Andy & Ari On3 - Colorado heads to the Big 12! Who is coming with the Buffs? | Harbaugh mum on NCAA

Episode Date: July 28, 2023

Go to birddogs.com/Andy or enter Promo Code: Andy for a free tech hat with your order.0:00 - 18:28 Colorado voted Thursday to leave the Pac-12 and re-join the Big 12. Andy and On3 national writer Pete Nakos discussed what might be next for the Big 12’s expansion plans. Arizona? Connecticut? Or could Oregon, Washington or Utah want to move and trigger a Pac-12 collapse? Can the Pac-12 snap up San Diego State or SMU and get its media rights deal done before losing anyone else? It’s time to speculate wildly…19:54 - 29:03 Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh wouldn’t talk about the proposed four-game suspension that would close an NCAA case against him, but it was clear Harbaugh wanted to say more. Will he push back? Or will he ultimately accept the penalty to keep the wheels moving for what could be a very successful season?29:23 - 37:58 Michigan DB Mike Sainristil takes Andy second-by-second through his breakup of what probably should have been a touchdown pass to Ohio State tight end Cade Stover. It was Andy’s favorite play of the 2022 season, and Sainristil’s description makes it even cooler.37:59 - 44:03 Jeff Sims never imagined as kid in Jacksonville, Fla., that he’d be advertising John Deere dealerships in Nebraska. But that’s what the Georgia Tech transfer is doing as the new QB1 at Nebraska.44:04 - 49:58 New head coach Luke Fickell is changing a lot at Wisconsin. But he doesn’t think the Badgers will be so shockingly different on the field.50:00 - 57:35 Maryland coach Mike Locksley spent 14 hours in a Caribbean airport and learned a lesson in the process. He explained how he has passed that along to his staff heading into the season.57:36 - 59:06 In today’s Extra Point, Andy discusses another full-circle moment as former Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt — whom most of us met as a high school coach on MTV’s “Two-A-Days” — takes a job as a high school P.E. teacher in Alabama.

Welcome to Andy Staples on three. Realignment Palooza. It's back. It never stops, really. Pete Nicos on three national rider. I didn't, I don't know. I mean, I guess when Texas and Oklahoma went to the SEC, when USC and UCLA went to the Big Ten, we knew there would be reverberations.

I wasn't sure how long that would take. We are now seeing kind of the tail end of that. But Colorado has voted to join the Big 12. We just watched the Regents meeting on Zoom. It was great because it's just a Zoom meeting. So whoever's talking had the little green box around them. And we were hoping that each box would light up green as they voted yes, like a game show. It didn't quite work out that way, but they did vote unanimously to move to the Big 12.

Is there a motion for adoption of this resolution? I move. Thank you, Regent Montero. Is there a second? Second. Okay. Second there a second? Second. Okay. Seconded by Regent Chavez. And now what happens, Pete? What happens in the Pac-12? Now we get to speculate. Yes.

Does the Pac-12 cease to exist? Does the Pac-12 go get San Diego State? Okay, yeah, there's a lot of distance between those two things, but that's okay. Let's start with the simple and move to the crazy. I think that's the way we do it. That's how realignment talk probably should work. We usually start with the crazy, but this is one of those is not totally surprising. It wasn't a bombshell like when USC and UCLA went to the Big Ten where they kept it secret. This was not a well-kept secret.

Though I will say, very interesting that Philip DeStefano, the chancellor of Colorado, just a few days ago said their hope was to stay in the Pac-12. He told the Denver Post. It was an odd kind of random public statement from a president, and now you kind of see what it was. Yeah. That was, hey, George Kliafkoff and the Pac-12,

we're going to need you to produce some numbers, or we're going to're gonna have to bounce yeah and the one thing i'll say about colorado is they they did wait there were other i mean there were other chances to make the jump earlier and they gave george klyavkov plenty of time and it's obvious that he didn't deliver this is why you don't tell people that something's going to be done in the spring and just keep pushing and pushing and pushing and pushing it right right so that's the the pac-12 has been working on this meteorites deal for seemingly forever they got jumped in line by the big 12 which was the the move and here's where i'm going to apologize to the hateful aid or whatever we're calling the the schools that were left behind in the big 12 when texas and ok and Oklahoma left for the SEC?

Because I said, I'm not sure what you're going to be. I said, if I'm the American, I try to go get you or I try to emerge. What I should have said is you're in a kill or be killed environment. And that's exactly where they were. This is, you know, the ACC kind of figured that out when it was the ACC in the Big East at the turn of the century. Kill or be killed, the ACC killed the Big East. The people in the Big 12, and I cannot overstate this, I think that unity of those eight kind of being in it together and being very similar and understanding one another and having been through a lot of crap over the years,

I think that helped them, and they did an incredible job. This is even before Brett Yormark got hired as the commissioner, but an incredible job of moving quickly and becoming the league that survived this. The Pac-12 may yet survive, but it is very much in doubt right now, and the Big 12 has solidified itself. 100%. I mean, all the credit to Brett Urmark, too, right? Yes. He comes in, and I know a lot of people kind of rolled their eyes, right,

like the Rucker Park basketball thing. He's holding, like, Pro Day next year. Hiring DJs. Yeah. Hiring Shaq to DJ the Big 12 basketball tournament. There's a lot of things where a lot of people are like, what is this guy doing? And now it's all starting to deliver.

He looks like one of the brightest guys right now in college athletics, and he just ensured that the Big 12 is going to make a really good case now for the Power 3 or the Power 4, however we want to phrase it. Well, and so what he did, the genius stroke, the thing that really set this off was jumping the line for the tv contract because remember the big 12 tv deal doesn't actually end next year it ends the year after that correct but he got in line ahead and from what i've been told by folks in the tv industry what happened was the big 12 came with a pretty realistic idea of what they're worth so

they said we'll take we would like this much money which is probably they probably asked for more than they wound up getting because that who does who wouldn't do that did it but it was a realistic ask the Pac-12 apparently came with a very unrealistic ask they looked at the the Big Ten's numbers they looked at the SEC's numbers and said well we'll just it's it's just a percentage down from that. Right. So we'll take that much. And the TV people are like, huh? And so that's what has taken so long there. Meanwhile, the Big 12 is with ESPN, with Fox, just as it has been. And now they are 13 when Oklahoma and Texas exit at the end of this school year.

So the question is, how do they get back to even number who's number 14 or is there 15 and 16 in the offing no that's when things get really really wacky i think that the next few weeks are gonna be really interesting right because like you said texas and oklahoma are gonna go in 2024 and it appears like colorado is going to make the jump in in 2024 so so the big 12 is going to need to go get someone fast yeah um and that's not to say that there isn't a line of suitors and i'm sure we're going to break that down but it's going to be fascinating to see um what criteria that they they kind of look over and how they make that decision um you look at the four corner schools right and all four well now three yeah utah

arizona arizona state are the remaining three um and they could all be great selections you could argue um but but what move does the big 12 make now right and what move do you make if you're oregon and washington because i think of of the remaining schools in the pac-12 they are the biggest football brands they aspire to compete for national titles. They don't want to be lumped into a leftover. But they also have the opportunity with the new playoff coming to rule over what is left of that league. That is very fair. And that is also an attractive thing.

So the question is, does this change what the Pac-12's meteorites deal would be? I'm not entirely sure. I don't know. It would really depend on what San Diego State could bring because at this point that seems like the most likely option is San Diego State. Right, and they've vetted SMU. Yeah, they've vetted SMU. The one thing that you think about, too, that really pops in my head, right,

we talk Washington and Oregon, it is so obvious that Phil Knight wants to win at oregon right we see it through his collective and they want to be in this building they want to be in the big 10 i have no idea if the big 10 has an appetite for expansion if kevin warren were still the commissioner this would be very easy yes i'd say he's going and getting oregon washington now. I don't know about Tony Petitti. I don't know what the Big Ten presidents – I don't get the sense that they're dying to expand right now. No, no, you don't get that. And another – we're going to get a little wacky,

but you also wonder does Greg Sankey down in the SEC for any minute think about taking one of the border schools if the if the pax 12 does fall apart i i just can't imagine that that if the sec were to expand they have some very valuable brands and some some properties they've been looking at for a while north carolina would be the the big one uh and then obviously clemson florida state in terms of football brands that that would want to go there that is an entirely another entirely different conversation than ACC one, which we may have in the next few weeks. The folks in Tallahassee seem awfully itchy on the trigger finger there.

Exactly. But we'll stick to the West and the Midwest. I wanted to get wacky, folks. I'm sorry. Well, we can get a little wacky. Okay, so the logical thing is they add a 14th. and and i wanted to get wacky folks i'm sorry well we can get a little wacky because okay so the logical thing is they add a 14th you've heard a lot about uconn yep but you've also heard that you don't get a pro rata increase in that contract no if you don't take a power five school right so

arizona would make a lot of sense for that yep utah would make a lot of sense for that maybe even arizona state i've never gotten the sense that arizona state wants to but now now the thing is it doesn't even i don't even matter is what you want no because oregon washington don't want to leave right back 12 unless it's for the big 10 right but but does is there now a conversation at washington for example where it's like what do we do we're not going to wait for the Big Ten. What if we sign an awful TV deal with whatever the Pac-12 is, and it makes more sense to just run to the Big 12 now?

Well, that's what I wonder because if you added Oregon and Washington, let's say they added Oregon, Washington, and Utah to this group they're going to have of 13. That is a really great football league. That's an awesome football league. That is a football league that is two bids to the playoff every year and potentially three bids some years. Now, does that offset, if you're Oregon, Washington, Utah, that one of you is going to be in the playoff every single year in the other league?

Right. No, that's fair. I think the one thing to bring up about Arizona, and we touched on it yesterday, is Arizona is a big football brand, but basketball, what they can do for the Big 12 when it comes to basketball. And if Brett Urmark is just sitting in his office right now and says, okay, I just need one right now, Arizona makes the most sense. And they've been in contact. Yes, they have. Continuously since all this started.

And I would imagine there are other schools that have been in contact as well and that's sure that that's the thing it don't do not believe these people when they say nobody's talking everybody's talking yes nobody really wants to move it i i don't pete i i through the years i know there have been a lot of moves but i've never never felt like anybody other than maybe like missouri and texas a&m when they were leaving the big 12 right we're dying to move yeah because it's a lot it's like it's kind of like moving from your house it is like you gotta pack up all your stuff you gotta say bye to your neighbors exactly yeah i mean it's not it's not something anyone i think like envy

some i mean yeah there's some envy but i don't know if anyone really loves to do it i mean you got to really rip the band-aid exactly so that's what i i want to know like if you are rob mullins the ad at oregon if you're jenko and the ad at washington what are you thinking today because how do you put yourself in position and and you actually brought this up to me when we were talking about this earlier today i hadn't thought about it this way. But you can stay, and that's probably going to be about a six-year contract. Right. Or you could go to the Big 12, and I believe theirs is a six-year deal.

Yeah. So by 2031, you're out. And remember, the key dates to remember, you've got the Big 10 is going to have another deal coming up pretty soon. They only did a six-year deal this time. is really smart the sec is 2034 so the acc is 2036 so if you're looking for the great grand realignment into uh college football pangea yeah that's probably around what we're talking about but totally but right now you you're looking at about the same time served. And you could say, well, if the Big Ten wants to. Right.

I think there's another. I wrote a column on this last night. And it was the thought of now is the time for the Big Ten to act and get Washington and Oregon. And the one killer move, though. What killed me, though, is you said the Big Ten might be on the outside looking in. And I'm like, no, no, no, no. The Big Ten is the inner circle like they got all the money they they they everybody wants in there yes but the the the school i left out is what if the and this is like would have been like

uh kevin warren's like dream maybe is you get oregon was, Cal, and Notre Dame. And then you get 20. You're leaving Stanford out for Notre Dame? Yes. I think NBC is going to give Notre Dame what they want. We'll see. But that contract's not done. But you could just take Stanford then. You could just take Stanford, yeah.

You know, the Big Ten presidents might like that. The Fox executive is probably not too keen on that. So that would be the stumbling block there because if you went to the Big Ten Presidents, they'd be like, hey, you want to be in there with Cal and Stanford? Right. Yeah? Yeah. Please.

Yes. Let's share research. Yeah. But no, I think that is a really interesting side note to the subplot to this because you're right. Kevin Warren's dream was to have a West Wing of the Big Ten, probably with those six that we mentioned, Washington, Oregon, Cal, Stanford, USC, UCLA. USC doesn't want that, by the way. No, they don't.

USC, when it came, was like, okay, we're all you're taking, right? Because we want to have that recruiting advantage. We don't want to let Oregon or or washington then come to la as members of the same league as us now like that's one thing that usc and ucla can now hold over those schools when they come as hey we're big 10 schools now we they're whatever they are but we're big 10 schools yeah i think the one other thing to to go back to the washington and oregon point is um it's it's such a like interesting position to be in. And if you're Jen Cohen right now, you just have to think,

why in the world am I going to put faith in the Pac-12 anymore? I mean, I understand tradition and history and all that, but at this point, Colorado just said screw history. But Colorado didn't have history. That's the difference. But I think if you're Washington or Oregon right now, there also might be a killer instinct where it's like, we just need to do this, and this is what's going to be best,

even for a six-year period, and then we can do. Well, I always talk about how fun I think the Big 12 will be when it settles into this 12-team alignment. Now it's not going to be 12. It's going to be at least 13. If it was that 16 team we mentioned yeah like if you could get if you really could get Oregon Washington and Utah as a football league that would be paradise for the viewer now people are still going to say the

SEC and the Big Ten are the more powerful leagues but top to bottom that thing would be amazing to watch golly so that's just that's me trying to maybe wish that into existence i don't want the pac-12 to break up i hate the idea of that i still think the idea of you can win this league and be in the playoff is still pretty powerful because because right now if you're arizona if you're utah right you don't really want to go i don't know that that if you let's say you replace colorado san diego say i don't know that it really changes much materially for you yeah it's probably the same deal you were going to get two days ago yeah it's not it's not going to change a lot um and then the playoff again right like uh it might make more sense

washington and oregon could could their brands could end up profiting more if they just go to the playoff where it's like – And Utah. Utah would have been in the last two years. Yeah, and Utah would have been in. What do you think about where does the Big 12 go in terms of like Utah or Arizona? I would take Utah. Okay.

Because I say go football power first. And Utah, remember, Utah joined the Pac-12 the same time Colorado did. Utah has turned itself into one of the premier programs in that conference. Totally. Very fast. And I think they would feel like the schools of the Big 12, your TCUs, your Baylors, your Kansas States, your Oklahoma States, Texas Tech, very like-minded in terms of football. So that's who I'd go for, but they seem pretty happy with staying in the Pac-12, or at least did.

Or at least did, yeah. And that's the thing. I keep saying they seem. I should make that past tense. They seemed because we don't know how they feel now. Yeah, and, I mean, Colorado went and did it. And then word came out yesterday, too, that there was a meeting with the Pac-12 in Colorado

and didn't even mention anything that they were making the jump to, that they were this close to making the jump to the Big 12. Listen, you've got to keep secrets in realignment. That's the rule. Yeah. That's the only thing you can do. I remember John Swofford, the former ACC Commissioner telling me that they they had to change their rules because you know that used to be you had

to do a site visit and Clemson's president flew somewhere and there's a big old tiger paw on the plane and everybody's like well you know what's going on now so they've made it where nobody has to say squat to anybody until it's too late. Yeah. So that's how it goes. All right. Prediction time. Prediction time. 14 or 16? And if so, who is it?

14 or 16 for 2024. For the Big 12. I'm going 14, and I'm going Arizona. I just think that it's such a no-brainer when it comes to a rising football brand, a great basketball program. Jetfish is doing a great job there. Yeah, and I just think that you also have a president there in Bobby Robbins who really craves to win national titles.

And wants to be in the mix in terms of the governance of college sports. Yeah, and I think that they will do everything in their power to get that bid. I think they have probably been working that way i think if we put things on the board if we were if we were a sports book what you just said would have a minus sign next to it yeah definitely everything else has a plus sign next to it yeah so that's what you're saying i'm i think you're right but i'm going to try to speak this into existence one more time. One more time.

Just because I think as a football league, me, the viewer, would love this. 16 at Oregon Washington in Utah. I know they have to want to come. I get it. They probably don't. But just imagine those games. Just imagine. We'll be right back.

Jim Harbaugh was at Big Ten Media Days. What did he say about a potential four-game suspension for alleged NCAA violations? We'll be right back. Had to get dressed up to go to Big Ten Media Days, but I'm sitting here dreaming about my slick rickies and my fart garfunkels. What are those? Those are my bird dog shorts. That's what I'm getting into right when I

get out of here, living my most efficient life. If you have not tried bird dogs, what are you waiting for? Built-in liner with the shorts. You're not even washing or buying underwear. You are just living in comfort in a garment that feels as if it was made for every nook and cranny of your body. Bird dogs is wonderful. They've got khakis and now they've even got polos. So that comfort that you feel down below, you can feel up above as well. Go to birddogs.com slash Andy. Use the promo code Andy and you get a free tech hat with your first order. So if you're tired of living an inefficient life, if you're tired of shopping for underwear, washing underwear,

you don't need to do it. Shorts, khakis, now polos, and a free tech hat. If you go to birddogs.com slash Andy, use the promo code Andy. It'll change your life. You'll be efficient, and you will be comfortable. Jim Harbaugh was pretty talkative at Big Ten Media Days. He talked a lot about J.J. McCarthy as quarterback. He talked about where the Michigan-Ohio State game might be played.

He talked about the relationships in the Michigan-Michigan State game. One thing he did not talk much about, though, the proposed four-game suspension, potential negotiated settlement with the NCAA involving rules violations. He's accused of, the NCAA has accused him of being an uncooperative witness and basically the story is he was asked about did he take some recruits during COVID for a hamburger these were committed recruits who had come on an unofficial visit well there were no unofficials but they had come to Ann Arbor and they were visiting and he figured they'd driven all that way let's get him a burger he took him that was against the rules a receipt was shown to him after he said

I don't recall doing that he still said he didn't recall doing it and that's when he got slapped with the uncooperative label and this is really what the NCAA can get you for they can get you for what in their words lying to the NCAA even if they don. They can get you for what, in their words, lying to the NCAA, even if they don't have you dead to rights on anything else. If it's just the burger, it's probably not a big deal. But that's not how Jim Harbaugh sees it. It was interesting hearing him

when he was asked about it. This is at the podium at Big Ten Media Days when he's asked for an update on that NCAA situation. I'm not allowed to talk about any aspect of that ongoing situation. And I'm with you. I mean, I'd love to lay it all out there. Nothing to be ashamed of. But now is not that time.

