Month: March 2026

As spring football is off and running for college programs, college and NFL fans alike also have their attention turned toward the 2026 NFL Draft, hosted this year by Pittsburgh on April 23-25. In this week’s Let’s Debate, our college football experts are examining both spring football and next year’s NFL Draft. So before spring football ends with finalized rosters for next season and before 2027 NFL mock drafts are ever-present, we’re examining which college players have the most to prove this season and which players might be off the board first in 2027. Which player has the most to prove to his program this season? RJ Young: Darian Mensah, Miami QB Mensah breached his contract with Duke, made a mess that needed to be settled outside of court, only to walk into a program as the presumed starter at Miami, where the acts he follows include a former No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft and the first quarterback to lead the Hurricanes to the national title game since Ken Dorsey 25 years ago. Mensah led Duke to its first ACC title in 36 years, and he has developed into one of the better quarterbacks in the country. But with this being his third stop and the second where he has made headlines — first for signing a two-year, $8 million contract and second for breaking it — he can’t afford to play poorly in 2026 both for Miami’s sake and for the sake of his NFL Draft stock next season. Michael Cohen: Makhi Hughes, Houston RB Around this time last year, Hughes was one of the hotter names in college football after his headline-grabbing transfer from Tulane to Oregon. He’d put together back-to-back 1,300-yard seasons for the Green Wave in 2023 and 2024, twice earning first-team All-AAC honors, to entrench himself as one of the best young tailbacks in the country. When he entered the portal last winter and subsequently committed to Oregon, it was presumed that the Ducks were landing the future bell cow in their backfield. But it never quite worked for Hughes at Oregon. He was unable to carve out a role in a talented backfield spearheaded by Noah Whittington, Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr., never tallying another carry after the win over Oregon State on Sept. 20. It was no surprise when Hughes announced his intention to enter the portal a second time, and now he’ll have to work his way back to prominence at Houston. [NFL DRAFT: Fernando Mendoza Leads QBs in Top 100 on Big Board] Which player would you select first in the 2027 NFL Draft: Jeremiah Smith or Arch Manning? Young: Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State WR, and it’s not close. Only one of these players has proven he’s a generational talent at his position, emerging as the best true freshmen since Trevor Lawrence at Clemson in 2018 to lead his team to the national title. Only one of these players has repeatedly dismantled his opposition in one-on-one battles, beaten double teams and helped swing the balance of power from the SEC to the Big Ten — the league that is home to the last three national champions. The stats for Smith are there with back-to-back seasons with more than 1,200 receiving yards, leading the Big Ten in 2024 and 2025. But more important is the ability to change the fortunes of an NFL franchise with one selection. Cohen: Arch Manning, Texas QB Even though all signs point toward Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith likely having a better pro career than Texas quarterback Arch Manning — the words “generational talent” continue to be thrown around when people discuss the Buckeye great — the latter is a far more logical choice, given the unparalleled impact of his position in the modern game. There’s a reason why the last wide receiver to be selected No. 1 overall was Keyshawn Johnson in 1996. And there’s a reason why 21 of the ensuing 29 top overall picks were quarterbacks. No matter how talented, how explosive, how indescribably unique any non-quarterback might be, they’ll never influence winning and losing as directly as a team’s signal-caller. Selecting Manning at No. 1 overall, while risky, at least gives a general manager the opportunity to unearth a truly franchise-altering player. The same just can’t be said for a wide receiver — even one as phenomenal as Smith. In Let’s Debate, our experts tackle and explain the hot-button issues fans care about.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

ARLINGTON, Texas — It’s typical to hear lots of screaming inside Jerry’s World during Dallas Cowboys football games. This weekend, there will be the scream of INDYCAR engines around AT&T Stadium (home of the Cowboys) and Globe Life Stadium (home of the Texas Rangers) as drivers navigate a 2.73-mile course for the first time in series history. There are 14 turns — nine right-handers and five left-handers. The inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington (noon ET, FOX) will present a challenge as no driver has experience on the course. It will also present an event with the marketing and branding force of the Cowboys behind it. Here’s what to know about the race. New INDYCAR Arlington Start Time The original start time for the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington was 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, but INDYCAR moved the time up to noon ET in anticipation of weather. FOX’s race coverage will begin at 11:30 a.m. ET. How Will Drivers Prepare? Typically, the drivers practice and determine setups in a simulator where the track surface has been scanned and then the data is supplemented from what teams learn on a race weekend. But there have been no scans of this track’s surface. So