The NCAA’s Mid-American Conference is making some changes in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Starting in the 2020-2021 academic year, conference tournaments for eight different sports will be eliminated, while basketball (both men’s and women’s), volleyball and seven other sports will be undergoing postseason adjustments.

Baseball, softball, mens and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis, field hockey, and women’s lacrosse will be sending their regular season winners directly to the NCAA tournaments.

The other nine sports will have an abbreviated postseason tournament.

“There will be alternations in formats for nine other championships – volleyball (four-team), men’s basketball (eight-team), women’s basketball (eight-team), men’s swimming & diving (three-day), women’s swimming & diving (three-day), men’s indoor and outdoor track & field (two-day), women’s indoor and outdoor track & field (two-day), men’s golf (two-day) and women’s golf (two-day),” the conference announced this week. 

Baseball and softball will be playing 30-game regular season schedules, while basketball will abandon the divisions and expand their total schedule by two games from 18-20.

The plan will stretch across four years, as of right now at least. Budget reductions are sure to be made for the overall postseason. 

Football, however, will not be affected by any of these changes. 

On Tuesday, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R) raised the possibility of bringing major-league sports back to the state. 

As the state is beginning to reopen, Ducey noted that all four major American sports could return as soon as next week. Ducey said on social media that the state is “trending in the right direction.”

The  governor has mentioned that he has had some conversations with “leaders of some of these leagues.” In April, Ducey admitted to having open lines of communication with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and told him he was open to hosting baseball games in Arizona if need be. 

Most major league sports have considered playing the remainder of their games in a hub, where all organizations and players would be in one location. 

“It would be at this point in time, according to the CDC guidelines, without fans… We could do that safely in the state of Arizona beginning May 16,” Ducey said.

In June 2010, Detroit Tigers then-pitcher Armando Galarraga threw what he thought to be a perfect game. He retired 27 straight batters, however, the last one was riddled with controversy.

The final 27th batter happened to be an incorrect safe call by the first-base umpire Jim Joyce, cutting Galarraga’s streak at the end. 

Since then, Joyce has owned up to his mistake, famously saying he “kicked the shit out of that call.” Joyce said that he was sick over the situation, knowing that he snatched the chance of a perfect game away from a pitcher at the final out. 

The next day, Galarraga gave the Tigers lineup card to Joyce at home plate. Apparently, Joyce was visibly in tears. Interestingly enough, the two formed a friendship from that situation, and even ended up writing a book together, Nobody’s Perfect.

Now ten years later, the former Tigers’ pitcher wants the league to overturn that safe call so his game can officially be considered “perfect.”

“I was like, what can I do to have a better finish to the story?” Galarraga says. “How can Major League Baseball give me the perfect game? Because it was perfect, right?”

Joyce given his approval for the overturning of Galarraga’s one-hit shutout. 

“In this case, I see absolutely zero harm to changing the call. The only fallout would be having to add Galarraga to the list of pitchers to have thrown a perfect game,” Joyce said. “There are officially 23. Major League Baseball: Make the list 24. Armando threw a perfect game. We all saw it. Make it official.”

On Tuesday, NCAA president Mark Emmert said that the NCAA won’t mandate or oversee a uniform return to college sports. 

Emmert has decided to leave the decision making up to state officials and university presidents. 

Since the NCAA came to a stop in mid-March, there has been no timetable or discussion about a possible return to college sports. Emmert has said that the return to college sports is not his to determine. 

“Normally, there’s an agreed-upon start date for every sport, every season, but under these circumstances, now that’s all been derailed by the pandemic. It won’t be the conferences that can do that either. It will be the local and state health officials that say whether or not you can open and play football with fans.”

While many different conferences and football coaches have spoken on their hopes to return to the football season, the PAC-12 issued a statement on Wednesday this week saying their collective universities would make their own decisions on when student-athletes were safe to return. 

Emmert said that decisions such as this are localized and that campuses need to indepentedly determine whether it is safe to bring students back to play sports. 

“The NCCA doesn’t mandate that, nor should it,” he said. “The schools themselves have to make those decisions.”

