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Bears Make Key Addition With TCU Portal Transfer QB Sam Jackson

January 11, 2023
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The Bears made a key offseason portal addition with today’s signing of former TCU redshirt frosh QB Sam Jackson today. The former 4 star prep QB from Naperville, IL was rated the #1 overall player in Illinois before committing to TCU as an early entrant in 2021.

"Sam is a young and talented athlete who is developing rapidly as a quarterback," said Cal head coach Justin Wilcox "We are excited to get him started in our program and continue to accelerate his development."

As a true frosh in 2021, the 5-11/185 Jackson made appearances in two games and had two carries for 11 yards and a 77-yard completion in his only pass of the season. As a redshirt frosh in 2022, he completed 5-of-5 passes for 61 yards and had nine rushes for 61 yards (7.11 ypc) and two TDs on the ground.

As a prep player at Naperville Central (Naperville, IL) High School, Jackson was rated a 4 star dual threat QB and #1 QB in Illinois by 247 and the #1 player overall in Illinois by ESPN, who also rated him 204th in the ESPN 300.

Originally a wide receiver, Jackson totaled 50 catches for 847 yards and 14 touchdowns as a soph before switching to QB his junior year in 2019 where he threw for 1,727 yards and 16 touchdowns. With no senior season due to Covid, Jackson was an early entrant at TCU after choosing the Horned Frogs over Oregon, Notre Dame, Purdue and Minnesota.



The speedy QB should give Cal offensive coordinator Jake Spavital the dual threat weapon he’s looking for to run his wide-open style of offense at Cal. Jackson will enroll for spring semester and be available to participate in spring ball. He will be the 20th addition to the Bears’ 2023 class and the 10th addition via the portal. He will have three seasons of eligibility at Cal.

Stay tuned for more from Jackson as available.

Related:

Former U of I WR and 4 Star Prep Recruit Hightower Signs With Cal

Bears Add Tennessee Portal Transfer RB Justin Williams-Thomas

Discussion from...

Bears Make Key Addition With TCU Portal Transfer QB Sam Jackson

24,902 Views | 59 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by burritos
Pittstop
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It happens. CJ Stroud as a freshman? Justin Fields as a freshman? Tavita Pritchard as a freshman? Just off the top of my head. Joe Burrow (had to transfer to LSU to play).
wc22
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QBs that are only behind those senior to them with playing experience before they arrived on campus are usually not judged to be not good.

He will be here for Spring. He is a good get. I would have rather had both him and Chandler Rogers but he is a coup.

Chandler Rogers is the more proven, lower floor and lower ceiling, version of Jackson (could still end up a Pro, just not as fast, not as strong of an arm). I would want to have both, but that is not how it happened.
calumnus
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wc22 said:

QBs that are only behind those senior to them with playing experience before they arrived on campus are usually not judged to be not good.

He will be here for Spring. He is a good get. I would have rather had both him and Chandler Rogers but he is a coup.

Chandler Rogers is the more proven, lower floor and lower ceiling, version of Jackson (could still end up a Pro, just not as fast, not as strong of an arm). I would want to have both, but that is not how it happened.


And we may not be done. There will be more movement after the Spring, but I am really happy we got Jackson. Really happy.
bearsandgiants
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I have never seen a man move like Sam Jackson in my life. It's electric, automatic speed. It looks like someone's fast-forwarding the video, just with his body, while everybody else is in slow mo. I mean, if we had him this year and he stayed healthy, i'm pretty sure he'd have been able to turn more than half of our 3rd and longs into first downs. When plummer was somewhat mobile, we were a pretty good offense. Once he got hurt, it shut down. Millner showed flashes of what a mobile QB could have done with our offense, but Sam Jackson is next, next level, and I think even with our less-than-serviceable O-line, we'll still be ok. This is why I worry he too will be gone, with the May portal exodus. Not sure of the rule but you should only be able to use the portal one time per year. Hope that's the case. I think he'll love it here, and be wildly successful, but there's got to be at least SOME check on the poaching process. Portal as a free for all is a bad thing.
91Cal
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calumnus said:

FloriDreaming said:

The third-stringer from TCU is going to save Cal football.

Yeah.

Welp. Hit the books, kid, get that Cal diploma. That's your future, it sure as hell ain't Justin Wilcox.


