ACC Football

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defensive lineman Brandon Adams died Saturday, the school announced.

"Our entire Georgia Tech football family is heartbroken by the news of Brandon’s passing," head coach Geoff Collins said in a statement. "In the short time that I have had the privilege and honor of knowing Brandon, I admired and respected him, first and foremost as a terrific human being, but also as an outstanding teammate and leader."

Adams, 21, played three years for Georgia Tech. He had 41 total tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss in 33 games.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Ken Sugiura praised Adams, describing him as "a force in the interior, often requiring double-teams to keep him from pushing centers into the pocket." Sugiura added that the Brentwood, Tennessee, native was one of the top Yellow Jackets to watch during the team's spring practices.

The NCAA granted Miami quarterback Tate Martell an immediate hardship waiver, making him eligible for the 2019 season.

"We are pleased with this ruling and appreciate the NCAA recognizing that this waiver met the criteria under the membership established guidelines," Miami director of athletics Blake James said. "We would like to thank the NCAA, as well as Ohio State University, for their assistance and support throughout the waiver process. We look forward to seeing Tate compete for the Hurricanes this season."

Martell, a redshirt sophomore, transferred from Ohio State to Miami in January. He began considering a transfer from the Buckeyes after they landed 5-star transfer Justin Fields from Georgia. It's expected that Fields will be Ohio State's starting quarterback in 2019.

Martell's status had been the source of speculation ever since his transfer announcement. The NCAA seemed to be taking its time with the decision, which became a source of uneasiness as the Hurricanes began spring practices. 

Miami head coach Manny Diaz praised Martell in February: 

"Tate is a person that if he was standing in this room, within 15 minutes there would be 15 people standing around him. He's just got that personality people gravitate to. He's a natural leader of men. He's a guy that, when he was in seventh grade, drew up his own playbook. He just loves ball. He loves playing the position of quarterback. 

"Obviously, he has some really, really impressive physical abilities, but, more than anything, he's a guy that wants to come in and just compete for our quarterback position. He understood our situation on this roster. And to be able to work with Dan Enos and get coached by a guy that's got an amazing track record for developing quarterbacks, it was just a great fit between us and him and the fact that we've got a couple other Bishop Gorman guys here helps him feel at home."

Martell is considered the favorite to win the starting job but is competing with N’Kosi Perry and Jarren Williams for the job. Freshman Peyton Matocha could be part of the competition once he joins the team over the summer.

Martell was the nation's No. 56 overall player and second-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the 2017 high school class. 

Recruiting information via 247Sports.

J.P. Losman hasn't appeared in an NFL regular-season game since 2011, but that apparently didn't stop one team from at least inquiring about his desire to return to the league.

Losman joined the Clemson Tigers as a coaching intern in 2017 and took part throwing passes to Tigers wide receivers and defensive backs at the school's pro day. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported a team was sufficiently enamored with Losman enough to discuss a possible comeback.

Perhaps the team official mistook Losman for current Clemson starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Otherwise, the comment is pretty baffling unless it was said largely in jest.

The California native celebrated his 38th birthday Tuesday, and his NFL career is remembered fondly by few. He made 45 appearances, throwing for 6,211 yards, 33 touchdowns and 34 interceptions.

The Tulane graduate also has the misfortune of being selected in the first round of a draft that included Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger and Matt Schaub. Even Luke McCown, a fourth-rounder in 2004, managed to stick around the league longer than Losman.

The NFL is a copycat league, so it would be great if a team actually signed Losman and he proved to be a success. Losman would open the door for so many long-forgotten quarterbacks who flamed out after brief, underwhelming careers.

Quarterback Alex Hornibrook will reportedly play his final season of college football at Florida State, according to Chris Nee of 247Sports.

Per that report: "Following an official visit that spanned from Friday to Sunday morning, former Wisconsin quarterback Hornibrook has decided to transfer to FSU, according to a source with knowledge of the visit. Hornibrook has yet to publicly state his intention to transfer to FSU."

Michael Langston of Warchant.com also reported Hornibrook's transfer to Florida State.

Hornibrook spent the previous three seasons as Wisconsin's starting quarterback. He went 26-6 in 32 starts and threw for 5,438 yards, 47 touchdowns (33 interceptions) and completed 60.5 percent of his attempts. 

The fifth-year senior wrote in an Instagram post on Feb. 27 he had entered the NCAA transfer portal. 

"Alex informed us of his decision to leave the team earlier today," Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst told reporters. "He contributed to a lot of our recent success, and we want to thank him for all he did for our program. We wish him the best of luck."

