Category: Sports

“Just don’t lose to that lot”. If listening into conversations in four particular areas of the world this week, that is a sentence that will be repeated en masse. 

Arrive in St Helens, Wigan and east or west Hull and that is all that will be being spoken about – defeating your local rival.

It is often debated which of these two derbies is better, more bruising, more historic, more fierce. But in the memeified words of Rio Ferdinand: “People try to make comparisons about who is better- just enjoy them, man.”

That is exactly what Super League fans can do this weekend as we are treated to St Helens vs Wigan and Hull KR vs Hull FC, live on Sky Sports.

When the rivalry between St Helens and Wigan officially began all the way back in 1895, no one could have predicted that matches between the teams from two towns separated by around 10 miles and one big hill, affectionately known as ‘Billinge lump’, would grow into one of the sport’s most successful, prestigious and iconic bouts.

It is a derby steeped in tradition, honours and a profound need to be known as the team winning more silverware than the other, having competed against each other in 20 major finals.

As two of Super League’s founding giants, these teams know what it is to lift a trophy but if you were to ask their fans, beating the old enemy sits top of their priority list in a season.

While a profound respect for the accolades of the opposition is maintained, when the week hits where Saints play Wigan, it becomes about which team of locally-produced lads is going to come out on top against the other.

Expect a bruising battle between two sides that have helped define the term ‘Super League rivalry’.

Second-placed Wigan will be the favourites – they have Bevan French back! But the age-old saying is that you can never predict what will happen in a derby.

St Helens head coach Paul Wellens has some questions to answer this week: How to fill the gaps left by Morgan Knowles and George Delaney? Where to play Jack Welsby? Where to play Tristan Sailor?

But if he can answer them, Saints will feel confident they can put themselves right back in the mix of the ‘Final Charge’ with just over a month of the season remaining.

The Hull derby? Welcome to a city divided

Underlying the rivalry in Hull is a venomous hatred, a city split firmly in half. Families will draw lines in the sand for one day and one day only, their vehement support for their side leaving them unable to communicate with anyone they know of opposition colours until the clash is over.

In the only rivalry where the two clubs are from the same city, Hull FC taking on Hull KR is a lesson in fierceness, deep-rooted disdain and brutality of the highest order.

The history between Hull KR and Hull FC stretches back to 1899 when the Robins triumphed 8-2, although the Black and Whites have the better all-time head-to-head record with 124 wins to Hull KR’s 114. There have been 10 draws between the sides down the years as well.

A win is an opportunity for either side to say ‘today this city is ours’.

Hull KR know if they win this game the League Leaders’ Shield is all but theirs. A sweet moment to wrap that up for the first time in the club’s history against their old foes.

Hull FC will want to spoil the party and ensure they keep their play-off hopes going all the way until Round 27.

Ask any player – to play in one of these derbies, especially if you are from the area, is a season-defining, no, career-defining opportunity.

These players have gone from screaming for their side in the stands to etching their name on an illustrious list of players to have competed against their foes.

Indeed if you are ever brave enough to leave one rival for another, crossing the boundary lines comes with a heavy dose of scepticism as fans grapple with the idea that you could ever play for the enemy after experiencing their club.

Do you forever get to be the Wigan lad who broke Saints’ hearts? Do you get to be hated in west Hull but adored in the east? Do you get to become a living reality of the phrase ‘never write off the Saints’? Do you get to show that the Black and Whites are on the rise?

This weekend we will get to find out as two iconic rivalries shape Super League.

How to watch:

You can watch the double-header between St Helens and Wigan live on Sky Sports+ from 5pm on Friday September 5. St Helens Women will take on Wigan Warriors Women from 5.20pm before the men’s bout at 8pm.

Then, on Sunday September 7, Hull KR welcome Hull FC in the Hull derby, live on Sky Sports+ from 3pm with kick-of at 3.05pm.

Watch every Super League game live on Sky Sports. Two matches in each round are exclusively live, with the remaining four fixtures shown on Sky Sports+ via the red button.

Real Madrid and Barcelona are interested in a pre-contract agreement for Crystal Palace‘s Marc Guéhi, while Galatasaray are monitoring Ademola Lookman and Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez doesn’t want to move to Turkey. Join us for the latest transfer news, rumors and gossip from around the globe.

Transfers homepage | Done deals | Men’s grades | Women’s grades

TOP STORIES

– Sources: Crystal Palace pull out of Guéhi to Liverpool move
– Sources: Man City signing Donnarumma; Ederson departs
– Premier League teams clear £3bn, smash record transfer spend

TRENDING RUMORS

– Real Madrid and Barcelona are interested in reaching a pre-contract agreement with Crystal Palace center back Marc Guéhi after his deadline day move to Liverpool collapsed, according to The Sun. The Reds had agreed a £35m deal with the Eagles but manager Oliver Glasner insisted that his captain shouldn’t leave, and Palace were eventually unable to find a replacement. With Guéhi’s contract ending in the summer, the 25-year-old will be able to reach a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs from Jan. 1.

– Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez doesn’t want to go to Turkey, after failing to get a move in the summer window, says The Daily Mail. Villa didn’t receive a bid from Manchester United, despite the 32-year-old agitating for a move to Old Trafford, and the Turkish window remains open until Sept. 12. Another option could be to head to Saudi Arabia before its window closes on Sept. 23, but the Argentina international is reportedly keen to continue competing at the highest level.

– Manchester City have authorized midfielder Ilkay Gündogan to fly to Istanbul on Tuesday to sign with Galatasaray, as reported by Fabrizio Romano. If everything goes to plan, the 34-year-old will sign a contract until June 2027. Gundogan hasn’t played a single minute in the Premier League this season, making the bench in two of City’s three games.

– While referencing that Galatasaray’s priority was signing a goalkeeper, which they have now done by bringing in Ugurcan Çakir, Rudy Galetti reports that the Turkish Super Lig side are tracking Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman. The 27-year-old had been strongly linked with a move away, with Internazionale and Bayern Munich among his potential clubs, but Gala are now ready to use Turkey’s later deadline to try to bring him in as they did with striker Victor Osimhen last year.

– Saudi Arabian club Neom and an unnamed Turkish side have asked for information on Al Hilal striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, as has been reported by Nicolo Schira. The 30-year-old isn’t in Simone Inzaghi’s plans and is ready to leave, with both the club and player now working to find a solution. This comes despite Mitrovic returning 68 goals and 15 assists in 79 matches for Al Hilal since signing for them in August 2023.

COMPLETED DEALS

– Manchester City have completed the signing of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain. The Italy international has moved to the Etihad Stadium in a deal worth €30m and signed a five-year contract. Read

– Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson has completed a £12.1m move to Fenerbahce. Read

– Inter Milan have completed a deal to sign Man City defender Manuel Akanji for a €2m loan fee, with an option to sign permanently for €15m. Read

– Matt O’Riley has completed a season-long loan move from Brighton to Marseille and will link up with former Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi. Read

– Marseille have signed West Ham defender Nayef Aguerd for a €23m fee.

EXPERT TAKE

OTHER RUMORS

– Liverpool’s Joe Gomez was blocked from joining AC Milan after their efforts to land Guéhi collapsed. (Fabrizio Romano)

– Tottenham forward Manor Solomon was set to join Crystal Palace on loan, before the club pulled out of the deal and he moved to Villarreal instead. (Sky Sports)

– Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White signed a new contract recently, but will still be a target for Aston Villa, West Ham, Newcastle and Tottenham in January. (CaughtOffside)

– Raheem Sterling will stay at Chelsea for now, with other players’ futures prioritized before that of the winger. (Daily Mail)

– Fulham midfielder Harry Wilson saw a late move to Leeds United collapse. (Yorkshire Evening Post)

– As a result, Fulham’s move for 19-year-old Chelsea winger Tyrique George also fell through (Evening Standard)

– Athletic Club are closing on the return of defender Aymeric Laporte from Al Nassr, with all the documents through on time. (Fabrizio Romano)

– Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos has angered his club after pulling out of a transfer to Marseille. (Sport)

– Paris Saint-Germain defender Presnel Kimpembe is set to end his two-decade career in Paris to join a club in Qatar. (L’Equipe)

– Corinthians, Santos, Sao Paulo and clubs from Saudi Arabia and Turkey are interested in Boavista midfielder Miguel Reisinho. (Rudy Galetti)

– Hellas Verona are scheduling a medical for free agent midfielder Roberto Gagliardini with a deal advancing. (Nicolo Schira)

– Yahia Fofana will join Rizespor on a free transfer but Angers will get a percentage of the fee from the goalkeeper’s next move. (Fabrice Hawkins)

Venus Williams is into the US Open women’s doubles quarter-finals with Leylah Fernandez and now wants her old partner to come back.

Williams made the plea for her younger sister Serena Williams to show up after she and Fernandez beat the 12th-seeded duo of Ekaterina Alexandrova and Zhang Shuai 6-3 6-4 in their third-round match in front of a capacity crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

“She’s so happy for Leylah and I, and she’s given us advice,” Williams said. “We just need her in the box. So, my message is, ‘Serena, you need to show up’.”

Williams and Fernandez will play again on Tuesday against the top-seeded duo of Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova.

The Williams sisters won 14 major championships together. Even if Serena chooses not to attend, she is definitely watching.

“She gave me a pep talk and made sure to call me today. I was, like, ‘You’re right. I got it. I got it’,” Venus said.

“She’s definitely coaching from afar. She’s so excited. She gets so nervous watching, and she’s got the kids watching. They’re all at home, just really on our side.”

Venus said she was sent a video of her two nieces watching the match and yelling her name.

Williams and Fernandez had not played together until last week, when they received a wild-card entry into the field at the Grand Slam tournament. They are now 3-0 and have not lost a set in the process.

“We’re on the same wavelength, and hopefully we can keep it going,” Williams said.

With the stands packed at Armstrong and a wait to get in to see Williams and Fernandez, the 45-year-old American and 22-year-old Canadian needed just an hour and 14 minutes to move on.

“I have full confidence in Venus, and I hope she has full confidence in me during our match,” Fernandez said. “We’re just going out there, playing our game: Be offensive, aggressive and ready for the ball.”

Venus has called Fernandez her best partner other than Serena. She joked that Serena did not have any advice for Fernandez, the 2021 US Open runner-up in singles.

“So I guess you’re playing perfect,” Williams said to her partner during their press conference.

Serena has not played since the 2022 US Open. If she does return to Flushing Meadows, it sounds as if Venus would expect her to bring a racket.

“If she came, it would be a dream for both of us and we’d have her on the court coaching,” Venus said. “We’d force her to hit, even though she doesn’t hit often. It’s probably best she doesn’t come because we’d probably bully her.”

Watch the US Open in New York, live on Sky Sports or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.

Week 1 is wrapping up and we’ve seen plenty of surprise performances — and some room for growth. Texas quarterback Arch Manning showed against Ohio State that there’s room to improve when it comes to his decision-making, accuracy and timing. Meanwhile, Utah‘s new-look offense — with a new offensive coordinator and starting quarterback — showed that it might be the team to beat in a wide-open Big 12 title race.

Can Manning shake off the debut jitters and show that he can shine in the spotlight? Can Utah continue to show out on both sides of the ball?

Our college football experts break down key takeaways from Week 1 performances.

How the CFP committee will evaluate Week 1 performances

The College Football Playoff selection committee is going to continue to use schedule strength to evaluate teams, but that will be balanced with what happens on the field — and that could be a problem for Alabama, Texas and Clemson if they don’t get better in specific areas.

Alabama and Texas lost nonconference games to quality opponents on the road — Alabama at Florida State and Texas at Ohio State — and the committee isn’t going to penalize them for scheduling those blockbuster matchups. The bigger concern is how those teams struggled in the losses. The Tide was beaten physically up front, while Texas sputtered and stuttered in the red zone and was unable to get its downfield passing game going under Arch Manning. LSU‘s defense had its way with Clemson, which was expecting more from a veteran passing game led by Cade Klubnik. These head-to-head results will last and could mean the difference in a first-round home game, a first-round bye or an at-large bid. — Heather Dinich

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What happened to Arch Manning?

On his first snap, Manning rolled right and had DeAndre Moore Jr. running wide open on a corner route. Yet in a harbinger of what was to come, he threw the pass straight into the turf.

In one of the most anticipated debuts in recent college football history, Manning completely floundered at the Horseshoe. He was indecisive, inaccurate and looked plain rattled.