And that's about all there is to say about that. You can tell he wants to talk about it. He really wants to talk about it because I get the sense that Jim Harbaugh does not think this is right. I think most coaches probably would have said four-game suspension, not a particularly challenging slate of four games. The team's probably still going to be 4-0. The NCAA case is over.

You don't have to worry about it anymore. And then you move on with your season, which could potentially be special. We could be talking about a third consecutive Big Ten title. We could be talking about another playoff appearance. We could be talking about Michigan as a national title contender. The pragmatic side of most coaches would probably say, you know what, I'm just going to agree to this and be done with it. But Jim Harbaugh is not to that point yet. And

you can tell he does not feel he's done anything wrong and probably doesn't want to be perceived as admitting to doing anything wrong. So we'll see how this plays out. I think it's going to probably play out with him being suspended for four games. He eventually comes to the conclusion that this probably is better off to just get this over with. But I don't necessarily blame him if he feels, hey, I didn't lie. I said I didn't recall. I didn't lie. I don't know that he'd want to do something that is tantamount to admitting to lying.

So I get where he's coming from. But Blake Corum, Michigan's running back, told reporters on Thursday that if Jim Harbaugh has to miss games, they're going to play for him. And it's not just Jim Harbaugh that Sharon Moore, the offensive coordinator, could miss a game. There are other assistants who might miss a game as well. So one potential solution, and, hey, we go from a page from Jim Harbaugh, and actually he took it from King Solomon, according to him, last year. Remember last year when he decided that Cade McNamara, the incumbent starting quarterback, would start the season opener,

and then J.J. McCarthy would start the second game of the season and then they'd make a decision about the starter going forward. I said at the time this felt like a way to let Cade McNamara down easy. Basically that J.J. was going to be the starter going forward and that this would allow a head-to-head comparison that J.J. would probably win and they could make the decision and be free and clear and that's exactly what happened Cade McNamara was behind JJ McCarthy all last season JJ McCarthy leads into a big 10 title Cade McNamara is now at Iowa so if you're Jim Harbaugh who by the way has quite a few future head coaches on his staff. There's some really young, talented coaches on his staff that will be head coaches

probably at the Power 5 level sooner rather than later. Sharon Moore, the offensive coordinator, is one. Mike Hart, the running backs coach, who's actually been the associate head coach at Indiana before. So do you do it this way? Let's say Sharon Moore's got to miss game one. Do you make Mike Hart the interim for game one, Sharon Moore the interim for game two, and then decide who gets to be the interim for games three and four? It's pretty much exactly the same thing that they were doing. Now, I don't know that Michigan wants to do a coach-in-waiting situation, but you could potentially do that.

And you never know. Jim Harbaugh has flirted with the NFL each of the past two years after the season he might wind up doing that again but I did find it very interesting that on a day when when Jim Harbaugh was was pretty effusive because sometimes he comes to these things and you can't get a lot out of him he doesn't really want to talk. I thought he was pretty chatty. He was glowing in his praise of J.J. McCarthy, talking about a generational talent at quarterback at Michigan. It was interesting to hear Jim Harbaugh say this, because obviously Jim Harbaugh very accomplished himself as a quarterback. He's in a stadium where the Colts play, where his name is on their ring of

honor. And we obviously know what he did at Michigan Michigan so for that kind of praise for J.J. McCarthy it's pretty strong words but you know you you look at where the the NFL draft type people where they look at J.J. McCarthy they like him a lot they like his tools I don't know that you got to see most of last year what he could do but that Ohio State game and really when they had to come back in that TCU game you got to see more of J.J. McCarthy's skill set. We'll see if they get challenged enough early in the season that they really have to take him out of the bag, out of the holster, because they're going to be able to run on teams. Blake Corham's back. Donovan Edwards. They are loaded in the backfield. They are loaded on the offensive line. They're not going to need that from J.J. McCarthy,

but it is really interesting that Jim Harbaugh feels like he has that with J.J. McCarthy. And this is just a really confident group of Michigan players. This doesn't even feel like the last two years, which they did beat Ohio State. They did win the Big Ten. This feels like they are coming in as the big dogs of the conference that they are in what they believe to be their rightful place it was very cool to contrast that with ohio state on wednesday where they are very much feeling like the hunters and that's a big role reversal from really the past 15 years or so in the big 10 so it's exciting to see that we don't know yet what's going to happen to jim

harbaugh i was thinking we should probably put money into a pool 10 bucks a piece and the reporter who was willing to to do the tom cruise from a few good men did you order the burger did you order the burger and jim harbaugh screams back colonel nathan jefferson Men. Did you order the burger? Did you order the burger? And Jim Harbaugh screams back, Colonel Nathan Jeffs of Style, you can't handle the burger. That's what we needed to see. I probably would have thrown 10 bucks in for a reporter to take that pool of cash home

to do that. But I think we all would have been thrown out of here. But it would have been a great moment. And Jim Harbaugh wants to talk about this. I don't know if he's going to get to because when he does I think eventually come to to grips with hey this is the most expedient way to do this and takes a suspension he's probably not going to be allowed to say much after that and you know right now the NCAA tells people who are accused of things hey

you can't talk about this don't talk about. This is actually one of the big advantages the NCAA has in cases like this, where basically the accused is gagged instead of being able to profess their innocence. And I don't know if that's necessarily fair, but that is the process they use. And Jim Harbaugh, who doesn't seem to like to be told what to do, I do think he was following the advice of his attorneys and and saying you know what okay they're probably right i probably don't need to poke the tiger here i'm just gonna say nothing even though it's very clear i want to say something and we'll figure this out so if i had to guess there will be that four game suspension

if the if the wisdom of of Solomon interim coach thing happens it'll be just as entertaining as when the wisdom of Solomon quarterback thing happened last year so we'll see but Jim Harbaugh clearly very happy with his team very excited about what's to come he just may have to miss the first month of it we'll have to see what happens when we come back you're going to hear from Michigan DB Mikey You just may have to miss the first month of it. We'll have to see what happens. When we come back, you're going to hear from Michigan DB Mikey Sandristill, former receiver.

