ACC Football

Ocoee High football player Dexter Rentz Jr. died after being shot Saturday night in Orlando, according to J.C. Carnahan and Chris Hays of the Orlando Sentinel.

The 18-year-old had signed a letter of intent to play for Louisville in 2020.

Louisville football coach Scott Satterfield provided a statement on Rentz:

"We are deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Dexter Rentz. He was a great young man who had a contagious personality, and was able to light up a room with his smile. He was a great kid to be around and he will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Rentz family during this extremely difficult time."

According to Orlando police, three others were shot as well.

The 5'8 ½" prospect was considered a 3-star recruit and the No. 75 athlete in the class by 247Sports' composite rankings.

He played both receiver and cornerback during his high school career, totaling 1,700 all-purpose yards as well as grabbing five interceptions in a single game, per Andrea Adelson of ESPN.

Rentz committed to Louisville in June 2019 and was soon followed by teammate Lovie Jenkins, who said he would join the Cardinals in September.

Jenkins provided a tribute to Rentz on Twitter on Sunday:

Fellow Louisville commit Josh Minkins Jr. noted on Twitter he was going to be Rentz's roommate.

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence is the early favorite to become the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft next year in Cleveland.

Adam Levitan of Establish The Run provided the updated betting odds, which show Lawrence ahead of fellow quarterback Justin Fields of Ohio State and Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell:

The Cincinnati Bengals selected LSU quarterback Joe Burrow with the No. 1 selection in the 2020 draft Thursday night. It marked the third consecutive year and the 15th time in the past 20 years a QB was taken in the top spot.

Lawrence is a strong contender to keep that trend alive next spring.

The 20-year-old Tennessee native took over the Tigers' starting job as a true freshman in 2018 and has posted back-to-back monster statistical seasons. In all, he's completed 65.5 percent of his throws for 6,945 yards with 66 touchdowns and 12 interceptions across 30 appearances.

He also showcased progress as a rusher in 2019 with 563 rushing yards and nine scores on the ground.

Lawrence pushed aside speculation he could sit out the 2020 season in order to preserve his draft stock after Clemson's loss to LSU in last season's National Championship Game.

"Yeah, I don't think so," he told reporters. "I think I just love Clemson. I love college football and whether it's one more year or two more years, whatever it may be, I just love it here. I love doing what I've done. I think it's a unique experience being able to go to school and grow and become a man and get to do it with some of your best friends."

The "Tank for Trevor" campaigns will probably start pretty early in the 2020 season. He's looked like as surefire of a prospect as it gets through two years in college.

Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack said Thursday that the ACC has not discussed the possibility of canceling the 2020 college football season amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

According to ESPN's Andrea Adelson, Wildhack acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding the season during a Zoom teleconference, but made it clear that the goal and intention is to have a season:

"We have not, as a conference, had any discussions in terms of not playing. We want to play. We plan to play. What we don't know is when we're going to start and what form or what format we're going to start. Do you play with fans, do you not play with fans? So much is unknown, but the ADs and the conference office, we meet twice a week, and there's not been one second of conversation about not having a football season in some way, shape or form."

Major professional sports leagues such as the NBA, MLB and NHL are currently suspended because of COVID-19, plus the NCAA canceled the 2020 men's and women's basketball tournaments, as well as all 2020 spring sports, including spring football practice and games.

Given the fact that the coronavirus pandemic has led to stay-at-home orders and the banning of large gatherings throughout the United States, speculation has begun about several alternative options for the 2020 college football campaign.

During an appearance on KVOI-AM in Tucson, Arizona (h/t ESPN's Mark Schlabach), on Wednesday, University of Arizona president Dr. Robert Robbins said it was "unlikely" that the college football season would occur this fall, adding: "I just don't see that happening."

Robbins also mentioned that it is a possibility the fall and winter sports could both begin in January or February and run through the spring.

Wildhack said the following with regard to the scenario Robbins brought up:

"There's so many things that people have stated that are floated out there, and the one thing I don't want to do is engage in speculation because there's so much we don't know and we don't control this. What we do as a university, what we do as a conference, it will be led by the progress we make against the virus. It will be led by our elected officials, the governors of the individual states, in our case here the county executive, obviously the medical experts."

