The woman who falsely accused three Duke lacrosse players of rape and then murdered her boyfriend was released from prison in North Carolina on Friday, according to multiple reports.
Crystal Mangum, who has been in prison since 2013 on charges of murdering Reginald Daye in 2011, left the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh on Friday morning. She was serving a 14- to 18-year sentence.
Mangum previously made her confession about lying about being raped by the lacrosse players in an interview on the independent media outlet “Let’s Talk With Kat” in December 2024.
Crystal Mangum, who was at the center of the Duke University lacrosse scandal, was charged with stabbing a man April 3, 2011, at a Durham, N.C., apartment. (Chuck Liddy/Raleigh News & Observer/MCT)
“I testified falsely against them by saying that they raped me when they didn’t and that was wrong, and I betrayed the trust of a lot of other people who believed in me,” Mangum said. “[I] made up a story that wasn’t true because I wanted validation from people and not from God.”
Mangum thrust herself into the center of a massive national news story when she originally accused the three Duke students of raping her while she was performing as a stripper at a lacrosse team party in March 2006.
The players she accused were then arrested, and the allegations even resulted in the team having to cancel its season.
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The players, David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann, were eventually found innocent. Still, Mangum was not prosecuted for perjury due to questions about her mental health.
But Mangum can not be prosecuted for perjury now because the statute of limitations on perjury charges in North Carolina only lasts around two years.
The lead prosecutor in the case, Mike Nifong, was the Durham County district attorney at the time of the trial and was eventually disbarred in 2007, after it was revealed that he failed to turn over DNA evidence that would have been helpful to the defense’s case.
The Associated Press reported at the time that Nifong said he was unaware that crucial evidence hadn’t been handed over to the defense.
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Crystal Gail Mangum appears at a news conference Oct. 23, 2008, to promote a book about her life in Durham, N.C. Mangum continued to say that she was assaulted in March 2006 at a Duke lacrosse team party where she had been hired to dance. (Chuck Liddy/Raleigh News Observer/MCT)
Mangum was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder and two counts of larceny in March 2011. A year before that, she was convicted on misdemeanor charges after setting a fire that nearly torched her home with her three children inside.
In a videotaped police interrogation, she told officers she got into a confrontation with her boyfriend at the time, not Daye, and burned his clothes, smashed his car windshield and threatened to stab him.
According to North Carolina Department of Corrections records, she was born on July 18, 1978, to a truck driver. She grew up the youngest of three children, not far from the house where she claimed she was assaulted in 2006.
In 1993, when she was 14 years old, Mangum claimed to have been kidnapped by three men, driven to a house in Creedmoor, North Carolina, 15 miles away from Durham, and raped. She said one of the men was her boyfriend at the time and was a physically and emotionally abusive man seven years older than she was.
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Pictured in this file photo from August 2010, Crystal Mangum, who was at the center of the Duke University lacrosse scandal, was charged with stabbing a man April 3, 2011, at a Durham, N.C., apartment. (Chuck Liddy/Raleigh News & Observer/MCT)
Creedmoor Police Chief Ted Pollard said Mangum filed a report on the incident on Aug. 18, 1996, three years after the rapes allegedly took place. The case, however, was not pursued, because the accuser backed away from the charges out of fear for her life, according to her relatives.
Vincent Clark, a friend who co-authored Mangum’s self-published memoir, said he hopes people don’t rush to judgment – echoing one of the oft-cited lessons of the lacrosse case itself.
Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.
Namestnikov was injured after he was tripped, causing him to collide with teammate Adam Lowry late in the second period. The 33-year-old was able to skate off on his own power, but went straight to the locker room for further evaluation.
Namestnikov, in his 13th NHL season and fourth in Winnipeg, has seven goals and 13 points in 56 games for the Jets this season.
He was selected 27th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 2011 NHL Draft.
When the mystery figure was eventually unmasked, you likely would have expected somebody like Grayson Waller, but when Logan Paul finally did it, the result was rather unexpected.
For some context, the mystery masked figure has been tormenting The Vision for a little while now, hitting the stomp and attacking various members. It was teased as being Seth Rollins, but even those in WWE openly admitted that it doesn’t make sense, as Rollins is still a while away from his actual return from injury. With two more members of The Vision injured, it has led to a bit of a crisis. Regardless, Logan Paul managed to sneak his way into the main event, where he faced Jacob Fatu to replace Jey Uso in the Elimination Chamber match.
