Hello. EA has detected a shift in the tides:

EA Sports is coming back to college football.

After last making a college football video game in 2013, the possibility of the game returning had been in limbo. Now, it isn't. EA Sports vice president and general manager, Daryl Holt, told ESPN the game maker will be returning to the space with "EA Sports College Football."

"As we look for the momentum that we're building on in sports, it all starts with the passion of our fans and the opportunities of what they are interested in," Holt said. "I don't think a visit where I go outside wearing a piece of EA Sports branded apparel, that someone doesn't go, 'Hey, when is college football coming back?'"

It will -- at some point. Holt said there is not a date on when the game will return or even a date where the return will be announced other than it won't be coming back for this year.

Announcing a return without a solid date looks like EA saying that they'll have a college football game as soon as they can get a license in a Name and Image era. This is now inevitable enough for EA to start sinking resources into a new version of NCAA Football, except they're going to call it "EA Sports College Football," following along in college football's rich tradition of naming things in the most store-brand fashion possible. (The previous notable entry: The College Football Playoff.)

[After THE JUMP: terrifying dad energies]

A shutdown becomes nonsense. Indoor dining has re-opened in Michigan. Michigan athletics is still on pause:

“While U-M has worked diligently on testing and reporting within state and Big Ten Conference guidelines, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is mandating a more aggressive strategy for this B.1.1.7 variant, which exceeds current program efforts designed around the standard form of the virus,” the University said in a release on Jan. 23.

Here’s the thing: The state isn’t mandating a more aggressive strategy for the B.1.1.7 variant anywhere outside of the Michigan athletic department. And that’s the problem.

If the state cared about preventing the spread of the new variant, it would have enacted wide-scale lockdowns. A year of evidence from around the world shows that’s the only way to actually stem COVID-19. If the state didn’t care about preventing the spread, it should’ve let teams without positive cases continue playing. Because ultimately, they’re the same as everyone else in the community who hasn’t been exposed to the new variant.

Instead, nine days of inaction from the state has revealed the forced shutdown of Michigan’s athletic department to be little more than a PR stunt.

The state shut down a bunch of heavily-tested, already-isolated athletes and is currently waving the white flag at measures that might actually have a meaningful impact. Whatever positive impact the shutdown might have on slowing the spread of the B117 variant is being given right back—and more—by this less than half-assed approach.

Carousel: not over. The Jaguars are going after Brian Jean-Mary:

Michigan LB coach Brian Jean-Mary is interviewing with Jacksonville tomorrow for same position. Worked with Charlie strong at Texas.

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) February 1, 2021

This is likely because Jean-Mary is a trusted associate of Charlie Strong, who Urban Meyer hired to run his defense.

Jean-Mary was one of very few survivors on Michigan's coaching staff; if he goes the staff is likely to get even younger. I'm going to have to watch Spongebob to understand all their memes.

Hmmm. The Biden administration has selected a fascinating name to lead the National Labor Relations Board:

President Joe Biden has selected a familiar name in the sports world to serve as acting general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. Seven years ago, Peter Sung Ohr, then a regional director for the NLRB in Chicago, stunned athletes and coaches alike by finding that Northwestern football players who received grant-in-aid scholarships were employees within the meaning of Section 2(3) of the National Labor Relations Act.

The Obama-era NLRB then vacated that decision in a 5-0 decision not to assert jurisdiction. That latter was a move to kick the can down the road without actually ruling on the employment status of college athletes. Seven years later, it might be time to open that can and distribute the contracts therein. I'd expect someone to bring something before the NLRB in the next couple years—they need a live case to say anything important.

