My last intro in this space proved pretty prophetic, huh? (Even if I am as shocked as everyone else that LeBron ultimately chose Philly.)

On to the slices …

1. It’s B1G time

Big Ten media days are Tuesday through Thursday here in Chicago, and with that comes the unofficial conference preseason poll, which I was happy to be a part of this year.

Doug Lesmerises conducts the poll, and he and Bill Landis had Audrey Snyder and me on “The Bill and Doug Show” this week to break down the poll and dive further into our picks.

My projected order of finish, in the interest of transparency:

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Kenni Burns' lawsuit against Kent State will move ahead after the school was denied dismissal of nine of the 12 claims brought forth by the ex-coach.

Burns had sued the school, its board of trustees and several other individuals (who have since been dismissed as parties) on March 31 for wrongful termination, breach of contract and defamation, among other claims.

The school had fired Burns on April 11, 2025, which was 15 days after it had put the coach on administrative leave with pay for what athletic director Randale Richmond said at the time was an investigation into Burns for violations of school policies.

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What happens first: LeBron picks a team or the SEC stops making excuses?

Away we go …

1. Notre Dame adds to its defensive line haul

The rich keep getting richer, and Notre Dame keeps getting bigger.

Marcus Freeman’s squad landed yet another crucial recruit on the defensive line Thursday, as Mount Carmel (Ill.) four-star defensive lineman Brayden Parks committed to the Irish over Oregon.

Depending on your math and your recruiting service of choice, Parks, a southside Chicago product, is the Irish’s seventh blue-chip defensive line commit for the 2027 class. (That number includes Richie Flanigan, a 247Sports composite four-star D-lineman who projects as an offensive lineman at the next level.)

Notre Dame currently has the No. 2 class for 2027, trailing just Texas A&M on both 247 and On3.

The former outlet places Parks as the fifth-highest rated D-lineman among Notre Dame’s class. The latter has Parks sixth, behind Georgia product Segun Alexander.

(Note: An asterisk* below denotes a re-classified prospect.)

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Marcus Freeman met with a handful of us on Tuesday. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights.

1. CJ Carr is competitive as hell

At this time last year, CJ Carr was preparing for a camp quarterback battle that went all the way to the finish line, as he edged out Kenny Minchey.

Now Carr is the talk of the offseason. He is the Heisman favorite, and with that comes plenty of attention, such as when Carr and a Notre Dame contingent made the rounds last week in New York for a media tour.

That meant extended time in close quarters with his head coach and three teammates.

And what exactly has Marcus Freeman learned about his leader from that?

That he’s a chameleon, for one.

And as competitive as they come, in every facet of life.

“He can turn it on when he’s in front of the camera and say the right things, and then off the camera he’s a competitor,” Freeman said Tuesday while meeting with a small group of reporters. “Now, it might be him and Leonard talking about the last workout and who won the offense or defense, and he is a competitive person in everything he does. But he’s learning to be able to be that person when the cameras and people aren’t around, people that he doesn’t know are around. And then, when the cameras are there, he’s able to be the representation of the quarterback at Notre Dame in the right way.

“But he’s a great kid, he is a great young man. Everybody respects him. They like him. But he doesn’t care. He’s surrounded by three defensive dudes. They kept saying four because like (I’m) a defensive guy, too. But he doesn’t care man. He’s a competitor.”

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The World Cup final was over before it started.

1. The rich get richer

Indiana made more history on Friday, landing a commitment from five-star receiver Monshun Sales.

Sales, a product of Indianapolis’ Lawrence North, is 247Sports’ No. 1 receiver prospect in the 2027 class, and he gives the Hoosiers instead credibility — not that they need it.

Hard as it is to believe, even with the addition of Sales, IU’s class ranks just 30th on 247Sports and 28th on Rivals/On3.

Does it matter? Not really, when you win a national championship.

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We are 50 days away from the first Saturday of games, people.

50!

1. Illini take care of their man

I know I’m part of a “pod bump” team with The Independent, but does a “site bump” apply to The Inside Zone as well?

Josh Whitman agreed to a huge extension Thursday, three days after we sung his praises for his comments on governance. The Illini AD signed a 10-year deal that lifts his salary to $2.15 million, with eligibility for a yearly $500,000 retention bonus.

