Deion Sanders reels in top QB recruit as Colorado loads up at most important position

Deion Sandershas landed another big fish atColorado. Four-starhigh school quarterback recruit Andre Adamsannounced April 14 he has committed to play for Sanders in 2027, making him the newest quarterback of the future in Boulder.

Adams chose Colorado over Florida State, Virginia Tech, Kentucky and Oregon. The dual-threat quarterback played at Antioch High School in Nashville, Tennessee, where he had 71 passing touchdowns and 35 rushing touchdowns in 33 games. He visited the Boulder campus andmet with Sanders on April 3.

More:Others offered 'crazy' money, but Deion Sanders got his QB anyway. Here's how

More:Deion Sanders’ quietest spring yet at Colorado — and why that might be the point

"For my next three to four years, I will be committed to the University of Colorado," Adams said at a news conference in Tennessee, where he wore a Colorado T-shirt and hat as hestreamed the announcement on social media.

The 6-2 Adams ranks as the No. 15 national quarterback prospect out of high school for 2027, according to 247Sports Composite, behind Baton Rouge high school quarterback recruit Elijah Haven at No. 1.

Sanders appeared to react to the news Tuesday when he posted on social media site X shortly after Adams’ announcement.

“Lawd JESUS!”Sanders wrote.

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How does this fit into Deion Sanders' future plans?

Adams’ commitment to Colorado gives the Buffaloes some options for the future at the most important position on the field, especially considering how so many quarterbacks change schools through the transfer portal. Highly regardedredshirt freshman quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewisis expected to be the starter at Colorado in 2026 but is one of only three quarterbacks on scholarship right now after thedeath of walk-on quarterback Dominiq Ponderon March 1.

Here is a look at who they are and how many years of eligibility they have left as the Buffs try to regroup after a 3-9 season in 2025:

∎ Lewis, 18, has four seasons of eligibility remaining after playing in four games in 2025, including two starts. He also was a four-star recruit out of high school in Georgia and chose Colorado over Southern California.

∎ Utah transfer quarterbackIsaac Wilsonhas three years to play three more seasons. He started seven games for the Utes in 2024 as a freshman.

∎ Freshman Kaneal Sweetwyne has five years to play four seasons. He is a dual-threat high school recruit out of Utah and was theNo. 1 overall pick in his team’s internal spring player draft.

Sanders justconcluded his fourth spring practice seasonin Boulder and is trying to bounce back from a subpar year at the quarterback position after the departure of hisquarterback son Shedeur Sandersto the NFL. The Buffs open the season Sept. 3 at Georgia Tech.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer@Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

(This story was updated to add new information.)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Deion Sanders reels in another big fish with QB recruit Andre Adams

byDaniel Coleman

in

April 17, 2026

Deion Sanders reels in top QB recruit as Colorado loads up at most important position

Deion Sandershas landed another big fish atColorado. Four-starhigh school quarterback recruit Andre Adamsannounced April 14 he has comm...

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Death toll from Turkey's second school shooting in a week rises to 10

ISTANBUL (AP) — The death toll from Turkey's second school shooting in two days rose to 10 Thursday after another victim died while being treated in hospital, authorities said.

Turkey School Shooting

Six of the wounded were in critical condition before the death early Thursday following the shooting the previous day, officials said.

Isa Aras Mersinli, 14, opened fire on two classrooms at a middle school in the southern city of Kahramanmaras on Wednesday, killing a teacher and eight students and wounding 13 others.

The gunman, who was also killed, arrived at the school with five firearms and seven magazines belonging to his father, a retired police superintendent, who was arrested after the attack.

Wednesday's attack came just a day after16 people were woundedwhen a former student opened fire at a high school in nearby Sanliurfa province. The victims were mostly students. The assailant later killed himself. As of Thursday, 20 people had been detained in connection with Tuesday's shooting in Sanliurfa.

