College Football

Ohio State freshman offensive lineman Avery Henry announced Monday on Twitter that he has been diagnosed with a form of bone cancer called osteosarcoma.

Per ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, osteosarcoma is "most commonly found in teenagers and young adults." Henry said he will fight the disease and thanked his teammates:

After Henry's announcement, teammates sent him messages of support:

A 6'6", 309-pound offensive tackle from St. Clairsville, Ohio, Henry was a 3-star recruit. He initially committed to Iowa State before flipping to Ohio State because he wanted to be closer to home.

In his 2021 evaluation of Henry, 247Sports recruiting analyst Allen Trieu wrote: "Physical and strong. Shows he can bend his taller frame well. ... Developmental ceiling is high—could need some time to get there but has already shown he will work away from the game as far as strength and conditioning."

In June, Dan Hope of Eleven Warriors detailed how Henry went from nearly 400 pounds to 305 over his last two years of high school.

"It came to my mind that at 400 pounds, I couldn't take care of my family. I couldn't provide in the way I wanted to provide for my future kids and my family," Henry said. "In the matter of one day, I was like, 'Hey, I'm gonna change everything.' And I changed everything in that day from eating habits to running to lifting to everything."

Henry hasn't appeared in a game for Ohio State. He will have four years of eligibility remaining after this redshirt season.

The Associated Press on Monday named TCU's Sonny Dykes its Coach of the Year for the 2022 season.

The Horned Frogs claimed the No. 3 seed in the College Football Playoff after going 12-1 in the regular season. Their success helped make Dykes a runaway winner for the award. He collected 37 out of 46 first-place votes.

"It's the ultimate team award," Dykes said to the AP's Ralph D. Russo. "It's indicative of literally everybody in our office, coaches, players, everybody, because more so than ever in college football it is truly a team effort."

Dykes had massive shoes to fill when he made the move to TCU from SMU.

As much as the program had stagnated under Gary Patterson, Patterson is still the program's winningest coach (181-79). Under his watch, the Horned Frogs won six conference titles and earned victories in the 2011 Rose Bowl and 2014 Peach Bowl.

After TCU went 5-7 for the second time in three years in 2021, it looked like Dykes would need at least a year or two to get things on track.

Not only did the 53-year-old provide immediate results, but he also did so without significantly upending the roster through the transfer portal. The Frogs' leading passer (Max Duggan), rusher (Kendre Miller) and receiver (Quentin Johnston) were all holdovers. The same was true for linebacker Dee Winters and safety Bud Clark, who led the team in sacks and interceptions.

Dykes told Russo the Horned Frogs "really had no expectations whatsoever when the year started." That attitude probably changed after his squad dropped 55 points on Oklahoma to improve to 4-0. It was the first of four straight wins over Top 20 opponents.

Regardless of what happens in the playoff, this has been one of TCU's best seasons, and no Power Five program overachieved more.

USC has made a significant addition to its offense for 2023 by securing a commitment from former Arizona star Dorian Singer.

Singer announced Monday he's transferring to the Trojans:

Singer caught 66 passes for a Pac-12-high 1,105 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games with the Wildcats in 2022. USC might have been sold when he torched its secondary for 141 receiving yards and three touchdowns in a 45-37 win for the Trojans on Oct. 29.

The sophomore is the third Arizona player to transfer to USC, with cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace and defensive lineman Kyon Barrs already making the move.

Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley didn't waste any time when it came to the transfer portal after he first took the job. He added 20 players, a group headlined by Caleb Williams, Jordan Addison, Mario Williams, Eric Gentry and Travis Dye.

The strategy delivered results. USC finished the regular season at 11-2 and was one win away from making the College Football Playoff, while Caleb Williams was crowned the Heisman Trophy winner.

By targeting Singer, Riley is hoping the offense doesn't miss a beat following the departure of Addison. While Addison failed to match the pace that helped him win the Fred Biletnikoff Award in 2021, he led USC in the three major receiving categories (59 receptions, 875 yards and eight touchdowns).

Singer, meanwhile, will get to contend for a CFP semifinal berth while starring in an offense that will be among the most closely followed in the country.

Highly touted quarterback prospect Dante Moore has flipped his commitment from Oregon to UCLA.

"I went on a visit to UCLA," Moore told Pete Thamel of ESPN. "I talked to God and my people and really within myself. I knew that UCLA was the right move for me."

Moore previously committed to Oregon in July, but he visited the Bruins earlier this month, and it helped sway his decision.

Offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham had also been Moore's primary recruiter at Oregon, but he left to become head coach at Arizona State.

The 5-star recruit is considered the No. 3 overall player in the 2023 class by 247Sports, behind only fellow quarterbacks Arch Manning and Nicholaus Iamaleava.

Moore put up incredible numbers at Martin Luther King High School in Detroit, totaling 135 passing touchdowns across four seasons as a varsity starter. He had 32 passing touchdowns and just three interceptions as a senior while leading his team to a second straight Michigan state championship.

He led his team to a 40-11 record as a starter, reaching the state finals three times in four years.