Good for him. He’s a former Illini tight end who believes in the place. He once told me he’s “not a polo shirt guy,” meaning he isn’t hopping from job to job and fighting for whichever logo he happens to be sporting at the time. I believe him, at least when it comes to the AD space.

Perhaps he ends up as Big Ten commissioner one day, or in some bigger position elsewhere. But it’s hard to argue with the guy’s work ethic or results, from hiring Brad Underwood, Bret Bielema and Shauna Green to raising a ridiculous amount of money.

Illini fans loved Whitman from Day 1, and they sure love him a decade later.

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Is this the quietest sports day of the year?

1. What’s next for BK?

Brian Kelly won’t be the head coach of a football team for the first time since 1990. He won’t be coaching at all for the first time since he was a student at Assumption College.

He has been at the forefront of a lot of changes in the game. He has been caught from behind recently, too.

While Kelly made it clear this week in our conversation that he wants to coach again, what’s less clear is what kind of job he’ll want to go after, let alone who may be interested in him.

“I like the question in the sense that I think everybody has to be motivated by what’s going on in this business today,” Kelly told Pete Sampson and me on The Independent podcast. “We could be strictly transactional and the questions that I would ask in an interview is how much NIL money do you have? That’s one way to go, right? The other way would be, look, I know we need NIL to be in the game, but does academics mean anything to you? It means something to me. I’ve been in this business my entire career. And it’s surrounded by academics and it’s surrounded about relationships with players.

“The program that still carries that as a priority in their program are the ones that I would be interested in. Relationships with players, academics, developing young men, that’s what I love to do. And that’s the passion that I have. Look, it’s not sifting through contracts. And NIL dollars. That’s the reality of what you have to do, or you can’t be in it. But the real point for me would be the ability to have academics, a core for player development, holistic development, and that would be the right fit.”

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In an alternate history, Scott Woodward gets what he wants.

The ex-LSU athletic director landed Brian Kelly, the winningest coach in Notre Dame history, back in December of 2021. Usually when a head coach takes another job, he brings most of his staff with him. Kelly tried to do that with offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, only for the Irish to pay up to keep Rees. Then, Notre Dame promoted defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman to succeed Kelly.

That’s the same Freeman whom LSU was on the brink of bringing aboard the previous offseason as DC — with the seemingly inevitable bump up to (at least) interim head coach coming upon Ed Orgeron’s midseason dismissal.

Has Kelly pondered that alternate history?

You bet he has.

“Oh, I think it means a lot,” Kelly told Pete Sampson and me this week on The Independent podcast. “Looking at the things that may have made this process slower than they wanted it to be was coordinator hires. And I needed to do a better job there.”

He later added: “I think as I look at it, those two that you mentioned (Rees and Freeman), if they were able to make the move, it would have been an easier transition, no doubt.”

Kelly went three (and-a-half) and out in Death Valley, fired last October after a blowout home loss to Texas A&M that saw Aggies fans take over Baton Rouge, a showdown with Woodward take place the next day, and the Louisiana governor eventually insert himself into the mess.

Now Kelly is out of a coaching job for the first time in his career, after 35 straight years of running programs.

Does he regret the way things ended in South Bend?

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It’s an AD-heavy Monday.

1. The latest at Michigan

All of the Ann Arbor drama appears to be coming to a head this week, and it could cost Warde Manuel his job.

The embattled Michigan athletic director is expected to have his future discussed in the coming days, sources told The Inside Zone, confirming earlier reports from Justin Spiro, Ross Dellenger and others as the school’s board of regents readies for a Thursday meeting amid the backdrop of a $12 million external investigation into the culture of the Wolverines’ athletic department.

This is just the latest in the never-ending soap opera surrounding the athletic department. (Not all of it bad, for the record.)

To recap just this past week alone:

• Ex-UM executive assistant Paige Shiver sued the school Wednesday for allegedly violating FOIA requests.

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Fantasy College Football is back. Let’s ride.

1. Shamrock Series unis make a statement

Notre Dame went first, unveiling its Shamrock Series jerseys Wednesday with a sharp video narrated by Marcus Freeman, drawing all of the connections between the Irish and the Packers.

Wisconsin followed suit Thursday, releasing its threads for the matchup at Lambeau Field, with former Badgers and Packers linebacker Vince Biegel tying together the in-state bonds between Madison and Green Bay.

