College Football Offseason Buzz: Philip Rivers' Son Commits to NC State

This is college football. At some point, the games pause, but the news and drama never does.

Here's an offseason tracker for buzz across the college football landscape.

Philip Rivers' son commits to NC State

Quarterback Gunner Rivers has committed to NC State — his father's alma mater — he announced on Feb. 23. Rivers is a four-star quarterback at St. Michael Catholic in Fairhope, Alabama. His father coached his high school team as well, doing so before he made his return to the NFL in 2025. The younger Rivers threw for 2,813 yards, 44 touchdowns and five interceptions this season, leading his high school to the state title game. 

Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar denied sixth season

Aguilar's injunction for a sixth season of eligibility has been denied, and he will now go pro, per ESPN. Aguilar was previously granted a temporary restraining order in his lawsuit against the NCAA as he sought an extra year of eligibility, which would've enabled him to continue playing for the Volunteers this fall. Aguilar played the first two seasons of his collegiate career at Diablo Valley (2021-22), followed by two seasons at Appalachian State (2023-24) before transferring to Tennessee for the 2025 season.

Indiana HC Curt Cignetti gets a raise

The Hoosiers have raised their head coach's salary to $13.2 million through the 2033 season, per ESPN. This deal comes in the wake of Indiana winning its first national championship in program history in January and already raising Cignetti's salary to $11.6 million in October 2025. Moreover, this raise makes Cignetti the second-highest paid coach in college football. Since Cignetti took over in Bloomington for the 2024 season, the Hoosiers are a combined 27-2, highlighted by going 16-0 en route to winning the national championship last season.

North Illinois head coach Thomas Hammock leaving for NFL

Hammock is leaving NIU to become the running backs coach for the Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks, according to CBS Sports. Over Hammock's seven seasons as NIU's head coach (2019-25), the Huskies went a combined 35-47, a stint highlighted by three bowl game appearances and a win at South Bend against Notre Dame in 2024. Hammock, who played running back at NIU, was previously a running backs coach for the Baltimore Ravens from 2014-18, among other assistant coaching stints.

Four-star prospect de-commits from Michigan

Peter Bourque, a four-star quarterback out of Massachusetts in the 2027 class, reopened his recruitment on Feb. 17. Bourque had been verbally committed to Michigan in Aug. 2025 under previous head coach Sherrone Moore. 

Michigan finds its DT coach

The Wolverines are hiring Vanderbilt defensive line coach Larry Black to be new head coach Kyle Whittingham's defensive tackle coach, per ESPN. Black was Vanderbilt's defensive line coach from 2022-25 and previously held the same role at Toledo from 2019-21. 

In other news, Michigan has reportedly parted ways with general manager Sean Magee. Michigan is also expected to part ways with Sam Popper, its director of recruiting, and Albert Karschnia, its director of player personnel.

SEC cuts massive checks to its members

The SEC is distributing more than $1 billion to its 16 universities for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which ended last August. The total distribution jumped more than $200 million from the previous year. The current total includes $37.4 million retained by universities that participated in the College Football Playoff and bowl games. 

The amount distributed from the conference office, including bowl revenue retained by participants, averaged $72.4 million for schools with full year financial participation. Oklahoma and Texas, which joined the conference in July 2024, received distributions of $2.6 million and $12.1 million, respectively, related to CFP and bowl participation and designated NCAA funds. The $72.4 million average per school is approximately $18.6 million above the 2023-24 average of $53.8 million for full members. 

The payout for the 14 schools receiving a full share consists of revenue generated from television agreements, postseason bowls, the CFP, the SEC title game, the SEC men's basketball tournament and NCAA championships.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.