College football: Lincoln Riley agrees to contract extension with Oklahoma

Oklahoma and Lincoln Riley have agreed to a contract extension, which should quell speculation about the second-year coach being lured away by an NFL team.

Oklahoma announced Tuesday that contract terms were being finalized and would be subject to approval by the board of regents late this month.

The 35-year-old Riley has led the Sooners to consecutive Big 12 championships and College Football Playoff appearances. Oklahoma is 24-4 overall and 16-2 in the conference under Riley with two Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks — Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.

Riley was promoted from offensive coordinator at Oklahoma in the spring of 2017 after Bob Stoops retired. Oklahoma’s creative and prolific offenses have drawn attention of NFL teams and made Riley a potential candidate to fill coaching vacancies in the league.

Prosecutor says LSU players appear justified in fatal shooting

A prosecutor says two LSU football players appear to have responded with justifiable force when they fatally shot an 18-year-old man who was allegedly trying to rob them at gunpoint.

East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore tells The Associated Press that the investigation is still in the preliminary stages and that authorities are not prepared to say whether it was sophomore running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire or freshman linebacker Jared Small who fired the shots that killed Kobe Johnson. Baton Rouge police have said the Dec. 22 shooting occurred off campus, where the players were trying to sell an electronic item. Johnson was not an LSU student.

The players traveled with LSU to the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, and were in uniform for Tuesday’s game against Central Florida. Edwards-Helaire took the game’s opening kickoff 77 yards to set up an LSU field goal.

Edwards-Helaire, a Baton Rouge native, has rushed for 626 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games this season. Small, a freshman who also is from Baton Rouge, has played sparingly.

The shooting was the second involving an LSU athlete since late September, when Tigers basketball player Wayde Sims, also a Baton Rouge native, was killed by gunfire on a street near Southern University’s campus while trying to defend a friend involved in a fight.

Stanford tight end declares for NFL

Stanford tight end Kaden Smith will skip his final season of college to enter the NFL draft.

Smith thanked his teammates, coaches and family when he announced the decision on Tuesday.

Smith had 47 catches for 635 yards and two touchdowns this season for the Cardinal. He missed the final three games of the season with a foot injury.

Smith had 70 catches for 1,049 yards and seven TDs in 20 games over two seasons in college. He is the latest in a long line of talented tight ends at Stanford and is projected to be taken in the first four rounds of the draft.

NC State’s Meyers skipping final seaon

North Carolina State wide receiver Jakobi Meyers is skipping his final season to enter the NFL draft.

The school announced the redshirt junior’s decision on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after the Wolfpack lost to Texas A&M in the Gator Bowl. Meyers came to N.C. State as a quarterback but moved to receiver and set a single-season school receptions record with 92 catches for 1,047 yards this year.

Meyers earned his degree last month in sports management with a minor in business administration. Coach Dave Doeren says in a statement it’s been “a joy to coach Jakobi and watch him mature as a player and a person.”

Meyers finished with 168 career catches for fifth in school history. He had three catches for 19 yards in his college finale against the Aggies.

Quarterman coming back

Miami linebacker Shaquille Quarterman has decided the NFL can wait.

Quarterman announced Tuesday that he is returning to the Hurricanes for his final season of eligibility. His decision means all three Miami primary linebackers this season — Quarterman, Michael Pinckney and Zach McCloud — will be back in 2019 for their senior year.

Keeping Quarterman and Pinckney was a top priority for new Miami coach Manny Diaz, who was hired Sunday night hours after Mark Richt retired. Pinckney said Monday that he was staying, and McCloud ended speculation about his future last month.

Quarterman has started all 39 games Miami has played in his first three seasons, with 249 tackles in that span.