Gap Down Backer.

[Soapy]

Report: UNLV OC Richard Wiley and MTSU DC Brian Stewart headed to Stanford
by Rex Phillips · 1/6/28

(Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

UNLV offensive coordinator Richard Wiley and Middle Tennessee defensive coordinator Brian Stewart are expected to join Bubba Mack's coaching staff at Stanford in the same capacity, as first reported by FOX Sports' Bruce Feldman.

Mack interviewed with several candidates over the past week including USF offensive coordinator Joel Gordon and East Carolina's John David Baker before landing on Wiley who coached at Sacramento State before his most recent stint at UNLV. Stewart was Mack's top candidate and the only candidate that he met with, beating out Oregon to secure an impressive inaugural win as Stanford's new head coach.

It's of note that Mack's first two hirings are from the state of California and have coached in the state previously. Wiley, who is from Stockton, was an offensive analyst at Ohio State before taking the passing game coordinator job at Sacramento State. Stewart, 63, is a veteran coach with plenty of experience at both the college and NFL level and is from San Diego.

At UNLV, Wiley's offense averaged nearly 30 points per game with a top three passing offense in the country, averaging 265.5 passing yards per game and a respectable 113.9 rushing yards as the Rebels finished the season 7-6. Wiley is from the Urban Meyer/Dan Mullen school of offense having been an analyst for Meyer/Ryan Day at Ohio State and then was the offensive coordinator and play caller for the Rebels since Mullen's hiring at UNLV.

Defensively, Stewart has traditionally used an odd front and guided the Blue Raiders to a top three defense in the conference last year, a number that was skewed by the 58 points that Mack and his Kennesaw State Owls hung on Middle Tennessee in Mack's final game at Fifth Third Stadium.

[Soapy]

Stanford WR Jordan Malau'ulu plans to enter transfer portal
by Davon Momah · 1/8/28

(Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Stanford receiver Jordan Malau'ulu plans to enter the transfer portal, he tells On3. The 5-foot-10, 167-pound junior will have one year of eligibility remaining.

Malau'ulu transferred from Fresno State following his freshman season and had two productive seasons with the Cardinal, scoring fifteen touchdowns in the last two seasons. He led the team with 65 catches for 837 yards and eight touchdowns last season as Tavien St. Claire's top target.

St. Claire, a former five-star prospect that transferred in from Ohio State, is expected to stay at Stanford following the hiring of head coach Bubba Mack. Malau'ulu is the latest Cardinal to enter the portal, joining linebacker Joe Kendricks, defensive ends Ramon Figurs and Caleb Luck, and offensive tackle Josh Lichtensteiger.

The Cardinal project to be very active in the transfer portal as Mack looks to turn over the roster.

2027 Players Leaving » Season Stats
#80 Jordan Malau'ulu (WR, Rs Junior): Transfer Portal » 65 Rec, 837 Yds, 8 TD
#12 Joe Kendricks (LB, Rs Sophomore): Transfer Portal » 3 Tkl
#97 Ramon Figurs (EDGE, Rs Freshman): Transfer Portal » No stats
#78 Josh Lichtensteiger (OT, Rs Freshman): Transfer Portal » No stats
#99 Caleb Luck (EDGE, Freshman): Transfer Portal » No stats
#9 Brandon Nicholson (CB, Senior): Pro Draft » 51 Tkl, INT, 8 PBU
#5 Chris Davis Jr. (HB, Senior): Graduation » 220 Car, 1214 Yds, 6 TD
#18 Jaylen'dai Sumlin (S, Senior): Graduation » 13 Tkl, PBU
#62 Lorenzo Owens (G, Senior): Graduation » 4 GP, 290 Snaps
#22 Grant Godfrey (LB, Rs Senior): Graduation » 38 Tkl, Sack
#3 Kareem Hall (WR, Senior): Graduation » 23 Rec, 331 Yds, 2 TD
#0 Derrik Redd (WR, Rs Senior): Graduation » 44 Rec, 745 Yds, 5 TD
#28 Cam Richardson (CB, Senior): Graduation » 54 Tkl, 2 INT, 7 PBU
#89 Jerry McClure (WR, Rs Senior): Graduation » No stats
#47 Byron Slaton (HB, Rs Senior): Graduation » 30 Car, 87 Yds, TD
#38 Zach Johnson (LB, Rs Senior): Graduation » No stats
#11 Kirk Francis (QB, Rs Senior): Graduation » No stats
#25 Marcus Brown (WR, Senior): Graduation » No stats

