Lincoln Riley is yet to make the Playoff as he enters Year 5 at USC.

Is that the threshold for him to keep his job beyond 2026?

Plus, three coaches whose jobs are not safe entering this season.

On today’s episode of Locked On College Football, I discuss the big recruiting win for Texas A&M.

Mike Elko has the chance to exorcise the demons of the Aggies’ past.

West Virginia enters Year 2 in Round 2 for head coach Rich Rodriguez in a Big 12 that is more wide open than it seemed before the Brendan Sorsby saga.

Can the Mountaineers climb towards the top of the league?

00:00 Discussing USC’s future under Lincoln Riley
04:42 Coaching futures and hot seats
09:05 Discussing future impact players
16:24 Texas A&M’s historic recruiting class
18:38 Recruiting battle for Texas A&M
23:03 Evaluating West Virginia’s quarterback options
25:07 Discussing the Backyard Brawl rivalry
29:18 Discussing WVU vs. Virginia rivalry

/ @lockedoncollegefootball  

Timothy Bradley has weighed in on a potential clash between Jaron Ennis and Vergil Ortiz Jr, believing that one man has the fighting instincts to “cook” the other.

The two Americans have been on a collision course since their early professional days, back when they had just emerged as talented welterweight prospects.

Since then, they have both moved up to 154lbs where Ennis, after unifying the 147lb division, is now the reigning WBO and WBA world champion.

The 29-year-old accomplished this by dethroning Xander Zayas last weekend, when arguably a career-best performance saw him score three knockdowns and secure a seventh-round finish.

As an intensely reactive fighter, ‘Boots’ was made to overcome several prickly moments, particularly in round three, but ultimately backed his quicker hands and more potent attacks.

Based largely on his victory over Zayas, many are now regarding Ennis as the top dog at 154lbs, while Ortiz is yet to even become a world champion.

The 28-year-old boasts notable wins over Israil Madrimov and Serhii Bohachuk but has not fought since last November, when he scored a second-round finish over Erickson Lubin.

Even with Ortiz at his best, though, Hall of Famer Bradley has told Ring Magazine that he still sees Ennis winning in one-sided fashion.

“He gonna cook Ortiz just like he [did against] Zayas. ‘Boots’ is willing to take [punches] to [land his own shots].

“It’s not always a good thing, but it works for him. I think he fights off of feeling. If he don’t feel like you’ve got any punch, he’s willing to stand and exchange with you.”

Ortiz’s legal dispute with Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy has kept him on the shelf, but the Texan is now expected to return later this year.

Things in Italy are worse than we thought.

That was one of the less expected but nonetheless obvious takeaways from the United States’ eminently comfortable 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday night in the round of 32 at the World Cup.

Because somehow, this very pedestrian Bosnian team got into the World Cup at Italy’s expense.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side deserve credit for not making the match harder than it had to be, even with Folarin Balogun’s unfortunate red card.

That’s far from a given at a World Cup, even for the big boys. Just ask Spain, which settled for a draw in its opening match against Cape Verde, or England, which had to fight from 1-0 down against DR Congo for their round of 32 win.

And it was particularly impressive that the Americans didn’t appear rattled by Balogun’s 65th-minute dismissal, even if it meant they would have a bit less of the ball in the late going.

But if you were going to describe Bosnia’s attacking desire after going behind, you might liken it to their attitude toward possessing Adriatic coastline. Sure, they have a little. Other countries have a lot more.

That Italy lost a World Cup qualifying playoff to this pedestrian outfit — even on penalties — is truly a damning indictment of the part of the physical and intellectual soccer world that calls it Calcio.

Yet maybe that’s fitting in a tournament where it feels like the whole Italian way of playing (read: aggressively conservative) is going by the wayside.

Bosnia may have out-Catenaccioed the Azzurri to reach their second World Cup, with the help of penalties and a first-half red card to Alessandro Bastoni in their playoff pathway final. But their progression to the knockout phase came primarily because of an exceptionally friendly group draw that featured zero opponents in the top 15 of the FIFA World Rankings, and only one in the top 25.

Ecuador entered as a popular dark-horse pick among pundits after their 19-match unbeaten run, despite scoring only once in their last five qualifying matches. They left as a fully exposed fraud that had leaned far too long on the 36-year-old Enner Valencia as a primary attacking threat.

