Texas A&M is confident about its chances this week against the reigning national champions. Just ask Jared Hocker.

The junior offensive lineman told local reporters on Monday that the No. 12 Aggies will beat No. 1 Clemson on Saturday when the two meet.

Hocker said he likes being the underdog, that "you always have something to prove," and that the Aggies are looking forward to the opportunity. When a reporter asked, "Does that make [Clemson] ripe for an upset?" Hocker responded plainly: "Yes, it does. There will be an upset."

Jared Hocker is confident that the Aggies will defeat Clemson on Saturday. "There will be an upset." pic.twitter.com/tqbVqYlAe6

— TexAgs (@TexAgs) September 2, 2019

The Aggies played the Tigers closer than anybody in the country in 2018, falling 28-26 in a nail-biter. QB Kelly Bryant -- who has since transferred to Missouri -- played the bulk of that game for Clemson, while Trevor Lawrence had just nine pass attempts and threw for 93 yards and a touchdown.

Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, who later met with reporters, was asked about Hocker's comments and replied, "Who said that?" When told it was Hocker, he said, "Well, Jared better play well."

"That's great that they have confidence, but that doesn't need to be said," Fisher said. "There's nothing wrong with being [confident]. If you're not confident that you're going to be successful, yes. But we understand the opponent and that comes from respect for them.

"You have a great respect for them, but you also have to go compete. Any time you line up to play, you expect to be successful. ... I'm glad they're confident, but what Jared said doesn't need to be said. ... After the first two hits of the game, that stuff all goes away anyway."

Hocker, a guard, started the first eight games of 2018 before suffering a season-ending injury. He started A&M's season-opening win over Texas State last week and has appeared in 15 games in his three-year career.

EAGAN, Minn. -- Two days after releasing Laquon Treadwell, the Minnesota Vikings replaced one former first-round receiver with another.

Former Redskins wideout Josh Doctson is signing a one-year deal with Minnesota, sources told ESPN, that will reunite him with quarterback Kirk Cousins. Doctson recorded his best season as a pro with Cousins as his quarterback in 2017, finishing with 35 catches, 502 receiving yards and six touchdowns.

The Vikings were looking for depth at receiver after keeping just four on the active roster following final cuts. Minnesota did not claim anyone off the waiver wire on Sunday and saw receiver Brandon Zylstra, who had been cut the day before, get picked up by the Carolina Panthers.

Doctson was drafted 22nd overall in 2016, one spot before Treadwell. Washington declined to pick up Doctson's fifth-year option earlier this offseason, and the receiver appeared to be on borrowed time after the Redskins drafted Terry McLaurin in the third round; coach Jay Gruden announced McLaurin would become a starter the night of the draft.

Like the Vikings did with Treadwell, Washington cut Doctson after it was unable to trade him on Saturday.

Treadwell totaled 56 catches for 517 yards and a touchdown during his three seasons with the Vikings and was never able to carve out a role as the team's No. 3 receiver behind Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs.

"Just didn't develop into what we thought he was going to be," coach Mike Zimmer said. "Laquon's a great kid. I have a lot of respect for him. He's worked hard. He's had a lot of people doubting him, but he's a good kid and I hope that he does well."

Doctson, who has primarily played as an outside receiver, will be in the mix with Chad Beebe and Olabisi Johnson for a reserve role.

FRISCO, Texas -- As the Dallas Cowboys begin preparations for their season opener against the New York Giants with practice Monday, coach Jason Garrett would not commit to a time frame for when Ezekiel Elliott needs to be with the team in order to play.

"Zeke is as capable as anybody I know. He's an experienced player, he's been a really good player for us, he knows our system of football," Garrett said. "I don't think they'll be a lot of learning there. He's a smart guy, an instinctive guy. But again, that's a hypothetical. We're just focused on the guys we have right now. We're going to go practice as well as we can the right way to prepare for the Giants."

Conditioning could be a factor with Elliott, since he missed all of training camp. Elliott has been in Cabo reportedly working out.

"There's a playing progression we have every year with our guys. But again, this is a different situation than that," Garrett said. "You try to treat each situation on its merits, specifically based on the guy and what the particular situation is."

With the Cowboys beginning the regular season, the running back faces a new set of potential fines with his holdout.

Elliott is subject to fines of $39,890 a day for missing work. He would not be subject to a fine on scheduled off days for the players. Each game missed will cost him a little more than $226,000 in base salary, plus he could potentially be fined for missed meetings and other team protocol. According to the collective bargaining agreement, if Elliott does not report for the first game, then the Cowboys could come after another 25% of his prorated signing bonus ($1.02 million).

