John L. Smith is among the rumored candidates for the vacant head coaching position at Iowa State. Damian Strohmeyer/SI

Who's Iowa State's next coach going to be? Candidates include Michigan State's John L. Smith, Texas defensive coordinator Gene Chizik, Texas-El Paso coach Mike Price or LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini.
-- Iowa City Press Citizen

Kansas State and its new coach, Bob Huggins, secured what could be the best recruiting class in college basketball yesterday with binding letters of intent from four high school players, including Michael Beasley, considered the nation's top power forward.
-- New York Times

Despite reports indicating that North Carolina had hired Butch Davis as its football coach Wednesday, Davis' agent said there is no agreement. Marvin Demoff, Davis' agent, said Wednesday evening that nothing has been finalized. He said reports indicating that Davis has signed with North Carolina are inaccurate, and it will be next week before anything is "really going to happen."
-- Charlotte Observer

In a curious turn as the early signing period began, Illinois assistant Jay Price called the coach of coveted guard O.J. Mayo, Scout.com's No. 1 prospect, evidently to gauge the 6-foot-4-inch star's interest. Southern California and Kansas State remain the most ardent suitors, and they are presumed to be heavy favorites to land Mayo.
-- Chicago Tribune

Kevin Love, a 6-foot-10, 260-pound center from Lake Oswego, Ore., was the object of an intense recruiting battle that had UCLA coach Ben Howland facing off against, among others, North Carolina's Roy Williams. But in the end, Howland won out. Among the top high school basketball recruiting sites, Love was ranked No. 3 by Scout.com and No. 7 by Rivals.com.
-- Los Angeles Times

Not since the signing of Mateen Cleaves in 1996 has Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo been this excited about a recruiting class. National recruiting analysts consider the Spartans' 2007 class as one of the best in the country. Scout.com ranked the group fifth overall, while Rivals.com ranked it eighth.
-- Detroit Free Press

Michigan regent David Brandon, the biggest proponent of Michigan Stadium luxury boxes, lost his re-election bid. He also was one of athletic director Bill Martin's staunchest allies at the university. Brandon was one of the five regents who voted to approve the renovations in May. With Brandon out, the 5-3 regents' majority could become a 4-4 deadlock.
-- Detroit Free Press

If he discovered he could become an early-round NFL draft choice, junior linebacker Dan Connor he'd consider skipping his senior season at Penn State.
-- Philadelphia Inquirer