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby has chimed in on the matter, saying that the NCAA doesn’t oversee the college football playoff. That responsibility is placed on the Football Oversight Committee. 

“The Football Oversight Committee will have a role in putting a date on the calendar eventually, to say you can start some sort of return to play on this date, but that may be on three days’ notice,” he said.

Emmert has a formal call with all 32 Division I commissioners at least once a week, and has individual discussions with commissioners each and every day.

“Where we have direct control is of course over our championships, all 90 of those championships, and we’ll make sure those are conducted in a way that’s first and foremost safe for the students, for coaches, for fans, however that plays out,” he said. “We’ll support the conferences who make the decisions with the schools about what the conference schedules are going to look like, make whatever adjustments need to be made in the rules, to move seasons around so that we can accommodate all of the needs that are going to be popping up right now and recognizing this is going to play out in different ways in different parts of the country.”

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Former Heisman winner and college football sensation Johnny Manziel is truly taking advantage of post-football life during these times. 

The former Browns QB took a pretty scary stumble off a cliff in the Arizona lake this week, while he was trying to make the leap down into the water. 

Manziel posted a short video to Instagram capturing the moment, captioning “Flawless execution.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAEZGoYHDk9/

The former gunslinger obviously hasn’t worked too much on his footwork, considering he hasn’t played a snap since his unsuccessful go at the Alliance of American Football league last year. 

A few months ago, Manziel tweeted about his situation, saying he would be just fine if he never played football again. 

“If I never pick up a ball again it’s all love,” he said. “I was the most lit, most relatable college football player to ever do it. Did things my way and made it way further than I ever could of imagined. The game gave me life and I’ll forever be grateful.”

Manziel also added that he was the “best I’ve been in a long time” and said he was focusing on golf during his Arizona trip. 

Manziel also had a run in the Canadian Football League a few years back that proved just as unsuccessful. 

In 2013, the former Texas A&M point-man was drafted in the first round. He went on to play just 15 games total, recording 1,675 passing yards with seven touchdowns. 

The Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and Atlanta Falcons are considering the possibility of joint practices prior to the upcoming 2020 NFL season. 

Falcons head coach Dan Quinn spoke on the idea on Tuesday on a video conference, saying the Falcons spoke with both teams “way back in the offseason” and that the teams discussed “doing some scrimmages.”

The idea could very well get squashed by the league considering coronavirus pandemic guidelines. 

“If those guidelines are in place that we are able to, we will,” Quinn said.

The joint practices would likely occur during the preseason, with the Falcons schedule for games against each team. Atlanta will host Miami on August 13 and the Bills will host Atlanta during the week of August 20. 

Quinn has mentioned that the team still awaits NFL guidelines on how the teams can collectively meet safely. No teams have been allowed to meet at facilities this off-season. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci spoke on the matter of the NFL’s return this week, saying there would be a problem if multiple players tested positive for the virus. Fauci said the team would “have to be quarantined for 14 days with their next two games canceled or postponed.”

Fauci had no answer as to when the league may be able to play a full season.

“The virus will make the decision for us,” he said.

Fauci suggested that players and team personnel be tested multiple times a week. That would be challenging considering the lack of tests that exist elsewhere in the world.

The Atlanta Falcons held rookie minicamp last weekend via video conferences. The team plans to have all players together on Monday on a virtual platform. 

After the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a 26-year old black man in Georgia, who was gunned down by a former policeman and his son while he jogging, athletes from all backgrounds have expressed their grief through social media, including Tom Brady. 

This week, co-founder of the NFL Players Coalition, Anquan Boldin, expressed his gratitude for the prominent white athletes who are showing public support on matters of social justice. 

Boldin’s statement came just a few days after he and the coalition sent in a letter with over 60 athlete signatures, to the Department of Justice, calling for an immediate investigation into Arbery’s killing. 

Boldin made an appearance on ESPN’s First Take and commended the Bucs new QB for his support. “I think it’s very significant, especially having Tom be a guy who hasn’t been involved in politics at all,” he said. “He’s kind of stayed away from it. But it just goes to show that people are tired of [the injustice] happening. We’ve seen it over and over again, and far too long, we’ve allowed it to go on and not speak out about it. So to have someone like Tom Brady sign the letter, it was very significant.”

