Andy & Ari On3 - Big 12 Media Days are UNDERWAY: Why didn’t Brett Yormark answer ANY questions about Texas Tech?

Episode Date: July 7, 2026

It’s time for talking season! Andy & Ari bring you the LATEST from the 2026 Monster Energy Big 12 Media Days in Frisco, Texas. Why didn’t commissioner Brett Yormark answer any questions about the Red Raiders? Is it really Texas Tech vs Everybody? A jam packed show from Frisco you won’t want to miss right here.   (0:00) On Today’s Episode (0:54) Presenting Sponsor (2:46) Intro: Welcome from Big 12 Media Days! (5:14) Brett Yormark’s answer last year on a separating power (7:48) Yormark’s answer today on Texas Tech (14:21) Paddles, Tortillas, Cincinnati, & Texas Tech (24:02) Could Cincinnati face a punishment? (25:50) Relationships in the Big 12 (33:55) Zen.AI (35:03) Closing out Big 12, Texas tech (35:43) Catching up with Baylor QB DJ Lagway (50:04) Julian Lewis and the go-go offense at Colorado (1:02:36) Thanks for watching! See you tomorrow from Day 2   As the guys close out the Texas Tech discussion, Andy & Ari met up with former Florida QB and current Baylor QB DJ Lagway. Will the former 5-star QB be able to excel in his new spot in Waco? How healthy is Lagway compared to last year? Andy & Ari discuss why Baylor could be in for a big 2026 season.   From Waco to Boulder, Andy & Ari also catch up with Colorado QB Julian Lewis. A highly touted freshman last year, it's time for Lewis to enter year two as the full-time starter as Brennan Marion introduces the go-go offense in Colorado. How will Lewis fare in his sophomore season? Will Deion Sanders be able to win in his 4th season at Colorado? The guys discuss   Check out Zen AI here: http://bit.ly/zenAI_bpp_itf     Our show is also presented by BetMGM!   If you haven’t signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code CFB and you will get up to a $1500 First Bet Offer on your first wager with BetMGM! Here’s how it works:   1. Download the BetMGM app and sign-up using bonus code CFB. 2. Deposit at least $10 and place your first wager on any game. 3. You will receive up to $1500 in bonus bets if your bet loses! Just make sure you use bonus code CFB when you sign up!   Make this college football season one for the history books. Make it legendary.   See BetMGM.com for Terms. 21+ only. This promotional offer is not available in DC, Mississippi, New York, Nevada, Ontario, or Puerto Rico. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-RESET (Available in the US) . 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), 1-800-327-5050 (MA), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-981-0023 (PR). First Bet Offer for new customers only (if applicable). Subject to eligibility requirements. Rewards are non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire in 7 days. In partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel   Check out Zen AI here: http://bit.ly/zenAI_bpp_itf   Watch our show on YouTube! https://youtu.be/NyFyYz_lIUs   Hosts: Andy Staples, Ari Wasserman Producer: River Bailey   Interested in partnering with the show? Email [e-mail] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today is Annie Iron 3 presented by BetMGM. We are at Big 12 Media Days. Where does the place to answer questions about what's going on in the conference? Unless apparently there are questions about Texas Tech and the Brennan Sorsby saga. It's quite the forum for questions and answers. I don't know if you know that. It's literally Media Day, but not the time for questions, apparently. We will get into Texas Tech versus the rest of the Big 12 because I do think that's going to be a thing all year.

Also, we caught up with DJ Lab. Baylor's quarterback late of the Florida Gators and his new outlook on life and his new team. And we caught up with Julian Lewis, the QB1 at Colorado, who is learning a new offense. And I'm going to try to bring the buffaloes back. We'll talk about it all. And today's Annie N-3 presented by BetMGM. We are brought to you by BetMGM. All the lines and totals we use come from Betting GM.

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with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel. Welcome to Annie and R on 3 presented by BetMGM. We are here in Friscoe, Texas, at Big 12 Media Days. and Ari already been some fireworks. Yeah, I think that we had an idea, Andy, coming into this event. By the way, very interesting from top to bottom, I think, this conference this year. Yes. And I know that as we get into November and stuff, it all becomes about the playoff.

But in terms of college football storylines, this is kind of a hot spot, I think. There's a lot going on in the Big 12. But obviously, the team that has dominated the conversation all summer, throughout the country, but definitely within the Big 12, is Texas Tech. This is the best team in the league, the defending champion, the team that is predicted to win the championship again this year. And oh, by the way, they had this entire situation with Brendan Soresby where Brendan Sorsby sued the NCAA. He was going to get to play. The Attorney General of Texas threatened the Big 12 if they did anything about it.

Yes. The Big 12 then sued Texas Tech. It was something. you got this kind of hang over everything. And so naturally what you expected were questions of Commissioner Brett Yormark about the Texas Tech situation. And that's exactly what they got right out of the shoot. Yeah. I don't know if like it was his intention or hope to not allow Texas Tech to be the entire Q&A.

Because, you know, the way that Brett Yormark goes about this. And I've been impressed by it in the past is he views today as a showcase of what the Big 12 is and what it's trying to be. Right. You know, as we had a long presentation about Monster Energy and like the partnership. Their new sponsor. I don't know if anybody has to chug that before.

No free ads, by the way. Monster, if you, you know who to call. Yeah, I don't know how it tastes until you pay us. But the idea that the Big 12 has always been at the forefront of aggressiveness and partnerships and doing a lot of things in order to enrich the, the not only survival, but growth of the league. I've been impressed by. I think he's done a very good job as the Big 12th commissioner.

And he uses these videos and these monologues as a way to try to promote the league. And I understand his desire to do that, but not only at the expense of what people are actually here for, which is answers to questions. And the thing that I think is really interesting and I think the overarching theme of what I think we should talk about today is in this building on this field, one year ago, he discussed about the importance of a team separating it, separating itself from the pack in terms of being able to compete nationally. And I'm not sure. And I'm not, you know, I've always been a realist. And I know we're here celebrating the Big 12. But the Big 12, from my perspective right now, does not have a program that is going to go beat Georgia on a neutral field in November.

