Lady Raiders drop final game of Gulf Coast Classic

Five-star recruit Billy Richmond is following coach John Calipari to Arkansas, The Athletic reported Friday. The 6-foot-6 small forward from Camden, N.J., initially committed to Calipari and Kentucky in December. Richmond requested his release after Calipari departed for Arkansas and Kentucky hired Mark Pope. Richmond averaged 17.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game this season. He is ranked No. 25 nationally and No. 2 in the state of New Jersey in the Class of 2024 by the 247 Sports Composite. --Field Level Media

Former NFL offensive lineman Korey Cunningham has died at age 28. The New York Giants, one of three teams he played for in his NFL career, confirmed his death in a statement Friday. "We are saddened to hear of the passing of Korey Cunningham," the Giants said in a statement Friday morning. "He was a vital part of the spirit and camaraderie of the locker room. Our thoughts are with Korey's family, friends and teammates." The team did not disclose a cause of death. ESPN reported he was found dead in his Clifton, N.J., home, and a police spokesperson told the network foul play was not suspected "at this time." Cunningham, who played collegiately at Cincinnati, was a seventh-round draft pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2018 and was plagued by foot issues throughout his career. He appeared in 31 games with the Cardinals (2018), New England Patriots (2019-20) and Giants (2021-22). The Giants released him last summer. Former teammate Justin Pugh recalled his time with Cunningham when they were both in Arizona, and shared on X, "Quick story: We would invite him to the OL dinner every week even though he wasn't on the team which doesn't happen...ever. Team dinners are for players on the team only. Except for Korey....solely because he was beloved by all the guys regardless if you knew him or not! He'd tell stories and we'd laugh our asses off all night. Today is a sad day but I'll always remember the good times and the laughs. Everyone who knew Korey Cunnigham was better for it. The world lost a great soul." --Field Level Media

Eagles' inside intel aided selection of Toledo CB in first round

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni made a call no other NFL coach or general manager could before the final decision was made to select Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell in the first round Thursday night. Sirianni called his old college roommate Jason Candle and soon knew his pairing with Mitchell was a perfect match. "Their personality match is perfect," Candle, the head coach at Toledo who maintains a close bond with Sirianni years after they roomed together at Mount Union, said Friday of the Eagles drafting Mitchell. What some in the NFL viewed as a risk because of his small-school production in the MAC (Mid-American Conference), the Eagles viewed as a decided edge. Sirianni knows the small-school, prove-it mentality when he sees it, and Mitchell starred in every phase of the pre-draft process. He was the best player on the field at the Senior Bowl by their estimation, then ran in the 4.3s at the NFL Scouting Combine and smashed position drills and private meetings. Candle was able to ease some of those concerns for Philadelphia, telling Sirianni how Mitchell turned down Power 5 options -- including Alabama, Georgia and Florida State -- to stay with the Rockets four years and all about how he sees Sirianni's personality and competitive mentality in Mitchell in everything from team meetings to pickup basketball games. The game tape and production -- 45 pass break-ups the past two seasons -- spoke for itself. "We think we have an extremely talented, hard-working outside corner," Eagles president Howie Roseman said. "He's got the right mentality, all the tools in his body. He had a great process. He had a chance to transfer out of Toledo; he stayed there and came back. He got better, he went to the Senior Bowl, and he checked all the offseason process boxes one by one, which is important." Mitchell walks into a loaded secondary with James Bradberry and Darius Slay at cornerback and 2023 draft pick Kelee Ringo, Josh Jobe and Eli Ricks are in the running for more time this season. "He's got a lot to prove as a small-school player. The MAC isn't the National Football League. We understand that ... so to take a player like this, he has to be special. We think he is a special person," Roseman said. --Field Level Media

One of the best shooters in the portal has decided to become a Jayhawk. Former Alabama guard Rylan Griffen announced his commitment to Kansas on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, on Friday. "I chose Kansas because coach (Bill) Self and the coaching staff are going to push me to be the best player I can be," Griffen said, according to ESPN. "I think I fit in because they said they needed shooting. I think I can help them in that area. I think I can help them with perimeter defense and help get stops and help carry on the same winning culture they've always had." Griffen helped lead Alabama to the Final Four, where they lost in the national semifinal to eventual champion UConn. In two years with the Crimson Tide, Griffin averaged 8.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game in 73 games (33 starts, all as a sophomore). He's a 35.4 percent career 3-point shooter, including shooting 39.2 percent from the arc in his sophomore season. The Dallas native will be a junior when the transfer class takes the floor for Kansas next season with Wisconsin's AJ Storr, South Dakota State's Zeke Mayo and Florida's Riley Kugel also new to the Jayhawks. --Field Level Media

Falcons pick QB Michael Penix Jr. despite Kirk Cousins signing

In a matter of six weeks, the Atlanta Falcons went from having no clear plan at quarterback to having two QBs. Atlanta surprised many by selecting Washington's Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick in the draft on Thursday. "You can see, six quarterbacks went in the first round. There's a reason," Falcons GM Terry Fontenot said at the end of the first round. "If you see a guy at that position that you believe in, you take him. ... "Kirk Cousins is our quarterback. We're very excited about Kirk. Very excited about this team. Michael Penix is, we're talking about the future. The draft is, you look at the future and you look at big picture, but we are very excited about that quarterback room." Head coach Raheem Morris said the presence of a model professional and mentor was actually a reason to add Penix. The selection gives the Falcons another option to go with Kirk Cousins, whom they signed to a four-year, $180 million deal on March 13 -- a contract that includes $100 million guaranteed. Cousins, 35, is looking to come back from a right Achilles tendon tear that ended his 2023 season in October. He'll be 36 before the 2024 regular season begins. "All (Penix) needs to do is come in and be the best version of himself," Morris said. "It's really the young man's job to come in and learn from Kirk. You can't put that on Kirk." Penix, who turns 24 in May, is coming off a spectacular senior season in which he led the Huskies to the national championship game. He threw for a national-high 4,903 yards and had 36 touchdown passes while getting intercepted 11 times. He wound up as the Heisman Trophy runner-up behind LSU's Jayden Daniels, and Penix captured the Maxwell Award, which goes to the county's top college football player. Each of the past two seasons, Penix broke Washington's single-season passing record. Penix wound up as the fourth quarterback selected, possibly due in part to his injury history. During his six-year collegiate career (the first four seasons at Indiana), he was sidelined twice due to anterior cruciate ligament injuries and twice due to shoulder injuries. Using two starting quarterbacks last year -- Desmond Ridder produced a 6-7 record and Taylor Heinicke went 1-3 -- Atlanta wound up ranked 27th in the NFL in passer rating at 80.5. The Falcons threw 17 touchdown passes and were intercepted 17 times. Cousins is a four-time Pro Bowl selection who had missed just one start since 2015 before last year. Cousins' agent, Mike McCartney, told ESPN and NFL Network that he and his client learned about the Falcons' plan to select Penix only when the team was on the clock. "We had no idea this was coming," McCartney told NFL Network. "We got no heads-up. ... It never came up in any conversation." Cousins expressed "frustration and confusion" that the Falcons didn't try to upgrade the 2024 roster with their selection, McCartney told ESPN. --Field Level Media

Draft trade tracker: Vikings get aggressive, move up twice