NCAA

Chip Kelly's first three games at UCLA have been a disaster -- but it ain't time to panic in Westwood yet ... so says ex-Bruins star, Donovan Carter.

Carter -- a former DL and current star on HBO's "Ballers"-- joined the guys on "TMZ Sports" (weeknights on FS1) ... and preached patience when it came to the embarrassing 0-3 start his alma mater is off to under Chip.

"You just gotta be patient," Carter says. "Rome wasn't built in a day!"

Carter says there are plenty of explanations for why Kelly's team can't find a win -- and he tells us once Chip has the chance to recruit HIS guys to the roster ... W's will come.

Ohio State might have lost Urban Meyer for 3 games amid the Zach Smith scandal ... but it ain't losing its top recruit -- 'cause Garrett Wilson tells TMZ Sports he's still all-in with the Buckeyes.

Wilson -- a 5-star receiver from Texas whose main OSU recruiter was Smith -- says after all the dust has settled on the drama in Columbus ... he still feels solid with his pledge.

"It was hard to hear, you know?" Wilson tells us about the serious situation at Ohio State.

"I wanted to let it all play out and now that it's all played out and I'm going to have my coach back, I feel comfortable with everything."

It's huge news for OSU because Wilson is an absolute monster on the field -- considered one of the top WRs to ever commit to the school.

Dude hauled in 96 receptions for 1,764 yards and 26 TDs as a junior last season.

He was recruited by just about every major program in the country, including Texas, Alabama and Florida State.

Garrett says he keeps in steady contact with interim coach Ryan Day daily ... and says OSU knows he's so locked in now, the conversations have shifted from the scandal to just football.

As for Zach Smith ... Garrett tells us the domestic violence allegations against the coach were "hard to hear," but Wilson did reach out to the coach to offer his support.

University of Michigan fans shouldn't point their fingers at Ohio State over the Urban Meyer scandal, 'cause the Maize & Blue don't exactly have clean hands either ... so says an ex-OSU football star.

Buckeye legend Shawn Springs -- the #3 pick in the '97 NFL Draft -- says he's definitely not proud of what went down at Ohio State and knows the school needs to do better. But, trash talk doesn't help anyone.

He also points out that OSU ain't the first big school to mess up -- and he's got this message for everyone throwing stones at the Buckeye athletics program.

"I would ask them what school they went to, and tell me a school that hadn't went through some type of trials and tribulations or problems."

"I can't name one. I know my Michigan buddies, they won't even mention anything. They have no room to talk up there, that school up north."

Springs wasn't specific about which scandal he was referencing -- but UM's had their fair share (remember the basketball scandal with Chris Webber?).

Shawn believes, in the end, the scandal will force the current OSU football players to rally together and it could make them better and stronger than ever before.

Ohio State has placed head football coach Urban Meyer on administrative leave in the wake of reports that he lied about having knowledge of a 2015 domestic violence allegation surrounding an OSU assistant coach.

OSU issued a statement saying, "The University is conducting an investigation into these allegations. During the inquiry, Urban Meyer will be on paid administrative leave."

"Ryan Day will serve as acting head football coach during the investigation. We are focused on supporting our players and on getting the truth as expeditiously as possible."

Meyer -- one of the highest paid coaches in college football -- also issued a statement saying, " [Athletic Director Gene Smith] and I agree that being on leave during this inquiry will facilitate its completion."

"This allows the team to conduct training camp with minimal distraction. I eagerly look forward to the resolution of this matter."

The man at the center of the domestic violence allegations is Zach Smith -- who was a wide receivers coach for the Buckeyes for years.

Smith was fired on July 23 after he was charged with criminal trespassing after dropping their children off at his ex-wife Courtney's home during a May 12 incident. The court granted a domestic violence protective order against him.

Smith's ex-wife -- the alleged victim -- claims she told Urban's wife about the alleged abuse, but Urban took no action and then lied about having knowledge of the situation when asked at Big Ten media day.

Courtney has alleged Zach had repeatedly abused her physically since 2009. She also produced text messages to college football reporter Brett McMurphy which show a conversation between Courtney and the wife of another OSU coach in which Courtney was assured Urban was addressing the issue with Zach.

All the [coaches'] wives knew," Smith told McMurphy. "They all did. Every single one."

"I do believe he knew and instead he chose to help the abuser and enable the abuser and believe whatever story Zach was telling everybody," Smith said.

Courtney also told laid out the allegations in an interview with media outlet Stadium.

Baker Mayfield opened up about why he hates his former Texas Tech coach, Kliff Kingsbury, so much -- essentially saying the guy kicked him to the curb when he got injured during a game.

