CFB Monthly Round-Up: April 2024

A summary of the notable events in CFB for the month of April.

The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs. The chicken is involved; the pig is committed.

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Gather in to the tavern, my friends. In today’s ‘Monthly Round-Up’, I will cover at a high level the notable headlines, rumblings, and quotable quotes in College Football and their relevancy to CFF. These will include camp rumblings, notable transfer portal news (when applicable), and injury/suspension events.

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Paid subscribers have full access to these monthly recap articles, which summarize information from a variety of sources into one succinct, concise document to keep you on the cutting edge of the CFF market. As a paid subscriber, you also have access to my quarterly rankings reports, paid exclusive articles that I publish (about one in of every four articles), and finally, full access to my weekly rankings and waiver wire reports during the season.

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Spring Camp Rumblings

NOTE: I have been publishing separate reports covering the relevant details emerging from spring games, which you can find here.

This month’s section covers updates from: Indiana, UCF, Colorado State, SDSU, New Mexico, Cal, Baylor, Cincinnati, Arizona State, BYU, Notre Dame, Washington State, Oregon State, Boise State, Fresno State, Georgia Southern, Texas Tech, Tennessee, Mississippi State, UGA, Florida State, Clemson, TCU, Kansas State, West Virginia, FAU, Florida, Auburn, USC, ECU, SJSU, Texas A&M, App State, Alabama, USF, Tulane, New Mexico State, SMU, Tulsa, Miami, NC State, Ohio State, Kentucky, UVA, Washington, UCLA, South Carolina, Troy, Utah State, NIU, and Duke.

• Indiana HC Curt Cignetti appears excited about QB transfer Kurtis Rourke, when asked about the depth chart:

  • I am impressed with Rourke's progress, let's just say that . . . He just looks like the last two practices he's been functioning, looking like a high-level quarterback.

  • An IU beat writer offered his view based on what he’s seen so far: Right now, Rourke seemingly leads the way behind center, with [Tayven] Jackson following behind.

• Cignetti also commented on the IU WR room, mentioning that Donaven McCulley, who’s currently running with the second team, “needs to pick it up a little bit”. Cignetti mentioned that Elijah Sarratt, Miles Cross, and Myles Price have “been good”.

• From a national beat writer on UCF freshman WR Bredell Richardson:

  • UCF freshman wide receiver Bredell Richardson turned heads on Day 1 of spring camp this week. There is already buzz around Orlando that the rising star could move into an immediate starting role if he continues to trend upward.

• Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell spoke glowingly about QB Brayden Fowler Nicolosi:

  • (Fowler-Nicolosi is) not the same kid . . . Everybody talks about the game slowing down, but it’s slowed down for him. He really sees his progressions. He understands when he can’t go to somebody . . . He’s the best freshman we’ve ever had with his performance last year.

• An early April update from a beat reporter on the San Diego State offence:

  • QB: Sophomore quarterback AJ Duffy continues to get first-team reps, though Lewis said he has not separated himself from the others competing at the position.

  • RB: Senior Kenan Christon, who Lewis credited Saturday with “some nice, physical runs,” is the starting running back.¹

  • WR: “When Ja’Shaun Poke is rocking and rolling, he flashes some good things,” Lewis said.

  • Note: Colorado WR/TE transfer Michael Harrison does not arrive until summer.

• From an update from New Mexico’s camp, Andrew Henry is the “perceived” RB1, with Iowa State transfer Eli Sanders running third string.

• A report from early Cal spring practices on the depth chart:

  • QB — Fernando Mendoza is the a top the QB depth chart,

  • RB — Jayden Ott is RB1 (as expected), with each of Javian Thomas, Justin Williams and Kadarious Callaway in a three-way split for RB2,

  • WR — Trond Grizzell, Tobias Merriweather, and Mikey Matthews round out the starting three.

• Baylor RBs coach Khenon Hall spoke about his approach to the rotation this year:

  • I'm big on having a unit where we can use multiple guys. I'm a running back by committee type guy. If you've seen my past and my history — especially at SMU — we use multiple backs.

  • Despite his previous comment, Hall did speak glowingly about Richard Reese: He's gonna get carries. I think he's gonna have an unbelievable season… He's a professional, he carries himself that way. And I think he's gonna have a really outbreaking season.

• Baylor HC Dave Aranda spoke about the QB room: