywhere else.”

This dynamic stretch of holes – from theshort 11th, to the par-5 12th that movesuphill right-to-left and will be reachable intwo, then to the famed Green Mile stretchat 13-14-15 – brings water into play, butalso the coveted risk-reward mentality.

“Every one of those holes creates excite-ment,” said Johnny Harris, who has been atQuail Hollow since the day it opened andwould be on a short list if you jotted down

(continued on page 8)

GOLF

The Green Mile (annually, 16-17-18 rank the three toughest holes at the Wells Fargo Championship) will play as Nos. 13-14-15 for the Presidents Cup


the most passionate and influential support-ers of golf. Quail Hollow has hosted PGATOUR tournaments dating to the 1960s,including annually since 2003, and he wasthe force behind the PGA Championshipcoming here in 2017, the first major held inCharlotte, North Carolina.

Harris was 11 years old when his father,James, pitched the idea of Quail Hollow toa group of influential North Carolina busi-nessmen. The guest speaker at the gather-ing in James Harris’ home was a mannamed Arnold Palmer, who had recentlywon the 1958 Masters. Not only did theevening help raise the funds for JamesHarris to build Quail Hollow, it poured thefoundation to Johnny Harris’ lifelongfriendship with Arnold Palmer.

Not a bad introduction into a lifetimelove affair with golf, eh? It’s one thatJohnny Harris doesn’t take for granted andone that leaves him qualified to pass judg-ment on what works and doesn’t work ingolf. And what works at that stretch ofholes that will be played as Nos. 11-15 in2021 is the “go or not go” mentality.

Do you try to drive the green at 11? Gofor 12 green in two? How aggressive willyou be with your approach to 13 green,with water looming? Ditto your tee shot atthe par-3 14th. Rip a driver at the tight 15thor lay back with a safer shot?

“Those holes present a huge advantageor huge disadvantage in a match play envi-ronment,” Johnny Harris said. “The fanswill love it.”

The 24 players that week might view itdifferently, given the pressure they’ll befacing. But it’s not like they aren’t familiarwith both sides of the risk-reward nature ofthose holes at Quail Hollow.

Johno Harris points to one of the bestshots he’s ever seen, Justin Thomas’ 7-ironat the par-3 17th (No. 14 in 2021) that pret-ty much sealed his win in the 2017 PGAChampionship.

Jason Day’s win at the 2018 Wells FargoChampionship was cemented with a bril-liant birdie at the 17th.

Then there was Rickie Fowler’s firstPGA TOUR win at the 2012 Wells FargoChampionship, his approach stuffed tightto a difficult pin on the 18th to beat RoryMcIlroy and D.A. Points in a playoff.

Ah, but the heartaches have been plenti-ful, too, starting with David Toms in theinaugural Wells Fargo Championship in2003. Johnny Harris stood greenside andwatched Toms take four putts to finish offan ugly quadruple-bogey – yet win by two.“It’s the only time I’ve been allowed togive a ride to the winner,” he laughed.

Phil Mickelson has played Quail Hollowbeautifully through the years (a second,two thirds, 10 top-10s) but has squanderedchances to win on the Green Mile. Hemade three double-bogeys at 17 in 2005,bogeyed 16 and 17 on Sunday to lose toDerek Ernst in 2013, and never reallyrecovered from a quadruple-bogey at 18 inRound 3 in 2016.

Trevor Immelman, who will be captainof the International Team in 2021, three-putted the 72nd green, then lost the WellsFargo Championship in a playoff in 2006.But he has always credited that visit toQuail Hollow with doing a lot for hiscareer and embraces the re-routing of theholes.

“We know the golf course, from the dri-vable 14th (No. 11) to 15 the par 5 (No.12), then the Green Mile. When playershave the opportunity in match play a littlebit more aggressively,” said Immelman, “Ithink it is going to provide some prettygood entertainment and a nice opportunityfor these guys to show off their skills.”

It’s hard to argue with Immelman. Butyou might add that the entire 2021Presidents Cup will enable Quail Hollow toflash its character and style.

The par-3 17th hole at Quail Hollow Club will play as the 14th hole for the 2021 Presidents Cup.


By Cameron MorfitPGATOUR.COM

Walking makes a comeback in golfPush/pull cart sales have doubled as play-ers practice social distancing

How to adapt in a pandemic?Put one foot in front of the other, for

starters.At facilities that remain open amid the

coronavirus pandemic – about 49 percentof courses nationwide as of last weekend,according to the National Golf Foundation– golfers are going back to walking inorder to practice social distancing andavoid touching potentially infected thingslike golf carts.

“People are finding that walking isn’tthat bad,” said David Ward, a teaching proat Jacksonville Beach Golf Club in Florida,where business remains strong and everyother tee time is a walking tee time. Thecourse has just 72 carts, and with the one-per-cart rule, they go fast.

Jax Beach also offers a coronavirus dealon carts; two people go in on one cart for aslightly reduced rate, and each walks fornine of the holes to maintain healthy dis-tancing.

According to estimates, walkers coverabout five miles and burn roughly 2,000calories over 18 holes. (Compared toaround 1,300 calories for riding.) Butwalking had fallen out of favor.

Now, though, it’s back by necessity.Putting one foot in front of the other has

made such a comeback that even before thecurrent lockdown – all but five states havesome form of stay-at-home order, eitherstate-wide or partial, impacting 95 percentof the country’s population – golfers werereporting a scarcity of push/pull carts inbig-box stores.

The trend is more than anecdotal.“We’ve seen a sizeable uptick in the sales

of push and pull carts,” said RodneyChamblee, Merchant of Accessories forPGA TOUR Superstore, where such cartsstart at $119.99.

How sizeable? Sales have doubled overthe past several weeks, he said.

“That’s certainly been a positive,” saidChamblee, who is not related to BrandelChamblee, the Golf Channel analyst.“Unfortunately most of things are manu-factured in Asia, and you can’t go for longlike that before your supplier runs out.China is still recovering from the coron-avirus, so a lot of the manufacturing hasjust gotten going again, and you’re begin-ning to run into a bit of an imbalancebetween supply and demand here. If youwant a cart, you better get one.”

Will the surge of walkers endure evenafter the pandemic has abated? It’s tooearly to tell, but possibly.

“Our course is not overly long,” saidteaching pro Ward of Jacksonville Beach,“and it’s not a hike from the greens to thetees. You’re not walking through a subdivi-sion. I think a lot of people will keep walk-ing.”

By GolfWRXStaffPGATOUR.COM

How did Tiger Woods decide to play aBridgestone golf ball after Nike left thegolf equipment business? GolfWRX writerJohn Wunder recently spoke to two keyBridgestone employees – Andrew Troutner,Test Site Operations Manager, R&D; andAdam Rehberg, Golf Ball Fitting, Events &Partnerships Supervisor – to get the scoopon Tiger and how Bridgestone built thecurrent 2020 Tour B XS that Tiger has inhis bag.

Here’s an excerpt from that Q&A.GolfWRX: Walk me through the testingprocess with TW to land on the 2020 TourB XS.ANDREW TROUTNER: In the initialtest at his home club (The Medalist) inFlorida, we brought eight different ballsthat we felt would be in the ballpark ofwhat he prefers.Tiger is as sensitive anddiscerning as anyone in history, and thespecificity of his equipment is a testamentto that.The prototypes we brought wereunmarked, and we didn’t tell him whateach one did nor did he want to know. It’spure feel.ADAM REHBERG: Of the eight balls webrought, 99 percent of golfers wouldn’t seeany difference between them, but this isTW. Some had core differences, dimple,cover etc. Only one of the balls we broughtin that round of testing had our Reactivcover. He immediately responded to thesound and how long the ball seemed to stayon the face.

The whole process took about three fullsessions over the course of many months.We started with eight balls. For the secondsession, we brought four, and in the final,we had five that were all very close to eachother. The B XS we all see now was the

winner of that third session.GolfWRX: Tiger is still an “old school”player in regards to his equipment. Wheredoes that come into play when he’s devel-oping a golf ball?ANDREW TROUTNER: When we weretesting, Tiger made the comment about themodern player loving wedges and shortirons to go straight up in the air. Havinggrown up in the balata era, Tiger onlywants to see those shots come out of alower window with a ton of spin. Thatequals control for him, and as you can seeit’s becoming a preference for most of thebest players in the world. Where Tigergoes, so goes everyone else.GolfWRX: Besides spin, sound, and feel,what else was he looking for?ADAM REHBERG: The cool thing withTiger is his priorities start with around thegreen and he works back from there. If youcan’t get past 100 yards, you can’t go for-ward. He did want to get a few extra yardsif he could. He is already a low spin playeroff the driver (2,100-2,300 RPM), so wehad to be conscious of not disrupting that.So, you can see the challenge here: Wehave to build the highest spinning golf ballon the TOUR and try and find Tiger onethat gets him a few yards extra — withouteliminating spin.

Gaining distance looks a little differentfor Tiger, it’s not all ball speed and carrydistance off the driver. When he says it’s abit longer, it’s being able to hit certainshots to specific pins in certain conditionsand have the ball carry further into a greencomplex. We are talking an 8-footer insteadof a 12-footer. It’s that specific. Keep inmind that his iron game is so dialed andhas been for years that he knows exactlywhere shots land on certain greens year toyear.

Walking makesa comeback

AROUND THE PGA

How Bridgestonebuilt Tiger’s ball

GOLF


By Mike Tagliere

The NFL Draft has come and gone. It’sbittersweet, really. I’m one of those weirdpeople who loves the anticipation of eventsalmost as much as the actual event. Noticehow I said “almost” as much?

With the draft in the rearview, it allows usto break down the depth charts, find thestrengths and weaknesses of each team, andproject them into the 2020 season. We finallyhave a variable that’s changed, which is verywelcomed for someone like me who’s beenstudying and dissecting depth charts since theSuper Bowl.

While my big board is certainly differentthan yours and every GM, there’ll be a multi-tude of things factored into these draftgrades. How talented was the player theyselected? Did he fill a need on their roster?Did they reach to select a player theycould’ve gotten a full round later? Was theresomeone available in free agency whocould’ve helped them instead?