Aside from Brady, other prominent white athletes who voiced concern and support include David Andrews, Julian Edelman, Ryan Izzo, Josh McCown and even Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. 

Boldin also commented on how the lack of white athletes speaking out on social justice matters does not necessarily mean that they do not support the cause. 

“A lot of them are afraid to say the wrong things… They want to make sure that the message that they speak out is right,” he said. “Like I said, from the guys that I’ve talked to, they want to make sure that what they say doesn’t hurt the cause, as opposed to helping it.”

Boldin co-founded the Player’s Coalition in 2017 to raise awareness about social injustice in America, most specifically, police and community relations. 

Just yesterday, the coalition sent a letter to the FCC encouraging that they provide internet to those in need during this global pandemic. 

“Families need internet access now more than ever. With students adjusting to distance learning, the educational divide is heightened for students in low-income communities who cannot reach their teacher and educational materials because they can’t go online.”

On Sunday, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer set up a giveaway after ESPN accidentally leaked his phone number during a broadcast of the Korean Baseball Organization.

While Bauer was live on FaceTime with ESPN for an interview, his number was visible at the top of the screen for just a couple of seconds, but that was all that fans and spectators needed. 

Fortunately for ESPN, the pitcher decided to have some fun in light of the sticky situation. Bauer posted a screenshot of the interview to Twitter and said he would be giving away a pair of signed cleats and baseball over the next 48 hours. “The rules are in my voicemail!” the pitcher said. 

After a few hours, Bauer posted an update, saying that his voicemail was full from fans attempting to win the two-day giveaway prizes. He then decided to take FaceTime requests from fans and allowed them to ask one question each. 

The giveaway will end around 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday. 

Mother’s Day for athletes can always be interesting, especially for rookies. In the past, we have seen young football and basketball players buy their mother’s expensive jewelry, houses and apartments, and even luxury cars. 

This year, the Miami Dolphins new gunslinger Tua Tagavailoa followed suit, and purchased his mother a brand new Cadillac Escalade. 

Tagavailoa posted a video to Twitter documenting the surprise gift. “Happy Mother’s Day to a more than deserving mother. I love you mom,” he said in the message. The clip documents the whole family walking out of the house together to see the shining, new vehicle. His mother was in awe.

“This is mine?” his mother asked.

Tagavailoa has had a pretty successful few weeks since the draft, and he hasn’t even started practicing with the team yet. He has, for the last couple of weeks, been the reigning leader in NFL jersey sales, beating out guys like Brady and Gronk, and a handful of other rookies that went ahead of him in this year’s draft. 

Since the draft, Tagavailoa has signed with brands like Muscle Milk, Bose, Hulu, Verizon Wireless and, most importantly, Adidas. 

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Fortunately with all of the sponsorship cash, and the $19 million signing bonus on his already $30 million  contract was able to purchase a vehicle big enough to carry the entire Tagavailoa family. 

“I know you wanted something that would be able to carry everyone,” Tua said in his Twitter video. That being his mother, father, two sisters and his younger brother, who is taking the quarterback reigns at Alabama for the foreseeable future. 

Baseball fans can finally rejoice just a bit as the first moves in returning to the 2020 season were made this week. Commissioner Rob Manfred and the 30 MLB team owners approved a plan to start the season in July of this summer. 

The plan details an 82-game season with an expanded playoff format, among other minor changes. 

The proposal was submitted on Tuesday to the MLBPA. Most insiders believe that there will be a number of counter-proposals coming after the initial offer is sent. 

While getting back to the regular season is the main priority, there are other areas that need to be addressed. 

Washington Nationals relief pitcher Sean Doolittle outlined a number of areas of concern in a tweet this week: 

• Focus on long-term effects of the virus, like lung damage and the effect it may have on athletes
• Will clubhouses be altered to limit total exposure?
• How often will players be tested and how does that become possible without taking away tests to the public outside of sports?
• How will players and personnel with pre-existing symptoms be protected and isolated? 
• What happens in the case of a second wave of the virus in the winter or even later?