According to ESPN Research, Manning was 0-for-5 on passes 5 or more yards downfield over the first three quarters. He also finished with an off-target rate of 37% — the worst game in that department by any Texas quarterback over the past decade. Manning telegraphed one downfield interception with a long windup, and nearly telegraphed another, but officials overturned the tipped pick.

Maybe it was first-game nerves. Maybe it was the hostile environment. Maybe it was just a really bad day.

The rest of the Longhorns, meanwhile, looked championship caliber. The offensive line gave Manning plenty of time to throw. The running backs ran hard between the tackles. The defense kept a conservative Ohio State offense mostly in check.

But Manning must be a whole lot better. Otherwise, Texas’ national championship aspirations will quickly be dashed. — Jake Trotter

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Colorado’s philosophical change will take time

I asked Deion Sanders how he felt about coaching his first game for Colorado after bladder replacement/reconstruction surgery this spring, and he didn’t spend much time on his health.

“Felt good,” he said. “I don’t feel good right now, but I felt darn good during the game.”

Sanders was more interested in discussing a season-opening loss that Colorado led early, should have led by more, missed chances to hit on big plays and ultimately couldn’t stop the type of offense in Georgia Tech that the Buffaloes are trying to become. Colorado talked all summer about winning the line of scrimmage and being more physical after the departures of Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, record-setting quarterback Shedeur Sanders and several productive wide receivers.

The Buffs were better in certain areas, namely their run game, which had been the worst in the FBS during Sanders’ tenure. Colorado had 31 attempts for 146 yards and a touchdown, the third-highest total in the Sanders era and the most since having 148 yards last October in a dominant win against Arizona. Sanders is committed to the shift, saying Colorado should have run even more, beginning with new quarterback Kaidon Salter.

“He’s a dual threat, and we want him to be a dual threat,” Sanders said.

Sanders repelled the notion that Colorado’s offense will need time to settle in with its new approach, saying the group had all spring and summer. But it’s clear that without Shedeur Sanders at quarterback, Hunter, LaJohntay Wester and others at receiver, that the shift won’t happen overnight.

Still, it’s good to see Sanders committed to the approach. He also came down hard on a defense that kept Georgia Tech out of the end zone for more than 25 minutes but couldn’t stem long Georgia Tech drives or curtail Haynes King and other ball carriers.

“We got to clean up all that,” Sanders said. “We just got gashed. The quarterback’s looking like a Heisman candidate right now. We made that happen.”

Sanders is seemingly past his health issues. His focus now is figuring out how Colorado can win differently, which might take longer than he wants. — Adam Rittenberg

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Cal upgraded at quarterback

When Fernando Mendoza left Cal for Indiana, it was viewed as a blow for a Cal team that struggled with inconsistency this past season. But in watching the Golden Bears’ opener against Oregon State on Saturday, it didn’t take long to conclude that the Bears have upgraded with true freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele — and maybe by a significant margin. The highly touted prospect from Hawai’i didn’t finish with an incredible stat line — 20-of-30, 234 yards, 3 touchdowns — but there was something so effortless about his play that made it clear right away he is the real deal.

In his first college snaps, Sagapolutele played with the poise of a veteran, leaving the kind of impression that hasn’t been made by a quarterback making his debut for the Bears since Jared Goff in 2013. When Goff made his debut, it was clear he was special (even in a loss). For Sagapolutele, the vibe is similar.

Sagapolutele’s path to Cal was unorthodox. He committed to Cal in July 2024 before flipping to Oregon, enrolling in school and spending about a month with the program before jumping in the portal to head back to Cal. What he proved Saturday was that he was ready to play immediately, an opportunity that wouldn’t have been there in Eugene. And as a result, Cal is a lot more interesting. — Kyle Bonagura

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Experience still matters at QB

Quinn Ewers played through an oblique injury and a high ankle sprain this past season at Texas. Steve Sarkisian played Ewers over Arch Manning even in times when Ewers was nowhere close to 100 percent healthy. Why?

Because experience still matters at quarterback.

Watching Manning and Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson struggle with decision-making in their first road starts clearly drove that point home. Both first-year starters have plenty of arm talent. They’re supported by excellent playcallers and strong supporting casts. There were simply too many moments Saturday when they didn’t know where to throw.

Their decision-making, timing and accuracy on critical downs needed to be better. Simpson completed just one of 10 passes against pressure, per ESPN Research. Manning couldn’t get anything going until the fourth quarter. That’s in no way an indictment of their long-term futures. It’s just the short-term reality check from a valuable stress test.

There’s no better way to sum it up than how Archie Manning put it to ESPN’s Dave Wilson: “He ain’t even pissed a drop yet.”

Ewers was the best bet for a loaded Texas team this past season because he had seen it all over 36 starts and more than 2,200 snaps. He started 19 games against top-25 teams. You can’t fake that kind of veteran experience. Power 4 teams were eager to pay $1.5-2 million this offseason for QBs who had only one season of starting experience because they want to skip past these growing pains and win now.

Simpson and Manning spent a long time watching and learning. Now it’s time to learn all this stuff the hard way, and that’s going to require a little patience. But for these promising young QBs chasing championships, the best way out is always through. — Max Olson

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Utah already looks like the team to beat in the Big 12

Maybe this is an overreaction after just one game against a UCLA team that looked lost most of the night, but there was something about the way the Utes stifled the Bruins that felt reminiscent of the Kyle Whittingham teams that won back-to-back Pac-12 championships not so long ago.

With the Cam Rising era behind them and Whittingham embracing the portal a bit more, the Utes seem to have found a potential star in the making in New Mexico transfer quarterback Devon Dampier, who arrived from Albuquerque alongside new offensive coordinator, Jason Beck. The duo’s familiarity with each other immediately paid dividends, as the new-look offense converted 14 of 16 third downs and marched down the field with ease.

Dampier, in particular, was electric at the Rose Bowl, completing 21 of 25 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns while running for 87 yards and another score. Every time he touched the ball, the junior from Phoenix was a must-watch, igniting the Utes’ offense with a kind of zest it has lacked in recent years while Rising was sidelined with injuries.

“He’s a highlight film waiting to happen,” Whittingham said of Dampier.

The typically stout Utah defense under Whittingham and defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley also played its part, holding the Bruins to just 10 points while boasting players such as cornerback Smith Snowden and linebacker Lander Barton, both of whom moonlighted on offense and scored a touchdown. The Big 12 appears to be, on paper, one of the most wide-open conferences this year. But if the Utes continue to play like this, they might quickly find themselves to be the favorites. — Paolo Uggetti

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The right side of Mike Vrabel’s face paid the price.

In early August, he was standing behind the New England Patriots‘ offense during a joint practice with the Washington Commanders when he saw rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson step up with a block and get tangled up with a defender on the ground. As they wrestled with each other, more players joined in. And then, so did Vrabel — with other players piling on top of him.

The former 14-year NFL linebacker who became a head coach emerged with a bloody cut on his cheek, holding a large bag of ice on it as practice continued.

If there was a moment that best captures Vrabel’s intense leadership style and how players have responded to it since he was hired as the 16th head coach in Patriots history in January, this was it.

“That’s what we’re trying to build, and it starts with the head coach,” quarterback Drake Maye said. “The intensity, bringing it every day, taking no crap when we’re out there on the field.”

“He’s right there with us. I think that player comes out in him,” added tight end Hunter Henry. “You have to love a coach that has competitive juices like us.”

Vrabel’s presence has lit a firecracker inside the Patriots organization with his dive-headfirst-in-the-pile approach, an emphasis on players knowing each other, and a clearly defined vision for the type of team he wants to field — and the “violent” style it will play. His return to the franchise for which he played from 2001 to 2008, as an integral part of three Super Bowl championship teams, sparks hope that New England will soon be competing for Super Bowl championships again after back-to-back four-win seasons.

Owner Robert Kraft is counting on Vrabel being the answer after referring to the past two seasons — with Bill Belichick, then Jerod Mayo — as the worst in his 31-year tenure.

Vrabel’s debut comes Sept. 7 at home against the Las Vegas Raiders (1 p.m. ET, CBS), almost one month to the day his bloodied cheek was heard across the NFL.

“I texted him because I wanted the visual evidence of how bad the injury was,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said with a smile. “He sent me a picture back immediately. It was an up close and personal picture of Vrabe’s face. I hadn’t seen him like that in a long time.”

Fitting, of course. Vrabel was never shy of getting in another player’s face in the heat of competition.

As a coach, he has mixed that approach with a softer touch.

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VRABEL PINPOINTED TEAM bonding as one of his three objectives for a successful training camp and preseason. The others are earning a role and preparing to win.

So he turned to the “4 H’s,” with players relaying poignant stories in meetings about their hometown, heartbreak, hero and hope.

“Just getting to know your brothers outside of the locker room, what they’re going through in life,” explained offensive tackle Morgan Moses, who enters his 12th NFL season and first in New England. “Adversity in life comes from everywhere. If you know your brother’s story, and you’re prepared to share those things with your brothers, you can battle for each other. Those are the closest teams.”

Vrabel’s “4 H’s” have attempted to personalize what is also a transactional business.

“We need [players] to put the team first and we’re going to ask everybody to make tough decisions,” Vrabel said of his focus on connectivity. “Hopefully, the better you know somebody and understand who they’re playing for, and trying to support, the things going on outside of [football], there’s a lot of similarities, and I think the better it is to work with them.”

Henderson, the 2025 second-round pick from Ohio State who was the team’s most electric performer of the preseason, shared that those connections have helped in his transition to the NFL.

“This team, I feel like it’s so close. Coach Vrabel and the Patriots organization have done a great job bringing us together, helping learn each other’s stories and things like that,” Henderson said. “Something that I go by when I play this game is I play for God and for the love of my brothers. Just to hear these guys’ stories, it just makes you want to go the extra mile.”

Moses, who at 34 is the oldest player on the roster, called the rookie class led by first-round pick Will Campbell and Henderson one of the best he has been around in maturity and humility.

He said all players’ willingness to share some of their most personal stories has built momentum in the formation of a team in Vrabel’s image.

“When you hear other people’s takes on things, it opens opportunity for you to speak and a lot of these messages you hear, they resonate with you. We’re not cliqued up in this locker room. We’re a family. That’s part of the culture that Mike Vrabel has brought and been a part of.”

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His laugh gets us every time 😂@NFL | #NEPats pic.twitter.com/KhP9AjSveK

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) August 16, 2025

VRABEL WAS LAUGHING in pain as the Patriots prepared to face the Vikings on Aug. 16 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota.

As he often does at practice or as part of draft workouts with Campbell when he went 1-on-1 with the eventual first-round pick and was knocked on his backside, Vrabel put a blocking pad over his chest and inserted himself into the action. This time it was with fifth-year defensive tackle Christian Barmore, the 6-foot-5, 315-pound defensive tackle.

Vrabel braced himself for impact, his right foot stepped forward, the number “00” the target across his chest for Barmore to thrust his hands into at shoulder level.

“That’s it!” Vrabel yelled out with a smile as Barmore crunched him.

When Barmore delivered a second strike, Vrabel could only laugh.

Players say the 50-year-old Vrabel is a “hands-on” coach. His pregame drill with Barmore even caught the attention of his assistants.

“Rocking him. Hitting him. He just loves the game of football,” outside linebackers coach Mike Smith said of Vrabel taking those strikes from the 26-year-old Barmore.

Smith shared his viewpoint that Vrabel is similar to Chiefs coach Andy Reid, for whom he worked from 2016 to 2018.

“Andy might not get out there and put that stuff on and might not yell as much, but they are both very clear in their plan. There is no gray area,” Smith said. “Coach Reid used to lead the meeting and say, ‘Does everyone know where we’re at and where we’re going?’ That’s the thing with Vrabel … you know exactly how he feels. I just respect that part. There’s no hidden agenda. What you see is what you get.”

Vrabel has identified four pillars of what he wants the Patriots’ identity to be and has erected signs inside the team meeting room as a reminder:

• Effort and finish

• Ball security and ball disruption

• Details, technique and fundamentals

• Making great decisions

“He sets the tone with the play style that he wants, and he hammers it every day,” said inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr, who also worked for Vrabel in Tennessee and pinpointed “violence” and playing on the opposite side of the line of scrimmage as core tenets of Vrabel’s defensive philosophy.

Vrabel had preached a similar approach during his time as Tennessee Titans head coach (2018-23), when he was fired by owner Amy Adams Strunk after a 6-11 season and two years after winning the AP Coach of the Year. He spent 2024 as a consultant on Kevin Stefanski’s Cleveland Browns staff and said he learned how much he missed leading a team.

