**Former Clemson Wide Receiver Diondre Overton Dies at 26**
Former Clemson wide receiver Diondre Overton has passed away, the school announced Saturday afternoon. He was 26 years old. The cause of death has not been disclosed.
Overton, who played for Clemson from 2016 to 2019, was a two-time national champion with the Tigers. He signed with Clemson as a four-star recruit from Page High School in Greensboro, North Carolina. During his four seasons with the team, he recorded 52 receptions for 777 yards and seven touchdowns, contributing as a reserve in the 2016 and 2018 national championship seasons. In his senior year of 2019, Overton was honored as a permanent team captain.
Clemson Football and the entire Clemson Family are mourning the loss of Diondre Overton. “Our thoughts are with his family and friends,” the program stated on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday.
Former teammates, including Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, expressed their grief on social media. Higgins shared on Instagram, “Brotha I miss you already man. I love you 5L....I'm hurting bad about this right now. Rest Easy Big Play.”
Overton's professional career included stints in the CFL, the European League of Football, and the UFL, where he was selected by the Memphis Showboats in the UFL dispersal draft earlier this year.
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**College Football Week 2: Boise State’s Heisman Hopeful, Texas Rivalries, and Freshman Phenom Receivers**
Week 2 of college football is here, bringing exciting matchups and key storylines. Boise State's standout running back Ashton Jeanty, who scored six touchdowns in the opener, is set to make headlines again against an Oregon team that struggled against Idaho. Meanwhile, the game of the week features a high-profile clash in Ann Arbor as the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines host the Texas Longhorns.
In a notable rivalry, UTSA faces Texas State. This game is particularly intriguing given the backstory of the two coaches. Texas State’s G.J. Kinne and UTSA’s Jeff Traylor first crossed paths in 2005 at a Dairy Queen in Gilmer, Texas. Their historic meeting has led to a compelling matchup, with Kinne now leading Texas State and Traylor at UTSA.
Additionally, watch for freshman wide receivers making waves at Ohio State, Alabama, Auburn, and Texas. How will these new stars build on their impressive debut performances?
**Key Matchups and Strategy Insights:**
- **Michigan vs. Texas:** For Michigan to secure a win, they need to control the line of scrimmage better than they did in their opener against Fresno State. Texas boasts significant advantages at quarterback and wide receiver, so Michigan must dominate both offensively and defensively to mitigate the impact of Quinn Ewers and the Longhorns' potent offense.
All eyes on Ashton Jeanty
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Ashton Jeanty is ready for the hype. The Boise State running back has been working on his speed, refining his strength and improving his knowledge of the many defenses this season that will try their best to stop him every time he touches the ball. He also has been working on the pose. That one.
"I'm fully aware," Jeanty told ESPN of the early Heisman Trophy chatter during a phone call Tuesday. "I've been practicing it."
It didn't take long for Jeanty to showcase it, either. The junior from Jacksonville, Florida, kicked off his year with a video game stat line in a 56-45 win against Georgia Southern: 267 yards on 20 carries -- a single-game school record. His first touchdown of the game was a 77-yard run that culminated in the aforementioned Heisman pose. He would go on to score five more times, good enough to break another school record.
"That's up there in terms of games for me," Jeanty, who had 41 touchdowns during his senior season at Lone Star High School in Texas, said. "But we got 11 more games so, I don't know, I might have a better one."
Jeanty is no stranger to big games. Last season, he had seven games where he accounted for at least 150 offensive yards and only three games where he didn't score. Jeanty's growth at Boise State has been gradual, but there has never been any doubt about his production or his potential. In his freshman season, he was not the starter, but he accounted for nearly 900 yards of offense and six touchdowns. During his second season, Jeanty became a weapon in the passing game, totaling 569 receiving yards and five touchdowns on the year.
"Each year I've gotten the ball more," Jeanty said. "So, I've gotten a chance to be able to display what I can do."
On paper, it would have made sense if Jeanty chose to transfer to a Power 4 program going into his junior year. There would have been no shortage of teams vying for his commitment. Jeanty, however, had other plans.
"For me it's just being able to leave a legacy," he said. "At other places, that's going there for one year, maybe getting some more money, it's just not the same. It's just not special. And doing it with this team to me is really what makes it special."
Sticking with Boise allowed Jeanty to know exactly what he wanted to work on heading into this season. His focus was on improving his football IQ and learning more about defensive schemes and coverages so he could chart his path before the ball was in his hands.
This past Saturday, Jeanty had already scored five times, but he saw the defense's alignment before the snap and knew he would have an open lane to run through. Seventy-five yards later, Jeanty was in the end zone. No one had touched him.