ARIZONA CARDINALS1.08 – Isaiah Simmons (LB – Clemson)3.72 – Josh Jones (OT – Houston)4.114 – Leki Fotu (IDL – Utah)4.131 (from Texans) – Rashard Lawrence(IDL – LSU)6.202 (from Patriots) – Evan Weaver (LB –California)7.222 – Eno Benjamin (RB – Arizona St)

The Cardinals likely didn’t expectSimmons to be there at No. 8 overall, butthey’re sure glad he was. He’s a centerpieceto a defense that struggled last year. Withhim and Budda Baker on the defense, theyhave a lot of flexibility. No one expected JoshJones to fall into the third round, but again,the Cardinals were glad he did. He may notbe elite and ready to play yet, but his upsideis tremendous with his length. The picks ofFotu and Lawrence seemed like band-aidsthey’ll need to address later, as I didn’t have

either as a starter grade on either of them.Weaver and Benjamin were solid picks toclose the draft, as both could’ve been viewedas 4th/5th round players. When you add inDeAndre Hopkins, who was essentially theirsecond-round pick, the Cardinals didextremely well.DRAFT GRADE: A-

ATLANTA FALCONS1.16 – A.J. Terrell (CB – Clemson)2.47 – Marlon Davidson (DL – Auburn)3.78 – Matt Hennessy (IOL – Temple)4.119 – Mykal Walker (LB – Fresno State)4.134 – Jaylinn Hawkins (S – California)7.228 – Sterling Hofrichter (P – Syracuse)

The Falcons were trying to trade into thetop-10 but were ultimately happy with Terrellbeing there for them at No. 16 overall. Thepick of Davidson wasn’t my favorite, as he’schanging positions after putting on a lot ofweight. There were safer options on the boardto put alongside Grady Jarrett. Still, it waswise to snag an interior defensive lineman.They also snagged an interior offensive line-man in the third-round, which was anotherbig need they had on their board. Kudos tothe Falcons for recognizing their weaknessesand attacking them early. Day 3 wasn’t any-thing to write home about, though, as Walkerand Hawkins were players I wondered ifthey’d be drafted at all. Day 1 and 2 are themost important, and the Falcons did a solidjob with those picks.DRAFT GRADE: B

BALTIMORE RAVENS1.28 – Patrick Queen (LB – LSU)2.55 (from Falcons) – JK Dobbins (RB –Ohio State)3.71 (from Patriots) – Justin Madubuike (IDL– Texas A&M)3.92 – Devin Duvernay (WR – Texas)3.98 (from Patriots) – Malik Harrison (LB –Ohio State)3.106 – Tyre Phillips (IOL–Mississippi St)4.143 – Ben Bredeson (IOL – Michigan)

5.170 (from Vikings) – Broderick WashingtonJr. (IDL – Texas Tech)6.201 (from Vikings) – James Proche (WR –Southern Methodist)7.225 (from Jets) – Geno Stone (S – Iowa)

The fit of Queen to the Ravens was afavorite of mock drafts, and for good reason.The Ravens desperately needed a full-timelinebacker and it had to be a nail-biter onwhether or not he’d fall to them. Dobbins wasa bit of a head-scratcher for me consideringthey still have Mark Ingram, drafted JusticeHill last year, and then tendered Gus Edwardsthis offseason. He’ll fit their offense well, butit’s not a pick that’ll boost them into theSuper Bowl or anything. Madubuike was get-ting some first-round buzz, so that was a nicevalue to see in the third round, whileHarrison went right where he was expectedto. The wide receiver additions of Duvernayand Proche add more speed to the team,though they’re probably “just guys” on amediocre depth chart. I loved both theBredeson and Stone picks on Day 3, as bothwere tremendous values on my big board.This felt like a solid draft for the Ravens,though it was somewhat puzzling to see themnot snag any edge rushers.DRAFT GRADE: B-

BUFFALO BILLS2.54 – A.J. Epenesa (EDGE – Iowa)3.86 – Zack Moss (RB – Utah)4.128 – Gabriel Davis (WR – UCF)5.167 – Jake Fromm (QB – Georgia)6.188 (from Browns) – Tyler Bass (K –Georgia Southern)6.207 (from Patriots) – Isaiah Hodgins (WR –Oregon State)7.239 (from Vikings) – Dane Jackson (CB –Pittsburgh)

Not having a first-round pick is tough, butit’s easier to deal with when you have StefonDiggs on your roster. It also helps when youland Epenesa at No. 54 overall when he wasonce considered a top-15 pick. His Combinewas weak, but the fact remains that he’s abull in a china shop with a lot of strength. Ilove Moss and though some ripped his 40-time, he makes a perfect match for DevinSingletary. Davis in the fourth round was toorich for my blood, especially knowing thereceivers that were still on the board. In fact,I felt like Hodgins and Davis would go in asimilar area of the draft (sixth round). Frommhad a freefall that no one expected, but theBills stopped it in the fifth round, and thoughhe’s nothing like Josh Allen (they’d have tocreate a new offensive gameplan), he’s goingto play in this league at some point. At thevery least, he’s a great backup to have.DRAFT GRADE: C+

CAROLINA PANTHERS1.07 – Derrick Brown (IDL – Auburn)2.38 – Yetur Gross-Matos (EDGE–Penn St)3.64 (from Seahawks) – Jeremy Chinn (S –Southern Illinois)4.113 – Troy Pride (CB – Notre Dame)5.152 – Kenny Robinson (S–West Virginia)6.184 – Bravvion Roy (IDL – Baylor)

7.221 – Stanley Thomas-Oliver (CB – FloridaInternational)

We knew the Panthers would need toaddress the many holes they have on defense,but passing on Isaiah Simmons may comeback to haunt them. You can’t be mad theytook all defense with every single pick,though there’s a concern on the interior oftheir offensive line with John Miller andTyler Larsen projected to be the starters atguard. Still, Brown, Gross-Matos, Chinn, andPride were all rock-solid picks. Waiting tosnag a cornerback until the fourth round wasbold, and they’re lucky Pride was still avail-able. I still believe they need more talent atcornerback considering the division they playin. It’s tough to find a standout player in thefifth round and beyond, so we can’t criticizetheir picks there too much.DRAFT GRADE: B+

CHICAGO BEARS2.43 (from Raiders) – Cole Kmet (TE –Notre Dame)2.50 – Jaylon Johnson (CB – Utah)5.155 (from Vikings) – Trevis Gipson (EDGE– Tulsa)5.163 – Kindle Vildor (CB – GeorgiaSouthern)6.173 (from Eagles) – Darnell Mooney (WR– Tulane)7.226 (from Raiders) – Arlington Hambright(IOL – Colorado)7.227 (from Eagles) – Lachavious Simmons(IOL – Tennessee State)

The Bears finally finish with the aftermathof the Khalil Mack trade, but now deal withthe aftermath of the David Montgomery tradeas well, leaving them with just two picksinside the top 150.Kmet is a solid player, butit was not a good pick when you have holeson the interior of the offensive line and safetyopposite Eddie Jackson. The Bears now have10 tight ends on their roster. Johnson was avalue pick in the second round and did fill avoid left by Prince Amukamara, and thenthey added to their cornerback depth whenthey took Vildor in the fifth. Gipson is a solidrotational edge rusher that’ll fit in well, butmy issue is that they didn’t address two oftheir biggest needs in this draft with any sortof equity: Interior offensive line and safety.Not having picks in the first, third, and fourthrounds was an obstacle the Bears didn’t over-come.DRAFT GRADE: D+

CINCINNATI BENGALS1.01 – Joe Burrow (QB – LSU)2.33 – Tee Higgins (WR – Clemson)3.65 – Logan Wilson (LB – Wyoming)4.107 – Akeem Davis-Gaither (LB –Appalachian State)5.147 – Khalid Kareem (EDGE – NotreDame)6.180 – Hakeem Adeniji (IOL – Kansas)7.215 – Markus Bailey (LB – Purdue)

When you have the No. 1 overall pick andare able to select a quarterback who just

2020 NFL DRAFTNFL

2020 Draft Grades For All 32 Teams


had the best college season of all-time,you’re going to get a great score. The pickof Higgins at the top of the second roundwas shocking, to say the least. I say thatbecause they have a very competent groupof wide receivers, and though they have twowith expiring contracts next year, it’s a posi-tion that’s easier to find, especially in thisdraft. Higgins is a solid player, but there wereother needs that should’ve been addressed.They started addressing those needs from thethird round on, snagging three linebackers,one edge rusher, and an offensive lineman. Ididn’t mind any of their picks and none weconsidered reaches. Davis-Gaither is someonewho fell due to reported “bone on bone” kneeissues, but the risk was worth the rewardwhere they got him. The Bengals are turningtheir franchise around, and this was anotherstep in the right direction.DRAFT GRADE: A

CLEVELAND BROWNS1.10 – Jedrick Wills (OT – Alabama)2.44 (from Colts) – Grant Delpit (S – LSU)3.88 (from Saints) – Jordan Elliott (IDL –Missouri)3.97 (from Texans) – Jacob Phillips (LB –LSU)4.115 – Harrison Bryant (TE – FloridaAtlantic)5.160 (from Colts) – Nick Harris (IOL –Washington)6.187 – Donovan Peoples-Jones (WR –Michigan)

While I like Wills and had him as my sec-ond-best tackle in the draft, he has playedright tackle, which is where Jack Conklin hasplayed. It’ll be interesting to see how theyhandle those two. Delpit has had some upsand downs on his film but has first-round tal-ent. Some defensive tackles fell further thanexpected, so they took advantage of Elliott inthe third round. They definitely needed toaddress linebacker, but selecting Phillips overguys like Davion Taylor, Troy Dye, andMalik Harrison was risky. Snagging Bryant inthe fourth was solid value, though it makeslittle sense unless they have a plan to moveon from David Njoku. Harris was a steal inthe fifth round and one of the better values onDay 3. And lastly, they got the No. 8 widereceiver on my board in the sixth round.Mark my words: Donovan Peoples-Jones willbe a real player in this league.DRAFT GRADE: B+

DALLAS COWBOYS1.17 – CeeDee Lamb (WR – Oklahoma)2.51 – Trevon Diggs (CB – Alabama)3.82 – Neville Gallimore (IDL – Oklahoma)4.123 – Reggie Robinson (CB – Tulsa)4.146 (from Eagles) – Tyler Biadasz (IOL –Wisconsin)5.179 – Bradlee Anae (EDGE – Utah)7.231 – Ben DiNucci (QB – James Madison)

It was a surprise to hear Lamb drafted bythe Cowboys, because while wide receiverwas a need, it really shouldn’t have been apriority. Still, we can’t dock them too muchfor taking a rock-solid prospect. They stoleDiggs in the second round, especially if theycan get consistent effort out of him.Gallimore should’ve been under secondround consideration for teams, so getting himin the third was another value. The Cowboysgot tons of value when it mattered most.They continued that trend as the rounds went

on, stealing both Biadasz in the fourth andAnae at the end of the fifth. It’s crazy thatthey had Biadasz simply fall into their laponce Travis Frederick retired. Be happy,Cowboys fans. They did a great job.DRAFT GRADE: A-

DENVER BRONCOS1.15 – Jerry Jeudy (WR – Alabama)2.46 – KJ Hamler (WR – Penn State)3.77 – Michael Ojemudia (CB – Iowa)3.83 (from Steelers) – Lloyd Cushenberry(IOL – LSU)3.95 (from 49ers) – McTelvin Agim (DT –Arkansas)4.118 – Albert Okwuegbunam (TE –Missouri)5.178 – Justin Strnad (LB – Wake Forest)6.181 (from Redskins) – Netane Muti (IOL –Fresno State)7.252 – Tyrie Cleveland (WR – Florida)7.254 – Derrek Tuszka (EDGE – NorthDakota State)

There’ll be no excuses for Drew Lock dur-ing his sophomore season. After snagging mytop receiver with the No. 15 pick (Jeudy),they doubled-down and snagged speedsterHamler in the second round. The offensivesquad they’ve assembled is quite ridiculous.Courtland Sutton, Jeudy, Hamler, Noah Fant,Melvin Gordon, and Phillip Lindsay. Theyalso snagged their replacement center withCushenberry in the third round, and thoughI’m not super high on him, he’s competent,and it filled a need. The pick of Muti in thesixth round was easily the best-case scenariofor them, as he was the best lineman on theboard. They reached on both Ojemudia andAgim, as they weren’t expected to go untilDay 3. Trading back would’ve made sense.They got the Missouri team of Lock andOkwuegbunam back together as insurance toFant, though it seems like the Broncos havedrafted like 10 tight ends the last five years.It’s clear the offense was a priority here andrightfully so,though there were a few reaches.DRAFT GRADE: B

DETROIT LIONS1.03 – Jeff Okudah (CB – Ohio State)2.35 – D’Andre Swift (RB – Georgia)3.67 – Julian Okwara (EDGE – Notre Dame)3.75 (from Colts) – Jonah Jackson (IOL –Ohio State)4.121 (from Raiders) – Logan Stenberg (IOL– Kentucky)5.166 (from Eagles) – Quintez Cephus (WR– Wisconsin)5.172 (from Raiders) – Jason Huntley (RB –New Mexico State)6.197 (from Colts) – John Penisini (IDL –Utah)7.235 (from Patriots) – Jashon Cornell (IDL –Ohio State)

