College football news: Josh Heupel gets a raise, key 2024 QB projection, more

In our latest college football news roundup, Tennessee’s Josh Heupel gets a raise, Washington gets a key QB projection in 2024, and the latest recruiting news. 

After one of the best seasons of any college football team during the 2022-23 season, Tennessee football rewarded Josh Heupel on Tuesday with a contract extension that runs through the 2029 season.

The Vols posted an 11-2 record, won the Orange Bowl, and beat Alabama. Hendon Hooker was the Heisman frontrunner until a loss against Georgia. A defeat to South Carolina ended Tennessee’s hopes of a playoff berth and Hooker got hurt in the same game.

However, there’s no denying that Tennessee is on the verge of being fully back as a college football power. The Vols landed a five-star QB in the 2023 class and it was a really smart move to pay Heupel who is now among the top-five paid head coaches in the SEC next season.

College football is big business and when you win, you have to pay up, at least if you want to keep winning.

Washington trending for top-100 QB in 2024

There were a couple of key developments on Tuesday in college football recruiting and one of them was the 6-foot-6 Austin Mack getting a couple of important crystal ball projections to commit to the Washington Huskies.

Mack is ranked as the No. 53 overall prospect in the 2024 college football recruiting class according to the 247 sports composite rankings and he’s No. 7 among QBs. He’s out of Folsom, California, and Steve Wiltfong, along with Brandon Huffman have put in projections for him to land with the Huskies and head coach Kalen DeBoer.

The Huskies also put together an 11-win season and finished in the top 10. Michael Penix Jr. had a stellar season which is allowing Washington to get in on some other top quarterbacks. There have also been rumors of the Huskies being interested in Jaden Rashada.

Either way, DeBoer has a reputation as a QB whisperer and it seems like more talented quarterbacks are going to be flocking to the Pacific Northwest to play for him.

5-star Justin Scott delays decision

We talked recently about how Notre Dame football was trending as the favorite for five-star defensive tackle Justin Scott. The No. 20 overall recruit in the 2024 class according to the On3 consensus rankings visited Notre Dame this weekend and was expected to announce a decision on Jan. 31.

However, in some bad news for the Irish, Scott won’t be deciding on that date after all and announced a commitment will come later. Remember, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh visited him recently and Georgia also jumped in the mix with an offer.

Regardless of what it means for those teams, it’s bad news for Notre Dame football. However, it doesn’t mean the Irish are out of it. But it does mean there is more work to do.

Nebraska football lands another commitment

There were a slew of commitments on Tuesday but none that were really notable. Nebraska football did land a top-500 Demitrius Bell who ranks 451st overall according to the 247 sports composite rankings. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound wide receiver was committed to Michigan State at one time and Kentucky was in the mix too.

However, Bell took a visit to Nebraska football last weekend and became the Huskers’ fourth verbal commitment of the week and the third in two days from the 2023 class.

Nebraska football is now ranked 23rd in the 247 sports team composite rankings and it’s been an impressive run by new head coach Matt Rhule.