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Right towards the end of the match, the masked figure attacked Austin Theory, but Paul intercepted him and knocked him out. When he removed the mask, it was a plant – an unknown name and face with no connection to anybody. There was confusion all around, as many expected it to be someone like Grayson Waller. Instead, WWE threw a wrench and added a twist by putting an unknown figure in the mask.
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In all likelihood, this means that the masked figure is still at large and that this was simply a plant meant to throw the members of The Vision off. Logan Paul would also end up qualifying for the Elimination Chamber match when he beat Jacob Fatu courtesy of a Drew McIntyre assist.
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This September, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will revisit their rivalry in one of the standout events of the 2026 boxing calendar. Ahead of the rematch, former WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis has offered his thoughts.
In an interview with FightHype, Davis spoke with excitement ahead of the battle, but admitted that he gives Floyd Mayweather the edge, due to the fact that he already holds a win over ‘Pac Man’.
“It’s a legendary fight.
I feel like it’s going to be a different fight, they are at two different ages, they are well past their [initial] retirements. They were both retired for a long time and I think that it’s going to be a different fight, so the fans are definitely going to be tuning in.
“Floyd [has the advantage], for sure, he already won the first time. You are only as good as your last performance [against each other], [in the] last performance, Floyd won.
“Both of their reflexes and timing still ain’t there but, I’m going to say this though, Pacquiao’s last performance was crazy, against a younger fighter too. Floyd has also been doing lots of exhibitions, so they have both been kind of active, but I can only judge off their last fight.”
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Before rematching Pacquiao, Mayweather first takes on heavyweight icon Mike Tyson in an exhibition bout which is reported to be in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday, April 25.
Trent Alexander-Arnold had always looked irreplaceable. The remarkable passing range and pinpoint crossing that made him unique meant no successor would ever be a duplicate. But if Jeremie Frimpong has proved Anfield’s answer to the Real Madrid Alexander-Arnold, it has been in an unwanted respect. Frimpong’s injury-interrupted time at Liverpool mirrors Alexander-Arnold’s stop-start beginning to life at the Bernabeu.
The Netherlands international is poised to return against West Ham on Saturday. A man who barely missed a game for Bayer Leverkusen has had three hamstring injuries in England. Proof the physicality of the league can be tough to adjust to, Arne Slot has often said.
And for the first time in a month, Liverpool will be able to call upon a right-back who actually is a right-back; apart, anyway, from Calvin Ramsay, granted one start in the Carabao Cup, one minute in the FA Cup and neither in the Premier League.
Dominik Szoboszlai, Liverpool’s player of the season, has been dragged into right back from midfield far more often than Arne Slot would have liked (Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
This has been the season of seven right-backs for Liverpool and, of the seven, Ramsay has played least. It could have been eight, had they got their way at the end of the winter window, when they tried to sign Lutsharel Geertruida on loan. The Dutchman has something in common with Alexander-Arnold having each played right-back for Slot in a title-winning campaign; one for Feyenoord, the other for Liverpool.
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Of the Liverpool septet – at times, more makeshift than magnificent seven – one is a centre-back by trade, in Joe Gomez, and three are midfielders, in Wataru Endo, Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai. It has felt Liverpool’s cursed position: Conor Bradley missed the start of the season and will miss the rest of it, after undergoing knee surgery. Endo will sit out much of the rest of it with a foot problem which he incurred playing right-back; and probably only doing so because Szoboszlai was suspended following a sending off operating there. Gomez’s appearances have been rationed for fear he would get injured again. He, too, has had three spells on the sidelines this season.
There is a case – though the evidence is limited by his bit-part role – that Gomez is Liverpool’s best defensive right-back; they have three clean sheets in the six games he has started there. Frimpong may be the best attacking one: indeed, he was initially not trusted to operate in the back four by Slot, who sometimes instead selected him as a winger, but he brought dynamism around the turn of the year.
Bradley may be the best all-round right-back. Szoboszlai, indisputably, is the best all-round footballer, with his issues perhaps occurring due to an unfamiliarity with the position. The other problem is that he can be a first-choice in multiple positions at the same time: Slot started to turn the tide after Liverpool’s awful start at Nottingham Forest on Sunday by moving Szoboszlai into midfield and swapping Jones to right-back.
It probably wasn’t a scenario Slot envisaged last summer. Replacing Alexander-Arnold has come with more difficulties than expected. “Only because of the reason you said,” replied Slot, referencing injuries. He is happy with the two specialists, the homegrown and the purchased.
