NCAA

Jim Harbaugh wants a Tom Brady statue at Michigan ... and he wants it built NOW!!!

The UM coach was talking Super Bowl on his podcast, "Attack Each Day: The Harbaughs' Podcast," when he revealed TB12 is so great ... he needs a sculpture on campus.

In fact ... Jim says Tom has proved so much in his 19-year NFL career -- the university should now be OBLIGATED to immortalize him!!!

"Tom Brady -- greatest of all time -- and he's lapped the field in football. He's lapped the field."

"You're synonymous now with Babe Ruth, with Michael Jordan. The university that he attended should build a statue."

The only question left for Jim? Where to put it.

Harbaugh, his dad Jack and UM Director of Recruiting Matt Dudek had the debate ... and seems they're settling on somewhere near Michigan Stadium.

It's interesting ... 'cause when Tom was at Michigan -- a whole lotta fans thought Drew Henson shoulda been the starter during Brady's time as signal-caller.

But hey, nobody remembers that now, right?!?!

Terrelle Pryor says it's time for the Buckeyes to bring his old coach, Jim Tressel, back to Columbus -- which is interesting, considering the history.

Remember, Tressel left OSU in 2011 after a scandal involving Bucks players getting free tattoos in exchange for their game-worn memorabilia.

Pryor was one of the players involved -- he was suspended for 5 games. Tressel subsequently resigned.

It's been nearly 8 years since Tressel left the Bucks ... and Ohio State just lost its national-championship-winning coach, Urban Meyer. Pryor thinks Tressel's the right man to fill his shoes.

"We need to get Jim Tressel back," Pryor tells TMZ Sports.

Tressel was beloved in Columbus prior to his departure, racking up a 106-22 record (before the vacated wins) ... and led the Buckeyes to a national championship in 2002.

Of course, Ohio State has found its replacement in Ryan Day ... but, it's clear Pryor wants to see the sweater vest back on the sidelines, or in some other capacity.

A former Kent State running back says he's suffering from long-term brain injuries due to his college football career ... and he's pointing the finger at the NCAA.

The man behind the lawsuit is Jerry Flowers -- a former high school superstar in Georgia who played for Kent State in 2005 ... racking up 304 yards and 3 TDs during his freshman year.

Flowers says he sustained "numerous concussions" during his college football career and now he's suffering from "several symptoms indicative of long-term brain and neurocognitive injuries."

In his lawsuit, filed in federal court in Indiana, Flowers claims the NCAA actively concealed data about the effects of concussions on long-term health.

He also claims the NCAA did not warn players that their helmets did not protect against concussions, "despite the fact an athlete would naturally think of his or her helmet as protective."

Quinnen Williams is about to make his grandma VERY happy ... 'cause the Alabama superstar says with his first NFL paycheck -- a gift for grams is on the way!!!

"I think I'm going to buy my grandma a car," the DT tells TMZ Sports.

Quinnen's projected to be the No. 2 overall pick in April's NFL Draft ... which means Grandma's getting a DOPE new whip -- 'cause his first contract is expected to be around $31 MILLION.

But ... Quinnen says a car might not be the only gift he gets for her when that signing bonus starts rolling in -- he says he's thinking of swaggin' her out with some ice too!!

"She don't really wear jewelry, so I'll buy her jewelry."

Seems Grandma Williams should be proud ... Quinnen says he's normally a tightwad with his cash -- but looks like G-ma is just that special.

We also asked Williams about his ex-teammate, Jalen Hurts, transferring from the Tide ... and Q tells us why he wishes the QB the best.

Zion Williamson needs to IGNORE Scottie Pippen's advice and NOT sit out the rest of the college basketball season because it could hurt his development ... so says Kenny Smith.

"When you play, you get an opportunity to hone your craft," Smith tells TMZ Sports ... "Iron sharpens iron."

Pippen sees it MUCH differently -- claiming the Duke superstar is the obvious #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft and he needs to sit out to avoid risking serious injury.

But, Smith says sitting will essentially stunt his growth -- because the constant competition with top college talent will make him more prepared for the jump to the NBA.

Check out the clip ... Kenny sends a personal message to Zion to keep playing ... and throws a little jab about the big UNC/Duke rivalry.

Donald Trump's fast food plan worked ... because Clemson's star QB Trevor Lawrence tells TMZ Sports he LOVED the President's McDonald's spread at the White House and can't wait to do it again!

