Rutgers Hires Joe Evans as Assistant Defensive Line Coach — and more

Rutgers football announced the hiring of former Drake defensive line coach Joe Evans as its new assistant defensive line coach. Evans joins the staff under new defensive line coach Dennis Dottin‑Carter, alongside Joe Woodley and Adam Cox, all former Drake assistants.

Evans spent one season at Drake, where he helped develop linemen Jacob Auen, Nolan Korzeniowski and Gene Blalock, each posting double‑digit sack totals. A former Iowa walk‑on, Evans finished his college career with 135 tackles, 35 tackles for loss, 28 sacks, four forced fumbles and one recovery. He briefly joined the Baltimore Ravens practice squad in 2024 before being released.

Patriots Would Be Foolish Not To Pursue This Star Free Agent Wide Receiver originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The New England Patriots have plenty of positions to address during free agency: edge, wide receiver, offensive line, linebacker, tight end.

It’s not going to be easy to check all of those boxes, though...

If the club intends on putting itself in a position to regularly contend, it will have to put together another near-flawless offseason -- which might just include investing in one of the league's budding superstars: Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce.

Let's take a look!

Bio:

Alec Pierce
Position: WR
Height: 6’ 3"
Weight: 211lbs
2026 Age: 26 (May 2, 2000)
2025: 15 G, 47 REC, 1,003 REC YDS, 6 TD

The Patriots should sign Alec Pierce because:

It's the most obvious fit possible...

Pierce is something of a unicorn, as he has been the league leader in yards per reception across each of the last two seasons (22.3 in 2024; 21.3 in 2025), with his 47 receptions last season serving as the fewest to clear 1,000 receiving yards since Philadelphia Eagles head coach DeSean Jackson in 2010.

I'd be willing to bet those numbers improve working alongside Drake Maye.

The Patriots need to make changes at wide receiver -- Kayshon Boutte and Kyle Williams are here to stay, but the future of Stefon Diggs, DeMario Douglas and Mack Hollins all seem to be up in the air entering 2026. If you sign this guy, the focus shifts toward making tight ends and running backs a bigger part of the passing game -- which is what the organization has always thrived doing and the current roster is built to do.

The Patriots should not sign Alec Pierce because:

It's not their only option...

New England is uniquely positioned to make a play for the two wide receivers believed to be on the trade market: the Philadelphia Eagles' A.J. Brown and the Jacksonville Jaguars' Brian Thomas Jr. If they're able to push one of those trades past the finish line, there would be no reason to invest substantial amounts of money into the free agent class' most promising wide receiver.

Best Fits:

1. Indianapolis Colts
2. New England Patriots
3. Las Vegas Raiders

Mike Vrabel, Eliot Wolf and Ryan Cowden, in their first offseason working as a trio, orchestrated an all but flawless plan that fueled the organization's turnaround -- which primarily included the additions of free agents and rookies, with their only trades serving as a means to send players away and not bring them in.

I don't see them waiting things out and relying on their splash move to come in the form of an exchange with someone else, so expect them to make a play.

The Colts already screwed things up by applying the transition tag to quarterback Daniel Jones, freeing up their star wide receiver to test the waters and offer his services to the highest bidder. The Patriots should make sure they're exactly that.

More NFL: Patriots Offseason Preview: Everything Team Must Address In 2026

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Khamari McGriff scored 18 points and Nate Johnson scored 16 points and Kansas State delivered another blow to West Virginia's NCAA Tournament hopes holding off the Mountaineers 65-63 on Tuesday night.

Reserve Chance Moore scored 18 points, Brenen Lorient scored 14 points, reserve DJ Thomas 12 and Honor Huff 11 for West Virginia.

It was the first win of the season for the Wildcats in which they didn't score 81-or-more points.

PJ Haggerty, the nation’s third-leading scorer, was unexpectedly scratched from the Wildcats' lineup posted an hour-and-a-half before the 7 p.m. CT tip-off. Haggerty wasn't listed on the team’s initial availability report released Monday.

Kansas State said in a release that Haggerty sustained an injury in practice in recent days. He’s listed day-to-day ahead of Saturday’s matchup at Kansas. Haggerty, the Wildcats’ starting point guard, entered Tuesday night second in the Big 12 in scoring, averaging 23.3 points per game.

Despite his absence Kansas State (12-18, 3-14) used a 21-0 run to take a 48-31 lead with 10:53 remaining, its longest scoring run of the season.

But the Wildcats proceeded to leave the door open failing to score a field goal in the final 3:48. McGriff made two free throws for a 57-39 lead with a 7:29 left.

West Virginia (17-13, 8-9) then outscored the Wildcats 19-1 down the stretch and got to with 61-58 with 48 seconds left before McGriff and Johnson each made foul shots to secure the win.

Up next

West Virginia: Wraps up the regular season on Friday against UCF.

Kansas State: Ends the regular season on the road against 14th-ranked state rival Kansas on Saturday.

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The Philadelphia 76ers appear to be having difficulty finding a role for Jared McCain since the trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The situation has led many to question if the deal has become heavily one-sided in favor of the Thunder.

AZ Compass Prep National will remain idle until next week when the EYBL Championships begin. The team sits atop the Sporting News High School Boys Basketball Top 25 despite the break.