I’m of the mindset that the Lions shouldhave traded out of the No. 3 pick, as theDolphins were clearly willing to trade up,and the Giants weren’t going to select a cor-nerback at No. 4 overall. The point is that thepick was good, but it could’ve been better.The Lions didn’t make a bad pick over thefirst five rounds, and that’s saying something.Swift is a rock-solid three-down runningback, Okwara is a pass-rushing monster, andJackson is one of the better interior guardsavailable in this class with little injury con-cern. You can argue they could’ve waited onJackson, but it wasn’t egregious. In fact, they

got Stenberg, who I had graded higher, around later. Cephus was a top-10 wide receiv-er on my board, too. The Lions absolutelycrushed this draft.DRAFT GRADE: A

GREEN BAY PACKERS1.26 (from Dolphins) – Jordan Love (QB –Utah State)2.62 – A.J. Dillon (RB – Boston College)3.94 – Josiah Deguara (TE – Cincinnati)5.175 – Kamal Martin (LB – Minnesota)6.192 (from Raiders) – Jon Runyan (IOL –Michigan)6.208 (from Titans) – Jake Hanson (IOL –Oregon)6.209 – Simon Stepaniak (IOL – Indiana)7.236 (from Browns) – Vernon Scott (CB –Texas Christian)7.242 (from Ravens) – Jonathan Garvin(EDGE – Miami)

The Packers were one of the biggest disap-pointments in the first round. Then the samein the second round. And again in the thirdround. Fortunately, they didn’t have a fourth-round pick to do the same. There’s really noway to defend their picks, unless you believethey’re concerned about Aaron Rodgers‘long-term outlook. Looking at his contract,he’s going to be there until at least 2022(unless the Packers wanted to eat $17.2 mil-lion in dead cap space after 2021). This is ateam that was in the NFC Championship lastyear, and in the first three rounds, they took abackup quarterback, a third-string runningback, and backup tight end who they’redescribing as a fullback. This draft reeks of ateam who traveled back in time to ground-and-pound the football, like they don’t have aHall of Fame quarterback on their roster. Inwhat was considered one of the best widereceiver classes of all-time, the Packers didn’tselect a single wide receiver. Aaron Rodgersdeserves better. There’s absolutely no defend-ing this draft, as the only player who came asa value was Garvin (their seventh-round pick)DRAFT GRADE: F

HOUSTON TEXANS2.40 (from Cardinals) – Ross Blacklock (IDL– TCU)3.90 – Jonathan Greenard (EDGE – Florida)4.126 (from Rams) – Charlie Heck (OT –North Carolina)4.141 (from Dolphins) – John Reid (CB –Penn State)5.171 – Isaiah Coulter (WR – Rhode Island)Despite losing DeAndre Hopkins, the Texansdidn’t have a first-round pick in this draft.That’s not great. You do have to add BrandinCooks to their draft haul this year, whichdoes help, but they started the draft upside-down. Blacklock was a solid pick, as theyneeded to address the loss of D.J. Reader infree agency. Greenard was another solidselection for their pass-rush in the thirdround, but going defense with their first twopicks led to them passing on the top-tier ofoffensive linemen and over-drafting Heck inthe fourth. They also severely reached forReid in the fourth round, when he was some-one who many had a sixth-round grade on.They were not able to leave this offseasonsaying they have a better football team.DRAFT GRADE: D+

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS2.34 (from Redskins) – Michael Pittman (WR– USC)

2.41 (from Browns) – Jonathan Taylor (RB –Wisconsin)3.85 (from Lions)–Julian Blackmon (S–Utah)4.122 – Jacob Eason (QB – Washington)5.149 (from Lions) – Danny Pinter (IOL –Ball State)6.193 – Robert Windsor (DT – Penn State)6.211 (from Jets) – Isaiah Rodgers (CB –Massachusetts)6.212 (from Patriots) – Dezmon Patmon (WR– Washington State)6.213 (from Patriots) – Jordan Glasgow (LB– Michigan)

For not having a first-round pick, the Coltssnagged a couple guys who can help theiroffense immediately. Pittman complementsT.Y. Hilton and Parris Campbell quite well,giving Philip Rivers a big-bodied widereceiver to throw the ball up to. Taylor was asurprise pick considering they have MarlonMack and Nyheim Hines on the roster, buthe’s going to crush behind that offensive lineand getting him in the second round was avalue. I had a fourth-round grade onBlackmon, so it was somewhat of a reach atthe top of the third round. I also felt that tak-ing Eason over Jake Fromm will come backto haunt them, as Fromm can run FrankReich’s offense. There wasn’t any pick theymade on Day 3 that felt like a great value. Iexpected them to snag a tight end in thisdraft, but it seems they may be happy withtheir Trey Burton signing.DRAFT GRADE: C+

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS1.09 – CJ Henderson (CB – Florida)1.20 (from Rams) – K’Lavon Chaisson(EDGE – LSU)2.42 – Laviska Shenault Jr. (WR – Colorado)3.73 – Davon Hamilton (IDL – Ohio State)4.116 – Ben Bartch (OT – St. Johns)4.137 (from Broncos) – Josiah Scott (CB –Michigan State)4.140 (from Bears) – Shaquille Quarterman(LB – Miami)5.157 (from Ravens) – Daniel Thomas (S –Auburn)5.165 (from Rams) – Collin Johnson (WR –Texas)6.189 – Jake Luton (QB – Oregon State)6.206 (from Seahawks) – Tyler Davis (TE –Georgia Tech)7.223 – Chris Claybrooks (CB – Memphis)

You won’t find many teams with morepicks than the Jaguars. After snaggingHenderson at No. 9, they seemed to go forpure upside. Chaisson is versatile but neverproduced like expected with his athleticism.Shenault is a moveable chess piece who’scoming off core muscle surgery. I felt theycould’ve taken Jalen Hurts with that second-round pick, as they have no GardnerMinshew insurance. Instead, they waited untilthe sixth round to select Luton. It was odd tosee them continually pass on quarterbacks.Hamilton was someone who went aroundwhere I thought he would, though some had afifth-round grade on him. Johnson was a solidpick in the fifth round, as you can’t teach hissize. Bartch was a late riser in the draftprocess and got some Day 2 buzz, so hecould be considered a slight value. But out-side of them, there wasn’t really anyone whostood out among their Day 3 picks.DRAFT GRADE: C-



JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS1.09 – CJ Henderson (CB – Florida)1.20 (from Rams) – K’Lavon Chaisson(EDGE – LSU)2.42 – Laviska Shenault Jr. (WR – Colorado)3.73 – Davon Hamilton (IDL – Ohio State)4.116 – Ben Bartch (OT – St. Johns)4.137 (from Broncos) – Josiah Scott (CB –Michigan State)4.140 (from Bears) – Shaquille Quarterman(LB – Miami)5.157 (from Ravens) – Daniel Thomas (S –Auburn)5.165 (from Rams) – Collin Johnson (WR –Texas)6.189 – Jake Luton (QB – Oregon State)6.206 (from Seahawks) – Tyler Davis (TE –Georgia Tech)7.223 – Chris Claybrooks (CB – Memphis)

You won’t find many teams with morepicks than the Jaguars. After snaggingHenderson at No. 9, they seemed to go forpure upside. Chaisson is versatile but neverproduced like expected with his athleticism.Shenault is a moveable chess piece who’scoming off core muscle surgery. I felt theycould’ve taken Jalen Hurts with that second-round pick, as they have no GardnerMinshew insurance. Instead, they waited untilthe sixth round to select Luton. It was odd tosee them continually pass on quarterbacks.Hamilton was someone who went aroundwhere I thought he would, though some had afifth-round grade on him. Johnson was a solidpick in the fifth round, as you can’t teach hissize. Bartch was a late riser in the draftprocess and got some Day 2 buzz, so hecould be considered a slight value. But out-side of them, there wasn’t really anyone whostood out among their Day 3 picks.DRAFT GRADE: C-

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS1.32 – Clyde Edwards-Helaire (RB – LSU)2.63 (from 49ers) – Willie Gay Jr. (LB –Mississippi State)3.96 – Lucas Niang (OT – TCU)4.138 – L’Jarius Sneed (S –Louisiana Tech)5.177 – Michael Danna (EDGE – Michigan)7.237 (from Titans) – Bopete Keyes (CB –Tulane)The Chiefs reportedly said “Clyde Edwards-Helaire, no matter what” the day of the firstround, before it even started. They apparentlyasked Patrick Mahomes who he wanted, andhe said Edwards-Helaire. Andy Reid hasalready stated he believes Edwards-Helaire isbetter than Brian Westbrook on film. Theynow have him with a fifth-year option, too.To know that the Chiefs passed on edge rush-er and cornerback in each of the first fourrounds is odd though, as those were their twobiggest weaknesses. Niang was my No. 5tackle in this class, so I loved the value theygot with him, but again, positional needsweren’t met, lowering their grade. Sneed wassomewhat unnecessary with the safeties ontheir roster, while Danna was a reach. Theylanded solid players early in the draft, whichcounts, but they didn’t address two of theirbiggest weaknesses.DRAFT GRADE: C

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS1.12 – Henry Ruggs (WR – Alabama)1.19 (from Bears) – Damon Arnette (CB –Ohio State)3.80 – Lynn Bowden (WR/RB – Kentucky)

3.81 (from Bears) – Bryan Edwards (WR –South Carolina)3.100 (from Patriots) – Tanner Muse (S –Clemson)4.109 (from Lions) – John Simpson (IOL –Clemson)4.139 (from Patriots) – Amik Robertson (CB– Louisiana Tech)I’ll be straight with you… I didn’t like theRaiders first-round picks. Taking Ruggs withJerry Jeudy on the board felt like a disgrace,as Jeudy would’ve done all the things theywanted Antonio Brown to do. Arnette is aplayer I had a third-round grade on, so whenyou combine that with his off-the-field ques-tion marks, taking him at No. 19 overall wasa reach. Edwards was a good complement toRuggs in the third round, so they deservesome love for the planning to pair the two.Then they went right back to reaching at theend of the third round, as Muse was consid-ered to be a 6th/7th round pick. Simpson wasa good value in the fourth, as was Robertson,who was expected to have Round 2/3 appeal.The early picks negatively impact their grademore, as those are the ones you can’t misson, but they did a decent job in the 3rd/4thround.DRAFT GRADE: C-

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS1.06 – Justin Herbert (QB – Oregon)1.23 (from Patriots) – Kenneth Murray (LB –Oklahoma)4.112 – Joshua Kelley (RB – UCLA)5.151 – Joe Reed (WR – Virginia)6.186 – Alohi Gilman (S – Notre Dame)7.220 – K.J. Hill (WR – Ohio State)

Did the Chargers actually want Herbert, orwere they simply hoping Tua Tagovailoawould fall to them? After trading away theirstarting left tackle and signing Bryan Bulagato play right tackle, I’m guessing the latter.Herbert is a risky pick at No. 6 overall andit’s unlikely he starts over Tyrod Taylor rightout of the gate. I liked the trade-up to theback end of the first round to pick Murray, ashe’s someone who’s a plug-and-play line-backer, a position of need for them. Kelleymakes for a very good complement to AustinEkeler, while Reed/Hill will both have a shotto compete for the No. 3 receiver job. I had afifth-round grade on Hill, so he was a tremen-dous value in the seventh. In the end, theChargers’ fate is in Herbert’s hands, andthat’s something I wouldn’t feel comfortablewith knowing he doesn’t have a sturdy pres-ence at left tackle.DRAFT GRADE: C