The interior and education ministries held a joint school security meeting in the capital, Ankara, on Thursday, that was attended by both ministers and all 81 of Turkey’s provincial governors, as well as police chiefs and provincial education directors.

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Turkey’s national police headquarters revealed the suspect’s profile picture on the messaging platform WhatsApp was a photo ofElliot Rodger, a college student who killed six people in California in 2014.

The Ministry of Family and Social Services announced Thursday it had set up a team to “provide psychosocial support” to students and their families. It also plans to conduct a comprehensive investigation of similar incidents.

Funerals were held Thursday afternoon for each of the eight students, all age 11, who were killed Wednesday. Math teacher Ayla Kara, 55, who died during the attack, also was buried Thursday.

Cevdet Yesil, whose son Adnan Gokturk Yesil was among the victims, said he rushed to the school Wednesday after being informed of the shooting.

“And unfortunately we searched for our child, our son, until 5 p.m. One way or another, our security forces found him," Yesil said. "We went to the hospital and identified (his remains). We saw he had died.”

Hundreds of educators gathered in Ankara and the city of Izmir to demand greater school security. Until this week, school shootings were rare in Turkey. But dozens of students were arrested Thursday over social media posts implying they might stage similar attacks. Justice Minister Akin Gurlek announced that 67 social media users were detained over posts targeting 54 different schools.

byDaniel Coleman

in

April 17, 2026

Death toll from Turkey's second school shooting in a week rises to 10

ISTANBUL (AP) — The death toll from Turkey's second school shooting in two days rose to 10 Thursday after another victim died while...

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Now with Atlanta, Angel Reese says she is grateful for her 2 years in Chicago but wanted more

ATLANTA (AP) — Angel Reese was surrounded by the love — and the talent — during her first news conference with the Atlanta Dream she felt was missing in her two years in Chicago.

Dream Reese

The Dreamacquired Reesefrom the Sky on April 6. Chicago obtained first-round draft picks in 2027 and 2028. Atlanta also received the right to swap second-round picks with Chicago in 2028.

One of the WNBA's most recognizable stars, Reese led the league in rebounds in each of her two seasons with the Sky.

“I’m always gonna be grateful for that because I did experience a lot of great things,” Reese said Friday of her time in Chicago. “I enjoyed being able to grow within my first two years but I wanted more. I love to win, I love to compete and I wanted to be surrounded by people that can make me better.

“And I am not satisfied with what I am as a player and I felt like being around these kinds of players would help me be better. I can help them in different ways to help them win and that’s all I ever wanted. I don’t care about anything else that comes with it. I want to win and being able to come to an organization that really cared about their players.”

Reese was joined at the news conference by the five players Atlanta has re-signed this offseason. Guard Rhyne Howard said Reese, a two-time All-Star forward, could help Atlanta win a championship.

“Angel, I think is special for us because she could be exactly what we were missing,” Howard said.

Reese averaged 14.7 points and a league-best 12.6 rebounds last season. She joins a team that won a franchise-record 30 games last season under coachKarl Smeskobefore losing to Indiana in the playoffs.

Atlanta also re-signed Allisha Gray, Brionna Jones, Jordin Canada and Naz Hillmon.

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Gray finished fourth in MVP voting last season. Howard became the fastest player in WNBA history to make 300 3-pointers.Hillmonwas named Sixth Player of the Year and Jones was an All-Star.

The trade to Atlanta came after Reeseexpressed frustrationlate last season, with Chicago on the way to a 10-34 finish. She told the Chicago Tribune the Sky needed to improve their roster and added she “might have to move in a different direction and do what’s best for me” if that didn't happen. She later apologized to the team for the comments.

The Skysuspended Reesefor half a game for comments deemed “detrimental to the team.” The team held her out for its final three games with a back injury, raising speculation about her future in Chicago.

Reese said the interest from the Dream “was mutual on both sides and I was able to choose a destination I really wanted to go to.”

General manager Dan Padover said adding Reese capped a successful offseason.

