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    Report: Kobe Black’s decision date and Texas’ push for Tyanthony Smith….

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    The second round of the Texas high school football playoffs are complete. With the area round over, teams will have to win three more games to make it to AT&T Stadium for the state championships. 247Sports was on the road this weekend covering a myriad of games in the state.

    As the college football season hurtles towards its final weekend of the regular season, the intel on coaching openings at Texas A&M, Michigan State and Mississippi State is picking up. Here’s the latest on the 2023-24 coaching carousel from our sources as of Wednesday morning.

    Transfer portal season is quickly approaching for college football’s 2024 cycle. Less than two weeks remain before the Dec. 4 transfer window officially opens for FBS, and teams across the country are preparing for thousands of players to hit the portal.

    With that in mind, 247Sports national college football writer and transfer portal insider Chris Hummer recently did a deep dive on the positional needs of most Power Five teams entering the offseason.

    Spinning it forward, 247Sports delves deeper into the list and narrows down to five programs. From there, where exactly do these rosters need to be fleshed out most with experienced reinforcements via the transfer portal?

    (Photo: © John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports, USA TODAY Sports)

    Alabama is used to experiencing a lot of attrition on an annual basis because of the rate at which Nick Saban‘s program produces NFL talent. And this year is no different, with the Crimson Tide expected to see both starting cornerbacks — Kool-Aid McKinstry, Terrion Arnold — declare for the 2024 NFL Draft.

    Only one other cornerback on the Alabama roster has played more than 22 defensive snaps this season, and that is one of the program’s transfer additions from last year in Louisiana’s Trey Amos.

    From Hummer: “The Crimson Tide are likely to lose both Kool-Aid McKinstry and Terrion Arnold, so there’s going to be a massive need at cornerback for the Tide this cycle. There are some promising young players in Tuscaloosa at that position, but adding a veteran (or two) will be key for Alabama in the secondary.

    “It’s not expected to be a robust cornerback market this year, talking to some industry sources. But you know who gets to set the market? Yep. Alabama.”

    There is no bigger positional need in all of college football than Colorado on the offensive line. The Buffaloes have struggled in every facet up front, from protecting quarterback Shedeur Sanders to creating holes in the run game.

    They have surrendered a whopping 54 sacks through 11 games, which ranks dead last out of 133 teams nationally — only one other team has allowed more than 46 sacks. As for the run game, the Buffaloes are averaging 1.2 yards before contact per rush attempt, according to PFF College, which is tied for 65th out of 69 Power Five teams.

    From Hummer: “Deion Sanders hasn’t made it a secret about what he’ll go after in the transfer portal: Offensive linemen. Sanders said it at a press conference earlier this year, and you can expect the Buffaloes to attempt to add several starting-caliber offensive line pieces.

    “The issue for Colorado — and really any O-line needy team — is there aren’t a lot of starting-quality offensive linemen to go around. The Buffaloes are going to be in a fight in the transfer market to attack that need.”

    No program has had more success in the transfer portal when it comes to finding edge rushers and defensive linemen than Florida State.

    Mike Norvell and company landed Georgia transfer Jermaine Johnson in 2021, and he went on to be selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The Seminoles added Albany transfer Jared Verse in 2022, and after two successful seasons in Tallahassee, he is widely projected as a first-round selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.

    On the interior defensive line, the Seminoles are losing three of the five players at the position who have played at least 100 snaps this season, including 2023 Western Michigan transfer Braden Fiske.

    From Hummer: “The Seminoles need an edge rusher. They’re likely to lose Jared Verse to the first round of the NFL Draft, and there’s nobody on the roster — even though Patrick Payton has flashed — who provides that type of production. Florida State will also need a DT with Braden Fiske and Fabien Lovett expected to move on.

    “The good news for FSU? The Seminoles have arguably the best portal track record of anyone, in terms of identifying transfer defensive linemen and developing them.”

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