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Cal confirms Bryce Turner dies at 19

By John TaylorJan 5, 2019, 9:10 PM EST
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For the second time in nearly five years, the Cal football program has been hit by an unimaginable tragedy.

Late last week, Cal confirmed that defensive back Bryce Turner was hospitalized after suffering a medical emergency near his home in Southern California.  Saturday night, the football program announced that Turner has died.

Turner was just 19 years old.

Turner had been participating in a workout not affiliated with the Cal football program when the medical event triggered his hospitalization.  At this point in time, a cause of death has not been released.

A redshirt sophomore after beginning his collegiate career at a junior college in 2016, Turner played in one game this past season.

In February of 2014, Cal defensive end Ted Agu died after collapsing during a conditioning run as part of the Golden Bears’ winter workouts.  The university admitted to negligence in Agu’s death in 2016 and settled with Agu’s family for nearly $5 million later that year.

Our thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to Turner’s family, friends, teammates, coaches and anyone impacted by his way-too-early death.

In statements, Cal addresses ‘unimaginable tragedy’ of 19-year-old CB Bryce Turner’s death

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By John TaylorJan 5, 2019, 10:49 PM EST
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After Bryce Turner collapsed late last week during a workout not associated with the Cal football program, Cal confirmed Saturday night that the redshirt sophomore cornerback has passed away at the age of 19.

Below are the statements attributed to the university in the wake of what it described as an “unimaginable tragedy”:

ATHLETIC DIRECTOR JIM KNOWLTON
“Our hearts are broken with this unimaginable tragedy. Bryce was a young man with a bright future and a valued member of our football team and the Cal family. His life was taken far too soon and he will be deeply missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bryce’s family, friends, teammates and coaches during this difficult time, and we will do all that we can to support each other, his family, our students and the entire Cal community through the grieving process.”

HEAD COACH JUSTIN WILCOX
“We are so deeply saddened by Bryce’s passing. This is an extremely difficult day for everyone. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to Bryce’s family, friends, teammates and so many others who have been a part of his life. No words can accurately describe the pain we feel in our hearts right now. We’ll always remember Bryce and how he impacted all of us with Cal football.“

Future Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz sets two passing records in All-American Bowl to win MVP

By Kevin McGuireJan 5, 2019, 5:10 PM EST
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Wisconsin fans likely will be smiling knowing their quarterback of the future just set a record in the All-American Bowl. Graham Mertz set two of them, actually, on his way to winning MVP honors as the East dominated the West in this year’s All-American Bowl in San Antonio. Mertz threw for 188 yards and five touchdowns to show Wisconsin fans what they should expect to see soon in Madison.

Mertz, a four-star pro-style quarterback from Kansas, was a big addition to the Wisconsin recruiting class and it was easy to see why on Saturday in San Antonio. The 188 passing yards and five touchdowns in an all-star game that typically sees the ball spread around between some of the nation’s top recruits, and quarterbacks tending to split the snaps was a mighty feat. Of course, it helps when Mertz is throwing the football to other four and five-star players.

A number of players made their college announcements during the course of the game as well. USC scored a big recruiting victory with the addition of five-star wide athlete Bru McCoy and four-star wide receiver Kyle Ford. It was a solid day for Oklahoma as well with the addition of five-star wide receiver Jadon Haselwood to the recruiting class in Norman.

Purdue scored a great recruiting victory as well by landing the commitment of wide receiver David Bell, who will pair quite well with Rondale Moore in the passing game moving forward for the next couple of years. Bell picked the Boilermakers over Ohio State and Penn State as Purdue struck gold with this recruiting battle. Naturally, the day featured a stud defensive lineman, Khris Bogle, choosing to go to Alabama

WATCH: Neal Brown says goodbye to Troy football fans with farewell address

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By Kevin McGuireJan 5, 2019, 4:28 PM EST
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He didn’t have to do it, but Neal Brown felt Troy fans deserved to hear from him one final time before officially moving on to take on the role of head coach at West Virginia. At halftime of a home men’s basketball game, Brown took to mid-court with a microphone in hand to address the fans of the Trojans one final time.

His act of taking to the court to speak directly to Troy fans before he departs for Morgantown speaks volumes of the kind of character Brown is, and both Troy and West Virginia fans should take pride in having Brown be a part of their respective programs, whether Troy fans remembering the work done by Brown over the past four seasons or West Virginia fans looking forward to seeing this leader come into their program to hopefully achieve comparable success with the Mountaineers.

Watching the video, you can see Brown gets a bit choked up a bit as he comes to grips that his time at Troy has come to an end. even though he is taking on a new challenge, you can tell he is not leaving Troy without a great amount of respect for what the program and university have meant to him.

West Virginia officially announced the hiring of Brown earlier on Saturday. Troy is currently searching for a new head coach to take over the Trojans football program.

UAB to be honored with parade in Birmingham

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By Kevin McGuireJan 5, 2019, 3:55 PM EST
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After winning the Conference USA championship and ending the season with a bowl victory, the UAB Blazers are now going to be honored with a celebratory parade.

A parade to honor the Blazers will be held on January 18, as announced on Twitter on Saturday morning.

UAB head coach Bill Clark was named the recipient of the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award for guiding UAB to the first conference championship in program history. To do so so in just the second year back from the shutting down of the program deserves recognition, but the entire success of the program from coaches to players this season is absolutely a reason to feel immense pride within the Birmingham community. As such, a parade to pay tribute to the Blazers feels appropriate in this circumstance.