The Korean and Chinese baseball leagues opened their respective seasons in recent weeks, after taking several hygiene measures to lower the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Among those measures are the banning of high-fives, the banning of players spitting and requiring umpires and other personnel to wear masks. 

The MLB is most likely going to adopt very similar measures as these two leagues. 

For now, the MLB and MLBPA are working to finalize major issues regarding scheduling and the postseason formatting – all while monitoring the day-to-day progression of the virus. Regardless, there is now just bit more hope for baseball fans around the world.

CORONAVIRUS FAQ: WIKI OF MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 

Just about two weeks ago, Denver Broncos star linebacker and Super Bowl 50 MVP, Von Miller announced that he tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. On Wednesday, Miller took to Twitter to announce that he tested negative and was finally cleared of the virus.

“Got my results back. I’m “negative” for COVID-19.”

Miller is free of the symptoms and the strict quarantine guidelines, and joined the rest of the NFL world as we hope for the season to begin on time. 

The Broncos, like most organizations, have been holding virtual meetings with their players and staff, in order to continue the goal of flattening the curve. 

Denver Broncos GM John Elway has discussed his optimism for training camps to get going in late July as usual. The state of Colorado is following suit after Georgia reopened the state, and is planning to reopen slowly, in the coming weeks.

The NFL is planning to release the 2020 schedule soon. Regardless, the mood is temporarily up in Denver, after the Broncos leading man is now free of the virus.

The NFL fans finally got a taste for something new this week, with the 7 rounds of the annual NFL draft. As usual, there were some surprises, some names taken earlier than expected and some names left on the board just a little too long. 

This year, many NFL war rooms were looking for the next Taysom Hill, the do-it-all quarterback from the New Orleans Saints. The contenders for that role this year were the Carolina Panthers and, none other than the Saints, again. 

Coach Payton spoke to The Athletic before the draft talking about how the Saints decided to draft flex player Tommy Stevens before he had the chance to sign with the Panthers.

Payton said, “there’s no way I was going to lose this kid.“ 

The former Mississippi State and Penn State QB has often drawn comparisons to the rising talent that is Hill. 

The Saints originally had no seventh round pick, but ended up trading ahead to take the flex QB. Stevens was high on their priority list, so Payton and company made it a mission to trade around to draft him. 

Stevens had worked with Panthers OC Joe Brady, when Brady was a graduate assistant at Penn State. Brady also used to work as an offensive assistant with the Saints, further enhancing the stakes of this bidding war. 

The Saints try to up the offer to $144,000 of salary guaranteed, but Steven’s and his agent did not take it still inclined to honor their commitment to the Carolina Panthers.

The Saints decided to trade ahead, so they took a pick for the Panthers and ended up taking Stevens with the 240th overall pick.

According to Payton, he sent a text to Brady saying “not so fast” and another that said “I’m tired of asking, now I’m taking.”

After the draft, Payton expressed that they want Stevens to both be a developmental QB as well as someone they can utilize as a part of special teams and their receiving core. 

While the multi-faceted QB was riddled by injuries last season, he managed to throw for 1,155 yards and 11 touchdowns for Mississippi State last year. He also tacked on 381 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground. 

Adam Silver and the NBA have decided against testing players and staff who are not showing symptoms.

On Thursday, the league issued a memo to all 30 teams recommending that they do not test anyone in the organization who did not show symptoms. 

“For the time being, it is not appropriate in the current public health environment to regularly test all payers and staff for the coronavirus,” the league said.

The league has been suspended since March 11, when Utah Jazz forward Rudy Gobert was the first to be diagnosed, setting off a chain reaction of players also testing positive. 

Since the suspension of league play, all of the players who have publicly admitted to their positive diagnosis have now made a full recovery, including star players like Donovan Mitchell and Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant. 

The memo noted that teams should expect league-wide testing once the teams return to training and to their respective facilities. 

Last week, the NBA announced that they will not allow teams to have players in their facilities until May 8, at the earliest. 

It is understood that while practicing, the players are not required to wear masks, however, the coaches are fully expected to be in masks and gloves at all times. 

On Tuesday, the NBA was involved in a conference call with Seema Verma, who is an administrator for the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services and a member of the White House COVID task force. On the call, it was mentioned that President Trump is committed to bringing sports back as soon as it is safe to do so. 

