Andy & Ari On3 - NOW OR NEVER for Ole Miss, Miami, Penn State and Ohio State? | Texas State coach G.J. Kinne joins

Episode Date: June 7, 2024

On3’s J.D. Pickell joins Andy to talk about the teams in Now or Never mode. Which teams are set up to win so well that anything short of a College Football Playoff berth/conference title/national title would be considered a failure?(0:00-2:00) Intro(2:01-6:21) JD Pickell Joins to discuss Now or Never Teams(6:22-16:11) Ole Miss(16:12-25:44) Ohio State(25:45-30:42) Notre Dame(30:43-35:39) Penn State(35:40-42:49) Miami(42:50-47:55) Auburn(47:56-50:03) Wrapping up with JD(50:04-1:06:06) GJ Kinne from Texas State joins(1:06:07-1:07:20) ConclusionMiami and Ole Miss certainly make the list. So does Penn State. Does Ohio State? Or is it just Ryan Day? Does Colorado belong given that Deion Sanders’ sons (and Travis Hunter) will probably be finished in Boulder after this season?What other schools belong on the list? Jump in the chat and chime in.Next, Texas State coach G.J. Kinne joins to discuss following up on the Bobcats’ best season since they moved to the FBS level. Kinne also makes his case for coaches to be included in next year’s version of EA College Football.Want to watch the show instead? Head on over to YouTube and join us LIVE, M-F, at 8 am et!https://youtube.com/live/CdC4MkGYv1UHost: Andy StaplesGuest: JD PickellProdcuers: River Bailey, Nick Brake

Welcome to Andy Staples on three. Happy Friday. We have a very fun discussion for you that I was watching one of the other shows on the on three sports YouTube channel. That would be the hard count with JD Piquel. And he was doing a segment on teams for whom it is now or never in the 2024 season. And that got me thinking, ooh, do I agree with JD on these teams? Definitely some of them.

But also, I threw it out to you guys. We had a couple more. And it is a fascinating situation because we have this season where everything's new, where there's now a 12- playoff and like the 12 team playoff you think okay there's so much more opportunity for teams to make it into the post the postseason that matters and that probably at least at first there will be a lot more happy fan bases because you know the expectations will adjust of course like it'll get to where teams that make the playoff every year but if they don't go deep it's it it's no good you've got to you've got to go deeper into the

playoff we see that in the in the pro sports as well where okay like the bills keep making the playoffs but they're not making it to the super bowl so they're they've got to fix some stuff it's so interesting because it feels like going into this one, there are quite a few teams that are kind of in a make or break proposition right now. And not necessarily that they're going to fire everybody, but just that maybe even the fan base is just going to break. Like, okay, you told us if we had a 12 team playoff, everything's going to be all right. We didn't even make the 12 team playoff like that is a legitimate concern at some places I cannot wait to see what happens here but we got to talk through this

so to do that we bring on the man who came up with the now or never segment Mr. J.D. Piquel how we doing J.D.? Man I'm phenomenal. I appreciate you having me on, man. This is a blast talking some ball here in June. And Andy, it's funny. I look back to the national championship game. I think you could argue a season ago with Michael Penix Jr. on that roster and Roma Dunz on that roster for Washington. And then you got a bunch of guys with Blake Corum and Didger McCarthy for Michigan.

It was kind of now or never vibes for both those teams a season ago. I don't know if you put never on there, but there was definitely a window where it's like, hey, the pieces are in place here. Let's make something happen. Let's have something to show for it. But yeah, man, I'm excited to kind of talk this through with you. It should be a lot of fun. Well, I think Michigan definitely was.

If we'd done this segment this time last year, we would have been talking about Michigan because all those guys came back to win a national title. That was the goal. That was the anything less would have felt like it wouldn't be a failure. I don't want to go. You know, we can go Giannis on this. I don't think it would have been a failure if they had not won a national title. But I think everybody would have been severely disappointed because that is why that big group came back. That's why that team was so talented because they had so many players who

could have been in the NFL. It could have been third, fourth round draft picks who decided to come back and it all worked. Like they, they put it all together. They went on an Epic run and it worked. Now, before we get into the teams for this year jd we got to talk about the inspiration for this segment for you because you were inspired by a song that came out before you were born yes it did not come out before i was born unfortunately uh this would be total clips of the heart by bonnie tyler which by the way i was thinking back on the lyrics as you were talking about it on your show. And I'm like, the words now or never do not like the phrase now or never does not appear in that song.

Right. Yeah. You kind of you got to mix and match a little bit. You got to go to the portal and get a few pieces over in the right place. She says, I need you now tonight and I need you more than ever. And if you only hold me tight, we'll be holding on forever. And as you were doing that i'm like wait is he mixing this up with the heart song never this guy you probably haven't even heard yeah no this guy i mean i'm just out here just freelancing andy they just i hear a song and i'm like that would make a good segment on our show but what uh i think i was scrolling through the

twitter sphere and there's that meme. I don't even know if you would call it a meme because it's a video, but it's the snippet from a diary of a wimpy kid where they're auditioning for, I think, like the school play or something. And everybody's pretty average to below average. Then Greg Heffley just belts it out with a total eclipse of a heart. It's just, I mean, it's phenomenal. And so for whatever reason, reason Andy hearing that through my ears connected to my brain it was like we should do a segment on college football teams that embody the sentiment behind the song maybe not explicitly the words but the sentiment behind the song

of having kind of a now or never vibe one more thing I want to add though now or never has a different um now can mean a lot of different things. Like we're going to talk about a couple of teams throughout this segment where now doesn't necessarily mean what it meant for Michigan last year of now is the national championship. Now could be, hey, let's make the playoff. Hey, let's make a bowl game or things of that nature. Everybody's circumstances are different.

Yeah, some people like myself just want to get a passing grade. Other people, like River. Everybody's circumstances are different. Yeah. Some people, like myself, just want to get a passing grade. Other people, like River Bailey, who's producing this show, probably was going for the A-plus grade. So it's all, you know. Exactly. We're mixing and matching here. So to help with your musical education when we do this segment again next year,

because trust me, this is a nice, repeatable, evergreen segment. So it will be done over and over again, but there's a great Elvis Presley song called it's now or never. And if I played it for you right now, YouTube would copyright strike us. So we can't do that. So I'm just going to sing it for you. It's now or never.