In his first full day as Patriots coach, Vrabel said simply at his introductory news conference in January: “We just want to be good enough to take advantage of bad football.”

Kraft remembers experiencing such directness from Vrabel as a player.

“He was a little bit tough; he represented the [players’] union,” Kraft said. “This is the only stadium that is fully private, and we had to invest in the land around it to hopefully get economic activity to justify our doing this. He wanted the revenue to go into the union for the [salary] cap.

“I remember duking it out with him. Now that we have totally aligned interests, [I hope] he can bring that [same] spirit and energy.”

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TWO OF VRABEL’S top goals have been achieved. A team has been formed. Roles have been earned with an identity coming into focus.

Next comes execution and on-field results.

Summing up his thoughts on the direction of his franchise and what it might be able to accomplish under Vrabel in 2025, Kraft struck an optimistic note.

“He’s had the experience coaching and, I think, did a very good job in Tennessee. We’ve been able to bring in a group of young free agents, and I like our draft, and some real veterans that I think can hopefully make it happen,” he said. “I feel good about the foundation of what we have. Now we have to go execute and make it happen.”

At the same time, Kraft acknowledged that some in his family have told him to temper those expectations based on the time it often takes to rebuild from a four-win season.

ESPN Analytics projects a bump for the Patriots to 8.1 wins, which is tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars for 20th in the NFL. Furthermore, New England has the third-easiest strength of schedule, according to ESPN Analytics — behind the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints.

The Patriots’ win total at ESPN BET Sportsbook is 8.5. The plus-4.5 projected increase in wins is tied with the 49ers for the largest expected increase in the NFL.

Vrabel has set the Patriots’ big-picture expectations high, saying the goal is to win the AFC East, host home playoff games and play for championships. He has stressed to players the importance of playing to their identity and being prepared to win close games.

Veteran center Garrett Bradbury believes it’s too early to tell what the Patriots might become.

“This is [Year] 7 for me and there’s been years where I didn’t think we were going to be very good and we win a bunch of games, and vice versa,” he said. “Coach talks about it all the time — there’s so many one-score games in the NFL. Some say it’s whether the ball bounces your way or not. Some say it’s just taking advantage of opportunities.

“That’s why Coach Vrabel is on us about technique and details. Sure, there might be 70 offensive snaps, but 1-2 might change the game. We have to be as locked in as we can and make sure we win those close games.”

Players have taken Vrabel’s cue.

“Coach is trying to build a team that’s bringing it every play,” Maye said. “No plays off. No days off.”

HOUSTON — Coach DeMeco Ryans said Monday that he expects safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to be “ready for Week 1,” as the Houston Texans prepare to kick off the 2025 season against the Los Angeles Rams.

Gardner-Johnson has been sidelined since Aug. 7 with a knee injury that he suffered during a Texans scrimmage at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia. The injury appeared to be serious after he attempted to tackle former Texans wideout John Metchie III before falling to the ground. He couldn’t move his lower right leg and then needed assistance to get on a medical cart.

But Gardner-Johnson didn’t suffer any structural damage to the ACL and was sidelined for almost a month. Now he’s expected to practice this week and be a starter in the Texans secondary alongside safety Calen Bullock.

Houston acquired Gardner-Johnson in March in exchange for left guard Kenyon Green, who was the Texans’ 2022 first-round pick. Gardner-Johnson is expected to elevate a ball-hawking secondary that had the second-most interceptions last season (19), led by All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., cornerback Kamari Lassiter and nickel Jalen Pitre.

NEW YORK — Two years ago, Naomi Osaka sat in the stands at Arthur Ashe Stadium and watched Coco Gauff advance to the US Open final with a win over Karolina Muchova.

For Osaka, it was a stark reminder of where she had been — and where she was in the current moment.

She was three years removed from her last title at the tournament, and just two months from giving birth to her daughter Shai. Being a spectator reminded her of what it was like to play in front of 24,000 people when the lights were shining brightest. She couldn’t wait to get out there again.

She hadn’t even formally returned to practice, but Osaka could picture herself out there, playing against the top players, deep into Slams.

A few weeks later, she made her return to the practice court, more motivated than ever.

On Monday, Osaka was back again at Arthur Ashe Stadium. But this time, she was on court and facing Gauff, now a two-time major champion and the tournament’s No. 3 seed, in the fourth round as the capacity crowd looked on.

It had been hyped as a must-see match between former US Open champions, and two of the sport’s biggest stars, but the match itself contained little drama. Instead Osaka, 27, recorded the biggest, and perhaps most impressive, victory of her comeback with a dominant 6-3, 6-2 win in just 64 minutes to advance to her first major quarterfinal since 2021.

It meant everything.

“I’m a little sensitive and I don’t want to cry, but honestly I just had so much fun out here,” Osaka said on the court moments later. “I was telling everyone, literally I was in the stands two months after I gave birth to my daughter watching Coco. I just really wanted an opportunity to come out here and play. This is my favorite court in the world and it means so much to me to be back here.”

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SIX YEARS AGO, almost to the day, Osaka and Gauff played for the first time.

Osaka was the reigning champion and the world No. 1, and Gauff was a 15-year-old prodigy who had thrilled the world with her audacious run to the fourth round at Wimbledon earlier in the summer. It too was billed as a can’t-miss event on Ashe between two rising stars.

But Osaka dominated the third-round match 6-3, 6-0, and it could have been largely forgettable. But as Gauff cried on the court, Osaka consoled her and asked her to do the post-match interview — usually for the winner only — with her. Osaka then praised Gauff and her parents in a beautiful moment of sportsmanship. The two players have been intrinsically linked ever since, even as their careers went on markedly different paths.

Osaka ultimately lost in the next round in New York, but she went on to win the title again the following year, in addition to her second Australian Open title at the start of the 2021 season. She was on top of the tennis world and the clear heir apparent to Serena Williams’ throne as the most dominant and recognizable figure in women’s tennis.

What happened next has been well documented. She announced she would be skipping news conferences at the French Open just a few months later, which set off a media firestorm and resulted in her withdrawing ahead of her second-round match. She skipped Wimbledon. At the Tokyo Olympics and the US Open, she lost in the third round. Following the early exit in New York, she tearfully told reporters she was contemplating taking a break from the sport.

“I feel like for me recently, like, when I win, I don’t feel happy,” Osaka explained. “I feel more like a relief. And then when I lose, I feel very sad. I don’t think that’s normal.”

Osaka returned for the 2022 season but lost in the third round at the Australian Open, and then didn’t win another major match. She announced her pregnancy just days before the start of the 2023 Australian Open and many wondered if she would ever play again.

Meanwhile, through Osaka’s struggles and maternity leave, Gauff continued to climb up the rankings. She reached her first major final at the 2022 French Open and won her first Slam title at the 2023 US Open, two days after Osaka had watched her from the crowd. This summer, Gauff won her second major title at the French Open.

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MOTIVATED BY THE high level she had seen from Gauff and the rest of the top players at the US Open, and wanting to win for her daughter, Osaka had high hopes for her return in 2024.

But she didn’t see the immediate results she was hoping for. While she had flashes of her vintage form — most notably during a second-round clash against Iga Swiatek at last year’s French Open — she struggled against the best players, and in the most crucial of moments. She failed to advance past the second round at a major in 2024.

Disappointed by her year, she fired her coach Wim Fissette at the end of the season and brought in Patrick Mouratoglou, best known for his long-term partnership with Williams. They had some decent results — including third-round appearances at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, as well as a 125-level title and a runner-up finish at Auckland — but the two parted ways in July.

Since then, Osaka began working with Tomasz Wiktorowski, who previously coached Swiatek to multiple major titles. (Swiatek is now working with Fissette.) The results — the ones she’s desperately been seeking since the start of her comeback — have been immediate.

At the Canadian Open last month — their first tournament together — Osaka rattled off one impressive win after another and reached her first 1000-level final since 2022. In her second-round match in Montreal against Liudmila Samsonova, she saved two match points and forced a decider. She has since called it a turning point for her attitude and self-belief.

“Ever since then I’ve started thinking anything’s possible,” Osaka said on Monday after defeating Gauff. “You just have to try your best [and] have a smile on your face.”

Osaka lost in three sets to Victoria Mboko in the final, but she arrived in New York seeded at a Slam for the first time since giving birth. She was clearly feeling confident and buoyed by her momentum — and happy about her partnership with Wiktorowski.

“I’m working with a new coach,” Osaka said at the start of the US Open. “He’s really great. He’s just incredibly helpful. He cuts to the chase, and he makes me feel like he’s kind of an encyclopedia of tennis, so it’s good to have someone like that in your corner.”

Osaka has always said the US Open is her favorite tournament. Before she won her first major title — against her childhood hero Williams in a controversial and dramatic final — she was a young kid, watching the tournament on television and attending as a fan, dreaming of one day getting to play at the event. While she represents Japan, several of her childhood years were spent in New York and the crowd often gives her the hometown treatment.

The tour is a different place, with new faces atop the rankings, and Osaka is a different person now than she was during her title runs in 2018 and 2020, with the added responsibility of being a parent, in addition to entrepreneurial interests. But her goals on the tennis court remain the same.

And now, it seems, despite all of the changes, she is in the position to achieve them yet again.

Throughout the tournament, Osaka has been resurgent and like the player that once so effortlessly dominated the hard courts in Queens. She’s dropped just one set — to No. 15 seed Daria Kasatkina in the third round — but has otherwise been in firm control. Against Gauff, who has been in the daunting process of overhauling her service motion in real time, Osaka showcased her movement, strong serving and resolve from the start. She won 32 of the 38 points she served, converted all four of her break points and, per the WTA, was victorious in 16 of the 24 rallies that went five or more shots.

When it was over, she remained mostly composed, with a wide smile on her face, as her team and family members in her box jumped up and down, excitedly exchanging hugs and high fives.

Gauff, who was broken in the opening game, had five double faults in the outing, including one to seal the first set. The 21-year-old also had 33 unforced errors.

“It’s disappointing,” Gauff said after the match. “For sure it was not the level that I wanted to bring, but it is a step in the right direction I feel, and I think emotionally how much this week was, I think today I just stepped in, and I maybe was a little bit empty. She forced me to earn every point out there today.”

At other points in her career, Osaka was unable to hide her frustration on the court and sometimes seemed to crumble under the pressure. But on Monday, and throughout her run in New York, Osaka has largely looked unflappable, showing tremendous poise and positivity. She admitted her shift in demeanor and body language was deliberate, and an indication of where she currently is mentally.

“For me the main [thing] I want to take away from this tournament is just smiling and having fun,” Osaka said. “Going into this match, I just wanted to be grateful. Yeah, I mean, she’s one of the best players in the world. For me, honestly, I have the most fun when I play against the best players. I love when they hit amazing shots or they hit aces, because you know, that’s how they won the tournaments that they won.”

On Wednesday, Osaka will take on No. 11 seed Muchova in the quarterfinals. She’s come a long way since she watched Muchova play in the semifinals two years ago, but also exactly where she always believed she would be again. Osaka, who called Muchova “one of the most talented tennis players out there” on Monday, knows it will be a challenge. They have played twice since Osaka’s return, splitting the series. Osaka won their last meeting in three sets at the Australian Open earlier this year.

Osaka is undefeated in major quarterfinals during her career, but she wasn’t putting too much pressure on herself. Expected to be back into the top 20 again for the first time since 2022 following the US Open, no matter how she fares on Wednesday or beyond, she’s just excited for the opportunity.

“I feel really relaxed,” Osaka told reporters. “I don’t feel stressed at all. I think for me, I just wanted to have a better year than last year, and I already did that in Montreal. For me, whatever happens the rest of this tournament, the rest of Asia, I’m just trying to be a better tennis player and learn from every match that I play.”

NEW YORK — Coach Brian Daboll on Monday refused to reveal whether rookie Jaxson Dart or veteran Jameis Winston will serve as the New York Giants‘ backup quarterback for their season opener Sunday at Washington.

Russell Wilson is set to start against the Washington Commanders. Dart, the first-round pick who is being developed as the QB of the future, impressed in training camp and preseason games, though Winston has more than 100 games of NFL experience and was listed second with Dart third on the first unofficial depth chart released during camp.

“Any roster decisions based on who’s going to be the backup, we’ll have that out there on Sunday,” Daboll said on a video call with reporters.

He also declined to announce whether Deonte Banks or Cor’Dale Flott will start as the No. 2 cornerback opposite free agent addition Paulson Adebo, or whether Greg Van Roten or converted tackle Evan Neal won the competition for the starting right guard position. Van Roten took the first-team snaps and is expected to get the nod.

