Aaron Donald said Friday that he planned to make his season debut for the Rams against the New York Giants on Monday night, but star receiver Puka Nacua’s status is more hazy because of a hip injury.
Donald, 35, rejoined the Rams after ending a two-year retirement. The three-time NFL defensive player of the year did not travel to Australia for the season-opening defeat by the San Francisco 49ers, but he has participated in several 11-on-11 drills this week.
Asked if he would play on Monday, Donald said, “That’s the plan.”
Donald’s plan? Or the Rams’?
“I think that’s all of our plan,” he said. “We have a conversation, we figure it out.”
Donald said he felt as if he had never been away.
“Kind of getting in the groove of things, understanding everything a lot better out there playing a lot more free, a lot more loose and looking more like myself to me,” he said.
Nacua, who was sidelined for a few weeks during the preseason because of a psoas injury, caught five passes for 74 yards against the 49ers and practiced on Thursday. The psoas is involved in hip movement, so it is not clear whether Nacua’s absence was caused by the same injury or a new one.
Nacua was scheduled to speak with reporters on Friday, but did not do so because he did not practice. Coach Sean McVay is scheduled to speak with reporters on Saturday.
Regardless, the Rams are expected to get a boost from Donald, an eight-time All-Pro.
Edge rusher Byron Young played with Donald as a rookie in 2023. Now he will be playing alongside him again.
While Purdue is not projected to be a Big Ten juggernaut this season, UCLA coach Bob Chesney and his team expect to be challenged during their first game against Big Ten competition on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.
The Boilermakers’ defensive line features five high-impact players that are at least 6-foot-3, and a nose tackle who weighs in at 301 pounds and anchors a defensive front that ranks second in the Big Ten with 17 tackles for loss.
“They’re talented in who they’re as individual players, there are some game-wreckers in there,” Chesney said. “They are as vertical as can be, they jump out of their stances, they’re jumping snap counts and they’re violent. They pose a giant problem, and we are not going to be able to push them around, and we are not going to be able to find ourselves in a spot where they tire. This is going to be a battle on the inside throughout the entire course of that game.”
While UCLA’s ground attack has dominated through the first two games of the season — rushing for 277 yards and six touchdowns against California and 214 yards and four scores against San Diego State — it might be harder for the Bruins’ running backs to have their way against the Purdue defense.
Purdue held both Indiana State‘s and Wake Forest’s starting running backs to less than four yards per carry, and has conceded just two rushing touchdowns to those starters this season.
“There’s some things that I think Purdue does a really good job defensively, in terms of getting off the ball,” said UCLA offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy. “They have got a lot of length. They’re a very, very big team, it will probably be one of the biggest teams we will face, so we have to be prepared for that.”
However, the Boilermakers have struggled to stop quarterbacks on the run — allowing Indiana State’s Elijah Owens and Wake Forest‘s Gio Lopez to combine for 118 rushing yards and two touchdowns — giving Bruins senior quarterback Nico Iamaleava the opportunity to rely on his legs.
While Iamaleava should have wide receivers Landon Ellis and Brian Rowe Jr. back to full strength, fortifying the aerial attack, the signal-caller will be without Mikey Matthews, after the slot receiver went down with a lower-body injury against San Diego State.
“There’s a fine line. Understanding what the coverage is doing, when is it time to take off and go,” Kennedy said. “If you are going through your read, from a clock standpoint, and it’s not there, it’s a great time to take off and go. It’s our job as an offense to create explosives, whether it’s him taking off or it’s him creating a scramble drill. We look at scramble drills, that we have to create explosives, and that’s something we have to do a better job of.”
Defensively, the “Bruin Bullies” will be tasked with stopping running back Fame Ijeboi, who has run for 201 yards and four touchdowns on 5.3 yards per carry this season. Chesney said that Ijeboi has a “Wayne Knight” feeling to him, where he plays low to the ground, displays proficient body balance and leg drive, allowing him to be influential in the passing game and break tackles.
While UCLA has already faced formidable rushers in Cal’s Adam Mohammed and San Diego State’s Lucky Sutton, Ijeboi could be the most impactful yet. And no one knows that more than Bruin defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler, who went to the same high school as the Boilermaker running back.
“It’s been fun to watch his growth, following him through high school, and watching him earn those scholarships and opportunities,” Hitschler said. “Those first two games, he jumped off the tape. He’s got great potential and he’s going to go a long way. We have to do a good job putting a physical shoulder on him and knocking him down because he’ll run through contact and does a great job of finding the edges.”