DB made my favorite play of the year last year. He's going to break it down for us, and he's also going to tell us what it's like to play for Jim Harbaugh. We'll be right back. We are here with Mike Sandristill of the Michigan Wolverines. And I told you before we started, my favorite play of last season was your pass breakup on Cade Stover in the Ohio State game. I've got the play right here. I'm hoping you might be able to just take me through everything that happened here. And feel free to be the coach in the film room and run it back

if you need to but all right so uh first thing is we're in nickel but i'm pretty sure they have base out um they have yeah so they're in base we're in nickel um so my man here is k stover who's much bigger than you by the way oh. Oh, yeah. We had him on yesterday. He's giant. Yeah, he's bigger than I am for sure. Like, no question about it. But so he starts off here with – it looks like he's running. He's blocking to me.

Yeah. So what do you do there? Technically, I'm supposed to not blitz the quarterback, but, like, you know, contain in a way. So you kind of spy him? Yeah. Okay. But I took my eyes off him to see the next thing coming around.

And when I took my eyes off of him here, I lost leverage. Oh, no. Okay. So he slips by you. Yeah. So he gets by me. And instantly I'm in a, you know, get back in phase mindset. Yeah. you. Yeah, so he gets by me, and instantly I'm in a get-back-in-phase mindset. But what goes unnoticed

because of the play I made is the pressure by the D-line here, and that's Chris Jenkins, who got in the face of C.J. Stroud, who honestly, if I think he had a clean throw, probably would have resulted in a touchdown. So, you know, big shout-out to the D-line, big shout-out to Chris for getting that pressure on him. So the pressure forces him to float the ball in the air. Um, and just, you know, only thing I was thinking that whole entire time was don't panic. Could you see the ball when, when you got your hand on it or was it that were you looking back at the ball or did you just notice the ball when it got to your hand? Um, I, it's like, I,

I wasn't staring at the quarterback, but I did see the ball out of my peripheral. Okay. But, like, the last, I'd say, six, seven steps of that play was, like, all in slow motion for me. Wow. Like, I was running. I saw the ball being thrown.

I saw the ball get to his hands. I saw my hand get in between his gloves. Like, it was all was all like a slow motion movie cinema type of that's incredible and and so i was watching on tv so i don't exactly remember how the crowd did they start cheering like it was a touchdown oh yeah okay yeah and then you knock it away and it's like oh when it goes quiet yeah wow yeah it was it was like a like a i don't want to say a loss of hope but it was like a well that wasn't want to say a loss of hope, but it was like a. Well, that was at a point in the game where if they score that touchdown,

it is very much. A live football game. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So that is incredible. And how long had you been playing DB at that point? That was my 12th game. Wow.

Because you were a receiver, and I imagine when you got to college, you didn't think you were going to be changing positions. Right. When they asked you to move to DB, what's going through your mind? Oh, I was ready. I was excited for it. I didn't flinch. I didn't hesitate.

You know, I told Coach Harbaugh, like, I literally asked him, you know, when can I start watching film when can I start working out um and I texted Steven Adegoke who was a uh a GA at the time yeah um like you know let's let's get it going let's go let's teach me how to do this so did you feel like when you got to spring practice how ready for you for it were you when you actually get on the field doing it oh I was ready like I was you know you would have thought I was playing DB for, you know, three, four years already. Now the move comes, I imagine you're looking at it as this is, this is better for my future. I potentially have an NFL future as a DB. Was, was there any reservation at first and who

brought it up? Was it, did you bring it up to the coaching staff or did they bring it up to you? I would joke around about it to the coaching staff. But Coach Harbaugh finally made the last decision of he called me and said, let's do it. So what is it like playing for Jim Harbaugh? It's great. I know I have a coach who's going to do whatever it takes to help this program succeed. I know I have a coach who outside of football is whatever it takes to help this program succeed. I know I have a coach who, outside of football, is going to help me be a better man. I love playing for Coach Harbaugh.

If any recruits hear this, Coach Harbaugh is a coach you'd want to play for. He made one promise to my family, and it was that no matter what happens, he's going to help make sure that I'm a good man at the end of the day. So what has changed in your program other than beating Ohio state two times? Cause I know like, you know, 2020 was not obviously what, what you guys wanted, but since then it's, it's felt like a different program. Was it, was it the, the staff revamp? Was it something, you know, player led? How did did how did everything change to what it is now um you know we just you know we took a look in the mirror and realized that you know the change the results we want won't happen for us unless we change ourselves we needed to change our

mindsets as players um you know we started taking things a lot more serious we started fine-tuning the small details making the small things the most important things to us and just falling in love with the process daily and just wanting to do more. When you look at the talent in your secondary right now, because it's basically a secondary where everybody's going to play in the NFL, how different is that from what it was before? That's credit to the recruiting staff, one, and then just the grind that guys come in and put in daily.

And just, you know, the coaching that we receive from Coach Klink, all the defensive coaches, you know, without them, we wouldn't be the players we are. And, you know, lastly, just, you know, big shout out to the DBs. You know, we guys are holding it down in there every day. What are they doing in the weight room? Because I see Michigan – when my friend Bruce Feldman does that freaks list every year, and there's always three or four Michigan players on it. What are they doing in the weight room to turn you guys into freaks?

Well, first, tell Bruce, you know know show some love to the kids absolutely it's always the big guys with Michigan he never he never goes with a little no but you know our big guys are literally athletic like those are 300 pound like machines um like Mozzie Smith was number one last year but like you look at Mozzie and that doesn't look like a 300, you know, 300-pound, like, slappy. Like, that's a 300-pound can run a, you know, 4'6", 4'7", can move whatever amount of weight you put in front of him. But, you know, Coach Herbin, you know, the staff, they, you know, they prepare us daily. They do, you know, the absolute most to make sure that we are maximizing everything in the weight room how often do you have to jump up those giant stairs um that looks miserable we actually

when did we do we did it i think we did it monday or yeah monday or tuesday we did it um but you know it's it's just it's another one of those things like you know it shows the twitchiness it shows the explosion it shows you know, who can time their force the best. Because it looks like that's a long way to jump. Yeah. And you're going up and going up and going up. But when does that pay off? Like, when do you look back and say, I'm so glad we had to do all that stuff?

