NCAA

Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt declared for the 2023 NFL draft Wednesday and announced he will not play in the Volunteers' Orange Bowl matchup against Clemson.

Hyatt recorded 67 receptions for 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns during the 2022 season on his way to winning the Biletnikoff Award.

Fellow Vols receiver Cedric Tillman previously announced his intention to enter the draft. Tillman is currently ESPN's sixth-ranked receiver and No. 40 overall prospect, while Hyatt is the seventh-ranked receiver and comes in at No. 44 overall. It's likely both players will find themselves hearing their names called on the second day of April's draft.

Hyatt, Tillman and quarterback Hendon Hooker helped spearhead Tennessee's explosive offense, leading the Vols to a 10-2 regular-season record. It's likely the only thing that prevented Tennessee from making the College Football Playoff was a shocking blowout loss to South Carolina last month.

Hooker suffered a torn ACL in the loss to the Gamecocks. He turns 25 in January and is currently the fifth-ranked quarterback in ESPN's draft rankings behind Bryce Young, CJ Stroud, Will Levis and Anthony Richardson.

The Vols led FBS in yards per game (538.1) and were third behind only Washington and Western Kentucky among the sport's most prolific passing offenses.

Xavier head coach Sean Miller won't face any sanctions from the NCAA's investigation into alleged recruiting violations during his time at the University of Arizona.

Per Jeff Goodman of Stadium, Miller will not be subject to NCAA discipline based on the Independent Accountability Resolution Process' ruling.

Goodman did note that Book Richardson received a 10-year show-cause penalty and Mark Phelps received a two-year show-cause penalty. Both men were assistant coaches on Miller's staff with the Wildcats.

A majority of the penalties received by the University of Arizona were self-imposed, including its one-year postseason ban during the 2020-21 season, loss of one scholarship for the 2023-24 academic year and a $5,000 fine plus one percent of the average men's basketball budget based on the average of the previous three budgets.

The only new discipline imposed by the IARP was a seven-week recruiting communication ban for the 2022-23 academic year.

Richardson was sentenced to three months in prison and two years of supervised probation in June 2019 after pleading guilty to a bribery charge.

Former assistants Tony Bland (USC) and Lamont Evans (Oklahoma State) also reached plea deals with federal prosecutors. All three men accepted bribes to steer players toward agents and financial advisors.

Former Adidas executives James Gatto, Merl Code and business manager Christian Dawkins also received prison sentences on wire fraud charges.

Miller was initially expected to testify during the trial, but United States District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos ruled in April 2019 the question of whether or not Miller paid his players was "irrelevant" to the case involving Richardson.

The University of Arizona fired Miller in April 2021, with athletic director Dave Heeke saying in a statement they were "evaluating the overall position of the program, and that includes on-court and off-court elements."

After sitting out the 2021-22 season, Miller was hired at Xavier in March. He returned to the school after previously serving as head coach for the Musketeers from 2004 to 2009.

Clemson defensive end Myles Murphy will leave college early and jump to the pros.

The junior told ESPN's Pete Thamel he will skip the Orange Bowl, forgo his final year of eligibility and declare for the NFL draft. B/R's NFL Scouting Department ranks Murphy as the No. 3 overall prospect in the 2023 class.

In 2022, Murphy racked up 40 total tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks for a Tigers team that went 11-2. The native of Marietta, Georgia, ends his career at Clemson with 116 tackles, 36 tackles for loss, 18.5 sacks, six forced fumbles and five pass deflections.

B/R's NFL Scouting Department named him as the most versatile edge-rusher in this year's class. Thamel noted, "Murphy is an end who is best suited for a 4-3 scheme, and he's expected to bring elite speed to that position." Murphy expressed confidence that his unique combination of skills will translate to the next level.

"There's that speed combined with very good strength in my long arm move," he said. "Just those two things, being able to be a very fast defensive end and a speed rusher that's very powerful at the same time. Having offensive linemen thinking about those two things that are polar opposites."

In his latest mock draft, ESPN draft expert Todd McShay predicted Murphy would be selected 14th overall by the Green Bay Packers. Murphy told Thamel that whichever team lands him will get "really just a very elite player, honestly. The sky is the limit. The harder I work, the better player I know I can be."