Scheels beat both of them to the punch, although that’s neither here nor there. (Quite a scoop machine, this sporting goods store is.)

I’ll give the jersey advantage here to Notre Dame, thanks to Freeman’s video reminding us of the Acme Packers. One of the hallmarks of the Shamrock Series, as former Irish AD Jack Swarbrick so often reminded us, was to tell a story. These Irish threads do just that.

Wisconsin may have the better single-game merch, though, if only for the shirts of Bucky the Badger rocking a cheesehead.

Either way, Under Armour wins.

By the way, here’s a fun fact: My first assignment for The Athletic — and perhaps the first assignment ever in the history of the site’s college football arm, then-called The All-American — was attending a joint news conference with Swarbrick and Barry Alvarez at the UA brand house in downtown Chicago. Then, back in the summer of 2017, the ADs announced this two-game series set for Chicago (2021) and Green Bay (2020). The pandemic forced the 2020 game to this year.

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Everyone over Monday night? Good!

1. More tampering! Oh my!

Imagine if someone fired a football coach, hired a new football coach, got his superiors to double his salary, then left his job 10 days later for another job — just two years after he took that job — and then watched his trusted lieutenant leave his job in part because of the boss’s initial departure, before ultimately deciding, more than five weeks later, that he wanted to reverse course and go back to his old job.

Sounds like the type of stunt a recruit would pull, right? Kind of like this:

Except this is a 60-year-old university president we’re talking about here, not a high schooler.

Meet Kevin Guskiewicz, president of Michigan State University, of the Big Ten Conference … and formerly president-elect of Clemson, for all of 40 days.

Those poor Tigers can’t catch a break when it comes to tampering, huh? Between this and Luke Ferrelli enrolling at Clemson before departing for Ole Miss — leading to Dabo Swinney going scorched earth on the Rebels — the waiver wire has not been a friend of Death Valley.

Throw in the fact that Guskiewicz had reportedly signed a term sheet with Clemson — and the fact that J Batt departed his AD job at Michigan State for Kentucky, due in no small part to the fact that his buyout decreased upon Guskiewicz’s departure — and this could get interesting from a legal/buyout perspective.

Hooray. More offseason headlines involving lawyers.

On a more practical note, we can’t really fault Michigan State here for putting on the full-court press to re-recruit Guskiewicz, although the age-old adage of “you lose ‘em how you got ‘em” keeps ringing in our heads.

No less than Tom Izzo made his thoughts clear on Guskiewicz’s impact, and quite frankly, if the man is that good, then he’s worth all of the trouble.

Why wouldn’t you tamper for talent?

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Wisconsin-Notre Dame is two months from today, for those keeping track.

Can’t wait.

1. Bryce Underwood comments?

Bryce Underwood came under fire this past week — for comments he made two weeks earlier.

Welcome to the modern sports world, sophomore. No one said it would be fair.

More to the point, Underwood’s semi-controversial comments came during his youth football camp, held June 20 at Saline High.

The former five-star prospect said he wants to prove to himself that he is what he thinks he is. Asked what that means, he told reporters: “I feel like I’m the best player ever to come out of Michigan.”

AllAboutAnnArbor has full video of the interview.

Couple thoughts here:

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Happy Bobby Bonilla Day to those who celebrate!

1. Change is in the air

It’s July 1, which is always a banner day in college athletics.

And while there are no seismic shifts such as UCLA and USC to the Big Ten this year, there are a number of changes happening across the country to keep tabs on.

That’s what we’re here for.

Start with the new Pac-12, which officially welcomes in seven new schools, five from the Mountain West Conference: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State. Texas State joins from the Sun Belt, too, while Gonzaga joins as a non-football member as it leaves the West Coast Conference.

Penn State headlines the apparel movers, as the Nittany Lions end their 33-year partnership with Nike to start anew with Adidas.

Below is a list of all of the transactions.

(Did we miss one? Let us know in the comments.)

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Stay cool this week, fellow Midwesterners!

1. Notre Dame is where NFL players send their sons to school

Notre Dame added to its NFL lineage last week, landing commitments from 2027 four-star receiver Julius Jones Jr. and brother Andre Jones, himself a three-star 2028 safety.

They are, of course, the sons of Irish running back great Julius Jones.