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Jeremie Frimpong could return from injury to face West Ham at Anfield (Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
“We believe, I truly believe, in these two as quality players,” he added. “They are young and need time to develop. Jeremie is a bit older but comes from a different league so he always needed time to adapt. Conor is a young player who only played 30 games in the Premier League before the start of this season but we all saw his potential and still see his potential so if both of them would have been fit, I think we would have had and still have two great replacements for Trent.”
At Anfield, Alexander-Arnold was one of the world’s best, in his inimitable way. Slot feels the Northern Irishman and the Dutchman have the ability to be in that bracket.
“Trent ended at a level at this club – he probably didn’t start at that level – that is so high, they are not easy shoes to fill,” Slot continued. “But we believe and I still believe in the fact that these two can grow to a similar level; different qualities but to a similar level that Trent was when he left. the biggest thing is that both of them haven’t been available and that has been the biggest struggle to replace Trent.”
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The struggle, in part, has been the constant instability, or the fact it keeps taking Szoboszlai out of the midfield. Liverpool lack a regular right-back but they have had some outstanding displays there: most recently Jones against Brighton in the FA Cup, perhaps most memorably Bradley’s annual tour de force against Real Madrid.
Szoboszlai was superb away at Newcastle, at home to Arsenal and, despite his eventual dismissal, against Manchester City. He may be more relieved than most to see Frimpong fit again. In November, Slot said he didn’t expect that in February or March Szoboszlai would play every game as a winger or a full-back. On the last day of the month, Liverpool finally have a right-back available again. For now, anyway.
We are still two months away from the 2026 NFL Draft. Currently, the Minnesota Vikings hold the 18th overall pick. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah won’t be meddling in any of that business this time around, but Kevin O’Connell and Rob Brzezinski could still opt to shuffle around their capital.
Minnesota’s Safety Room Needs a Stabilizer Soon
At 18th overall, there are at least two former Oregon Ducks that should be available, and both could fit the Vikings’ needs. Harrison Smith’s status for next season remains uncertain, and the expectation has been that he will retire. T.J. Hockenson carries a cap number of more than $21 million, and he’s either a candidate for a cut or a trade.
Sep 27, 2025; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Oregon Ducks defensive back Dillon Thieneman (31) reacts after defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images
Both the tight end and safety spots have draft candidates that fall within the Vikings’ range. While most mock drafts have Kenyon Sadiq being taken a bit after Minnesota, ESPN’s mock draft guru, Mel Kiper Jr., just suggested Dillon Thieneman to join the purple.
Harrison Smith is 37 years old; he might retire this offseason, and even if he returns, the safety room in Minnesota still has to be replenished. How about a Smith clone? Thieneman might not have Smith’s 6-foot-2 size (he’s 6-foot), but he reads the QB well and is savvy. That matters a lot in defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ defense, which asks a lot of rookies. Plus, Thieneman has versatility to move around the alignment, is a force against the run and had a six-INT season at Purdue back in 2023 before transferring to Oregon. He’d be a seamless fit in the Vikings’ defense.
Thieneman joined the Ducks last season after starting his collegiate career at Purdue. As a freshman, he picked off a whopping six passes. Last season with Oregon, he had two interceptions and 96 tackles for one of the best defenses in the country.
We should know whether Smith will reverse course and return sooner this offseason. He was still relatively productive last year, but at some point, his run is going to come to an end. When it does, Brian Flores has few answers on the current roster.
Kevin O’Connell greeted Harrison Smith before kickoff on Nov 27, 2023, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The Minnesota Vikings head coach connected with the veteran safety, wearing number 22, ahead of the NFC North matchup against the Chicago Bears as the home team prepared for the divisional contest. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports.
Theo Jackson was given an extension, but did not look good in regular action last season. Josh Metellus is best utilized in a hybrid role. That leaves Jay Ward, who could continue to develop, but remains questionable at this point for a starting role.
Thieneman would give the Vikings a Day 1 starter in the secondary, whether Smith returns or not. Coincidentally, he could be the first pick made since Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s departure. That tenure started with the disaster that was trading back and grabbing Lewis Cine.
With holes on both sides of the ball, Minnesota has to operate with a best-player-available mindset. They could just pick between the two Ducks if they really want to, though.
Ted Schwerzler is a Minneapolis based blogger that covers the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. Sharing thoughts constantly on Twitter, … More about Ted Schwerzler
The projected top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, former Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, said a team executive suggested he get arrested so that he would slide down to that team’s pick in the upcoming draft.