Just hold me tight. Okay. Done. Karaoke's over, but I promise that one. We'll just play that one coming in. We'll put that in the intro when this segment is much more professionally produced by River this time next year. All right, let's get to it. Let's get to it.

I think the one, if we're going to have one that embodies this whole concept that you were right there you have not gotten to where you want to be quite yet but now you've done the things that have set you up and if we look at the eligibility of the players on the team now would be the time to do it i think it's all miss i think it's all miss because this is a team that would have made the 12-team playoff last year but still had the same issues that the Lane Kiffin teams of the past have had. They lost to Nick Saban's Alabama. They lost to Kirby Smart's Georgia. That has to change for them. They have to be able to beat one of those teams to get where they're going. And so we look at the schedule this year. I actually think they can make the playoff without beating Georgia, JD, but I don't even think just making the playoffs enough,

given what they brought in. Like this team needs to make the playoff and make some moves in the playoff based on the talent on the roster. Yeah, the pieces they got through the portal, like you said, it feels like Lane Kiffin, as he put this whole thing together, had an eye towards beating a Georgia, beating an Alabama or whatever, you know, those big boys in the SEC, the defensive line with Prince Leumann, Miellon and Walter Nolan. Like, I mean, we've we've beat that dead horse senseless on this show. And you're talking about those specific players you pair with Jared Ivey.

So I think you're talking about those specific players you're pairing with jared ivy so i think you're right though i think there is enough juice from last year paired with the guys that came back paired with the portal guys we just mentioned to where you start looking at okay well who could we draw on that first round if you end up being the five seed or you end up being a you know a six seed you draw a favorable matchup you're like all right well if we go out there and we lose to you know insert whatever g5 school or lower level power conference school you want into that blank like is that is that a success and we talked about it i think when you were here in nashville it's that whole give a mouse a cookie syndrome it's like last year you would have been happy to win a new year six bowl well now you got a cookie you want some milk now you

want to make the playoff and you want to win a game and then X, Y, and Z after that. So I do think that the situation they're in right now is fascinating where if they have success at a high level and they do win a playoff game, I know Lane Kiffin's a portal guy. I understand that's the bread and butter, but do we maybe see that elevate the high school level a little bit where they don't have to lean quite as heavily on the portal and maybe they can have a little bit more of the uh homegrown talent they're able to add to that roster just saying maybe yeah destination yeah i i do think that's possible because

you've got to be in that mix you've got to be seen year after year in that mix to to be on that list and look we've seen Ole Miss do from a collective standpoint, they've done a great job going out in the portal getting guys, but they've also done a great job retaining the good players on their own roster. And I think the other thing we were talking to Pete Nacos about, when we did our survey of some of the top class of 2025 guys about NIL, one thing we noticed is the dollar figures for the freshmen have kind of flattened out. So the freshmen are actually cheaper than some of these really good portal guys they've been getting. So going forward, you do kind of want to invest in some of those. Some of those are maybe a little bit lower cost investments that could pay dividends

down the road. But you you know, you mentioned the, the juice that they've got going. How about juice wells? Yeah. Health. If juice wells is healthy, juice wells and Trey Harris together. We'll make that running.

I know this is strange. I'm talking about two receivers and how they're going to affect the running game, but it will make that running game. Barely easy for Ole Miss. They're going to be running into light boxes. And this is, this is what they have to do if they want to beat a team like Georgia, because they have to make Georgia respect the past game. And, but they also have to be good enough up front, which it seems like Ole Miss has gotten better

up front that you can block like let's say Georgia's you know gonna go with a fairly light box let's say they're not bringing pressure your five have to block their four still and like last year if you watch that game Ole Miss is five we're not blocking Georgia's four it wouldn't happen no they have to be able to do that now we look at the schedule do they have to beat Georgia to make the playoff no No, I do think they have to win at LSU. I think the at LSU game for Ole Miss this year is probably the linchpin game because they haven't beaten LSU in Baton Rouge since 2008. And it's just been a house of horrors for them. I don't know if it's some sort of juju thing. if it's like when Tennessee goes to Gainesville.

I don't know what the deal is there because they've had some good teams that have gone in there that were probably better than the LSU team they were playing, and it just hasn't worked out. But they've got to win that game because, one, if they win that game, it's huge because it's the first time since 2008. But also, if they can't win that game, they're going to take some other losses along the way

that'll keep them out of the playoff. The other two games that had my attention on that schedule, Andy, is we had it up there. Oklahoma can't drop that one. New to the SEC, you got to get that one, especially the week after LSU, classic letdown spot. And then another letdown spot. Could we be in a world, Andy,

where Ole Miss is sitting at nine wins heading to the swamp and they got to go play a Florida team, which who knows what they're playing for at that point in the season. But I mean, we've seen many a good team walk into Gainesville and not come out the same or not look the same when they hit the field in Gainesville. So that's one that I think if you're sitting at nine wins, you can get to 10. I think we kind of agree that if you get to 10 and two, that's probably about what you need to get to the playoff or at least have a fighting chance. Those are the two big swing games I'm looking at

in addition to the LSU game you mentioned. So I don't know what happened with my headphones that we were talking about before the show, but I missed all of what you just said, but I agree with everything you just said. JD, I am sure that you are a hundred percent correct on all that now. So let's talk about it because this is now or never. So we can't just focus on the positive and what happens with, you know, what, what they can do. What happens if they don't? What happens if they don't?

Like, where are they at? Because we keep saying, okay, Lane Kiffin's going to break through. Lane Kiffin's going to break through. What if they don't break through this year? I think if they don't break through, it's a failure. And I think that's a little bit harsh as we sit here in June, but I think it would be a failure for the folks at Ole Miss because of what we just mentioned.