But it has, it has one program that if we just had their, their rosters, their players walk out in blank uniforms. and Ohio State's players walk out in blank uniforms and Georgia's players walk out in blank uniforms and Texas's players walk out in blank uniforms. There's only one in the Big 12 that would look like those. Yes, and that is the program that the Big 12 was at odds with. And I find that to be interesting because if you want a team to separate itself from the pack, you have to do what you can to cultivate that momentum as a conference

and to use that as a poster boy to a certain extent. You know how many Big Ten media days I went to in 2009 and 10 and 11 and 12 where Ohio State was the entire thing. Yeah. And it's okay for a time being because now look at the Big 10, right? Like there's other stories. And I think that if the Big 12 was going to celebrate and champion Texas Tech's emergence as a team that's at least trying to do those things, it is a very weird situation to be in because at the same time you have to protect the rest of your member institutions from what they were trying to do. So I do. Now you kind of feel bad

for the position I was put in. It's a difficult. position. It's a tough position. So here's Brett Yormark last year at this event. Mitch Harper, KS.L. Sports in Salt Lake. I'm curious, you mentioned that you believe this at the deepest conference, football conference in America. How critical is it, though, for your league to have one or two brands that emerge annually as playoff contenders in your viewpoint? Critical. I like how you stated that. You know, I think parity matters, and I think ultimately over time, and it's hopefully sooner than later, there'll be a couple of our schools that will emerge, you know, as elite schools that are always

part of the conversations at the highest levels. And that's what we're working towards. But it starts with parity and being competitive top to bottom, and I think we're there. And I think we're the best in the conference, or in the country, when you think about how deep we are top to bottom. But I do believe that long term, you need certain schools to emerge to the top, and I think we're getting there. But great question. Thank you. So that brings us to this year. First question out of the shoot. Play it, River.

Just curious if throughout the Brendan Sorsby situation, if you supported Texas Tech at any point throughout that, and if that changed, what may have caused you to change your mind on that? Let me start off by saying, I appreciate the question. I appreciate, other questions that are probably going to come forth today.

Today is not the time to address that issue. Today is about celebrating the upcoming football season and celebrating our 16 schools. But I appreciate the question, so thank you. All right, we'll go front row here. Is that why we're here, Andy? Is that why we're here? I don't think he appreciated the question.

Yeah, because when you appreciate it, you answer the question. And we are here on media days for people to answer questions from the media. I didn't know if you flew to Dallas to celebrate the Big 12's future and pageantry. Yeah. So that was Jared Ramirez, by the way, asking the question from Red Raider Sports. That's our On 3 tech site. And I got to tell you, Ari, so this is, last week was my three-year anniversary at On 3.

And you and I worked multiple different places where the job gets done in different ways. And one thing that I think you and I have always appreciated, even when we worked at other places where how it is to work for a team site. You know, we haven't worked for team sites, but we've worked around team site writers a lot. And you are, it's a different vibe and a different mold than, say, a newspaper beat writer. So you're going to represent the interests of the fan base. And that's what Jarrett was doing with that question. It's a legitimate question that a lot of Texas Tech fans have. did you ever support Texas Tech?

And at what point did you flip on that? Like, that's a legitimate question. 1,000 percent. And I actually think that that, like, you know, I feel like there's like a line in the sand between TeamSite reporter and traditional media newspaper reporter. But if I were a newspaper reporter, I would have asked that question too.

Because you want to represent the way that the fan base feels. And honestly, Andy, I think that even I have maybe aired a little bit in my understanding of it because I really, really wasn't like I knew people were upset in the moment but I didn't know that this was going to be something that kept fans at odds with the conference that they're in for a long period of time. Let's look at it from their perspective and I think it's interesting because we had the conversation yesterday about I was enjoying and well we won't talk about what happened in the soccer game last night but I was enjoying getting to be the fan of the team that everybody was mad at. I found that

to be enjoyable. But also, you were really into it. Don't enjoy, didn't necessarily enjoy, like, the rest of the world being mad. And this is how Texas Tech fans have been feeling this entire time, where the entirety of the college football world came down on them. Yes. And so whether you think Texas Tech or Brendan Sorsby or anybody was right or wrong in this thing, like, you're going to, one, you're going to defend your people.

And two, you are going to take offense. when it feels like the entire world is against you. And it feels like the conference is against you. And look, the conference is still suing Texas Tech. Yeah. Like, I don't believe that lawsuit's been withdrawn. Which may be the reason why this isn't the forum to talk about it. I think that's probably why, like, if we were to guess why Brett Yoramark did not say more,

pending litigation probably is the reason. The one thing that I do think Texas Tech people are not appreciating enough is how unique the situation is in terms of, you know, the danger of the integrity of the game. Like, people get in trouble, people skirt rules, people do things and they do their best to get guys eligible. And this would have been maybe had SORS be done something else along. Or if this or TCU or Baylor in the same boat, they would be acting like the TCU and Baylor fans are acting out. But the thing that I think is important to at least point out is that if TCU had done the same thing. I think that it would have been Brett Yormark and the Big 12's responsibility to react to

that the same way. Like, I think that there is this notion and Cody Campbell alluded to this in his letter or his statement that he posted on Twitter while this was all happening about how if nobody wants to see Texas Tech rise and, you know, the reason why we're in the middle of this discussion and everyone's coming at us is because we're tech and we're on a legacy school. Yeah, that's not why. It's not true, but also, Andy, you have to put yourself in Brett Yormark wants nothing more than for Texas tech to win the national title. Like, he's not somebody. who's at odds with the university. Well, he is.

No, I mean, like, his league is suing the university. I mean, like, in terms of, like, it being a personal attack or something. Well, let me ask you this. I'm not a lawyer. I actually, so I met, kind of a lawyer.

I met a, I met a real, like, super successful lawyer today. So, um, I met Natalie Weissen, who actually wrote the complaint that ended effectively the Breed and Swords vizaga.

She, she works for a law firm that does work for the big 12. And, like, I'm not a, lawyer, but can Brett Yourmark not say we want all our schools to be successful, including Texas Tech? You mean today?

Right now. Oh, 1,000% thought that that was a bizarre answer. We haven't gotten to that point of the thing. The thing that you, that is always shocking to me is that everybody who is in this building knew what questions were coming. Yeah. So I always feel like it's kind of bizarre when somebody who's in a position of power like Brett Yormark almost looks and feels blind.

blindsided by what's coming. It's like, did you not have a canned answer ready for the Texas Tech question? That was the canned answer, but unfortunately, like, if you can't talk about it for legal reasons, say that. Because that's going to be more understandable for most people. But I found it to be unnecessarily contentious. Well, then I think makes it even worse. Which sets up this other question he got later in the session, which I will tell you,

and you'll see, it's very, everything's awkward about this. But it's obviously a very performative question. But again, it is one that they should have expected. So here is this question that you're going to hear twice. Sean Dillon, Rockin for Game. Commission, Texas Tech got fined over tortillas, and tortillas were banned outright. OSU paddles, broken always make a rule,

has a tradition of exemption. Swordsby never played a snap. Big 12 sued them anyway while Cincinnati hasn't been yet touched. You're selling greater than 12. Why should Texans believe in? Can you sit? Let me come closer to your stand up. Ask that question again, and I'm going to give you the answer I want to give you, so go ahead.