[The JZA]

I thought we had something in Kennesaw

[Caesar]

Not a lot of production going out the door at least

[Captain Canada]

Transfer portal didn't beat that ass too bad. Let's see what kind of class you can bring in with this new prestige level.

[Soapy]

I thought we had something in Kennesaw

Some inside baseball: we were already a high 70s rated team by year 3. Easily would have been 80s by next year which is on par with most P4 teams. Moving them into the American/Big12/Pac-12 would not only be unrealistic, it wouldn't solve anything as I'd still be the best team in the conference. I would need to bump everyone's ratings up on those other teams to make it competitive which could throw things off in the national picture since they'll then be higher rated than the P4 teams that they'd be playing so I was like fuck it.

Not a lot of production going out the door at least

Them boys see the vision. Daddy's home.

Transfer portal didn't beat that ass too bad. Let's see what kind of class you can bring in with this new prestige level.

I think EA did some tuning because the portal ain't as deep across the board. We leaving with something though.

[Soapy]

Analyzing Stanford's roster following the transfer portal window
Chris Wallace -- 247Sports Stanford Football Insider

Stanford head coach Bubba Mack took over a program with only five players committed to the Class of 2028 and fifty players on the roster. Since his arrival, the Cardinals have signed the ninth ranked transfer portal class in the country. Here is how the roster currently stands as they head into the offseason:

Quarterback
Who was here: Tavien St. Claire (redshirt junior), Josh Ghee (redshirt sophomore)
Whose been added: Steele Pizella (redshirt junior; did not play)

The Cardinal bring back their starting quarterback in Tavien St. Clair who is a talented prospect but struggled in his first season as a starter after transferring from Ohio State. The coaching staff will look to fix St. Clair's turnover issues after he threw sixteen interceptions but the talent is there for St. Clair to turn into a really solid ACC starter. They also retain Josh Ghee who was a big priority for the previous regime and is viewed internally by the new regime as the heir to St. Clair.

Running back
Who was here: Trent Parrish (redshirt sophomore), Casey Voss (redshirt freshman), Dakota Granderson (redshirt sophomore)
Whose been added: Anthony Masifilo (3-star true freshman)

Probably the biggest swing and miss in the portal was at running back where Mack tried to bolster the room in a similar fashion that he did at Kennesaw State in his final season where he brought in three transfer portal guys, despite having a returning 1,000-yard rusher, including Kam Davis who turned out to be Kennesaw State's first draft selection after being an All-American as a senior. The Cardinal went hard after UCLA's Sire Gaines, who signed with Utah, and then pivoted to Utah's Devin Green, who signed with Cal.

They'll need to rely on the guys they have in the room to replace the production of Chris Davis Jr. who was a 1,000 yard rusher. Parrish was a solid spell back last season with eight touchdowns of his own and projects to be the starter next season.

Wide receiver
Who was here: Deon Jasso (junior), Jeremiah Ware (senior), Eduardo Enriquez (redshirt sophomore), Kristian Tate (redshirt junior), Zach Yelk (4-star true freshman), Rodney Cookus (3-star true freshman)
Whose been added: Nate Devey (redshirt freshman; did not play), De'Angelo Everett (3-star true freshman)

Stanford lost their top receiver to the transfer portal in Jordan Malau'ulu, who signed with USC, but do bring back their second leading receiver in Deon Jasso. This projects to be a veteran room for the Cardinal and they do add some talented freshman in Zach Yelk and Rodney Cookus that the previous coaching staff signed and Mack was able to retain while also adding Nate Devey, a six-foot-four receiver from Tennessee with interesting physical traits.

