Fall camp always brings a fresh jolt of hope, but it also brings the first hard hits of the season before a snap has even been played. For two American Conference programs expected to matter in 2025, the injury news has already started to pile up.
Tulane is dealing with a hit to its backfield, while North Texas has lost a key defensive addition before the season even gets going.
At Tulane, running back Jamauri McClure missed practice on Tuesday, Aug. 11 because of an injured left foot, according to Guerry Smith of The Times-Picayune / New Orleans Advocate. Smith reported that McClure was watching from a scooter and could return early in the season per head coach Will Hall, though his status for the Sept. 5 opener at Duke is now in question.
McClure was the Green Wave’s most productive back in 2025, even though he made only three starts. The redshirt freshman piled up 540 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 6.5 yards per carry, and most of that damage came late in the year.
He went over 100 yards twice, including 122 against Temple in Week 13 and 121 in the conference title game against North Texas. Over his final five games, he averaged 98 rushing yards per contest, then finished with an 84-yard effort in the College Football Playoff loss to Ole Miss.
With McClure sidelined, Tulane may need more from Jaylin Lucas and Maurice Turner. Lucas arrived after four seasons split between Indiana and Florida State and has totaled 719 rushing yards, 456 receiving yards and six touchdowns, while also earning all-conference recognition for his work as a returner. Turner opened 2025 as Tulane’s Week 1 starter at running back and ran for 86 yards in the opener, but his first year in New Orleans was slowed by injury and ended with 127 rushing yards on 28 carries.
North Texas is facing a different kind of blow. Cornerback Caden Jenkins, one of the transfers expected to play a major role under first-year coach Neal Brown, said on Instagram that he tore his ACL and will miss the entire 2026 season.
Jenkins arrived after three seasons at Baylor, where he played in 31 games and made 18 starts. As a true freshman in 2023, he broke in fast with 37 tackles, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
He started all 11 games in 2024 and added 24 tackles and an interception for an 8-5 Baylor team. In 2025, he shifted into a reserve role before transferring to North Texas with his twin brother Cameren, a former Baylor safety.
Now the Mean Green will have to patch together the cornerback room without him. The group is expected to lean more on Peyton Taylor, a Division II transfer from Emporia State, Zach Johnson from FCS Southeastern Louisiana, and Keshawn Davila, who came over from Arkansas. Chase Canada also returns after recording three tackles and a pass breakup in seven appearances in 2025.
In Other News...
Baylor May Have An Unexpected Chance To Add Proven 2026 Help
A Colorado federal court ruling could create an unusual late-opening for programs like Baylor, with a U.S. District Court judge granting a class-wide preliminary injunction that requires the NCAA to treat high school class of 2022 athletes who used all four seasons of eligibility this spring as eligible for the 2026 season. For the Bears, that immediately puts a few familiar names back into the conversation, including Devyn Bobby, Omar Aigbedion, Kobe Prentice and Kole Wilson, all of whom could end up mattering to the roster picture well beyond the usual transfer-cycle chatter.
There is also a separate Baylor wrinkle already in motion on the current roster. Defensive lineman Hosea Wheeler was granted a temporary injunction that lets him play this season, and the legal process is not finished yet, with a trial expected in the next 90 to 120 days. For a team always balancing development, depth and roster planning, the court calendar may wind up shaping a few decisions as much as any offseason evaluation. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor's 2026 Defensive Line Just Got A Huge Twist
A McLennan County judge has given Baylor defensive lineman Hosea Wheeler a temporary path back onto the field for 2026, adding an unexpected layer to the Bears future on the defensive front. Wheeler has been fighting the NCAAs eligibility ruling, and the courts latest move means he can participate while the case continues, keeping one of Baylors roster questions very much alive heading into the new year.
The dispute now heads toward trial in roughly 90 to 120 days, with Wheelers long-term status still tied to how that case is decided. At the center of the lawsuit is a familiar but consequential eligibility fight: whether his 2021 junior-college season should count against the NCAAs five-year window, a ruling that could shape not only Baylors 2026 plans but Wheelers college career as a whole. [Read more 🡒]