Texas Tech got fined for tortillas, and tortillas were banned outright. OSU has had passed. paddles that were given a noise maker exemption back in 2012. Soros B never played a snap for the red radiators, and yet there is a lawsuit. Cincinnati has yet to be touched. You're selling greater than 12. Why should Texas tech fans believe them? No, I didn't say greater than 12.

You misquoted me. I said, we're going forward is 16 strong, and that's my answer to your question. But thank you for that question. Appreciate it. that's not the gotcha answer that your remark thought it was. Yeah. Yeah. And it was just, we were all there, like, kind of like, okay, here we go.

You know, and that's not what I thought the answer was. And like, here's what my can't answer would be. And I don't work for a PR firm. And, you know, on this show, I've tried to do other careers and I've been terrible at it. Well, all right. Let me as a reporter see what your can't answer would have. My can't answer would be, I appreciate the question. I understand the difficult situation that Texas tech supporters have

been put into. We have obviously wanted and craved success from all of our member institutions. Unfortunately in this specific instance, we were put in an awkward situation of having to protect everybody including Texas Tech. We want everybody's prolonged success. We want

to support everybody in this conference and that is including and not excluding or whatever. You're hired. You're hired. Like, you know, and just like that would have been fine. But it almost felt like he was like, yeah, say it with your, that when he asked him to repeat the question. Yeah, it was the same with the media version of say it to my face?

No, I think he was that. I think you wanted to make sure he heard exactly what he thought he heard. Yeah, because he repeated the same exact question and like, it was also loud. Also, kids, don't write down your question beforehand. And if somebody asked you to repeat it and you've already read the really elaborate, already written out type question, don't repeat it verbatim. Just ask it in plain English. Sometimes I, I try to, uh, do that or have because if I don't then I'll talk for 45 seconds and that's also bad so but I like I thought that the question was pointed though kind of long but you understood the point he was trying well he was trying to to catalog the injustices

against Texas Tech where which paddles versus Tortillas is a little bit different situation than guy got caught betting on his own team he's suing to try to play it's like woe is me Texas Tech is the enemy and it's just like, I don't, that's not the response I'm taken to this. Well, I don't think it's necessarily bothering Texas.

We'll have Joey McGuire on tomorrow show. I ran into him earlier. I don't think they're sweating this that much. I think they feel like they've still got the best roster in this league. I think they feel like they're in a good place with Will Hammond. So it's not, I am sure there are hard feelings with the Texas Second Administration and the big 12th, the stuff that needs to be smoothed over. And the fan base, I think, is naturally going to feel like they've been attacked by the league,

that their school has been attacked by the league because it had, I mean, the league sued their school. So granted, that was in response to the Texas Attorney General threatening the league. So you have to understand that this is a contentious situation. This is going to be contentious. Here's the question. But I get where the Texas Tech fans are coming from feeling. like the league is against them because everybody in the league did align against them. So here's a question I have back to you about this.

Okay. And I've thought a lot about this. Okay. Is there a world? Because we have already illustrated the truth, which is that Brett Yourmark would very much like Texas Tech to be a national power. Right. Is there a world or something that Brett Yormark or the Big 12 could have done that vehemently supported Texas Tech in the face of all of this and not cared? Like there's no avenue

No, they were not put in a position where they could do that. So like if you're a Texas tech person, you have to understand and appreciate the situation. You don't have to. Yeah. This is the part where you tell me I don't know how to be a fan. I know, yeah. Well, yeah.

But think about it. I mean, and I'm just as guilty of this as you. I've been doing this job for a long time. It's beaten the fan out of me in a lot of cases. And I think we lose that sometimes. And I think we need to think about it more. media has changed. I listen to a lot of these shows that are kind of fan run

where people do not hide their allegiances. And I actually think fans appreciate that level of honesty. And I think we need to be better at understanding where they're coming from. And I think if you're a Texas tech fan, you feel like the entire world has been against you for the past two months. And yeah, that pisses you off. And I don't want my thought process to come across as me not understanding where they're coming from, because I certainly do. And obviously, the nobody understands more, the defend my place at all cost mentality and the sometimes great lengths that fans have gone, not just a Texas text case, but in other similar situations in the past to make sure that their program was viewed properly.

And I also can appreciate the stress or the angst that comes along with everybody in the country hitting you from all angles saying the same exact things. I do that. But like the thing that I have a hard time with because I'm a rat, I like to think I'm a rational person. Yeah. Is that when that goes to borderline conspiracy theory about how the conference has it in for you and that they are only doing this because you're tech. Well, right. There's a point where it goes from, I want to protect my. my place to no longer being a rational thought.

And then I push back on that because that's not what's happening. Well, you're right about that. I mean, it is something we see from fan bases in situations like this where they're like, they're just doing this because everyone hates this. Everyone doesn't hate you unless you're Notre Dame. Yeah. Unless you're Notre Dame. Texas would probably like Texas.

A&M. Yeah. Ohio State. Yeah. Okay. Everybody hates them other than their own fans. But for the most part, everybody else, people don't even think about you. Yeah.

because they're not thinking about you enough to have a conspiracy and i get that like there's this idea and i actually think it's charming the we're excuse me we're the new kids on the block we're building something we're doing something i see the resentment too of like i wrote an article about lSU a few weeks ago about how much they invested in lane kiffin and how finally he said the thing that people wanted them to say we're going to win a title yeah and then a lot of texas tech fans got my mention saying oh so when ls u does it they're investing and when we do it we're buying No. And it's just like, no, I, we've said you're investing too. We don't care. But I think that there is like this viewpoint from their standpoint that because we're not a traditional power or somebody who's competed on that playing for a number of years, that because we're trying to do it, there's a sense of resentment and gatekeeping.

And Andy, I do think that to a certain extent they're kind of right. Well, no, but see, I wanted you to be able to pay players so this could happen because I passed high school economics and understood that there would be schools that typically. we're shut out of those types of players that would now be in on those types of players. But there is a legitimate reality that if you are an LSU fan or an Ohio State fan or a Michigan fan or whatever, that there is gatekeeping amongst the Blue Bloods. Oh, there certainly is. The Texas Tech people are right about that. They're right about that.