LOS ANGELES RAMS2.52 – Cam Akers (RB – Florida State)2.57 (from Texans) – Van Jefferson (WR –Florida)3.84 – Terrell Lewis (EDGE – Alabama)3.104 – Terrell Burgess (S – Utah)4.136 (from Texans) – Brycen Hopkins (TE –Purdue)6.199 – Jordan Fuller (S – Ohio State)7.234 – Clay Johnston (LB – Baylor)7.248 (from Texans) – Sam Sloman (K –Miami)7.250 (from Texans) – Tremayne Anchrum(IOL – Clemson)

The Rams seemingly had a lot of holes tofill but didn’t have a first-round pick, leavingthem to find value starters on Day 2 wherethey had four picks. Everyone seemed to

scoff when I suggested the Rams could take arunning back in the third round, but they one-upped me, taking Akers in the second round.That feels rich for a team with plenty of holeson the offensive line. They essentially tradedBrandin Cooks for Van Jefferson, which is anet loss in my book (and I like Jefferson justfine). Lewis and Burgess both addressedneeds, and they were both expected in thethird-round range. The pick of Hopkins in thefourth round was puzzling with both GeraldEverett and Tyler Higbee on the roster, but itsignifies they’ll move on from Everett afterthe 2020 season. Not selecting an offensivelineman until the seventh round is puzzling,as is the fact that they didn’t replace NickellRobey-Coleman at cornerback.DRAFT GRADE: D+

MIAMI DOLPHINS1.05 – Tua Tagovailoa (QB – Alabama)1.18 (from Steelers) – Austin Jackson (OT –USC)1.30 (from Packers) – Noah Igbinoghene (CB– Auburn)2.39 – Robert Hunt (OL – Louisiana-Laf.)2.56 (from Saints) – Raekwon Davis (IDL –Alabama)3.70 – Brandon Jones (S – Texas)4.111 (from Texans) – Solomon Kindley(IOL – Georgia)5.154 (from Steelers) – Jason Strowbridge(EDGE – North Carolina)5.164 (from Eagles) – Curtis Weaver (EDGE– Boise State)6.185 – Blake Ferguson (LS – LSU)7.246 (from Chiefs) – Malcolm Perry (WR –Navy)

There was no team with more picks in thefirst two days than the Dolphins in the 2020NFL Draft. They made six selections throughthe first three rounds, with five of them com-ing in the first two rounds. I absolutely lovedthe Tagovailoa pick, as they didn’t have tomortgage their future to take the quarterbackwith what might be the most upside. Sure, hecomes with risk, but again, they didn’t haveto move anything to get him. I’m not particu-larly high on Jackson, but I can’t fault themfor attacking the offensive line, as it’s anecessity. Igbinoghene was a bit of a reach aswell, especially when you consider the othercornerbacks who were available. The pick Iliked most was getting Davis near the end ofthe second round. Pairing him with ChristianWilkins is going to create problems foropposing offensive lines. Jones was a solidvalue in the third round, too. They continuedgetting value with both Kindley and Weaveron Day 3, as both had buzz for Day 2. TheDolphins are turning their franchise around.DRAFT GRADE: A

MINNESOTA VIKINGS1.22 (from Bills)–Justin Jefferson (WR– LSU)1.31 (from 49ers) – Jeff Gladney (CB– TCU)2.58 – Ezra Cleveland (OT – Boise State)3.89 – Cameron Dantzler (CB – Miss. State)4.117 (from 49ers) – D.J. Wonnum (EDGE– South Carolina)4.130 (from Saints) – James Lynch (IDL –Baylor)4.132 – Troy Dye (LB – Oregon)5.169 (from Saints) – Harrison Hand (CB –Temple)5.176 (from 49ers) – K.J. Osborn (WR –Miami)6.203 (from Saints) – Blake Brandel (IOL –

Oregon State)6.205 – Josh Metellus (S – Michigan)7.225 (from Ravens) – Kenny Willekes(EDGE – Michigan State)7.244 (from Saints) – Nate Stanley (QB –Iowa)7.249 Brian Cole (S – Mississippi State)7.253 Kyle Hinton (IOL – Washburn)

If there was a record for number of pickson Day 3, the Vikings may have set it. TheEagles allowed Jefferson to fall right into theVikings lap, so they were surely ecstatic toselect him at No. 22 overall. Gladney at theend of the first round was another pick thatdeserved a lot of love. I’m not a big fan ofCleveland, even if he was a late riser. Theymade up for it with Dantzler in the thirdround, a rock-solid value. The Vikings havepressing needs on their defensive line, asEverson Griffin still isn’t signed, so the pickof an edge rusher would’ve made sense earli-er than the fourth round, and Wonnum was areach there. Dye was a solid value in thefourth, as I had a late-second/early-thirdgrade on him. There wasn’t any pick afterDye that came as a tremendous value,though. My guess is that a lot of these play-ers don’t make the roster. They made some oftheir best picks in the first few rounds, whichhelps their grade more than the late ones.DRAFT GRADE: B+

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS2.37 (from Chargers) – Kyle Dugger (S/LB –Lenoir-Rhyne)2.60 (from Ravens) – Josh Uche (LB –Michigan)3.87 – Anfernee Jennings (EDGE – Alabama)3.91 (from Raiders) – Devin Asiasi (TE –UCLA)3.101 (from Jets) – Dalton Keene (TE –Virginia Tech)5.159 (from Raiders) – Justin Rohrwasser (K– Marshall)6.182 (from Colts) – Michael Onwenu (IOL– Michigan)6.195 (from Broncos) – Justin Herron (IOL –Wake Forest)6.204 (from Texans) Cassh Maluia (LB –Wyoming)7.230 (from Falcons) – Dustin Woodard (IOL– Memphis)

I’m just going to say it: The Patriots had abad draft. They’re clearly entering a rebuild-ing phase, which is fine, but reaching toselect Dugger at No. 37 overall was a bigrisk. It’s one that might pay off, but therisk/reward cost is too large to justify, espe-cially when they have other pressing needs.They tried attacking those needs with Uche(who I do like quite a bit) and Jennings (whoI wouldn’t have drafted, period), but therewere others available. Jennings is someone Ihad a sixth-round grade on. Closing out thethird round with two tight ends was odd, andthough they were both somewhat of a reach,the Patriots didn’t have a pick until the fifthround. It was a position of need, though.They closed out the draft by taking three inte-rior offensive linemen, which again made lit-tle sense when you look at their wide receiverdepth chart. They also continually passed onJake Fromm when Brian Hoyer is their No. 2quarterback. The Patriots coaching staff usu-ally gets the most out of their players, but thisdraft could’ve been so much better.DRAFT GRADE: D-


NEW ORLEANS SAINTS1.24 – Cesar Ruiz (IOL – Michigan)3.74 (from Browns) – Zack Baun (EDGE –Wisconsin)3.105 (from Vikings) – Adam Trautman(Dayton)7.240 (from Texans) – Tommy Stevens (QB –Mississippi State)

This is one of the shortest draft lists inrecent memory, as the Saints made just fourpicks the entire draft. Don’t forget they madejust five last year, too. Ruiz was expected tobe a first-round pick, though I didn’t like himas much as some. Baun was a value in thethird round, as he wasn’t expected to get outof the second round. He’ll contribute in 2020,which is important considering the Saints are“in-it-to-win-it.” Trautman is a high-upsidepick for the long term, though. He comesfrom a small school and is still learning theposition. The Saints had a fine draft.DRAFT GRADE: B-

NEW YORK GIANTS1.04 – Andrew Thomas (OT – Georgia)2.36 – Xavier McKinney (S – Alabama)3.99 – Matt Peart (OT – Connecticut)4.110 – Darnay Holmes (CB – UCLA)5.150 – Shane Lemieux (IOL – Oregon)6.183 – Cameron Brown (LB – Penn State)7.218 – Carter Coughlin (EDGE – Minnesota)7.238 (from Saints) – T.J. Brunson (LB –South Carolina)7.247 – Chris Williamson (CB – Minnesota)7.255 – Tae Crowder (LB – Georgia)

I had Thomas as the No. 1 offensive tackleon the board, so I’m certainly not upset aboutthe Giants No. 4 overall selection. He proj-ects as a left tackle, so you must wonder ifthey move Nate Solder to the right side of theline. The picks of McKinney and Peart wereconsidered decent values on Day 2, but notselecting a single edge rusher until the sev-enth round? That’s going to haunt them. TheGiants have dumped a lot of equity into theiroffensive line, and while they needed toimprove, I don’t think they did enough on thedefensive side of the ball. Taking three line-backers in the 6th/7th round won’t fix yourissues there. All in all, the Giants had adecent draft, but they may have overinvestedin just one portion of their team.DRAFT GRADE: C+

NEW YORK JETS1.11 – Mekhi Becton (OT – Louisville)2.59 (from Seahawks) – Denzel Mims (WR –Baylor)3.68 (from Giants) – Ashtyn Davis (S – Cal)3.79 – Jabari Zuniga (EDGE – Florida)4.120 – Lamical Perine (RB – Florida)4.125 (from Patriots) – James Morgan (QB –Florida International)4.129 (from Patriots) – Cameron Clark (OT –Charlotte)5.158 – Bryce Hall (CB – Virginia)6.191 – Braden Mann (P – Texas A&M)The Jets were able to snag an offensive tackleat No. 11 after all. Becton over Tristan Wirfswill be discussed for some time, though. TheJets traded back in the second round and stillgot the wide receiver I mocked to them.Mims is going to be the go-to option for SamDarnold before long and it was best-case forthe Jets when they moved back. Davis andZuniga were both good picks in the thirdround, so as far as I’m concerned, the Jetsnailed the first three rounds. Perine and

Morgan were “ehh” picks, but the Jets stoleone of the best values in the entire draft whenthey took Hall in the fifth round. If he had nohealth question marks, he would’ve gone inthe first round. The only thing they didn’taddress in the draft was their coach (sorry,had to).DRAFT GRADE: A

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES1.21 – Jalen Reagor (WR – TCU)2.21 – Jalen Hurts (QB – Oklahoma)3.103 – Davion Taylor (LB – Colorado)4.127 – K’Von Wallace (S – Clemson)4.145 – Jack Driscoll (OL – Auburn)5.168 (from Patriots) – John Hightower (WR– Boise State)6.196 (from Bears) – Shaun Bradley (LB –Temple)6.200 (from Bears) – Quez Watkins (WR –Southern Mississippi)6.210 (from 49ers) – Prince Tega Wahogho(OT – Auburn)7.233 (from Bears) Casey Toohill (EDGE –Stanford)You can argue about which wide receiver theEagles should’ve taken in the first round, butthat’s semantics. Reagor is a baller andshould benefit from being around DeSeanJackson for a year. Drafting a quarterback inthe second round though? Nah. The pick ofHurts is not quite as bad as the Packers pickof Jordan Love because they didn’t trade upfor him and they didn’t use a first round pickon him, but when you have Carson Wentz,you should be helping other areas of yourteam instead of a luxury pick that won’t seethe field without injury. The sad part is thatthe Eagles had a good draft outside of thatpick. Taylor, Wallace, Driscoll,and Hightowerwere all good values. Some may say Taylorwas a reach, but I believe he’ll be an impactplayer, and it was a position of need. TegaWanogho was another value for their offen-sive line in the sixth round. Still, the pick ofHurts haunts the draft and it’s what they’ll beremembered for.DRAFT GRADE: C-