They've built to a season like this. They went all in on the portal. They bring back Jackson Dart. And I think the big thing for me is like when you look at the rosters that Ole Miss has on the schedule compared to what they have in-house, like they really probably should be at least a nine-win football team. Like you said, LSU's tough, Georgia's tough. But it's like if you handle business and

take care of the games you're supposed to take care of like Ole Miss you should be at least nine wins and fighting to be in that 10 win range if you get to 10 wins we talked about you're probably in the college football playoffs so like it's all teed up there's no more there's no more like oh what's Ole Miss gonna be we know what Ole Miss is gonna be it's how good can they be with a really high floor going into 2024. Ryan Willing says it won't be a failure because they've never experienced great success. I disagree with that. I think they've taken, you know, they were kind of on the steps, like you're just walking up the steps and they've taken these various steps that, you know, basically from when Lane Kiffin took over for Matt Luke, they've gone up a step, up a step.

So now it's time to ascend that staircase just a little bit more. I really think especially there's different teams we could talk about here, but I think just because you haven't reached a certain level of success in college football doesn't mean you can't expect success in the future. And my big thing is input equals output in college football. People were dogging A&M because they hadn't achieved X, Y, and Z in the future and my big thing is like input equals output in college football like people were dogging a and m because they hadn't achieved x y and z in the past but i'm like y'all they're putting everything plus their heart into it like they're they're having everything that you're supposed to do on paper to get success at you know the highest level like yeah they can

expect something when you put in the work to eventually get there and i think all this not to say the same as a andM at this point in time, maybe that's a poor example comparing these two SEC teams, but based on what they did in the portal, based on who they brought back, the input is all there to get a really exciting output for the folks at Oxford. I think that's the right way to put it. And I do think that the schedule sets up nicely for them. So now we're just going to see, can they do it?

And I had a question to your Andy about, should the person put a future down on Ole Miss to win the sec? I was like, look, if, if, if they beat Georgia in the regular season, they're going to Atlanta. Yeah. And then you're kind of a coin flip away from winning your, your bet. So, and, and it's funny. Cause that I looked at that Fandle on that one, JD, and Ole Miss's odds to win the SEC are actually better than Alabama's.

That is crazy. If you told me that this time last year, I'd be like, okay, in 2024, Lane Kiffin will have better odds to win the SEC than Alabama. I'd be like, well, what happened to Alabama? What happened in 2023 to where they just fell off of a cliff? That's wild times. Very, very wild times. Yes.

So that's where we're at right now in 2024. Very different world. Let's go to the Big Ten. There's one that when I threw this out, when you were originally talking with the folks on social media about this segment got the most argument because i i retweeted you and i said okay we know it's old old miss and this school and i had a lot of people arguing with me no no they're not now or never because of their historical success so ohio state so right it's not now or never for ohio state in terms of national title contention because like if they don't win the national title this year an ohio state team at some point in the

next two or three years is going to be competing for the national title because that's what ohio state does but you are rarely going to see a team as set up to win a national title from roster to coaching staff to everything more than this Ohio State team. So what I ask you, J.D., and this is what some of the folks were trying to parse here, and I think it's a good point. Is it now or never for Ohio State or now or never for Ryan day? It feels a lot like the latter, doesn't it? And I personally have been extremely pro Ryan day, probably even to a fault. Like my, my thing is he's won North of 87% of his games. However, a lot of those losses have come from the team. You just, you just can't lose. You just can't lose to Michigan and he's lost Michigan now three times in a row and if it's a fourth time in a row I think there's going to be some some very real unrest and I think Ryan Day deserves a lot of credit for the record

like he'd never been a head coach before getting the head coaching job at the Ohio State which is like going from playing dive bars one day to playing the Grand Ole Opry the next day so there's you know probably a learning curve baked in here. And also, I think it's worth noting, Ohio State, from the team that he took over to where they are now, stylistically, they've been able to really adapt a lot. Previously, they were this team that would go score 40 a game, and you got to give them a lot of credit for having that kind of an offense. But last year, Andy, we saw it, and you saw it in person against Notre Dame. They were a defensive-led football team, as weird as that is to say.

So I think he has adapted a lot, and I think he deserves a lot of credit for that. But at the end of the day, especially in Columbus, it's a bottom-line business. You got to beat Michigan, and you got to go win national championships. Now, he was however many feet away that kick was from the left upright from going and winning a national championship against Georgia when they had that college football playoff game in Atlanta back in 2022, I suppose it was, 2023. So all that's to say, it feels now or never for Ryan Day,

as much as I disagree with that. But he knows what he signed up for being the head coach there, and it's got to be this year with all they have on defense and all they have on that roster period. I feel like the adaptation has just been going back to what he inherited like in 2019 the team he inherited was stacked it was an incredible defensive team and you know they lose to clemson in that fiesta bowl clemson still had trevor lawrence still had travis etn uh still had t Higgins and it was a very close game there was a controversial targeting call that that if you're asking Ohio State fan

they'll tell you that that changed the game completely but they went away from that for a while like the offense stayed very potent but the defense was not as good they hired Jim Knowles it took it it took a year. That first year, they were giving up too many big plays still, but last year, I'd say they got where they needed to be defensively. So now they need to get where they need to be offensively. Chip Kelly is very... Bringing in Chip Kelly is...

I think that's the most fascinating hire of the offseason, and I realize that wasn't the original plan. The original plan was Bill O'Brien. Then he gets hired for the head coaching job at Boston college. But JD, I think like Chip Kelly is the perfect person to hire if you're Ryan day and you're trying to decide, okay, how do I handle giving up play calling to handle the more global aspects of this job? Because who do I trust to call plays for me? Well, who more do you trust than the guy who taught you how to call plays?

Yes. Yeah, it's like passing off the controller to your dad. Like, you know, he taught you everything you know. He was the one who oversaw your success. Now you say, okay, I got to go do something else. But who do I trust? Like you just mentioned, essentially his football dad in Chip Kelly I also think it's worth noting from a roster level the big question that a lot of folks have with Ohio State offensively is like hey what's the

offensive line gonna be we got great skill players I think Will Howard is kind of polarizing when that's a whole other discussion in itself. But people question the offensive line. Like I remember watching Oregon just run circles around everybody with three star offensive lineman in below when he was at Oregon. So that's not to speak ill of Ohio state's offensive line. But my point is chip Kelly has done more with less. I think the way that he runs this offense will be able to kind of compensate for maybe what they don't have on that offensive line in Columbus. Yeah.