There have been over 63,000 COVID-19 deaths and almost 154,000 recoveries. 

Silver has said that there is no concrete date for a return to the season, and it is possible that the 2019-2020 season may be cancelled altogether. 

CORONAVIRUS FAQ: WIKI OF MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 

We’ve seen celebrities and athletes crashing zoom calls all over the world in recent months as a method of lightening spirits throughout these unprecedented times. On Thursday this week, we got a bit of a combination of both worlds, when actor Will Ferrell crashed a Seattle Seahawks video conference. 

Head coach Pete Carroll and star quarterback, Russell Wilson, were on the call as well as new veteran tight end addition, Greg Olsen … or so they thought. Carroll introduced Olsen to the guys on the call, but it was Ferrell’s face that showed up. Ferrell continued to impersonate the former Carolina Panther and shouted demands to the tight ends new teammates. 

Ferrell said that he concocted some of his own plays and schemes while being a contributing member of the Carolina Panthers offense, and was hoping to do the same for the Seahawks. Ferrell pulled out a whiteboard and drew up what he referred to as the “90-60-Flywheel Kanye Starburst,” which Wilson seemed to take a liking to. 

The actor then continued to demand that he only participate in plays where he is running routes and not blocking. He also requested a 12-play a game maximum for him. 

Then he proceeded to take off his shirt and ask if he looked like he had the body of a 36 year old. 

Carroll and Ferrell apparently became friends when the Seahawks play-caller was a coach at the University of Southern California, where Ferrell went to school. Carroll had Ferrell involved in team activities often to keep spirits up and keep the vibe loose. 

The Seahawks signed Olsen this offseason in February. Olsen is now 35, and after having spent his entire career in Carolina, was looking to switch up the location, similar to how Tom Brady did. The 13-year veteran made three Pro Bowls during his time in Carolina, from 2014-2016 and his career 8,444 receiving yards stands as the 10th most among active players. 

Of all the major sports organizations that fans are checking up on to see for a potential return, one of the more quiet corners of the sports world is MMA and the UFC. 

But that doesn’t mean the sports biggest face has stopped trying to help out his home country any less. 

On Thursday, Irish UFC mega-star Conor McGregor delivered supplies to Crumlin Children’s Hospital in Dublin on Thursday. 

The former UFC double champ previously donated 1 million euros worth of medical supplies to Irish hospitals.

“Today I am purchasing myself, one million euro with of personal protective equipment to be employed to all the fighting hospitals in the Leinster region. Our most affected region, to this date,” McGregor told TMZ in March. 

As for McGregor himself, he last fought on January 18 against Donald Cerrone and won in style with a TKO just 40 seconds into the match. Fans of McGregor, especially the Irish, are eagerly anticipating his next match. 

CORONAVIRUS FAQ: WIKI OF MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 

In the midst of the COVID-19 chaos, many NFL players are in talks with teams to organize contractual obligations and trying to get the money that is owed to them. One of those players is longtime star linebacker Clay Matthews of the Los Angeles Rams. 

Earlier this week, ESPN reported that the Rams linebacker is filing a grievance against the organization for $2 million in unpaid guaranteed money. Matthews has been vocal on social media about the situation, like many other players, and has now submitted paperwork to the NFLPA. 

The GM of the LA Rams has said that he is completely aware of the fact that Matthews and former running back Todd Gurley are owed guaranteed money, and that the organization is trying to comply with the “contract language of both players.”

“Here’s what I do know: They’re definitely owed money. That money is guaranteed, we’re going to pay them. There’s some language in the contract of exactly when you pay them and that’s what we’re adhering by.”

In the case related to Matthews, his current issue comes from the likelihood of offset language in his contract; which means that the Rams won’t owe him a cent if he plans to sign a contract with another team worth more than $2 million.

The Rams will most likely be holding out to see if Matthews does indeed sign another contract, and in that case, the organization will be cleared of having to pay him that money. 

Last year was Matthews first and likely his only year with the LA Rams, after he spent a decade in Green Bay with the Packers. Matthews had 37 tackles in 13 games, as the Rams cut him at the conclusion of the regular season, saving them $3.75 in cap space. 