PITTSBURGH STEELERS2.49 – Chase Claypool (WR – Notre Dame)3.102 – Alex Highsmith (EDGE – Charlotte)4.124 – Anthony McFarland Jr. (RB –Maryland)4.135 (from Dolphins) – Kevin Dotson (IOL– Louisiana)6.198 – Antoine Brooks Jr. (S – Maryland)7.232 – Carlos Davis (IDL – Nebraska)If you’ve followed my draft coverage, you’dknow that Claypool isn’t someone I liked,especially knowing he would go inside thetop three rounds. Highsmith in the thirdround was a reach, as there were some goodedge rushers on the board at that time.McFarland should be a fun player to watch inPittsburgh, but his selection also makes thedraft pick they used on Jaylen Samuels toseem useless. There’s not a signature playerfrom this draft that I can see being an impactplayer for them, though Dotson could be apiece on their offensive line.DRAFT GRADE: D

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS1.14 (from Buccaneers) – Javon Kinlaw (IDL– South Carolina)1.25 (from Vikings) – Brandon Aiyuk (WR –Arizona State)5.153 (from Dolphins) – Colton McKivitz

(OT – West Virginia)6.190 (from Eagles) – Charlie Woerner (TE –Georgia)7.217 (from Lions) – Jauan Jennings (WR –Tennessee)The 49ers essentially swapped out DeForestBuckner for Javon Kinlaw. Will it work out?Time will tell, as Buckner was a great player,though Kinlaw is younger and cheaper.Trading up for Aiyuk was a head-scratcher,but it’s clear they have a role planned forhim. Snagging Jennings in the seventh roundwas rock-solid value, though. The 49ers alsomade a big splash during the draft, tradingfor Trent Williams, giving up a third- andfifth-round pick. That was a steal for them,especially when we found out shortly afterthat their Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Staley wasretiring. The 49ers didn’t have a whole lot ofdraft picks, but it was extremely shocking tosee them not address the cornerback positionat all.DRAFT GRADE: B-

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS1.27 – Jordyn Brooks (LB – Texas Tech)2.48 (from Jets) – Darrell Taylor (EDGE –Tennessee)3.69 (from Panthers) – Damien Lewis (IOL –LSU)4.133 – Colby Parkinson (TE – Stanford)4.144 – DeeJay Dallas (RB – Miami)5.148 (from Panthers) – Alton Robinson(EDGE – Syracuse)6.214 – Freddie Swain (WR – Florida)7.251 (from Dolphins) – Stephen Sullivan(TE – LSU)I completely understand going to the beat ofyour own drum and drafting off the list thatyou and your scouts have created, but stopreaching for those players. Brooks is a finethree-down linebacker but wasn’t expected togo until late-second/early-third. Taylor was alate riser who did get some second roundbuzz, but they traded up to get him. The onlyplayer the Seahawks drafted who should beconsidered good value is Robinson, who Ithink deserved a third-round selection. If youlike a generic brand of food, should you paythe same price as the name brand? No, that’sthe point. You like value. Trade back,Seahawks. With the players they like, theyshould be what the Vikings were this year, ateam that had 11 picks on Day 3. Theywould’ve been able to address their offensivetackle issues with more picks, as they ignoredthe losses of Germain Ifedi and George Fantthis offseason.DRAFT GRADE: D

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS1.13 (from 49ers) – Tristan Wirfs (O – Iowa)2.45 – Antoine Winfield (S – Minnesota)3.76 – Ke’Shawn Vaughn (RB – Vanderbilt)5.161 – Tyler Johnson (WR – Minnesota)6.194 – Khalil Davis (IDL – Nebraska)7.241 (from Patriots) – Chapelle Russell (LB– Temple)7.245 (from 49ers) – Raymond Calais (RB –Louisiana-Lafayette)

The first two rounds couldn’t have gonebetter for the Bucs. They got their right tackleto help protect Tom Brady, and even tradedup one spot to ensure they’d get him. Theythen stole Winfield at No. 45 overall, who isone of my favorite players in the draft.Vaughn is an interesting pick because healmost clashes with Ronald Jones and doesn’t

necessarily complement him. I thought theBucs would go with more of a passing-downback to put alongside Jones, which they didlater with Calais. The pick of Johnson in thefifth makes some sense considering theirwide receiver depth chart, but his best posi-tion is playing in the slot, which is currentlyoccupied by Chris Godwin. But the Bucs hitwhen they needed to, and this team is bettercoming out of the NFL Draft.DRAFT GRADE: B+

TENNESSEE TITANS1.29 – Isaiah Wilson (OT – Georgia)2.61 – Kristian Fulton (CB – LSU)3.93 – Darrynton Evans (RB–Appalachian St.)5.174 – Larrell Murchison (IDL – NC State)7.224 (from Browns) – Cole McDonald (QB– Hawaii)7.243 – Chris Jackson (CB – Marshall)It was no secret that the Titans wanted a tack-le at No. 29 to replace Jack Conklin, and theylanded one with Wilson. That was a popularchoice in mock drafts, as was edge rusher, aposition they did not address at all. The pickof Fulton in the second round was anabsolute steal, one of the best in the entiredraft. I still have no clue how or why Fultonfell where he did. Evans was a perfect pick inthe third, even if some thought they reached atad. Running backs came off the board quick-er than expected and Evans is a great comple-ment to Derrick Henry. The Titans reallyshould’ve snagged Jake Fromm to put a com-petent quarterback behind Ryan Tannehill,butthey settled on McDonald in the seventhround. The Titans draft was solid, but notaddressing edge rusher take their grade down.DRAFT GRADE: B-

WASHINGTON REDSKINS1.02 – Chase Young (EDGE – Ohio State)3.66 – Antonio Gibson (WR – Memphis)4.108 – Saahdiq Charles (OT – LSU)4.142 – Antonio Gandy-Golden (WR –Liberty)5.156 (from 49ers) – Keith Ismael (IOL –San Diego State)5.162 (from Seahawks) – Khaleke Hudson(LB – Michigan)7.216 – Kamren Curl (S – Arkansas)7.229 (from Broncos) – James Smith-Williams (EDGE – North Carolina)

Snagging Young at No. 2 overall was agimme pick, though one that obviously helpstheir draft grade. He’s a top-notch edge rush-er who’ll contribute from day one. TheRedskins defensive front is suddenly one ofthe best in football. The Redskins announcedGibson as a running back, which makes himthe sixth one on their depth chart. He’s not abad player but it’s a bad pick if they wanthim to be a running back. Gandy-Golden is aperimeter-only player right now, but one whocomes with tremendous upside. He was agreat pick in the fourth round, though Ithought they could’ve added another widereceiver later. They didn’t address tight end inthe draft, though they did snag ThaddeusMoss as an undrafted free agent. If he didn’tjust have surgery on his foot, he would’vebeen considered in the fourth round. Someteams reportedly had high grades on Charles,and the Redskins need to hope that he pansout after trading away Trent Williams. Therewere some hits from their draft, but therecould also be some big misses.DRAFT GRADE: C+


BO CARTER [email protected]

Two-Minute DrillRelief efforts and fundraising continue

to occur for The COVID-19 pandemic firstresponders and others in the midst of theworldwide battle against this silent enemy.Navy athletics is participating in the #LightItBlue movement at all its facilities to raiseawareness and funds for hospitals and firstresponders. Former Stanford star ChristianMcCaffrey of the NFL Carolina Panthersstarted the 22 and You Foundation to assisthealthcare professionals. Numerous collegeprograms and NFL teams are donatingmoney meals for first responders and thosein the health “trenches” of frontline duties.NFL quarterback Russell Wilson of NCState and Wisconsin has a goal of helpingto fund one million meals for the under-served in the Seattle, Wash., area. A specialNFL matching funds drive to help firstresponders, healthcare workers and fami-lies affected by COVID-19 reached $85million last Friday night. The fund isexpected to top $100 million early thisweek with the assistance of hundreds ofNFL players, coaches, administrators, cor-porations, and private donors.

The NFL office shipped high-techequipment to the highest potential draftees– 58 total – prior to last weekend’s draft.ESPN reported that the first three picks inthe 2018 draft all played together at Ohio

State in 2017 – Joe Burrow (later trans-ferred to LSU), Chase Young and JeffOkudah. Young and Okudah completedtheir college careers at OSU. NFF 2019William V. Campbell Award® recipient QBJustin Herbert of Oregon was the sixthplayer chosen in the first round by the LosAngeles Chargers…CollegePressBox.comalso provided up-to-date biographicalinformation from college contests for thedraftees and features throughout lastweek’s NFL Draft as rounds proceeded.Incidentally, the Canadian FootballLeague’s 68th annual draft will occurnationally Thursday on Canada’s nationalairways.Upcoming and current events at the NFFCollege Hall of Fame in Atlanta:

The NFF College Football Hall of Fameopened on Aug. 23, 2014, and then cele-brated the gala, five-year anniversaryFriday, Aug. 23, 2019 – the day before the150th college football season started Aug.24 – with several major attractions andmany additions to the CFB150 SpecialtyExhibit (see details below). The Hall hascontinued to grow and prosper through avariety of exhibits and interactive activities– plus the Hall of Fame on the road eventsupcoming. It is in the heart of Atlanta andcontinues with its community activities andpopular legacy brick campaign. Fans cantake a virtual tour online of the popularCollege Football Hall of Fame via the web-site. The College Football Hall of Fameand Chick-fil-A Fan Experience also areofficially part of CityPASS in Atlanta. TheHall has joined the National Center forCivil and Human Rights as key attractionsincluded in the CityPASS program whilejoining the Georgia Aquarium, World ofCoca-Cola, Zoo Atlanta, FernbankMuseum of Natural History, and CNNCenter. All active duty and retired servicemen and women receive free admission tothe Hall of Fame year-round with a valid

military ID.The NFF College Hall of Fame in

Atlanta is closed temporarily to adhere toGeorgia health regulations for crowds dur-ing the national health emergency.

The Hall is sponsoring SouthwestAirlines® Sundays in 2020 to get hypedfor college football year-round duringweekends at the Chick-fil-A CollegeFootball Hall of Fame. On the first Sundayof every month, fans can tour the Hall forfree. Fans can head downtown to experi-ence the traditions, passion and pageantryof college football through high techexhibits and content personalized for theirfavorite teams. Fans can play like legendson the Hall’s 45-yard indoor field, immersethemselves in the must-see college footballexperience, and more.The Hall on the RoadMore upcoming events TBD…

The NFF also has a special campaignthat encourages people to tell why footballmatters to them. The campaign, calledFootball Matters to me, will provide peoplefrom border-to-border and coast-to-coast avoice in highlighting the positive impactthat football has had on their lives by uti-lizing social media platforms and #ImAFootballPlayer. In 2020 the NFF again isshowcasing all the nation’s directors of ath-letics who played football and how theirexperiences helped prepare them for lead-ership roles on our nation’s college cam-puses. The campaign will capture theunique stories of each athletics director,and the stories will appear throughout theseason on FootballMatters.org, a powerfulnew addition to the NFF’s efforts to high-light the good in the game and the lifelongbenefits to those who play it.