The QB pulled no punches in his new FOX Sports docu-series, 'All The Way Up' -- saying Kliff treated him like a god when he stepped in and won 5 games as a freshman walk-on back in 2013.

But, when Baker sprained his MCL against Kansas -- Mayfield says everything changed.

"It went from being 'the guy' for Coach Kingsbury ... and then when I got hurt, it just changed a little bit ... not a little bit, a lot."

"All the sudden it was as if I hadn't played for him, hadn't done anything for him. It was just different after I got hurt."

Baker's father says the coach "completely withdrew his contact" with the QB after the injury -- "He didn't talk to Baker. He didn't include Baker in the meetings."

But, Mayfield says what REALLY pissed him off was when Texas Tech officials told him they didn't have a scholarship for him after that season ... despite the fact he was 5-0 as a starter.

"I've invested a lot into this and now you're telling me you don't have a scholarship for a guy who won 5 games after choosing to come here? That was the final straw for me."

LaVar Ball's new hoops league just got a HUGE endorsement, with Metta World Peace telling TMZ Sports he thinks the JBA is going to be taking players from the NCAA ... SOON!!

We got Metta out on the streets of Venice when he told us he's HIGHLY interested in Ball's basketball league ... telling us it has REAL potential.

"I think that's going to be a league that's going to be competing with NCAA pretty soon," World Peace tells us.

In fact ... Metta says if he wasn't so busy ballin' in the BIG3 -- he'd actually consider WORKING for the league!

Kenyon Martin Jr. is like a Magic Johnson Jr. when it comes to LeBron James Jr. -- putting on the full-court press to get him to commit to his insanely high-profile California high school.

Of course, Kenyon -- one of the top high school players in the country -- is going into his senior year at Sierra Canyon ... playing alongside Scottie Pippen's son and other NBA spawn.

The school's basketball program is crazy famous -- drawing super high-profile fans like Drake and Kanye West. Also, Marvin Bagley -- the #2 pick in the draft -- just graduated from SC.

As we previously reported, LeBron's son, Bronny -- widely considered the #1 rated 13-year-old hooper -- is seriously considering going to Sierra Cnayon ... but nothing's in stone yet.

But, Kenyon Jr. is hoping he can help steer Bronny in the right direction -- it's a pretty good sales pitch.

Obviously, they won't end up playing together -- Kenyon graduates in 2019 ... and he's already getting offers from top colleges including Georgetown, Memphis, Oklahoma, Oregon State and UCSB.

Nick Saban finally took a major L.

The Alabama football coach took some of his players on a boat trip in Lake Tuscaloosa for some team bonding on Thursday ... which sounds like a perfectly great time, except for one minor detail:

Somebody forgot to fill the gas tank!!

Thankfully, national championship hero Tua Tagovailoa documented the players' hilarious reactions when they realized they were stuck ... while Saban appears to make a call for help.

But don't get too excited, Auburn fans ... the guys made it back to dry land.

If you thought LiAngelo Ball's dunk sesh at the Lakers practice facility was impressive ... wait 'til you see Zion Williamson's "hold my drink" response Tuesday.

The Duke commit -- clearly reacting to 'Gelo 'cause of the "dead legs" caption he shared -- nearly took down a rim trying to top the middle Ball brother's performance.

The first dunk: A self-lob, behind-the-back jam.

The second dunk: Another self-lob, left-handed hammer.

'Gelo's clearly got ups ... but yeah, we're givin' Zion the nod here.

A high school football star who takes CBD oil to control his seizures is willing to switch to another medication if it will clear the way to play for a top NCAA school ... his father tells TMZ Sports.

C.J. Harris says he was told his invitation to join the Auburn football team as a defensive back was rescinded -- and now there are conflicting reports about whether it was due to his CBD medication or his underlying medical condition, epilepsy.

We spoke with C.J.'s father who wouldn't clarify the reason Auburn pulled the offer -- but told us C.J.'s medication will not be a problem if any other program is interested in his son.

"He wants to play," Curtis Harris tells TMZ Sports ... "He's gotta find a way and he’s willing to find something that doesn’t have the THC in it.”

"We don’t want to look back and say we didn’t try, but C.J.’s health is most important."

FYI, C.J. has said the CBD oil -- which contains THC -- helps keep his seizures at bay and he hasn't had an episode since January 2017.

There are reports that the CBD oil was not the reason Auburn pulled the invitation -- instead sources told Auburn Undercover's Brandon Marcello the Auburn medical staff had concerns clearing a person with epilepsy to play full-contact football at the NCAA level.