But as it pertains to the Big 12's positioning and how to handle this situation, that's not what's happening here. And frankly, we were joking off the show. And River, you can cut this if I'm not supposed to say. this, but like Cody Campbell, I just want you to hear this. We like you. You're a friend of the program. If this happened at LSU, it would have been 10 times bigger. Oh, I said it on the, I said that on the show that day. Like Texas Tech thinks that because it's tech that they're the only ones that are, and it's not true. So you can, you can feel a certain way, but it almost felt like the reporters who asked the second question, especially that we played. It was kind of like, how

should we as Texas Tech fans believe that you have the best interest of our program at heart? because you're not banning tortilla or you're banning tortillas and the paddles and all this. It's just like that's not what's happened here. They're being sued or threatened to be sued if they don't protect the conference. And I think that, you know, maybe this is like the parent in me a little bit. Doing this to Texas Tech is protecting the entity as a whole and then in turn is also protecting Texas Tech. I think. Protecting Texas Tech from itself.

We're just protecting Texas Tech from anything that, you know, could impede on the the integrity of the results of the games. There may have been an issue, and that's the thing. They may have run into an issue later. But now, is anything going to happen to Cincinnati? Is that a legitimate question? A lot of people have asked us this question. And Andy, I'm not a man.

I'm a man enough to admit it. I don't understand why they've kind of walked through the rain and not got hit by the drops at all. Well, because officially, as far as we know or can prove, the tip to the NCAA came from a law enforcement. Okay. So it's not a case of... But are we clear or under... Are we clear about what Cincinnati knew and when?

No, we're not. That's the question. No, we're not. If Cincinnati knew about this and continued to play him, then let me promise you something. If we ever get proof of that, that will be a thing. It's a very big story. That's not going to, like, just get thrown under the rug.

It's something that Brendan Sources Asia, Ron Slavin, has brought up a bunch of times. And the thing is, at this point, there's nothing to prove that. Yeah. There's nothing that definitively proves they knew or that they tipped off anybody. Which then becomes sounds like every other college football scandal of all time. What did the coach know? When did he knew it? Right.

And what did they do after they found out? But yes, if there is a definitive moment where you find out that they knew something, then yes, that is a. a big story. It's a big deal. If the official tip came from Cincinnati, it didn't come from Cincinnati, then that kind of according to the NCAA's statement or their response in the lawsuit against them that it came from law enforcement is what they are saying. So that's all we've got to go on right now until we get something else. Yeah. But now back to the Big 12 for a second. Yes.

You obviously want to cultivate and maintain. relationships with all the institutions, but the important ones. I think that I'm really, really able and willing to say that Texas Tech the last two years has actually emerged as one of the more vital members of this conference. Oh, I think they're the most important member of this conference right now. So what does this mean from a relationship standpoint? And obviously fan fodder and people's Twitter comments don't really. Listen, this is a conference where I once watched the commissioner hand a coach the championship

trophy and the coach started screaming at him. Yeah. So it's not like there hasn't been these issues before. For those who don't remember, that would be, no, that would be when they handed Art Riles the championship trophy, when they had the one true champion thing, but they declared two champions in 2014. So they had handed Gary Patterson one at TCU earlier in the day. I was thinking that that might have happened when Sark won the big quarter of last year.

I went to both of those games that day because TCU played Iowa. State in Fort Worth at noon and Baylor played Kansas State in Waco at night. And so I went to both those games and watched Art Beryl just scream at, this would have been Bob Bullsby, I believe, at the time. And as Bob Bullsby's like,

I'm just trying to hand your trophy, dude. But the inner the importance of maintaining a relationship with the brass at Texas Tech and supporting, maybe even behind the scenes blindly, because the last thing on earth that the Big 12 would want is for Texas Tech to not be good anymore.

Right. And that's why I say, and this is probably a column down the road. And I wrote about this already, based on what Your Mark said last year, that he wanted somebody to separate, the Texas Tech did separate, that maybe, you know, now you're upset about the way they're separating. Texas Tech is one of the most important programs in this league. Brett, Your Mark is certainly, just to be clear, certainly not upset with the way that. they're separating. A school that can build a roster. Yeah. That looks like the rosters in the CFP. That looks like the other teams in the CFP. And look, they got shut out in the quarterfinals of the CFP. So clearly that the roster is not where it needed to be yet. And that was part of the spend on Soresby. A school that can do that. And right now, Texas Tech is the only school in this league that has shown it can do that. And even though Soresby is not playing, no successful

into it. They brought them there. That makes them at the moment the most important school in the league. Now, BYU, you can probably join that mix. BYU certainly has the financial wherewithal to join that mix if they want to, but they're going to have to do that on the field. Like they played Texas Tech twice last year and got slaughtered in both games. So it's not, everybody's not equal in these leagues. Now, you probably should be treated equally in the boardroom with your votes and everything. Yeah. But the, the league needs teams that can compete for national titles. And Texas Tech is trying harder than everybody else to compete for national titles. And as we, you know, look behind us and Dion Sanders takes the stage back there,

I want to make it abundantly clear, though, that when Brett Yormark made the statement, you know, I remember coming here, I think it was his first year as commissioner, was that four years ago now? Mm-hmm. And I asked him a question about NIL and the departures of Oklahoma and Texas. and I said, you know, say what you want about your conference, you want to be competitive at a high level. The two programs that have actually traditionally recruited at the level necessary to win a championship are now leaving, and nobody left in this conference is recruiting top 25 classes.

And then there was the, you know, we alluded to the idea that NIL could level the playing field. And like, listen, I don't think that Texas Tech is the only place that has a ton of money. Yeah. But Texas Tech is the only one that's, you know, violently entered the stage in a way. that they can do that. And there's nothing wrong with spending money. Let me say this. Nothing wrong with it.

To Texas tech fans who may or may not be listening. You're investing in the program. You're not buying players. You're investing. And I truly believe that. So, you know, it's an important distinction. You are buying players, but so is everybody else. I know, but that's investing in the program.

Yeah, it's not a bad thing. Like paying people to be good at stuff is not bad. Yeah. There's nothing wrong with that. Yeah. I'd like to be paid for being pretty good at something. you're okay at this. Yeah.

Fair to middle. But like I just like I don't think that you're any different. And I think that if you've been listening to our show for a long time, you would know that Andy and I have celebrated the notion that new kids on the block. That's the best. That's the best part of this. The sport was getting really boring with the same four team winning. So guess what?

