Red Raiders beat Portland in first game of East Robertson Classic

QB Stetson Bennett back with Rams after addressing mental health

Stetson Bennett is ready to give his rookie year another try with the Los Angeles Rams. Bennett was with the Rams through preseason after the Rams selected him in the fourth round of the 2023. But he left the team and spent the season on the reserve/non-football illness list with an issue coach Sean McVay said at the time was "bigger than football." Now, 26, Bennett addressed the media for the first time since he was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list. When asked if his absence was "under the umbrella of mental health," Bennett said, "Yeah, I'd say that." Matthew Stafford is entrenched as the Rams starting quarterback, and the team signed veteran Jimmy Garoppolo as his backup earlier this month. Bennett said he expects to be with the Rams this season, and offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said Bennett, a two-time national champion at Georgia, as been "a sponge." Garoppolo is suspended for the first two games of the regular season, which leaves the door open for Bennett to remain on the roster into September and perhaps beyond. "And so you kind of come out here and you're hungry every single day," Bennett said. "And I don't know, it did make me like, 'Hey, this is ... You want to do this and you want to work hard every single day and get better.'" --Field Level Media

Kasparas Jakucionis, a point guard from Lithuania and a possible first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, is heading to the United States to play for Illinois next season. Illinois announced Tuesday that it had signed Jakucionis, who started playing for Barcelona's basketball club when he was 16. Jakucionis is listed at 6-foot-6 and averaged 9.0 assists per game at the Adidas Next Generation tournament earlier this year, according to ESPN. Fighting Illini coach Brad Underwood adds Jakucionis to a completely remade Illinois roster that also includes highly-regarded transfer guard Kylan Boswell from Arizona, among several others. --Field Level Media

The Houston Texans rewarded wide receiver Nico Collins for his breakout performance last season with a three-year, $72.75 million contract extension that includes $52 million guaranteed, according to multiple media reports Tuesday. The contract, with a maximum value of $75 million, keeps the 25-year-old from becoming an unrestricted free agent after the 2024 season. Collins started 10 of his 15 regular-season games in 2023 and set career bests with 80 receptions for 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns -- all totals which exceeded his previous two seasons combined. His yardage ranked eighth and TDs tied for eighth in the league. The Texans reached the playoffs behind rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, and Collins caught 11 passes for 164 yards and one touchdown in two postseason contests. Collins, selected by the Texans in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Michigan, will average $24.2 million annually, according to reports. That yearly average will put him seventh among all wide receivers, according to Over The Cap. The Texans traded in the offseason for All-Pro Stefon Diggs, 30, to join a wide receiver room including Collins and Tank Dell, who caught 47 passes for 709 yards and seven TDs in 11 games (eight starts) as a rookie last season. --Field Level Media

Reports: Texans extend WR Nico Collins for 3 years, $72.75 million

Former New Mexico forward JT Toppin, the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year, has transferred to Texas Tech, the school announced Tuesday. "I can't wait to show Red Raider Nation the energy and hard work I bring to every game," Toppin, who is from Dallas, said in a statement. "I look forward to getting to Lubbock and helping the team win." Toppin had entered the NBA draft and participated in the combine earlier this month but will withdraw and attend school in his home state. He was an All-MWC second-team selection as well as earning all-conference tournament honors as New Mexico won the tournament. The 6-foot-9 Toppin averaged 12.4 points and led the Mountain West in averaging 9.1 rebounds, 3.7 offensive rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 36 games (35 starts). He shot 62.3 percent on field-goal attempts, not only leading the league but ranking 13th in the nation last season and among the top 20 all-time for freshmen in NCAA Division I history. Toppin was selected nine times as the MWC Freshman of the Week and was a finalist for the Kyle Macy National Freshman of the Year award. Second-year Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland has added Toppin to transfer signees Elijah Hawkins (Minnesota), Kevin Overton (Drake) and Federiko Federiko (Pitt) as well as high school signees Christian Anderson and Leon Horner III. --Field Level Media

The New England Patriots signed Drake Maye, their first-round draft pick and likely quarterback of the future, to his four-year rookie contract on Tuesday. The Patriots did not disclose financial terms, but based on the rookie wage scale, Maye is expected to receive a full guaranteed $36.63 million contract with a $23.46 million signing bonus as the third overall pick in April's draft. All first-round picks' deals carry a team option for a fifth year. Maye starred at North Carolina in 2022 and 2023 and was the third quarterback off the board last month after Southern California's Caleb Williams and LSU's Jayden Daniels went 1-2 to the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders. The Patriots moved on from former first-round pick Mac Jones, trading him to the Jacksonville Jaguars to back up Trevor Lawrence, so Maye is expected to vie for the starting role as a rookie with veteran Jacoby Brissett his primary competition. Jerod Mayo, taking over for the legendary Bill Belichick as New England's head coach this year, said this month that his "early impressions" of Maye were that "he has a lot to work on, but I have no doubt that he'll put the work in." --Field Level Media

New Orleans Saints defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon is sidelined indefinitely with a torn Achilles tendon, coach Dennis Allen announced Tuesday. The injury occurred during a running drill this offseason and will keep him out for training camp and at least the first part of the season. Allen delivered the update after being asked about Kpassagnon's absence from the first two offseason practices that were open to reporters. Kpassagnon, who turns 30 next month, appeared in all 17 games last season and contributed 19 tackles, 3.5 sacks and nine quarterback hits. He played 37 percent of New Orleans' defensive snaps. He has 140 tackles and 16.5 sacks in 101 career games (34 starts) with the Kansas City Chiefs (2017-20) and Saints. He won Super Bowl LIV with the Chiefs, who drafted him in the second round in 2017. --Field Level Media

Safety Tony Jefferson wants to come out of retirement and play in 2024, according to Bleacher Report. Jefferson, 32, last played for the New York Giants in 2022 and announced his retirement in May 2023. He spent last season as a scouting intern with the Baltimore Ravens, a team with which he spent four seasons. "Jefferson has stayed in shape, has been training, and wants to play again," per Tuesday's report. "He intends to start talking to teams in the near future." Undrafted out of Oklahoma in 2013, Jefferson appeared in 113 games (67 starts) with the Arizona Cardinals (2013-16), Ravens (2017-19, 2021), San Francisco 49ers (2021) and Giants (2022). He recorded 492 tackles, 9.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles and four interceptions. --Field Level Media

Croatian forward Igor Milicic has withdrawn from next month's NBA draft and will play at Tennessee in 2024-25, CBS Sports reported Tuesday. The 6-foot-10 Milicic is a two-time transfer who played the last two seasons at Charlotte after one year at Virginia. He averaged 12.8 points and 8.5 rebounds and sank 56 3-pointers in 31 games (30 starts) for the 49ers in 2023-24. He made the All-American Athletic Conference third team. Milicic has career averages of 8.5 points and 5.1 boards in 82 games (52 starts) at Virginia (2021-22) and Charlotte (2022-24). The 2024 NBA Draft is scheduled for June 26-27. Underclassmen have until Wednesday to withdraw their names from draft consideration. --Field Level Media