And for all the pleasantness of their fans, Scotland were punished for their particularly dour tactics under now-former manager Steve Clarke, when they boasted a squad that should’ve been capable of more imagination.

Conversely, the game’s attacking stars are seemingly all enjoying banner tournaments, led by Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland, who have an astonishing 22 goals between them.

The Americans don’t have anyone on that level. But they do have enough talent collectively that, under the right guidance, they can express a vision of the game that collectively mirrors the artistry and optimism conjured by those individuals.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino has provided the necessary combination of structure and freedom, and they’ve responded so far, albeit against relatively limited opposition.

Other sides have also been rewarded for similar adventurousness. Even the upstart surprises that have exceeded expectations — like Cape Verde and DR Congo — have done so by offering more in the way of attacking endeavor than many expected.

For the Americans, the challenges will quickly ramp up in difficulty. Belgium looms next in the round of 16, and heavily fancied Spain could be after that in a potential quarterfinal. And win or lose, it will begin to feel more like the World Cups of recent past vintage that we’re more familiar with.

Just without Italy in the picture. And based on the evidence available, that’s probably for the best.

Jonathan Gresham is one of the best professional wrestlers on the independents right now, but there was a moment in time when his career could have been finished.

Gresham revealed in August 2025 he suffered two strokes that could have been a complication from a “bad case of COVID.” He vowed to return to the ring and he did. On Jan. 23, 2026, Gresham was at the Beyond Wildest Dreams event and defeated Ryan Clancy.

COMPLETE PRO WRESTLING COVERAGE ON FOX NEWS DIGITAL

Jonathan Gresham, right, appears in a Ring of Honor match. (Provided to Fox News Digital)

He talked to Fox News Digital about what keeps him going after the sudden medical issue.

“I am, how do you say it? I hope I’m using this term correctly, but I am an empath. I feel for people. I realized this after I came back from my strokes,” Gresham said. “Before my strokes, and I talk about this a lot actually, before my strokes, I was a very introverted person but I cared very deeply for people but my connections with people wasn’t as I had hoped and I would always kind of be bummed out to myself about these things. After my stroke, I remember sitting there on the bed and my whole left side was paralyzed and I couldn’t move and I prayed and I prayed and I prayed and the next day, God gave me the ability to walk around. So, I looked at that as a second opportunity to live life a different way.”

Gresham said, since then, he’s found the ability to open up to people more. He wanted to focus on helping fellow pro wrestlers on the independent scene try to find their footing in the industry.

“So, since then, I’ve grown closer to people that I’ve known for years in the business. That’s because I’ve opened up more to them. Random people, that I meet on the street and on planes, at malls, at the movies, I talk to people, I get to know people, I go out of my way to talk to people and get to know people,” he said. “And because of this, I’ve created relationships that I would have never had before.

Jonathan Gresham and Tiger Mask compete in a bout during the New Japan Pro-Wrestling ‘Best Of Super Jr.’ at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on May 23, 2019. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)

PRO WRESTLER VINNIE MASSARO FOUND HIS ‘WRESTLEMANIA MOMENT’ IN JAPAN, SHARES LOVE FOR BUILDING SPORT’S FUTURE

“So, I’m looking at life a lot differently now. And that kind of makes me feel more for my comrades in the wrestling business. When I see them aimless wandering the independents and not knowing where to go and when they talk to me, I can feel their frustrations. I can feel how scared some of these young people are and I desperately want to create a space to explore what pro wrestling can be. I want them to explore the pro wrestling they have in their mind.”

Partly, Gresham suggested, is that the increased access to pro wrestling gives emboldened fans to critique everything a wrestler does.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

He doesn’t want to have young people, trying to kick down a door in the business, be subjected to constant criticism.

“So, prime example: when I started wrestling, I was head over heels in love with Rey Mysterio and Bam Bam Bigelow. So, I had the time to perform and do what I loved about pro wrestling and from that, I grew into who I am today. Today, I started around 2005, YouTube was around but it wasn’t to the point where every show that takes place was being streamed or shown on YouTube. So, I can go around and suck and enjoy myself without that,” he explained.