And I think they overachieved with what they had at UCLA offensively in terms of the talent they had. And now he has a lot more talent. He doesn't have to be in charge of recruiting it. Ryan Day's in charge of recruiting it. So you hand kelly this uber talented roster and say okay now overachieve with this and see what that looks like because you know i look at will howard and you say okay let's compare will howard to dorian thompson robinson yeah well he's a like dorian thompson robinson was a pretty athletic quarterback with a very strong arm. Will Howard is a bigger version of that and probably maybe even a little bit better athlete. So you've got that.

You have Quinshawn Judkins and Travion Henderson in your backfield. We'll see what Jeremiah Smith can do, but it certainly sounds like he's as advertised, but they also have a Mecca Buka, the Carnell Tate. They are loaded at receiver. So they have everything. And again, I'll do what we did with Ole Miss. But what happens if they lose to Michigan? What if they lose to Michigan again? What if Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham just come crashing

through that offensive line that we've been talking about and just stuff Will Howard at the goal line on a key play and Michigan wins that game again can you imagine in Columbus no less like it I mean to have that be the gut punch but have it be at your crib um yeah I mean I think the honest answer is like Ryan Day's job is probably up in the air. And I don't, again, I don't think that's fair. That's not how I would run it. Like they're not going to fire him, JD, but it's like. I don't know.

I don't know. If you lose, okay, here's, I'm with you. I'm with you, but I'm telling you right now, they're not going to fire him. If that were to change, if something were to happen, it would be a Ryan Day goes and finds another job situation okay interesting I just said Ohio State's not gonna fire that guy like Ross Bjork just took over from Gene Smith but he's not stupid like Ross Bjork's been at Texas A&M dying for this level of success for a long time he's been he was at Ole Miss before that dying for that level of success for a long time so he understands how hard it is to get to this point I don't think they're gonna fire anybody

but if you're Ryan Day if you lost to Michigan again and didn't like okay you can lose to Michigan and win national title like 2022 they almost actually did that but let's say you lose to Michigan again and then you you get knocked out in the first round of the quarterfinals of the playoff. I would think the pressure or the noise will be so loud that you would just go. If you're Ryan Day, you're like, forget it. I'm not dealing with this anymore.

Which honestly, as I've said, being a pro Ryan Day guy, I'm like, honestly, more power to him if If that's the direction you go, like you, I think you should go where you're wanted. And if you lose for the fourth time in a row against Michigan and all that volume turns up yet again, and people are talking about what you haven't done as a head coach, like I would honestly say great, like more, more power to Ryan day. I think the other thing that's, that's interesting here,

which you just alluded to, we're going to see teams now have mulligans. So like we could see Ohio state be 11 and one and be a six seater, that's interesting here, which you just alluded to. We're going to see teams now have mulligans. So we could see Ohio State be 11-1 and be a six-seater, a five-seater in the college football playoff. We saw that Ohio State team in 2022 go out against Georgia and just look revitalized. So it seems like Ryan Day is able to kind of get his guys going, especially after a loss.

I would be very curious to see them walk into the playoff at 11-1 with something to prove, chip on their shoulder, they've heard all the noise, and go on a run and win a national championship. I wonder if they're almost more dangerous. It sounds bizarre to say, but I think there's something to it, more dangerous if they lose to Michigan yet again, the volume turns up, and then they get in the 12-team playoff

where it's like, all right like greg heffley says i need you now tonight i need you more than ever and we're back we're back to total eclipse of the heart by the way when you all are done with this show when you're if you want to go down a youtube rabbit hole watch the literal video for total eclipse of the heart it's been on youtube for years you will die laughing okay, that's an interesting concept if they don't win the Big Ten. I'm telling everybody, this is part of the retraining of our brains

for this new system. The five seed is going to be the place to be. The five seed, especially if you don't make your conference championship game and you don't have to play that extra game against a really tough team. If you can somehow be the five seed without making your conference championship game.

I don't know if that's going to be possible. We'll see because the five seed, you get a home game against the 12 seed, which is more than likely that highest rated group of five champ. And then your quarterfinal game is against the four seed, which will be the lowest ranked power conference champion, which is probably not actually the number 14 in the country, which may be like the number 11 team in the country. So the five seeds, the spot, man, because you don't really have to deal with a brutal game until the semis. That's the place to be right there.

You know who could find themselves in that five seed with no conference championship game and be undefeated. Our friend, Marcus Freeman out there in South Bend light schedule. Yeah. Kind of find your way on in there. You find yourself playing, you know, pick whatever G five school you want to insert there for the first round.

You host a game under touchdown. Jesus out there in December. It's cold favors you 110%. five school you want to insert there for the first round you host a game under touchdown jesus out there in december it's cold favors you 110 when it comes to the atmosphere just saying that that could be to your point being the five spot for notre dame might end up kind of being uh the obstacle might be the way there for those folks oh it's it certainly is and it's not listen that's something they thought about jack Swarbrick, their former athletic director helped design this playoff system. There was a reason he was like, no, no, no. We're happy to play the extra game because they were thinking about this, right? What you just said, actually, let's throw Notre Dame into now or never. Let's do it. I didn't put them in in the headline but they absolutely belong on this list you know this is a team that you look at the schedule they should be 11 and 1 or 12 and 0 yeah this is as notre dame schedules go this is as manageable as it gets your toughest games at

texas a&m you get florida state at home we will see what what at USC looks like because we don't know what USC's defense is going to be. But if you're Marcus Freeman, you should have beaten Ohio State last year. You overcame, you didn't have a crazy loss like the first year, but you didn't win every game that you should have won. Laid an egg against Louisville last year. Now's the time because he's been recruiting well. The depth of that roster is better than it's been at Notre Dame. Yeah, they should make the playoff this year. And I think the interesting thing about that too, if they make the playoff and let's say they go on that run we just talked about,

they beat the group of five team if they're in there as a five seed or what have you what happens to the the optics around Notre Dame because I personally get this sense that like Marcus Freeman has already kind of made Notre Dame cool again like he's kind of revamped that brand they got the visit pictures on the gold throne like Notre Dame feels very much so new age as opposed to maybe the Rudy Notre Dame nothing wrong with Rudy Notre Dame it just much so new age as opposed to maybe the Rudy Notre Dame. Nothing wrong with Rudy Notre Dame. It just feels like it's a little bit more of a rebrand. But I think the optics have been, well, yeah, Notre Dame, big brand. You can go there, get a great education, play big time football. But if you want to win a national championship,

you got to go to Texas, Bama, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State. If they start winning on the field, I wonder if that top 10 recruiting class that Marcus Freeman's kind of flirting with, if they kind of catapult into that top five, top three range, and kids start to see, okay, I can go to Notre Dame, and I can compete at the highest level with what I want to do on the field in the postseason. At that point, Marcus Freeman could be cooking with gas, Andy. I'd be excited about that. Yeah, and he's got to do that.

