Red Raiders end district slate with win over Columbia

Coach Dan Campbell to miss Lions' rookie minicamp

The Detroit Lions will hold rookie minicamp this weekend without coach Dan Campbell, who is away from the team for unspecified personal reasons. Campbell is expected to return to the team later this month, the Detroit Free Press reported Friday. The next scheduled event is May 21-23 with organized team activity practices. The team's draft picks, undrafted free agents and tryout players are among those at the three-day camp in Allen Park, Mich. The Lions had six picks in last month's NFL draft, headlined by a pair of cornerbacks -- first-round selection Terrion Arnold (Alabama) and second-rounder Ennis Rakestraw Jr. (Missouri). The team also has brought in 15 undrafted free agents. The Lions finished the 2023 season with a 12-5 record and won the NFC North. Detroit reached the conference title game but lost, 34-31, to the San Francisco 49ers. --Field Level Media

Las Vegas Raiders first-round draft pick Brock Bowers signed a fully guaranteed four-year contract worth $18.1 million with a team option for a fifth season. Bowers, a tight end, was selected by the Raiders with the 13th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft out of Georgia. The first back-to-back Mackey Award Winner (2022, 2023) given to the top tight end in college football, Bowers had 31 touchdowns (five rushing) in three seasons with the Bulldogs. In 40 career games, the 6-foot-4, 240-pound Bowers hauled in 175 receptions for 2,538 yards. Also on Thursday, the Raiders signed five other draft picks. They are cornerback Decamerion Richardson (fourth round, Mississippi State), linebacker Tommy Eichenberg (fifth, Ohio State), running back Dylan Laube (sixth, New Hampshire), safety Trey Taylor (seventh, Air Force) and cornerback M.J. Devonshire (seventh, Pitt). --Field Level Media

Raiders sign first-round pick Brock Bowers, others

Tara VanDerveer will see her legacy at Stanford remain on display moving forward, as the school announced Thursday that it is naming the floor of its basketball arena in honor of the Hall of Fame coach. VanDerveer, 70, retired after last season, her 38th year in charge of the Cardinal. She guided Stanford to 14 Final Fours and three national titles (1990, 1992, 2021). VanDerveer began her coaching career at Idaho (1978-80) and also coached at Ohio State (1980-85). In January, she surpassed Mike Krzyzewski to become the winning college basketball coach of all time, men's or women's. VanDerveer finished with a 1,216-271 record, including a 1,064-220 mark with the Cardinal. In addition to dedicating the Tara VanDerveer Court at Maples Pavilion in November, Stanford is endowing a women's basketball assistant coaching position in VanDerveer's name. VanDerveer said in a statement, "This endowment will go a long way to strengthening the future of Stanford women's basketball. I have many wonderful memories of leading the women's basketball program at Maples Pavilion. It's an honor, and a little surreal, to know that my name will be linked to both in these ways, and I look forward to celebrating with all our fans this fall." Stanford hired one of VanDerveer's longtime assistant coaches, Kate Paye, last month to take over as head coach. Paye, who played for the Cardinal from 1991-95, began working under VanDerveer in 2007. --Field Level Media

Former Cal State Fullerton guard Max Jones is transferring to Kansas State for his final college season, according to multiple reports Thursday. Jones reportedly also considered New Mexico, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Florida Atlantic and Loyola Chicago. Jones averaged 15.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 24 games (21 starts) for the Titans last season. He was second on the team in scoring and also was second with 42 3-point baskets and 41 steals. One season earlier, Jones averaged 12.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in 32 games. He had 34 treys and 30 steals. Jones played two seasons at Division II Tampa before transferring to Cal State Fullerton following the 2021-22 season. He averaged 21.9 points in 21 games as a sophomore for the Spartans. Earlier this offseason, Kansas State landed Dug McDaniel, the former Michigan player considered to be one of the top point guards in the transfer portal this year. --Field Level Media

Saints first-round pick Taliese Fuaga signed a fully guaranteed four-year contract on Thursday worth $17.3 million with a team option for a fifth season. Fuaga was the 14th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and is expected to start immediately with the offensive line in flux in front of starting quarterback Derek Carr. The team shared a video of Carr embracing Fuaga as they arrived at the team facility. The contract matches the maximum draft slot afforded the Saints with the 14th pick. Fuaga started 25 games at right tackle for Oregon State and could be tried at left tackle. Trevor Penning, a first-round pick in 2022 who was injured in his first training camp, was benched last season and replaced by Andrus Peat. But Peat left in free agency to sign with the Raiders. Ryan Ramczyk is the returning starter at right tackle but he's coming back from offseason knee surgery. A consensus first-team All-American and first-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2023, Fuaga was the third offensive tackle drafted during a run on offensive players that lasted until the Colts selected UCLA defensive end Laiatu Latu 15th. Notre Dame's Joe Alt (Chargers, No. 5 overall), Alabama's JC Latham (Titans, No. 7) and Penn State's Olu Fashanu (Jets, No. 11) have not yet signed their rookie deals. --Field Level Media

Pro Football Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson, a lockdown cornerback who spent his entire 16-year career with the San Francisco 49ers, died on Wednesday evening, his family announced. He was 86. The Hall of Fame made the announcement Thursday for Johnson's family, which said he had been in declining health for some time and had remained in the San Francisco area. Enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1994, Johnson played from 1961-76. He competed in 213 games -- at the time a franchise record later broken by Jerry Rice. Johnson's 47 interceptions also were a team mark later broken by Ronnie Lott. "Jimmy Johnson was extraordinarily athletically talented," Pro Football Hall of Fame President Jim Porter said in a statement. "The 49ers enjoyed the luxury of using him on offense and defense early in his career to fill team needs. Once he settled in at left cornerback, he flourished. The notion that a ‘lockdown' cornerback could cut the field in half for the opposition was true with Jimmy. "Only rarely would other teams' quarterbacks even look his direction, and more often than not regretted the decision if they challenged him." Johnson was selected to the Pro Bowl for four straight seasons (1969-72) as well as in 1974. He was first-team All-Pro in 1970-72. The Pro Football Hall of Fame selected him for the All-Decade Team of the 1970s. "I don't look at someone and think that he can't beat me," Johnson said. "If you play long enough, you're going to get beat. The question and the key to your effectiveness is how often." He also played halfback and flanker in 1962 and 1963, catching 40 passes for 690 yards and four touchdowns. San Francisco selected him as one of its three first-round draft choices (sixth overall in 1961). He was a football star at UCLA at wingback and defensive back as well as a track standout in hurdles and long jump. His brother, Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete Rafer Johnson, was his presenter at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 30, 1994. "Jimmy is a quiet man, but he played with determination and commitment," Rafer Johnson said. "Most of all, Jim was and is a gentle man and a true gentleman." Jimmy Johnson won the Pro Football Writers' George Halas Award for courageous play in 1971 after playing half of that season with a broken wrist. He twice received the Len Eshmont Award, chosen by 49ers players and given to a teammate for inspirational play. "Jimmy Johnson has not only been a great football player, he has been one of the game's finest citizens throughout his career," Joe Thomas, the team's vice president and general manager at that time said when the 49ers retired Johnson's No. 37 jersey in 1977. "There is no one in the NFL who does not have the highest respect for him, both as a player and as a man." --Field Level Media