If Ijeboi is unable to get it going, it will have to be up to Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne to generate offense.
While the signal-caller struggled last season — throwing nine touchdowns with 10 interceptions — Browne has looked like a new player in 2026, passing for 646 yards and four touchdowns.
Browne has benefited from the addition of two premier slot receivers in Florida Atlantic transfer Asaad Waseem and Iowa State transfer Xavier Townsend. They have combined for 25 receptions, 277 yards and one score.
“What makes them unique is there are a lot of them,” Hitschler said. “When you have 10 personnel and that many receivers that can catch the ball, it can create mismatches, and we play a lot of man, so who’s going to fold first?” Hitschler said. “Are we going to be able to man them up or are we having to play more zone? Those are questions that will play out as the game dictates by who’s winning the one-on-one matchups. It’s the chess match that always happens in any game.”
The Bruins’ defense will look to force turnovers, but that is no easy feat as the Boilermakers have yet to turn the ball over this season.
Tyler Shough threw an incomplete pass in the end zone on a two-point conversion attempt, allowing the Lions to escape with a 31-30 win in overtime over the New Orleans Saints in Detroit on Sunday.
Saints coach Kellen Moore chose to go for the win instead of tying the game with 1:34 left in overtime after his team came back from a three-touchdown deficit in the third quarter and allowed a touchdown on the opening possession of the extra period.
Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes to Amon-Ra St. Brown, the second score a five-yard throw early in overtime, and Jahmyr Gibbs ran for two touchdowns.
New Orleans rallied from a 21-0 deficit and pulled into a 24-all tie on Shough’s nine-yard touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson with 1:07 left in the game.
Detroit went three-and-out on offense, giving the Saints the ball with a chance to win it and Ryan Wright missed a 62-yard field-goal attempt as time expired.
Gibbs had a career-high 29 carries for 156 yards. He also had five catches for 30 yards.
Goff was 26 of 39 for 206 yards without a turnover.
at Bengals 33, Buccaneers 27: Cincinnati’s new-look defense forced four turnovers — including its first fumble recovery for a touchdown since 2022 — and Joe Burrow passed for 254 yards and a touchdown during a victory over Tampa Bay. Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield surrendered three fumbles during the loss.
Jets 23, at Titans 10: Breece Hall ran for 102 yards and a touchdown, Geno Smith threw for 215 yards and New York defeated Tennessee. The Jets never trailed and held the ball for just over 38 minutes. Cam Ward was 19 of 32 passing for 140 yards and a late touchdown toss.
Ravens 41, at Colts 23: Derrick Henry ran for three touchdowns to move into third on the NFL’s career list, Lamar Jackson threw for 324 yards and a TD and rushed for a score and Baltimore beat Indianapolis. Jesse Minter won his debut as the Ravens’ coach.
at Steelers 20, Falcons 13: T.J. Watt returned an interception of Cooper Rush 35 yards for a touchdown to help Pittsburgh secure a win over visiting Atlanta. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers passed for 221 yards and a touchdown. Rush, who was filling in for the injured Tua Tagovailoa, threw for a touchdown and a pair of interceptions that Pittsburgh turned into scores.
Bears 59, at Panthers 37: Caleb Williams threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 65 yards and two more scores as Chicago defeated Carolina in the highest-scoring season opener in NFL history.
at Jaguars 34, Browns 10: Trevor Lawrence threw for 245 yards and four touchdowns, helping Jacksonville spoil the debut of new Cleveland coach Todd Monken. Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson threw an interception on the opening drive.
Bills 36, at Texans 31: Josh Allen threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Palmer with 1:36 remaining to lift Buffalo past host Houston during a back-and-forth season opener. Allen had 334 yards passing with two touchdowns and ran for two more scores. The Texans had a chance to win in the closing seconds, but Greg Rousseau earned his second strip sack of the day, taking down C.J. Stroud at the Buffalo 28.
at Eagles 24, Commanders 22: Jalen Hurts passed for 203 yards and three touchdowns, helping Philadelphia edge Washington. Jayden Daniels passed for 164 yards and two touchdowns, but the Philadelphia defense stuffed a late Commanders two-point conversion attempt to seal the win.
at Vikings 39, Packers 22: Kyler Murray suffered a hit to the head on a run play in the first quarter and was placed in concussion protocol. Carson Wentz replaced Murray and passed for three touchdowns and Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones Sr. added two more rushing scores to help the Vikings beat the Packers.
at Raiders 27, Dolphins 13: Kirk Cousins passed for 160 yards and three touchdowns, helping Las Vegas beat Miami. Both teams were scoreless in the fourth quarter, with the Raiders doing just enough to overcome two Cousins interceptions.