“We have a good idea of how we’re going to play, with the players we’re going to play with,” Daboll said. “That’ll all come out on Sunday.”

The Giants aimed for standout left tackle Andrew Thomas to be ready for Week 1 after opening camp on the physically unable to perform list and not playing in any of their three exhibition games while rehabbing from foot surgery last October. It’s not clear if that will happen, with Daboll saying only that he expected everyone to participate in a walk-through Monday.

That would also seemingly include top receiver Malik Nabers, who has been dealing with a toe injury and did not participate in the preseason. Nabers is coming off catching 109 passes for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie.

The league does not require teams to share injury information until the regular season, and Daboll has repeatedly said he would not talk about why players were not on the field. The first injury disclosures are expected Wednesday, when teams playing Sunday are required to publish which players did and did not practice and why.

Liverpool have completed the signing of Newcastle striker Alexander Isak in a British-record deal worth £125m.

The deal eclipses the previous record of £115m which Chelsea paid Brighton for Moises Caicedo in 2023 and brings to an end the longest-running saga of this transfer window.

Newcastle announced Isak’s departure in a pointedly-terse 37-word statement that did not thank him or mention any of his achievements: “Newcastle United can announce the sale of striker Alexander Isak to Liverpool for a significant British record transfer fee. The Sweden international joined the Magpies from Real Sociedad in 2022 and made 109 appearances in all competitions.”

The Sweden international will wear the No 9 shirt and has penned a six-year deal at Anfield, taking Liverpool’s spending to £446m this summer. They have recouped £228m in sales for a net spend of £218m.

“It’s been a long journey to get here,” said Isak. “But I’m super happy to be a part of this team, this club and everything it stands for. It’s something I’m proud of and I’m really looking forward to it.

“I’m just happy it’s done and that I can get back to work. I’m looking forward to seeing my team-mates and the fans, and getting back out there.”

Isak added: “I think I have a lot to give, I think I have a lot to improve. I’m a striker but I always want to give as much as possible to the team, mainly goals but much more than that as well. I want to win everything. Yeah, [as simple as that].”

How Liverpool finally landed Isak

Liverpool had a bid of £110m plus add-ons rejected for Isak at the start of August as Newcastle were unwilling to sell their star man without certain conditions being met.

Although Newcastle stressed they valued Isak at £150m, that stance softened in recent weeks as Isak, determined to explore his options, missed their opening games of the season and said “the relationship can’t continue”.

Isak scored 23 Premier League goals for Newcastle last season and netted their winner in the Carabao Cup final victory over Liverpool at Wembley, which ended the club’s 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy.

Newcastle signed Isak from Real Sociedad in August 2022 for £63m. In total, he scored 62 goals in 109 appearances for the Magpies. To replace Isak, Newcastle have signed Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart and Yoane Wissa from Brentford for a combined fee in the region of £119m.

Downie: ‘Statement sums up how club feel about Isak conduct’

Sky Sports News’ Keith Downie at St James’ Park:

“We’ve spoken about this at length for days, weeks and months and here we are, the deal has finally been concluded.

“Newcastle’s statement is just 37 words, two sentences. It’s incredibly short, usually you’d be thanking players and talking about their time at the club.

“It sums up exactly how the club as a whole feel about Isak’s conduct this summer.

“This is the guy who scored the winning goal in the Carabao Cup final in March to end 70 years without a trophy at the club.

“He was loved by the supporters, there’s still posters behind me down the street, there’s kids walking around with Isak 14 shirts on.

“But this is how he will now be remembered.”

Timeline of Isak saga

July 15: Liverpool told Isak not for sale in this window after making informal approach to Newcastle – and decide to rival them for Hugo Ekitike instead after being rebuffed.

July 19: Eddie Howe reveals after pre-season friendly defeat at Celtic that Isak travelled with the rest of the squad to Glasgow but he chose to send him home “due to the speculation around him”.

July 23: Liverpool beat Newcastle to the signing of Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt after the North East club had already missed out on Liam Delap and Joao Pedro.

July 24: Isak is not included in Newcastle’s squad for pre-season tour of Asia due to what Newcastle described as a “minor thigh injury”.

July 24: It later emerges that Isak has informed Newcastle he wants to explore his options in this transfer window.

July 31: Sky Sports News reports that Isak is training individually at former club Real Sociedad’s facilities.

August 1: Newcastle reject an official bid from Liverpool for Isak worth £110m plus add-ons.

August 2: Newcastle make formal bid to RB Leipzig for Benjamin Sesko worth nearly £70m and Isak later flies back to the North East after his personal training camp in Spain.

August 4: The striker returns to Newcastle’s training ground for the first time and has trained separately from his team-mates ever since.

August 4: Newcastle up their offer to RB Leipzig for Sesko amid interest from Manchester United.

August 8: Newcastle boss Eddie Howe says “we would love the player to be with us” about Isak after he misses friendly win over Espanyol at St James’ Park.

August 9: Manchester United beat Newcastle to the signing of Sesko despite their offer to RB Leipzig being lower.

August 16: Isak not included in Newcastle squad for Premier League season opener against Aston Villa – but Howe says “door is well and truly open” for a return.

August 19: Isak skips PFA awards and releases a statement on Instagram accusing Newcastle of broken promises, telling the club “change is in the best interests of everyone”.

August 19: Newcastle release a statement in response to Isak, denying that promises were made to allow Isak to leave and insisting they would welcome him back when he is “ready to rejoin his team-mates”

August 28: Newcastle agree a deal for Stuttgart striker Nick Woltemade, which opens the door for Isak to leave St James’ Park.

September 1: Newcastle and Liverpool agree a £125m deal for Isak, with the striker signing a six-year contract at Anfield.

Packers pass rusher Micah Parsons has been dealing with an L4/L5 facet joint sprain in his back and he may receive a facet injection before Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions if needed to help him play, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday.

Before trading Parsons last week, the Dallas Cowboys prescribed him a five-day course of prednisone, an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid to help him recover from back tightness. They also had him on a physical therapy program.

Parsons has been practicing this week, and he is trying to play Sunday, although one source told Schefter it still is not certain if he will.

The Packers traded two first-round draft picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark to the Cowboys last Thursday to acquire Parsons. Green Bay then signed him to a four-year, $188 million contract extension that includes $120 million fully guaranteed at signing and $136 million in total guarantees, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, sources told ESPN.

The move occurred after a training camp hold-in when Parsons sat out of Cowboys practices because of back tightness.

Parsons flew to Green Bay on Friday, passed his physical and signed his contract. He picked No. 1 for his jersey, becoming the second Packers player to wear that number and first since Curly Lambeau in 1925-26.

ESPN’s Rob Demovsky contributed to this report.

Opening weekend always delivers a little bit of everything that makes fans say, “Only in college football.”

Week 1 of the 2025 season was no exception. From clever trick plays and viral mascots to trash talk backed up on the field, Saturdays in the fall once again proved unmatched.

South Florida pulled off a perfectly executed fake punt to stun Boise State, while Taylor Swift turned heads at Arrowhead Stadium by cheering on Travis Kelce’s Bearcats. A namesake return man brought back Devin Hester memories, a mascot lost its head (literally) and Lee Corso’s old teams delivered a storybook tribute. Add in some feline locker room fame and a prime-time battle of the Death Valleys, and Week 1 gave us highlights well beyond the box scores.

Here’s our not-so-official list of who earned Week 1’s superlatives.

Most Likely to Fool Everyone: USF against Boise State

Looking for a big play up three points in the third quarter of their upset bid against the No. 25 Boise State Broncos, the South Florida Bulls turned to an unlikely source: their backup quarterback in a punting formation.

Yes, you read that right. When the Bulls trotted their punt unit out for fourth down, they snuck backup quarterback Locklan Hewlett onto the field as well. When the snap came to Hewitt — lined up where the punter would normally be — he rifled a 45-yard touchdown pass to Keshaun Singleton to put South Florida up 17-7.

GOT ‘EMMMMM 🫨

📺: @ESPNCFB pic.twitter.com/Llnlrs9BG5

— USF Football (@USFFootball) August 28, 2025

The Bulls didn’t look back from there, piling on 17 more points before the final whistle to win 34-7.

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Most Likely to Steal the Spotlight: Taylor Swift at Nebraska-Cincinnati

Taylor Swift at Arrowhead Stadium is a fairly common sight these days, with her now-fiancé Travis Kelce starring for the Kansas City Chiefs. But Swift supporting the Cincinnati Bearcats? Now that’s a sight to see.

With Kelce in the house to watch his college squad take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Chiefs’ stadium, Swift was on hand as well. Her presence wasn’t much of a help for the Bearcats on the field though, as a late interception by Malcolm Hartzog Jr. secured a season-opening win for Nebraska.

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Most Likely to Rule Death Valley: LSU beats Clemson

The LSU Tigers and Clemson Tigers share mascots, as well as the nickname for their respective stadiums: Death Valley.

It was the Louisiana inhabitants of Death Valley that came out on top in a prime-time Week 1 meeting between the two Tigers, with LSU earning a 17-10 win (and bragging rights for the foreseeable future).

Battle Won

Conquered THAT Death Valley pic.twitter.com/7ei129Upzl

— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) August 31, 2025

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Most Likely to Talk It and Walk It: Tommy Castellanos

Some laughed when Castellanos boldly proclaimed that the eighth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide wouldn’t have former coach Nick Saban on the sidelines to “save them” in Week 1 against the Florida State Seminoles.

Read more: Castellanos makes good on jab as FSU stuns Alabama

It was Castellanos who would have the last laugh on Saturday, though, as the Boston College transfer threw for 152 yards, ran for 78 more, and, most importantly, led the Seminoles to a 31-17 upset.

It was always going to be Tommy @Tommy_casto #NoleFamily | #KeepCLIMBing pic.twitter.com/NAq67FgzhM

— FSU Football (@FSUFootball) August 31, 2025

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Best Throwback Energy: Devin Hester Jr.’s big kickoff return

Devin Hester with a highlight-reel kickoff return? Are we sure it’s not Chicago in the 2010s?

Sophomore Furman Paladins receiver Devin Hester Jr. sparked flashbacks to a prior generation of NFL heroes in Week 1, when he raced a second quarter kickoff 75 yards against the William & Mary Tribe.

Devin Hester jr. with a 75 yard kickoff return‼️ pic.twitter.com/TeVhj4n4RT

— Furman Football (@PaladinFootball) August 30, 2025

The wild part? Hester Jr.’s return abilities aren’t hereditary — he’s of no relation to the Pro Football Hall of Famer Devin Hester you presumably immediately thought of.

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Most Likely to Lose Its Head: The Oregon Duck

Week 1 is the first week of the season for everybody — including mascots.

The rust of a long offseason showed for the Oregon Duck on Saturday, as the mascot had an unfortunate miscue when running out onto the field before Oregon‘s game against Montana State, with the mascot’s head coming off following a fall. The duck showed keen awareness with a quick recovery though, hustling back into the locker room.

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Most Likely to go Undefeated Together: Lee Corso’s teams

Iconic analyst Lee Corso was already well-traveled in the college football world before he ascended to legend status on “College GameDay,” having put together an impressive playing career with Florida State, where he ended up coaching with stops at Maryland, Navy, Louisville, Indiana and Northern Illinois.

In a fitting tribute to Corso’s final “GameDay” coming earlier in the day, all six of his former schools won on Saturday, the crown jewel being the Seminoles’ unlikely upset of Alabama. As a bonus, Corso finished Saturday 4-for-4 on his slate of game picks for the day as well.

All of Lee Corso’s college teams he played on or coached for won on Saturday 🧡

Meant to be 🥺 pic.twitter.com/br5nL1FQEu

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) August 31, 2025

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Best Locker Room Celebrity: Bowling Green’s Pudge

The Bowling Green Falcons may have hired Eddie George as their new head football coach over the offseason, but the locker room figure that went most viral as the 2025 season approached was … an exotic shorthair Persian cat?

Meet Pudge, Bowling Green long snapper George Carlson’s cat, who went viral multiple times across the summer for his presence in the team’s locker room. The Falcons got in the win column in Week 1 against Lafayette, and Pudge received a shoutout in the form of a broadcast graphic.

W. #AyZiggy pic.twitter.com/laQ9QmTMqh

— BGSU Football (@BG_Football) August 29, 2025

Bayern Munich have agreed a new £70.5m deal to sign Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson on loan with an obligation to buy after the Blues originally pulled out of the deal.