The Badgers scored a huge win in recruiting this year with Graham Mertz committing to the school. The Kansas native is a 4-star prospect and No. 3 pro-style quarterback in the 2019 class, per 247Sports. 

Even though Chryst hasn't stated Mertz will be the team's starting quarterback next season, Hornibrook's decision to transfer opened the door wide-open for the true freshman. 

Meanwhile, Hornibrook will look to re-establish himself coming off an inconsistent 2018 season. He only started nine of Wisconsin's 13 games because of a concussion and back injury. 

Florida State is the perfect fit for Hornibrook to get back on track, as the team will give him an opportunity to compete for the starting job this season. He brings an excellent resume to the program, including leading Wisconsin to a 13-1 record and appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game in 2017. 

At his best, Hornibrook is a quarterback who can create big plays down the field. He's susceptible to turnovers while trying to make something happen, but there is plenty of upside for the Seminoles to build around in 2019. 

And the team will get some much-needed reinforcements at quarterback after dismissing Deondre Francois in February.

Junior James Blackman was next in line to take over the offense in 2019. He started the team's final 12 games as a freshman two years ago when Francois injured his patellar tendon in the season opener against Alabama. 

Blackman looked capable under center with 2,230 yards, 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. It's still possible for him to win the starting job coming out of spring practice, but Hornibrook's presence at least gives head coach Willie Taggart another option. 

Florida State will be looking for some sort of spark after a disappointing 5-7 record in 2018. It snapped a streak of 41 consecutive winning seasons and 36 straight bowl appearances. 

Virginia Tech cornerback Dwayne "D.J." Crossen has been charged with a misdemeanor stemming from making an illicit video of another person.

Per Mike Gangloff and Mike Niziolek of The Roanoke Times, Crossen was formally charged with making a video of an unclothed woman without her consent and his arraignment is scheduled for Monday.

The school said in a statement released on Feb. 12 that Crossen has been suspended from the football program for an unspecified violation of team rules since September 2018. 

"He is subject to the policies set forth in the Virginia Tech Code of Student Conduct," Virginia Tech's statement said, via Joe Sirera of the News & Record. 

Gangloff and Niziolek added Crossen was also suspended by the university at the start of the 2019 calendar year, preventing him from attending classes and participating in any school activities. 

The report notes a woman accused Crossen of "making a video of her while she and Crossen engaged in consensual sex" last September, but she told investigators she said "no" when Crossen asked if he could record video. She also said she "received a message saying the video would be posted online."

Crossen committed to Virginia Tech in June 2017. He redshirted his first year with the team and appeared in two games last season against Florida State on Sept. 3 and William & Mary on Sept. 8 before being suspended. 

Willie Taggart has a problem.

His debut season at Florida State fell enormously shy of the eight- or nine-win optimism with a 5-7 finish. The program's 36-year bowl streak came to a screeching halt, while the offense flailed and the defense allowed the most points per game in school history.

During the early signing period, the Seminoles lost longtime commit Sam Howell―the No. 6 quarterback in the 2019 class―to North Carolina. In February, FSU then missed on 4-star targets John Rhys Plumlee and Lance LeGendre.

Taggart dismissed starting quarterback Deondre Francois following domestic abuse allegations. Yet the school filled its offensive coordinator vacancy with Kendal Briles, a controversial hire given his alleged involvement in Baylor's sexual assault scandal.

Poor on-field results. Frustrating recruiting. Inconsistent culture. Those concerns amount to one enormous problem.

And if the Seminoles struggle in 2019 with a favorable schedule to buoy them, Taggart's tenure may quickly become a nightmare.

Francois' dismissal has left FSU with one scholarship QB, James Blackman, expected to be eligible next season. Louisville transfer Jordan Travis would need a waiver approved, and that seems unlikely at best. The current backup is walk-on Nolan McDonald.

As a result, the 'Noles must be active on the grad transfer market. The current situation is inexcusable. But at the same time, Blackman has already explored a transfer. Bolstering depth while keeping the redshirt sophomore is imperative.

If Taggart fails to bring in another quarterback, there's real potential for something awful to happen.

Last season, the team's slogan was "Do Something." On a weekly basis, fans were begging for Florida State's offense to "Do Anything. Like, Literally Anything Good." Those issues largely stemmed from a complete disaster of an offensive line.

FSU's 2.8 yards per rush ranked 129th out of 130 teams. The blocking unit surrendered 8.6 tackles for loss (127th) and three sacks (112th) per game. And the Seminoles' average of 21.9 points was their lowest output since 1981.

Taggart and Co. addressed that weakness by signing five offensive linemen in the 2019 recruiting class, but the freshmen cannot be expected to provide an immediate fix.