By that point, Ohio State had just blown a 20-point, fourth-quarter lead to Texas, and Oregon had, hours earlier, been stunned by Oklahoma State. The path to the top of the Big Ten suddenly seemed open as ever, just as the Trojans’ tremendous freshman caught the punt and took off in search of an opening himself.
With his stunning start to the season, no one player at USC — and perhaps in all the nation — had manufactured more hope through two games. While the conference’s other top teams spent the day licking their wounds, here, once again, was Mosley weaving joyfully through the open field and conjuring the very same magic from thin air. He shook off one tackle, then another. Soon enough, he was gone for an 86-yard punt return, and the No. 14 Trojans were rolling, comfortably on their way to a 49-30 win over Louisiana.
The second half didn’t feel quite as hopeful, as the Trojans let up and let Louisiana linger around through a victory that coach Lincoln Riley deemed “up and down.”
Still, the win was USC’s 10th straight at home, going back to the 2024 season, and gives the Trojans’ a spotless nonconference slate in 2026 — not that anyone would confuse their early-season schedule for a murderer’s row. There won’t be any easy home wins from here, though, with USC’s next three games against Oregon, Washington and Ohio State.
“It’s been good getting adjusted to this,” Mosley said. “But now we go on the road, so that’ll be a new adjustment.”
USC has, in glimpses this season, looked like a team that belongs among those Big Ten behemoths. And the most encouraging of those moments have largely come from the Trojans’ talented freshman class.
Mosley, who also had an acrobatic receiving touchdown Saturday, wasn’t the only one who made his presence felt. Tight end Mark Bowman had his eagerly anticipated breakout game, as he exploded for six catches, one of which he capped by hurdling two defenders. He finished with 83 yards and two touchdowns, all in the first half. Defensive tackle Luke Wafle, meanwhile, continued his streak of early dominance by tallying a team-leading seven tackles.
USC tight end Mark Bowman hurdles over Louisiana safety Kody Jackson during the first half Saturday.
(Kevin Terrell / Getty Images)
“I feel like our peak, our trajectory should be even higher because of how many young guys are playing,” Riley said.
The win wasn’t nearly as dominant an effort for the rest of USC’s defense, which was coming off of a shutout of Fresno State. Louisiana averaged 7.6 yards per play and scored 20 points in the second half, led by dual threat quarterback Lunch Winfield, who scampered to 91 rushing yards.
“We’re just gonna take this as a learning moment,” defensive tackle Jide Abasiri said. “I just feel like sometimes we’ll get comfortable or complacent, then that’s something we need to, going forward, fix when adversity hits.”
It wasn’t the sharpest night for the Trojans’ offense, either. Though, you wouldn’t know it from the box score. While USC rushed for 214 yards, nearly 100 came in the fourth quarter, with the game well in hand. Quarterback Jayden Maiava put up numbers once again, as well, completing 19 of 29 passes for 261 yards and five touchdowns.
USC receiver Trent Mosley makes a touchdown catch under pressure from Louisiana safety Maurion Eleam Saturday at the Coliseum.
(Mark J. Terrill / Ap Photo/mark J. Terrill)
The five passing scores tied a career high. But Maiava said after the game that it “definitely didn’t feel like” that strong of a performance.
Through two games, Maiava had accounted for as many touchdowns (six) as he had incomplete passes entering Saturday’s game. But on Saturday, he missed his first three passes, the third of which went directly to a Louisiana defensive back.
The interception was Maiava’s first of the season, and it led to a Louisiana field goal, giving the Ragin’ Cajuns (1-1) an early lead. It was also the first time the Trojans trailed this season.
USC (3-0) and its quarterback settled down after that. The Trojans mounted a 12-play scoring drive on the ensuing possession, and Maiava found Bowman for a five-yard score. Then, they mounted a 10-play drive, and Maiava found Bowman again.
By that point, USC’s offense had piled up almost 200 yards, while Louisiana had scraped together just 18.
But the Ragin’ Cajuns refused to go away — for the moment, at least. They marched the length of the field and scored, cutting USC’s lead to 14-10.
That was the closest they’d get. The Trojans mounted a third straight drive of 10 plays or more, and this time, Maiava fired a touchdown pass through the hands of a Louisiana defensive back on its way to freshman Kayden Dixon-Wyatt.