The fresh terms will see Bayern pay an increased loan fee of £14.25m (€16.4m) from £13m (€15m) with an obligation to buy the player for £56.25m (€65m)

The previous deal that had been agreed included an option to make the move permanent but Chelsea wanted the deal to include an obligation to make the switch permanent.

Bayern were originally informed that Chelsea would not be able to proceed with the previously proposed deal after striker Liam Delap suffered an injury against Fulham on Saturday.

Timeline of Jackson’s transfer saga

August 7: Bayern Munich make enquiry for Jackson

August 29: Chelsea hold internal talks to decide on the future of Jackson after receiving an offer from Bayern for the player.

August 30: Bayern agree a record-breaking loan deal for Jackson with a loan fee of £13m and a £70m option to make the move permanent.

August 30: Chelsea give Jackson permission to fly to Germany to have a medical and complete the deal. Jackson agrees a contract with the Bundesliga champions.

August 30: Chelsea pull out of the deal to loan Jackson to Bayern following Liam Delap’s hamstring injury against Fulham.

August 30: Chelsea request that Jackson returns to London from Germany. Chelsea request a change to a permanent deal after informing Bayern they have no intention of loaning the player.

August 31: Jackson remains in Germany in hope his permanent move can still be completed.

August 31: Bayern inform Chelsea they are not willing to buy Jackson permanently, with the deal effectively called off.

September 1: Bayern re-enter talks with Chelsea to try and sign Jackson. The player remained in Germany with his heart set on a move to the Allianz Arena.

September 1: Jackson’s agent Ali Barat tells Sky Sports News he is doing “everything” to secure a move to Bayern for the Senegal forward.

September 1: New deal agreed between Chelsea and Bayern for Jackson to arrive on initial loan deal, with an increased fee, as well as an obligation to make the move permanent.

Sky Sports to show 215 live Premier League games from this season

Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live this season.

And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games this season are on Sky Sports.

When a player like Micah Parsons becomes available, you trade for him.

Football is rarely simple, but it’s simple that way. When a 26-year-old three-time All-Pro pass rusher becomes available, you do whatever it takes to get him. And the Green Bay Packers did just that, sending two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark to the Dallas Cowboys for Parsons. Parsons would have been a steal, a godsend, a boon for pretty much any team looking to acquire him, but for the Packers in particular, Parsons is what the team specifically needed. I truly believe that if every single player in the NFL were available (contracts and quarterbacks aside), and the Packers could have traded for any single one … it still would have been Parsons.

Don’t get me wrong, the Packers’ defense looked great last season. After years of traditional schemes and passive play under coordinator Joe Barry, new coordinator Jeff Hafley breathed life into the unit, along with free agent safety Xavier McKinney and rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper. Green Bay’s defense ranked sixth in points per drive allowed and fourth in EPA per drive, largely on the back of an excellent takeaway game. It generated a turnover on 16.2% of their opponent’s drives — the third-highest rate in the league last season. And the Packers generated more than 111 expected points in takeaways — the seventh highest number of any team over the past five seasons. They didn’t just take the ball away a lot; they did it in high-leverage moments.

Hafley was the primary engine behind these turnovers. As the coach at Boston College, his defenses were fairly mundane: a lot of Cover 1 and Cover 3, a lot of four-man rushes and not a lot of deception. But out of nowhere, his first year as an NFL coordinator showed anything but that. The Packers deployed one of the league’s most creative and chaotic defenses last season, and to great effect.

But splash plays are just that — splashes. Huge plays that dramatically swing games. On a snap-to-snap basis, the Packers had a pass defense problem. It’s not easy to find, but it’s there.

When splitting the Packers’ snaps against dropbacks and against designed rushes, we can evaluate their defensive performance through two metrics: EPA and success rate. EPA provides weight to high-impact plays like turnovers, third-down stops and sacks. But success rate simply measures how frequently the defense had a positive play. And in success rate against dropbacks last season, they ranked dead last — the worst defense in the NFL.

Unweighting splash plays might feel silly, but it helps separate noise from substance. Despite the fact that every defensive coordinator prioritizes takeaways, turnover rates rise and fall season to season. If the Packers rolled with the same defense in 2025 that they deployed in 2024, an enormous swing in outcomes would rest in McKinney’s hands — literally. Green Bay’s pass defense gave up a 67.4% completion percentage (eighth worst) and allowed a first down on 35.4% of opposing pass attempts (seventh worst). Interceptions saved them.

The good news is that the Packers are not rolling with the same defense after trading for Parsons and awarding him a four-year, $188 million contract, to make him the highest-paid non-QB in NFL history.

It is important to say this clearly, as I’ve seen it debated and questioned over recent days: Parsons is without question one of the two best edge rushers playing football right now. In fact, he has probably been the best pass rusher since he entered the league in 2021 — yes, better than Myles Garrett. Parsons has generated pressure on 16.5% of his pass-rush snaps, easily above Garrett’s 11.9%.

And before you yell at me about double-teams: Parsons has been double-teamed on 30.6% of his pass rushes; Garrett is at 29.4%. Pressure numbers aren’t everything, of course, and the sack rate numbers are much closer (3.5% for Parsons, 3.3% for Garrett). I certainly believe Garrett gets more chip help against him as well. But if you wanted to argue for Parsons as the best pass rusher of this generation, it would be easy — and that’s before he gets a couple more seasons of his prime, while Garrett starts playing into his 30s.

So the Packers didn’t just get a great pressure player. They got an unquestionably elite one.

This is an enormous deal. The ever-creative Hafley was great last season at manufacturing pressure, in large part because the Packers’ personnel weren’t good at generating it. On four-man rushes with no second-level rushers — just four down, four rush — the Packers were 22nd in team pressure rate. Their only above-average defensive lineman in pressure rate was Rashan Gary, who got pressure on 13.4% of his rushes, the lowest single-season mark of his career.

That distinction is important: four-man rushes with no additional blitzers. Of course, most four-man rushes have no additional blitzers, but the few that send a second-level rusher fill a critical, growing niche in NFL defensive schematics. These plays were integral to the Packers’ team success last season. Green Bay ran more simulated pressures than any defense save for the Ravens, who have been on the cutting edge of this approach for the past couple of years.

What’s a simulated pressure? Different coaches categorize things into different buckets, but we can generally define it as a play where the defense shows pressure but ends up sending four or fewer rushers. With this approach, coordinators get the pre-snap advantage of a blitz look. They force offensive lines to change protections and force quarterbacks to keep running backs and tight ends in to help, tricking them into throwing hot — all while not losing any bodies in coverage.

Here’s a first-and-10 late against the Dolphins in Week 13 last season. Green Bay has a three-score lead with fewer than five minutes left, so it expects to see a dropback. Before the snap, defensive end Kingsley Enagbare (55) kicks inside so linebacker Isaiah McDuffie (58) can drop onto the line of scrimmage, presenting a five-down front. Watch the Dolphins’ left tackle and right guard point out the new man on the line, adjusting the protection to account for him.

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— Good Clips (@MeshSitWheel) August 31, 2025

The five offensive linemen have the five down defensive linemen in protection but that’s not who rushes. Linebacker Quay Walker (7) blitzes down the pipe from depth, while Enagbare and McDuffie peel off the line of scrimmage and drop into zone coverage. Three Dolphins offensive linemen are left blocking the nose tackle while Walker screams down the middle practically unimpeded. Kenny Clark (97) cleans the play up. Sack.

This design has the effect of a blitz — occupying the pass protection to create a free rusher — without spending all of the resources. Yes, one of the bodies in coverage is Enagbare, a defensive lineman, but the Packers still have seven guys in coverage. Green Bay can play zone coverage with fairly traditional spacing. Only four teams played more zone last season than the Packers, in large part because they didn’t want to blitz (and have to play man coverage behind). They wanted to simulate the blitz (and get to play zone coverage behind).

Let’s spin this forward to 2025. While Parsons certainly doesn’t need simulated pressures to succeed as a rusher, Hafley can manipulate the front (and manipulate protection rules) with the intention of hiding Parsons from the protection slide or chip help.

Here’s another simulated pressure, in Week 14 against Detroit, from a really wonky front. Defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt (95) is isolated on one edge, while two edge rushers — Gary (52) and Arron Mosby (53) — are stacked beside one another on the opposite side, along with Clark. The Lions pick up this rush nicely, in large part because they feel comfortable leaving right tackle Penei Sewell in his one-on-one matchup against Gary, who ends up with a two-way go and plenty of space to rush inside or outside of Sewell.

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— Good Clips (@MeshSitWheel) August 31, 2025

Now imagine if that two-way go belonged to Parsons, not Gary. Lest we forget about the last time Parsons and Sewell played: Parsons rushed against Sewell 18 times and generated five pressures. It’s the only five-pressure game a player has had against Sewell in the past three seasons. (In case I haven’t banged the drum enough yet: Parsons is so, so, so ridiculously good.)

When Parsons got a new defensive coordinator in Dallas last season in Mike Zimmer, there was some excitement that he might line up more often in the A- and B-gaps as a “spinner” — our football term for when a traditional edge rusher stands up in an interior gap. Spinners can be integral parts of these simulated pressure looks. Remember the viral clip of Garrett doing pre-snap dribble crossovers over the center? He was a spinner.

Parsons fosters this sort of excitement because of his background as an off-ball linebacker. But it didn’t really happen — he played 85% of his snaps off the edge, his highest rate of edge snaps in a season — and it won’t happen too often in Green Bay with these fronts, either. The point isn’t to place Parsons on the interior to stress protections. The point is to stress protections with the other guys to maximize Parsons on the edge.

With that said — man, it is going to be cool when the Packers use him on the interior. It’s not nearly the lion’s share of his snaps, but Parsons is ridiculously effective as an interior rusher. Since entering the league, he has had a pass rush win rate at defensive tackle of 33.7% (admittedly on only 32 attempts). For perspective, Chris Jones over that stretch is at 19.6%.

Watch Parsons lined up as the spinner-style rusher on this snap against the Ravens. Here, the front is designed to give Parsons a two-way go on the center. Tyler Linderbaum is excellent, but Parsons makes him look like me out there.

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— Good Clips (@MeshSitWheel) August 31, 2025

The flow from Parsons to Hafley will accordingly go both ways. Hafley will scheme up fronts and (simulated) pressure packages that create good rush opportunities for Parsons, and he will scheme them up to take advantage of Parsons’ gravity in order to win somewhere else. Parsons has the prowess off the edge to demand more than one tackle’s worth of blocking attention, which limits an offense’s ability to send help to the pressure side. Plus, he has the versatility to move around the line, which makes it even harder for opposing offenses to game plan against Hafley. They’ll feed off one another.

But that isn’t where the Packers will benefit off Parsons’ game the most — not even close. They were already a good simulated pressure team without him, and because simulating pressure is largely a numbers game, they didn’t need an elite rusher to make it work. Recall: This team was 22nd in pressure rate on traditional four-man rushes. It’s the Packers’ base pass rush that needs the help!

Simulated pressures are designer defenses; they’re only available when you know what you’re getting, and as such, they are almost always called on long-and-late downs, when a dropback is nearly certain. It’s extremely difficult to call simulated pressures on early downs, as those packages include dropping a defensive lineman off the line of scrimmage. Imagine a first-and-10 handoff against a pressure that drops a DT off the line. Uh oh!

For this exact reason, the Packers were a dramatically different pressure team on early downs relative to late downs in 2024. They had a 25.9% pressure rate on first and second down, when their full menu of simulated pressures was not available to them — 10th lowest. On third and fourth down, they had a pressure rate of 39.7% — 10th highest.

But it goes beyond just the pressure rate. Remember, by success rate, this was the worst defense against opposing dropbacks last season. Green Bay got the splash takeaways, but from a down-to-down basis, it was susceptible. A critical Jenga piece falls when we remove the simulated pressures from the defensive system. Now, Hafley’s reliance on zone coverage (and the Packers’ lack of quality man coverage corners) forces the defense to become a bend-don’t-break unit that surrenders easy underneath completions. And without a strong four-down pass rush, good NFL quarterbacks can sit back and pick the zones apart further down the field.

The two Lions games — both losses, mind you — were perfect examples. Against that fearsome offensive front, which had no qualms leaving Sewell on an island against Gary, the Packers had early-down pressure rates of 16.1% and 14.3%. Unsurprisingly, these were also two of the three games in which they actually blitzed the most. They needed the extra bodies this time. If defenses couldn’t affect Jared Goff, they couldn’t really stop the Lions’ offense last season — and Green Bay rarely did in those two games. Goff nickel-and-dimed down the field with a 79.4% completion rate and 59% success rate.

