(m.vcstar.com)Duke receiver Blair Holliday, who was severely injured when his jet ski collided with that of teammate Jamison Crowder on North Carolina's Lake Tillery on July 4, made another stride Tuesday when he spoke to the coaching staff for the first time.

"It was a joyous day in the Yoh Football Center as we had the entire staff in the office for a short phone call with Blair," Duke coach David Cutcliffe said in a release. "We had him on speakerphone, and it was just great to hear his voice — a sound that absolutely filled the room with exuberance. We talked about the rehabilitation process and how important it is, and when I asked him if he understood how much we loved him, he responded with a confident 'yes'."

Holliday suffered major brain injuries during the accident and spent the past four weeks in UNC Hospital in critical, but stable condition. He was transferred to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta on Monday to continue his rehabilitation. He'll be held in the Shepherd's Acquired Brain Injury Unit.

One player is no longer with the program and two others were suspended after they were involved in an Airsoft pellet gun shootout that caused 10 Boulder police to descend, draw their weapons and hold eight players at gunpoint early Saturday morning.

Officers responded after witnesses said they saw two cars with eight football players racing down the road and pointing guns at each other. Little did the witnesses — and ultimately the police — know that the guns were Airsoft pellet guns and not real guns. So, the initial police, who were waved down by the witness, called for backup and after pulling the two cars over, 10 police stood at the ready with their guns drawn as they yelled for all eight players to get out of their cars.

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Yet another group is petitioning the NCAA to reconsider its harsh sanctions against Penn State.

Eight former players, led by former quarterback Michael Robinson, have notified the NCAA through their attorney Paul V. Kelly that they plan to appeal the sanctions that were leveled against the university last month, which included a four-year bowl ban, loss of scholarships and the vacating of wins from 1998-2011. All of the players involved in the petition played for Penn State during the vacated years.

The eight players are the third group to alert the NCAA of its intent to appeal. The Paterno Family kicked things off last Friday and two trustees said Monday they also intended to appeal the sanctions.

The NCAA has said the sanctions are not subject to appeal, which could open the NCAA up to a lawsuit.

The eight players are challenging the findings of the Freeh Report and saying the NCAA did not give Penn State its due process because it did  not conduct its own investigation and did not go through the Committee on Infractions to determine punishment. It's also questioning whether the consent decree Penn State president Rodney Erickson signed without consenting the entire Board of Trustees was valid.

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Former Miami safety Ray-Ray Armstrong, who was dismissed from the program last month, is using the legal system to get back on the practice field.

Armstrong's attorney, Matt Morgan of Orlando, said he plans to file an injunction this week to allow Armstrong to practice with Miami until the NCAA determines if he broke any rules.

Armstrong and his lawyer believe he was dismissed from the program as a preemptive strike against NCAA punishment against the school.

"Miami made a unilateral decision to dismiss Ray-Ray without NCAA process," Morgan told ESPN. "We believe Miami is using Ray-Ray as a sacrificial lamb to the NCAA."

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Since Bill O'Brien took over at Penn State, he's tried to distance his team from those of former coach Joe Paterno. And Tuesday, the program took another step in doing that by making a bold statement with a slight jersey change.

The university announced that Penn State, which has one of the most iconic uniforms in all of college football, would wear blue ribbons on their uniforms to support victims of child abuse in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the university and the State College community.

The team also, for the first time, will add the names of the Nittany Lions to the back of their jerseys to acknowledge the players who decided to stick with Penn State despite NCAA sanctions that have placed the program on scholarship restrictions and a four-year bowl ban.

This video is offered up with little comment because honestly, it doesn't need it.

Vanderbilt players and coaches engage in a dance-off prior to a meeting and it is spectacular. I especially want to give props to offensive line coach Herb Hand, who does an amazing worm.

Anchor Down, Vandy. Anchor Down.

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It's going to take some time for former Penn State running back Silas Redd to get used to USC.

During his first interview with Los Angeles media, Redd said the practices were a little more relaxed and that he's still learning the terminology in the playbook. But overall, he's looking forward to the Trojans first game against Ohio.

Wait a second, that's not right.

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For the second consecutive season, Maryland is introducing new uniforms and this year, it's going with a subdued look.

Or as subdued as Maryland can get.

[Related: Are Wisconsin's new football uniforms a winner?]

Last August, Maryland introduced what many claimed to be the ugliest uniforms in college football history. They were designed to match Maryland's state flag and combined red, yellow, black and white in a mixture that could give people seizures if they stared too long.

This year, the Terrapins are still reppin' their state colors, it's just not in your face as much as it was a year ago. The uniforms are tradition red and white with a small yellow and black checkered stripe. The helmets still feature the state flag, but it's only a portion of the helmet instead of the whole thing.