The Cowboys and Elliott's agents spoke over the weekend, with ESPN's Adam Schefter reporting sources saying that talks were "intensifying," but the Cowboys are set to begin their first full-fledged practice for Sunday's season opener at 11:45 a.m. CT without their running back.

According to a source, the Cowboys will call up running back Jordan Chunn from the practice squad on Monday and will place rookie guard Connor McGovern on injured reserve with a pectoral muscle injury. Chunn gives the Cowboys four running backs on the 53-man roster, joining Tony Pollard, Alfred Morris and fullback Jamize Olawale. While Chunn's addition could be viewed as preparation for Elliott to not be available against the Giants, he can also play on special teams.

Elliott could be on the hook for fines totaling $1.48 million for missing 37 days of training camp.

The fines are at the discretion of the Cowboys and it is not known whether they would look to collect.

NEW YORK -- Naomi Osaka's 10-match US Open winning streak and title defense are done after she was outplayed in the fourth round by Belinda Bencic and lost 7-5, 6-4 Monday.

Osaka has been wearing a black sleeve on her bothersome left knee and was visited by a trainer after getting broken to trail 3-2 in the second set.

"I was so excited to come on the court. The challenge cannot be bigger [than] against Naomi," said the 13th-seeded Bencic, who will face No. 23 Donna Vekic in the quarterfinals. "I'm really pleased with how I played and how I managed my nerves in the end."

The result under the closed roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium on a rainy afternoon means both defending champions and No. 1 seeds are gone before the quarterfinals at the year's last Grand Slam tournament.

Last year's men's champ, Novak Djokovic, retired in his fourth-round match against Stan Wawrinka on Sunday night because of a painful left shoulder.

Osaka made her breakthrough at Flushing Meadows in 2018, winning her first major championship by beating Serena Williams in a chaotic final that devolved after Williams got into an extended argument with the chair umpire.

Osaka followed that up with a second consecutive Grand Slam trophy at the Australian Open in January. That allowed her to become the first tennis player representing Japan to reach No. 1 in the rankings.

Bencic, who is from Switzerland, showed again that she is a big-match player. She improved to 3-0 against Osaka this season and now has a tour-leading nine victories over top-10 opponents in 2019. Bencic also is 4-1 over her career against top-ranked players.

Bencic is 22, just a year older than Osaka, but her progress was slowed in recent years by injuries, including wrist surgery.

Back in 2014, when she was 17, Bencic became the youngest woman into the US Open quarterfinals since 1997, when Martina Hingis took the title.

It was Hingis' mother, and then Hingis herself, who coached and mentored Bencic along the way, and she credited them after getting past Osaka.

"I know so much from them, what they've taught me," Bencic said.

Vekic, 23, of Croatia, reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal by saving a match point and edging No. 26 Julia Goerges of Germany 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-3.

"I don't even know how I won this match," Vekic said.

Well, here's how: Goerges served for the victory at 5-4 in the second set, coming within one point of ending things right there. Not only couldn't Goerges convert, but she also double-faulted three times in that game and unraveled from there, wasting a 21-ace effort.

Osaka is more powerful than Bencic and repeatedly used her serve to keep things close, finishing with nine aces.

But it was Bencic's precision that won the day. She made only 12 unforced errors in the entire match, while producing 29 winners.

Her style is similar to Hingis', who won five Grand Slam singles titles.

"I'm just trying to play it a little bit like chess and anticipate," Bencic said.

Playing so crisply, so cleanly, she took balls on the rise and snapped them back, rushing Osaka and not giving her time to respond in kind.

Bencic broke for a 6-5 lead with a forehand volley winner followed by a backhand passing winner, then served out that set. In the second, Bencic conjured up another terrific backhand passing shot off a sharp volley by Osaka to set up love-40, and a double-fault then made it 3-2.

With Osaka out, that leaves No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina as the highest seed remaining in the women's draw. Williams is seeded eighth and is the second-highest remaining seed.

Osaka's loss means Ash Barty will be the new No. 1-ranked player in the world come next week. Barty was seeded second at the US Open and also failed to reach the quarterfinals, losing in straight sets Sunday.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Mark Trumbo has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list and was in the lineup for Monday's game against Tampa Bay after missing more than a year with a knee injury.