The knockout blow came soon after that. After its follow-up drive went nowhere, Louisiana made the mistake of punting to Mosley, who took off sprinting to his right and didn’t stop until he reached paydirt.
The punt return was his fourth score of the season. He added a fifth before the final buzzer sounded.
The rest of the night wouldn’t go nearly as smoothly. The intensity, Riley said, “dipped a little bit.” Louisiana would linger, well into the fourth quarter.
But by then, the Trojans could safely coast their way to a clean non-conference sheet, knowing the trust test of their season – and their stellar true freshmen – is still to come.
Two unbeaten high school football teams, San Pedro and Bell, played on an old-school unmowed grass field on Friday night at Bell. The football disappeared at times when placed among the thick grass before the snap.
“Hey coach, do you need me to bring my lawn mower,” a Bell player joked.
San Pedro assistant coach Andres Srsen was pulling grass before the game to clear an area so kicker Dylan Moreno could practice field goals. “This is crazy,” Srsen said.
No one showed up to mow the field this week, coach Noel Padilla said.
It was the perfect environment for two blue-collar communities: San Pedro, known for its bustling port and dock workers, and Bell, known as a densely packed working class industrial city.
San Pedro (4-0) had little trouble navigating the thick grass, rolling to a 49-7 victory behind quarterback Seth Solorio, who completed 13 of 17 passes for 303 yards and four touchdowns.
Braeden Villegas caught touchdown passes of 52 and 17 yards. Solorio rarely faced defensive pressure because of strong blocking from his offensive line. He was 10 of 11 for 175 yards in the first half when San Pedro led 35-7.
If any player proved he was in shape, it was San Pedro punt returner Chazz Fugatti, who returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown and easily ran through the thickest part of the grass. The only question was how tired he felt pumping his legs as the grass got thicker.
“Yeah, I was pretty exhausted after the touchdown,” he said. “Honestly, it was surreal. I was just excited to be out here and excited to play. It does feel like a corn field. It was fun.”
Another player having no issues running was tight end Joaquin Fernandez, who took a screen pass and ran 94 yards for a touchdown.
Solorio, who has 14 touchdown passes in four games, said of his team’s progress: “We’re really building chemistry. I love my guys. I love my receivers.”
Jaxon Brown and Villegas were Solorio’s primary targets.
San Pedro is considered a strong contender to be one of the final four teams in the City Section Open Division playoffs but will be gearing up for its annual Marine League rivalry game at defending champion Carson on Oct. 23, when the Pirates will really find out where they stand.
San Pedro players hoist Braeden Villegas after his touchdown reception against Bell.
(Craig Weston / For The Times)
San Pedro had too much size and strength on its offensive and defensive lines for Bell (3-1), which hopes to offer competition to Garfield in the Eastern League. The Eagles’ only touchdown came on a 15-yard Aaron Hernandez touchdown reception in the first quarter after the Pirates lost possession by touching a punt and not recovering the ball. Or maybe they couldn’t find the ball?
Bell has five baseball players playing football, including quaterback/pitcher Manuel Pasillas, who showed off his toughness, being sacked only once in the first half by San Pedro’s Jaxon Moore.
Bell is supposed to get a new field and new scoreboard, with construction scheduled to begin as early as this month for a two-year project. Until then, the Eagles will need someone to keep cutting the grass.
That was a strange game. There were 22 accepted flags for 211 yards in penalties, fumbles galore and three turnovers in total. There was a safety and a missed field goal. Ultimately, Mater Dei (4-0) won 10-9 over Corona Centennial (1-2) in a game where it only converted two out of 10 third down attempts.
Beyond the weirdness, however, a solution at the quarterback position might have emerged for the Monarchs — in the form of a freshman, no less. Head coach Raul Lara has cycled through three players in the position so far this season, and the standout against Corona Centennial on Friday was Paytyn Guess.
“The young kid is dynamic, no doubt,” Lara said before the game. “But he’s young and he’s still learning the program and playbook. Once he learns, we’ll get him in the game a little bit more.”
Friday night’s game showed that Guess might be ready to be the starter.
Santa Ana Stadium has played host to Mater Dei football games for many decades, but the fans in its stands might not have seen a better pass than what the freshman conjured during the second quarter. Running away from oncoming rushers, Guess threw the ball back against his body — something most coaches advise against — and found heavily recruited senior wideout Gavin Honore at the one-yard line.