Tight end
Who was here: Aiden Black (redshirt senior), Glen Church (junior), Jeremiah Robert (redshirt freshman), Tyrone Nicks (redshirt sophomore)
Whose been added: J.D. LaFleur (redshirt sophomore; did not play)

Another SEC addition in J.D. LaFleur that didn't get much playing time at LSU as Mack seems to have brought his formula of raiding the depth of SEC/Big Ten teams and hoping to strike gold. He did it before at Kennesaw State so we'll see if it works at Stanford as LaFleur is six-foot-seven and could challenge Aiden Black for that starting role.

Offensive line
Who was here: Larry Rome (redshirt sophomore), Quinton Braden (redshirt senior), Brenton Rahman (sophomore), Nick Cieslak (redshirt freshman), J.D. Carlyle (redshirt sophomore), Philip Okuyemi (redshirt freshman), Gregory Hocker (junior), Jamal Harris (sophomore), Ryland Bragg (senior), Jalen Freeman (sophomore), Shaquille Marks (sophomore), Niles Creer (redshirt sophomore)
Whose been added: Jameson Flood (sophomore; 5 GP, 1 sack allowed), Peyton Joseph (junior; 9 GP, 1 sack allowed), Sergio Silvestro (sophomore; 12 GP, 0 sack allowed), J.J. Sauer (sophomore; 7 GP, 0 sack allowed)

At his press conference on National Signing Day, Mack described the transfer portal haul on the offensive line as "restocking the room" so these should be viewed as depth pieces primarily although they could turn into starters with a strong offseason. A former offensive lineman himself, this position is one we can expect Mack to just continuously add bodies any chance he gets.

Defensive end
Who was here: Joe Asiain (redshirt senior), Sateki Mauga (redshirt sophomore), Adam Shovlin (redshirt junior), Kareem Garvin (junior), Raphael Beebe (redshirt freshman), David Calloway (4-star true freshman), Avery Tangelo (4-star true freshman)
Whose been added: None

The Cardinal weren't heavily involved in the transfer portal market at this position as they seem to feel comfortable with where they stand. David Calloway and Avery Tangelo were the prized recruiting wins of the previous staff and the current staff clearly seems to hold them in similar esteem, opting to rely on the guys they currently have.

Interior defensive line
Who was here: Troy Aldridge (redshirt junior), Cory Jones (junior), Greg Tripucka (sophomore), James Mankins (3-star true freshman)
Whose been added: Marlon Robinson (junior; 45 tackles, 7 TFL), Akio Martinson (senior; 44 tackles, 12 TFL, Sack, FF), Angelo McCullom (senior; 52 tackles, 4 TFL, Sack)

Unlike defensive end, the coaching staff clearly wanted to improve the defensive tackle situation and they've got a couple of familiar faces in Marlon Robinson, who started at MTSU last season for defensive coordinator Brian Stewart and UNLV's Akio Martinson where offensive coordinator Richard Wiley was at. All three adds, as well as Angelo McCullom, were productive G6 players that will be making that move up as older players and should factor right away in the rotation.

Linebacker
Who was here: Jahleel Parker (redshirt senior), Sam Mattingly (redshirt senior), Maxwell Richardson (redshirt senior), Isaiah Lanovoi (redshirt sophomore), Manu Toomer (redshirt sophomore), Desmond Spann (redshirt freshman), Zac McMillon (redshirt freshman), Bo Tate (redshirt senior), Orlando Mangold (redshirt sophomore), Richard Caussin (redshirt freshman)
Whose been added: None

Similar to defensive end, the coaching staff clearly feel good about this room and weren't aggressive in the portal. We'll see how the room shakes out as there's a good mix of young unproven talent and older guys that have played a lot of college football.