Context is decisive. TCU was just in the NCG. The two guys ahead of him were seasoned, experienced QBs. They made it to the NCG. He played anyway. He was TCU's future. Now he is at Cal.
And Sonny did say that all three could start…
Rushinbear
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bledblue said:

BearGreg said:

bledblue said:

So Jackson was a 4 star recruit out of H.S., but has played very little in 2yrs. He's had 14 plays in that time with FIVE passes thrown. Was the 3rd string QB, and is now somehow our savior?
He's unproven. He's a great athlete, but is still a huge gamble! Shouldn't they be looking for someone who actually has game experience? I could see the excitement if he was the 2nd string guy, but Sonny had him at 3rd for a reason.
There's a risk inherent with any QB who hasn't played much. Ceiling feels high with Jackson and perhaps that's what mitigates the risk for the staff?

As for being third string, Jackson was a RS Freshman in 2022 competing with a four year starter (who was a Heisman finalist and took his team to the Natty) and a third year player who had thrown 80+ passes prior to this year and who beat out the Heisman finalist.

All three were in contention for the job right up until the first week of the season and all three played.

We're not too many years away from the #1 NFL draft pick having been the third string QB behind Mahomes and Davis Webb


From the 5 passes I've seen him throw, I still think he doesn't throw as well as Mendoza. This is all about his running skills. Not a very big guy either!
Maybe he can't throw it 60 yards. Maybe he can. The question is, does he have what Spav needs to make it go. I think he does.
CalVC2
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intriguing road he has taken. In HS, he was hotly pursued by Notre Dame, Oregon, and many others, and went for Minnesota. Then decommitted and opted to go to Purdue. Guessing from his quotes that Minnesota was recruiting him as QB/WR, while Purdue went exclusively as a QB. The 6 months later, flipped to TCU at the last minute. Most note that he has the "it" factor, but ongoing comments about size & opps between QB & WR. So he's well traveled in the college process - but as the world saw with MBB Charlie Moore, it's all about finding the right opportunity to play - and I think he's a very promising addition to the Bears

MoragaBear
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Staff
bearsandgiants said:

I have never seen a man move like Sam Jackson in my life. It's electric, automatic speed. It looks like someone's fast-forwarding the video, just with his body, while everybody else is in slow mo. I mean, if we had him this year and he stayed healthy, i'm pretty sure he'd have been able to turn more than half of our 3rd and longs into first downs. When plummer was somewhat mobile, we were a pretty good offense. Once he got hurt, it shut down. Millner showed flashes of what a mobile QB could have done with our offense, but Sam Jackson is next, next level, and I think even with our less-than-serviceable O-line, we'll still be ok. This is why I worry he too will be gone, with the May portal exodus. Not sure of the rule but you should only be able to use the portal one time per year. Hope that's the case. I think he'll love it here, and be wildly successful, but there's got to be at least SOME check on the poaching process. Portal as a free for all is a bad thing.
You only get one free transfer. He'd have to sit out a year if he transferred again and that would only leave him with one year of eligibility so it's highly unlikely.
GivemTheAxe
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MoragaBear said:

bearsandgiants said:

I have never seen a man move like Sam Jackson in my life. It's electric, automatic speed. It looks like someone's fast-forwarding the video, just with his body, while everybody else is in slow mo. I mean, if we had him this year and he stayed healthy, i'm pretty sure he'd have been able to turn more than half of our 3rd and longs into first downs. When plummer was somewhat mobile, we were a pretty good offense. Once he got hurt, it shut down. Millner showed flashes of what a mobile QB could have done with our offense, but Sam Jackson is next, next level, and I think even with our less-than-serviceable O-line, we'll still be ok. This is why I worry he too will be gone, with the May portal exodus. Not sure of the rule but you should only be able to use the portal one time per year. Hope that's the case. I think he'll love it here, and be wildly successful, but there's got to be at least SOME check on the poaching process. Portal as a free for all is a bad thing.
You only get one free transfer. He'd have to sit out a year if he transferred again and that would only leave him with one year of eligibility so it's highly unlikely.

That is certainly good news especially since he is registering for the Spring semester and by May will be a Cal student.

One Question. At what point is the player considered to have "transferred".
1. When he agrees to transfer to the new school?
2. When he receives a scholarship?
3. When he registers with the school?

I assume the answer is 3. Since I have heard of players agreeing to transfer to one school. Then changing their mind and then agreeing to transfer to another.

FireFighterBest
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Rushinbear said:

bledblue said:

BearGreg said:

bledblue said:

So Jackson was a 4 star recruit out of H.S., but has played very little in 2yrs. He's had 14 plays in that time with FIVE passes thrown. Was the 3rd string QB, and is now somehow our savior?
He's unproven. He's a great athlete, but is still a huge gamble! Shouldn't they be looking for someone who actually has game experience? I could see the excitement if he was the 2nd string guy, but Sonny had him at 3rd for a reason.
There's a risk inherent with any QB who hasn't played much. Ceiling feels high with Jackson and perhaps that's what mitigates the risk for the staff?