The incoming freshman will look to continue the success with UCLA, which is trending in the right direction after a slow start under head coach Chip Kelly. The squad won just 10 total games from 2018 to 2020 before going 8-4 in 2021.

The Bruins went 9-3 this season and will compete in the Sun Bowl against Pittsburgh, the team's first bowl appearance since 2017 (the 2021 Holiday Bowl was canceled due to COVID-19).

Moore also enters a quarterback room that won't have much experience after losing senior Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Washington transfer Ethan Garbers has seen minimal playing time as a backup, totaling 79 pass attempts in two seasons.

It could lead to early playing time for UCLA's latest addition.

Kelly also gets a major recruiting win over a conference rival and his former team, where he coached from 2009 to 2012.

Oregon will at least have some continuity at quarterback after Bo Nix announced he will return for the 2023 season.

Cornerback Travis Hunter is leaving Jackson State, and it's not a surefire lock that he will follow head coach Deion Sanders to Colorado.

Hunter posted a YouTube video revealing he is in the portal. He said, "I don't know what I'm going to do next" and will "weigh his options" with his family before he makes a decision.

Notably, he also said "I want to follow Coach Prime too, but I need to know if it's a fit for me. If it's not a fit for me, I'm not going. I just want everybody to know that."

Hunter was a 5-star prospect and the No. 1 player in the recruiting class of 2022, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

Hunter helped Jackson State go 12-1 this season with its only loss coming to North Carolina Central in Saturday's Celebration Bowl. He finished the campaign with 19 total tackles, eight passes defended, two interceptions and one defensive touchdown while also catching two scores on offense.

Sanders found immediate success at Jackson State and eventually parlayed that into the head coaching job at Colorado, but it still turned heads when he landed the No. 1 overall player in a recruiting cycle.

In fact Alabama head coach Nick Saban created some controversy when he told reporters, "Jackson State paid a guy a million dollars last year that was a really good Division I player to come to school. It was in the paper. They bragged about it. Nobody did anything about it."

Saban, who eventually apologized, didn't mention a player by name, but Hunter and his coach responded to the comments:

Now all eyes turn to Hunter as one of the most high-profile departures from Jackson State after Sanders left for Colorado.

Tom VanHaaren of ESPN noted 22 players from Jackson State have entered the transfer portal this offseason. Sanders "made it very clear he would bring some of his former players with him," including quarterback Shedeur, who is the head coach's son.

Sanders also notably said on Instagram (h/t Nick Gray of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger) that Hunter would join him in Colorado "real soon."

That may eventually be the case, but the cornerback is keeping his options open for now.

Oregon senior quarterback Bo Nix could have turned pro this year, but it appears that he has some unfinished business.

Nix announced on Instagram that he will be returning to the Ducks for the 2023 season rather than entering the NFL draft.

Nix is preparing to lead the Ducks against North Carolina in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 28. He told reporters after practice this past Friday that he was undecided on whether he will utilize his final year of eligibility.

A transfer from Auburn, Nix played three seasons for the Tigers before joining Oregon for the 2022 season. He enjoyed his most productive year with the Ducks, throwing for 3,389 yards, 27 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 71.5 percent of his passes. He also added 504 rushing yards and 14 more scores on the ground, as well as a touchdown reception.

Nix helped lead the Ducks to a 9-3 record and a third-place finish in the Pac-12. However, the team went 1-2 in its final three games of the regular season, including a loss to Oregon State during rivalry week.

In the Holiday Bowl, Nix and the Ducks will be facing a North Carolina team that went 9-4 this year. While the Tar Heels have a talented offense, their defense has struggled to stop the ball and is allowing 438.2 yards per game.

Nix will look to put on a show in his final outing of the year, as it will be an opportunity for the Ducks to make a statement for 2023.

TCU quarterback Max Duggan is ready to take his talents to the next level.

The senior announced on Twitter that he will be declaring for the 2023 NFL draft after the College Football Playoff. The third-ranked Horned Frogs will face No. 2 Michigan in a semifinal game on Saturday Dec. 31.

While Duggan played in at least 10 games in each of the last four seasons, he still had a full season of eligibility remaining because of COVID-19 and the extra year the NCAA extended to student-athletes. However, it appears he's confident in his chances at being drafted highly after his stellar showing throughout the 2022 campaign.

Duggan led TCU to a 12-1 record, the team's most wins since 2014. However, the Horned Frogs lost to Kansas State in the Big 12 championship on a game-winning field goal in overtime.

The 6'2", 210-pound signal-caller threw for 3,321 yards, 30 touchdowns and just four interceptions to become the first TCU player since 2014 to be named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. He also won the Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's top quarterback and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, the first player in program history to win either accolade.

Duggan was the first TCU player since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2000 to be named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. He finished second in the voting behind USC quarterback Caleb Williams.

After a banner year, it comes as no surprise that Duggan wants to test his skills at the professional level. His performance against the Wolverines could be an audition for the NFL, as he will be up against one of the top defensive units in the country.