Lawrence and the rest of the Clemson Tigers arrived to 1600 Penn to celebrate their National Championship victory over Alabama ... where President Trump personally selected the food menu.

"I think we're going to serve McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King with some pizza," Trump said to the media earlier that day ... explaining, "I would think that's their favorite food."

When the team arrived, the fast food -- Big Macs, Filet-O-Fish sandwiches and more -- was waiting for them on silver platters on a table decorated with gold candelabras ... real fancy stuff.

"It was awesome," Lawrence told us while taking pics with Clemson fans ... "We had McDonalds and everything. It was good!"

Another fan asked Lawrence how many times he plans on returning to the White House -- to which he replied, "Hopefully, a few more!"

Trump also enjoyed the dinner with the champs -- tweeting out, "Because of the Shutdown I served them massive amounts of fast food (I paid), over 1000 hamberders etc."

Hey, it's hard to spell correctly when your body is sluggish with berder meat.

Go Tigers!

Steph Curry is the most famous person to EVER play basketball at Davidson College (by far!) ... so, why hasn't his jersey been retired?!

Simple -- Steph's gotta get his degree first. Seriously.

Remember, Steph is a LEGEND at Davidson, where he was a consensus 1st Team All-American and famously led the Wildcats to the Elite 8 in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

So, when we spotted Steph's old college coach, Bob McKillop out in D.C., we had to get an explanation for why Steph's old #30 jersey ain't hangin' in the rafters.

"I think he's in the process of completing his degree," McKillop told us after heaping TONS of praise on his old player.

We followed up with the school and athletic director Chris Clunie told us that Steph is still actively working on his degree ... and as soon as he completes his education, boom -- the jersey gets retired.

Clunie says the school is extremely proud of all that Steph has accomplished on and off the court. They love the guy.

It's Trevor Lawrence's world and we're all just living in it ... so says ex-Clemson star Charlie Whitehurst, who tells TMZ Sports he's completely blown away by the young QB.

Lawrence's skills (and hair) have been the talk of college football this season ... and now that he helped the Tigers take down Alabama for the title, Charlie says the dude's turning into a superstar.

"Obviously, he could brand himself right now and who knows what kind of money he could make if that was within the rules," Whitehurst says.

"The way he looks and the way he played, I mean ... 19 years old and he's got the world by the balls, to be honest with you. I think we're all envious of that a little bit."

Think Nick Saban would leave his college football dynasty to take another swing at success in the NFL??

Here's Julio Jones to knock some damn sense into you ... cause the ex-Bama superstar tells TMZ Sports there's NO WAY his old coach should leave Tuscaloosa for the pros.

We spoke with the Falcons receiver about Bama losing to Clemson in the title game earlier this week ... and he says there's no need to jump ship over one loss.

"Dabo (Swinney) was just the better coach and they were the better team."

Jones says Saban has built something special with the Crimson Tide ... and says the dude should ride that wave for as long as he can.

President Trump is congratulating the Clemson Tigers for winning the national championship ... because he's just announced that Dabo Swinney's football team will visit the White House next week, and it's a big win for the Prez.

POTUS announced Friday he's hosting the Tigers in our nation's capital Monday, the second time in three years Clemson will visit 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Dabo's squad also shook hands with Trump in June 2017 after winning it all.

Getting Clemson to the White House is huge for Trump. It's no longer an automatic for major sports champions to visit the President.

Remember, team visits to the White House became routine in the 1980s ... until the NBA champion Golden State Warriors started a trend last summer by making clear they wouldn't visit Trump.

The Philadelphia Eagles threatened to boycott the White House after winning last year's Super Bowl, and they never showed.

The Villanova Wildcats didn't visit the White House after winning last year's NCAA men's basketball tournament. Ditto for the NHL's Washington Capitals.

Like Clemson, the World Series champion Boston Red Sox accepted Trump's invitation, and pitcher Heath Hembree famously told us he f*cks with Trump. The Sox will visit sometime during the upcoming MLB season.

Joe Namath is keepin' it classy when it comes to Alabama losing in the National Championship game -- congratulating Clemson for simply outplaying his alma mater.

"Never like losing," Namath said on his way out of CBS in New York ... "We got outplayed and that's the way it goes."

"Congratulations to Clemson."

Namath says the 44 to 16 loss to Clemson wasn't exactly heartbreaking -- probably because Bama has won FIVE national titles since 2009 ... not bad.