Cornerback
Who was here: Lonnie McAllister (redshirt junior), Jimmie Winston (redshirt sophomore), Timmy Burnette (redshirt sophomore), J.T. Kipper (redshirt freshman), Chauncey Ankrah (redshirt freshman)
Whose been added: Cameron Keys (senior; 57 tackles, 4 INT, 7 PBU), Rukeem Stroud (junior; 77 tackles, PBU)

Stanford needed to replace their top corners who graduated, including third round pick Brandon Nicholson, and they were very aggressive in the portal in doing so by snagging top-100 transfer portal players Cameron Keys and Rukeem Stroud. They prioritized this position in the portal and snagged a nice haul to compliment Lonnie McAllister and Jimmie Winston who project to be in the mix as well for starter level snaps.

Safety
Who was here: Kayo Patu (redshirt senior), Alec Dalton (redshirt sophomore), Sam Kelikipi (redshirt sophomore), Malik Ricks (redshirt freshman), Darrius Davis (redshirt senior), Rickey Trewyn (junior)
Whose been added: Xavier Squires (junior; 55 tackles, 2 PBU), Brendan McClean (junior; 62 tackles, INT, 8 PBU)

The Cardinal add some productive safeties in Xavier Squires and Brendan McClean who should jump right away into the competition for the starting safety spots along with returning starter Kayo Patu and Darrius Davis. This has quietly become a potential stronghold for Stanford's defense as they have veteran guys that are bigger bodied safeties that can be deployed in a multitude of ways.

Notable Transfers
CB D.J. Pickett [CB #1]: Georgia (Prev Team: Tulane)
QB Austin Carlisle [QB #1]: LSU (Prev Team: Houston)
QB C.J. Carr [QB #2]: Michigan (Prev Team: LSU)
QB Jake Wakefield [QB #3]: Oklahoma (Prev Team: Arkansas)
QB Walker White [QB #4]: SMU (Prev Team: Ole Miss)
CB Ben Hanks Jr. [CB #8]: Miami (Prev Team: East Carolina)
QB Michael Van Buren Jr. [QB #17]: Indiana (Prev Team: LSU)
OT Chrisdasson Saint-Jean [OT #17]: Iowa State (Prev Team: Kennesaw State)

[Soapy]

Inside Stanford football's heist of Georgia Tech's next head coach
Kam Seidu-Harris
August 3, 2028

By the time Bubba Mack boarded a late-night private jet bound for Palo Alto, Georgia Tech officials believed they had their next head coach locked in. The contract was drawn up. The negotiations were in their final stage. The fit — an Atlanta native who had turned Kennesaw State into a playoff program — felt too obvious to fall apart.

But in college football, nothing is final until the signature is on the page.

And once Mack walked the quiet, empty Stanford campus in the middle of the night, flanked by his family and a small contingent of confidants, Georgia Tech’s grip on its top candidate began to slip.

“It was probably ten o’clock at night when the visit ended,” said a source inside Stanford’s athletic department. “They got on a plane that same night, and he was back coaching at Kennesaw State the next morning. But by then, we knew. He was ours.”

----------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------

Georgia Tech athletic director Ryan Alpert had been here before. Just a year earlier, after Brent Key’s abrupt firing, Mack’s name had shot to the top of Alpert’s list. But Mack was in demand, linked to several openings, and Tech’s request to interview him arrived too late. By then, Mack had already pledged his commitment to stay at Kennesaw State to AD Milton Overton, his former college teammate.

Alpert pivoted to Jeff Taylor. That hire lasted less than a season.

So when Taylor was dismissed, Alpert wasted no time. He called Overton immediately, determined not to repeat the same mistake.

This time, everything lined up. Mack had engineered one of the most remarkable turnarounds in recent college football memory, dragging Kennesaw State from a two-win bottom-feeder to the College Football Playoff in three years. His profile was surging. Florida State, West Virginia, and Stanford all requested interviews.

But Georgia Tech had the inside track. Mack was Atlanta-born, with family still rooted in the area. Kennesaw’s campus was less than an hour from Tech’s. Relocation wasn’t an issue. For a program still searching for stability and an identity in the ACC, Mack checked every box.