the simulator track is determined through GPS. That makes it difficult to recognize bumps. And until the walls were placed in the last few weeks, no one really knew their exact location. [POWER RANKINGS: Who is on top heading into Arlington?] Alexander Rossi, driver of the No. 20 car for ECR, answered my question during a Zoom this week on just how little he knows from the simulator. “The track scans are very high quality, but for a place like this that’s brand new, you don’t have a full surface scan,” Rossi said. “You only have essentially a GPS scan with walls kind of placed around the perimeter. “Both Honda and Chevy have kind of the same track model, so you don’t have any sort of the bumps modeled or grip differential depending on surfaces.” So how does it help? “It’s a great tool to at least know what corner comes next,” Rossi said. “But in terms of brake points and grip levels, how fast you can actually go, the line, where bumps are, that sort of thing — everyone will be figuring that out together kind of starting from zero.” What Else Can They Do To Prepare? Pato O’Ward, driver of the No. 5 car for Arrow McLaren, said he never even got a chance to do the simulator. But some fans have posted online laps on YouTube from what they’ve been able to create. “I’m curious to see what it’s going to be all about, and I do think it’s going to be a little chaotic,” O’Ward said. “People are going to be getting creative. They’re going to stuff their nose where they shouldn’t, and it’s going to create roadblocks.” What Is Unique About This Course? Most of the street circuits are shorter ones, typically around 2 miles. This one is the longest for INDYCAR at 2.73 miles. The other street courses: Markham (2.19 miles), Long Beach (1.968), St. Petersburg (1.8), Washington (1.66) and Detroit (1.645). That makes this one a little more unique in that they will be doing laps of around 90 seconds instead of 50 seconds. There are enough viewing areas that give a look at multiple track locations that fans shouldn’t feel as if they are waiting forever for the cars to come by. “[The short courses are] not very interesting for the fans,” Arrow McLaren No. 7 car driver Christian Lundgaard told me. “It’s certainly not interesting for us as drivers. We aren’t really enjoying the layout of the track. And I think here we will. “And I think that’s the big difference is this is actually exciting. And I think what the promoters and the series have done for this place is it’s not just a race, it’s a venue, and everything that follows around is what will make the difference.” Rigorous Schedule Last year, the 2025 season kicked off in St. Petersburg and then had two races over the next eight weeks. This year, it is opening with three races in back-to-back-to-back weeks — St. Petersburg, Phoenix and now Arlington. [INSIDE THE GARAGE: Team Penske Relishes Phoenix Sweep] It makes for some road-weary crew members, but at least there is a feeling of momentum. “I think what’s more draining, from a mental and just energy standpoint, is traveling around is what really drains you,” Lundgaard said. “The work doesn’t stop. And I think at the end of the year, that’s when you really feel it. “But I’m just excited to be here and put on a show.” Are These The Same Cars As Phoenix? Kind of. The front wing and rear wing are different for road and street courses than they are for the ovals. Teams also would use different dampers (suspension pieces). Teams worked on their cars Sunday at Phoenix before leaving Arizona, the crews will likely going home to Indianapolis for a few days and the team haulers already headed to Texas. Is Alex Palou Good At New Courses? Yes he is. Alex Palou, the three-time defending series champion who currently is fifth in the standings after two races, has won the last two races at new tracks: Last year in the first points race at Thermal and 2023 at the new Detroit course. [KEVIN HARVICK: Open-Wheel Crashes at Phoenix ‘Could Have Been Prevented’] Marcus Ericsson won the inaugural race on the Nashville street course in 2021. What Is New About Qualifying? In the final “Fast Six” round, instead of having a six-minute session with drivers running as many laps as they can get in with the best last counting, each of the six finalists will get only one lap. Only one car will be on the track at a time, allowing for more exposure of each of the six drivers vying for the pole. Are there any hometown drivers? Santino Ferrucci, driver of the No. 14 car for AJ Foyt Racing, lives in the Dallas area and expects to have plenty of support. “I think it’s bigger here than Indy for me,” Ferrucci told me and other reporters last week. “I have more people there. And it being my home race, I personally have close to 100 people that are coming.” O’Ward, who hails from Monterrey, Mexico, moved to the San Antonio area when he was 11, so Texas is kind of his home. “This is the closest that I have to home, and it really is, but I don’t necessarily think it’s because it’s close to Mexico, but just because this is where I see a lot of the people that remind me of home — the language and a lot of friends and family are coming this weekend,” O’Ward said. INDYCAR rookie Mick Schumacher’s family has a horse ranch in Texas, so he has spent some time in the state as well. Are There Any Rangers Or Cowboys Coming? With the Rangers in spring training and the Cowboys out of season, it is still to be determined if any active players are there. Rangers great Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez and Cowboys great DeMarcus Ware will give the command to start engines for Sunday’s race.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports