Lady Raiders lose final two games of Border Battle

Cardinals first-round pick Marvin Harrison Jr. signs contract

Arizona Cardinals first-round draft pick Marvin Harrison Jr. signed his four-year rookie contract on Thursday. The team announced the signing but not the terms for the wide receiver, who was selected with the fourth overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. Multiple reports said the fully guaranteed deal is worth $35.3 million with a signing bonus of $22.5 million and includes the standard team option for a fifth season. Harrison is the highest-drafted pick to sign his contract. No. 1 Caleb Williams (Chicago), No. 2 Jayden Daniels (Washington) and No. 3 Drake Maye (New England) have yet to do so. "It's my first job," Harrison said with a smile. "Ever since I got here, I've been telling people I'm going to work -- it's not practice anymore." Harrison shredded the Big Ten for 155 receptions, 2,613 yards and 31 touchdowns in three seasons. He set the Buckeyes' career record with 15 100-yard receiving games. He was a back-to-back All-American in 2022 and 2023 and a Heisman Trophy finalist last year. --Field Level Media

New York Giants coach Brian Daboll said Thursday that he is encouraged by what he has seen from Daniel Jones as the quarterback works his way back from a torn ACL. Daboll, however, noted that they plan to take it slow with Jones, who has participated in 7-on-7 drills and individual assignments this week. "He looks good," Daboll said. "We're not putting him in some team stuff, but he's making progress so that's why we got him in 7-on-7." When asked if Jones is on target to be ready for training camp, Daboll opted to focus on the present as opposed to looking toward the future. "We'll take it day by day and when he can do more, we'll put him in more," Daboll said. Jones, who turns 27 on Monday, had season-ending surgery on his right knee in late November after sustaining the injury in New York's 30-6 loss at Las Vegas on Nov. 5. "I think to continue day by day with the process," Jones said. "I think I'm in a good spot. Obviously the goal is to be ready to go by the first day of training camp. I'm gonna push to be ready as soon as possible. I think we have a good plan. I have a lot of trust and faith in our trainers and coaches." Jones, who signed a four-year, $160 million contract last offseason, finished with two touchdown passes and six interceptions in six games in 2023. He also missed three games with a neck injury. Jones is 22-36-1 as a starter with 62 touchdown passes and 40 picks in 60 games (59 starts) since being selected by the Giants with the No. 6 overall pick in 2019 NFL Draft. --Field Level Media

The Pittsburgh Steelers signed running back La'Mical Perine to a one-year contract on Thursday. The team did not disclose financial terms. Perine, 26, spent two seasons with the New York Jets, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He went on to join the Chiefs practice squad and appeared in three games with Kansas City in 2023. In 19 career games (one start), Perine has gained 340 yards on 94 carries with two touchdowns. He added 96 yards on 14 catches. The Steelers' running back room also includes Najee Harris and Cordarrelle Patterson. --Field Level Media

The Philadelphia Eagles signed former first-round pick John Ross to a one-year deal Thursday as the wide receiver attempts to make an NFL comeback. Perhaps best known for being selected one pick ahead of Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 NFL Draft, Ross took part in a tryout for the Eagles at a rookie minicamp last month. The speedy wide receiver initially retired prior to training camp last season with the Kansas City Chiefs and has not played in a game since 2021. The ninth overall pick in 2017 by the Cincinnati Bengals, Ross' high selection was partly due to running the then-fastest 40-yard dash time (4.22 seconds) in NFL Scouting Combine history. Production didn't follow as Ross caught just 51 passes for 733 yards and 10 touchdowns in 27 games (20 starts) over four seasons with the Bengals. Ross requested a trade during the 2020 season that didn't come to fruition and later sustained a season-ending foot injury. He played in just three games that season. In 2021, Ross played in 10 games (one start) for the New York Giants and caught 11 passes for 224 yards and one score. He joins a Philadelphia receiver room anchored by All-Pro A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith that also includes Parris Campbell, Britain Covey, Shaquan Davis, Jacob Harris, Joseph Ngata, Ainias Smith, Austin Watkins Jr. and Johnny Wilson. --Field Level Media

Former Notre Dame and Vanderbilt forward Ven-Allen Lubin committed to North Carolina on Thursday. As a 6-foot-8 sophomore, he averaged 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds for the Commodores in 2023-24. Lubin has averaged 9.1 points and 5.3 boards in 54 games (33 starts) for the Fighting Irish (2022-23) and Vanderbilt. His arrival will help the Tar Heels replace All-ACC forwards Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram. Bacot is out of eligibility, and Ingram announced he would enter the 2024 NBA Draft. --Field Level Media

Former college athletes are due for a payday after the NCAA Board of Governors voted to agree to settle House v. NCAA and other antitrust cases related to it, ESPN reported Wednesday. With the NCAA's board agreeing to the terms of the settlement, former college athletes are one step closer to getting over $2.7 billion in back damages over the next decade because of previous restrictions on Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals. Future athletes would also benefit, as the Big 12, Atlantic Coast Conference and Big Ten -- three of the defendants in the case -- are hoping to put a system in place that would give schools the power to pay them about $20 million per year in permissive revenue sharing. Such payments wouldn't start until fall of 2025. The ACC and Big 12 had already accepted the terms of the settlement, doing so on Tuesday. The Big Ten joined in on Wednesday, and now the Southeastern Conference and Pac-12 just need to submit their approval. Both the SEC and Pac-12 are expected to approve the terms later this week, per ESPN's report. It is expected that a settlement will officially be reached, and if that were the case, the schools and the NCAA would avoid going to court, where they could have had to pay over $4 billion in damages if they lost. Per ESPN's report, the plaintiffs in the case could also dismiss two other antitrust cases against the NCAA that are currently pending and could possibly add billions of dollars in damages to the association's plate. --Field Level Media

The Atlanta Falcons signed wide receivers Daylen Baldwin and OJ Hiliare and released tight end Tucker Fisk on Wednesday. Fisk, 25, had been with the Falcons since 2022, mostly on the practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster multiple times in 2023 and played in six games, making two starts. He caught his only target for a 9-yard reception. Baldwin, 24, played in one game for the Cleveland Browns in 2022 and caught his two targets for 25 yards. He was on the Browns' practice squad most of that season. He signed with the Minnesota Vikings in November 2023, later signing a reserve/future contract before his release on May 7. Hiliare is an undrafted free agent who played for Alabama A&M and later Bowling Green. --Field Level Media

Police arrested a man in Sarasota, Fla., on Wednesday and charged him with murder in the shooting that killed Auburn running back Brian Battie's brother. Battie and three other men were injured in the shooting, and the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office now has Darryl Bernard Brookins in custody as a suspect. Battie's brother, Tommy Battie IV, was pronounced dead at the scene at around 3:30 a.m. local time Saturday. Brookins' charges include murder and attempted murder as a felon in possession of a firearm. ESPN reported that it is unknown whether or not Brookins has an attorney yet. Brian Battie's condition is currently unclear, but in a social media post on X on Monday, Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said that the running back was "still on a ventilator" after experiencing a setback on Sunday night. After three seasons at South Florida, Brian Battie joined the Tigers for the 2023 campaign and rushed for 227 yards and a touchdown on 51 carries. He also ranked fourth in the Southeastern Conference in kick return average (23.0 yards). In his three seasons with the Bulls, Brian Battie rushed for 1,842 yards and 10 TDs in 31 games from 2020-22. He was a first-team All-America as a kick returner in 2021. Two women stating to be the godmothers of Brian Battie and his brother organized a GoFundMe to support the Battie family, and it had brought in over $96,000 thanks to 878 donations as of Wednesday evening. --Field Level Media

Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson, the most prolific running quarterback in the league, aims to make it even tougher on opposing defenses this coming season. Coming off his second NFL Most Valuable Player award, Jackson has lost weight and appears slimmer at the team's OTAs this week. Though he didn't reveal his exact weight Wednesday, saying it was "two something," Jackson had said in a video posted by Complex Sports last week that he was at 205 pounds. He was 230 pounds in 2022 and 215 last season, when he passed for 3,678 yards and 24 touchdowns, and rushed for 821 yards and five scores in leading the Ravens to a 13-3 record in 16 regular-season starts. "I don't really know how many pounds I lost," said Jackson, 27. "I'm like two-something (pounds) right now. But I (will) just say it was important enough to be able to move around a little bit extra, that's all." The 6-foot-2 Jackson said he lost weight "just so I can be more agile and be able to move more." Jackson said he feels great at the lighter weight and as elusive as he's felt in years. He doesn't believe it will diminish his ability to take the physical pounding at his position -- particularly for running QBs. "We sacrifice our body each and every game (and) practices," he said. "I believe it really doesn't matter about the weight." His coach, John Harbaugh, doesn't sound concerned about a lighter -- and faster--Jackson. "I think that's Lamar, he's a pro," Harbaugh said. "He knows what he's doing. He knows where he wants to be with that. My concern is that he is in shape, best shape of his life." A three-time Pro Bowl selection and first-team All-Pro in 2019 and 2023, Jackson has passed for 15,887 yards and 125 TDs and rushed for 5,258 yards and 29 scores in 86 games (77 starts) since the Ravens selected him 32nd overall in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Louisville. --Field Level Media