If Steve Hogan had his wish, Orlando would have regular-season NFL at Camping World Stadium.

As CEO of Florida Citrus Sports, the organization in charge of pursuing opportunities for the 88-year-old venue, Hogan has made it no secret that he would love the chance to host NFL games.

Surrounded by franchises such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins, the closest Central Florida has come to the NFL is hosting the Pro Bowl, the league’s All-Star event.

But that could change soon.

The Jaguars and the city of Jacksonville agreed on a stadium project to see EverBank Stadium undergo a $1.4 billion makeover. This will bring the nearly 30-year-old venue up to par with many of the newer NFL stadiums, such as SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles) and Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas).

The project, expected to begin after the 2025 season, still requires a vote by the city council at a June meeting, followed by approval from the NFL owners in October.

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— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) June 7, 2023

Construction on the stadium will force the Jaguars to play in front of a reduced capacity for the 2026 season. However, in 2027 the team must find a new venue to play home games.

Camping World Stadium is among the temporary venues being considered

“We have stayed in pretty regular communication with the Jags over many years now,” said Hogan. “We have always pursued opportunities in the NFL space, whether it’s NFL Pro Bowls or preseason games. The ambition is to have future regular season games in Orlando.

“We want to make a case for the Jags and then anybody else for that matter.”

The Jaguars also are considering the University of Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. An 88,548-capacity venue, it is approximately 72 miles from Jacksonville, while Orlando is approximately 120 miles away.

“This is not a competition between Gainesville and Orlando,” Hogan said.

While discussions are ongoing, Camping World Stadium also could undergo changes over the next several years.

The Orange County Board of Commissioners recently approved using $400 million of tourism development tax money to upgrade the 60,219-seat venue.

Those funds would be used to replace the upper deck with 18,000 seats that would be redistributed to allow for wider aisles and more legroom for spectators. The deck also would connect the east and west sides of the stadium. The plans include the construction of a 100,000-square-foot fieldhouse to be used to host mid-sized events.

Final approval is needed to proceed with the project before the design and planning phases can begin. If approved, construction is expected to begin in 2025, with the renovation completed in time for the ’27 college football season.

“The city and Florida Citrus Sports will move through the procurement and construction process, assuming the county ratifies the funding mechanism,” said Hogan. “We have work to do, and that’s why time is of the essence.”

The finalization of funding could take place during the next couple of months.

“It’s critical to stay on course for the 2027 football season,” added Hogan.

Meanwhile, the Jaguars are left to decide their next step with no timetable on the horizon.

“Whatever the next step is totally in the Jags’ hands,” said Hogan. “We in Orlando and this facility stand ready to continue communicating, answering questions and get to the point where the Jags want to make a decision.”

Matt Murschel can be reached at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com.

Is Tua Tagovailoa playing hardball with the Miami Dolphins?

Contract extension negotiations have been ongoing between the team and its franchise quarterback, but we may be seeing the first hint of those talks going a little sour.

Tagovailoa has reportedly been “mostly absent” from the Dolphins’ voluntary offseason workouts, according to a CBS Sports report Friday morning.

A source with the team neither confirmed nor denied the report.

The early phases of offseason workouts are closed to the media, but the Dolphins have released social media photos and video showing Tagovailoa report on the first day of offseason workouts April 15, among other sessions where he’s seen throwing to receivers.

That, apparently, is an anomaly from his presence for the rest of workouts, with the report saying Tagovailoa “has been absent for the large majority” of them. It’s a contrast from his offseason workout participation level in previous years.

Tagovailoa is known to have been doing individual workouts both with trainers locally, including throwing with wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, and with personal quarterback coach John Beck, a former Dolphin, in California.

Tagovailoa enters the fifth and final year of his rookie contract in 2024, but he is in negotiations to strike an extension with the organization.

Dolphins general manager Chris Grier has expressed optimism throughout the offseason of reaching a deal with the quarterback Miami drafted with the No. 5 pick in 2020.

The news comes in the week of Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff signing an extension for an average annual value of $53 million per year. He became the fifth NFL quarterback to average more than $50 million a season with his deal, joining the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow, Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts and Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert.

With the league’s salary cap continuing to rise, an extension for Tagovailoa is expected to be in that range.

The portion of the Dolphins’ offseason workout program that transitions into organized team activities begins Monday. Coach Mike McDaniel said in late March he expects Tagovailoa to be present for those OTAs, which are also voluntary sessions.

But Tagovailoa cutting back on his presence for the workouts that precede those drills his status into question for OTAs.

Miami has its mandatory minicamp run from June 4-6. There are fines associated with missing those sessions.

Editor’s note: The Orlando area is full of talented offensive linemen who are college football prospects. There has probably never been a time like this in the history of Orlando high schools. So we are recognizing this surge in talented big guys in the Class of 2025 with a six-part series, “The Heavies.”