Mendoza is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick by the Las Vegas Raiders, but he is still interviewing with other teams at the NFL combine.
Mendoza revealed the suggestion a team made to him about getting arrested during an interview with CBS Sports on Friday, when he was asked about the most bizarre question he got from teams at the NFL combine.
Indiana Hoosiers quarterbacks Fernando Mendoza (15) and Alberto Mendoza (16) warm up prior to the game against the UCLA Bruins at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 25, 2025, in Bloomington, Indiana.(Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
“It was, ‘hey, maybe you should get arrested,’ and I was a little confused, but then I was like, the slide … so you could slide in the draft,” he said.
Mendoza declined to reveal which team made the suggestion.
Indiana Hoosiers quarterbacks Fernando Mendoza (15) and Alberto Mendoza (16) walk on the field for warmups before the 2025 Big Ten Conference Championship game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium on Dec. 6, 2025, in Indianapolis.(Aaron Doster-Imagn Images)
“So, hopefully I don’t get arrested,” he added.
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Mendoza is the hottest quarterback prospect this year after leading Indiana to the first 16-0 season in modern college football history, winning the national championship and the Heisman Trophy.
He finished the 2025 season with 3,535 passing yards, 41 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza passes against Miami during the first half of the College Football Playoff national championship game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Florida.(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Other teams in need of a quarterback besides the Raiders may not find many answers in this draft, after Oregon quarterback Dante Moore returned to college for another year.
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Other prospects, including Ty Simpson, Drew Allar and Garrett Nussmeier, are projected to be lower-tier prospects when compared to Mendoza.
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Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.
Miami (Ohio) advanced to 29-0 in dramatic fashion on Friday night, as Trey Perry lifted the RedHawks to a 69-67 win at Western Michigan with a game-winning layup in the final second. The win brings Miami within two victories of completing a perfect regular season.
It took everything the RedHawks could muster amid adverse circumstances on the road to avoid what would have been a potentially devastating Quad 4 loss. Miami didn’t earn its first lead of the second half until the 1:45 mark as it navigated life without two stars. Leading scorer Peter Suder fouled out with 7:03 remaining and the RedHawks down 57-50. He had 18 points on 7 of 13 shooting, and his departure after just 27 minutes of playing time left the RedHawks in a bind.
The Redhawks also played without starting point guard Luke Skaljac due to injury. But when the pressure was on, Miami demonstrated the clutch gene that has been part of its DNA all season. Perry finished with 14 points on 6 of 8 shooting. Almar Atlason added 16 points, including 12 in the second half. His 4-point play with 3:26 remaining sliced a 5-point deficit to just one.
Miami entered as an 11.5-point favorite but struggled from the jump as Western Michigan built a 6-point lead in the opening minutes. WMU closed the first half on a 7-0 run as Miami coach Travis Steele began to take exception with the officiating.
He ultimately received a technical foul and went to the locker in a fit of rage. Western Michigan then built a 9-point lead before Miami figured out a way to claw back and keep its storybook start alive. The RedHawks close the regular season next week against Toledo and Ohio as they seek to become the first team since Gonzaga in 2021 to finish the regular season unbeaten.
Brooks Koepka couldn’t find the words. Now firmly back as a member of the PGA Tour, Koepka, a five-time major champion and one of the defining players of his generation, was confronted with a big-picture question this week. It was the type of question that only those who have already etched their name in history face, but one Koepka was unsure of how to answer as his PGA Tour comeback rolls on.
What do you want your legacy to be?
“I don’t know,” Koepka said on Wednesday at the Cognizant Classic. “I feel like that’s a very deep question. I don’t know what I want my legacy to be. I kind of don’t think about it. I just try to be the best person, best golfer I can be, and then wherever things settle up, they settle up. I just don’t want to look back at the end of my career and say, man, I really could have put more effort in and just give everything I’ve got, 100 percent effort, and trying to win as many tournaments and be as dedicated as I can to the game.”
Perhaps on the surface, Koepka doesn’t know what he wants his legacy to be. To think about legacy is to think about mortality, to come to terms with the end and imagine a time when you are not who you are and have always been. But athletes whose achievements will echo across generations — those who have done things few can claim — often already have a sense of how they will be remembered. They tell us so in how they work to change it or strengthen it. It’s why the losses and misses often mean more than the wins. Those, as Scottie Scheffler noted, are often fleeting.