Murphy will be the latest in a long line of Clemson defensive linemen to be drafted in the first round, joining the likes of Clelin Ferrell, Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence.

Purdue named Ryan Walters as its next football head coach on Tuesday.

The announcement fills the vacancy created when former head coach Jeff Brohm left for his alma mater Louisville.

Walters, 36, becomes the fourth-youngest head coach in FBS after spending the past two years as the defensive coordinator at Illinois.

"Purdue is a world-class university, and our football program will pursue the same excellence exhibited across our campus," Walters said in a statement. "My wife Tara and I, along with our boys, are beyond excited to join the Purdue and West Lafayette communities. Boiler Up!"

Illinois currently has the No. 1 scoring defense in college football this season, allowing just 12.3 points per game en route to an 8-4 record. Only three of 12 opponents topped 20 points against the Illini this year, while even No. 2 Michigan was held in check before pulling out a 19-17 win.

It's been part of a massive transformation for Illinois, which went 2-6 during the shortened 2020 season with a defense that was tied for 97th in college football in points allowed (34.9 per game).

Walters turned things around after arriving in 2021, leading the 29th-ranked scoring defense (21.9 ppg), before putting together an elite unit in 2022.

The former Colorado safety transitioned to coaching after graduating in December 2008, becoming a student assistant for the Buffaloes. After stops at Arizona, Oklahoma, North Texas and Memphis, Walters spent six seasons at Missouri and worked his way up to defensive coordinator.

The coach will look to continue his success at Purdue, which went 17-9 the past two years under Brohm. The squad earned a trip to the Big Ten title game this year and will head to the Citrus Bowl against LSU with an 8-5 record.

Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach has died at the age of 61.

The school announced on Tuesday that Leach died due to complications from a heart condition.

"Mike was a giving and attentive husband, father and grandfather," the Leach family said in a statement. "He was able to participate in organ donation at UMMC as a final act of charity. We are supported and uplifted by the outpouring of love and prayers from family, friends, Mississippi State University, the hospital staff, and football fans around the world. Thank you for sharing in the joy of our beloved husband and father's life."

The university announced on Sunday that Leach had a "personal health issue" at his home and was taken to the University of Mississippi Medical Center by ambulance.

In a follow-up statement on Monday, Leach was said to be in critical condition.

USC head coach Lincoln Riley and Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury, who both played for Leach at Texas Tech, paid tribute to their former coach:

The University of Alabama issued a statement from Nick Saban about Leach:

Leach just finished his third regular season as Bulldogs head coach. He was hired in January 2020 to replace Joe Moorhead. The California native improved his win total in each of his three seasons at Mississippi State, including an 8-4 mark in 2022.

A graduate of BYU in 1983, Leach moved into coaching four years later when he was hired as the offensive line coach at Cal Poly. He went on to spend 11 seasons from 1989 to 1999 as an assistant and offensive coordinator at Iowa Wesleyan, Valdosta State, Kentucky and Oklahoma.

Texas Tech gave Leach his first head-coaching opportunity in 2000. He led the program to an 84-43 record in 10 seasons, including tying the school record with 11 wins in 2008.

Leach was hired to rebuild the Washington State football team in November 2011. He took over a program coming off five consecutive losing seasons. After a 3-9 record in his first season, the Cougars made bowl appearances in six of the next seven years.

Washington State won a school record 11 games during the 2018 season.

Leach went 158-107 with eight bowl wins in 21 seasons as a head coach. Current successful college coaches such as Riley, Sonny Dykes, Dave Aranda and Dana Holgorsen all worked under Leach during his career.

The following article contains descriptions of interpersonal violence.

The Texas Longhorns announced men's basketball coach Chris Beard was suspended ahead of Monday's game against Rice following his arrest.

"The University takes matters of interpersonal violence involving members of its community seriously," Texas said in a statement, per Dana O'Neil of The Athletic. "… The University has suspended Chris Beard from his position as head coach of Men's Basketball and will withhold his pay until further notice."