They've noticed. Franz Wagner was hovering at the edges of the first round on the first wave of mock drafts after he'd established himself one of the most disruptive defenders in the Big Ten. Now he's at the tail end of the lottery. John Hollinger:

… Wagner’s stock continues to rise as scouts comb through his tape. … far and away the best prospect in the Big Ten. … presents the alluring prospect of a player with power forward size who is capable of switching onto guards. … anticipation and quickness for his size allow him to be very disruptive

…biggest concern with this Wagner is whether he can really shoot. He’s at 31.3 percent from 3 for his career, with a low push shot that requires time and space to get away. … can really pass, a plus skill that almost always translates, and his ball skills are pretty solid for his size as well. I don’t ever see him being a primary creator, but give him half a step on the second side of the defense and he can do some work. He’s averaging 6.0 assists per 100 — huge stuff for a 6-9 forward — and has nearly three dimes for every turnover.

Overall, it’s unclear yet whether there is enough shot creation upside to get Wagner into the top ten, but I can’t imagine him lasting much beyond that point. This combination of size, feel and mobility is valuable even if the shooting and shot-creation component is only average. If those elements of his game come around he could end up a hugely valuable starting wing in a few years.

SI's Jeremy Woo has Franz 13th overall:

…has stepped his game up in a meaningful way on a very good Michigan team. What’s impressive is that he’s done it without hijacking the offense or dominating the ball. … well-rounded floor game and a surprisingly disruptive impact on defense, showing off great anticipation skills and quick hands to block shots and force turnovers. He looks like the type of big forward who can blend lineups with playmaking and feel. Though he’s only shooting 32% from three, given he’s always been a good free throw shooter, there’s not too much concern about the long-term health of his jumper. Wagner looks the part as a top 20 prospect and should continue playing his way into late lottery consideration if all goes well.

(Other notable names: #10 Greg Brown, #14 Moses Moody, #28 Josh Christopher.) Sam Vecenie and Matt Pennie had him at 14 and 17 in their recent Mock Draft 2.0 podcast. That is a major move from Vecenie's latest mock draft article, where Wagner was 31st.

Clowney, the recruitment. How Jadeveon Clowney ended up at South Carolina, oral history style, at The Athletic:

Mike Farrell (Rivals national recruiting director): Clowney just avoided schools and avoided everybody. I spoke to him a total of three times. All of them in person. All of them awkward. And all of them him trying to get away from me. That’s just the way he was. All these famous kids, I have dealt with them minimum 20 times. Clowney was the one man, it was impossible to get to him.

Lawing: He lived a life kind of in the spotlight, but he really didn’t want all that. He really didn’t, I’m telling you. That wasn’t him.

Mike Farrell: ….He was a different cat is really all I can say. I don’t think he liked recruiting. It was just so weird because his answers were so stock and awful, intentionally awful, “yes, no,” and then you’d ask an open-ended question and he’d still answer, “yes, no.”

Clowney does not appear in the story, naturally.

Radiating dad energy. LeBron James had a bit of a run in with some folks in courtside seats last night, resulting in this perfect tweet:

Juliana Carlos, one of the people ejected, said on Instagram that her husband, Chris Carlos, was cursed out by LeBron James.@TheAthletic reviewed courtside video from Carlos and others; the only comment audible from James is him saying "Ol’ steroid ass."https://t.co/joHSc9srjw

— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) February 2, 2021

This follows James calling the then-president a "bum" and presages truly terrifying dad levels to come. LeBron James is doing this as an active NBA player. What happens after he's been retired for some years, has a little bit of a gut, and is working on a schooner inside a glass bottle? Will we have to invent a new metric system to contain this level of dadness? One metric system is not enough any more.

Back. Per Aaron McMann:

Defensive tackle Donovan Jeter and linebacker Josh Ross are both planning to return to the Wolverines for the 2021 season, utilizing an extra year of eligibility provided by the COVID-19 abbreviated schedule this past fall.

Who knows these days but we had Jeter and Ross as redshirt juniors who were eligible to return even without the COVID waiver. They could hypothetically return in 2022. (Maybe?)

Etc.: Don't click here. Soccer's all-time leading goalscorer, maybe. Big Ten Cs, including Hunter Dickinson, are half of the Kareem award top 10. I Got Into Michigan Tik Toks. Concussion risk at practice. Supreme Court to hear Alston here is a person bombing the NCAA's brief. 30 players have left Tennessee since last preseason.