ESPN hires Mora as college football studio analyst
Former UCLA coach Jim Mora is joining ESPN as a college football analyst, filling the role Chip Kelly held last season at the network before replacing Mora as coach of the Bruins.
ESPN announced Tuesday that it added Mora and re-signed college football analyst Joey Galloway to a multiyear deal.
Mora coached at UCLA from 2012-17. He was fired after 11 games last season. He worked for the NFL Network during the lead-up this year’s draft. For ESPN, he will be part of ESPN2’s Saturday studio show, hosted by Chris Cotter. Former Texas star Emmanuel Acho will join Mora as an analyst on the show. Acho, who has been with the Longhorn Network, has signed a new multiyear contract to appear on ESPN’s college football programming.
Acho takes the place of Jonathan Vilma, the former Miami and NFL linebacker, who is moving to the ABC studio show for Saturday Night Football.
Kelly spent last season with ESPN, taking a year off from coaching after being fired by the San Francisco 49ers at the end of the 2016 season. The former Oregon coach was hired by UCLA less than a week after Mora was fired.
Mora has coached in the NFL with Atlanta and Seattle. He went 46-30 at UCLA. He also spent two seasons working as NFL game analyst for Fox and doing a studio show with the NFL Network in between coaching the Seahawks and UCLA.
“I want to do a tremendous job for ESPN. But I also (said) at some point if there was an opportunity that presented itself with a university where my thoughts and goals and priorities aligned with theirs, I’d be overjoyed to coach again,” Mora said. “I feel like I have a lot of give to the game and to the young men that play it still.”
Boston College’s Dillon voted ACC preseason player of year
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Boston College running back AJ Dillon is the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason player of the year.
In voting results released Tuesday, Dillon received 45 of 148 votes from media members at last week’s media days to edge Clemson defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, who had 42.
Dillon rushed for 1,589 yards last season, the second-most by any freshman in ACC history. He was joined by Florida State’s Cam Akers in the backfield of the preseason all-conference team.
League favorite Clemson placed eight players on the preseason team, including all four of its defensive linemen. Tigers offensive tackle Mitch Hyatt appeared on a conference-best 130 ballots.
UMaine football player collapses, dies during workout
ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine says a football player collapsed and died during a preseason workout on campus. Officials said the 18-yearold student collapsed Tuesday afternoon. Training staff and first responders were unable to resuscitate him. The first-year student’s identity was not immediately released.