Today: Aleks Freyman and Alex Oats, Bishop Moore

Being a successful offensive line in football carries numerous responsibilities, and due to the tasks associated with the five positions, communication is of the utmost importance.

Center Alex Oats (6-3, 290) and tackle Aleks Freyman (6-5, 300) at Bishop Moore embody this communication. Their friendship is a key ingredient that carries over.

“Everything you do off the field is going to translate to on the field,” Freyman said. “So having a good relationship and chemistry is going to, 100%, connect on the field somehow. Oats is the center, so he’s like the mind of the operation.

“So if there is a call I need, or he sees a certain blitz we are getting or he sees a stunt … that chemistry we have off the field helps us pick that up quicker.”

The duo has played together since meeting through football while playing for Pop Warner teams in Deltona, where they also met Max Buchanan of Seminole. Buchanan is the No. 1-ranked player in the Sentinel’s 2025 Central Florida Super60, while Freyman is 45th and Oats is 59th.

There are 15 offensive linemen in the Super60, the most in the history of these rankings. Freyman and Oats have an important job: Protect quarterback Bjorn Jurgensen, a Virginia commit.

As the pair grew in size, they realized they were bigger guys and that playing on the offensive line was their destiny. Every lineman has to come to terms with the reality that the only likely way for them to touch the football, with the exception of the center, is if someone else drops it.

“A lot of people may not realize it, but we’re like the mold, the mesh that builds together the plays. We’re involved with the touchdowns,” Freyman said. “You’re never going to run a play or catch a ball … but we do work every play to protect our quarterback and get our running back into the end zone.”

After accepting that stardom is not in an O-lineman’s future, he can compartmentalize his assignments and responsibilities. There is a lot to the role. There are so many things to learn within the techniques applied to the different positions. Most everyone watching a football game will only ever notice an offensive lineman if he gets flagged for a penalty.

Those big blocks that open the holes for the long yardage? Those seconds of protection that allow a quarterback the freedom to do his job? Yes, that’s the O-line. But no one notices. Just line up and do it again.

Oats’ father, Derek, played offensive line at UMass until he tore a knee ligament.

“My dad told me, ‘It takes a special skillset to play center,'” Oats said. “So I wanted to learn early. I’m definitely natural at it. That’s home. I bounce around now, if they need me to pull, but I’m mostly at center.”

Oats started out at Master’s Academy in Oviedo and he played basketball when he was younger.

“I used to have a trainer at Masters Academy named Bailey Granier, and he was all about turning me from a big, wonky kid into more like an athlete … really bringing in the athleticism part of it,” he said. “Like working on feet, being low … explosive stuff.

“Basketball helped with my footwork. It really built up my athleticism to be ready to play offensive line. Then everything starts to get natural, like muscle memory, after being out there every day doing the same thing.”

The technique is so critical. These guys are not just out there pushing each other around.

“When I started football, that did irritate me a little. We obviously don’t get as much attention as the running back and receivers and the quarterbacks,” Freyman said. “We work just as hard, if not more, on certain plays and in practice and stuff, but you get used to it after a while. … That’s just how it is.”

If a normal person went through some reps of being an offensive lineman, they’d understand.

“The cardio aspect of it is just so [underrated],” Oats said. “You have to be in better shape than anyone else.”

Armani Garrick is the offensive line coach at Bishop Moore and he has honed the talent up front. Matt Hedrick has been Hornets head coach for 23 years.

“They set an example,” Hedrick said of Oats and Freyman. “These guys are good friends. They work hard, they have good camaraderie in the locker room and on the field and the guys look up to them. They do a tremendous job with that … just great people.”

Chris Hays can be found on X @OS_ChrisHays. He can be reached via email at chays@orlandosentinel.com.

The moment a generation of college football video game fans have been waiting for is approaching.

EA Sports released the first gameplay trailer for its upcoming video game, EA Sports College Football 25, on YouTube on Friday morning. It is the first college football video game in over a decade, and the Hurricanes made a brief appearance in the trailer.

The trailer, which is just under two minutes long, includes a glimpse of Miami players celebrating. Based on their uniform numbers, the players are running back Mark Fletcher Jr., defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr, defensive lineman Marquise Lightfoot (or wide receiver Robby Washington) and an unidentifiable offensive lineman.

The Hurricanes told the Sun Sentinel that the program was in the game in January, and more than two dozen UM players (including Bain and Fletcher) confirmed they had opted in to appear in the game.

The video game is scheduled to be released on July 19.

More than 12,000 college football players have opted to appear in the game. In order to appear in the game, players have to sign an NIL deal. Players who agree to be in the game will receive $600 and a free copy of the game, while other star players will be “ambassadors” for the game and will receive more money. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, Colorado two-way player Travis Hunter and Michigan running back Donovan Edwards are the cover athletes for this year’s game.