What we're hearing: CJ Carr is 'unbelievable', Jimbo Fisher wants back in

Welcome to a brand-new USA TODAY Sports feature, which intends to carve its space with "what we're hearing" into what you cannot afford to not be reading.

Coming throughout this college football season, USA TODAY Sports' college insiders will canvas the sport's landscape — head coaches, coordinators, athletics administrators, agents, player representatives and more — to bring you the behind-the-scenes news.

CJ Carr isn't an unknown. Arch Manning, seemingly, has never not been known.

Well, he once sat upon a golden throne. Literally. Check the recruiting photos.

Moore was committed to Notre Dame — the betting co-favorite alongside Ohio State to capture college football's national title this season — during his high school recruitment. He ultimately signed with UCLA before transferring to Oregon.

Manning's Texas Longhorns , Carr's Fighting Irish and Moore's Ducks all are consensus Top 5 teams, with Oregon (2), Texas (4) and Notre Dame (5) bunched together in the US LBM Coaches Poll .

Moore is a past participant in the famed Manning Passing Academy ; Arch Manning and Carr participated this year.

USA TODAY Sports spoke with a head coach of a camp participant and a quarterback at the camp to get the early skinny on the Carr-Manning debate.

"Both guys were great," the quarterback said. "Super talented. But, I had some classroom stuff with Carr. Unbelievable dude. Throwing the football? I'm taking Carr every day of the week."

There's much more to playing QB than throwing the football, but Carr, whose stock continues to surge following his work at the Manning Passing Academy , continues to elevate.

"When my guy got back," the head coach said, "he told me CJ was the best quarterback there that week."

How does the NFL, in part, view the potential of the 2027 NFL Draft class at the quarterback position?

"I think the class can be elite," an NFC scout told USA TODAY Sports. "Don't sleep on (Drew) Mestemaker at Oklahoma State! I think he's a dude.

"(The class is) Significantly better than '26."

No one is advocating the firing of anyone. Let's be clear.

Let's also be clear: A lot of college football coaches are going to get fired this fall into the winter.

There's a national championship-winning coach itching for his return, a number of active coaches and other figures in the college athletics landscape told USA TODAY Sports.

Jimbo Fisher, after working to be in the mix this past coaching cycle at Auburn specifically, is ready for a return to the sideline.

Multiple coaches and agents informed USA TODAY Sports of Fisher's desire to return to the game, noting money (coaching salary) would not be a prohibitive factor for a coach looking to again prove himself.

Fisher, working with the ACC Network, also spent time earlier this year with new Memphis coach Charles Huff, among other stops in the past two years since his departure from Texas A&M.

This is Fisher's third year off the sidelines following his dismissal from Texas A&M late in the 2023 season.

On the heels of a recent practice, the Wolverines were commanded to run "gassers" near the end of the preseason camp.

Kyle Whittingham's message, USA TODAY Sports was told, was simple.

"We will NOT be soft," the coach intoned.

Additionally, as Michigan adopts to a more evolved, forward-thinking front-office model, we're told the Wolverines' personnel staff have been ushered through 'Scout School,' with NFL personnel reaching out to help provide guidance on evaluative techniques as well as other elements of the player-identification process.

Ranking the top 25 party schools in the US. Who does it best?

How nuanced are the contracts of current college football players, especially as it pertains to potential guaranteed monies, incentives and … delicately worded language?

Consider this example an NIL agent shared about a direct situation he encountered with a client in the most recent portal (read: transactional) cycle:

"We were in talks with (ACC school) and we were talking about starts," the agent said." He had started every game the year before at his previous school, but he was coming off injury.

"So, they said, 'We wouldn't say he's the starter in the contract, but it was something to the effect of the work-around feature as what if we say he's a starter in pre-game lineup introductions? Like, the starting lineup announcements on the video board in pre-game."

"We agreed to exactly that," the agent said.

The result? A contract worth more than $400,000.

Longest Yard, Part II: Meet Kamden Sixkiller

All those best-name team accolades in college football, and somehow Kamden Sixkiller 's flying under the radar.

Quarterback of the Campbell Camels FCS squad (Roll Humps is their enduring motto), Sixkiller also is his conference's player of the week after accounting for 438 yards' total offense in Campbell's 49-37, not-that-close upset-win on the road at Southern Conference preseason contender ETSU. The Bucs are helmed by former Charlotte coach Will Healy.

The Camels, entering Year 3 under Braxton Harris, turned loose Sixkiller in the Week 0 opener. All he did? Deliver 343 passing yards and four total touchdowns.

Is that Sixkiller name sticking in the cobwebs? It probably should.

Kamden Sixkiller is a relative of Sonny Sixkiller, a former star quarterback at Washington who also starred in the original Hollywood gridiron classic, "The Longest Yard."

"He played against me when he was a true freshman at McNeese," Harris told USA TODAY Sports, confirming the younger Sixkiller's connection to the 1970s star. "I thought he was a stud, and when the coaching change happened, I jumped all over him."

In its first year as an Football Championship Subdivision program, West Florida has just crashed the national rankings on the heels of an opening win — even if it faces the expected multiple years of transitional status, per NCAA guidelines.

The program's coach, Kaleb Nobles, was part of West Florida's first football team after beginning his college career at Valdosta State. His wife, Katy, is a former West Florida volleyball player.

All his team did in its inaugural game as an FCS program was build double-digit leads of 27-9 and 34-24 before holding on to win against Southern Illinois, which won seven of 11 games last season against FCS foes and has been a regular playoff contender.

In addition to his playing career, Nobles' resume includes work under Dabo Swinney and Tony Elliott at Clemson.

Who has the best helmet in college football? We rank the top 25

Concord University, in Athens, W.V., just scored that program's first win against an FCS opponent by going on the road to record a season-opening 41-35 victory at Davidson.

Under second-year coach Cody Edwards, Concord utilized a 10-0 third quarter to permanently dislodge a tied contest.

Among the former coaches for whom Edwards has worked are ex-NFL head and assistant coaches Brandon Staley and Tom Arth.

Additionally, Edwards has hired well. His offensive coordinator, Benton Duby, has notable Power conference experience prior to his arrival at the tiny West Virginia school.

Duby's stops include Mississippi State, Oklahoma and Ole Miss. In this game, his offense merely worked host Davidson for more than 460 yards' offense despite just 23-plus minutes of possession.