He has to do mostly out of high school because if you're at Notre Dame, you can't really use the portal the way everybody else does. You've got to get grad transfers out of the portal or take transfers from Duke or Stanford or Northwestern, but you don't have as many options out of the portal as some of these other schools. So it's a little more narrow path but they do seem to be doing well in the high school recruiting and and yes you do that you you establish yourself as kind of an every year

playoff contender i think that only helps so yeah i think i think notre dame is in that spot and then there will be a lot of questions like they drop a couple that they shouldn't drop and they're sitting there at nine and three and not in the playoff questions about Marcus Freeman. So he, he like, he's not going to get fired, but he would, he would feel some pressure at that point that he can alleviate by getting into that 12 team playoff this year. Like, I don't even think they have to do anything in it. They just have to get there. Speaking of having to get there. So Devin in the chat earlier said as a Penn state fan, making the playoff, isn't the same accomplishment this

year that it was part of the original CFB format. If Penn state makes a run slash final four appearance, and that's one thing. Otherwise I that was always just missing the 14 playoff. They were the one, if there'd been a 12 team, they would have been in it, I believe, six times since 2016. They would have been in it. I think Devin's right. I think just making it's not good enough, but here's the thing. If they are what they were last year, they will be right on the edge of just making it or just not making it. They have to be better this year. It has to be better offensively for sure. And that's a big reason why they went and got Koltunek to now be their,

their new OC with drew Aller, Julian Fleming may be the most impactful player on that offense because they have, you know, they lost count of Lambert Smith and that, that offense was, I mean like a wet firework. It was not explosive at all last season, Andy, they got the run game. I really think drew Aller also has a little bit more under the hood ability-wise than maybe he's being given credit for right now. My big thing with Penn State too is like this record, and we talked about it a little bit yesterday over text, they should be 11-1. I mean, there's no Michigan, there's no Oregon. You get Ohio State at home from a roster

perspective. They should be able to roll the ball out if they play to their level of potential and be able to win 11 games, which sounds a little bit crazy as we sit here in June, but I don't think it's a stretch when we look at who they have on that schedule. Yeah, and there are challenging games. Again, we don't really know what at USC and at Wisconsin are going to be. We don't know what Washington's going to be. But you're absolutely right. Penn State should be at least a playoff contender, if not a big 10 title contender this year.

And yes, did, does Andy Kotelnicki make the offense more fun? I will, I will never forget being in that stadium when they were playing Michigan last year and watching the play calling get booed in the first quarter. That was insane. I've never seen that before in my life. And this is a good team playing in a game that it was in. It wasn't like Michigan took a 50-point lead right off the bat or anything. This game was very much in doubt at this point, and they're booing the play calling. So they want that taken care of. They want that fixed. Drew Aller needs to be unlocked. You know, I, I go back to like Drew Aller against Iowa in the rain, in the wind, really good defense on the other side of the field. And he's making NFL throws like he can, he can do that, but they're, they are going to have to be a little

more creative offensively. I love the hire of Tom Allen as the DC after Manny Diaz left to become the head coach at Duke. Uh, Tom Allen is a great defensive coordinator. No things did not work out the way he wanted to as the head coach at Indiana. The man knows how to call a defense. And when you have Abdul Carter and they're like, so all this a sudden we talk about at LSU about it. Why don't they just let Harold Perkins do the thing he does? Well, like Penn state's going to do that with Abdul Carter. They're lining up and say,

go eat the quarterback. Yeah. He is a, he seeking missile on that side of the ball. He's, he's so fun to watch on Saturdays. The other thing too, I think with Penn state,

like they were thinking playoff, regardless of if they expanded or not this year Andy like this young nucleus of Katron Allen Nick Singleton Abdul Carter you just mentioned who's a freak show Drew Aller like this class was always circling this year where they have everybody together for one more ride last year you were hoping you'd have a little bit ROI but like this was always the year to not be the bridesmaid and to be the bride. And it just so happens that now they're taking a few more brides in the college football playoffs, so you're happy about it.

But I think Devin's on the money. You can't just show up. That was the plan regardless of how many teams they let in this year. This year, you've got to make some noise. Yeah, if you're Penn State, you were always on the cusp. You would have been making this playoff. The point is to be where Ohio state or Michigan have been. That's the point is that's where you're supposed to get. Now, nobody's in any trouble. If that doesn't happen this year, James Franklin is very solidly contractually tied to them. Like nobody's going anywhere but it's gonna get ugly or maybe apathetic which is also

ugly too like apathy is worse than anger in college football if they don't start taking steps forward so i think that's that's a big one right there let me throw one more at you that is just an absolutely obvious one. And it's not a win the national title. I don't even think it's a make waves in the playoff. I don't even think it's a go deep in the playoff. This is a sheer make the playoff play. This is actually, maybe you don't even have to make the playoff, but just compete in your conference. Miami.

