Miles Russell's 'inate' ability impresses former Tour winner Brad Faxon

A year ago, ahead of the Northeast Amateur in his home state of Rhode Island, former PGA Tour player and current broadcaster Brad Faxon heard about Jacksonville Beachs Miles Russell.

They play it at one of the courses (Wannamoisett Country Club in East Providence) I played as a kid and some buddies who were out there watching were talking about Miles, Faxon told me earlier this week.

I had never heard of him, but they said he went 30-some holes without a bogey and they were raving about him and how well he played and talked in particular about his short game.

A year later, at last weeks U.S.

Open, Faxon continued to be impressed and intrigued by the 17-year old Russell.

Russell was one of 20 amateurs to play in the seasons third professional major and one of four to make the cut, finishing tied for 39th (7-over).

It was another star turn for Russell.

Russell outplayed Padraig Harrington and Cameron Smith in rounds 1-2 to make the weekend at Shinnecock Hills and shot an even-par 70 in the final round.

Padraigs effusive praise and Miles demeanor, that said a lot for me, said Faxon, who worked in the NBC booth at the U.S.

Open.

Russell finished second at the Northeast Amateur last year and was tied for seventh after the second round on June 25.

I know Florida State is pretty good to get him, Faxon said.

For anybody his age to even qualify for the U.S.

Open, never mind competing in the U.S.

Open, is impressive.

I think what happens with these young players, they arent intimidated at major events like the U.S.

Open.

Everybody that watches Miles play (sees) his short game is incredible and his maturity is a separator.

What most impressed Faxon? Russells ability to get out of trouble.

How do you teach that? Faxon said.

Its impossible.

Thats innate.

After the U.S.

Open, Russell moved up two spots to fifth in World Amateur Golf Ranking list.

Smart extension for Strange, Jaguars The three-year contract extension signed by tight end Brenton Strange was smart business for him and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Strange gets a reported $25 million guaranteed (seventh-most among tight ends) and is scheduled for free agency after his age-28 season, setting up another kick at the financial can.

The Jaguars get a core player under contract well before it would become a distraction and the term of the deal isnt crippling in case Strange fights injuries.

What does the next step in his development look like? I think (coach Liam Coen) does a great job of dialing up the matchups every single week, Strange said.

Thats something I let him take care of and then I just go out there and try to execute to the best of my ability and just be me.

Im definitely excited to continue building.

We have something special here.

Next up is receiver Parker Washington , who is entering the final year of his contract.

The Jaguars already have Jakobi Meyers averaging $20 million a year and I think the sweet spot for Washingtons next deal is in the range of $15-$18 million per year.

Loucks excited about FSU portal class During my phone call with Florida State mens basketball coach Luke Loucks on June 23, I asked if finishing the season on a 10-3 run can be carried over to the 2026-27 season.

Its helped in a lot of different ways, Loucks said.

For us to fight after a rough first half to the season, it certainly gave us momentum in a few different ways (like) fundraising.

A lot of our fans stepped up and a lot of our boosters stepped up, which helps in so many ways.

And two, going into recruiting and the transfer portal, it gave us a ton of juice.

Instead of us explaining what were trying to do and how were going to play, there was proof-of-concept and I think that really helped us put this years team together.

Were really excited about the level of talent we brought in, but talent doesnt get you anywhere, its all about the work and detail and preparation and thats what were working on this summer.

MORE FROM RYAN O'HALLORAN: Why Luke Loucks sees Knicks' NBA title as a Lesson for Florida State The industry website On3.com ranked Florida States portal class No.

5 nationally.

The Seminoles added power forwards Cooper Schwieger (Wake Forest) and Sebastian Rancik (Colorado), small forwards Kameron Taylor (N.C.-Asheville) and Shon Abaev (Cincinnati) and point guard Anthony Robinson (Missouri).

I think we checked a lot of the boxes we wanted to, Loucks said.

We have four categories: Shooting, IQ, toughness and positional size.

Every guy, we tried to check at least three of those four boxes and we feel really good.

We probably have one of the biggest positional size teams in the country (positions) 1-5, I think weve got a lot of toughness and a lot of IQ, and as long as Im at Florida State, Im going to love shooting.

Im going to love the 3-ball and playing fast and playing with pace.

Extra points 1.

Soccer fever: Why has the United States World Cup team captured our attention? Its a combination of patriotism (even the most jaded citizens still like this country, right?), winning (the U.S.

went 2-1 in group play), curiosity (can the U.S.

actually make a run?) and familiar territory (the games are on our soil).

All of the momentum, though, will be lost if the U.S.

cant win its Round of 32 match against Bosnia-Herzegovina on July 1 in Santa Clara, Calif.

2.

Underwhelming home schedule: Good thing the Florida mens basketball team has Duke visiting Gainesville on Dec.

1.

The SEC home schedule is all kinds of blah.

In the SEC, UF will host Georgia, South Carolina, Texas, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.

The Gators will play at Georgia, South Carolina, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State and Tennessee.

3.

Priscos top 100: Times-Union alum Pete Prisco of CBS Sports revealed his annual top 100 NFL players on June 25 and included two Jaguars.

Defensive end Josh Hines-Allen was ranked No.

53 (up from No.

76 last year) and quarterback Trevor Lawrence was No.

65 (unranked last year).

Of note is Prisco had Lawrence 11th among all quarterbacks.

Top five were Myles Garrett (Los Angeles Rams defensive end), Matthew Stafford (Rams quarterback), Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills quarterback), JaMarr Chase (Cincinnati Bengals receiver) and Joe Burrow (Bengals quarterback).

4.

Mays departure: Michigan coach Dusty May leaving for the Dallas Mavericks is an indictment on college basketball, a world of one-year contracts.

Sure, the money must be awesome and if May fails, he will have his pick of college jobs, but look for the best young college coaches to flock to the NBA.

It is easier to build a program/culture in the pro game.

5.

Etc.: I agree with Eamon Lynch of The Golf Channel, who called for all major events to be taken away from Long Island (New York) after a vocal minority spent the final round of the U.S.

Open heckling champion Wyndham Clark.

Americans booing Americans? Shinnecock should be off the USGA rotation, the same with Bethpage Black from every rotation.

..

If Dallas, Atlanta, New Jersey and Los Angeles can install grass fields for World Cup games, they sure can for NFL games.

..

Phil Steele has published his annual college football preview and picks Florida 11th in SEC and Florida State ninth in the ACC.

..

Self-promotion alert: I contributed a few thousand words to Lindys fantasy football preview.

Please buy it.

Contact OHalloran at [email protected] or on X at @ryanohalloran.

Listen to Ryan on 1010AM on Tuesdays (6:35 p.m.

on Into The Night"), Thursdays (1:15 on "XL Primetime") and Fridays (4-6 p.m.

on "The Lead").

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Miles Russell's 'inate' ability impresses former Tour winner Brad Faxon.

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