They are not unique among legacy players with the Irish, who have managed to become a hotbed for not just the sons of NFL stars who graduated from the school, but sons of NFL stars who didn’t, too.

Let’s take a look by class at the profiles of those who have played — and those who are expected to play — during the Marcus Freeman era.

We’ll break them down by Notre Dame (6) and non-Notre Dame NFL sons (13). Of note: We counted Notre Dame football, non-NFL players (Scott Raridon), but we didn’t count other college, non-NFL players (sorry, Jay Blair (Jadon)).

Also: Not for nothing, but there are sons of four Pro Football Hall of Famers in this group. Not bad.

NOTRE DAME LEGACY PLAYERS

2028

Andre Jones

Position: Safety

High School: St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.)

Profile: 3-star (247/Rivals)

Father: Julius (Notre Dame ’04, NFL 2004-10)

2027

Julius Jones Jr.

Position: Wide receiver

High School: St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.)

Profile: 4-star (247/Rivals)

Father: Julius (Notre Dame ’04, NFL 2004-10)

2025

James Flanigan

Position: Tight end

High School: Notre Dame Academy (Wis.)

Profile: 4-star (247/Rivals)

Father: Jim (Notre Dame ’94, NFL 1994-2003)

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Sad to begin today’s column with some tragic news in the college athletics community.

1. RIP, Kenny Klein

There’s very little I can say about Kenny Klein that isn’t already out there. But that’s kind of the point, isn’t it?

The man was universally loved, both personally and professionally.

The longtime Louisville and St. John’s PR pro died this week at the age of 66.

Klein was, simply put, the best SID in the game. And had been for decades.

I was around Louisville a decent amount when covering the ACC for ESPN, and again in my early days at The Athletic thanks to the Lamar Jackson phenomenon, and the guy always made me feel at home. He retired in 2022, then came out of retirement during the 2024-25 campaign to help Rick Pitino at St. John’s.

Rick trusted Kenny with his life. He adored the man. And let me tell you, having dealt with a lot of high-maintenance coaches and having worked with high-maintenance media colleagues, it takes a special soul to somehow please both sides. But that was Kenny.

I got a kick out of watching the Yankees’ only playoff win against the Blue Jays last fall. Pitino, a huge Yankees fan, was always noticeable on TV during big games, usually sitting behind the home dugout while wearing a pinstriped jersey.

But when the final out was recorded and the Bronx crowd roared, guess who the FS1 cameras happened to catch going crazy?

Kenny Klein, the normally mild-mannered guy who somehow managed to fit right in with the lunatics in the Stadium, celebrating a victory.

I texted him a photo.

“Ha! Coach Pitino taking good care of me 😃,” he immediately wrote back.

Just like Kenny took care of all of us.

RIP, my friend.

2. Carsello’s return a boost for NU O-line

In an offseason defined by local judges and eligibility rulings, don’t overlook the injunction granted this week in a Cook County court.

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Happy Wednesday.

Anyone else think Aday Mara to OKC may end up being the most impactful draft move for next season?

1. Michigan madness

You know what’s crazy? Michigan has won two national titles apiece in football and men’s basketball since 1989 — and three of the four head coaches who started those seasons weren’t there the following season.

Of course, Bill Frieder left the Wolverines for Arizona State ahead of the 1989 NCAA Tournament, leading to Steve Fisher coaching the team to the national title. Jim Harbaugh (2023-24) and Dusty May (2025-26) both left for the pros shortly after leading their teams to championships.

Lloyd Carr is the outlier, having stuck around for 11 more seasons after coaching the football team to the 1997 title.

Drama always seems to find that place, doesn’t it?

2. One-year deal?

Normally, the Trail Blazers making a coaching hire wouldn’t get the attention of the rest of the sports world.

But you can be assured that agents and coaches from other sports certainly took note of Portland hiring Micah Nori on a reported one-year guaranteed deal, with team options for Years 2 and 3.

Unheard of?

Not quite.

Back to Michigan.

Fisher took over for Frieder in ’89, then immediately won all six NCAA Tournament games to capture the crown.

Then he interviewed for the full-tine job. Remember, he was the interim during the tournament.

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One of the least-talked about under-currents throughout this past men’s college basketball season was the bubbling resentment opposing Big Ten coaches had toward Dusty May.