“When we went into this offseason, we had two main priorities,” Padover said. “That was retain our core. And to remain opportunistic. And over the last week, I’m thrilled to say we did both. Keeping these players in Atlanta was just so important to us. And the most special thing is that they want to stay here.

“And then to have someone like Angel come in and say ‘Hey guys, I love what you’re doing. I love that city. Let me jump in here.’ And to have this whole group as well as the others that are here today come together to try to build something and win a championship. That’s what sports is all about.”

AP WNBA:https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

byDaniel Coleman

in

April 17, 2026

Now with Atlanta, Angel Reese says she is grateful for her 2 years in Chicago but wanted more

ATLANTA (AP) — Angel Reese was surrounded by the love — and the talent — during her first news conference with the Atlanta Dream she fe...

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Former Texas guard Jordan Lee transfers to SEC rival South Carolina

Jordan Leeentered the transfer portal after a breakout season atTexasand the junior guard isn't going too far. She's staying in theSoutheastern Conference.

Lee announced on Instagram Friday that she's transferring toSouth Carolinato play forDawn Staleyafter spending the first two years of her collegiate career at Texas under Vic Schaefer. Lee captioned her Instagram post, which featured a video montage of her visit to Columbia, South Carolina, "Feeling cocky."

Lee wasone of four players from Texas to enter the transfer portalafter theLonghorns' second consecutive trip to theFinal Four ended in a devastating loss to UCLA. She was named to the All-Region team in the Fort Worth 3 bracket in this year’s NCAA Tournament following her Sweet 16 and Elite Eight performance, where she recorded 22 points, six assists, three rebounds and four steals while also providing strong defense.

After being limited to five starts her freshman year, Lee slid into the starting lineup last season and started a career-high 38 games. She also averaged career highs in points (13.2), assists (2.5), rebounds (2.5), steals (1.5), field-goal percentage (42%) and free-throw percentage (75%), while shooting 34% from 3-point range.

Texas' Aaliyah Crump, Justice Carlton and Aaliyah Moore also entered the transfer portal. On Friday, Crumpannouncedshe's transferring to Duke, citing her connection with head coach Kara Lawson.

"For me, choosing Duke University goes far beyond one sentence. The moment I connected with Kara Lawson and her coaching staff, I knew I was exactly where I belonged," said Crump, who averaged 7.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game her freshman season at Texas.

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Crump continued: "Their dedication and vision for the program is truly special, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be a part of it. The connection Coach Lawson and I have built is one of a kind, and I fully trust in her plan for the success of this program. I can’t wait to be coached by genuine people who support my growth not only as a basketball player, but as a person as well."

Three-time All-American Madison Booker and junior starting forward Breya Cunningham are expected to return to Texas.

Contributing: Mitchell Northam

Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at@CydHenderson.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news —Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Jordan Lee transfers: Former Texas guard joins South Carolina

byDaniel Coleman

in

April 17, 2026

Former Texas guard Jordan Lee transfers to SEC rival South Carolina

Jordan Leeentered the transfer portal after a breakout season atTexasand the junior guard isn't going too far. She's staying in...

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A dispatch from inside the Vatican bubble during a remarkable exchange between pope and president

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — There is an odd sense of isolation when you are coveringPope Leo XIVfrom inside the Vatican’s traveling press pool: Escorted from venue to venue with police motorcades that clear even the most congested of traffic jams, it’s a membership that has many privileges.

Algeria Pope Africa

But during Leo’s epicfour-nation trip to Africa, being inside the Vatican “bubble” has been an almost surreal experience, asan unprecedented back-and-forthplays out between U.S. President Donald Trump and history’s first American pope.

Every morning this week, waking up todevelopments in Washingtonfrom the evening before, the questions have abounded: Will Leo bite? How will he address the latest criticism, if at all, while focusing on the Africa program he has planned?

That was certainly the case on Wednesday, as Leo, the Vatican delegation and a pool of around 70 accredited reporters boarded the ITA Airways charter for the second leg of Leo’s 11-day odyssey — the flight from Algiers, Algeria to Yaounde, Cameroon.