The effort also encourages participationvia a series of national television spots withhigh-profile former players who subse-quently achieved remarkable success laterin life. The campaign started seven yearsago at the Omni Dallas Hotel during the2013 NFF Leadership Hall of Fame induc-tion of Jerry Jones, the owner, presidentand GM of the Dallas Cowboys and amember of the NFF Board of Directors.Jones, who attributes much of his successin life to his experiences as a college foot-ball player at Arkansas, worked with theNFF to help launch the campaign. For theentire release, please go to Football foun-dation.org/news/archive. The first videofeatures NFF Board member and formerChairman and CEO of GE Jeff Immelt ofDartmouth. Individuals can get involved inthe effort by simply posting their footballstories and explaining how the sport’s lifelessons have helped them off the field.Whether it’s a Tweet, a few sentences on aFacebook page or a video link, individualscan tell their football stories, and by using

#ImAFootballPlayer, their testimonials willbecome part of the Twitter feed on the NFFhomepage.2020 Institutional AcademicMembership Program Available

Each year, the NFF invites universities,colleges and conferences from across thecountry to provide support for the NFFprograms through its InstitutionalAcademic Membership Program. TheInstitutional Academic MembershipProgram allows the NFF to greatly enhancethe power of football's collective voicewhile actively building a stronger nationalplatform for the game with communityleaders, educators and the media. The pro-gram is open to all football-playing institu-tions and conferences at every level of col-lege football, and it has reached new levelsof support in recent weeks. Please emailRon Dilatush at [email protected] to learn about the benefits andhow schools can become an InstitutionalAcademic Member. The mission of theNational Football Foundation and ourmembers, simply stated, is to ensure andpromote the future of amateur football. Ifyou are not already a member, or if youhave been a member in the past, we hopeyou will join one of our 120 chaptersacross 47 states in our effort to see thismission through. NFF College Hall of Fame Facts

Some notable birthdates in NFFCollege Hall of Fame annals in the April26-May 2 time period are April 26 (1927)John Ralston, Oakland, Calif.; April 27(1887) Bishop Frank Juhan, Macon, Ga.;(1941) Lee Roy Jordan, Excel, Ala.; April28 (1876) Frank Cavanaugh, Worcester,Mass.; (1947) Bill Enyart,Pawhuska, Okla.;(1955) Wilson Whitley, Brenham, Texas;April 29 (1914) Darrell Lester, Jacksboro,Texas; (1920) David Nelson, Detroit, Mich.April 30 (1871) Fielding Yost, Fairview,W.Va.; (1887) Doc Fenton, Scranton, Pa.;(1895) Bernie Moore, Jonesboro, Tenn.;(1918) Augie Lio, East Boston, Mass.;(1935) Jon Arnett, Los Angeles, Calif.;(1941) Jerry Stovall, West Monroe, La.;May 1 (1900) Stan Barnes, Baraboo, Wis.;(1905) Chris Cagle, DeRidder, La.; (1907)Erby Pinckert, Medford, Wis.; (1910) CliffBattles, Akron, Ohio; (1925) ChuckBednarik, Bethlehem, Pa.; (1930) OllieMatson, Trinity, Texas; (1937) RogerBrown, Surry County, Va.; (1950) CarlosAlvarez, Havana, Cuba; May 2 (1887) JoeUtay, St. Louis, Mo.; (1955) RichardRitchie, Mineral Wells, Texas.

Notable anniversary death dates forHall of Famers are April 26 (1974) EddieAnderson, Clearwater, Fla.; (2011) JimMandich, Miami, Fla.; April 28 (1962)Arnett “Ace” Mumford, Baton Rouge, La.;(1993) Ben Schwartzwalder, St. Petersburg,

COLLEGES WITH BO CARTER

College Football News and Notes

The NFF College Football Hall of Fame opened on Aug. 23, 2014


Fla.; April 30 (1974) Claude Reeds,McClain, Okla.; (2012) Billy Neighbors,Huntsville, Ala.; May 2 (1983) Norm VanBrocklin, Social Circle, Ga.; (2000) HarryNewman, Las Vegas, Nev.

Happy birthdays to NFF College Hallof Fame members April 27 Lee Roy Jordan(a spry 79), April 28 Bill Enyart, April 30Jerry Stovall (a spry 79), May 1 RogerBrown (a spry 83), Carlos Alvarez, May 2Richard Ritchie, Mineral Wells, Texas.Chalktalk

Navy and Notre Dame still are scheduledto play their 2020 season opener in Dublin,Ireland, as that nation continues its regula-tion of large gatherings for events at thistime…Arkansas-Pine Bluff will travel toTulsa in 2023…Liberty will host WKU in2025…Ball State and WKU will meet in2026 and ’27…Army West Point andLouisiana-Monroe have a home-and-homeseries set for 2022 and ’23…Cal Poly willtravel to Wyoming in 2024…Holy Crosswill face Northern Illinois at DeKalb, Ill.,Aug. 30, 2025 while the Crusaders are slat-ed for a home-and-home pair of tilts withRhode Island in 2024 and ’25…Boise Statenow will play at Marshall in a nationaltelecast on Friday. Sept. 25, to accommo-date a national telecast…Indiana is nowNo. 23 in the revised ESPN FPI preseasonfootball Top 25 – just four places behindtraditional power and fellow Big TenConference member Michigan at No. 19…Incarnate Word and Purdue are dis-cussing possible future scheduling..Arizonais in contact with Northern Arizona,Northern Colorado, Cal State Bakersfield,and Montana for future schedules…Amember of the FWAA recalled severallarge college programs, which once hadfootball and were forced to drop the sportbecause of economic, wartime or otherconditions. Some of the more prominentschools who had programs that even madepostseason play and no longer sponsorfootball are Santa Clara, Creighton,Marquette, St. Mary’s (Calif.), Canisius,UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Fullerton, U.of Denver, Detroit Mercy, Drexel, andDePaul. At the same time over the last fiveseasons nearly 100 schools in all collegedivisions had added or renewed varsityfootball programs… Cleveland State hasslated future games at Duke, Kentucky andNebraska…Michigan and Oakland willrenew athletics’ series in major sports forthe first time in almost 10 years.

Oklahoma’s administration announcedthat campus will re-open on July 31, andthat is prior to the time that the Soonersfootball team is scheduled to report…TheMissouri administration is sanitizing theentire campus and debating a date for thereturn of students to campus as conditionswarrant…Syracuse announced a “boldaction: plan to return students to campus inlate summer…

Mississippi State head coach MikeLeach is keeping in contact with playersand coaches via social media and is watch-ing his Twitter and Instagram posts’ con-

tent for safety and civility. Leach enters his19th season as head coach at Texas Tech,Washington State and MSU with a 139-80record and 15 bowl appearances...Coloradohead coach Karl Dorrell, men’s basketballcoach Tad Boyle and director of athleticsRick George are among CU administratorsagreeing to compensation reduction..OregonState assistant coach Kefense Hyson is theteam’s new passing game coordinator....Former NC State co-offensive coordina-tor/running backs coach Des Kitchings hasbeen named running backs coach at SouthCarolina…SMU assistant coach Ra’ShaadSamples was featured for his connection torecruits and current players through hissolid skills as an online gaming player...…Former Eastern Washington assistantcoach Zach Bruce will return to EWU thisseason to coach safeties after living inFinland…Former Texas Tech chief of staffTim MacAllister is moving to GeorgiaSouthern as an assistant coach.

Hometowns of more 2020 college headcoaches – Arkansas: Sam Pittman, ElReno, Okla.; Arkansas State: BlakeAnderson, Jonesboro, Ark.; Army WestPoint: Jeff Monken, Peoria, Ill.; Auburn:Gus Malzahn, Irving, Texas; Ball State:Mike Neu, Indianapolis, Ind.

Indiana’s new director of athletics ScottDolson has been lauded for his previouscredentials and potential to elevate IU ath-letics on all levels..Navy AD Chet Gladchuktold media members that the academy’scurrent capital projects will be completedwithout delays…Robert Morris AD ChrisKing addressed the multiple challenges onmid-major ADs if the COVID-19 situationcontinues into autumn...Minnesota ADMark Coyle, head football coach P.J. Fleck,head basketball coaches Richard Pitino andLindsey Whalen have agreed to reducetheir current salaries....Rutgers AD PatHobbs, head basketball coaches StevePikiell and C. Vivian Stringer, and headfootball coach Greg Schiano are reducingtheir salaries to assist the department ofathletics 2019-20 budget…Louisville ADVince Tyra reconfirmed that the Cardinalswill not play 2020 football games withoutfans in stadiums…Michigan AD WardeManuel is among Wolverines administra-tors agreeing to take a five percent salaryeducation during the COVID-19 pandem-ic…Former Ohio State AD Rick Bay paidhis respects to late OSU AD and fellowsenior staff member Jim Jones in a pub-lished letter…Wake Forest AD John Currieand head Dave Clawson conducted anonline video conference to with fans and todiscuss prospects for the ‘20 footballseason...Kansas State AD Gene Taylor expressedconfidence that the upcoming football cam-paign will be played with possible schedul-ing updates…Syracuse AD John Wildhackspoke of the initial financial impact ofCOVID-19 and noted that there is no dis-cussion of eliminating any 2020-21 sportsat SU…NC State added Ken Broussard asexecutive director of Wolf Pack Club…Louisiana university ADs continue to

emphasize a hopeful outlook for fall sportsbut are looking for more concrete answersas the health situation continues to devel-op…Wyoming senior associate AD foradministration China Jude is making home-made masks for the return of Cowboys stu-dent-athletes…Oregon State’s outgoingpresident Dr. Ed Ray was complimentedfor his solid leadership in sometimes-diffi-cult situations…Arizona president Dr.Robert C. Robbins is working with athlet-ics to re-open the campus and see what the2020 football season holds…LegendaryBasketball Hall of Fame head coach MuffetMcGraw is retiring after 33 seasons ashead women’s basketball coach at NotreDame. She earlier was head coach atLehigh and played at St. Joseph’s (Pa.)…Arizona named David Miller assistantmen’s basketball coach…Longtime Duketrack and field coach Norm Ogilvie is retir-ing after 29 seasons with the Blue Devils…Missouri tabbed Chris Wootten as inter-im men’s tennis head coach...Florida A&Mis parting company with former women’shead basketball coach Kevin Lynum.......Former Montana women’s head basket-ball head coach Shannon Schweyen hasleft the program and will be replaced byinterim head coach Mike Petrino, theyounger brother of Idaho head footballcoach Paul Petrino and Missouri State headcoach Bobby Petrino. UM assistant coach-es Jordan Sullivan, Nate Covil and JaceHenderson all will return for the 2020-21staff…Idaho State named Alexander Freehead tennis coach…Former Kansas walkonand Texas women’s basketball assistantcoach Terry Nooner will join KU’swomen's basketball coaching staff as anassistant…Dartmouth men's hockey headcoach Bob Gaudet is retiring after 23 sea-sons at the Ivy League member...Minnesotasoftball head coach Jamie Trachsel is tak-ing the same position at Ole Miss…CalState Northridge women’s head basketballcoach Jason Flowers is leaving after 10seasons at the university.

Conference commissioners from NCAAFBS circuits again acknowledged that stu-dents will have to return to campus in orderfor the 2020 season to begin and dissuadedtalks about playing in stadiums withoutfans …Conference USA has been issuingsalutes to its corporate sponsors and high-lighted Baylor Scott and White MedicalCenters for their support of the league. C-USA also had a national YouTube andFacebook Live webstream with four headcoaches, including UAB football’s BillClark, last week with veteran broadcasterRon Thulin serving as emcee…Pac-12Conference commissioner Larry Scottremains optimistic about the coming foot-ball season after a recent teleconferencewith U.S. Vice President Mike Pence andADs from his conference…Matchups forthe Big East-Big 12 Conference men’s bas-ketball challenge on ESPN were denotedlast week…Tarleton State is working withthe NCAA to make a smooth transitionfrom NCAA Division II to I and member-

ship in the Western Athletic Conference in2020-21 after completing TSU’s tenure inthe Lone Star Conference since 1968…ThePac-12 Networks are working with Pac-12Conference officials to determine the bestway to cover 2020 contests and challengesfacing conference-based regional sportsnetworks.

