CFB notebook: Clemson DC Venables agrees to five-year, $11.6M pact

Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables agreed to a five-year, $11.6 million contract, multiple media outlets reported Thursday. The deal, approved by the university board of trustees on Thursday morning, made Venables the second-highest-paid college football assistant coach behind LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, who signed a four-year, $10 million deal. The current deal supersedes a set of terms that Clemson announced for Venables in February. That contract was for three years at $2 million annually. The 47-year-old Venables will make $2 million annually in his new contract, with a $200,000 retention bonus in the first two years and a $400,000 retention bonus in the final three years, per Yahoo Sports. The Tigers won a third consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference title in 2017 and made the College Football Playoff for the third year in a row. --Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said at ACC media day that he has not decided on a starting quarterback yet. The leading contenders for the job are Kelly Bryant, who was the starter last season, and highly touted freshman Trevor Lawrence. Bryant passed for 2,802 yards and 13 touchdowns with eight interceptions in 2017, and he added 665 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns for a team that finished 12-2 and reached the College Football Playoff before losing a semifinal to Alabama. Lawrence arrives on campus as the nation's No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2018, according to 247Sports. --Multiple North Carolina football players might be suspended for at least one game for selling school-issued athletic gear, WRAL-TV in Raleigh, N.C., reported this week. The station said it received confirmation that the school self-reported the potential secondary violations in February. The names of players involved in the sale of school-issued shoes and apparel are not yet known, and it is not clear how many were involved. The report was processed by the NCAA in March, and the results of the ensuing investigation could lead to players being suspended for one game or more. --Former USC wide receiver Joseph Lewis was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence Wednesday night in Los Angeles, USA TODAY Sports reported. Six months ago, Lewis was arrested on domestic violence charges that arose from two incidents. He pleaded no contest to two counts of domestic battery in May and completed his jail sentence earlier this month, the Los Angeles Times reported. USC suspended Lewis after the first arrest, and athletic department spokesperson Tim Tessalone told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday that Lewis is "not a member of the football program." ESPN ranked Lewis as the No. 1 wide receiver recruit in the class of 2017 and Scout.com ranked him fourth at that position. He caught four passes for 39 yards for the Trojans last season as a freshman. --In January, Missouri starting safety Kaleb Prewett was suspended indefinitely, and Thursday head coach Barry Odom said at SEC Media Days that Prewett has been dismissed from the team. The reason for the suspension and subsequent dismissal was an unspecified violation of team rules. The exact date of the dismissal is unclear, but it is clear that his absence will be a blow to the defense. Prewett had transferred to Missouri from Kansas State soon after he was arrested in February 2016 for on an alcohol-related offense. After sitting out the 2016 season to satisfy NCAA transfer rules, Prewett began 2017 as Missouri's starting strong-side linebacker before starting the last seven games at safety. Prewett was fourth on the Tigers in tackles with 60 in 2017, when he also had four tackles for loss and two pass breakups.