It's just, like, just, you know know what you do out there on the football field um sometimes you're in the weight room you might do a workout that it's like man what am i doing right now yeah but with the with a coach like coach herb you know top rated strength coach in america there's nothing that he's doing that i would ever look at as this isn't benefiting me right because he's never going to put us in any vulnerable situations. He's never going to do anything that's not in our best interest. Dude, are they good at explaining to you, hey, here's why you're doing this. This is how it will help you on the field.

Definitely. For those who care enough to ask or have those, like, why am I doing this type of thoughts, they'll sit there and break it down to you to help you understand. How excited are you for this season? I can't wait. You know, camp starts next week. I feel like the closer camp gets, the longer it's taking to start.

I just want to get rocking and rolling. As you put all the work in already, it's time to pay it off. That's right. Mike, thank you so much. Yes, sir. Thank you. I appreciate it. Yep.

We are here at Big Ten Midday's with Nebraska quarterback Jeff Sims. If I had told you four years ago when you were getting recruited that somebody would be saying Nebraska quarterback Jeff Sims, what would you have said? I would have said your line. Because you were committed to Florida State. You went to Georgia Tech. You're from Jacksonville, Florida, and now you're selling tractors in Nebraska.

Yeah, I'm all the way in Nebraska. So what's this process been like for you, leaving Georgia Tech, getting to Lincoln, and you guys had like a five-man competition for that job. Yeah, I mean coming to Lincoln, I knew I was going to have to compete but my biggest focus was to work on myself and get better in every aspect that I can, so that's what I did and I guess it turned out well. And new whole coaching staff, Matt Rule, Marcus Satterfield comes in to run the offense.

What did you think of that offense when you were looking around at different places to potentially go? I think I love the fact that the offense had multiple dimensions and it was very versatile. And I think it's an offense that prepared me for my future and that it helped me take the next step that I want to take. Well, I was going to say the future for you, you're getting to see the different stages of it because you're from Jacksonville. You worked out with Denny Thompson, who's your private quarterback coach, who also had Anthony Richardson as a client for a long, long time. Carson Beck, the new starter at Georgia.

With Anthony, he's going to play in this building. Yeah. What's it like seeing a guy that you've known for a long time, drafted in the first round, you know, coming into a town where they're saying, oh, you're our future? Yeah. I mean, it's bittersweet, man. You know, when I seen him get drafted, I was the happiest man in the world.

I was in front of my TV going crazy, and I know he's going to do big things here. I mean, I know he's ready for it, and I know he's going to do big things. So when you get to Lincoln and it's competition, you said you're working on yourself. What did you do this offseason that made it where you could win that competition? Like I said, I came in here with the mentality of bettering myself and just making sure that I do everything that I have to do to put me in the best position and just mastering the offense, making sure I'm learning the offense and knowing where I'm supposed to be, knowing everything that I need to know about the offense.

You got really thrown into things at Georgia Tech because it was 2020, weird year, COVID. I was at your first start against Florida State. Yep. What was going through your mind, you know, first game, freshman year, nobody in the stands, like it was a weird deal. Yeah, I mean, it was cool. You know, I mean, I was a freshman coming straight out of high school

and playing the team that I was committed to. It was kind of fun, you know. And in that game, I was just really blessed to be there. You know, I was taking every opportunity I could. And anything that went, I just knew I was proud of myself for being in that position because that's something that I dreamed of. How different are you now from that guy? I would say I have a lot more experience and I'm more mature.

I say my processing in my mind is way, way better. I would say the confidence level is way higher and I'm just older. What did you learn from the experience at Georgia Tech? Um, really Georgia Tech has taught me a lot. Um, it's taught me about leadership, um, how I need to improve on my leadership and, uh, really just how to handle adversity. Um, that's, that's been the biggest thing to learn that I learned at Georgia Tech was how to handle adversity and how to overcome things. So what was your, uh So what was your welcome to Nebraska moment?

Did somebody serve you chili and cinnamon rolls? No. Oh, you're not there yet with the chili and the cinnamon rolls? No, I don't think I'll ever be there. I don't know. I don't think I'll ever be there. They just want you to win games. You don't have to do that.

Yeah, most definitely. But being in Nebraska, it's been a blessing, man. I remember I was at the grocery store, and a couple people came up to me, and they was like, are you Jeff? I was like, dang, these people know me at the grocery store? So you've been in Jacksonville, you've been in Atlanta, where you can kind of blend in in big cities like that. But in Lincoln, maybe not so much.

No, not at all. So you are selling tractors. You were the face of John Deere dealerships. How did that come to be? So I actually have a relationship with the owner of Acres. Okay. The CEO of Acres, Kevin Clark. And I started doing an internship there, and they took me to one of their stores where they sell the tractors and combines.

And one of the guys in the store let me drive a tractor. Whoa. It was a really cool experience, man. Very nice. I was going to say, you combines. And one of the guys in the store let me drive a tractor. Whoa. It was a really cool experience, man. Very nice. I was going to say, you don't get to do that much in Jacksonville. No. Well, we had Cade Stover on yesterday, who's an Ohio State tight end. His family runs a farm. He was talking about driving one of those combine harvesters.

So he said that takes a little more training than the tractor. It does. So maybe is that your next? That's probably what I'm going to do next. That's very nice. I tell you what what you put me on top of a tractor i might i might be walking out of there with a tractor not for real when they came to you and said hey we'd we'd like you to to represent us and do an nil deal with us what what is that process like um so it's really just talking about what it all entails,

and then it was an honor, man, when they told me about it. I was like, oh, yeah, this is a great opportunity, especially being in Nebraska. You don't get a tractor, do you? No. Okay. No. I don't want a tractor, though. I don't know, though.

If you're an NFL quarterback and you end up signing that second contract, you might have some land. You might need one. Yeah, that's true. That's true. So we're getting ahead of ourselves. What do you have to do next to make sure that this first season at Nebraska is successful? Attack camp. Attack camp with the mindset of we got things to do this season and we got to handle it.

