Kentucky receiver-turned-quarterback Lynn Bowden Jr. announced Monday that he will enter the 2020 NFL draft.
Bowden, a junior, made his announcement through a video posted on his Twitter account. He indicated that he will play in the Wildcats' postseason game, the Belk Bowl, on Dec. 31 against Virginia Tech.
Primarily a receiver in his Kentucky career, Bowden moved to quarterback after five games this season when injuries hit the Wildcats hard at the position. Since he took over at quarterback, the Wildcats are 5-2 and Bowden rushed for at least 99 yards in every game.
His 1,235 rushing yards this season are third-best in the SEC, and his 8.18 yards per rush are second in the FBS to only Clemson running back Travis Etienne. Bowden has thrown for 330 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions this season. He also served as a kick returner and punt returner for the Wildcats in the first half of the season.
Bowden was named a first-team All-SEC selection as an all-purpose player by The Associated Press on Monday. He is projected as a receiver in the NFL. In his Kentucky career, he has caught 114 passes for 1,303 yards and six touchdowns.
Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals have reached agreement on a seven-year deal, the team announced. Sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan that the value of the deal is a record-setting $245 million.
That deal surpasses the previous high for a pitcher's contract, set by David Price when he signed a seven-year, $217 million deal with the Boston Red Sox. Strasburg also has the highest annual average value, eclipsing Zack Greinke's $31.5 million. Both records might not last long, with former Houston Astros right-hander Gerrit Cole drawing interest.
Strasburg's deal has $80 million in deferred money -- about $11.4 million a year. The deferred money is payable from 2028-30.
"We are very excited to welcome Stephen Strasburg and his family back to the Washington Nationals," Nationals owner Mark D. Lerner said in a statement. "His tremendous talent, work ethic and leadership have been a staple of our organization since the day we selected him in the 2009 MLB Draft. We would not have won the 2019 World Series or accomplished everything we have these last 10 seasons if not for Stephen's many contributions."
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Winners and losers of Stephen Strasburg's $245 million return to Nationals Strasburg, who opted out of the final four years of his contract with the Nationals, entered free agency fresh off a season in which he posted a career-high 18 wins and led the National League with 209 innings pitched -- no small measure for a pitcher who has battled injuries throughout his career.
He continued rolling in the playoffs: He became the first pitcher in major league history to win five games in a single postseason without a loss; his 47 strikeouts were tied for the second most in a single postseason (Curt Schilling had 56 in 2001); and Strasburg posted a 1.98 ERA in six appearances overall.
The 31-year-old right-hander won two games against the Astros in the World Series, including a pivotal Game 6 on the road in which he became the first pitcher to go at least eight innings in a World Series start since Matt Harvey did so in Game 5 in 2015. The following night, Washington won Game 7 and Strasburg became the first No. 1 overall draft pick to be named World Series MVP.
Strasburg's agent, Scott Boras, said that his client has developed a sense of trust in the Nationals.
"I must say that for Stephen, for him to establish a legacy and wear the curly W for his career was something that was very important to him, and I think it was because he knew that people in this organization cared deeply about him and always cared about his interests and the interests of his family, and because of that, he decided to stay at home and stay in one uniform and remain a Washington National for the remainder of his career," Boras said.
The key to Strasburg's success this past season was his increased use of his two best off-speed pitches -- his power curveball, which was the most valuable curveball in the majors in 2019 per FanGraphs, and his plus changeup with good arm speed and late-fading action. So while he still throws hard, averaging 93.9 mph on his four-seamer according to Statcast, he has been much better by throwing other pitches.
The big knock on Strasburg is his lack of durability. In eight full seasons, he has qualified for the ERA title just three times, falling three innings short in a fourth. He reached the threshold just twice in the past five seasons, missing about 10 starts in 2018 with injuries to his shoulder and neck.
In a career interrupted by Tommy John surgery shortly after his spectacular major league debut in 2010, Strasburg is 112-58 with a 3.17 ERA and 1,695 strikeouts in parts of 10 seasons.
Lerner has said that the Nationals could not afford both Strasburg and their other premier free agent, third baseman Anthony Rendon. That was news to general manager Mike Rizzo.
"Well, when you look at those comments, and then you look at the structure of this particular deal and the structure of deals we've had getting up to where we are right now, I think that Mark realizes that there's ways to fit players in, there's ways that you can field a championship-caliber roster -- and, again, the resources have always been there, so I don't expect that to change," he said.