Playing games without fans and at neutral sites could be among the options the NCAA considers. Even if fans are permitted to attend games at home stadiums by the time the college football season is scheduled to begin in August, teams may need more preparation time since spring practices have already been impacted.

If the decision is made to delay the start of the season and play through the spring, that could also cause logistical issues should the NFL still hold its draft in April 2021. It would also make for a much shorter offseason for college players between the 2020 and 2021 campaigns.

While the NCAA is still seemingly far away from coming up with some concrete answers, Wildhack's comments suggest that finding any possible way to play in 2020 is the No. 1 priority with canceling the season being a last resort.

Defensive end Korey Foreman decommitted from the Clemson Tigers, The Athletic's Grace Raynor reported Tuesday.

"Distance from home played a factor for the defensive end and California native," Raynor added.

A 5-star recruit, Foreman is 247Sports' top-ranked prospect in the class of 2021.

Foreman committed to Clemson on Jan. 26.

"After the Clemson visit, I was originally supposed to also visit Georgia, Alabama and LSU too," Foreman said in early February, per 247Sports' Greg Biggins. "Last summer, I visited all those schools, but Clemson just felt like home to me. It's where I'm supposed to be and where I felt God leading me."

However, the 6'4", 265-pounder foreshadowed he was questioning his decision over the weekend:

Foreman told TigerNet.com's David Hood on Sunday he was upset with Clemson because of head coach Dabo Swinney's policy that prohibits commits from taking official visits elsewhere. "I feel like I've earned them," Foreman said.

Foreman added:

"I've talked to the coaches and they have explained how they feel about it. They let me know what would happen if I did take a visit. There are some things I need to think about, but that isn't my main focus. My main focus is the first game of my senior season.

...

"Everything is real [with Clemson], and I knew when I got there that it was a great place. I loved talking to the coaches and they have a record of putting guys in the league. So I have some things to think about, but really, my focus is on my high school season."

Foreman said he would be open to taking a visit to Clemson.

247Sports' Charles Power evaluated Foreman on March 31 and compared him to New Orleans Saints All-Pro Cameron Jordan:

"Combines his initial quickness off the line with an array of pass rush moves and skills. Can dip and bend off the edge in addition to walking offensive linemen back with his strong hands and bull rush. Plays for a top high school program in Southern California and faces top competition on a weekly basis. Missed approximately half of his junior season with a knee injury, but showed his reactive quickness and plus play strength prior to going down. Has the skill set to be an ideal edge-setting strong-side defensive end but could potentially reach the size where he could play multiple spots along the defensive line depending on scheme and down and distance. Continues to look like one of the top overall prospects in the 2021 cycle and one of the more talented defensive linemen to come out of Southern California in several cycles."

The Centennial High School product has 27 offers, including from programs closer to home such as USC, Oregon and Arizona State.

High school seniors are allotted five official visits.

North Carolina football jumped to second in the 247Sports class of 2021 team rankings on Friday after 4-star linebacker Raneiria "RaRa" Dillworth committed to the Tar Heels, per Don Callahan of 247Sports. 

That commitment gave UNC 11 total 4-star recruits for its 2021 class. The mark is tied for the most in the nation with Ohio State, which tops the current overall rankings.

The Dillworth signing also allowed UNC to leapfrog perennial ACC powerhouse Clemson, which has one 5-star and nine 4-star recruits thus far. The Tigers fell to third in the rankings.

North Carolina has been doing work recruiting local stars, with 10 of the 11 4-star recruits residing in the Tar Heel state.

Pro-style quarterback Drake Maye is the highest-ranked future class of 2021 Tar Heel thanks to his No. 22 national ranking. Defensive end Keeshawn Silver leads all future classmates on his side of the ball at No. 33.

Head coach Mack Brown has done a tremendous job since taking over the team following the 2018 season, which saw UNC finish 2-9 overall (including one victory versus Division I-FCS Western Carolina) and 1-7 in-conference.

The Tar Heels went 7-6 last season with a 4-4 ACC mark and a dominant 55-13 win over Temple in the Military Bowl.

All of their losses were by seven or fewer points. One of the defeats went to six overtimes, and another ended after a singular extra session.