Andy and I flew to Nashville together last year. And we sat in a conference room at the on three headquarters and excitedly turned the Big 12 championship game on. And because Texas Tech is what it was, where celebrations of Big 12 title game meaning something in a way that maybe it wouldn't have in the past and seeing a premier program emerge and, you know, funny enough, dominate another very good team, giving them hope that they could even advance in the playoff. Like, these are all really good things. And honestly, we're in this building right now.

There's a group of more than 10 teams that, you know, I feel like could potentially make a move in this conference. And seeing one do it is great. But Texas Tech plus 100 right now to win a little. league at bet mjv i believe in the league yeah really yeah that's pretty good odds i'm actually surprised they're not a minus number yeah but it's still it's still you don't usually see that it's probably pretty heavy favorite right it's probably that they are the biggest favorite of any conference you know power conference team yeah i mean we did a draft uh on three and it was just conference champions and we went around and pick seven players,

and you get points for if your team that you draft wins to your conference. And that doesn't mean anything about national relevance or playoff. Would Texas Tech be the number of an overall pick in terms of most certain to win their league? Yes. As Joey McGuire has walked by us? Yeah. No, that's exactly right. They would be, they're the easiest choice to make.

Because if you say who's going to win the Big Ten, you're going to have people say Oregon, you're going to have people say Ohio State, you're going to have people say Indiana again. if you say who's going to win the SEC, you're going to have people say Georgia, Texas. Miami is a minus number in the ACC. So. Oh, Miami might have been, yeah. But you know how many times Miami's won the ACC?

I mean, I guess we did just watch Oklahoma. I mean, sorry, Texas Tech run through the Big 12. Right. And Miami did not win the ACC. And the only game that Texas Tech lost was without their quarterback. So, yeah. But yeah, Miami should win the league, I think. You think, yes.

Okay. Miami is the heaviest favorite. Okay, well, let me pose that question to you. Here's Big Ten. Just do River Ohio State plus 180, Indiana. Plus 250. Yeah. So, I'll ask you that question, though.

If I give you the choice between Texas Tech or Miami, more likely to win their league, who you take? Texas Tech. I am too. Yeah. Which is not, it's more just respecting the history of Miami and the ACC, even though I think they are clearly the best team in the ACC. They are clearly the best team in the,

ACC, I don't know if I'm, like, wrong about this and you can correct me, but I think that the level of athlete that Texas Tech has doesn't really exist everywhere else. Like, it is in numbers the way that they have it. In the Big 12. In the Big 12. Right. I think that Texas Tech is more different from its peers in the Big 12. Right. There are teams in the ACC that look more like Miami.

That have guys on their team. Yeah. Yeah. So even though there's no, there's no team in the ACC that looks exactly like Miami, but there's some more similarities. I just think that if, if Texas Tech were. in the ACC, they would be similarly viewed as the conference champion. But like, yeah, SMU is also in the mix there. They're plus 700.

Like there, there's other teams in the ACCC that could probably sneak up and get you. I mean, SMU beat Miami last year, didn't they? They did. I want to talk to about Zen AI. Zen AI is the home of vibe casting, a new way to capture and share conversations. In the same way vibe coding apps like Lovable and Claude cowork made it possible for just about anyone, regardless of coding skills to build their business. big ideas. Zen AI helps anyone to turn a conversation into something worth sharing, a podcast,

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This is going to be fun to watch because I do think this is going to hover over this all year. Texas Tech will be the favorite to win the league. Remember, Houston plays Texas Tech. Week three, Friday night. That's the conference opener for both teams. Houston is probably, well, we don't know yet. Houston could be the toughest conference opponent on Texas Tech schedule. And they got them, you know, right at the beginning of conference play. Yeah.

And obviously Will Hammond's injury is something that we'll all be tracking. Yeah. Let's talk about that team that Texas Tech plays next to last. The penultimate game for Texas Tech is Baylor. we talked to Baylor's quarterback today. He's a guy we've talked about quite a bit on the show in the past. That would be DJ Lagway. Look at DJ Lagway.

Look how happy he looks in that Baylor. How much time were you around him in Florida? A little bit. Was he like that there? He did. He put on a good public face every time every time he talked. He was always very engaging and, you know,

very similar to what he sounded like today. He felt that ease today. He did seem very at ease today. And, And the thing is, you know, this time last year when DJ Lagway was going to SEC Media Days with Florida, every question was about what have you been able to do? How much throwing have you done? How, how injured are you? He's not getting any of those questions anymore.

And it's not because people don't care. It's because he's fully capable of participating in their workouts. He's throwing with his teammates. He's doing stuff he was not capable of doing this time last year. Yeah, he said the best ability today is of, So, you know, I think that he understands the assignment. Well, let's, let's hear from DJ Lagway. You and I talked to him for a little while, and, you know, he definitely seems like he is, he's enjoying being in Waco.

DJ, I understand that, like, transferring is inherently about a fresh start. What do you think needs to be the biggest difference for you in this fresh start? Yeah, the biggest difference for me is really, you know, I'm just blessed, you know, to be in a situation I am, you know, having the offseason, being healthy. You know, just working on things that I've been trying to, I've been having to have the opportunity to work on since my freshman year that things I need to clean up. So I'm excited to really go out there and put it all together. It's not fine. How different was this offseason from last year? Because I remember, like, you were putting out on Instagram videos, basically when you could throw and everybody's just waiting and saying, okay, what's DJ doing today?

How much has that changed? It's been a roller coaster. It's been different. And I'm thanking for it. And just being able to get on the field and practice, make plays, make a state. learn from them and practice, and being able just to build chemistry with my teenage. And I've been tremendously thankful for that, working on things that I've necessarily hadn't had the chance to work on, you know, so I'm excited.

It's a hundred fun. DJ, when you went to Florida, you were a pretty high-profile prospect. You know, N.I. was a huge part of that. You made adult decisions when you were in high school and probably had to mature faster than kids would have in previous. But how much of a burden is it when you're viewed as the savior of a program? and what's it like going to a place and feeling like everybody needs you to save a place? I said, I mean, I was a pretty fun experience.

You know, I learned a lot. You know, there's definitely a lot of highs and a lot of lows, you know. So just really experiencing that, man, it definitely blew me into where I am today. And I'm excited just to, you know, be offensively myself this year, just go out there and have fun and play. How much do you think things not going the way that you wanted there had to do with health? How much of it was mental? Like, what do you think just did not go your way there? Yeah, I'll say really the cultivation of both.

