Tsilimos hits the ground running

WELLSVILLE — Ohio High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Famer Jim Tsilimos was officially hired as the new Wellsville football coach on Monday.

The Wellsville Board of Education unanimously approved the hire with one member absent. There were 13 applicants.

Tsilimos, who has a career record of 205-178 in 35 seasons as head coach, came to the Tigers after stepping down as Lowellville’s coach on Feb. 19 after just a few weeks on the job.

“He is respected by all and in just 12 days we’ve had 30-plus sign-ups for football,” athletic director Kyle Exline said. “In the weight room, we’ve had 16 high schoolers show up and 19 junior high kids show up.”

Exline also said Tsilimos has also had positional group meetings with athletes.

“Things are off and running now,” Exline said.

Tsilimos is most known for coaching Lisbon from 1990-2007 and 2011-2017. During that tenure he went 147-115 with a state championship in 1995.

“Wellsville football is back,” Tsilimos said.

First Four tips off in Dayton

DAYTON (AP) — North Carolina was a controversial selection for the NCAA Tournament, but the Tar Heels can silence some skeptics with a win over San Diego State on Tuesday night at the First Four.

The winner will face No. 6 seed Mississippi on Friday in Milwaukee.

The Tar Heels (22-13) seemed a long shot to make the tournament with a 1-12 record in Quadrant 1 games, but were chosen Sunday thanks to a strong nonconference schedule and other metrics.

“I didn’t listen to bracketology,” North Carolina coach Hubert Davis said Monday. “I didn’t listen after our name was selected on CBS. I didn’t listen to the telecasts. I haven’t listened to anybody’s comments in regards to selections, seedings. I know that we’re really excited to be a part of this, and we’re looking forward to tomorrow night.”

UNC’s inclusion fueled some conspiracy theories, with athletic director Bubba Cunningham being chair of the selection committee.

Rules state that Cunningham could not participate in the debate about his team, so the vice chair, Sun Belt Conference commissioner Keith Gill, presided over discussions about the Tar Heels.

The knock against North Carolina was a lack of Quad 1 wins. But the Tar Heels played the nation’s fifth-toughest nonconference schedule, which included games against No. 1 NCAA Tournament seeds Auburn and Florida, No. 2 seeds Alabama and Michigan State, and a trip to Kansas, which earned a No. 7 seed.

And the Tar Heels had higher rankings in the NET (36th), KenPom (33rd) and BPI (25th) than West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio State and Boise State, the first four teams left out of the field.

Steelers bring back WRs

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Scotty Miller and Ben Skowronek are back for another go-around with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers re-signed both veteran wide receivers on Monday. Miller agreed to a one-year contract. Skowronek’s deal is for two seasons.

Both receivers were minor role players for Pittsburgh in 2024. Skowronek caught five passes for 69 yards while becoming a fixture on special teams. Miller also caught five passes for 69 yards, though he bounced between the 53-man roster and the practice squad at the end of the season.

Miller and Skowronek return to a receiver group that will have a new look in 2025 after the Steelers traded for two-time Pro Bowler DK Metcalf and signed him to a five-year contract. Pittsburgh also expects Roman Wilson to take a step forward after he didn’t play in a single game during his rookie season because of injury.

While there appears to be some level of continuity at receiver, the team remains in a bit of a holding pattern at quarterback. The Steelers brought back Mason Rudolph on a two-year deal last week and have former Miami Dolphins backup Skylar Thompson on the roster but are still waiting to add another veteran.

Pittsburgh has been in contact with Aaron Rodgers, though the four-time NFL MVP appears to be in no hurry to decide where, or even if, he wants to play in 2025.

Sanders wants to save spring games

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — In a time when programs are rethinking their annual spring football game, Deion Sanders has his own suggestion — bring in another team.

Just like the NFL sometimes does before exhibition games.

The Colorado coach figures with just about everything else changing in college football — transfer portal, name image likeness deals, roster limitations — it’s about time to find a way to make what’s usually an intra-squad scrimmage better for fans and teams alike. Such a change would require the NCAA to alter its rules on spring ball.

“To have it competitive, playing against your own guys kind of gets monotonous,” Sanders said Monday in his first news conference since last season. “You really can’t tell the level of your guys because, it’s the same old, same old — everybody kind of knows each other.”

His concept would be similar to a preseason game in the NFL, where a team comes in for a few days of joint practices before their exhibition game.

“I think the public will be satisfied with that tremendously,” Sanders said. “I think it’s a tremendous idea. I’ve told those personnel who should understand that’s a tremendous idea.”

Nebraska recently announced it is replacing its spring football game with skills competitions and 7-on-7 games at Memorial Stadium on April 26. This comes on the heels of Cornhuskers coach Matt Rhule expressing concerns about other teams scouting players in the scrimmage and possibly poaching them through the transfer portal.

While the spring game remains a big draw, some schools in recent years have started to move away from traditional scrimmages because of smaller rosters and the risk of player injuries. Nebraska, Texas, Ohio State and Southern California are among programs ending the tradition this spring.

Colorado will hold its spring game this season on April 19 at Folsom Field. It will be broadcast on ESPN2.

“We’ve got to sell this thing out and pack this thing because the way the trend is going, you never know if this is going to be the last spring game,” Sanders said. “I don’t believe in that. I don’t really want to condone that. I would like to play the spring game. Actually, I like to play against another team in the spring.”

All in the family

Plenty of mock NFL drafts have QB Shedeur Sanders slipping down in the first round next month after he chose not to throw at the scouting combine and his brother, DB Shilo Sanders, not hearing his phone ring for any of the 257 picks.

Deion Sanders wonders what his own draft experience — he was selected fifth overall by the Atlanta Falcons in 1989 — would have been like in today’s world.

“They receive a lot more ignorance than I did,” Sanders said of his sons. “I received some, but we didn’t have the social media channels and all the different things that’s privy today … I mean, you’ve got to understand, I was a two-sport guy at the time, so you could imagine what it would have been like with all the hate and the naysayers.”

Sanders said he knows his sons can handle any and all flack coming their way as the NFL draft approaches.

“You’ve got to take a shot at somebody and you might as well take a shot at a Sanders,” he said. “We’re built for this.”

Contract extension

Sanders downplayed talk about his contract extension, saying “there may be” discussions. “I don’t know.”

What he’s lobbying for is raises for his staff.

“Let’s get everybody else straight first, then I’m good,” he said,

Sanders signed a five-year, $29.5 million deal before the 2023 season. The Buffaloes went 4-8 that year and 9-4 last season.

Pro days

Deion Sanders plans to attend the Big 12 Pro Day this week in Frisco, Texas. Shedeur and Shilo Sanders, and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter are among the Buffaloes who are expected to attend. Sanders said some of his players may not participate and wait for Colorado’s pro day — which the Buffs are now calling a “skills showcase” — on April 4.

Livingston’s deal

A top priority for the Buffaloes was retaining defensive coordinator Robert Livingston. They rewarded the architect behind the defensive unit’s turnaround with a new two-year deal that makes him the highest-paid assistant in program history. Livingston will earn $1.5 million next season and $1.6 million in 2026.

“Rob was on everybody’s list to try to secure his services, and he deserves everything he got coming and then some,” Sanders said. “When you win, you expect your staff to be ravaged. You expect that.”