It was a dot. Right on the money. Professional players 10 years Guess’ senior would be excited to make that kind of play.
Mater Dei High freshman quarterback Paytyn Guess.
(Caleb Otte / For The Times)
The only hesitation to not start Guess was shown on the very next snap. Under center, Guess fumbled the snap and Centennial recovered the ball in the end zone. It was an unfortunate low after such a triumphant high.
Ultimately, though, Guess made the key throw after being entrusted to lead the final drive. With Mater Dei in their own half of the field on a third down, he found Honore along the sideline to pick up a first down and effectively end the contest.
That came after Mater Dei junior quarterback Russell Sekona tied the score, 9-9, midway through the fourth quarter with a one-yard touchdown plunge. Jerry Shifman converted the point-after kick for the winning margin.
Centennial had a chance to reclaim the lead with 2:30 left in the game, when its last drive ended in a missed field goal.
As far as Guess, he can make plays and had multiple downfield passes that fell just incomplete. But in that moment, the kid showed true composure. There might be growing pains, but the raw talent is on display.
Guess finished the nightcompleting four of nine passes for 56 yards, while rushing for 19. Lara had no worries about putting the freshman in the fire and letting him secure the victory.
“Coach Lara’s trust in me means everything,” Guess said after the win. “It shows me what I can accomplish on the field.”
He has a lot of time to develop, but aGuess said he needs to acclimate to this new stage.
“High school football moves quicker,” Guess said “I also need to be louder in my cadence because this was my first game in front of a big crowd.”
His skills directly resembled that of his counterpart on the night, senior Jaden Jefferson. The Hawaii commit might be ending his high school career just as Guess is starting, but both have a slippery and slinking style of play that excites fans just as much as it moves their teams down the field.
Jefferson had a solid game, going 14 for 23 through the air with 205 yards and tacked on 65 on the ground. The play that defined the night, however, was a blemish on his record. Backed behind its own 10-yard line, Centennial looked to Jefferson for another magic moment. His flip pass to a running back bounced off his teammate and into the waiting arms of a Mater Dei defender, setting up Sekona’s run.
Centennial’s defense was top notch all night, only allowing two third-down conversions. Mater Dei’s run game was shut down, gaining less than 100 yards, and it looked like the Monarchs would be stifled for the entire four quarters.
The game started out with a jet sweep touchdown from Kennie Leggett, a former Mater Dei player, and it seemed as though Centennial would beat the Monarchs as it did twice last season when building a 9-0 lead in the first quarter. The home team’s defense ratcheted up the pressure, however, not giving up another score. The Huskies only scored again on the freak safety in the first quarter.
Centennial has dealt with a lot of injuries to the offensive line this season, which allowed Mater Dei to get multiple sacks and hurries on Jefferson. Before the game, head coach Matt Logan said that his team has been treating every game in the same way regardless of the opponent. Three tough Trinity League matchups to start the season, however, have left them with a losing record.
Centennial played better, and Logan was right by saying it can go toe-to-toe with any opponent, but the scoreboard favored Lara’s men on a weird night in Santa Ana.
UCLA senior wide receiver Mikey Matthews expects the Bruins’ aerial attack to be as electrifying and dominant as their ground game was in a season-opening win over California.
The passing offense lived up to Matthews’ expectations against Cal — but only for a half.
After quarterback Nico Iamaleava completed 12 of 18 passes for 179 yards in the first half, he completed just two more passes for five yards — the Bruins’ only yardage in the third quarter.
The rushing attack carried the Bruins to victory, breaking open a tied game with three fourth-quarter touchdown runs.
UCLA receiver Mikey Matthews (7) celebrates after quarterback Nico Iamaleava (9) ran for a touchdown against Cal at California Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
(Godofredo A. Vasquez/For The Times)
While UCLA called a run-heavy script in the second half, throwing it just four times compared to 18 rushing attempts, the passing game clearly stalled.
Offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy said the offense had to improve after last weekend’s 45-24 victory, noting that two penalties in the third quarter — including on third and one — derailed drives and that the self-inflicted wounds were a teaching moment.
“You have to make sure that every drive, you’re treating it independently. There was a lull in the third quarter, but when you look at it, I was happy with how they responded,” Kennedy said as the team prepared for Saturday’s home opener against San Diego State. “Obviously, you’re not happy with the production of the third quarter, but you’re happy with how they responded in the fourth. There was always belief on the sideline. We had three really bad drives and that’s just as much on me as it is on anyone else.”