You know, being able to, while I wasn't healthy, you know, really not, you know, the mental side of it. And then being able when I was healthy, fighting the mental battles of not having the, not having the reps, the amount of reps that I needed to do to go out and perform on the field. So being able to battle both, that was the tremendous of ours. When you would, go ahead. How critical was it to make sure you developed a relationship with those new teammates? I know you took, you know, a bunch of guys to Miami and were thrown with them. I'm like, how much has that helped this process? It's been crucial, you know, letting God see who you are outside of football

and being able to build those relationships and build memories that will last a lifetime. And, you know, when you step on the field and look, you got next to you know, you got memories with that guy. You know who he is as a person. It's a blessing. Appreciate you, DJ. Thank you so much. So that was that last one. I asked him that for a reason.

DJ had said one of the things that he feels like he did wrong. at Florida was not interacting enough with his teammates, not spending the amount of time he should, part of it because the injury, but also part of it because of his own personality. Yeah. And it feels like the thing that I was like really kind of surprised to read that. Is that Matt Hayes who wrote that?

Yeah. In the summertime, because I went and wrote a profile about him and spent a whole day with him when he was in high school. And I remember thinking like when I left that visit, that he was like a very engaging, mature, cool, charismatic, open guy.

He wasn't shy. Like, sometimes you go into these interviews with high schoolers and they can't look at you in the eye and they don't want to talk to you. I think he does a good job of performing when he needs to perform, but he might be, there might be some introvert there. Yeah. But, yeah, it's interesting because it's funny when we talk about Florida

quarterbacks, Chris Leek actually came to mind when I read what he said to Matt Hayes, because Chris Leak was an introvert. Now, was not great at, you know, when he got into an interview opening up, like DJ, like DJ understands how to do the interview thing. Yeah. Chris was an introverted guy. He just, it was not comfortable for him. And he was like that with the team, too.

And that's, that became part of the kind of push, pull Chris, a senior year when Tim Tebow came in because Tim was one of those guys that. Yeah, raw, ratitated around. And so it's, it's hard to be that kind of quarterback. And I wonder if, if DJ. had to kind of work on himself to make sure he maybe got outside his comfort zone

and did the things that you need to do to make sure your teammates trust you, you trust them. Yeah, well, the thing that stood out to me about, because we talked to him for a few minutes alone and then he went into the podium is, you know, the players who were being interviewed around him kept referencing him as like a reason to hope.

Yeah. And he kept saying that the thing that he loved the most about Baylor and his summer there has been how the team has welcomed him with open arms as, you know, a leader. And, you know, kind of like was the antithesis of what was described in that story. So, like, what's interesting because you brought this up before we talked to him. And it's an interesting side-by-side comparison. He was viewed as the guy who had to save Billy Napier's job at Florida. Florida. If he plays well, he will save Dave Miranda's job at Baylor. Yeah. But I don't think he's the guy who has to save it.

I think this is, you know, Dave Miranda's trying to save his own job. They went out and got the best quarterback they could get. I don't think this is DJ Lagway's responsibility. And it certainly doesn't feel like they're putting that on him, which it felt like that at Florida. It felt like everyone at Florida put on DJ Lagway, you will be the one who saves this or you will be the one. who fails and it fails. Yeah, I don't recall this. I'm fairly certain that last year at this event

players did interviews in their track suits or street clothes. Some of them did the uniform. Some of them did. Okay. Well, we saw DJ Lagway in his uniform. And buddy. I'm back. Like, but, you know, I think that in college football,

players who come to college with the five-star thing and don't live up to that hype or potential early, often flame out permanently, right? Like you don't see a lot of five-star guy doesn't reach expectations, leaves place, go to another place, and then reach that potential. So I understand if you are a person who's like,

well, DJ Lagway just isn't who we thought he was. But is it possible, and this is what I think I'll try to write about, is it possible that in the right situation, in a place that doesn't feel as dire, with people that are familiar with him, at the school that his dad played, while fully healthy, can actually unlock some of the glimpses that we did see on the field while he was at Florida?

Producer River brought up an interesting name just now, Jackson Arnold. Yeah. It didn't work for him. we can go down on Andy and I were had a nice little hang out in my living room last night at 11 o'clock

and we were talking about movies and we were talking about other things but one of the topics that we talked about was how some quarterbacks which should have been recorded because it would have been a great podcast segment yeah we can run it back later

how is it possible that some quarterbacks get recruited at a high level to high places when they can't throw this is not DJ like way by that and we're not talking about DJ he clearly throw although I forgot I messed up today I wanted to ask him

what was it like when Baylor put their first clip of you throwing. Oh, my God. That was a messed up move. But some people slip through the cracks in the positive. Right. True. Mastomaker. Yeah, people who didn't even start in his high school.

There are some people who get offers in secondary transfer situations when they can't play. Yeah. I don't think that, like, I would put DJ Lagway in the J. Rashada bucket. No, we've seen DJ Lagway play at a high level, just not consistently at a high level. Exactly. So the thing with DJ that I always hold, there are a lot of quarterbacks who have flamed out permanently. I think that it's much harder to envision a world where DJ Lagway is a Heisman finalist in Waco.

But I don't think I'm ready to put him in the bucket of five-star guy who's never going to be good. No, I don't think he's doomed to fail here. Like there is a world where DJ Lagway has a really good year and Baylor's better than we think they're going to be. because if he can stop forcing the ball danger, like that LSU game last year was one of the most, like if you're a Florida fan, that was one of the most frustrating experiences you've ever had in your life.

But do you think that he's just watching him go into trouble over and over and over again? But I also wonder too, and this is all psychological, and I don't think we'll ever know the answer to this, if you are more prone to throw into trouble because you feel the pressure or you feel the need to do something remarkable

because everyone's counting on you. You have that. That's one dynamic. The other potential dynamic that could have been at play is you didn't have the reps with your teammates an entire off season.

Or both. And you didn't have it and your timing was bad. So there's potential reasons. And really this year will tell us if those were excuses, legitimate excuses? Because some excuses are legitimate.

They may be excuses, but they're also legitimate. Yeah. But some of them are not. And so now if he comes out, Baylor opens against Auburn in Atlanta. Weirdly, he's going to play an SEC school that he did not play at Florida.

But Florida also plays Auburn like a few weeks. I know. Can you imagine if Baylor beats them with Lagway and then Florida loses to them? Oh, that would be a message board meltdown city in a lot of directions. The Auburn sports message board after the first game and the Florida message boards. It'd be a good mega board Wednesday. But yeah. So really it will depend on how he plays.

It will depend on what he does. You know, if he is if he is more efficient. And again, accuracy and the willingness to throw the ball in the danger were the two biggest problems. Yeah. I posted a photo of him to Twitter today of him like walking to the podium just in his just pure mass as a human. Yeah. And he has the God-given traits physically. Right.