The first interview came quickly — a Sunday morning Zoom, just before Kennesaw State learned it had clinched a playoff berth. By Monday, Georgia Tech was already working through contract language.

Fearful of rumors, Mack told Overton, his staff, and his players that morning: Yes, he had interviewed with Georgia Tech. But he was fully committed to coaching them through the postseason.

Behind the scenes, Alpert believed he had landed his man.

There was one problem: Mack wasn’t ready to say yes.

Despite declining overtures from Florida State and West Virginia, Mack wanted to be thorough. And Stanford, though not viewed as a serious threat in Atlanta, loomed larger than Tech realized.

The connection was personal. Jim Mora, who had just retired after two uneven seasons at Stanford, had coached Mack as a player with the Falcons. When Mack entered coaching, Mora gave him his first break, hiring him as an intern in Seattle. Later, they reunited at UCLA and UConn, the only times Mack had coached outside the city of Kennesaw.

That history mattered. So did Stanford’s pitch.

John Donahoe, the former Nike CEO turned athletic director, had built a forward-thinking structure around the program. Andrew Luck, the school’s most famous modern alum, was serving as a general manager. After years of decline — David Shaw’s long tenure sputtering, followed by instability that saw three head coaches in five seasons — Stanford wanted stability, resources, and vision.

Mack intrigued them. And the feeling was mutual.

“It wasn’t about wins and losses for him,” said a source close to Mack. “He believed he could bring that. What gave him pause was the idea of moving his family across the country again. He’d already asked them to do that for UCLA and UConn. But out of respect for Mora, he agreed to hear Stanford out.”

The first meeting was virtual. The second, in Atlanta, felt less like an interview and more like a sales pitch. Donahoe made it clear: Mack wasn’t just a candidate. He was the candidate.

Then came the gesture that shifted everything.

Donahoe sent a private jet to Atlanta, quietly waiting at a small suburban airfield. He promised Mack that news of his interest would not leak — a non-negotiable for a coach still leading his program through the playoffs.

That night, Mack, his wife, and children boarded. They landed in Palo Alto for what amounted to one of the most clandestine campus visits in recent memory. No red carpet, no fanfare. Just a hushed, after-hours tour of facilities and a walk through Stanford’s quiet, tree-lined campus.

For Mack’s family, it was the first tangible glimpse of what life on the West Coast might look like.

By sunrise, they were back in Georgia. Mack was at practice hours later. Outwardly, nothing had changed.

But privately, it had.

Georgia Tech never saw it coming.

The contract had already been finalized before Mack flew out for the playoffs. Tech officials expected a quick signature once he returned from Clemson. Even as days passed and the deal went unsigned, Alpert remained confident. The biggest hurdle, he believed, was convincing Mack to leave Kennesaw State. Florida State had been ruled out. Stanford? Barely a factor.

That miscalculation proved fatal.

Mack met with Stanford multiple more times in the days following his return. Each time, the conversations deepened. Donahoe and Luck leaned into the vision. The resources. The chance to build something lasting at one of the most prestigious universities in the country.

And each time, Georgia Tech’s contract sat on the table, unsigned.

When Mack finally returned to Palo Alto with his family, agent, and a small group of trusted staffers, it was supposed to be one last side-by-side comparison: tour Stanford, then tour Georgia Tech, then decide.

Donahoe made sure there was no second stop. Mack didn’t get back on the plane without signing.

For Georgia Tech, the sting will linger. Twice they pursued Mack. Twice they missed. This time, not because of timing, but because they underestimated the threat from the other coast.

For Stanford, it was a coup. A program searching for relevance in a shifting college football landscape secured one of the sport’s most coveted rising coaches.

And for Mack? The decision that once felt like the safe, natural fit — staying home, staying close — was replaced by a leap of faith.

One cross-country flight changed everything.

[Captain Canada]

Georgia Tech swinging at air right now

[redsox907]

You'd always be in the big boys (Georgia) shadow at Tech. Stanford is a solid stepping stone into one of the premier gigs for Mack, or a place he can just build up

That first Stanford vs GTech game gonna hit like crack