Goff’s success rate on dropbacks were the third- and fourth-worst games the Packers’ defense surrendered last season. The two worst? The pair of games against Sam Darnold and the Vikings — both losses again.

There’s nothing schematically interesting to say about these games besides Green Bay got mollywhopped. Hafley’s defense was all about finding creative ways to succeed without elite corners or elite pass rushers, and the Vikings simply could not be outschemed. Darnold had a 91.1 QBR against man coverage in the first matchup (the worst QBR the Packers surrendered in man all season) and then an 81.1 QBR against zone coverage in the second one (the worst QBR the Packers surrendered in zone all season). Darnold rolled to a 74.6% completion percentage and 62% success rate.

That’s the thing about scheming up wins. Eventually, the other guys are really good at it, too. Whether it comes in divisional games (in which the Packers went 1-5) or facing playoff opponents (against whom Green Bay went 2-5 in the regular season and then lost in the first round of the actual playoffs), there’s a hard ceiling. Coordinators can’t win on the chalkboard anymore. That’s when the stars take over. And the Packers didn’t have enough stars on defense last season, plain and simple.

What’s cool and nerdy about the Parsons acquisition is how he gets used in the simulated pressure packages. But what’s important about the Parsons acquisition is the degree to which he elevates the Packers’ defense outside of the scheme. It’s how often he takes a boring ol’ first-and-10, dusts a tackle clean off the edge and puts the defense in second-and-long. Since entering the NFL, he is the best early-down pressure player by a country mile.

Detractors will quickly say Parsons sacrifices his run defense on the way to the quarterback. This is probably true. Since 2022, Parsons’ stuff rate is 2.6% (average for edge rushers is 3.1%) and his stop rate is 8.1% (average is 9.1%), according to NFL Next Gen Stats. He is below average, but not significantly — and certainly not significantly enough to hang the Cowboys’ run defense problems on him, when Mazi Smith and Osa Odighizuwa are the defensive tackles.

The run defense considerations are almost immaterial. The only reason we’re bringing them up is because Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones said “run defense” about 142 times in his post-trade news conference. Of course the Cowboys needed to get better in run defense. It’s just a totally pointless endeavor if you trade arguably the best defensive player alive in the process. Of course the Packers need to dedicate more resources to their early-down run defense now that Parsons is on the field (and Clark is off it). But they are thrilled to do so because Parsons solves their base pass rush problem. He solves their Vikings and Lions problems. And he turns them from a defense that punches above its weight into a defense that punches against heavyweights.

The hay isn’t in the barn just yet. Parsons was a late add to the team and will take some time to get up to schematic speed. He’s going to be used creatively, and that requires trials; he’s going to be used in blitz and twist packages, and that requires chemistry built over time. And besides, the Packers’ cornerback room remains thin, even after the free agent signing of Nate Hobbs. I’m not convinced they’ll be able to play man coverage as much as they might like.

But last season proved the Packers have a legit defensive coordinator for the first time in years. And now they have a star defensive player — an unquestionably elite, blue chip, auto Defensive-Player-of-the-Year-candidate star. I’ll put my faith in this working. I’ll put my faith in a Super Bowl-caliber defense developing in Green Bay this season. And with an offense that has been approaching that crest for years now, there’s no reason Parsons shouldn’t see something the Cowboys never gave him: an appearance in the NFC Championship Game.

It has been a record-breaking transfer window in the Premier League with billions spent by England’s top-flight clubs — including huge fees for Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz (£100 million) and Hugo Ekitike (£69 million) as well as the £66.3 million Manchester United paid for Benjamin Sesko.

Liverpool’s deadline day move for Newcastle United‘s Alexander Isak will be worth around €130 million, smashing the previous Premier League transfer record which was set by Chelsea when they paid Benfica an initial €106.3 million for Enzo Fernández.

– Deadline Day LIVE: Follow all the latest moves
– Grading all the big summer signings
– The VAR Review: Fulham fume at disallowed goal

Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Man United and Tottenham have also strengthened their attacking options, but the new signings have enjoyed a mixed start.

So with the Premier League now shutting down for two weeks for the first international break of the season, it’s time to assess just how well, or badly, the new attackers have done.

The Chelsea forward enjoyed a head start on his attacking rivals in the Premier League because he joined Enzo Maresca’s side from Brighton & Hove Albion halfway through the FIFA Club World Cup and made an instant impact for the eventual winners.

His three goals in three games in the United States, after a £55 million transfer from the Amex, quickly confirmed Pedro as Chelsea’s first-choice striker, and he has continued to impress in the Premier League with two goals and two assists.

At 23, the Brazil international clearly has a big future and Chelsea look to have sealed a bargain with their relatively low-priced deal.

If Chelsea are to challenge for major honours this season, Pedro will be at the heart of everything — if he stays fit.

RATING: 9/10

The signing from Eintracht Frankfurt has been an instant hit at Liverpool, scoring three goals in three games — the first Reds forward to manage that at the start of his career since Daniel Sturridge in 2013.

With Liverpool having already signed Wirtz and with Isak on the way, Ekitike’s arrival was somewhat low-key after he rejected a move to Newcastle.

But for anyone thinking that the 23-year-old would be a squad player at Anfield, Ekitike has quickly dispelled that notion by adding pace, trickery and cool finishing skills to Slot’s forward line.

How he fits in alongside Isak, Wirtz and Mohamed Salah is a big question, but Ekitike has already shown that he deserves his place in the team.

RATING: 9/10

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola made it clear at the end of last season that Grealish did not figure in his plans, but the decision to offload the England winger on loan has certainly been to the benefit of Everton.

Grealish, 29, took a pay cut to leave the Etihad and reboot his career in an attempt to get back into the England squad ahead of the FIFA World Cup, and he has made a sensational start by registering four assists in four games for David Moyes’s team.

The former Aston Villa player seems to have the joy back in his game and his effervescence has sparked Everton’s performances too.

After Grealish assisted two goals, and started the move for another, in Everton’s 3-2 win at Wolves at the weekend, former City team-mate Erling Haaland called him “Jack De Bruyne” on social media.

RATING: 9/10

Spurs did their business early by sealing a £55 million deal with West Ham United for Kudus and the Ghana international has been quick to show his quality with Thomas Frank’s side.

Kudus has registered two assists for Spurs, both coming in the opening day win against Burnley, but it is the 25-year-old’s impact away from the stats that has been impressive.

His work-rate and tenacity is typical of the best Frank sides and Kudus’s performance in the away win at Man City emphasised his willingness to work for the team.

A moment in the second-half, when he dispossessed City’s Bernardo Silva and teed up a Spurs attack, showed that Spurs have signed a forward who will do much more than contribute in the final third of the pitch.

RATING: 7/10

The Brazil international was United’s first signing of the summer, sealing a £62.5 million move from Wolves to start the rebuild of Ruben Amorim’s attacking options following the club’s dismal return of 44 goals in 38 league games last season.

But after contributing 17 goals and six assists for struggling Wolves last season, the 26-year-old has yet to get off the mark for United and he could now be facing a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.

Despite the lack of goals or assists, however, Cunha has visibly added more dynamism and threat to United’s forward line and Amorim spoke of his importance to the team when asked about his potential absence, saying, “We need him really bad to be competitive.”

RATING: 7/10

Bryan Mbeumo, Manchester United (315 mins, 2 goals, 0 assists)

Mbeumo joined United from Brentford for £65 million and the Cameroon international has already brought goals to Old Trafford.

Two goals in four games have been the upside, but Mbeumo’s penalty shoot-out miss in the Carabao Cup loss to Grimsby proved the decisive moment, so that was an obvious downside.

Mbeumo and fellow new signings Cunha and Sesko are still adjusting to life at Old Trafford, and the requirements of Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-3 system, but he is clearly an upgrade.

He has made United better and there can be little doubt that there is still more to come from the 26-year-old.

RATING: 7/10

The stats look fairly impressive for Gyökeres, Arsenal’s £63 million signing from Sporting CP, but numbers can be deceiving and the centre forward has struggled to show that he is the answer to the Gunners’ long-term striker search.

Both of Gyökeres’ goals came in the 5-0 home against Leeds United, with one from the penalty spot, but aside from that contribution, the Sweden international has looked short of fitness and impact in games away to Manchester United and Liverpool.

The 27-year-old missed a big chunk of preseason due to his stand-off with Sporting, so he clearly needs to build up his fitness. But right now, Gyökeres looks short of the quality usually associated with an Arsenal forward and he was also outmuscled by Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté at Anfield.

It’s still early days, but maybe Arsenal fans will have to accept that while Gyökeres has taken Thierry Henry’s No. 14 shirt, he is a completely different kind of player to the Gunners’ legendary all-time top scorer.

RATING: 5/10

Florian Wirtz, Liverpool (335 mins, 0 goals, 1 assist)

Wirtz was given the club’s iconic No. 7 shirt to underline his importance to Arne Slot’s side after making the move from Bayer Leverkusen.

But the 22-year-old has struggled to make an impact and his only goal contribution came in the Community Shield defeat against Crystal Palace.

Wirtz limped out of Sunday’s 1-0 win against Arsenal with cramp and manager Slot said it was proof that the Germany international is still adjusting to the pace of the Premier League.

“After 85 minutes, I don’t think he knew he could have cramp in so many different places and that’s what happened,” Slot said. “That is welcome to the Premier League.”

RATING: 5/10

Pep Guardiola has taken a gamble on a maverick by signing Cherki from Lyon. The 22-year-old could be a game-changer for City, but there are also doubts as to whether he can successfully make the step-up from Ligue 1.

A thigh injury sustained last week forced Cherki to miss the 2-1 defeat at Brighton and Guardiola said that it will sideline the France international for two months.

So after a bright start with a goal in the opening day win at Wolves, followed by a less impressive outing in the defeat against Spurs, the jury is out.

RATING: 5/10

Benjamin Sesko, Manchester United (170 mins, 0 goals, 0 assists)

Slovenia international Sesko rejected a move to Newcastle to sign for United. The 6-foot-5 centre forward had also been a long-term Arsenal target prior to their move for Gyökeres.

So far, the signing from RB Leipzig has struggled for game time due to a disrupted preseason with the Bundesliga club and his only 90 minutes came in United’s humiliating exit to Grimsby.

Sesko offers more presence and ability to shield the ball than Rasmus Højlund and is more experienced, but he is yet to show clear evidence that he can be the solution to United’s goal-scoring problems.

Slovenia’s World Cup qualifiers against Sweden and Switzerland this week will help Sesko build his match sharpness ahead of the Manchester derby on Sept. 14.

RATING: 4/10

Liam Delap, Chelsea (399 mins, 1 goal, 1 assist)

Delap was the striker that virtually every top club wanted to sign at the end of last season due to the 22-year-old having a £30 million release clause following Ipswich Town’s relegation from the Premier League. After strong interest from Newcastle and Manchester United, he chose Chelsea.

So far, though, the former Manchester City youngster has been left in the shade by Pedro. Delap looks distinctly like a back-up strike behind the Brazil international.

Delap has yet to score or assist in the Premier League and his hopes of making an early impression have been dented by a hamstring injury, sustained in Saturday’s win against Fulham, that is expected to sideline him for up to eight weeks.

RATING: 4/10

Oliver Glasner says Crystal Palace “have to keep” Marc Guehi after Liverpool made a late bid for his captain.

Guehi started Crystal Palace’s match against Aston Villa as captain on Sunday, scoring a sublime curling effort in his side’s 3-0 victory at Villa Park.

Liverpool made an improved bid worth £35m for Guehi on Saturday that included a 10 per cent sell-on clause. Palace would be willing to accept £35m plus £5m in add-ons, but also want a replacement through the door.

However, Glasner made his feelings clear with regards to what Palace should do following the win at Villa after reiterating the club will have the final say on a potential exit for Guehi.

“There is no deal,” Glasner said in his post-match press conference at Villa Park. “We can decide, he is our player and under contract. We can decide. It is up to us.

“The only one who decides if Marc has to stay is our chairman.

“Our fans deserve to have the best players available. If we don’t sell Marc, he will accept it. He loves Crystal Palace and the team.”

Glasner continued: “We have to [keep Guehi] if we want to play a successful season.

“We had a fantastic start, unbeaten in these six games, winning the Community Shield. Goal number two was qualifying for the group stage of the Conference League and we did it. I told the players it was a good start, for a great start we need to win here and this is what the players did.