As for being third string, Jackson was a RS Freshman in 2022 competing with a four year starter (who was a Heisman finalist and took his team to the Natty) and a third year player who had thrown 80+ passes prior to this year and who beat out the Heisman finalist.

All three were in contention for the job right up until the first week of the season and all three played.

We're not too many years away from the #1 NFL draft pick having been the third string QB behind Mahomes and Davis Webb


From the 5 passes I've seen him throw, I still think he doesn't throw as well as Mendoza. This is all about his running skills. Not a very big guy either!
Maybe he can't throw it 60 yards. Maybe he can. The question is, does he have what Spav needs to make it go. I think he does.


Yes he can throw it 60 yards. In one of his 6 throws at TCU, he rolls to the left and throws it somewhat against his body. He flicked that one 58 yards. 60 should be no problem.
StillNoStanfurdium
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GivemTheAxe said:

MoragaBear said:

bearsandgiants said:

I have never seen a man move like Sam Jackson in my life. It's electric, automatic speed. It looks like someone's fast-forwarding the video, just with his body, while everybody else is in slow mo. I mean, if we had him this year and he stayed healthy, i'm pretty sure he'd have been able to turn more than half of our 3rd and longs into first downs. When plummer was somewhat mobile, we were a pretty good offense. Once he got hurt, it shut down. Millner showed flashes of what a mobile QB could have done with our offense, but Sam Jackson is next, next level, and I think even with our less-than-serviceable O-line, we'll still be ok. This is why I worry he too will be gone, with the May portal exodus. Not sure of the rule but you should only be able to use the portal one time per year. Hope that's the case. I think he'll love it here, and be wildly successful, but there's got to be at least SOME check on the poaching process. Portal as a free for all is a bad thing.
You only get one free transfer. He'd have to sit out a year if he transferred again and that would only leave him with one year of eligibility so it's highly unlikely.

That is certainly good news especially since he is registering for the Spring semester and by May will be a Cal student.

One Question. At what point is the player considered to have "transferred".
1. When he agrees to transfer to the new school?
2. When he receives a scholarship?
3. When he registers with the school?

I assume the answer is 3. Since I have heard of players agreeing to transfer to one school. Then changing their mind and then agreeing to transfer to another.


I'm not even sure registering is too late to leave. We've had recruits in the past show up in our systems only to still go elsewhere and more recently the Tenn RB transfer we flipped from Furd had already registered (I think, correct me if I'm wrong. I know he was far along the process to get enrolled).

It might be literally the point at which you're on campus for classes that things are official.
MoragaBear
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Staff
GivemTheAxe said:

MoragaBear said:

bearsandgiants said:

I have never seen a man move like Sam Jackson in my life. It's electric, automatic speed. It looks like someone's fast-forwarding the video, just with his body, while everybody else is in slow mo. I mean, if we had him this year and he stayed healthy, i'm pretty sure he'd have been able to turn more than half of our 3rd and longs into first downs. When plummer was somewhat mobile, we were a pretty good offense. Once he got hurt, it shut down. Millner showed flashes of what a mobile QB could have done with our offense, but Sam Jackson is next, next level, and I think even with our less-than-serviceable O-line, we'll still be ok. This is why I worry he too will be gone, with the May portal exodus. Not sure of the rule but you should only be able to use the portal one time per year. Hope that's the case. I think he'll love it here, and be wildly successful, but there's got to be at least SOME check on the poaching process. Portal as a free for all is a bad thing.
You only get one free transfer. He'd have to sit out a year if he transferred again and that would only leave him with one year of eligibility so it's highly unlikely.

That is certainly good news especially since he is registering for the Spring semester and by May will be a Cal student.

One Question. At what point is the player considered to have "transferred".
1. When he agrees to transfer to the new school?
2. When he receives a scholarship?
3. When he registers with the school?

I assume the answer is 3. Since I have heard of players agreeing to transfer to one school. Then changing their mind and then agreeing to transfer to another.
Transfers aren't official and binding till a player goes to class. Cal starts on Tuesday and Jackson's on an OV to Cal the next three days.
WalterSobchak
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MoragaBear said:

GivemTheAxe said:

MoragaBear said:

bearsandgiants said:

I have never seen a man move like Sam Jackson in my life. It's electric, automatic speed. It looks like someone's fast-forwarding the video, just with his body, while everybody else is in slow mo. I mean, if we had him this year and he stayed healthy, i'm pretty sure he'd have been able to turn more than half of our 3rd and longs into first downs. When plummer was somewhat mobile, we were a pretty good offense. Once he got hurt, it shut down. Millner showed flashes of what a mobile QB could have done with our offense, but Sam Jackson is next, next level, and I think even with our less-than-serviceable O-line, we'll still be ok. This is why I worry he too will be gone, with the May portal exodus. Not sure of the rule but you should only be able to use the portal one time per year. Hope that's the case. I think he'll love it here, and be wildly successful, but there's got to be at least SOME check on the poaching process. Portal as a free for all is a bad thing.
You only get one free transfer. He'd have to sit out a year if he transferred again and that would only leave him with one year of eligibility so it's highly unlikely.