May took over Michigan two years ago and was given a big budget. He used that budget to poach players from other schools. Other schools then privately fumed.

That’s the game, however. And it’s a game that May played better than anyone.

The pettiness reached the point that Big Ten coaches voted Nebraska’s Fred Hoiberg, not May, as the conference’s coach of the year this past season. (May won the media’s COTY award.)

Anyone with a set of eyeballs could tell you how misguided that was. As May held court outside the locker room in the United Center during the Big Ten tournament, one of his assistants walking by shouted to the group of reporters talking to his boss: “You guys got it right.”

Michigan won the national title on April 6. Two months and 16 days later, May is off to the NBA, sources told The Inside Zone, confirming ESPN’s reporting, as the coach looks to resurrect a Dallas Mavericks organization equipped with a franchise player in Cooper Flagg, a top-10 pick in Tuesday’s draft and a front office led by championship decision-makers in Masai Ujiri and Rick Welts.

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Hope my fellow dads had a great Father’s Day!

1. A new day on the lakefront

EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern has gone eight straight seasons without finishing in the top-10 of the Big Ten in scoring offense. Back in 2017, with third-year starting quarterback Clayton Thorson at the helm, the Wildcats posted 29.2 points per contest — trailing just three New Year’s Six bowl-winning teams in the Big Ten in Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin — en route to a 10-3 record and No. 17 final ranking in the AP poll.

Thorson stayed on for another year, leading the ‘Cats to the Big Ten title game in 2018. Since then, the program has entered every new season with a different starting quarterback.

Throw in the coaching changes that have happened since then, from Pat Fitzgerald to David Braun in 2023, from play-callers Mick McCall to Mike Bajakian (2020) to Zach Lujan (2024), and the turnover had resulted in a lack of offensive identity.

Things will look different on the lakefront this season, and not just because of the QB, as Aiden Chiles takes over as NU’s ninth different opening day starter in nine years.

Braun hired offensive whiz Chip Kelly to reshape Northwestern’s attack. The two-time NFL head coach, two-time Pac-12 head coach and recent national title-winning OC brought along plenty of familiar faces to fill out the offensive staff, all with the goal of breaking the program out of its nearly decade-long rut on that side of the ball.

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Happy Friday. Maybe one day I’ll stop celebrating this past week. But that day is not today.

Enjoy the weekend, folks.

1. A good time to be Irish

Notre Dame added a five-star commitment on Tuesday.

Did it seem understated? As if it barely made a ripple nationally?

Telling, isn’t it?

Downingtown East (Pa.) five-star edge rusher Abraham Sesay pledged to the Irish. He’s a top-30 prospect, ranked No. 22 overall by 247Sports and No. 27 by Rivals. He joins St. Peter’s Prep (N.J.) offensive tackle and top-20 prospect Oluwasemilore Olubobola as fellow five-stars for Marcus Freeman’s 2027 class.

This is what Notre Dames does now under Freeman, who last cycle signed, depending on your recruiting service of choice, upward of five five-star prospects in the 2026 class.

To put that into context, per 247Sports’ ratings, Notre Dame had previously signed a total of one — one! — five-star prospect since Michael Mayer’s commitment for the 2020 class. Rivals had been a little more charitable toward Notre Dame signees, listing six different Irish commits as five-star prospects since 2020. (Although ironically enough, they did not have Mayer as a five-star.)

Either way, this is a new day in South Bend.

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June 17. Any notable sporting events happen on this date?

1. Moving forward

Start with the quote to end all quotes, the one that perfectly sums up the Brendan Sorsby scandal and so much else going on in the world:

“If Hannibal Lecter ran a 4.3, we’d probably diagnose it as an eating disorder.”

Now it is over. At long last, college sports has awakened from its own national nightmare.

Sorsby is entering the NFL’s supplemental draft. He deemed the potential legal hurdles too risky to overcome, after the Big 12’s middle-of-the-night legal shot across the bow that clearly made an impact on the quarterback, his school and his state’s attorney general.

Good on Brett Yormark, the fiery Big 12 commissioner who came to the post in 2022 as an outsider with outside-the-box ideas, but who has hit damn near all the right notes with his constituency, especially during this ordeal.

There are two sports factions that have brought people together lately: The Knicks uniting New Yorkers, and Texas Tech … uniting everyone against the place.

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