He's a guy I'd buy a tractor from. Jeff Sims, thank you so much. Yes, sir. guy I'd buy a tractor from, Jeff Sims. Thank you so much. Here with Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickle, and I know you guys got to get out of here pretty soon. Your players want to hit a Waffle House? That's what I'm hearing, yeah. Of all things, they went to Elmos last night, and now they want a Waffle House today. Well, that sounds like a perfect 24 hours to me. But, okay, you've recruited in the South quite a bit, so do you have a Waffle House hash brown order no i really don't i don't i don't know that i've been to a waffle house in quite a while you're in

too good a shape that's that's the problem the answer by the way correct answer covered cheese scattered they scatter them around uh chunked that would be ham capped mushrooms if you're feeling particularly aggressive topped is is chilly. So there you go. I probably will just stick with the normals if I go. Well, the next time you have to recruit some kid in Georgia, just know it's there for you. So everybody here has been asking you, how could you change the offense?

How could you do that? When you took this job, what was your vision for what Wisconsin football would look like? It wasn't really about like how are we gonna change. It was about who are we gonna get to be the right people and the right people will figure out what it needs to be and so I've always talked about those labels and labels and labels but the reality is that Phil and I have had a relationship regardless of what he is

as an air raid guy or he's a football coach that's highly intelligent that will find ways to be successful in what it is that we want to do, but it will be different. Yeah. And I think that's the uniqueness of when you do change, you know, there's a lot of other things that go along with it. I was in Chapel Hill when Phil got hired by Mac Brown and Mac said, well, I called Matt Luke at Ole Miss and I said, does he actually run the ball? Oh yeah, he does. Okay. Because that was the only way Mac was going to go for any of that air raid stuff. But that's what I keep thinking is with what Wisconsin has, the natural resources in terms of the offensive linemen and the backs. I go back to that season Phil had with Javante Williams and Michael Carter at North Carolina. They could throw it and run it.

They had 2,000-yard rushers. Yeah. So, yeah, I think that's where that balance is critical in all that we do. So what was it about this one? Because I know you've been very picky in terms of jobs. What was it that made you say this is the one? Timing has a lot to do with it. And I don't just mean my timing being that it was,

if it was ever going to do this, it was something about the age of my kids and the opportunities that if we're going to do it, it's got to be right for everybody. I think also the timing of college football, right? I mean, where exactly are we going in the next three years? I don't know what it's exactly going to be, but the Big Ten is going to be at the

forefront of whatever that is and so those things added along with me recognizing and all of a sudden noticing and learning a little bit more about all the things that wisconsin has to offer for me a professional side but also to my family on the on their side as well very unique i was looking at what you guys do in terms of infrastructure, NIL. I'm sure, I imagine Chris McIntosh, your AD, had a very attractive presentation here, but watching the way you guys have gone about this, it feels like you guys are looking ahead to an age where there's no Big Ten West, where this is going to be completely different. Does it help that you're coming in kind of fresh with all these changes i do i think that it all kind of goes hand in hand with

you know changing i'm not saying a philosophy but obviously going away from some things that chris had the uh you know the courage to do right i mean wisconsin's own and in an era where a lot of things are evolving and growing and and to get into some uncomfortable waters, meaning through this whole NIL world that we all understand. Look, we don't have to do it the way that everybody else does it, but we've got to do it in a way that's going to benefit our kids and give us an opportunity to continue to grow our program. And as long as we can do that, we're going to be in good shape.

You went out and got Tanner Mordecai, who has played a lot of football the last two years, thrown a lot of touchdown passes. What was it about him that attracted you to him? Well, we prepared for him. We didn't just play him. Oh, you played him twice in a row. Yeah.

The last two years. But it was more of the preparation. Because in one game, it's a small sample size. We actually were very good against him because we sacked him eight or nine times. Right. But in the preparation and just the respect that I had had for all that he had done and, you know, even from afar watching how he grew and took leadership and took those teams and things like this to a level that I don't know

that I had expected out of that program. And obviously there's a big reason why. So I remember when you took over Cincinnati, and you got to the point where you were having nine guys drafted, but you inherited a team that had not won a lot of games. You got that team playing well pretty quickly with the guys you inherited. How do you do that with the new guys who don't know you, you don't know them, you didn't recruit them? I think it has a lot to do with building the trust. And that doesn't just

happen overnight. You know what I mean? So in order to get guys to play above their abilities, you have to be able to guide them and lead them and push them. And I think that to me is where, okay, that's what's most difficult in those first couple years is do they have enough trust in you? Do they have enough belief in not just you but all the things that you do, what the whole program does to put some of those personal things aside? Do not allow the noises and the human elements to have an effect on so much of what it is that we do. And those things go a lot further than just our abilities do. All right. Well, Coach, appreciate it.

I know you've got to get out of here, but good luck finding that Waffle House. And if anybody follows my order, good luck on the plane. I appreciate it. Thank you. Thanks, Eddie. I appreciate it. We are here at Big Ten Media Days with Maryland Head Coach Mike Loxley. Coach Lox came in talking about an airport delay, 14 hours in Tortola.

Your man, Joel. Joel. Getting stuff done. That sounded inspiring, that story of Joel, the magazine cart guy. Newsstand guy, cart guy. Unbelievable. Again, imagine a great vacation with your family, and you're looking forward to finally getting home,

and then you get there early in the morning, and they tell you your flight's canceled. And then you're asking, like, well, when are we – what's the answer? And you're getting zero answers from the airline, and now we're stuck in this area where it's a small little airport in Tortola, and you've got Joel with his little stand that kind of has those paddies, I guess, that you call. He had his own TV.

I mean, this guy was like going around, hey, you want to watch Netflix? I mean, the airline has given us no love, and this guy is going above and beyond. And to me, it was like an aha moment. Like, you know, when you deal with NIL, you deal with all these things with the players, you know what? Good customer service is hard to find. And so one of my things with our staff and with our coaches is, you know what? Let's have great customer service by creating the best experience we can create

going through the change that we're seeing in college football. I've thought about that as this stuff has been going on. I've talked to a lot of coaches about this because everybody asks you, well, how do you keep players with the transfer portal? I've always thought if you have a program where people enjoy playing and they feel like they're moving toward their goals, most of them are going to stay. It's still transactional.