By the way, Namath was a beast at Bama back in the day ... starting at QB for the Tide in 1962 (as a sophomore) under legendary head coach Bear Bryant.

Sen. Lindsey Graham is in such a good mood after his home state Clemson Tigers won the national championship ... he's inviting Democrats to call him up to make a deal to end the shutdown!

In fact, the Senator from South Carolina says he's INSPIRED by the Tigers -- saying the way they came together as a team is a lesson for Congress on the whole.

"Remember that to be successful you have to be a team .. and so, I'm gonna take that attitude about trying to bring the Congress together."

Graham says he's still gung-ho about finding a way to fund the border wall -- and it seems he's willing to work with Democrats when it comes to the Dream Act.

"There's a deal to be had ... secure that border with a wall component, help the Dream Act population [and others] who have been here for decades who are about to lose their legal status and do some legal reforms and call it a day."

"There's a deal to be had so let's go get it ... and after the football game, I'm in a good mood, so if you're a Democrat, give me a call."

DABO DANCE MOVES ARE BACK!!!

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney pulled a page outta BlocBoy JB's book to celebrate winning it all on Monday night ... bringing out his "shoot" dance -- and his players totally lost it!!

Clemson shocked Alabama by whoopin' the Tide 44-16 in the College Football Playoff National Championship ... and the Tigers capped off the win with a dance party for the ages.

Dabo's been known to get loose after Clemson dubs ... and already had the "dab" and "hit dem folk" in his repertoire.

But, this one had to be even better than his other moves, and the dude didn't disappoint.

Of course, there was more shade towards new Bama fan, Drake ... as the team jumped around and chanted his song, "Big Rings."

Here's some great news going into your holiday weekend ... Shareef O'Neal could be back on the UCLA basketball court in 4 to 5 months!

... this according to his dad, Shaq.

The Diesel was at the Magic Wheels Toy Giveaway in L.A. doing his Santa Shaq thing (awesome, BTW) when he gave us the update on his son who underwent heart surgery on Dec. 13.

As we previously reported, UCLA doctors detected an abnormality during a routine check up and advised O'Neal that a heart procedure was crucial.

Shaq told us Shareef is continuing to focus on his recovery and hopes to be back on the floor as early as April -- which is fantastic news!

There's more ... Shaq also weighed in on Lil Wayne recently saying he thinks Kobe Bryant is better than Michael Jordan.

When we asked Shaq to pick his #1 -- he went with someone else entirely ... not Magic Johnson, not LeBron, not himself!

But, the best part of this clip is the great work Shaq continues to do in the community -- making sure every kid has a Merry Christmas!

Shaq has been doing toy drives for 26 YEARS -- and you can tell from the video ... he's just as passionate about helping out now as he was when he started.

Ex-Little League baseball phenom Mo'Ne Davis is all grown up -- and she's signed a letter of intent to play college softball at Hampton University in Virginia.

Remember, Davis SMOKED EVERYBODY with her insane 70 mph fastball during the 2014 Little League World Series -- becoming the first girl to toss a shutout in post-season play. She was only 13 at the time.

Now, she's a senior at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia -- where she's still murdering the competition on the softball field, the soccer pitch and the basketball court.

Davis has been recruited by a ton of major college programs -- but ultimately decided on Hampton because of the prestigious communications department, according to her parents.

Davis will reportedly be a middle infielder at Hampton. Unclear if she'll play basketball too, but we know she's a BALLER on the court.

Back in 2015, Mo'ne was drafted by the Harlem Globetrotters after COOKIN' Kevin Hart in a celebrity basketball game.

Best signing day announcement ever!!!

High school football star Cooper Dawson -- a top defensive end at Hanahan High in South Carolina -- didn't feel right holding a press conference by himself on Wednesday to announce his college plans.

So, he brought a friend with him ... a guy who's been his inspiration while he recovers from an ACL tear -- Kingsley Feinman.

Kingsley has cerebral palsy -- and Dawson explained that he's learned a major life lesson from his friend, "The only disability is a bad attitude."

And, when the big moment came, Cooper whispered his college destination into Kinglsey's ear so he could make the announcement to the media.

What ensued is just awesome ... and props to WCIV's Scott Eisberg for capturing the whole thing on video.

The only sad part ... is Cooper didn't pick the school Kinglsey had hoped he would attend.

Still, guessing KF will learn to root for a new team.

Congrats!!