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Koepka’s major wins didn’t come at an early age, as they did for Tiger or Rory or Spieth, but once he broke through, one win turned to four in a flash. He almost instantly became his generation’s great major killer. Four majors is a lot, but when you win four, everyone starts to wonder if you’ll win eight or nine or 10. You probably do too. Four majors in three years might be the first line of Koepka’s World Golf Hall of Fame plaque. But the body of it will be about his persona as the big-game hunter — golf’s elite competitor who showed up in elite tournaments and elevated himself in the moments that truly mattered.
Injury and poor play in 2022 allowed Koepka to be consumed by doubt. He wasn’t sure if he would ever be who he once was again. He joined LIV Golf and then built himself back. He won the 2023 PGA Championship to eclipse Rory McIlroy’s major total and become the defining major winner of his era (McIlroy has now matched him). The doubts evaporated to reveal who Koepka is at his core — someone who, like his childhood idol Tiger Woods, relishes the grind. The payoff is nice, but it’s everything that leads to it; the discipline, the consistency and the fight that makes it worthwhile.
“This is probably the sweetest one of them all because of all the hard work that went into it,” Koepka said at Oak Hill in 2023.
When Koepka returned at the Farmers Insurance Open, he talked about doing so for his family. He wanted to be closer to them and spend more time with them. He’s a father now, and that changes you. But he also wants his son to see who his dad is and what made him great in the arena that built the legacy he would rather not contemplate.
“Just because I care,” Koepka said of why he was nervous at Torrey Pines. “I think I’ve fallen back in love with the game. And honestly, watching my son play a little bit and wanting to be able to see him watch me, or I guess want him to watch me play well and realize how much this game’s given me, how fun it is and how cool it is to just be out here.”
Koepka has dodged questions about LIV, the PGA Tour’s future and politics since his return. It would be atypical for him to do otherwise. As it has always been, Koepka’s focus is on his game and where it measures up, especially against Scottie Scheffler and McIlroy, whom Koepka has only faced at majors over the last three-plus years.
“I’m excited to battle with them,” Koepka said. “I think that will be really fun. I think just the competitive side of me, obviously, you obviously want to do a little bit better, but that’s going to be very tough to do better than Scottie right now. I’m excited for it. I want to play with those guys, see where I’m at and how I can get better.”
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Koepka doesn’t need to find the words to describe what he wants his legacy to be. His actions and his game have already answered that question. He’s one of only 21 men to reach five majors. There was a six-year period where he was omnipresent at the events that define the golf season. He left for human reasons and returned for the same. His desire was not to be a trophy or token on either side, but to see if he could once again push himself to the top.
On Thursday at the Cognizant, Koepka hit the ball well in windy conditions but lost over two strokes on the greens. He entered Friday outside the cutline, but a hand adjustment on the putter helped him shoot a four-under 66 to move inside the top 30 and get a weekend tee time on a course where anything can happen.
Afterward, Koepka, who has failed to finish in the top 50 in his first two starts back on the PGA Tour, was asked if he viewed battling to make the cut as a small “win.” Unlike Wednesday, Koepka had no problem finding the words, offering a glimpse of the old Koepka, the one who has already told us how he’ll be remembered.
“No,” he said. “If I’m out here to try to make cuts, I’m probably done.”
CHENNAI: It’s finally firing just when it matters. The Indian top-order, which left a lot to be desired until now, came into its own on a batting beauty at the MA Chidambaram Stadium against a pedestrian Zimbabwe attack on Thursday. With West Indies looming next at Eden Gardens on Sunday, there is bound to be a sense of relief in the camp.To start with, Abhishek Sharma got going, and the recycled opening partnership with Sanju Samson smashed 48 off 22 balls, which set the tone for the massive total of 256 for 4. Abhishek, during the course of his 30-ball 55, got his runs at a strike rate of 183.3, but he seemed to cut down on his recklessness. The lefthander’s bat swing is one of the best in the business, so it is not always necessary for him to try and generate extra power. On Thursday, he looked to time the ball more than strive for power and played the ball a lot straighter, making run-scoring look easy and relatively risk-free.
