so arduous to shimmey into the Dinaledi Chamber, shifts lengthened from 1-2 hours to 3-4 hours, to maximize the output from the time spent just getting to the fossils. The fossils were mapped and bagged. Sediment was collected to be screened later in the lab. The entire season lasted three weeks, and science Twitter was captivated throughout, following along with updates from #RisingStar.

Popular press tracking big fossil discoveries is nothing new. When the famous fossil Lucy was discovered in the Afar region of Ethiopia in November of 1974, her discoverer, Donald Johanson, held a press conference in Addis Ababa on December 21 to introduce Lucy to the media, well before the fossil was published in academic literature. Many fossil discoveries come with the opportunity to engage the generalB/R

ATLANTA — Derek Stingley Jr. tries to evade the hype.

He says the right things. How difficult the transition from a small, private high school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to LSU and the SEC has been. How surprised he is at his performance. How he's more comfortable observing than talking.

He looks the part of one trying to dodge the spotlight too. On this day in late December at the College Football Hall of Fame, surrounded by shrines to the game's legends and by teammates who will soon be in the NFL, Stingley looks young. Babyfaced. Small. A school kid, backpack and all.

But it's not happening. The spotlight and the hype are inevitable. Teammates and coaches and most everyone else who has seen this true freshman cornerback play know exactly