That is certainly good news especially since he is registering for the Spring semester and by May will be a Cal student.

One Question. At what point is the player considered to have "transferred".
1. When he agrees to transfer to the new school?
2. When he receives a scholarship?
3. When he registers with the school?

I assume the answer is 3. Since I have heard of players agreeing to transfer to one school. Then changing their mind and then agreeing to transfer to another.
Transfers aren't official and binding till a player goes to class. Cal starts on Tuesday and Jackson's on an OV to Cal the next three days.
Yeah but where's Deon? That's the real question. /s
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Bobodeluxe
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MoragaBear said:

GivemTheAxe said:

MoragaBear said:

bearsandgiants said:

I have never seen a man move like Sam Jackson in my life. It's electric, automatic speed. It looks like someone's fast-forwarding the video, just with his body, while everybody else is in slow mo. I mean, if we had him this year and he stayed healthy, i'm pretty sure he'd have been able to turn more than half of our 3rd and longs into first downs. When plummer was somewhat mobile, we were a pretty good offense. Once he got hurt, it shut down. Millner showed flashes of what a mobile QB could have done with our offense, but Sam Jackson is next, next level, and I think even with our less-than-serviceable O-line, we'll still be ok. This is why I worry he too will be gone, with the May portal exodus. Not sure of the rule but you should only be able to use the portal one time per year. Hope that's the case. I think he'll love it here, and be wildly successful, but there's got to be at least SOME check on the poaching process. Portal as a free for all is a bad thing.
You only get one free transfer. He'd have to sit out a year if he transferred again and that would only leave him with one year of eligibility so it's highly unlikely.

That is certainly good news especially since he is registering for the Spring semester and by May will be a Cal student.

One Question. At what point is the player considered to have "transferred".
1. When he agrees to transfer to the new school?
2. When he receives a scholarship?
3. When he registers with the school?

I assume the answer is 3. Since I have heard of players agreeing to transfer to one school. Then changing their mind and then agreeing to transfer to another.
Transfers aren't official and binding till a player goes to class. Cal starts on Tuesday and Jackson's on an OV to Cal the next three days.
Well, that is something to consider.
LawoftheBear
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CalVC2 said:

intriguing road he has taken. In HS, he was hotly pursued by Notre Dame, Oregon, and many others, and went for Minnesota. Then decommitted and opted to go to Purdue. Guessing from his quotes that Minnesota was recruiting him as QB/WR, while Purdue went exclusively as a QB. The 6 months later, flipped to TCU at the last minute. Most note that he has the "it" factor, but ongoing comments about size & opps between QB & WR. So he's well traveled in the college process - but as the world saw with MBB Charlie Moore, it's all about finding the right opportunity to play - and I think he's a very promising addition to the Bears




What happened with Charlie Moore? I remember he had one great year with us. Then he transferred. What happened to him afterwards?
KoreAmBear
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LawoftheBear said:

CalVC2 said:

intriguing road he has taken. In HS, he was hotly pursued by Notre Dame, Oregon, and many others, and went for Minnesota. Then decommitted and opted to go to Purdue. Guessing from his quotes that Minnesota was recruiting him as QB/WR, while Purdue went exclusively as a QB. The 6 months later, flipped to TCU at the last minute. Most note that he has the "it" factor, but ongoing comments about size & opps between QB & WR. So he's well traveled in the college process - but as the world saw with MBB Charlie Moore, it's all about finding the right opportunity to play - and I think he's a very promising addition to the Bears




What happened with Charlie Moore? I remember he had one great year with us. Then he transferred. What happened to him afterwards?
Let's see if I can do this without Google:

Cal--> Kansas --> DePaul --> Miami

Not sure if he ran out of eligibility or he's still playing college ball.