India land in Kolkata for do-or-die WI clash | Semi-final spot on the line
Explaining his unhurried approach, the southpaw said: “I just wanted to spend some time on the pitch. So far, I haven’t batted 10-12 balls. I want to thank my team; they backed me and reminded me that my time will come,” Abhishek said.While Abhishek getting runs was a good sign before the must-win West Indies game, Sanju’s 24-run cameo, too, came in for praise. Firstly, the left-right combination was a welcome shift, and Zimbabwe couldn’t use one of their off-spinners right at the beginning of the Powerplay. Tilak Varma, who had to come down to No 6 because Ishan Kishan took his place at No 3, felt Sanju’s innings was important in India’s batting resurgence.“It’s important that openers give a good start; Nos 3, 4 and 5 can come out with confidence when it happens. Sanju did that brilliantly today, and it was followed by others,” the southpaw said.Tilak spoke about a change in approach by the batters ahead of the game that made a difference. According to the 23-year-old, it was coach Gautam Gambhir who sat with the batters and told them to go in with the mindset that helped them play so well in T20Is over the last year-and-a-half.“We wanted to put fear in the mind of the opposition; we wanted them to realise that we’re coming for them, even if we lost a wicket… Gautam sir reminded us of the brand of cricket we played last year and against New Zealand and South Africa prior to the World Cup. So, whatever the situation, as individuals, our plan was to go out there, smile and enjoy the game,” Tilak said.No. 6 is a position where Tilak hasn’t batted too much recently. He always enjoys a little bit of time in the middle, but following an indifferent patch at No 3, the team wanted him to take up the finisher’s role. More so, with Rinku Singh looking unlikely for the rest of the tournament following the death of his father. Tilak said he didn’t mind it at all, because “it’s all about the team’s cause”.“I played that role for India as well as Mumbai Indians a few times. So, I’m up for it. This game is about adjusting according to the situation… I was just waiting for one good innings, and it came at the right time. I am pretty confident going forward that I can win games for the team,” Tilak said about his 16-ball 44.Another player who batted with flourish was Hardik Pandya. His 23-ball 50 and economical three-over spell earned him the Player-of-TheMatch award.“It was an innings where I had to reassess my style. Initially, I was trying to hit the ball too hard. Then I realised I could time the ball and did that. Now it’s about keeping our skillset and putting our best foot forward,” Pandya said.
Quite often in this modern era of college football, it feels like the NCAA has lost the plot.
So many of the recent changes to the sport — such as the transfer portal, NIL and revenue sharing — are long overdue modern updates which have helped put some well-deserved power back in the players’ hands.
The NCAA, though, has refused to enforce or take a stand on issues that have arisen from these changes — things like tampering, exceeding the roster salary cap and the like — insisting that it is the government’s job to establish these guardrails.
Thankfully, the NCAA hasn’t totally given up on what really matters in college football: the first word in the sport’s name.
Thankfully, logic won out and Aguilar, who turns 25 this summer, won’t be back for his eighth season in college football.
His argument for one more year was an extension of Diego Pavia’s case last season which got him an additional year of eligibility. Pavia argued, with Aguilar and a host of other college football players joining the lawsuit, that years played at junior college shouldn’t count against Division I eligibility.
There’s many reasons why this argument doesn’t hold water but probably the biggest is…the second word in junior college.
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The injunction that allowed Pavia to play last season was a net positive because of what he brought to the 2025 season as a Heisman finalist who led Vanderbilt to its first 10-win season in program history.
It also set a dangerous precedent, one which clearly made Aguilar think he could similarly get an extra year.
In theory, I’m ok with the occasional additional year of eligibility. When granted, they are basically always connected to players who have missed extensive time to injuries throughout their careers and whose pro prospects are low because of their injury history and age.
That doesn’t track with Aguilar’s path. He redshirted in 2019 at City College of San Francisco before the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He then transferred to another JUCO program, Diablo Valley, playing in 16 games over the 2021-22 seasons.
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After that, he hopped to the FBS level with a transfer to App State, where he started 25 games over two seasons there, missing minimal time.
The Pavia injunction made Aguilar eligible for the 2025 season so he landed at Tennessee after originally transferring to UCLA for what was essentially his bonus year.
It was an extremely successful season. He started all 14 games, racking up 3,565 passing yards and 24 touchdowns. He led the Southeastern Conference in passing yards during the regular season.
But once again, it was a full season competition — Aguilar’s fourth at the collegiate level with 10-plus games and fifth with six or more. That’s a full career and then some.
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So it’s a relief the NCAA fought the case in court and even more that the Tennessee state judge sided with the organization over the local athlete.
Don’t get my point twisted: Player empowerment is good for college sports.
But with that power comes responsibilities. Among them, the responsibility of realizing when it’s time to move on to the next stage of football and/or life.
;)