Iamaleava played a vital role in keeping the offense on track. And despite largely not contributing through the air in the second half, he looked more comfortable and confident than he ever had in his college career. Matthews called that poise Iamaleava’s greatest improvement since the duo arrived in Westwood last year.
Kennedy said the senior signal-caller was walking up and down the sideline, talking to teammates and stressing a “next drive” mentality.
And Iamaleava’s short-term memory focus echoed his coordinator’s in-game philosophy.
“We will make corrections on bad plays on Sunday, there will be things where we have to make in-game adjustments, but when you are talking about a missed assignment, there’s nothing you can do about it,” Kennedy said. “The only thing you can do about that is worry about ‘how do I get better, how do I learn from my mistake,’ and you have to do it in the moment. You are in a 60,000-seat stadium and it’s not the easiest thing to do, but having other people understand, ‘Let’s move on,’ that’s where he did a really good job.”
Leading up to the opener, Kennedy said he was “beyond confident” in Iamaleava as a leader, player and face of the program, and added that Iamaleava’s willingness to run hard and take hits instills conviction in the team and makes him an easy person to rally around.
“He’s had the opportunity to play young in his career. He’s been in the spotlight for so long,” UCLA assistant quarterbacks coach Jon Boyer said. “He’s dealt with victories. He’s dealt with adversity, and now he does feel valued, and I don’t want him to feel like he’s in it all alone ever.
“He’ll be tested this year where moments of doubt come in, and that’s our job to provide that vision of hope and come up with a plan to get him out of whatever he’s facing.”
Matthews, who led the receivers with four catches for 88 yards, is confident his quarterback will put the ball in the hands of many UCLA receivers he can trust.
“We’re deep in the receiver room. Landon Ellis, Semaj Morgan, Brian Rowe, Aidan Mizell, Shane Rosenthal. I can literally just go down,” Matthews said. “I feel like everyone is bound to have a breakout season, breakout game, whatever it is. Everyone’s going to eat in that room. That’s just how much we trust everyone throwing the ball down the field and everything like that.”
If Matthew Fine, a 5-foot-8, 165-pound senior running back and lacrosse star for Loyola High, needs a walk-up song, he can go back to 1969 when Frank Sinatra’s hit “My Way” came on the radio with the lyrics, “I did it my way.”
Fine, who lives in Manhattan Beach, declined to be interviewed last week before the Cubs’ game against the public school he lives five minutes from, Mira Costa. He didn’t want to give friends he grew up with any bulletin board material. Then he went out and rushed for 105 yards in a 14-7 Loyola victory.
It was fun for him to catch up with neighborhood kids he used to play with starting at age 5.
“I traded jerseys and traded photos,” he said. “It was nice talking to them.”
Asked if he walked home from the game, Fine said, “I actually considered it.”
Fine, with his speed and strength from lacrosse training, could be the comeback player of the year in football. He quit football after his sophomore year to focus on lacrosse. Loyola has one of the best lacrosse programs in the state, winning last season’s Southern Section championship. He’s earned a lacrosse scholarship to Utah.
Football coach Drew Casani had lobbied Fine to return to football before his junior year with no success. Last school year, after the lacrosse season ended, Casani sent him a text inviting him to return.
“I’m in,” Fine responded.
“I love football,” Fine said. “There was a lot of uncertainty. My junior year is where you get recruited for lacrosse. After sitting out a year and watching all the guys playing football, I got really jealous and wanted to jump back in.”
He rejoined the team this year starting at the bottom of the depth chart. Now he’s had back-to-back games rushing for more than 100 yards. This will be his first and only year playing on varsity.
“I’m doing this for fun,” he said. “I love football. I’ve been doing it longer than any other sport.”
Whenever the season ends, it will be Fine’s final football game.
“I don’t think I’ll have any regrets,” he said. “I’ll just be sad. I don’t want to think about that.”
Incredibly, as much as people believe football gets players in the best shape of their life, Fine once flunked his conditioning test for lacrosse after playing football.
“It’s a different type of conditioning,” he explained.
Casani is thrilled that Fine’s one year off from football has had little effect.
“He picked up seemingly where he left off,” Casani said. “ He’s fast, has vision and is hard to tackle.“
Don’t ask his father, Mickey, what Fine might do next or any day.
“My son does things his own way,” he said. “Sometimes I don’t understand it.”
With a 4.0 grade-point average and terrific lacrosse talent as an attacker, Fine has a bright future. For those who play intramural flag football on Utah’s campus, Fine could be the ringer to deliver a championship next year.