Yep. They got the roster. They have it. But Mario Cristobal had the roster at Oregon. He didn't make the 14 playoff. Can Mario Cristobal show that he can take a roster that he's built that is exactly what you need, that has the pieces you need and turn that into wins and it all goes back to the quarterback I think like they went out and got Cam Ward and I personally view that team I think as well as everybody else uses that team drastically different if you're playing Emery Williams or Tyler Van Dyke going into this season like I don't know if we're talking about Miami you know being a playoff team they're probably in oh, can Miami put it together

and be a sleeper team if they end up having not-Cam Ward at quarterback. And the reality, too, Andy, with him, he's there for a good time, not a long time. He is there for this year. He is a rental. The iron is hot right now. If you can't capitalize with Cam Ward at quarterback for you and a year three roster and also a year three culture,

when's it going to happen? Not that it's never never going to happen but it feels like this is as good a chance as you're going to have in the foreseeable future well and you've got Francis Malino on the offensive line you got Reuben Bain on the defensive line you've got these guys that you recruited out of high school that are absolute freaks that now have played in your system that understand what's going on you've you've added veterans around them. You brought in Damian Martinez, who was a fantastic running back at Oregon State last year. Xavier Strepo is back, who is a homegrown receiver that should be very productive with Cam Ward next year. That is everything. Now, let's look at the schedule again. They're going to go into Gainesville

week one. They will be slightly favored. I don't know if I can pick Miami in that game yet, JD. I'm not there yet. And that's going to be one where whatever fan base loses that game is going to be melting down. But if we look at this schedule, Miami should go 10 and two or 11 and one. Let's be real here. There are very few excuses for them to not go 10 and two. Virginia Tech could be sneaky good this year at Syracuse by the end of the season with the talent that Fran Brown has brought into Syracuse could be a little bit tough at Louisville will be tough.

But let's be let's be real. Miami has better players than 10 of the opponents on the roster for sure. They probably have a better roster than Florida. The only one where I'm not going to just say they have a better roster automatically is Florida state, but they really do have a better roster than 10 of their opponents for sure. Probably 11. They should be 10 and two. And they probably, Andy have a better quarterback than 10 of their opponents for sure, probably 11. They should be 10 and 2. They probably, Andy, have a better quarterback than all 12 of those, right? I mean, if it comes down to strictly quarterback play.

It depends on how DJU develops. Sure. Listen, Graham Mertz, highly underrated. Let's not bag on Graham Mertz here. I 100% agree. I am pro-Graham Mertz. I'm pro-DJU, especially at Florida State. But if we were to pick a quarterback at the beginning of this season right now that we're like, yeah, he's probably

going to have better statistical numbers than the rest of that schedule. I think Cam Ward probably puts you in position to have a chance in every single game. And so I go back to him, adding him to me really was the amplifier on their season and a reason why there is so much pressure on this year, on top of it being year three, on top of all those young cats you just named, they have on the roster. So our guy Willie says is your 10 and two, including a loss to Florida, it would be a loss to Florida or to Louisville, I think. And then I have Florida state would be the other one, obviously, but I think that would be the the more the most likely scenario is they lose to either florida or louisville and then lose to

florida state in their 10 and 2 uh losing to virginia tech i think would be one of the one of the potential problems and then uh ferris in the chat says at syracuse kyle mccord will beat them in my opinion that's right kyle m McCord plays for Syracuse now. Welcome to 2024. Here we are. Andy, I want to throw one more, and this is,

this is one that one more thought. I want to get your thoughts on Miami. Let's say Miami goes 10 and two, but the losses are at Florida and then Florida state. Do they still get in the playoff? Cause at that point you're 11-1 in ACC play. Let's say they lose in the ACC title game. So they're 11-2.

I was going to say, because they're not 11-1. If they're 11-1, or I'm sorry, if they lose to Florida and lose to Florida State, they're in the ACC championship game. Right, right. So let's say they go 10-3 and they lose in the ACC title game. They get in and I guess a better question is like, are people happy with Mario Cristobal? Because on one hand, like, hey, you a double digit wins, you made the ACC title game, but you lost the two biggest games in the state. And we may or may not be a playoff team i think they're they're they're probably not in in that scenario but i also think that the fan base is mad but not not pitchforks and torches

like they're like okay that's progress next year we're gonna have it together because it they'll have another good ride. They're going to continue being aggressive in the transfer portal. They still have more years with these high school guys and they seem to like them and they seem to be capable of keeping them, retaining them, you know,

and keeping them out of the portal. So I do think that would be considered acceptable progress but it would not be satisfyingly acceptable progress because you'd be this close to making the playoff and you wouldn't have made it but yeah that that's an interesting one because there's a couple scenarios in the acc like i had i had a dear any question about if louisville went 10 and 2 would they make the the college football playoff and i was like there's no way louisville is 10 and two in that scenario. They're either 10 and three or 11 and two. And if they're 11 and two, they're the ACC champ and they're in the

playoff. If they're 10 and three, they're not, they lost the ACC championship game and they're not like, it's just, that's, that's how that's going to work probably. Now for Miami, they could actually conceivably be 11, you 10 and 1 or sorry 11 and 1 and then play in the ACC championship game and lose I mean what if what if it's this JD what if Miami loses to Florida State in the regular season and then plays Florida or beats Florida State or let's say lose to Florida beat Florida State in regular season and lose to Florida State in the ACC championship game. I think they would both make the playoff in that scenario.

I think you're right. I think you're right. I mean, the vibes would be high at that point too because you're like, it's the Alonzo morning gif where it's like, lost to Florida State. Made the college football playoff. But you also beat Florida State in the other game. So you have that one.

All right, one more. And I think this was interesting because I didn't expect this. This is when I had retweeted you when you were asking the people for their now or never teams. And this is what I didn't expect. So I want to run this by you because I hadn't thought about it this way. And I find this one interesting. So this is from Valiant Hermes on Twitter said, Auburn fan here. It kind of feels now or never going into this season. I want to see improvement. Sure. But Auburn going eight and four seems kind of mad

with the one, when the ones you should pull off a couple of episodes and 10 and two shouldn't be impossible. Like, is it, Is it now or never for Hugh Freeze? Because I don't think it is, but I understand where they're coming from on this. I understand where they're coming from. I have a hard time getting behind the logic of when's the ones you should, and then pull off a couple upsets. It's like, well, so we're asking to take care of business

and then also beat teams that were not on paper better than just yet. And when Hugh Freeze got there, on paper, they were nowhere near what they are right now. So to me, year two on the plane is all about, hey, give me something to buy into. Because last year they went six and seven and landed a top 10 class after losing to New Mexico State. So there's obviously a tremendous sales pitch there.