Jonathan Gresham and Tiger Mask compete in a bout during the New Japan Pro-Wrestling ‘Best Of Super Jr.’ at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on May 23, 2019. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)

“But now, all the kids growing up in pro wrestling, whatever show they do is going straight to YouTube or some streaming platform. So, the problem is now they’re gonna get critiqued, not just by their coaches, they’re gonna get critiqued by fans who don’t know their story or care about their story and they’re saying the most mean things to them or about them and in a space where they can get it instantly. So, they’re on their phones and they’re getting nothing but negative things about them online and it kinda spoils the pro wrestling journey early on. And I want to help create a space where they don’t have to worry about that or go through that anymore.”

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Gresham recently went up against Fuminori Abe in PRODUCE by Orange Crush’s first event on Monday. He was a co-producer for the show.

The second event is set to take place on July 16 at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Each year, 250+ college prospects are drafted by NFL teams and another 500+ are signed as undrafted free agents. These roster candidates are provided by 800+ college football programs from coast-to-coast. 93 percent of NFL 53-man active rosters came from NCAA FBS schools in 2025.

According to drafthistory.com, Notre Dame (538) has had the most players drafted, followed by USC (533), Ohio State (500), and Michigan and Alabama (521). Since 2020, Georgia leads the pack with 70, then comes Alabama (63), Ohio State (61), Michigan (58) and LSU (57).

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It’s fair to say that the Rams aren’t on the “big name programs” bandwagon, but they do follow closely behind. L.A.’s scouting braintrust does a good job of scouring the top conferences without relying too heavily on particular schools. You can see that by studying the Rams preseason roster for the upcoming 2026 season.

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Tulane (1)

WR Mario Williams

Navy (1) 

LS Joe Cardona

The eyes of the world are, once again, glued to the World Cup. Overwhelmingly, they are on Lionel Messi’s goal-scoring record, a Cape Verdean goalkeeper who shot to fame or viral clips of fans.

It’s a familiar and understandable diversion of attention from the issues that dominated the buildup. Many Argentine fans were denied visas to attend the tournament and see Messi make history, Vozinha’s mother was only granted a visa bond waiver to the country after her son’s heroics for Cape Verde, and those fans seen on TV are often the lucky few rich enough to afford outrageous ticket prices.

Infantino, Trump relationship has eroded FIFA trust

Several factors have contributed to growing frustration with FIFA.

The decision to award US President Donald Trump FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize last December, shortly before Trump started a war with tournament participant Iran, was reportedly a unilateral move by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and has further eroded trust both within and outside the organization.

FIFA employ a rotation policy for World Cup hosting — that means each confederation should host a tournament in turn, with the exception of Oceania, which lacks the facilities since Australia began playing in Asian competition. But with matches in the 2030 World Cup scheduled in Europe, Africa and South America, that cleared the way for Saudi Arabia to be awarded the 2034 tournament unchallenged and much earlier than Asia would otherwise have been due, in 2042.

With Infantino set to exceed the usual presidential term limit of 12 years, again likely unopposed, frustration with FIFA is at an all-time high, according to many observers. But can anything be done?

How does FIFA maintain its power?

FIFA is responsible for the game’s global development but also acts as its commercial operator, a system many governance experts have questioned.

The World Cup is its key financial driver, though the recently revamped and expanded Club World Cup is now another key contributor. That competition has led to widespread complaints from players and player unions about a congested calendar that makes unreasonable demands.

“I don’t think the players are listened to that much, if I’m totally honest,” said Bayern Munich and England striker Harry Kane last year.

Structurally, each of the 211 member nations (which sit in six continental federations), gets a single vote for the president every four years. These member associations are then financially rewarded, to a greater or lesser degree, through various schemes and programs.

“The commercial dimension is the bedrock of FIFA’s system of power. The money is used by the presidents to accumulate and consolidate their power,” Miguel Maduro, a former chairman of FIFA’s Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee, told DW. He was dismissed from the post in 2017 after attempting to enforce political neutrality rules regarding Russia.

“It’s what supports the system of patronage through which presidents reward those loyal to them and punish anyone that dares criticize anything. It explains why incumbent presidents are never challenged and stay in power indefinitely.”

Can politics and the EU force FIFA to change?

Like Maduro, Nick McGeehan, of human rights NGO FairSquare, agrees that any reform would have to be imposed upon FIFA. And with individual member nations not incentivized or able to drive change, he is calling on the European Union to take up the fight.

“It requires political intervention. There is no other way to fix FIFA,” he told DW.

“I think the most obvious example would be the European Union, who could regulate and govern sport the way they regulate other things like Big Tech.”