Much to the reporters’ delight, Leo had responded head-on to Trump at the start of the trip when he gamely greeted reporters traveling April 13 from Rome to Algiers. He responded to those who asked him about Trump’s Truth Social post a day earlier, in which the U.S. president had accused him of being soft on crime, cozy with the left and owed his papacy to Trump.

Trump was responding to Leo’s calls for peace, in reference to the Iran war, and comments that Trump’s threat to annihilate Iranian civilization were “truly unacceptable.”

Leo had told journalists aboard the papal plane that he was merely preaching the Gospel when he called for peace and criticized war, and that he didn’t fear the Trump administration.

A comment about peace

On Wednesday, Leo didn’t take questions from reporters and kept his remarks focused on his just-concluded visit to Algeria, where he honored the legacy of his spiritual inspiration,St. Augustine of Hippo.

In brief remarks to reporters standing at the front of economy class, Leo didn’t refer to war or Trump. But he spoke in terms that could suggest the latest overnight lobs from Washington certainly hadn't gone unnoticed. Perhaps tellingly, he spoke exclusively in English.

Trump had kept up the criticism on Truth Social, while U.S. Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, said that Leo should “be careful” when speaking about theology.

For starters, Leo noted the sign of “goodness,” “generosity,” and “respect” that the Algerian government showed him in welcoming him on the first-ever papal visit. He said that the Algerian honors had included a full military aerial escort of the papal plane through Algerian airspace.

He also recalled his visit to the Great Mosque in Algiers, which he said was a significant way to show that “although we have different beliefs, we have different ways of worshipping, we have different ways of living, we can live together in peace.”

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He said that St. Augustine’s message of searching for God, searching for truth, building bridges and seeking unity and community “is something which the world needs to hear today and that together we can continue to offer in our witness as we continue on this apostolic voyage.”

A papal press pool

Like other heads of state, the pope travels internationally with both the Vatican’s own media team as well as a group of external news organizations that pay, oftentimes handsomely, to have their reporters travel aboard the papal plane and have special access to cover his events.

Being inside the Vatican bubble has journalistic advantages and disadvantages. You get the best access and are traveling under the Vatican’s security umbrella, meaning there’s little or no hassle from local security organizers. The Vatican facilitates visas and local SIM cards in advance, and arranges hotels and local transportation, allowing reporters to focus on the news rather than logistics.

Journalists in the bubble get the pope’s speeches ahead of time and have occasional access to delegation members, as well as other information in real time from the Vatican spokesman.

But the real reason news organizations choose to spend thousands of dollars per journalist, per trip, to be on the papal plane is to be on hand for the pope’s news conferences. The only time a pope holds such briefings with journalists is at an altitude of 35,000 feet (around 10,000 meters)

Who could forget Pope Francis’ famous line on his maiden trip as pope, in 2013 to Rio de Janeiro, when he uttered the line “Who am I to judge,” when he was asked about a purportedly gay priest.

The downside of being in the Vatican bubble is obvious for many of the same reasons it’s helpful: You are removed from local reality, whether in Algeria or Alaska, and rarely have time to do the type of on-the-ground reporting that makes a news report balanced.

Those news organizations that have the resources have teams on the ground producing such content, or journalists within the bubble break away to do their own reporting, so that the end result is a healthy combination of official Vatican information and local input.

But when the real drama involving the pope is occurring thousands of miles and time zones away, being in the Vatican bubble is a somewhat jarring experience. The news everyone wants to know isn’t necessarily what the pope has on his agenda.

But on this trip, the first by an American pope to Africa, being in the Vatican bubble certainly had its advantages.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’scollaborationwith The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

byDaniel Coleman

in

April 16, 2026

A dispatch from inside the Vatican bubble during a remarkable exchange between pope and president

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — There is an odd sense of isolation when you are coveringPope Leo XIVfrom inside the Vatican’s traveling p...

Read More