Radiance Technologies of Huntsville,Ala., is the new title sponsor for the 2020Independence Bowl with a five-year guar-antee...The TaxSlayer Gator Bowl namedJohn Duce as its 2020 chairman…TheLockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl nowhas a bowl-best 457 composite pointsscored by teams playing in its last six out-ings…Several college bowl committeesremain open to possible changes of dateswith the same venues as previous years andpossible pushback of the 2020 football sea-son. They have been holding board meet-ings and discussions with community lead-ers about scenarios and local/regional support.

SMU wideout James Proche related howhe stayed in peak condition throughout thespring and after the NFL Combine prior tothe NFL Draft last week…Wide receiverHayden Church has signed to play for theUniversity of Calgary (Canada)…DavidSloan is transferring from Kansas State toEast Tennessee State as a 2020-21 trans-fer…Former South Carolina standout JairButler is moving to Butler as a graduatetransfer…East Carolina 2020 spring sportssenior Nick Barber will not utilize his addi-tional year of NCAA-approved eligibilityfor the Pirates in 2021....A&M’s VernonJackson is seeking to return to playing sta-tus before 2020 fall workouts begin.

Former West Virginia and NFL DetroitLions assistant Coach Daron K. Robertshas published a new book, Call an Audible,about his move from Harvard Law Schoolinto assistant football coaching and laterthe non-profit education sector. He alsowas the University of Texas’ 2011Outstanding Young Alumnus…RobGronkowski and the famed Gronkowskibrothers via Arizona, is returning to theNFL after retiring from the New EnglandPatriots in 2018. He will be reunited withlongtime Patriots teammate Tom Brady ofMichigan this season as a tight end for theNFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers…LongtimeMississippi State and Delta State supporterand retired business executive/chairman ofthe Mississippi Board of Institutions ofHigher Learning Bryce Griffis celebratedhis 90th birthday last week…FormerMichigan football student-athlete ChuckChristian has been receiving tons ofprayers and support nationally as he battlesprostate cancer in the Boston, Mass.,area…Former NC State head basketballcoach and television sports analyst BuckyWaters has recuperated from a recent ill-ness and proclaims himself “84 and frisky.Georgia fans have been urged to continueto show their loyalty by renewing footballseason, and thousands have responded



…UNLV football is accepting $1 depositson a layaway plan for season tickets....…Michigan State president Dr. SamuelStanley and several top administrators willhave salary reductions along with a post-ponement of several building projects andpossible personnel furloughs…ACT andSAT admissions’ exams will resume incoming days but will not be required forunsigned student-athletes entering NCAAinstitutions in 2020-21 due to COVID-19conditions and school/testing facility clo-sures. The California State UniversitySystem has suspended SAT and ACT test-ing requirements for the 2021-22 academicyear as well…Arizona assistant AD ChrisCelona and UA ticket office officials havebeen making adjustments to first-ever off-season financial challenges and seasonticket deadline updates…Texas officialsextended their deadline for season ticketrenewals for a second time to May 1....…University of Alabama System chancel-lor Dr. Finis St. John spoke about thegroup’s plans for reopening classrooms and’20 football games…COVID-19 is causingseveral cost cuts and creativity in budgetingfor Connecticut's athletics programs..BoiseState staff and athletics department mem-bers have been placed on furloughs rangingfrom 10 days to six weeks to help offset aprojected $10 million deficit due to numer-ous event cancellations…Louisville athlet-ics also made furloughs of 60 days for 45employees in the department of athletics…North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, andWyoming colleges and universities may beable to get their departments of athleticsback at full force because COVID-19 hasnot struck these areas as hard or is abating…Historic Indian Wells Golf Club inRiverside, Calif., re-opened for play lastFriday, and several students, faculty andstaff from nearby UC Riverside tookadvantage of ideal weather conditions tovisit the course…Nebraska’s new 46,000-square foot Francis Allen TrainingComplex has been lauded for its state-of-the-art amenities…Arkansas State is work-ing on financial adjustments from the eco-nomic downturn and future U.S. recovery…Oklahoma City and the OKC SportsCommission are counting the potentialfunds lost from the cancellation of the2020 NCAA Women’s College WorldSeries in softball…Omaha, Neb., is assess-ing the effects of major revenue losses forthe cancellation of the NCAA Division IBaseball World Series for the first timesince the event moved to Omaha in 1950. Itis the longest-running NCAA champi-onship site – 70 seasons – in all NCAAdivisions…Several administrators andmedia members have joined longtime col-lege sports and marketing guru Russ Pottsin looking at nearby inter-conference rival-ry games such as Maryland-Virginia,Texas-Texas A&M, Connecticut-Rutgers,BYU-Colorado, and others to help atten-dance and rejuvenation of football revenue…Construction on Bryant-Denny Stadiumand other Alabama athletics projects con-

tinues as Alabama are utilizing face masksand social distancing…Some of Minnesotaathletics’ initial budget cuts are dealingwith the football program…Several pastand present Ole Miss football players andalumni are helping North Mississippi andother area first responders with fundraisingefforts…Ohio State athletics estimates thevalue of the Buckeyes seven home gamesat net income of $50 million-plus this year.OSU athletics also explained that extensivetesting procedures for COVID-19 will bethe key to re-starting live classes and 2020-21 athletics competition…Several NCAAschools have re-dedicated their pledge tokeep women’s athletics funded as highly aspossible…Colorado, Colorado State andIllinois athletics all are bracing for proba-ble cutbacks and individual compensationshrinkage in coming days due to COVID-19 concerns…Penn State athletics willfund scholarships for returning 2021 springsport seniors at the same financial rates as2020 and anticipates the total cost for thoseextended grants will be approximately$700,000…Harvard University will notaccept the $8 million CARES stimulusfunding from Congress...Princeton hasrejected its $2.4 million CARES Act allo-cation while Stanford also declined thestimulus funding. Duke also has passed ona $6 million stimulus grant. Several othermajor universities are holding discussionsabout accepting CARES’ assistance whilemany mid-major public colleges and uni-versities have earmarked funds for studentswho cannot make tuition and fee paymentsdue to family financial circumstances....…Louisville athletics will maintain all itsvarsity teams in 2020-21 despite budgetchallenges…Marshall’s state-approvedincrease for athletics has been rescinded bythe legislature due to COVID-19 conditions…The University of Texas is exploringpossible dates to re-open the campus tostudents, faculty and staff, and it may belater in the summer before 2020 footballpractice begins...Texas A&M athletics andthe fundraising 12th Man Foundationbriefed fans, prospective ticket purchasersand supporters on various season ticketholder options…Louisiana Tech continuesto make rebuilding progress on severalfacilities damaged by a tornado in April2019…Boise State is looking at the possi-bility of serving malt beverages at its 2020home contests for the first time…A recentjoint study by Purdue and Stanford medicalprofessionals indicates that a slight changeto offensive linemen’s stances will limitfrequent hits to the head at the line ofscrimmage…UNLV will utilize digital sea-son tickets for both football and men's bas-ketball in 2020-21…The Citadel’s newSporTurf artificial surface installation isprogressing at a good pace at JohnsonHagood Stadium…Air Force will not con-duct is popular summer sports camps, andAFA athletics projects a $1 million revenuesetback…Fresno State is hoping to keepthe renovation of Bulldog Stadium onschedule…Kansas State has pledged to

bring back all spring sports seniors willingto return for an additional season in 2021…UCLA is extending an extra season to its2020 spring sport seniors in ’21. The own-ers of Louisville Slugger® are in a holdingpattern for business due to plant and supplycompany closings...Kentucky andLouisville’s university administrations andathletics are in the midst of planning cost-cutting measures...Michigan has inaugurat-ed hiring and compensation freezes withpossible losses of $400 million to $1 bil-lion in overall revenue…Illinois athleticshas considered adding a varsity ice hockeyprogram, but has that proposal literally onice until after the COVID-19 outbreak sub-sides…Indiana has changed its system of2020 football season ticket renewals due tocurrent conditions…The NCAA is debatingcutting the 16-sport minimum for someschools due to economic conditions in2020-21.

John Feinstein of the Washington Postpenned a heartfelt tribute to Bill Millsapswho passed away April 17 at the age of 77after an award-winning career with theRichmond (Va.) Times Dispatch from1966-2005...TNT has not set a date but willoffer a live, national telecast of the NFFCollege Hall of Fame QB Peyton Manningof Tennessee and Tiger Woods of Stanfordagainst QB Tom Brady of Michigan andPhil Mickelson of Arizona State in TheMatch: Champions For Charity to assistrelief efforts for the COVID-19 challenge…The Omaha, Neb., World-Herald wrote aresearch article about possibilities for the2020 football season...The Chicago Tribuneexplored college football played withouttailgates, traditions or fans in the standsand how television might affect the start ofthe upcoming campaign…The Tulsa Worldspoke of how funding for COVID-19 treat-ment and prevention might affect amateurstatus of hundreds of student-athletes,depending on NCAA interpretations…TheLos Angeles Times reviewed various meth-ods colleges were using to economize dur-ing COVID-19…OregonLive.com penneda story about the possible effects of a short-ened or postponed football season.

FWAA member Ric Serritella recentlypublished the popular 2020 NFL DraftBible Creator, and the edition is online viaNFLDraftBible.com…Miles McQuiggan ofBryant, Eric Rhew of UNCW, David Siroty(formerly of Seton Hall, now with FrontPorch Athletics), Akilah Laster ofCalifornia, Andrew Merced of UC Merced,Cindy Potter of Columbia College, DanRuede of New Haven, and Clark Teuscherof North Central (Ill.) were featured sub-jects and opinion makers in the CoSIDAOpen Forum online newsletter…Arizona,Baylor, Connecticut, Louisville, Michigan,and Michigan State are working withNCAA enforcement and compliance offi-cials concerning possible issues and reportsat their respective schools…The TexasUniversity Interscholastic League has can-celled all spring sports championships afterthe state of Texas called off all in-person

classes activities for the remainder of thespring semester. The UIL does not antici-pate eliminating any 2020-21 team or indi-vidual championships or events due to eco-nomic conditions…One NCAA compensa-tion plan on the table possibly allows busi-ness dealing with specific schools’ boosters– a former prohibition under NCAArecruiting and eligibility standards.

Jace Prescott, the older brother of for-mer Mississippi State star and NFL DallasCowboys QB Dak Prescott, passed awayApril 23. Jace Prescott starred as a 6-6,343-pound D-lineman at NorthwesternState from 2008-10 and was 31…FormerOregon State and NFL Kansas City Chiefsstandout Dr. Pellom McDaniels III passedaway in the Atlanta, Ga., area April 21. Hewas 52 and had taught at both UMKC andEmory University for several years afterretiring from football…Jim Jones, retireddirector of athletics, assistant coach andlongtime administrator at Ohio State,passed away April 22 in Bonita Springs,Fla. He was 83…William & Mary’s 30-plus-years all-conference football center,assistant coach and administrator BobSolderitch passed away April 13 inWilliamsburg, Va. He was 55…RobertVecchione Sr., father of NACDA executivedirector Bob Vecchione, passed away April14 in Wood Dale, Ill. Vecchione Sr. attend-ed 35 consecutive NCAA Men’s BasketballFinal Fours® from 1985-2019, was 92years old and cherished college footballand dozens of other sports…Joe Denton,father of TCU assistant AD and football/basketball broadcaster John Denton,passed away April 12 in the Fort Worth,Texas, area after being active in footballand professional golf circles for over sixdecades…Bob Brandenberger, a memberof the Texas Bandmasters Hall of Fameand longtime band director and assistantband director in the Richardson (Texas)Independent School District and at SMU,passed away April 16 in Dallas. He was 71.Other NFF Chapter Updates, News:

Save the Date – Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020:The 63rd annual NFF Awards Dinner is setfor Tuesday, Dec. 8, in New York City, andplease contact NFF Director of NationalEvents Will Rudd for additional details andseat purchases.