"I think this is the best running back I've seen since I've been here," Oregon coach Dan Lanning said earlier this week in advance of his team's matchup against Boise State this weekend. "He's certainly an NFL guy."
Jeanty said the Heisman is not his main focus, but he knows that winning as a team -- and potentially making the College Football Playoff -- will be what opens the door for the accolades, including that one. When asked whether he thinks there's a better running back in the nation than him, Jeanty doesn't just give the stock answer. Even after the game of his life, he knows it's only the beginning.
"I don't," Jeanty said. "And I'm going to prove that all year." -- Paolo Uggetti
Six freshman wide receivers to know
Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State: On the day the Buckeyes unveiled the country's most expensive roster, the freshman wideout stole the show in a 52-6 win over Akron and Smith will be worth keeping an eye on again in Week 2 when Western Michigan visits Columbus.
Smith led all Ohio State pass catchers with six catches for 92 yards in Week 1 and became the first Buckeyes freshman to catch two touchdown passes in his debut since 1996, but more impressive was the way he did it. After dropping a screen pass on Ohio State's opening drive, Smith completed three third-down conversions on the next series, including a 16-yard touchdown reception. Smith hauled in another score in the second quarter, and his 45-yard connection with Will Howard after halftime marked the Buckeyes' longest play of the day.
Smith's eight targets in his debut were more than any other Ohio State wide receiver in Week 1. Alongside Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate, the five-star newcomer will continue to be one of the most fascinating pieces in the new-look attack being led by first-year offensive coordinator Chip Kelly in Week 2.
Ryan Williams, Alabama: Kalen DeBoer and his staff made retaining Ryan Williams a priority when they arrived back in January. In Week 1, ESPN's No. 3 prospect in the 2024 class showed exactly why the Crimson Tide worked so hard to keep him.
Williams needed little time to flash the big play ability he brought to Tuscaloosa, torching an overmatched Western Kentucky secondary in his college debut. His first career reception came on an 84-yard score when Williams hauled in a deep ball from Jalen Milroe, then sprinted 44 yards beyond the Hilltoppers' defense into the end zone in the close minutes of the first quarter. Later in the half, Milroe found Williams again, this time over the middle where the speedy freshman split a pair of defenders on his way to a 55-yard touchdown before halftime.
Two catches for two touchdowns, 139 receiving yards and 79 yards after the catch that ranks 10th nationally -- that's how Williams introduced himself to Alabama, all at 17 years old. The 6-foot, 175-pound pass catcher gets his next opportunity to impress in Week 2 against a South Florida secondary that allowed just 122 passing yards in its opener against Bethune-Cookman.
Ryan Wingo, Texas: The 6-2, 210-pound freshman was the Longhorns' most productive pass catcher in their Week 1 rout of Colorado State. Can he follow an impressive debut with another standout performance in front of a sold-out crowd at Michigan on Saturday?
Wingo authored an impressive debut, hauling in a pair of first-half passes before making another two catches after halftime, including a 30-yard connection with Arch Manning. Wingo closed the day as Texas' leading wide receiver with 70 yards on his four catches, earning praise for his physicality and poise from Texas coach Steve Sarkisian afterward.
"He's been doing nothing but that for us," Sarkisian said of the five-star freshman.
Wingo is part of a new-look wide receivers group for the Longhorns this fall. Transfers Matthew Golden, Isaiah Bond and Silas Bolden each delivered strong Texas debuts of their own in Week 1. On Saturday, that unit meets a Michigan secondary led by All-America cornerback Will Johnson and Wingo will have a role to play as the Longhorns make a hotly anticipated trip to Ann Arbor.
Auburn's wide receiver trio: As freshman receivers starred across the country in Week 1, the Tigers upped the ante on everyone else and opened up opportunities to three first-year pass catchers. In a 73-3 win over Alabama A&M, Cam Coleman, Perry Thompson and Malcolm Simmons met the moment.
Coleman, ESPN's No. 5 prospect in the 2024 class, wowed the Auburn staff with his playmaking ability in the spring and summer. In Week 1, he flashed it for the crowd inside Jordan-Hare Stadium, pulling in each of his two targets for 62 yards, highlighted by a nifty double-move on his 44-yard touchdown just 3:21 into his college debut.
Thompson was ESPN's 13th-ranked wide receiver in 2024. His pair of catches in Week 1 went for 82 yards, including his 70-yard, second-quarter touchdown that accounted for Auburn's longest play of the day. Simmons, meanwhile, closed his debut as the Tigers' leading receiver, hauling in three passes for 91 yards with help from a 51-yard score in the closing minutes of the third quarter.
Wide receivers tend to succeed under Hugh Freeze. As the Tigers settle in with a pass-catching group heavily made up of first-year transfers, this freshman trio will be worth following this fall. -- Eli Lederman
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