Baltimore Orioles outfielder Trey Mancini revealed that he was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer on Tuesday, in a piece for The Players Tribune, titled “I Am So Lucky.” Mancini will undergo six months of chemotherapy. 

The 28-year old outfielder had surgery in March, removing a malignant tumor from his colon. 

Mancini spoke on his original visit to the doctor, saying, “when I went in for an endoscopy and colonoscopy, the doctors told me that they were really expecting to confirm that I had celiac disease, which is found in your small intestine. When the anesthesia put me under, I believed everything was going to be O.K.”

Mancini noted that before the doctor even mentioned cancer was not even in his head. 

His father was diagnosed with stage 2 colon cancer at 58 years old. 

It will be a while before we see anyone on a field or court, but Mancini is coming off of a standout season, hitting .291 with 97 RBIs and just five homers short of 40. 

On Thursday, the Dallas Cowboys sat at the 17th overall pick in this year’s online, NFL Draft. America’s team was originally planning to choose a player to help out the secondary, or block up the inside with the linebackers. What they did not expect, was for standout wide receiver CeeDee Lamb to still be around. The stars ended up taking the gamble on the young wideout and decided to keep the defensive rebuild on hold for the time being. 

As most of the first round on Thursday consisted of QBs, offensive lineman, defensive tackles, and some wide receivers, it can only be assumed that defense will be the main focus of coaches and GM’s approaches on Friday going into the second and third rounds. 

Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones stated that Lamb was sixth on their draft board, but he ended up going after Alabama duo Henry Ruggs III and Jerry Jeudy.

The Cowboys may just have the classic no-defense dilemma in 2020-2021, as they have an extremely talented and young offensive core to keep their struggling defensive lineup afloat. There is no question about the abilities of star running back Ezekiel Elliot, QB Prescott and wideout Amari Cooper. Lamb adds another young route-runner poised to help take the Cowboys offense to new heights. 

Lamb posted 62 catches, 1,327 yards, and nine touchdowns in his junior campaign this past season, while averaging a stellar 21.4 yards per reception. 

Lamb said on a conference call after the pick that he is “very comfortable in the slot. I’m very versatile, and I can’t wait to be out there. I feel comfortable at all positions on the field.”

The young receiver continued his praise of the team and the star-studded offense, saying, “It’s huge just to a part of that. I just want to be a huge contributor to the Cowboys offense, and I can’t wait to be there.”

Lamb’s now-former coach Lincoln Riley chimed in to celebrate the wideout’s big day this Thursday. “I’m very thrilled for CeeDee and his family. Been there with him since day one and remember watching him when he was a sophomore in high school. The progression he’s made since then and the impact he made on the OU program and our university is just absolutely tremendous. Really excited for him here at the next level with the Cowboys. I think he’s got a great chance to have a long and very prosperous career.”

Lamb’s first round selection makes back-to-back years with Sooner wideouts going on the first day, marking back to Marquise Brown’s departure to the Baltimore Ravens in 2019. 

Lamb is fresh off one of the most incredible Sooner careers for a receiver in the programs history. Lamb owns two of the top seven receiving yardage seasons in school history and is third on the all-time list in career yards. Not to forget his number 2 spot on the all-time touchdown list at OU as well. 

After the Cowboys pick last night, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein gave his impression of the young receiver. Zierlein says of Lamb, “explosive, three-level playmaker and vital cog in one of the most potent offensive machines in college football over the last three seasons. 

Zierlein says Lamb’s “routes will need to become more efficient and crips to beat man-to-man coverage against NFL size and speed, but his ball skills and explosiveness with the ball in his hand should allow teams to scheme him into explosive opportunities right away.”

While unexpected,  Jones and new coach Mike McCarthy are more than excited about their luck on Thursday, and they plan to implement the young wideout into their already star-studded offensive arsenal. 

While there are always surprised during the first night of the NFL draft, nothing came as more of a surprise than the Green Bay Packers taking Utah State QB Jordan Love with their first round choice on Thursday. 