UNC also nearly picked off then-defending national champion Clemson in September, losing 21-20 after a late two-point conversion try did not come through.

The Tar Heels' future is bright, with the school also bringing in the No. 19 class in the nation next season. They have as good of a chance as anyone in the ACC to knock Clemson off the conference throne, where the Tigers have resided for the past five seasons.

Former Mississippi State defensive lineman Fabien Lovett announced his transfer to Florida State on Monday afternoon:

Lovett entered the transfer portal April 3:

The decision came after Mike Leach, hired as Mississippi State's head coach in January, tweeted a meme illustrating a woman knitting a noose for her husband. Lovett, per ESPN's Mark Schlabach, responded to Leach's tweet with "wtf."

According to Rashad Milligan of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger, Lovett was so upset that he sent a screenshot of Leach's tweet to his father, Abdual Lovett, who then decided Fabien should leave Mississippi State.

"I didn't feel comfortable with my son being down there with a guy like that from a leadership standpoint— that you can just throw anything out there," Abdual told Milligan. "I feel if he can do it, the kids are going to feel like they can do it."

Leach deleted the tweet and issued an apology:

"I just feel comfortable and that’s where I want to be," Lovett told Brendan Sonnone of Noles247, pertaining to why he chose Florida State. "I'm cool with [Mike] Norvell and he recruited me since high school. They're a bunch of cool people. I also know coach [Chris] Marve real well. Coach Odell [Haggins], we were just texting this morning and everything. I like him a lot, too."

Lovett decommitted from Mississippi State in January 2018 before signing a letter of intent with the Bulldogs in February 2018 and enrolling at the university in March 2018, per 247Sports. He was a 3-star recruit in the class of 2018 and received 10 offers, but Florida State was not among them.

Lovett appeared in two games as a true freshman in 2018 before making 11 appearances last season with one sack, 2.5 tackles for loss and 19 total tackles.

Florida State offensive lineman Andrew Boselli announced Friday that he has recovered from the coronavirus on the school's official website.

Boselli wrote that he was told by his doctor that he had a "mild" case of COVID-19, which included a 103-degree fever, chills and shortness of breath.

Boselli's father, former Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Tony Boselli, was also diagnosed with the coronavirus. He spent three days in intensive care but has since recovered.

The 22-year-old Boselli noted that coronavirus made its way through his family with himself, his father, his mother and his brother all getting diagnosed. All of his family members have managed to make a full recovery.

Boselli also offered a word of warning to those who still aren't taking COVID-19 as seriously as they should:

"And, for me, I know I'm counting down the days until I can be around my coaches and teammates again, especially after the way they supported me over the last few weeks.

"But the only way for that to happen is listen to the experts and follow their guidance.

"Because even if this doesn't turn into a big thing for you, it could have an impact on your parents, your grandparents, or someone else's family.

"This is something that needs to be taken seriously. And if we all do our part, we can get through it."

Boselli added: "I promise, even if you're young and healthy, you do not want this virus."

While the 2020 college football season is supposed to start in late August, there are concerns that it will be shortened or perhaps even canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Spring practice is already being impacted by COVID-19, which means that teams could also be ill-prepared if and when the season does start.

If and when the 2020 season does begin, it will be Boselli's redshirt senior campaign. He figures to compete for a starting job  after appearing in 10 games and making two starts at center last season.

Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney is very confident that the 2020 season will start on time in the fall, despite the uncertainties in all major sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and invoked great moments in United States history to back up his stance: 

Granted, the playing of football doesn't compare to the importance of the other events cited. And other prominent figures in the sport have expressed their doubts.

"In my opinion, until we have a vaccine, where we've really got some control over this, even if this curve is flattened out, this virus is still out there. I'll be shocked, I haven't talked with anybody but I'll be shocked if we have NFL football this fall, if we have college football," ESPN's college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit said last week (h/t Michael Wayne Bratton of Saturday Down South). "I'll be so surprised if that happens."

Herbstreit's comments were met with backlash. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly, for instance, dismissed those remarks.