“But it’s just a start. The first step is made. And for playing a successful season we need Marc.

“It’s not possible within one day to find the replacement who can play immediately in the Premier League. When you see our defensive set-up, this is our foundation, everybody knows exactly what he has to do, everybody can rely on each other. Marc isn’t a small part in this, he’s our captain.

“We have to keep him. I told this to the chairman. It’s not for me.

“I like Marc, he’s such a professional player, and is such a nice guy but it’s for the future of Crystal Palace, it’s for playing a successful season. We have to keep him. We’ve talked about this situation and said, OK, we’re just selling Marc if we have the right replacement. If we don’t have the right replacement for me it’s clear to keep him.”

Joe Gomez has come up in discussions between the clubs but Liverpool will not allow him to leave on loan and would be reluctant to sell him. The 28-year-old featured in Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Arsenal on Sunday.

Palace set to sign Igor and considering Disasi deal

With Guehi’s future up in the air, Palace are close to an agreement with Brighton over a loan deal for defender Igor Julio.

Sky Sports News has been told the deal includes an option for Palace to buy him at the end of the season.

Plans are in place for Igor to travel to south London for a medical on Deadline Day. West Ham held an interest in the player, but Palace now looks his more likely destination.

Meanwhile, Palace are considering a move for Chelsea’s Axel Disasi.

The defender is a member of Chelsea’s ‘bomb squad’ of players who are not part of Enzo Maresca’s first-team squad – and are free to find another club.

The French defender spent last season on loan at Aston Villa.

Palace’s win at Villa comes at a cost

Adam Wharton’s spot in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for September’s World Cup qualifiers has been plunged into doubt after he was withdrawn due to injury against Aston Villa.

The 21-year-old is in line to earn his first-ever England cap after being named in Tuchel’s most recent selection for games against Andorra and Serbia.

However, Wharton pulled up in the 56th minute of Palace’s game at Villa Park, gesturing towards his groin, where he’s had a history of injuries, as he was replaced by Jefferson Lerma. Glasner has since confirmed it is an abductor injury.

Wharton suffered an injury-hit campaign last year as he underwent groin surgery in November 2024, only to make a return in February of this year.

Speaking in his press conference after the game, Glasner issued an update on Wharton and Ismalia Sarr, who also picked up an injury during the fixture. He said: “Sarr was the hamstring. Wharton was the abductor.

“Hopefully, it is not too serious. There will be scans tomorrow.”

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Just minutes before taking the stage at the ACC’s annual kickoff event at the Hilton Charlotte Uptown, Bill Belichick scrolled through his phone, reviewing his notes at a table in a dark service corridor as hotel employees stacked plates and glasses around. He had been shuffled through back hallways by conference and school staffers hoping to avoid the majority of the more than 800 media members gathered in an adjacent ballroom, all eager to photograph, question or simply glimpse college football’s biggest celebrity, but the spotlight awaited.

This is the new normal for North Carolina.

“It’s a little like the Deion [Sanders] thing at Colorado,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said. “He grabs your attention. It’s made for television.”

The ballroom where Belichick addressed topics as banal as the modern use of the fullback remained packed for his session, the ACC having distributed nearly 40% more credentials than a year earlier. In a breakout room intended for a more informal Q&A, more than 200 reporters elbowed through the crowd to pose a question. Belichick spoke for more than 20 minutes, even cracking a few jokes.

One reporter asked what it was like sitting in living rooms with recruits during the spring.

“I haven’t done that,” Belichick quipped. “That would be a recruiting violation right now.”

For anyone who had lived through Belichick’s chaotic early days of recruiting and roster building, it might have felt like an inside joke. The start to this new era in Chapel Hill was marked by missteps, confusion, broken promises and “harsh” and “businesslike” decisions to nudge players out the door, all while a skeleton staff bereft of college experience struggled to keep up.

“It was very stressful,” said a former member of the staff. “Everyone was running around like chickens with their heads cut off.”

It was a far cry from Belichick’s presentation at ACC media days this summer, where he appeared at ease in his new world — still far from his promise to bring a national championship to Chapel Hill but more aware of the pitfalls he’d face along the way.

When Belichick met with North Carolina’s team for the first time in December 2024, he delivered a mission statement for a program that has developed a reputation as a perennial underachiever. It was now being led by a man who had won 302 NFL games and six Super Bowls as a head coach. Things were about to change dramatically.

“We’re going to grind every single day,” he told the team, according to veteran quarterback Max Johnson. “It’s a process from January until the season starts.”

That process reaches its apex Monday night when UNC hosts TCU (8 p.m. on ESPN) in Belichick’s first game as a college head coach. It has been, according to more than two dozen sources including former assistants, current and former staffers, high school coaches, players, recruits and members of school administration who spoke with ESPN, at times enlightening and exhilarating, chaotic and tumultuous.

Belichick and his staff have had to adjust on the fly to the intricacies of NCAA recruiting rules, rebuild a roster and dodge scrutiny about the 73-year-old coach and his 24-year-old girlfriend. The promise Belichick didn’t offer to his team that first day, but the one that seems most likely to hold true, is that no part of this era would be boring.

“There’s things that we’re going to deal with that other schools aren’t,” Belichick said in his usual subdued tone. “That’s the way it goes.”

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IF BELICHICK’S NFL résumé was a selling point to UNC fans, his status as a college newcomer quickly became uncomfortably apparent to numerous high school coaches, recruits and staffers who spoke to ESPN. They described the December and January recruiting push as a frenetic and disjointed process in which few people seemed to have a clear vision for the program’s direction.

In a quest to “go lean,” Belichick quickly cut ties with much of the previous staff — from assistant coaches to entry-level personnel who handled the basic operations of recruiting. When he was in the office, Belichick spent most of his time behind closed doors in a staff room with Tar Heels GM Mike Lombardi and newly hired personnel staffers Joe Anile and Andrew Blaylock, with one source involved in the process saying the Heels initially couldn’t do “traditional” visits because there were so few people for players to meet with. Another source at UNC said the decision to move on from the prior staff was understandable, but “you still need someone who knows how to book a flight or a hotel.” Multiple sources confirmed Belichick ultimately relented — at least temporarily — rehiring some analysts just to fill the void.

“A couple times they brought in good players and ignored them on their visit,” a source with direct knowledge of the situation said. “There were times that the kids would be waiting 30, 45 minutes or an hour and then all of a sudden, you’re not meeting with Coach Belichick anymore, and we’ll go back to the airport.”

Belichick and his top lieutenants were often flying blind when it came to NCAA rules and regulations, operating by a Silicon Valley-style “move fast and break things” approach, while public records obtained by ESPN show numerous reminders from compliance staff about recruiting quiet periods and NIL restrictions, along with a protracted debate about the boundaries of where coaches could meet with recruits on official visits.

“That’s probably the biggest thing they’ve had to learn, with what you can and can’t do,” another source who has worked with the program said. “They found out fast how many rules we’ve been dealing with over the past couple of years.”

Those initial months were a barrage of hasty evaluations and high-pressure sales pitches.

One recruit, who ultimately didn’t sign with UNC, recalled meeting Belichick for just a few minutes before being handed a contract and asked to sign.

“I kind of felt it was disrespectful to just put me in that situation after just meeting a coach,” the recruit said. “It was just crazy that you’d make a player sign a contract in front of a coach right after you just met him, and you haven’t even talked about numbers yet or anything about what I would get at that school.”

In-state recruit Jariel Cobb was planning a visit to an SEC school when he got a call from UNC, saying Belichick wanted to send a car to pick him up if he could visit campus immediately. When Cobb arrived in Chapel Hill with his mother, they were given the red-carpet treatment, with an array of people in UNC gear shaking hands and lauding the recruit’s skill set. Belichick met with Cobb, who had always dreamed of playing for his home-state Tar Heels but didn’t receive an offer from the prior staff. Belichick delivered a stern analysis: “I don’t know why in the hell they hadn’t offered you, but I looked at the film. I want you.”

“They treated us like celebrities,” Terri Cobb, Jariel’s mother, said. “Other schools had told him to think on it, but right out of the gate, Bill stood up and said, ‘You rocking and rolling with me or what?’”

Cobb signed, enrolled early and went through spring ball with the Tar Heels, calling it a positive experience, but his mother had noted that, during his initial conversations with Belichick, the coach had repeatedly mentioned two other players from Cobb’s high school he hoped would also come to UNC. In retrospect, she wonders if the Tar Heels’ interest in her son was aimed at getting an inside line to other players.

“They were flying through visitors,” the former member of the staff said. “It was unclear if Coach Belichick had evaluated the tape with how quickly they were bringing kids in.”

By the spring, with a full staff and enough time to better evaluate talent, North Carolina went into its second roster rebuild of the offseason. Overall, 39 players transferred out after Belichick’s arrival, including nearly two dozen after spring workouts. Cobb was among them. After just four months at his dream school, he was told he was unlikely to play and encouraged to transfer. It was, according to his mother, a similar story for many of his teammates. Cobb is now at Charlotte, which will play the Tar Heels in Week 2.

Meanwhile, UNC heavily recruited transfers during the spring portal window, which, according to numerous coaches across multiple Power 4 conferences, was described as the most bereft of talent since the portal era began in 2021. The Tar Heels added 23 players.

“There’s a little guesstimate there,” Belichick said. “You do the best you can to figure it out, but it’s a very inexact science.”

To find worthy additions in April and May, North Carolina was aggressive in identifying potential transfers. Five coaches told ESPN that they had been frustrated with North Carolina’s brazen efforts, led by Lombardi, to contact players directly prior to those players entering the portal, with at least one coach contacting Belichick to complain. Though tampering has become commonplace in college football, it’s often done through back-channels — current players talking to friends or former teammates, for example. North Carolina was “blatant” and “brazen,” according to one Power 4 coach. One player who spoke to ESPN said that he had been contacted by UNC in an effort to convince him to transfer, and he was warned not to inform anyone of the communication. If he did, he was told, he could lose his eligibility.

“I don’t think they’re doing anything that hasn’t been done [elsewhere],” one source said, “but I do think it’s such a drastic culture change from [former coach] Mack [Brown], so that it looks completely different to the people at UNC.”

While the style is different, so are the results. UNC already has nine blue-chip commitments for 2026 as Belichick has grown more comfortable with the recruiting process and focused on a national approach to talent acquisition.

“We’re in there with some good schools,” Belichick said, “and it’s good to be able to get kids coming to Carolina over some of the top schools in the country.”

After the rocky start, Belichick has used additional resources promised as part of his hiring to nearly double the recruiting support staff from what existed under Brown, yet it’s often Belichick who’s the linchpin to selling a player.

Belichick’s first time on the road recruiting was traveling to Rolesville High outside Raleigh, North Carolina, to visit brothers Zavion and Jayden Griffin-Haynes. Zavion had been committed to North Carolina under Brown, but decommitted after the coaching change. Jayden never received an offer under the previous staff.

Belichick stayed for nearly two hours, according to Zavion, and he broke down tape with the brothers, a key part of the coach’s sales pitch with high-level recruits.

“They stayed on me,” Zavion said. “They came to see me practice during spring ball. They made sure it was love from UNC and that really stood out to me. He wants me to be the face of the program, but he also said I have to work for it. He’s not just going to hand it to me, but I’m the guy he’s looking for in the program.”

Both brothers committed in June.

Weddington (N.C.) coach Andy Capone remembers Belichick visiting campus this spring to meet with recruit Thomas Davis Jr., and he was awestruck.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to meet a lot of head coaches,” Capone said, “but I’ve only taken a picture with two of them: Nick Saban and Bill Belichick.”

What truly impressed Capone was Belichick’s pitch once the fanfare died down. Belichick described a detailed plan for UNC, spent time with three recruits, including Davis, and, from memory, recited plays he had watched on film from their games, relating each to plays run by some of the greats from Belichick’s past.

“He’d say, ‘This is how I used Lawrence Taylor or Mike Vrabel,’” Capone said. “It was really cool to let them see a perspective of how he sees players in his system.”

Capone said Belichick was honest with his recruits, and he pitched them on his long history of preparing players for the NFL.

Before Belichick departed, Davis, who ultimately committed to Notre Dame, asked the question that has been at the forefront of so many debates since the NFL legend arrived at Carolina. Was Belichick really planning to stay long in Chapel Hill?

“I wouldn’t have taken this job to go back to the NFL,” Belichick told him. “We’re going to win national championships here.”