NFF Chapter Awards Ended 2019Banquet, Related Activities Seasons withAnother $1 Million-Plus in Scholarships,More National Honors Anticipated ForRecipients in 2020Upcoming NFF Chapter and Awards’Events:

The NFF Tom Lombardo/St. LouisChapter has canceled its recent luncheonsas well as its scholar-athlete banquet origi-nally scheduled for May 3 and hopes toreschedule the banquet at a later date…TheNFF Gridiron Club of Dallas has cancelledits 2020 Awards Banquet and will honorseveral area football dignitaries and collegeand high school scholars-athletes at a dateto be determined in 2021.


by Matt Degen

The Ford F-150 remains the best-sellingfull-size pickup in America, and it doesn’tlook like that’s set to change anytime soon.With longtime rivals Chevy, Ram andToyota all vying for Ford’s loyal customerbase, the F-150 manages to stay one stepahead by constantly innovating, expandingand improving. With its aluminum body,10-speed automatic transmission and multi-ple high-tech driver assists, the F-150 con-tinues to redefine what a pickup truck canbe, offering models ranging from basicwork truck to luxurious horse hauler. Fordoffers a number of engine options, too,including a V6, V8, three EcoBoost tur-bocharged engines and even a turbodiesel.Ford’s F-150 also boasts the most horse-power in a half-ton pickup, along withbest-in-class towing and hauling numbers.

Driving the Ford F150 Regular CabOpt for the base 3.3-liter V6 and you’ll endup with decent power for hauling and lighttowing coupled with good fuel economy.What you won’t get is an engine with thepower to quickly pass, merge and blast offfrom a dead stop. The 5.0-liter V8 offersgood power, but poor fuel economy. If youwant the right engine for such a big truck,you’re going to want to go with either the2.7-liter EcoBoost V6, 3.5-liter EcoBoostV6 or the 3.0-liter Power Stroke V6 tur-bodiesel. These three engines offer superiorabilities when it comes to towing, hauling,fuel economy and acceleration, and theyreally don’t push the F-150’s price all thatmuch higher. As for ride and handling, youmay be surprised such big trucks can be soresponsive. The ride is smooth and stable,even with a loaded bed, and the F-150’sinterior can be anything from comfortable

cruiser to luxurious land yacht. Numerouselectronic aids further assist with towing,braking and trailer control.

Don’t let the small displacement foolyou; the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 offers up asmuch torque as the F-150’s 5.0-liter V8engine, can tow up to 8,500 pounds andreturns the best fuel economy of the gaso-line engines.

Have problems parking with a trailerattached? Pro Trailer Backup Assist canhandle the job. Using a view screen andcontrol knob, the driver can input left orright commands while the F-150 handlesthe steering and brakes. A 360-degree cam-era can help when hitching a trailer to theball, while a blind-spot monitor puts eyeswhere they are most needed.

The F-150’s interior is rugged andattractive, but above all, it’s easy to use.There are numerous interior colors andplenty of available cool features like 3-prong power outlets, adaptive cruise con-trol that can bring the truck to a full stop, a4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot, active park assist,and the ability to have the Sync 3 infotain-ment system read text messages to youwhile you drive. The SuperCrew (crewcab) is extremely roomy, with rear-seatlegroom that bests some full-size sedans.Because the F-150’s floor is flat, even thedreaded middle rear seat is comfortable.

Ford’s full-size pickup continues to usea military-grade aluminum body, but thatbody was recently restyled to emulate thelooks of the big-brother Super Duty lineup.Bold grilles, headlights and wheel designshelp differentiate the different trim levels.Aside from the truck’s new look, muchabout the design was born from necessity.The tailgate is available with a pull-outstep that makes it much easier to get into

the bed to manage payload. There are alsopop-out steps on the sides that help withthe same purpose.

The base-model F-150 is a regular-cab,2-wheel-drive (2WD) XL, which comeswith enough standard equipment thatmakes it possible to buy a decent truck toget work done at a reasonable price. Eventrucks equipped with the 3.3-liter baseengine and 6-speed automatic transmissioncome standard with auto start/stop, and allF-150s get the same ultra-strong hydro-formed, fully boxed frame. Hill-start assistand Trailer Sway Control are standard, asare Curve Control, 17-inch wheels and airconditioning.

There are plenty of appealing upscaletrim levels, including the King Ranch,Platinum and Limited. Available optionsmake the interior luxury plush, such asheated leather front and rear seats (10-way-power, cooled and massaging front seats),Sync 3 and Bang & Olufsen Play or Sonyaudio systems. A variety of towing assistand safety systems is offered, as are adap-tive cruise control and side steps thatdeploy when a door is opened and retractwhen the door closes. On the safety front,the Ford F-150 is offered with inflatablerear seatbelts and a blind-spot informationsystem. Four-wheel drive (4WD) is avail-able.

The Ford F-150 offers a choice of sixengines, one of which is a new high-output3.5-liter EcoBoost V6. The base engine is a290-horsepower, 3.3-liter V6 — more pow-erful and more efficient than previous FordV6s — and the only one in the line with a6-speed automatic. The rest use a 10-speedautomatic, including the 2.7-liter EcoBoostV6, with 400 lb-ft of torque and the bestfuel economy of all the gas engines. The

5.0-liter V8 remains the same this year, asdoes the standard 3.5-liter EcoBoost. The3.0-liter Power Stroke turbodiesel offers250 horsepower and 440 lb-ft of torque,more than any other diesel in this segment.The Limited and Raptor come with theaforementioned 450-horsepower HighOutput 3.5-liter EcoBoost, both modelscapable of towing up to 13,200 poundswith the optional tow package.3.3-liter V6290 horsepower @ 6,500 rpm265 lb-ft of torque @ 4,000 rpmEPA city/highway fuel economy: 19/25mpg (2WD), 14/19 mpg (E85, 2WD),18/23 mpg (4WD), 13/17 mpg (E85, 4WD)2.7-liter twin-turbocharged V6325 horsepower @ 5,000 rpm400 lb-ft of torque @ 2,750 rpmEPA city/highway fuel economy: 20/26mpg (2WD), 19/24 mpg (4WD)3.0-liter turbodiesel V6250 horsepower @ 3,250 rpm440 lb-ft of torque @ 1,750 rpmEPA city/highway fuel economy: 22/30mpg (2WD), 20/25 mpg (4WD)3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6375 horsepower @ 5,000 rpm470 lb-ft of torque @ 3,500 rpmEPA city/highway fuel economy: 18/25mpg (2WD), 17/23 mpg (4WD)5.0-liter V8395 horsepower @ 5,750 rpm400 lb-ft of torque @ 4,500 rpmEPA city/high fuel economy: 17/23 mpg(2WD), 12/17 mpg (E85, 2WD), 16/22mpg (4WD), 12/15 mpg (E85, 4WD)3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6 (Raptor,Limited)450 horsepower @ 5,000 rpm510 lb-ft of torque @ 3,500 rpmEPA city/highway fuel economy: 15/18mpg (Raptor), 17/21 (Limited)

The Ford F-150 MSRP starts at justunder $30,000 for a regular cab XL (allprices include $1,495 destination). XLTpricing begins at $35,655. The Lariat startsat nearly $44,000, which sounds like a big-ger price jump than it actually is, becauseevery model above the XLT comes as aSuperCab (extended cab) or larger, whilethe XL and XLT prices are for regularcabs. The Raptor begins at $54,380, theKing Ranch at nearly $54,000 and thePlatinum close to $56,500. Pricing is com-parable to trucks like the Ram 1500 andChevrolet Silverado, but as is the case withmany full-size trucks, F-150s can getpricey. The top-line Limited starts around$68,500 and with every option it canapproach $75,000.

As far as resale value goes, the Ford F-150 holds its own among its competitors,with the Toyota Tundra being the standard-bearer of the bunch.

FORD F150AUTO

America’s best-selling full-size pickup


TICKET WINDOW


By RICHARD POLLAK

By Richard PollakThe Traveling Gourmet

[email protected]

There are more Restaurants per capita inDallas than in New York City. We don'thave a pudding, peanut butter or cerealonly store but we have exceptional newdiscoveries to share! The Dallas diningscene expands the globe and yet makesgood for the local yokels like me!

Sumo Shack has made the AmericanHot Dog a Japanese import. It's really funto dress a dog with Japanese tastes and tra-ditions. There is no Ketchup or YellowMustard and they use a different roll, madefrom Potatoes, then sprinkle it with allthings you don't want to ask about onlyenjoy. The off campus SMU hangout hasan exceptional Bar atmosphere as well.

The second half of the Sumo Shackmenu is bao sandwiches. Bao is a white,warm soft bun....also known as steamedbuns...and can be packed away with justabout anything. Sumo Shack offers ninedifferent options such as Philly CheeseSteak, Fried Chicken, Pork Belly, ShitakeMushroom, Fish or Soft Shell Crab. Thereis even a Tofu option.

You have to be skeptical that the fresh-est New England seafood can land inAddison Texas but it has at Hudson House!

The menu is extensive from breakfastspecialties such as Pancakes, Bagels andLox, Avacado Toast and Eggs Benedict tolunch and dinner. Seafood, Salads to grilledEntrees. The weekly Happy Hour is fan-tastic and offers half price Oysters and theWorlds Coldest Martinis. The ‘Big

Brother’ Lobster Roll at Hudson House is aquarter pound of fresh Atlantic lobsterserved New England style and a must try.

Nelson’s is a full service casual diningrestaurant specializing in grilled seafoodand steaks. But it doesn’t stop there, theyalso offer fantastic fried seafood basketssuch as Fried Catfish and Fried Shrimp.

The Ribeye at Nelsons adds an upscaleexperience to the menu, along with grilledRedfish and Salmon. Sandwiches andSalads are available as well. A unique fea-ture to the Appetizer menu that you rarely

find is Deviled Eggs topped with Bacon,Relish or Plain.

Meat Point is a gourmet kosher steak-house created by an Isreali chef featuringIsraeli-American fusion of flavors. Themenu is extensive featuring dishes such aslamb chops, rib eye steaks, grilled chickenand wonderful Angus rib eye burgers. Awide variety that includes wings, grilledbone marrow pasta and salads as well.

Mesero continental Mexico City cuisine

an array of Mexican dishes such as RedfishEn La Media Concha, Pollo La Brasa,Carne Asada and familiar Mexicanfavorites such as Enchiladas, Tacos, combi-nation plates, Caldos, Ensaladas andNachos. If not in the mood for Mexicanfood, Masero also serves a double CheeseCheeseburger, quarter pound Wagu BeefHot Dog and oven roasted Chicken.

Mesero now has five locations in theDallas area.

FOOD REVIEW

New discoveries worth writing about

Sumo Shack made the American Hot Dog a Japaneseimport

Sumo Shack also offers bao Sandwiches

Hudson House brings East Coast seafood to the neighbor-hood

Lobster Roll at Hudson House

The Ribeye at Nelson’s

Meat Point is a gourmet kosher steakhouse

Oven roasted, slow-cooked Brisket Tacos at Mesero

grading the 2020 nfl draft by team

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