But he was in his Baylor uniform today and I posted the picture. It's football season. And I got a few responses from people saying, oh, crap, I forgot he went to Waco. And I actually think that that's exactly what he needs. That is exactly. He wanted the world. He didn't want the world to forget about him,

but he wanted to It's a recalibration. Work in a lower stress, lower stakes environment. It's not that the stakes aren't high. Again, like Dave Randa's got to win to save his job. But it will not be DJ Lagway's fault if Dave Rana gets fired. And people might view this as me, being unwilling to ignore.

Look at that guy. Beast. Acknowledge how stupid I looked last year for putting him as the number one quarterback in the country. Me too. I do not think that, and this isn't just hype. I'm just saying I don't think it's off the table that he could be a first round pick one day. Oh. Just from a traits ability. We're talking about former Florida quarterbacks who look like that.

Anthony Richardson was a first round pick. Now, everybody was right about him. Yeah. But he was a first round pick. Yeah. And the first round pick doesn't always mean that you're an awesome college player. Sometimes traits are more important. But I just mean like playing himself into that conversation.

And I would like to see DJ Lagway have a chance to really shine. He's a really nice guy. I like him. I understand the situation he was in. I understand the pressure he was under. And I get he was getting paid. Like nobody's going to cry any tears for him. He made his money.

But that's a lot to deal with. And some people just don't deal. with it well. Yeah. But the guy's still got tools and we're going to see if Jake Spavidol, the O.C at Baylor can unlock them. But I'm, I'm fascinated to watch. He's the kind of guy that would do it though, right? Spab's a really good coach. And the type of calm, you know, presence who is not going to make you, he will not make your stress levels increase. You know, Dave Miranda got fired. And I hope he doesn't because I really like him. But he could do, a really, really good job creating like a books on tape.

He could have the most soothing podcast. But I feel like between him and Spav, like that is a completely different scenario than he was in before and that might do something for him. It might. So, you know, or it might not work. I'm not here to be his hype man. So like, I don't know. We did the hype man thing last year.

Yeah, like we're retired from that. But I do think that it's an interesting name to track. And when you talk about quarterback league, as Brett Yormark said, we've got a lot of returning quarterbacks. I think it's really important to highlight people like that who had a big name are still relatively early in their careers or healthy for the first time and might be in a new situation that can help them out. Let us move from a quarterback who has come through the transfer portal to one who was a big time high school recruit that is now getting his chance at QB1, but in a different offense than the one he originally signed to play for. And that would be Julian

Lewis. So remember last year already at this event, how surprised we were that Deion Sanders Julian Lewis, who was then a true freshman. And, you know, Caden Salter was the older player who they brought in from Liberty. And but Julian Lewis, you know, big time recruit. He's got his automar paget watch that everybody's looking at. That was last year. Felt like a different guy. He's still wearing an, we're in an automar.

Well, it was hilarious because Andy asked him a question during his immediate availability. How have you changed? Oh, no. You don't have to. Let's play the clip. Yeah, play the clip. Juju, you talk about your Mount Rush. more Cam, Rogers, Wilson, Brady.

A lot of guys who brought a lot of different things of the game. Film study, a lot of playmakers on their feet, natural throwers, and giving receivers a chance. Going into this next off season, are those all things that you're trying to implement in your game and grow? And how do you feel like that process has been ongoing for you so far? Oh, yeah. I mean, this office is completely different than last year. So, I mean, there's a lot of quick stuff, a lot of get our athletes to ball,

a lot of get them to open space, things like that and let our playmakers make plays. So definitely. Juju, what's been the biggest fudges for you this all season? Oh, just growing, trying to get bigger, stronger, faster, of course. I mean, I'm a small quarterback. I think everybody kind of knows that. So just trying to get bigger. Of course, learning a go-go has been a task for sure.

But I mean, Coach Mirren's had a great job teaching it. It is his office. So, yeah, just trying to take it as much as you can from. What else you were? What else? What was it? How different are you? Like, how much of you changed from growing this person?

growing's person um how much of my change honestly i don't really know i think just just my understanding the college football a lot more comfortable um i feel like when i got in last year i wasn't wasn't very nervous or anything like that i think god put me in the addition to for a reason and i think um just every time i get the opportunity to show i'm here i would do there so this is a guy who played in four games last year they clearly wanted to register him i i I think, Ari, if they'd just let him be the starter at the end of the season, the end of their season probably would have gone a lot better. Yeah. I mean, you're the one who always points this out, but it's true.

Like when you were watching tape of some of the plays from last year of the ball. I was watching Omaran Miller. Yeah. And the ball that Ju-Ju-Louis throws and the ball that Caden Salter through, it's a very different looking pass. It's a very different situation for the playmakers for the receivers. And it's probably why Amari Ann Miller is at Arizona State now. Yeah. um but it is interesting because you asked him how much he's changed yeah um and i was like is he

wearing his watch again uh and he was wearing a very nice watch but this one had no diamonds on it is is a much more understated um and i don't know like maybe i'm just i like watches or watch guy like it's something to it but like maybe it's nothing but like the idea of colorado doesn't seem to be as loud anymore to me yeah yeah it's so it was all about dion sanders before It's still very much about Dion Sanders, but you know, you go into last season, Dion Sanders has a health scary, has cancer, has to deal with that. So I think now we've sort of settled into, all right, you're either going to bring this program up without your Louis luggage or you're not.

And Julian Lewis is one of his signature recruits. Jordan Seton was one of the other ones. He's gone now. He's at LSU. So you brought in Julian. Lewis. He was one of the guys you got who you probably could have gotten that Colorado wouldn't have gotten if you weren't Dion Sanders, the head coach. There's a few of those. And so now the question is, can you can you turn that into something? Now, we've known Brennan Mary in a while, their new

offensive coordinator. He was successful with the go-go offense in the FCS. He developed there at William and Marion and Howard at places where they couldn't really build dominant offensive line. So he built an offense that should be able to succeed without incredible talent on the offensive line. And I think, you know, Colorado, again, their potential first round offensive tackle left in the portal. So you better be able to do that. I'm excited to see what this offense does because it's worked pretty much everywhere he's gone. The thing that I just cannot get past is Colorado. I'm always so big on like year over year progress. progress and trying to like remember where were we a year ago and where are we now.