Oh, yeah. If somebody comes in with a bunch of money, you're going to do what you're going to do. But I do think what you're saying is what my approach has been. You know what? Yeah, people want money, and they want to be able to be paid for their name, image, and likeness. But I also think there's something to be said about service, something to be said about programming that allows you to create value for yourself, maybe not now, but down the road.

And that's where leading into the mentorship program that we've been selling recruits. And if you talk to anybody that's in our program or that's left our program, they'll tell you that's one of the best things we've done because here you have CEOs of Fortune 500 companies serving as personal mentors. And this isn't just, oh, I'm your mentor and we talk once a year. We have a legitimate process and each player gets put with somebody like this. Each player gets put with an influential business leader, political guy, big, big, big person in the DMV community, and they become basically, outside of football, a go-to person for life after football.

When did you come up with that idea? How did you come up with that idea? Well, it's ironic because I tell the story. I was recruiting a kid, Nicholas Petit-Ferree. Oh, yeah. At Alabama. Yeah, from Tampa. From Tampa, Berkeley Prep.

And I can remember Coach Saban and I going into his home to do the home visit. And, you know, Coach Saban is one of the best closers in football. And I had been recruiting him for two years. And you set the table for a Coach to come in and close it. And his mom asked a question about, tell me more about players that don't make it to the NFL. Because, you know, we have our spill. Coach puts players in the league.

Right. But she asked a question about players that didn't make it. And it's not that we didn't have players at Alabama that didn't make it. When they didn't make it, that we didn't have opportunities for them. Right. But I don't know if the answer that he gave was what she was looking for right and i took a mental note that if i ever get a chance to run a program again when they ask me about players that don't make

it to the nfl i want to be able to say hey you know i've got a guy that's a nom de bourgeois that's an upper level manager at pepsi yeah And the reason he is is because his mentor, Craig Kushner, who ran the largest vending company in the USA, Monumental Foods, had connections at Pepsi that were made based on the relationship that those two created along their time in Maryland. And that's what the parents want to hear. And Nick went to Ohio State where they had a life after football program that they had installed years earlier.

So it's interesting how that works. Well, speaking of offensive linemen, you had a couple offensive linemen drafted last year. Your talent level on the line of scrimmage seems to have risen considerably in your time there. How did you go about doing that? We got older. You know, those three guys, two guys that got drafted

and the third that we brought in, Jahari Branch, Jalen Duncan, Spencer Anderson, those guys were four year, three year starters for us that, as you know, it takes two or three years for old linemen to really be able to hold up, especially in a league like the Big Ten. So I think those guys got older. We did a really good job in their developing. But I think what you'll see more than anything is that we are able to develop some of the younger players behind them. I mean, they're four-year starters but taking the Saban approach of playing younger players 15, 20 plays a game. Win, lose, or draw. Because you're always trying to develop the back part of your roster for the future. Is that hard sometimes when you know you want to get somebody in, but this game is tight? You know what, for assistant coaches it might be,

but for me as a head coach, I don't want to hear it. Because you have every opportunity. You've got four quarters to put them in the game. And if you get them in early instead of waiting to where it's a close game and now you're kind of holding on and saying, man, I don't want to put them out there. So, no, I mean, let's get those guys on the field. I mean, sometimes they hurt you, but you know what? In the long run, it's going to benefit us as a whole. And that's what my job is as the head coach to lead that vision. New guy on your staff. Not a new guy to us. Kevin Sumlin.

He's a new offensive coordinator. How's he doing coming back to college after a little bit of USFL action? Yeah, you know, I think the best thing, and I went through this, and this was a selling point for me with Sumlin, was, you know, when you sit in the seat that I sit in, as an assistant, you have an appreciation if you've been there before. Yeah. And I can remember when I got let go at New Mexico

and I came back and was an assistant under Randy Edsel, knowing some of the things that he was going through, I had I had a sense of empathy that, you know what one of the fastest rising guys in college football, taking Richmond to a FCS championship game and having him with head coach experience with all the time that I'm having to spend on roster management, NIL transfer portal, having guys that I can bounce things off that have been in that chair and take things off my plate has been a been uh has been a great asset for me and that's something you've done since you've been the head coach you've had ron zook was in there scotty montgomery how how important is it to have that person who's been in the the big chair it's something understands what you're dealing with you know what it's something that i want you know i'm not a prideful guy and you know, sometimes head coaches maybe are shy away from another head coach coming in

and, you know, having to hear that, hey, but I want to make it better. You know, who we are on offense, defense, special teams don't change philosophically, but you can add to it or you can figure out a way to do it better. And if you bring in new guys or guys that have run programs, that have new ideas, that helps me big time. All right, Mike Loxley, we're going to try to be like Joel, the newsstand guy. Customer service, man. Shout out to Joel over there at Lead Better Airport.

All right. Appreciate it, Coach. All right. Thanks. Yesterday's Extra Point, we talked about full circle for the Big 12. Today, full circle for Jeremy Pruitt. We met Jeremy Pruitt as a high school coach. Remember he was at Hoover High. He was a defensive coordinator. We were all watching two days on MTV back when MTV

played things something other than ridiculousness. He was the one who didn't know what asparagus was though I suspect he actually knew what asparagus was and they thought that would make a funny reality TV show segment which it did. It also followed him for the rest of his life jeremy pruitt as you know went on to become the defensive coordinator at alabama and the head football coach at tennessee he was then unceremoniously fired at tennessee for ncaa rules violations that case has been closed over 200 violations he's been slapped with a show cause. Tennessee got fined, basically got out of pay in his buyout. What's Jeremy Pruitt doing now? Plainview High School in DeKalb County, Alabama, where his father is the head football coach. He's

going to be a PE teacher. WVLT reports. So back at the high school ranks, who knows? Maybe another meteoric rise is in the works for Jeremy Pruitt. But apparently right now, he's got a coaching assignment, middle school basketball. He's back where he started. Got a few million dollars in the bank, though. Good luck to Jeremy Pruitt as he restarts his coaching journey.