Sam Fortier
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Roll Payback: Alabama’s Jalen Hurts and the Weight of a Dynasty
As a freshman, Hurts won every game until the one that mattered most. Now back in the playoff facing down a rematch with Clemson, he knows that he’s a symbol for many, but that he can’t succeed unless he remains true to himself.
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Kliff Kingsbury Gets Defensive
Texas Tech’s offensive wunderkind built his reputation on points and flash. Now, as the one-time golden boy’s seat grows ever hotter, he’s trying to save his job and reboot the Red Raiders by widening his focus to include something new: defense.
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A Gatekeeper at the Intersection of Faith and Football
As scrutiny over the role of chaplaincies at public universities has intensified nationwide in recent years, Texas Tech’s chaplain has identified the stereotypes—and worked to combat them
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Meet the Man Behind Your Favorite NBA Jump Shot
In a league where coaches come and go, players need consistent training from someone they can trust. That’s when some of the biggest names turn to Rob McClanaghan.
St. Anthony’s Unanswered Prayer
Over 45 years, Bob Hurley turned his Jersey City basketball program into an unlikely national power. Now, after 28 state titles and decades of staving off closure, St. Anthony is shutting its doors, and the Friars family is trying to cope with running out of miracles.
The Making of Myles Garrett
Spending draft night with this year’s no. 1 pick — and the formative friends and family he wanted to honor before setting off to begin his NFL career in Cleveland
The New Road to the Six
Jerry Stackhouse wants to be an NBA head coach. He doesn’t want to toil as an assistant for years to make that happen. By leaving his gig with the Toronto Raptors to lead their D-League affiliate, he hopes to prove that the same minors-to-majors pipeline that players increasingly enjoy can work for bosses as well.
Pocket Awareness
USC freshman quarterback Sam Darnold is a shy kid averse to shouts and speeches. And after changing the Rose Bowl–bound Trojans’ fortunes by taking over the starting job in-season, the budding superstar has no intention of changing who he is.
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If the Glass Slipper Fits …
Rhode Island lost 15 games last season and hasn’t made the tourney since 1999, but behind a loyal coach, a potent defense, and a newly healthy star, the Rams have emerged as this season’s sexy sleeper pick
Poet of the Fall
Myles Garrett loves the written word, and Muhammad Ali, and Wally West. He’s never loved to hit, but that hasn’t stopped the Texas A&M defensive end from becoming one of the best players in college football and a prospective no. 1 draft pick.