Am I missing any stops?
oski003
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KoreAmBear said:

LawoftheBear said:

CalVC2 said:

intriguing road he has taken. In HS, he was hotly pursued by Notre Dame, Oregon, and many others, and went for Minnesota. Then decommitted and opted to go to Purdue. Guessing from his quotes that Minnesota was recruiting him as QB/WR, while Purdue went exclusively as a QB. The 6 months later, flipped to TCU at the last minute. Most note that he has the "it" factor, but ongoing comments about size & opps between QB & WR. So he's well traveled in the college process - but as the world saw with MBB Charlie Moore, it's all about finding the right opportunity to play - and I think he's a very promising addition to the Bears




What happened with Charlie Moore? I remember he had one great year with us. Then he transferred. What happened to him afterwards?
Let's see if I can do this without Google:

Cal--> Kansas --> DePaul --> Miami

Not sure if he ran out of eligibility or he's still playing college ball.

Am I missing any stops?


Didn't he apply for hardships because his grandma was sick and needed to be less than 500 miles away and then later transferred farther?
calumnus
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oski003 said:

KoreAmBear said:

LawoftheBear said:

CalVC2 said:

intriguing road he has taken. In HS, he was hotly pursued by Notre Dame, Oregon, and many others, and went for Minnesota. Then decommitted and opted to go to Purdue. Guessing from his quotes that Minnesota was recruiting him as QB/WR, while Purdue went exclusively as a QB. The 6 months later, flipped to TCU at the last minute. Most note that he has the "it" factor, but ongoing comments about size & opps between QB & WR. So he's well traveled in the college process - but as the world saw with MBB Charlie Moore, it's all about finding the right opportunity to play - and I think he's a very promising addition to the Bears




What happened with Charlie Moore? I remember he had one great year with us. Then he transferred. What happened to him afterwards?
Let's see if I can do this without Google:

Cal--> Kansas --> DePaul --> Miami

Not sure if he ran out of eligibility or he's still playing college ball.

Am I missing any stops?


Didn't he apply for hardships because his grandma was sick and needed to be less than 500 miles away and then later transferred farther?


After his grandma passed?
CalVC2
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Charlie Moore path: Cal--> Kansas --> DePaul --> Miami --> Elite Eight (beating USC, Auburn, Iowa State, then lost to #1 Kansas)
calumnus
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CalVC2 said:

Charlie Moore path: Cal--> Kansas --> DePaul --> Miami --> Elite Eight (beating USC, Auburn, Iowa State, then lost to #1 Kansas)


Hard to argue staying at Cal would have been better from a basketball standpoint.
GivemTheAxe
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MoragaBear said:

GivemTheAxe said:

MoragaBear said:

bearsandgiants said:

I have never seen a man move like Sam Jackson in my life. It's electric, automatic speed. It looks like someone's fast-forwarding the video, just with his body, while everybody else is in slow mo. I mean, if we had him this year and he stayed healthy, i'm pretty sure he'd have been able to turn more than half of our 3rd and longs into first downs. When plummer was somewhat mobile, we were a pretty good offense. Once he got hurt, it shut down. Millner showed flashes of what a mobile QB could have done with our offense, but Sam Jackson is next, next level, and I think even with our less-than-serviceable O-line, we'll still be ok. This is why I worry he too will be gone, with the May portal exodus. Not sure of the rule but you should only be able to use the portal one time per year. Hope that's the case. I think he'll love it here, and be wildly successful, but there's got to be at least SOME check on the poaching process. Portal as a free for all is a bad thing.
You only get one free transfer. He'd have to sit out a year if he transferred again and that would only leave him with one year of eligibility so it's highly unlikely.

That is certainly good news especially since he is registering for the Spring semester and by May will be a Cal student.

One Question. At what point is the player considered to have "transferred".
1. When he agrees to transfer to the new school?
2. When he receives a scholarship?
3. When he registers with the school?

I assume the answer is 3. Since I have heard of players agreeing to transfer to one school. Then changing their mind and then agreeing to transfer to another.
Transfers aren't official and binding till a player goes to class. Cal starts on Tuesday and Jackson's on an OV to Cal the next three days.

Nail biting time until Wednesday?
CalVC2
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It's the new reality of college sports... So perfectly reasonable to see the Sam Jackson path (with 3 years of eligibility) be

Minnesota -> Purdue -> TCU -> Cal -> Cheez-It -> running the table in Pac-120 the following year -> Rose -> National Championship (well at least to Cheez-It)
oski003
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CalVC2 said:

It's the new reality of college sports... So perfectly reasonable to see the Sam Jackson path (with 3 years of eligibility) be

Minnesota -> Purdue -> TCU -> Cal -> Cheez-It -> running the table in Pac-120 the following year -> Rose -> National Championship (well at least to Cheez-It)


Pulp Fiction -> Snakes on a Plane -> TCU -> Cal
burritos
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Wow. Haven't been this excited since Boller committed and the DJ Williams close call.
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