Blackman―or whoever is behind center―is going to take hits. One injury could obliterate FSU's season.

After all, field position was an enormous obstacle for Florida State in 2018. The defense had its issues, but it wasn't getting much assistance from an offense that led to the nation's fifth-most punts. That's where Briles, as controversial as he is, should help.

Strictly speaking about his coordinating ability, Briles has thrived. Baylor consistently ranked among the nation's best, and he oversaw 2017 Florida Atlantic and 2018 Houston offenses that followed suit. FAU's efficiency fell last season without him, and Houston lost its bowl game to Army 70-14 after Briles left for FSU.

There's a strong chance Briles will move the offense in a promising direction. With games on tap against Boise State, Louisiana-Monroe, Virginia, Louisville and North Carolina State in September, a 5-0 start is within reason. At that point, even a 3-2 mark against Clemson, Syracuse, Miami, Boston College and Florida should be considered a success.

But the decision to hire Briles emphasized Taggart's top priority: winning.

That better work out, because the culture he's creating reflects it. According to Chaunte'l Powell of the Orlando Sentinel, Taggart once stated he had a zero-tolerance policy about violence against women. Florida State says it "does not tolerate sexual violence."

While we can debate Briles' knowledge of the abhorrence at Baylor all day, only those involved with the investigations have the answers. The optics are bad. The ethics, at best, are questionable.

Taggart shouldn't be on the hot seat yet, but the paths to criticism both on and off the field are apparent.

If quarterback depth remains indefensible and either Blackman gets injured or Briles fails to reconstruct the offense, it'll be time to sound every panic alarm in Tallahassee.

All recruiting information via 247Sports. Stats from NCAA.com, cfbstats.com or B/R research. Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow Bleacher Report CFB Writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.

Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney jokingly told Duke men's basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski on the latter's SiriusXM show Thursday that Blue Devil superstar forward Zion Williamson has a spot on the Tigers waiting for him:

The Duke men's basketball Twitter account (h/t Myron Medcalf of ESPN.com) posted a clip:

"I'd put [Williamson] at tight end or wideout or [defensive] end or wherever he wanted to play," Swinney said. "We might even put him at quarterback."

Krzyzewski responded that Clemson could run the Wildcat offense with the 6'7", 285-pound Williamson at quarterback, to which Swinney replied: "Put in the Wildcat, no doubt."

Clemson is doing just fine without the freshman superstar and likely No. 1 NBA draft pick, who grew up in Spartanburg, South Carolina—about an hour or so from the university.

The 15-0 Tigers finished the 2018 season as national champions, and they'll have superstar quarterback Trevor Lawrence for at least two more seasons. 

Williamson is doing quite well for himself on the hardwood. He's averaging 22.0 points on 68.0 percent shooting in addition to 9.3 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 2.0 blocks per game.

The 22-2 Blue Devils are ranked second in the nation and will host North Carolina State on Saturday.    

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said Saturday that the banned substances that caused the suspensions of defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, tight end Braden Galloway and offensive lineman Zach Giella could have been accidentally provided by the school.

According to Grace Raynor and Gene Sapakoff of The Post and Courier, Swinney didn't rule out the possibility of a mistake on Clemson's end:

"Oh yeah, I mean, there's a chance that it could come from anything. They're going to test everything and look at everything. And that's the problem. As you really look at this stuff, it could be a contaminant that came from anything, that was something that was cleared and not a problem, and all of a sudden, it becomes there was something."

Lawrence, Galloway and Giella were suspended and not eligible to play during the College Football Playoff last season after testing positive for ostarine.

The three players tested have been suspended for the 2019 season pending appeal, although Lawrence will avoid the punishment after declaring for the 2019 NFL draft.

Lawrence was highly productive in his three seasons at Clemson.

He registered 62 tackles and 6.5 sacks as a freshman in 2016, 33 tackles and 2.0 sacks in 2017 and then 36 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 2018.

Despite playing without Lawrence, the Tigers beat Notre Dame in the CFP semifinal and then blew out Alabama 44-16 in the CFP National Championship.

In his latest 2019 NFL mock draft, Bleacher Report's Matt Miller projected that the Los Angeles Chargers will select Lawrence with the No. 60 overall pick in the second round of the draft.

Swinney will be forced to completely reshape his defensive line in 2019, as Lawrence, Clelin Ferrell, Austin Bryant, Christian Wilkins and Albert Huggins all entered the NFL draft.

Diamond Lindsey, the ex-girlfriend of former Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois, appeared to apologize Monday for posting a video on Instagram that alleged domestic abuse, but her family later announced the account was hacked.

Jordan James of 247Sports.com shared the statements refuting the apology on Monday night, noting the account was later deleted.

Earlier in the day, Matt Baker of the Tampa Bay Times shared a statement posted on the account after the alleged hack, which began, "I want to first start by apologizing to Deondre and his family for ultimately diminishing his character. I should have never posted a video from our past situations that were already handled."

The now-refuted statement also made reference to Florida State head coach Willie Taggart's decision to remove Francois from the team.

On Sunday, Jill Martin of CNN shared a statement from Taggart explaining his decision: 

"Last night, I informed Deondre Francois that he is no longer a member of the Florida State football program. As we build a new culture and foundation for FSU Football, we have high expectations for all of our student-athletes and we will not shy away from those high standards of conduct. We are moving forward as a program."

Wayne McGahee III of the Tallahassee Democrat (h/t USA Today) reported on the original Instagram post, noting Lindsey nor Francois could be seen in it. However, he pointed out a woman can be heard saying, "stop hitting me in my f--king face," and a man replies, "throw it again so I can beat your ass" and "I'm going to hit you in your face every f--king time."

The falsified statement on Lindsey's account said the video was made to sound like Francois was abusing her when he was not.

McGahee passed along the text that accompanied the video when it was posted:

"I normally don't put my business on ig, but I am tired of my name being drug through the mud since the beginning, I have been silent. For 2 years I have been in a domestic situation with (Deondre Francois).

"I thought I loved him and thought he could change for the better but it has gotten worse. I lost my first child because of all of the beating and I suffer from post Partum depression. This situation is taking a toll on my life. Yes, I stayed after that because I was stupid and blinded by love.

"This isn't love. You are a coward and this isn't right. Just because you are who you are that doesn't give you the right to put your hands on a woman ever!!!"

Chris Hays and Chaunte'l Powell of the Orlando Sentinel reported in December that no charges were filed following previous domestic violence allegations against Francois, although police charged him with marijuana possession. He was placed in a diversion program as a result.

Francois was the Seminoles' primary quarterback as a freshman in 2016 during the team's 10-3 season. However, he suffered a broken kneecap in the 2017 season opener and missed the remainder of the year before returning to play 11 games in 2018. 

According to Cole Cubelic of the SEC Network, Francois is in the NCAA's transfer portal following his dismissal from Florida State.

Quarterback Deondre Francois is no longer with the Florida State Seminoles football program following domestic abuse allegations.

Jill Martin of CNN shared a statement from head coach Willie Taggart:

"Last night, I informed Deondre Francois that he is no longer a member of the Florida State football program. As we build a new culture and foundation for FSU Football, we have high expectations for all of our student-athletes and we will not shy away from those high standards of conduct. We are moving forward as a program."

Wayne McGahee III of the Tallahassee Democrat (h/t USA Today) noted this happened after Francois' girlfriend posted a video on social media Saturday that alleged domestic abuse and included the following text:

"I normally don't put my business on ig, but I am tired of my name being drug through the mud since the beginning, I have been silent. For 2 years I have been in a domestic situation with [Francois].

"I thought I loved him and thought he could change for the better but it has gotten worse. I lost my first child because of all of the beating and I suffer from post Partum depression. This situation is taking a toll on my life. Yes, I stayed after that because I was stupid and blinded by love.

"This isn't love. You are a coward and this isn't right. Just because you are who you are that doesn't give you the right to put your hands on a woman ever!!!"

McGahee noted a woman can be heard in the video saying "stop hitting me" and "stop hitting me in my f--king face."

Chris Hays and Chaunte'l Powell of the Orlando Sentinel reported on Francois' future in December.

While they initially cited sources who said the quarterback did not plan on returning to the Seminoles, Francois said he would if he didn't receive positive evaluations from the NFL regarding his draft prospects. He also said he wasn't planning on transferring even though he had graduated and would have been immediately eligible.

Hays and Powell noted an allegation of domestic abuse was made against Francois in 2017 as well. While domestic violence charges were never filed, Tallahassee Police did charge him with marijuana possession, and Francois entered a diversion program.

On the field, Francois was a 4-star prospect and the No. 3 pro-style quarterback in the 2015 recruiting class, per 247Sports.

He led Florida State to a 10-3 record and Orange Bowl victory as a freshman but suffered a broken kneecap in the 2017 season opener against the Alabama Crimson Tide and missed the remainder of the year. He returned and played 11 games in 2018, but the Seminoles were just 5-7, and their 36-year bowl streak was snapped.

Tashan Reed of The Athletic noted Sunday that "James Blackman immediately becomes the favorite to start" for the Seminoles in 2019.