The school also said associate head coach Rodney Terry will serve as acting head coach.

Matt Norlander of CBS Sports reported Beard was arrested and booked on a charge of assault against a family/household member, a third-degree felony, early Monday morning.

Tony Plohetski, Danny Davis and Ryan Autullo of the Austin American-Statesman reported Beard was booked into jail at 4:18 a.m. and released on a $100,000 bond.

The Austin American-Statesman report cited Beard's affidavit, which said a woman who said she was the head coach's fiancée told police "he just snapped on me and became super violent" after she broke his reading glasses while taking them from his hand.

She said he slapped her glasses off her face and "choked me, threw me off the bed, bit me, bruises all over my leg, throwing me around, and going nuts."

The woman also said Beard used his arm to impede her breathing and choke her from behind for five seconds.

According to the affidavit, the woman's visible injuries included a bite mark, abrasions to the right eyebrow and left leg, and dried blood on a cut on her left thumb.

Perry Minton, who is Beard's attorney, said he is "100 percent innocent of these charges. He should never have been arrested."

Beard was the head coach of Little Rock and Texas Tech before joining the Longhorns ahead of the 2021-22 campaign.

Texas is 7-1 on the season. Its next game following Monday's is Sunday against Stanford.

Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall announced on Monday that he is entering the transfer portal.

The three-time defending Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year award winner will be expected to catch the eye of prominent football programs looking to bolster the quarterback position.

McCall, 21, earned his first Player of the Year award after throwing for 2,488 yards, 26 touchdowns and just three interceptions in 2020. He followed that up with nearly identical stats last year (2,873 yards, 27 touchdowns and three picks) before throwing for 2,633 yards, 24 touchdowns and two picks in 2022.

For his career, he's completed an impressive 70.4 percent of his passes. He's also rushed for 1,053 yards and 16 touchdowns at Coastal Carolina.

Suffice to say, he's going to be a major target in the transfer portal:

McCall's former head coach, Jamey Chadwell, agreed to take over as Liberty's head coach on Dec. 4. There will be some speculation, naturally, that McCall might consider following him there.

But the young quarterback might be looking for a higher-profile program to help bolster his NFL draft stock. As Max Olson of The Athletic reported:

"If McCall isn't looking to team up with Chadwell at Liberty, he's going to have a long list of suitors. We know this because McCall was getting approached by Power 5 schools last offseason even though he wasn't in the transfer portal. Notre Dame, Florida, UCLA, Kentucky, Wisconsin, NC State and Missouri are among the many schools believed to be hunting for transfer quarterbacks right now. McCall should get calls from a bunch of them."

Indeed he should. McCall's decision is major news for both this offseason's transfer portal and potentially for the 2024 NFL draft.

Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams added first-team All-America honors to his resume when the Associated Press released its full teams Monday.

The USC quarterback made the first team ahead of TCU's Max Duggan, who earned second-team honors. Tennessee's Hendon Hooker was named third-team All-America despite not being named a Heisman Trophy finalist.

Running backs Bijan Robinson and Blake Corum headline the rest of the 2022 first team.

Offense

Quarterback: Caleb Williams, USC

Running backs: Bijan Robinson, Texas; Blake Corum, Michigan

Tackles: Peter Skoronski, Northwestern; Joe Alt, Notre Dame

Guard: O'Cyrus Torrence, Florida; Andrew Vorhees, USC

Center: John Michael Schmitz, Minnesota

Tight end: Michael Mayer, Notre Dame

Wide receivers: Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State; Jalin Hyatt, Tennessee; Xavier Hutchinson, Iowa State

All-purpose player: Deuce Vaughn, Kansas State

Kicker: Christopher Dunn, North Carolina State

Defense

Edge-rushers: Will Anderson Jr., Alabama; Tuli Tuipulotu, USC

Tackles: Jalen Carter, Georgia; Calijah Kancey, Pittsburgh

Linebackers: Ivan Pace Jr., Cincinnati; Jack Campbell, Iowa; Drew Sanders, Arkansas

Cornerbacks: Clark Phillips III, Utah; Devon Witherspoon, Illinois

Safeties: Kamren Kinchen, Miami; Christopher Smith, Georgia

Defensive back: Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, TCU

Punter: Bryce Baringer, Michigan State

Williams put up impressive numbers throughout his first year with USC after transferring from Oklahoma. The quarterback tallied 4,075 passing yards with 37 touchdowns and just four interceptions, adding 10 rushing touchdowns.