The resources are in line for Hugh Freeze and Auburn, and the staff is doing a phenomenal job. So it's like, hey, give me something to see that as a recruit, this thing is going to be continuing to trend the right direction. If they could win nine games, I think that'd be the sweet spot. I think they'd also be in that range to flirt with the top five class on signing day. So I think this is another solid block you got to lay down. I'm looking for a pop year and not so much like if they go eight and four, I'm not wildly concerned about the direction of Hugh

Freeze and Auburn. It probably means they lost a couple of swing games and some things didn't go their way, but I'm not wildly concerned about a two-win improvement for Auburn. Yeah. And the thing about Hugh Freeze, they're actually probably going to win a game that surprises you. That's what Hugh Freeze teams do, but what Hugh Freeze teams historically have also done is lose one that they absolutely shouldn't lose. That was New Mexico State last year. We'll see if there's one of those this year. If they can eliminate that part of it, that's a big improvement. And then throw one win on there that you weren't expecting. All of a sudden, you're a 9-3 team. Yeah, I think you're very happy going into 2025 if you're coming off a 9-3.

And also, if you're 9-3, JD, like, there's been a point in November where you went into some games thinking, all right, we might make the playoff here. Yeah, I mean, the number 13 team last year, and I get that we that we didn't factor in you know the g5 element into our final college football playoff rankings but lsu was just hanging out there in that 13 spot you know if auburn has a couple of things break their way like there will be whether it's this year or in the next five years the next 10 years there will be a nine and three team that makes the college football playoff now 10 years is a bad example because i know we're going to 14 but the bottom line here be a nine and three team that makes the college football playoff. Now, 10 years is a bad example because I know we're going to 14,

but the bottom line here is a nine and three team, especially if things break the right way for them and, you know, the right people lose, they could absolutely be in the college football playoff sitting there in that, you know, 11 or 12 spot. Yeah. And the, the middle of that schedule is absolutely brutal. Now I know there's some, there's some open dates in there, but Oklahoma at Georgia at Missouri at Kentucky is, is no fun. Like that is a, that's a tough

stretch right there. Uh, they get the open date between Georgia and Missouri, but that's, that is not a stretch that anybody wants to have to deal with. So really how they, how they fare in that stretch. We'll tell you if they're two and two in that stretch, we'll tell you. If they're 2-2 in that stretch, I think you should be very optimistic. If they're better than 2-2 in that stretch, maybe they are a playoff team. If they can go into Georgia with wins over Arkansas and Oklahoma

and be undefeated, that would, I think, make me, one, very excited if I'm an Auburn fan, and then two, if I have to play Auburn still on the schedule, I'm like, all right, they got some mojo. Like Peyton Thorne, if they're undefeated and they've beat those two teams as well as the other gimmies, like starting to roll a little bit, the confidence is high, the buying is high, the swagger is high.

Like I'm just saying, to start in that fashion and go into the game against Georgia, even if they lose and they play Georgia close, like I think there would be a lot of belief internally that could propel them the rest of the way, especially that game, second to last game of the year, where they play A&M before Alabama. That, to me, could be the differentiating factor between eight wins and nine wins,

or heck, if we're going to go ahead and talk about what my man was talking about, being that 10-win range. Yeah, this is a tough schedule so let's be fair here we just saw miami's schedule and you throw up auburn schedule it's like oh that's that's very different that's very difficult so we'll see what happens but it is going to be a uh it's gonna be wild on the plains i'm telling you right now that's gonna be that is gonna be a roller coaster ride ride, which you look, Auburn fandom is a rollercoaster ride.

If you have not seen that sec shorts, it's a classic, the Auburn rollercoaster, get ready for yet another thrill ride again, this season, JD, it's been a thrill ride with you. This was awesome.

We got to do this again. Very, very soon. Absolutely, man. I appreciate you having me on and I'm going to go jump off here right now and go look up the Total Eclipse of the Heart music video because I didn't know that was a thing.

Yes, the Total Eclipse of the Heart literal video, not the Bonnie Tyler original video with the actual words. The one that the words have been changed to what the people are doing in the video. It is tremendous content, as the kids say. Phenomenal. Thanks, Andy. Thank you, JD. All right. That was a lot of fun. I love talking about what the season's going to be because there's so many possibilities right now. Like, I don't know with all of the

different changes coming, it feels like more possibilities are open, but it also feels like there's more possibility for heartbreak, for schadenfreude. I never say that word right. Schadenfreude. I think that's the word. But there's so many more possibilities for all of it, for success, for failure, and you just don't know how it's going to happen i don't know i i've not been as excited for a college football season as i am for this one in a long time just because of all the different permutations that are available i can't wait uh dj ugl just showed up on the screen coach prime just showed up on the screen. Coach Prime just showed up on the screen. Come on. We don't know what's going to happen with those people. No idea. It's going to be great.

One program that I think we can be fairly confident will be as good or better than it was last year, the Texas State Bobcats. G.J. Kenny in his first year, took Texas State to their first bowl win since they moved to the FBS. This is a program that had had good years in the FCS. They go to the FBS. It had been a bit of a struggle for Texas State. Last year was the first real taste of success. So we talked to G.J. Kenny about how you keep that rolling in year two. We are honored to welcome Texas State head coach G. J. Kenny the man who coached the Bobcats to their first bowl win last

year and now it's time to keep it rolling. Alright, I guess we can start there G. J. Like you took over a program that you know had success the FCS level, but it was trying to find its footing at the FBS level, taking a bowl game, win that first bowl game. How do you keep all of that momentum rolling in this offseason? Yeah, I think it starts with the recruiting. I thought we were able to recruit our current players.

I think that was the most important thing that we did. This whole offseason was retaining and recruiting our current players. I think that was the most important thing that we did. This whole offseason was retaining and recruiting our current players. We were able to retain and keep most of our key returners. And then, you know, we got in the portal and signed a couple of really good players, signed some really good high school kids, signed some JUCO players. So, man, I think our staff did a really, really fine job of identifying really good players and keeping the ones we got. How hard is that right now? Because we were talking to Tom Herman from Florida Atlantic a couple of months ago, and he's saying that that is the most challenging part of the job at that level where you have a guy who has a good season and it's just the wolves come out. Yeah.