Rizzo confirmed a pending $6.25 million, one-year deal to keep second baseman Howie Kendrick, one of Washington's postseason stars.
Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny is out indefinitely with a concussion, the team announced Monday.
Konecny didn't return to the Flyers' 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday after a hard open-ice hit by Mark Borowiecki late in the first period.
Konecny, 22, scored a goal in that game and is tied for the team lead with 11 this season, along with a team-leading 17 assists.
South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley, who started three seasons for the Gamecocks, will transfer to Utah for his final year of eligibility, he announced Monday.
Bentley, who suffered a season-ending foot injury in South Carolina's first game of the year, announced his intent to transfer last week after he graduates on Dec. 16.
Jake Bentley @JakeBentley19 Excited for this next step, can’t wait to be a part of the Utah family! #GoUtes @Utah_Football
View image on TwitterView image on TwitterView image on Twitter 4,157 7:07 AM - Dec 10, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 1,012 people are talking about this He finished his South Carolina career 19-14 as the starter with 7,527 passing yards, 55 touchdowns and 32 interceptions. Freshman Ryan Hilinski took over as South Carolina's starter after Bentley's injury. After a 4-8 finish, South Carolina demoted offensive coordinator Bryan McClendon and fired quarterbacks coach Dan Werner.
Bentley started the final seven games of his freshman season, going 4-3 with 1,420 yards and nine touchdowns and four interceptions. He became a captain for the first time as a sophomore in 2017 and held the designation throughout the rest of his career.
Utah senior quarterback Tyler Huntley, a candidate for the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year award, threw for 2,966 yards with 18 touchdowns to just four interceptions this year. One of his backups, sophomore Jason Shelley, saw significant playing time in 2018 (98-of-168, 1,162 yards, 5 TDs, 6 INTs) after Huntley went down with an injury but attempted just 11 passes this year.
LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts and Ohio State teammates quarterback Justin Fields and defensive end Chase Young are headed to New York this weekend as finalists for the Heisman Trophy.
The 85th edition of the award for the most outstanding college football player will be announced Saturday in a ceremony televised on ESPN beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
Burrow, who spent the first three years of his career at Ohio State, is the heavy favorite to win after throwing for an SEC-record 48 touchdown passes and 4,715 yards, while leading the Tigers to the conference title.
"In my opinion, he should win it," LSU coach Ed Orgeron said Saturday. "In my opinion, he's going to win it. The best thing about Joe is he's a team player. All he wants to do is win this game. Individual awards are not high on his list. That's what makes him such a great team player."
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CFP set: No. 1 LSU gets OU; OSU vs. Clemson
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The games that shaped the playoff, and what an eight-team field would look like Burrow and LSU received the top seed in the College Football Playoff and will take on Hurts and No. 4 Oklahoma in a semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 28. Burrow would be just the second player in school history to win the award, joining running back Billy Cannon, who won it in 1959.
Hurts transferred to Oklahoma after spending his first three seasons at Alabama and is the third different Sooners quarterback in as many years to make the trip. Both Baker Mayfield (2017) and Kyler Murray (2018) won the award before going on to become the No. 1 overall picks in the NFL draft.
Since the Heisman Trophy began inviting finalists to New York City in 1981, Oklahoma is the first school to have a quarterback invited to the ceremony in four straight years, and the first to have different quarterbacks invited in three straight years.
In 13 games, Hurts threw for 3,634 yards with 32 touchdowns and seven interceptions and rushed for 1,255 yards and 18 scores. No school has ever had three straight winners.
Fields, who transferred to Ohio State after spending his freshman season at Georgia in 2018, seamlessly replaced Dwayne Haskins, who finished third in the Heisman voting a year ago. The sophomore threw for 2,953 yards with 40 touchdown passes to just one interception and added 471 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns on the ground.
Young is the is just the fourth defensive lineman to be named a finalist in the award's history, joining Washington's Steve Emtman (1991), Miami's Warren Sapp (1994) and Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh (2009). None of those three finished higher than fourth in the voting. Young led the nation with 16.5 sacks and in tackles for loss per game (1.9).
Ohio State is the seventh school to have multiple players invited to the Heisman ceremony in the same year, but the first to have both an offensive player and a defensive player.
Young is the first Ohio State defensive player to finish in the top four in Heisman voting, and the first defensive player from the Big Ten to do so since Michigan's Charles Woodson won the award in 1997.
No. 2 Ohio State will play No. 3 Clemson in the other semifinal in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, also on Dec. 28.
10.12.2019 02:57