A&M star defender Leal declares for NFL draft
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal posted to social media Wednesday night that he will bypass his senior season and declare for the NFL draft.
Leal, a former Converse Judson star, might be among the top five players selected.
Leal (6-4, 290) displayed his versatility throughout his three seasons by excelling both outside and inside on the Aggies’ defensive line, a team strength during his time under defensive coordinator
Mike Elko and head coach Jimbo Fisher.
Leal did not reveal whether he intends to play in the No. 25 Aggies’ bowl, but he’s not expected to since he declared for the draft in early December. A&M (8-4, 4-4 SEC) will find out its postseason destination Sunday. Brent Zwerneman Two UT players to transfer: Texas fourth-year linebacker Ayodele Adeoye and fourth-year receiver Al’Vonte Woodard have both submitted their names into the NCAA transfer portal, per Rivals.
Adeoye and Woodard both appeared in six games this season. Adeoye recorded seven tackles with one for loss and finishes his career at UT (5-7) with 57 total tackles, 2½ sacks and one interception. Woodard didn’t have a catch this season, ending his Longhorns career with seven receptions for 62 yards. Nick Moyle CFP expansion talks inch along: The latest meeting on expanding the College Football Playoff wrapped up in Dallas on Wednesday without an announcement as the people involved agreed to keep talking.
CFP executive director
Bill Hancock said there remains a strong consensus to expand the four-team field among the management committee, comprised of the 10 major college football conference commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director.
But how and when? A proposed 12-team model remains at the heart of the discussions and there is still hope it can be implemented for the 2024 season. Which conferences would be ensured access to the field is still up for debate.
Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said there are still some who would rather expand only to eight teams. Others are adamant eight won’t work. Stroud earns Big Ten honors: The Big Ten Conference announced that Ohio State quarterback C.J.
Stroud is its offensive player of the year and freshman of the year.
Stroud led the nation’s top offense and ranks among the top seven passers in eight categories. His 70.9 percent completion rate and 351.1 yards per game are on track to be Buckeyes single-season records and his 3,862 passing yards rank second in school history; his 38 TD passes are third. TENNIS Serbia advances in Davis Cup play
Novak Djokovic won his singles and doubles matches to lead Serbia into the Davis Cup semifinals with a 2-1 come-from-behind win over Kazakhstan.
The top-ranked Djokovic kept Serbia alive in the quarterfinal at Madrid by defeating Alexander Bublik in straight sets in his singles match, then teamed up with Nikola Cacic in the deciding doubles for a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 win over Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov.
Serbia reached the last four for the first time since 2017 and will face Croatia, which got past Italy on Monday.
Serbia broke serve at 2-2 and 5-3 in the third set of the doubles to seal its fifth semifinal appearance in the team event. WTA prepared for long China ban: The suspension of all WTA tournaments in China because of concerns about the safety of Peng Shuai ,a Grand Slam doubles champion who accused a former government official there of sexual assault, could result in cancellations of those events beyond 2022, tour chairman Steve Simon told the Associated Press on Wednesday.