Bo Nix named Broncos’ starter; SEC expert picks, biggest worries; ‘Candid coaches’ on NIL

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Good morning to everyone, but especially to …

BO NIX (AND THE TRANSFER PORTAL)

Meet your newest quarterback, Broncos fans. For your sakes, I hope this one sticks. Sean Payton announced rookie Bo Nix will be the team’s Week 1 starter. As I mentioned a few days ago, he’ll be the franchise’s first rookie quarterback to start Week 1 since John Elway in 1983. No pressure!

• Nix, the 12th pick in the draft, beat out Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson for the job. They weren’t the stiffest competition, sure, but credit Nix for going out and taking the spot: He’s 23 for 30 for 205 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions through two preseason games.
• Nix will be Denver’s 14th different starter behind center since Peyton Manning retired after winning Super Bowl 50. Only two of those 14 — Brett Rypien and Trevor Siemian — have a winning record.

Nix, 24, was a bit of a divisive prospect. While he put up huge numbers at Oregon, they came in his fifth year and as part of a terrific scheme that featured ideal support and beaucoup short throws. Still, his accuracy and ability to play on time — something he learned as a Duck — could be a great fit for Payton’s precise offense and proved him one of the transfer portal’s top recent success stories, David Cobb writes.

• Cobb: “In addition to Nix, the Bears‘ Caleb Williams (Oklahoma to USC) and the Commanders‘ Jayden Daniels (Arizona State to LSU) are beginning their rookie season as starters in the NFL following two years of prolific production at their respective second schools. … The transfer portal is an imperfect system, sure. But look no further than the top of the Broncos’ depth chart for a reminder of the life-changing power that comes with freedom of movement for college athletes.”

Honorable mentions

• Travis Kelce has his first movie role.
• Trent Williams‘ holdout may be ending soon.
• Nebraska named Dylan Raiola its starting quarterback.
• Lonzo Ball took another step in his comeback.
• Tina Charles passed Tina Thompson for second on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list.
• The Athletics have a great way to determine Fantasy draft order.
• Meet professor Pete Carroll.
• Oklahoma added five-star 2025 offensive tackle Michael Fasusi.
• South Dakota State begins the season atop our FCS Power Rankings.
• Here’s the 2026 World Baseball Classic schedule.

Not so honorable mentions

• No, this flag football player is not better than Patrick Mahomes.
• The Suns waived Nassir Little and EJ Liddell.
• We looked at why Clay Holmes is struggling … and if the Yankees need a new closer. Meanwhile, Luis Gil (back strain) hit the IL.
• Dayn Perry detailed how Jerry Reinsdorf has run the White Sox into the ground.
• What’s next for Malachi Nelson?
• Blake Anderson plans to sue Utah State for wrongful termination.
• DiJonai Carrington was not happy with the WNBA’s promotion (or lack thereof) of the Sun‘s game at TD Garden.

SEC expert picks: Who’s overrated in loaded conference?

Ah, yes, here we are. The SEC. The conference that’s home to four of the last five national champions is also home to four of the top six teams in this preseason’s AP Top 25: No. 1 Georgia, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Alabama and No. 6 Ole Miss.

Six of our eight experts are backing the Bulldogs as conference champions, but David explained why he went with the Longhorns.

• Cobb: “Texas faces a manageable schedule in its first season as part of the SEC. While the Longhorns must play Georgia, that game is at home on Oct. 19. Preseason top-15 teams from the AP Top 25 such as Alabama, Ole Miss, Missouri, LSU and Tennessee are each absent from the slate. … With continuity at quarterback and in the head coach/coordinator spots, the Longhorns are poised to rifle through this slate.”

The rankings and the public perceptions speak to the SEC’s strength. Not only are there four teams in the top six, but nine in the top 20. So, which team won’t live up to that hype? Shehan Jeyarajah says …

• Jeyarajah: “LSU — The Tigers lost their top passer, top two rushers, top two receivers … Flipping playcallers on both sides of the ball and relying on a host of unproven options to take on starring roles makes it difficult to see LSU seriously landing in the College Football Playoff discussion like a preseason No. 13 ranking might assume.”

Brandon Marcello, meanwhile, polled out SEC team experts about top concerns for each program, and even with all the changes on offense, Bryce Koon of Geaux247 says the defense is the biggest worry in Baton Rouge.

Finally, the SEC doesn’t just have a new look because Texas and Oklahoma joined. The conference is also going divisionless, meaning there could be so many tiebreakers it’ll make your head spin. Wednesday, the SEC announced the following order of tiebreakers.

1. Head-to-head competition among the tied teams
2. Record against all common conference opponents among the tied teams
3. Record against highest-placed common conference opponent in the conference standings, proceeding throughout the conference standings. 
4. Cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents
5. Capped relative total scoring margin vs. all conference opponents
6. Random draw of the tied teams

Random draws?! Let’s get crazy.

Which college basketball programs have the best NIL setup?

Matt Norlander and Gary Parrish have done their excellent “Candid Coaches” series since 2012, and just like college coaches themselves, they’ve adjusted to add NIL to the curriculum. This one caught my eye: Which programs do coaches believe have the best NIL?

They asked for lists of three. And the most popular, unsurprisingly, was Arkansas. The Razorbacks hired John Calipari this offseason, and as one coach said, “You know Cal. He’s not going anywhere unless he has everything in place.”

Here was the top five:

1. Arkansas: 73.7% of ballots
2. Kansas: 43.2%
3. BYU: 30.6%
4. Kentucky: 25.3%
5. Indiana: 16.9%

But not far off that list was Louisville, the once-proud program that has fallen on really hard times of late. The Cardinals appeared on 11.6% of ballots, and they helped produce my favorite quote from the story: “They’re handing out f—ing money like it’s Monopoly.”

That’s one candid coach indeed!

In case you missed it, Matt and Gary also polled coaches on “What’s the most someone has asked you to pay a player?”

Joey Votto retires. Is he a Hall of Famer?

Joey Votto called it a career, retiring after 17 MLB seasons, all spent with the Reds. He signed with the Blue Jays this offseason but didn’t crack the majors for them.

Here are the numbers and accolades:

• 2010 NL MVP, 2011 NL Gold Glove at first base, six-time All-Star; six top-seven MVP finishes
• Led the NL in on-base percentage seven times (led all of MLB twice); led NL in on-base plus slugging twice
• Career .294/.409/.511 hitter with 2,135 hits and 1,365 walks
• In Reds history, he ranks … First in walks; second in OPS, home runs, total bases; third in RBI; fourth fourth in WAR, runs

So … is he a Hall of Famer? Matt Snyder — who has a vote — dove headfirst into Votto’s candidacy for Cooperstown.

• Snyder: “I always considered him a Hall of Fame-caliber player. When he was truly locked in, watching his plate appearances was so aesthetically pleasing. You so rarely see players work a pitcher like he did. … It might not happen on the first ballot, but I do believe Votto will get in. He had to fight through lots of nonsense from naysayers, but I think he emerged even more respected than he was before. The lack of benchmarks and postseason success means it might take a few years, but in the end, I think his resume is more than good enough to get him in.”

What we’re watching Thursday

Guardians at Yankees or Rockies at Nationals, 1:05 p.m. on MLB Network
 Phillies at Braves or Astros at Orioles, 7:15 p.m. on Fox
 Preseason: Colts at Bengals, 8 p.m. on Prime Video
 Preseason: Bears at Chiefs, 8:20 p.m. on NFL Network