Johnny Manziel says Baker Mayfield's drunken arrest shouldn't define him -- because it's just a part of being a star QB in college.

"Look, he got in a little bit of trouble last year but that's just part of being in college," Manziel said on the "Comeback SZN" podcast with Barstool Sports.

Manziel says most star QBs are "gonna go out, they're gonna have some drinks and one night you're gonna drink too much and somethings gonna happen that shouldn't have happened."

"It's just the way that things go."

Manziel is clearly referring to Baker's February 2017 arrest -- when he was arrested for public intoxication, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and fleeing after Mayfield tried to run from cops.

Manziel doesn't think it's a big deal. We'll see if the NFL teams agree.

Reggie Bush says Saquon Barkley's gonna waste no time dominating the NFL ... telling TMZ Sports the ex-Penn State star is more pro ready than he was coming out of USC.

We saw Bush -- regarded by many as the top player in the 2006 NFL Draft -- and asked who was more NFL ready heading into the draft ... him or Barkley.

"I think Saquon is more ready, prepared, going in. Just because his running style to me translates right now to the NFL," Bush -- the #2 overall pick in '06 -- tells us ... "For me, my first year in the league there was a learning curve of how to run between the tackles at the NFL level."

"There was an adjustment period for about 2 years, I would say. Before I really got comfortable running between the tackles" ... RG says.

But Saquon ... Reggie says he'll be ready to go from the jump.

Saquon Barkley canceled a bunch of media appearances on Tuesday and now we know why ... HE JUST HAD A BABY!!!

The former Penn State running back revealed his girlfriend, Anna Congdon, gave birth to a bouncing baby girl on April 24 -- Jada Clare Barkley.

"Words can’t even describe how I feel right now," the 21-year-old said on Instagram.

"You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Thank God for blessing me with you in my life and into my arms. I pray that I can be the best father to you and help you grow into an amazing woman. I love you so so so much."

It's a huge week for the Barkley family ... Saquon is expected to be selected in the 1st round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night.

Congrats!!

Josh Rosen says he's been the target of A LOT of anti-Jewish trash talk on the field -- with some opposing players telling him, "Stay the f*ck down, you Jewish bastard."

The former UCLA quarterback opened up about the anti-Semitism in football to NFL.com's Michael Silver ... saying when it comes to trash talk, "I get a lot of Jewish things."

"My nose, particularly. I get, like, 'Stay the f*ck down, you Jewish bastard … I'm gonna break your f*cking nose, you Jew.'"

Rosen says he's unfazed by the insults -- explaining, "I really like when people try to get in my head."

"I like away games more than home games. I like silencing crowds; that's a big thing. One of my best games was at Arizona my freshman year. It was College GameDay and they had a ton of banners; they had my face on the queen from 'Frozen'. They had, 'Josh Rosen's Bar Mitzvah Wasn't Even Lit.'"

Saquon Barkley has a little bro ... and it's clear freak athletic talent runs in the family!

The top RB in the draft was working out with his high school sophomore brother, Ali Barkley -- and showing off their insane bounce.

Ali crushed a box jump that looked like it was over 4 feet tall -- and then Saquon 1-upped him ... by doing a freakin' ninja jump OVER the boxes!

In case you're wondering, Ali is 5'11", 190 lbs and will be a junior RB at Whitehall HS in PA this fall (class of 2020).

Ali attends the same high school where Saquon dominated back in the day -- rushing for 1,851 yards and 24 TDs in his senior year ('14-'15).

Ali's reportedly already getting interest from schools like Penn State, Pitt, Rutgers and Temple despite only playing in 5 games as a sophomore.

More trouble for Florida State QB Deondre Francois -- who was just busted for weed in Tallahassee ... and immediately tried to throw his GF under the bus.

According to the police report obtained by TMZ Sports, cops raided Francois' home on April 12 over a tip he may have been dealing marijuana.

Cops say Francois' girlfriend, Diamond Simone Lindsey, was in the house at the time of the search -- and if you recognize that name, it's because she's the same person who accused the QB of domestic violence back in January.

Francois was detained while cops searched the place -- but they ultimately determined there wasn't enough evidence to prove he was slangin'.

Cops did however find 17 grams of "cannabis/tobacco mixture" and "items of drug paraphernalia" on the premises and asked Francois for an explanation.

Francois -- being the quality BF he is -- tried to pin the whole thing on Lindsey.

"Francois attempted to minimize his culpability by saying that he 'can't smoke right now' and saying that the cannabis belonged to [Lindsey]."

Cops ultimately didn't buy it and cited Francois for possession. FSU coach Willie Taggart says he's met with Deondre and is handling the matter internally.