Taggart deal with FU announced

UNDATED (AP) — Willie Taggart's contract as Florida State's new head football coach will pay him $30 million over six years.

The university released the letter of understanding signed by Taggart after he was announced as the Seminoles' new coach on Wednesday. Florida State will also pay the nearly $1.4 million he still owes South Florida and $3 million owed to Oregon as part of buyouts of his previous contracts.

Taggart replaces Jimbo Fisher, who resigned to accept the opening at Texas A&M.

Also in college football:

— Arkansas has hired SMU's Chad Morris as its new football coach after the two sides worked out a six-year, $21 million package. The former Texas high school coach and former Clemson offensive coordinator replaces Bret Bielema, who was fired.

— Mike Bloomgren has been hired as the coach at Rice. The school says Bloomgren OK'd a five-year contract after spending last season as the associate head coach and offensive coordinator at Stanford. He takes over for David Bailiff, who was fired on Nov. 27.

— Pittsburgh has signed coach Pat Narduzzi to a new contract that will keep him with the Panthers through the 2024 season. Narduzzi is 21-17 in three seasons with the Panthers, including a 5-7 mark this year.

— A suspended University of Southern California football player who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor sexual assault has been sentenced to one year in a Utah jail. The Deseret News reports that 20-year-old Osa Masina was sentenced Tuesday for three counts of sexual battery after being accused of raping a woman in Utah after a party with friends.

— Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, Stanford running back Bryce Love and Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson are the finalists for The Associated Press college football Player of the Year. The winner will be announced Thursday. The finalists are the same as those for the Heisman Trophy, which will be presented Saturday.

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