After a long run at UCLA, Toia was taken by Dallas with the first pick of the seventh round of last year's draft. He was one of three Cowboys seventh-rounders last year, the other two being RB Phila Mafah and fellow DT Tommy Akingbesote. With his niche ability as a true nose tackle, necessary for specific formations, Toia was able to work his way onto the 53-man roster.
Jones comes highly regarded. He was a driving force with the Minnesota Vikings, working closely with Brian Flores on strategic planning while also developing their defensive backs considerably. He's also spent time under Mike Zimmer and Vance Joseph throughout his career, and he served as LSU's defensive coordinator for one season. With fresh ideas come new players. General manager Adam Peters needs to recruit players aligned with the schematic concepts Jones plans to run.
After falling far short of expectations in 2025, the San Jose State football program will have a very different look next fall. The Spartans, picked to finish third in the Mountain West preseason media poll, went 3-9 and finished in a three-way tie for ninth place, finishing ahead of only Colorado State. San Jose State's unprecedented run of three straight bowl appearances was snapped, and head coach Ken Niumatalolo, who just completed his second season with the Spartans,
Not long ago, the Reds found themselves in possession of what looked to be a borderline surplus of infielders. Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Jonathan India, Noelvi Marte, Spencer Steer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand all had varying levels big league experience even before Cincinnati signed Jeimer Candelario to a three-year contract. A wide range of opinions on how to best divide the playing time persisted, but the Reds had the makings of a formidable collection of young bats.
"As players, we have to move on," said left tackle Jordan Mailata. "That is the only way we can improve or strive to perform this season. We can't carry the baggage from last season -- good or bad -- you can't bring it in. It's just like a new relationship. You've got to buy into that because you see everyone else buying into it. And you can see who doesn't buy in because you get left behind."
The Bills have a tendency to play Lawful Good Football in even years and Chaotic Neutral Football in odd years so far this decade, and the pattern held in 2024. Blowout wins in primetime games against Miami and Jacksonville in Weeks 2 and 3 were a damn strong argument that the Bills hadn't gone anywhere, even as key contributors like Stefon Diggs, Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, or Tre'Davious White had departed in the offseason.
As Payton Tolle prepares to make his debut at Fenway Park against Paul Skenes and an ailing Pirates team, much can be made by comparing Opening Day rosters and current day rosters, and specifically, how much longer the lower-level relief guys go in games. It's not uncommon at all to see Greenville and Salem use just two pitchers in games to the point of them getting torched, which seems counterproductive to the idea of letting guys develop naturally.