The 33-year-old Trumbo, who led the major leagues with 47 home runs in 2016, had surgery last September. He last played in the majors on Aug. 19, 2018.

"It's been a long time coming," Trumbo said. "You get paid to play. That always weighed on me pretty heavily. It's something I feel I owe it to the team to get out there and do what I can."

Trumbo could also see time in left and right field but will not be playing every day.

"Some days are better than others," Trumbo said. "Some days are really good. If I do a lot or if I'm heavily involved, I can kind of predict that the next day there will be soreness and some swelling. With any luck, we'll have a lot of productivity."

Trumbo went 4-for-20 with two homers and six RBIs over five games with Triple-A Norfolk last week in his latest of several minor league rehab assignments this year.

"It's cooperated enough that I played five in a row with Norfolk," Trumbo said. "All the while I kept thinking that once we got far enough out, things would kind of come around. We're going to hope for the best here. I enjoy playing, that's kind of what kept the momentum going."

Trumbo was limited to 90 games last season, hitting .261 with 17 homers and 44 RBIs. He has 218 career home runs.

"It's a big deal for a lot of people," Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. "He's a great teammate. It was awesome texting him this morning. Just to have him here in uniform, in the lineup is a great feeling. Mark has put a lot of time and effort and work into coming back from his tough knee injury.''

To make room on the roster, right-hander Tom Eshelman was designated for assignment.

Chace Numata, a minor-league catcher in the Detroit Tigers' organization, died Monday from injuries suffered last week in a skateboarding accident. He was 27.

Police found Numata early Friday morning in downtown Erie, Pennsylvania. He was bleeding from his head, according to multiple reports, and was taken to a hospital.

The Tigers said in a statement that Numata, a Hawaii native who has also played in the Phillies and Yankees organizations, "was beloved by many from our Major League club through all levels of our player development system."

Numata signed a minor-league deal with the Tigers last November and played 71 games this season for the Double-A Erie SeaWolves.

"The Erie SeaWolves are heartbroken and deeply saddened by the passing of Chace Numata," SeaWolves owner Fernando Aguirre said in a statement. "Chace was a leader, an outstanding teammate, a friend to many, and his personality was positive and infectious. He made everyone he met feel welcome, and he had a very positive impact throughout the SeaWolves organization and the Erie community."

ATLANTA -- Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox has made his first return to SunTrust Park, five months after suffering a stroke.

Cox returned to see both teams he managed, Atlanta and Toronto, open an interleague series on Monday.

Cox smiled and waved when shown on the video board under a message that read "Welcome Home." Fans and Braves players applauded and cheered.

Cox sat in a private box with team executives, including former general manager John Schuerholz.

The 78-year-old Cox has regained feeling on his right side, as well as speech, and was able to walk Monday as he continues to recover from the April 3 stroke.

Cox ranks fourth with 2,504 wins in 29 years as a manager. He led the Braves to the 1995 World Series title and 14 straight division titles from 1991 to 2005.

Ultra London’s multi-terrain course takes in some of the city’s finest scenery

London is famously crammed full of landmarks, with just about every nook and cranny of the British capital known throughout the world – particularly to the many runners who hit the famous city streets on a daily basis.

There is one route, however, which many people are unaware of – and which will provide the backdrop for a brand new endurance event taking place this autumn.

The Capital Ring is a footpath which forms an inner circle around Greater London and, on October 5, will host those taking on the challenge presented by Ultra London.

There are two distance options on offer. Starting in Greenwich and finishing in Richmond upon Thames, the full ultra challenge covers 55km and largely follows the Capital Ring route south of the Thames. There is also a shorter distance, starting at the halfway point of Crystal Palace and following the second half of the route for a distance of 27.5km.

The multi-terrain course – a mix of trails, footpaths, parks, woodland and more – takes in some of London’s finest scenery, including the Thames Barrier, Eltham Palace, Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park.

It will provide a challenge for participants who will also need to ensure they navigate the correct paths through parts of Falconwood, Grove Park, Crystal Palace, Streatham, Wimbledon and on to Richmond. It will be a far more urban experience compared to the many ultra distance races which take place in more remote locations, with an added bonus being that the route is perfect for supporters looking to cheer on their runners at various points along the course.

This will be a chance to uncover one London’s few remaining running secrets and to see a side of the city you will not have experienced before.

Whilst the inaugural event will us the southern half of the Capital Ring there are plans to include the northern half of the route in 2020, where the ultimate challenge for ultra runners will be to complete the entire 125km circular route in the ULTRA LONDON 125.