"If anybody can really predict what can happen next week, they should be in the stock market. I heard Kirk Herbstreit come out last week and say, 'No way.' Kirk does not know what he's talking about," he said, per Bratton. "Really? For him, you know, talk in those terms, he's not a scientist. He's a college football analyst. We'll let the scientists determine those things."

But the NFL's chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, has also expressed doubts about the NFL season starting in September. 

"As long as we're still in a place where when a single individual tests positive for the virus that you have to quarantine every single person who was in contact with them in any shape, form or fashion, then I don't think you can begin to think about reopening a team sport," he told Judy Battista of NFL.com. "Because we're going to have positive cases for a very long time."

Sills noted that there are a whole slew of issues to consider, from when fans will be allowed to gather en masse again to the amount of time teams will need to prepare before the season begins. 

"There's no way to recreate a four-month offseason program in the span of week or two," he noted. "When you think about resuming something like football, everyone understands there needs to be some time to acclimatize to activity and train back to the level of physical fitness just to be able to think about more football specific work."

And until a vaccine is developed and distributed, there is the chance for a second outbreak of COVID-19 if social distancing measures are disregarded. According to Motoko Rich of the New York Times, Asian countries that had seemingly had their own outbreaks under control fear a second wave of the virus spreading.

The United States currently has the most coronavirus cases in the world (245,601, according to CNN.com), with the White House estimating that as many as 240,000 Americans could die from COVID-19. While there has been some doubt as to the veracity of those numbers, the White House's projections nonetheless underscored the seriousness of the pandemic

And that, in turn, continues to put the continuation of any sport in limbo. Americans may have gone to the moon, but there are no guarantees they'll have football this fall. 

Former Syracuse University head football coach Frank Maloney died Monday from metastic brain cancer at the age of 79.

According to the Associated Press (h/t USA Today), Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack said: "We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of coach Maloney. Our hearts go out to his family, friends and former players. Coach Maloney led our football team during a time of transition."

Maloney was the head coach at Syracuse for seven seasons from 1974 to 1980. He compiled a 32-46 record, including a 7-5 mark and an Independence Bowl win in 1979.

When Maloney took over at Syracuse in 1974, he succeeded Ben Schwartzwalder, who won a school-record 153 games at Syracuse from 1949 to 1973 and led the team to a national championship in 1959.

Syracuse finished 6-4 or worse in each of Schwartzwalder's final six seasons, bottoming out at 2-9 in 1973, which meant Maloney took the reins of a program far removed from its past glory.

He still led Syracuse to a winning record in three of his seven seasons at the helm and ranks seventh on the school's all-time wins list.

He's also known for hiring and mentoring Alabama head coach Nick Saban and former New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin early in their coaching careers, per the AP.

Prior to becoming the head coach at Syracuse, Maloney was an offensive lineman at the University of Michigan. He then served as an assistant at Michigan from 1968 to 1973 and learned from legendary head coach Bo Schembechler.

After his tenure at Syracuse ended, Maloney joined the Chicago Cubs' front office and worked in ticket operations for 29 years. He spent 27 years as director of ticket operations before retiring in 2010 and then becoming a consultant.

Trevor Lawrence and Marissa Mowry have started a new fundraiser to aid with relief efforts for the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The Clemson quarterback and his girlfriend announced the launch of the official "Trevor Lawrence and Marissa Mowry COVID-19 Relief Fund" on Sunday:

"Marissa and I have created the Fund to help our friends and neighbors in the Cartersville and Upstate South Carolina communities deal with some of the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 situation. We hope others will join us in supporting the many families in need. These are challenging times, and no one should be left behind."

Lawrence and Mowry originally set up a GoFundMe page Monday, but Matt Connolly of The State reported that Clemson's compliance department asked the star quarterback to take it down out of fear it may have violated the NCAA rule prohibiting players from using name, image and likeness for crowdfunding.

The NCAA later said in a statement it did not ask Lawrence to take down the page and applauded him for his efforts in the situation.

Per Elio Velez of the New York Post, the original GoFundMe page raised $2,670 before it was taken down.

The new fundraiser is being managed by the Cartersville-Bartow Community Foundation, with money and gifts eligible for donation.

Lawrence and Mowry also noted they intend to partner with nonprofit centers and will announce how the funds raised get distributed at a later date.