And I think that the one thing that I wanted to say on the show, which is I'm happy to hear is that like from my understanding, Dion Sanders is doing much better physically. Yes. Like he's back to walking at a normal pace and, you know, he's feeling more like himself, which is great. I mean, I'm happy to hear just from a on a human level that he's doing better. But I wonder if last year too, if we're underestimating a little bit what this team may be able to do because we're so fixated on what happened last year during a pretty terrible time in his life. Or maybe they just aren't that way. And it feels like they're running an offense now that

suits the personnel they're going to be able to get better. Yeah. And they have a better quarterback. Like I said, when Julian Lewis played, his arm talent was significantly better than Cade and Salters. The thing I can't get past, though, and it's always the same thing with me. But their team talent level, regardless of how they get it, is lower than you would have anticipated them being. And what is this? You're for? Yes. You would have thought they were further along top to bottom.

Like, Julian Lewis might be very good. Right. But you're losing your best offensive tackle in the portal. Your best receiver. You're losing their best players. And I don't really know if they backfilled enough to actually be a real contender. Like two years ago was awesome. And Colorado did have their blip in the college football playoff contention during that period of time.

but if we want to talk about Julian Lewis and his Well, this goes back to what we said earlier in the show about Texas Tech. Texas Tech has separated so much from the rest of the Big 12. Like, no, Colorado does not look like Texas. I just don't know what the case is for like two years ago. If you're like, Ari, what could they- Can Colorado compete with everybody else? That's the question.

Two years ago, if you would have said, Ari, what's your biggest sales pitch for Colorado competing with everybody else? It would be they have a quarterback who's, going to be, you know, an NFL starter or at least compete for NFL starting in year two. And they have one of the most sensational college players I've ever seen. Right. They had the best player in the country. Also, Jimmy Horn was really good.

Yes. You know, they had a really good company. La Jante Western was very good. They had pieces. Now, their lines have never been where they need to be, although Jordan Seaton was very good last year. I don't know what my sales pitch for Colorado contention is right now. are you are you are you do you think they're that far behind kansas state do you think they're that

that's that's that's the question that's that's what has to be but but in year four five and seven or six and six even if they're on par with some of those teams isn't what excites you about dion no and i feel like part of dion sanders greatness was the they're the talk of the conversation there the momentum is care we're coming like remember we coming are we coming right now I am. All right. Ben GM has the Colorado win total for the season, regular season win total. Can I guess what it is?

Go ahead. I was not going to be my guess, but I was going to say four and a half. Four and a half. All right. Here's this guy. So now remember, they are playing 11 power conference games. They have at Georgia Tech and at Northwestern in their non-conference. This is not an easy schedule by any stretch.

They do play Texas Tech. They also play Utah. They get to miss BYU, but this is not going to be an easy schedule by any stretch of the imagination. You think they get the five? What are the five? Weber State, Northwestern, maybe. We don't know what Georgia Tech is. Maybe they beat George Tech. We really don't know, because Georgia Tech is changing. But new coordinators, obviously, they thought Aaron Filo is going to be the QB. He leaves to follow Buster Faulkner. So Alberto Mendoza comes in from Indiana. We don't know what that's going to be. We just talked about Baylor and DJ Lagway. We have no

idea what that's going to be. They just got their ass kicked so many times last year. were like not competitive. They were, no, they were competitive more than you think. They, at the end of last season, when they were running out the string, it was, it was less competitive. But they, yeah, they were more competitive during the year than, then I think people remember, because the season ended so badly. I think we're just, that's all we can remember.

Yeah. But, yeah, I mean, if you, I mean, Dion Sanders is a much better coach than I gave him credit for. I thought he got hired as a result of his stardom. Yeah. And I think a larger part of that was the case. But I thought he did a pretty good job of them playing like pretty good fundamental football, especially two years ago. Yeah. So seven point loss to Georgia Tech.

Three point lost to BYU last year. Yeah. Seven point lost Iowa State. Now, they did get like, they got annihilated by Utah. Yeah. Just annihilated. And but so there were games they didn't show. 42. Arizona crushed them. Yeah.

So. But they're like losing to BYU by three is great. Right. Like yeah. That says you can be competitive. Like yeah. Could be, BYU played in the Big 12 championship game. So again, I, I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt here. But it's a low bar. Yeah. Like it four four and a half wins is such a low bar anyway. I'm just disappointed that that's the bar in year four. And I think that that's a rational thought process. When you're paying as much as you are. And I actually, and like I was some of the. you know how reactionary and excited I get. I do.

When Dion Sanders showed up and they ended up getting some of these players, I was like, holy crap, this actually could work. And like, if you ask me now, it's like, I don't think it's working anymore. Well, I think you're going to know by the end of the season. We'll know. I think you will have an idea of whether long term it can work. And it's not even the hot take thing anymore. It's none of the arguments that we had about Dion Sanders when he first got the job.

None of that even applies anymore. I know we have a show to get out. but two years ago when Dion Sanders is at the podium, you're sitting there listening to it. Of course. This year, where were we? We were here. So, you know, I don't even know what he said yet.

We talked to his quarterback. Yeah. We talked to his AD for a while too. His AD is great. We all go way back with him. But, you know, I do think that the spark relighting isn't that far away either, because if they are kind of good or much better than we think. Well, that's the thing.

If this is a seven-win team, you're feeling pretty good about Dion, right? Yeah, I guess, yeah. Because then they got the quarterback. Yeah. And I'm assuming, well, they have to keep the quarterback at that point. But still, you'll take that. Yeah. So that's-

Colorado fans were starving for being really good. Well, Julian Lewis, I love what he said. He's like, I got to get bigger. I'm small, I know. And part of that is because there will be some running that needs to be done by him in this offense. But they're going to be a change-up on offense. They're going to be a strategic, schematic,

change up that defenses may not be used to because the go-go is a lot of two-back stuff. People don't deal with two-back offenses very much anymore. One of the reasons it works is it is such a change-up, but it will be fascinating to watch how teams try to defend them, how Brennan-Ary and adjust to that. But this is, that felt like a good hire to me. That felt like them saying, the Dion saying, hey, I understand that I'm not going to be able to build a roster that looks like the Texas roster or the Ohio's big roster. Yeah.

So let me, let me do something schematically that will work with the roster I can build here realistically. And it's a sad admission, but it's probably true. Had to be. Had to be done. Yeah. I can't wait to watch.

Ari was talking so much football today. It was great, wasn't it? It felt good. Getting back. And the best part about it is that you guys are getting a show today. but you are going to hear from a lot of coaches and players in the days moving forward. The rest of this afternoon we are getting to mingle with some really important, interesting people, and we're excited to present it to you this week.

We will talk to you on Wednesday.