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VINAY PATEL WAS never a Belichick fan. The UNC board of trustees member applauded the hire for the Tar Heels, but he had seen enough of Belichick in the pros to assume he wouldn’t like the guy.

Still, Patel was curious, so he attended a welcome banquet held on campus this winter, hosted by Belichick and his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson.

To his surprise, the event was friendly.

“I expected some pompous SOB, and he definitely wasn’t that,” Patel said. “And she’s not standoffish at all. We chatted, shook hands. She’s polite.”

A few months later, amid a media firestorm surrounding Belichick’s relationship with Hudson, who is nearly 50 years his junior, and her role in managing his personal brand, Patel remembers being perplexed by the seemingly ubiquitous outrage.

“I had a friend saying, ‘Can you believe this Jordon Hudson?’ — this and that,” Patel said. “And I’m just thinking, yes, but if you’d told me a year ago that UNC football was going to be a news story on a daily basis, I’d have thought you were nuts.”

If Patel favored an “all publicity is good publicity” approach, many members of the often staid and conservative UNC community saw it differently. In December, Belichick emailed UNC staff, insisting Hudson be copied on all communications. Hudson proceeded to inject her opinion on how the school’s PR staff operated, sometimes frustrating longtime employees. In one instance, she insisted Steve Belichick never be referred to as Bill’s son, and in a February email, asked to have public comments on UNC football social media sites censored, including one she said described her as “a predator.” UNC public relations replied that it “hid/erased one comment that had been posted about your personal life,” but did not find additional critical comments on UNC football’s Facebook page, according to documents obtained by ESPN in a public records request.

Bill Belichick was frustrated that the emails were shared, according to multiple sources, despite warnings from UNC staff that, as a public university, the athletics department was subject to open records requests.

“He didn’t like it at all, but he’s never worked at a public school,” a UNC source said. “[Hudson] would probably be more involved if we weren’t a public school.”

By the spring, Hudson’s involvement became routine public fodder. At UNC’s final spring practice, Hudson roiled the school’s old guard not only for being on the field, but for the way she was dressed. More attention followed, from a controversial appearance on “CBS Sunday Morning” to reports that Hudson had been banned from UNC’s football facility to suggestions in a New York Times story that a planned season of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” featuring North Carolina was scuttled due to her involvement.

Sources familiar with the negotiations told ESPN that the decision to nix the project was ultimately Belichick’s, saying he felt the timing of the HBO show, which would film only during fall camp, wouldn’t showcase the team’s strengths. The school instead pivoted to another project that will air on Hulu and cover North Carolina’s entire season.

Amid the spring’s media frenzy, the school was flooded with complaints from fans, donors and even professors, calling Belichick’s relationship “shameless,” “a disgrace” and “a laughing stock,” with one alum writing, “We’ve always prided ourselves on being a class act, but this is the kind of unnecessary distraction that does more harm than good. If Bill walks, he walks.”

UNC brass, including chancellor Lee Roberts and athletic director Bubba Cunningham, declined to comment on “the private lives of any of our employees,” as Roberts explained, and inside the locker room, few players seemed bothered.

Numerous sources who spoke to ESPN suggested much of the Hudson drama was overblown. One UNC administrator said that Hudson’s initial involvement was simply to “fill a void” until new PR staff could be hired and said Hudson hasn’t been a part of football-related correspondence since early in the spring.

A “talking points” email distributed to PR personnel and Belichick ahead of the ACC’s spring meetings in May detailed Hudson’s role, noting “once staff was in place, after about a month, she was no longer copied on emails. She is not involved in the hiring of staff, recruiting of players, communications related to the program or the building of the program” but “continues to be involved from a scheduling perspective.” The memo also noted that “Jordon is playing an active role in the filming and production of a documentary about Coach Belichick’s first season of college football, so in that capacity, she may be seen on the sidelines of Carolina Football practices or games.”

Multiple sources who spoke to ESPN doubted Belichick had been aware of the outsized attention she generated online — “He’s always watching film, not scrolling through her Instagram” — and believed that after the CBS interview, he took steps to limit her exposure in relation to the football program.

“It’s almost like you’re shielded from it,” one source with knowledge of the program said. “You’re finding all this stuff on TMZ and different sites, but nobody really talked about it around the building. It was more of a big deal nationally than it was here.”

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A SMALL ARMY of reporters shuffled aimlessly outside a padlocked gate that, in a few moments, would provide a brief glimpse of North Carolina’s fall camp on a weekday in mid-August. Access to outsiders has been severely restricted, and a pair of onlookers standing at a fourth-floor window in a nearby building had likely already gleaned more information about this Tar Heels team than the local media had all summer.

In the Belichick era, there are insiders and there are outsiders.

North Carolina has beefed up security. When one local reporter used binoculars to glimpse Hudson and other visitors at a UNC practice through a narrow window of the indoor practice facility, a guard immediately interrupted. The football building inside Kenan Stadium has been off limits to all nonessential football personnel, and the school installed facial recognition sensors to enter the facility. No UNC player was permitted to speak to the media for the first six months of Belichick’s tenure, and Belichick is also skipping a weekly radio show, typically a staple for college coaches, ceding the stage to Lombardi.

Belichick’s staff is filled with trusted confidants. Lombardi had been an advisor with the New England Patriots and even co-hosted Belichick’s podcast. Lombardi’s son, Matt, is UNC’s quarterbacks coach. Two of Belichick’s sons — Steve and Brian — coach on defense. One of his former players, Jamie Collins, is the inside linebackers coach. Several sources suggest senior staff members monitor outgoing communications from other staffers to curtail leaks about the inner workings of the program.

On the inside, however, the view of Belichick has been far different than the public persona he has projected for decades.

“They’ve been really easy and good to work with,” said Cunningham, who had initially been skeptical of the hire. “It’s a different model. They wanted to bring in their own coaches and personnel and recruiting people, people they’ve worked with previously. It’s a very personable staff.”

𝐌𝐢𝐜’𝐝 𝐔𝐩 🎙️🎙️🎙️@Belichick_B pic.twitter.com/cf2axVs1D6

— Carolina Football (@UNCFootball) August 15, 2025

This winter, Belichick had pizza delivered to UNC fraternities and sororities ahead of the Heels’ men’s basketball game against Duke. He did the same for several of UNC’s winter and spring sports teams.

Belichick is a longtime lacrosse fan, and as he surveyed the football practice field during the spring — the same field where the lacrosse teams practice — he posed a question: Where are the lacrosse lines? Belichick was told that, if the football team practices that morning, the lacrosse field wouldn’t get painted.

“He said, ‘Paint the lines,’ and we got them,” UNC’s women’s lacrosse coach Jenny Levy said. “I think he’s diving into what college athletics is all about.”

Former UNC linebacker Jeff Schoettmer attended the school’s “Practice Like a Pro” day to conclude spring practice, and he watched Belichick mingle with recruits, transfers and their parents. At a banquet afterward, the coach met with former players and donors.

“It’s pretty incredible to see how easily he moves among different types of people,” Schoettmer said. “Him holding court with former players — it’s just like you see some of these extroverted coaches who’ll talk to anybody, but you don’t expect Bill to sit there and tell war stories with guys he’s never coached. But that’s how much love I think he has for North Carolina.”

Inside the football facility, Belichick thought Brown’s former office on the fourth floor of the football building was isolating, so he set up his own office on the second floor to be in the same space occupied by the players.

“I can’t coach the players if I’m not around them,” Belichick told ESPN. “I try to go in and out of meetings and be visible and present.”

Cunningham said he has been struck by how accessible Belichick is to the team, routinely sitting in film study sessions and breaking down plays.

In June, Belichick met with his quarterbacks each day for about an hour, a process that began during his tenure with the Patriots because, he said, “It’s important for the coach and the quarterback to be on the same page.”

Johnson, one of the few holdovers from Brown’s 2024 team, said the involvement of the coach in the small details of the game is unlike anything he had seen.

“We did something different every day,” Johnson said. “Everything is really detailed, and that’s what I’ve loved.”

If Belichick’s tenure has been marked by a steadfast devotion to those in his orbit at the expense of those on the outside, it has done little to temper enthusiasm around the program.

Donations are up, season tickets are sold out, and UNC has added new premium-seating options that will further expand its revenue opportunities. Rick Barakat, the athletics department’s new chief revenue officer, said UNC will exceed its all-time gross revenue record this year.

“The pitch has changed because the excitement’s never been higher,” Barakat said. “We’ve had bouts of success historically, but I don’t think we’ve ever seen Carolina football at the level it is right now in the national news cycle, and that trickles down into every conversation.”

Even entities in Belichick’s orbit seemed to bask in the glow of newfound attention. Phillips raved that Belichick “is great for the ACC and great for North Carolina.” One executive for the Charlotte 49ers referred to a sizable uptick in season ticket sales as “The Belichick Bump,” and AD Mike Hill was tasked with finding more seating capacity for the Week 2 game by bringing in “bleachers everywhere.” Charlotte’s initial advertising for the game focused on Belichick, a decision critiqued by the school’s chancellor, according to public records obtained by ESPN, for ignoring its own new coach, Tim Albin.

Many of North Carolina’s administrators who spoke to ESPN said the investment would be judged on wins and losses, but it’s also possible the spotlight could be a springboard to something else.

“You’re seeing a lot more people involved as far as helping out the program,” one of those sources said. “You can feel that UNC is embracing more on the football end. It’s been the talk of the last two years, but the push to get to the SEC, I think, was a major reason for this show of investment in football.”

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UPON HIS HIRE, Belichick immediately pushed a new tagline for Tar Heels football. They would be “the 33rd NFL team,” and those early days included an influx of professional know-how, from Lombardi to former Patriots nutritionist Josh Grimes and Moses Cabrera, Belichick’s longtime strength and conditioning guru.

“Coach B comes in with a different mindset in terms of everything’s going to be at the highest level possible, no matter what he has to do to get there,” wide receiver Jordan Shipp said.

Belichick has delivered that message repeatedly, both inside the locker room and to the media, often saying players who “don’t want to work, they don’t want to be good. That’s OK, but if you’re like that, Carolina’s a bad place to be. It’s too important to the rest of us.”

Belichick retained Freddie Kitchens as the lone full-time position coach from the previous staff, in large part because of his NFL background. Kitchens spent 16 years in the NFL before moving on to college, including a stint as the Cleveland Browns head coach. Belichick has said all of the systems they are implementing — from offense to defense to special teams — are NFL-based.

“Fundamentals and techniques that go with them are based on that too, practice, structure, meeting, installation, teaching. There were some modifications we had to make, but basically it’s all the same,” Belichick said.

Belichick has gotten more used to recruiting as well. Those who interacted with him on the recruiting trail in January noticed a big difference in their exchanges six months later, describing him as “more personable.”

“He understands that he had to change his way of doing things, and he’s doing that, and he’s really adapting to this new culture,” said Rolesville (N.C.) coach Ranier Rackley, who has three players committed to UNC. “So that’s why he’s getting a lot of these guys because of that.”

Collins, who played for Belichick for parts of seven seasons during a 10-year NFL career, said he has seen a softening of the coach who, in the pros, was known for his all-business approach to relationships.

“The old Bill comes out, but we live in a different world now,” Collins said. “I’ve seen a different side of Bill coaching these guys.”

In June, Rackley brought a group of players to UNC’s 7-on-7 camp, and he took note of Belichick moving from one group to the next, watching as many teams and players as possible. There was a different energy to the experience, he said.

In all, nearly 4,000 kids showed up during UNC football camps that month. For Belichick, who has often downplayed the leap from the NFL to college, it was an eye-opening moment.

“Once you actually see it, it feels like Normandy,” Belichick told ESPN. “It’s like, ‘Here they come.’”

North Carolina hasn’t won an ACC title since 1980, but with Belichick on the sideline, there’s no lack of optimism in Chapel Hill.

“We’re here to win football games,” Shipp said. “He let us know that yeah, we’re going to have a spotlight. But that’s not what we’re worried about. We’re worried about winning games.”

For UNC, though, there’s more to the story. Belichick is a bona fide winner, but he’s also a show — occasionally controversial, often recalcitrant, sometimes funny — and for a program looking for attention, he has delivered.

“We want to be competitive in football,” Roberts said. “We want to be part of the national conversation. Carolina stands for excellence across the board, and we want to be excellent in football. I think we’re well on our way.”

What comes after that remains a mystery — one Belichick has fiercely protected throughout a long offseason. Now, the veil is lifted.

The new era of North Carolina football is here.

Michael Rothstein and Eli Lederman contributed to this story.