FairSquare have filed a complaint with the Investigatory Chamber to the FIFA Ethics Committee over Infantino’s dealings with Trump while, separately, fan group Football Supporters Europe (FSE) and advocacy group Euroconsumers filed a complaint about ticket prices to the European Commission shortly before the World Cup.

A commission spokesperson would not be drawn on whether the EU might take on FIFA, telling DW only that the FSE and Euroconsumers complaint was being dealt with “in line with our standard procedures.”

Asked whether they might intervene in the various questionable World Cup ticket practices, the spokesperson went on to confirm that EU laws “do not regulate the price levels for goods and services, such as event tickets.” But added that: “Traders must adequately inform consumers about the total price of their offers and avoid misleading commercial practices, such as making attractive starting price claims for tickets that are not available or pressure-selling techniques while consumers wait in the virtual queue.”

Though definitive political action is so far thin on the ground, McGeehan retains hope.

“There is going to be a politician somewhere who recognizes the political value of taking people on and actually trying to hold them accountable. And I find that quite an exciting prospect, because I think it’s inevitable right now.”

Might UEFA and FIFA tensions force a breakaway?

While it operates under FIFA’s umbrella, there are simmering tensions between FIFA and the powerful European federation, UEFA. They were laid bare in UEFA’s hiring of Somalian referee Omar Artan for the Super Cup final, days after he’d been refused entry to the US to officiate at the World Cup.

“Football is made to connect people,” said UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.

Last year, UEFA delegates walked out of the FIFA Congress, accusing Infantino of prioritizing “private political interests” after turning up late from a diplomatic tour of the Middle East alongside Trump.

“There are tensions between UEFA and FIFA, and UEFA are a huge confederation and have the ear of some of the biggest and the most historic footballing nations. So if there was any form of breakaway within football it would have to come from UEFA or a number of UEFA nations getting together,” Geoff Walters, a professor in sports business at the University of Liverpool in the UK, told DW.

“But it’s hard in the context of football politics to put your head above that parapet because you get shot down. If you do say something, then what does it mean? Is it going to harm your chances of hosting competitions, which can be beneficial? Does it mean that you are ostracized from the international community?”

Germany serve as an example of this. After team members covered their mouths in a political gesture at their first match in Qatar in 2022, the team and federation have rowed back on their support of political causes, possibly with a hosting bid for World Cup 2034 or 2038 in mind.

UEFA themselves had to deal with the threat of an elite-club-driven breakaway Super League in 2021 and the legal issues that followed. Maduro said the organization “suffers from that same governance flaws as FIFA, albeit in a less obvious and radical manner.”

What’s in a FIFA breakaway for the rest of the world?

UEFA’s standing with the rest of the world’s federations may also have been weakened by Ceferin’s reported recent comments that the expanded World Cup makes a lot of matches “completely uninteresting.” A coalition of 13 football associations from Africa and Asia said they “firmly reject” the comments reported by Zurnal24 online newspaper in Ceferin’s native Slovenia.

The prestige and power of Europe and South America, particularly Brazil and Argentina, is also not as strong as it may seem compared to Infantino’s power base in Asia and Africa. Walters said this is another reason why a breakaway appears a distant possibility.

“If it was spearheaded by leading nations, what would happen to the smaller nations across the world? What would happen to their ability to develop football in their countries?

“That’s part of the challenge with global sport that we’re seeing, not just in the context of the World Cup, but in the context of a lot of sporting leagues, where you are seeing the bigger teams starting to look to push and break away. They want to maintain the largest slice of the pie, of the commercial income and revenues that are coming into that sport,” he said.

Is FIFA reaching areas others can’t?

While many others have questioned those commercial motivations, Infantino has insisted they are for the greater good.

“Every dollar we generate goes back into football,” he told reporters on the eve of the tournament on June 10. “If we were selling our TV rights to pay-TV, like everyone else, we would generate four times as much revenue. And we could give all the tickets away, but they would still end up on the black market.

“As FIFA president we have to strike a balance. We invest in countries where no one else does — South Sudan, Bhutan. No one else is doing this.”

For now, that much is true. In football terms, no one else has the remit or the money. And, given how deeply FIFA is entrenched within the sport, the chances of a breakaway seem slim.

Although discontent has rarely been higher, unless a federation, alliance of countries or prominent individual grasps the nettle, the chances of reform seem only marginally less slim than before.

Edited by: Chuck Penfold