A triumphant moment for the 6’4” QB who only had one scholarship coming out of high school, the standout gun slinger is now the heir apparent to longtime Pack QB Aaron Rodgers. 

Not only did the Packers shake up the league with the choice, but GM Brian Gutekunst informed him that they traded up four spots to get him with the 26th pick. 

Love journey to first round draft pick is far from normal. When Love was 14, he lost his father, making him lean more on his family, friends and football to power through. 

“My journey has been pretty crazy. Under-recruited, not a whole lot of offers, and finally getting to college and making the most of it as a first-round pick. It’s a pretty crazy journey,” he said.

Love immediately proved doubters wrong during his college career, breaking into the starting lineup as a redshirt freshman for Utah State. The once-overlooked QB, ended up starting his final 32 games and set school records with 9,003 total yards and 12 career 300-yard passing games. 

During his second year, Love began establishing himself as one of the best QB’s in the nation, throwing for 2,567 yards, 32 touchdowns and only six pics. HIs final season, he threw for 3,400 years and 20 TD’s, before deciding to declare for the 2020 draft. 

Gutekunst offered up some praise to Love after their choice on Thursday night, saying, “as far as his skill set, he’s a very natural thrower, can make all the throws, he’s a very good athlete, he has the kind of size we look for.”

Love was a highly-touted prospect after finishing his career at Utah State, which was new for him considering four years prior with almost no attention coming out of high school. In this year’s Combine, Love ran a 4.74 40-yard dash time and posted a 35.5 inch vertical, which really stuck out to league scouts. 

Apparently, Love also performed well during the online meetings with teams. 

Since the pick, Love has spoken on his admiration for legendary Packers frontman Rodgers, saying that as a kid growing up in California, he watched Rodgers his “whole life.” Rodgers, of course, was a QB at California before following in Brett Favre’s footsteps in Wisconsin. 

“Being able to be in Green Bay and be behind Aaron Rodgers. That’s one of the guys I grew up watching, learned hot to do it from. I would say that this is a really good situation to be in, not being thrown out there,” he said.

While the excitement is still riding for all the first rounders from this year’s draft, the months following will be unlike any draft class in NFL history, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Love will have all the time in the world to rock his new Packers gear and dive head first into the playbook. 

On Thursday night, the Miami Dolphins took a risk that many analysts predicted and chose Alabama quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa to be the next man behind center. 

Within 12 hours of being chose, the former Alabama front man has now had details of his Dolphins contract leaked, and it’s safe to say his celebration will be continuing. 

According to Sportrac, the Fins are signing Tua to a four-year contract worth $30.2 million, as well as a $19.5 million signing bonus. This makes the rookie the 25th highest average paid QB in the league with $7.55 million per year. 

Tagavailoa was the second QB off the board behind LSU QB and heisman winner, Joe Burrow. 

Analysts and fans alike were concerned about the injury history of the Alabama QB, paying close attention to the high ankle sprains that he racked up in 2018 and 2019. Not to mention the broken right knee and of course, the hip injury that cut his season short. 

Aside from the concern about injuries, many believe he has the most raw talent in the draft and could translate his skill quickly to the NFL.

Legendary Rams QB Kurt Warner gave his thoughts on the now rookie Dolphins quarterback, saying, “It’s interesting that when he suffered this injury, a lot of people going into the draft thought, ‘Well, he’s going to have a redshirt year anyways. Even if we draft him, we’re going to sit him for a year.”

He continued discussing the change of thought after his pro day and combine workouts. 

“I think when people saw that workout, they said to themselves, ‘Well, maybe not.’ He looks really good, he looks explosive. Those are things he was built on in college. The quickness of his feet, the ability to redirect his feet, to buy time in the pocket, I think we all loved what we saw in that video.”

Tua’s original claim to fame was his game winning drive in the 2017 national championship. After longtime Alabama QB Jalen Hurts decided to move on and transfer to OU, Tagavailoa stepped in and threw for four yards short of 4,000 and 43 touchdowns his second year. Before the hip injury in his junior season, Tua had thrown for 2,840 yards and 33 touchdowns. 

On Thursday, the Dolphins added on USC lineman Austin Jackson to continue sharpening a new, young Miami front line.