USC fell short of a College Football Playoff berth after losing to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game, but Williams got his much-deserved individual recognition for an outstanding season.

With Williams, offensive guard Andrew Vorhees and defensive end Tuli Tuipulotu, USC had more first-team members than any other team in college football.

Corum was snubbed as a Heisman finalist, but the Michigan running back was named a first-team All-American as arguably the most valuable player for one of the best teams in the country. The junior rushed for 1,463 yards with 18 touchdowns in a breakout season for the Wolverines.

Robinson also impressed with his versatility, totaling 1,894 yards from scrimmage and 20 touchdowns in 12 games for Texas.

Marvin Harrison Jr. continued an impressive trend of elite Ohio State receivers and is the first Buckeyes receiver to become a consensus All-American since Terry Glenn in 1995, per Joey Kaufman of the Columbus Dispatch.

Kansas State running back Deuce Vaughn made the first team for the second straight year as an all-purpose player after topping 1,800 yards from scrimmage again.

On defense, Alabama pass-rusher Will Anderson Jr. also earned his second straight first-team selection after totaling 10 sacks and 17 tackles for loss. Bleacher Report's Scouting Department lists Anderson as the top prospect in the 2023 class, and the junior showed it on the field.

Purdue is the new No. 1 team in the Associated Press poll after a chaotic week of men's college basketball.

Houston and Texas each suffered their first losses of the year, knocking off the top two teams from last week. It left Virginia, Purdue and Connecticut all as legitimate options to put on top of the Week 6 rankings.

Voters decided on the Boilers, marking the third different No. 1 team for the 2022-23 season. Purdue received 27 first-place votes for a narrow edge over Virginia (19) and UConn (15). Tennessee also received one first-place vote.

Here is the full Top 25 this week.

AP Poll

1. Purdue

2. Virginia

3. UConn

4. Alabama

5. Houston

6. Tennessee

7. Texas

8. Kansas

9. Arizona

10. Arkansas

11. Baylor

12. Duke

13. Kentucky

14. Indiana

15. Gonzaga

16. UCLA

17. Mississippi State

18. Illinois

19. Auburn

20. Maryland

21. TCU

22. Wisconsin

23. Ohio State

24. Virginia Tech

25. Miami (Florida)

Alabama has earned a reputation as a giant killer already this season, knocking off then-No. 1 North Carolina last month before pulling off a 71-65 upset over Houston on Saturday.

Houston led by as many as 15 points, but the Crimson Tide fought their way back with a balanced effort and some key momentum-swinging plays.

It put the 8-1 squad in rare territory this season:

Alabama surged up four spots to No. 4 in the latest poll, while Houston is now down to fifth.

UConn, the only team to beat Alabama this year, is No. 3 after convincing victories over Florida and Long Island University.

Texas dropped from No. 2 to No. 7 after suffering an overtime loss to Illinois at Madison Square Garden. Terrence Shannon Jr. was a star in the extra session to help the Illini clinch the upset:

It was a high point of a strange week for Illinois, which also lost to Maryland and Penn State to start 0-2 in the Big Ten.

Purdue has also had some problems early in conference play, barely escaping with a 65-62 overtime win against Nebraska. The squad is still 10-0 and a clear top contender in both the conference and nationally.

Virginia remains undefeated at 8-0 after a 55-50 win over James Madison, once again showing the grit needed to pull out a tough victory. There are now only seven teams in Division I without a loss this season, including three in the Mountain West.

Tennessee (9-1) has bounced back from an early-season loss to win eight in a row, including a hard-fought victory over Maryland to climb one spot to No. 6 in the latest poll.

There should be even more movement after next week's games, with Saturday's slate featuring Virginia at home against Houston, Gonzaga against Alabama and Kansas versus Indiana.