Yeah, it's tough, but I think it's all about being a head coach nowadays. It's almost like being a psychologist. And we didn't even – like spring recruiting was a little bit different for us this year. Like most of our coordinators and a lot of our position coaches stayed in until the portal closed because we wanted to meet with these guys every day. We wanted to see their faces, see their body languages, seeing what's going on with them. And I think that really paid off for us. And then obviously we were able to get some NIL money from donors

and get our collectives going and getting some academic incentive money going. And so hats off to everyone involved, really. Obviously, it starts with our president, Kelly Danfuss, and Don Correale, our athletic director, kind of spearheading that deal. But we're able to get the financial part that we needed. And then also, I think we do a great job with the relationships with the kids. So one big change is T.J. Finley heads to Western Kentucky. Jordan McLeod comes in from James Madison. And Jordan had had a really great year last year. They had a coaching change there.

How excited are you to have him in this program? Yeah, Jordan's awesome. Just from the time he's been here, he's a true pro. You know, he came in in, and I think late February, early March and really learned the offense really fast. And I think now his kind of personality is showing a little bit throughout the summer and kind of as he's getting more comfortable, but it throws a great anticipation.

He's a great leader. He's won a ton of football games in this conference, has a ton of confidence, just a very confident quarterback, and rightfully so. I mean, he's the reigning player of the year in the conference, and that comes with a lot of respect. Well, and that's the thing. How important is it that he's played against a lot of these teams already? I mean, most of these teams he played last year

and had a lot of success against them. How much easier does that make it? I think it does. Anytime you've got some familiarity with the league, and he's been to Troy before. He's played in some of these big-time Sunbelt games, and he's won big-time road games. So I think for that in itself is invaluable.

And then just his experience running a team, being the leader of an offense. So he's been awesome so far and he's gonna continue to grow in our offense and continue to grow as a quarterback. Now, one thing I was curious with you is you've assembled a coaching staff where you've got some really younger you know, younger guys who are on the, the up, you know, up and coming lists that you see all the, the under 40, you know, rising star coaches. But then you also have some veterans like Chad Morris is your receivers coach. You know, Chad Morris was, was the head coach at SMU head coach at Arkansas OC at Clemson and, and your OC

at Tulsa. How valuable is that to have him as a sounding board and just, you know, with the accumulated knowledge that he's got? Yeah, I think it's key. It really is. Because you obviously look at my two coordinators, Mack Lefkowitz and Dexter McCoy, both I think are two of the best in the country, rising stars in the profession and are going to go on and do great things. And then you kind of pair those guys up with a Chad Morris that's a Texas high school legend. You know, like you said, he's been the head coach for a number of years. And you got Bradley Delpivito on the defensive side to pair up with Dexter. And I think we'll just have a really good mix of experience and youth and recruiting

knowledge and in-game experience knowledge. And so it's been awesome. And none of those guys have egos and we're just, you know, kind of get going in the right direction and just excited for the season. The other guy that I would imagine is really valuable is David Bailiff, you know, former Texas State head coach, former Rice head coach, and he works with you. And, I mean, is there a bigger rock star among the football coaches

in the state of Texas than David Bailiff? That's the guy, you mentioned his name around Texas high school football people, and it just is a respectful hush right after you mentioned his name. Oh, no, he's been awesome, and I don't think we retain all these players without Coach Bailiff. I just remember a good story. We had a junior day, you know,

my first junior day here at Texas State. And he basically came up to me and was like, hey, we gotta get a lot better in these areas. And he does it very respectfully and politely and knows his role. But Coach Bailiff is an amazing person, amazing coach, and a great friend of mine and a great mentor so we had brennan marion on the show a few months ago and he was explaining his last year at tulsa

now that you had just transferred there so you were sitting out after coming from texas but i'm thinking about the offensive brain power in these meeting rooms so you're sitting out uh about to become the starting quarterback brennan marion's the the sitting out about to become the starting quarterback. Brendan Marion is the leading receiver about to invent the go-go offense eventually. Gus Malzahn is the offensive coordinator. Mike Norvell, at that point, is he coaching receivers or is he a GA still? I think he's transitioned from ga to receivers coach my my year there he was the receiver coach so i mean what what what is that like with all of all of these guys and and i mean obviously you and brennan don't know you're going to become great coaches at that point yet but but

the idea is getting thrown around just the discussion what is that like yeah i think um first off brennan was an unbelievable player and I wish I would have had him that next year. It really would have helped. Yeah, in 2009. But, you know, Brendan was was a really good player, amazing person. And we we gravitated towards each other pretty, pretty early on when I got to Tulsa. I transferred in and he was kind of the star receiver and just really trying to learn from him. And then obviously you got Coach Malzahn who recruited me there and, and reminded me a lot of Jeff trailer. And that was one of the reasons that kind of, um, one of the reasons I went there, to be honest with you. And then you got Mike Norvell there,

um, that was a receiver coach and he was just recruiting everyone. I mean, look at all those great players we had at Tulsa at the time. And he was responsible for, for 99% of them. And, and, um, and, and it was funny, too. He would always, when we had a big-time recruit, I was sitting out that year, and I had a pretty nice apartment. So they'd always put the recruits with me all the time. So I was constantly going in there and talking with Coach Norvell, because he was kind of like the recruiting coordinator. I don't know if that on paper he was or not. But he was an awesome coach, a great recruiter. And you could tell he was going to be a real star and and um just an

awesome person someone i still talk to this day but yeah we had a lot of a lot of great coaches uh really good players too that's what makes great coaches really good players and so it was a really special time with tulsa so mike looks like he's about 10 years younger than he actually is did this did people just assume he was a player back then? You know, I think one thing about coaches is that he always demanded that respect. And, you know, he might have looked like a player, but I don't think anyone saw him as that. We knew he was a great coach and a great recruiter and really demanded excellence from that receiver room. So how different was recruiting? Like you mentioned you had some NIL money to work with.

Recruiting out of the portal and recruiting from high school, when you can say, hey, look, we had a winning season last year. We've shown you proof of concept. Is it a little bit easier to sell what you have at Texas State? Yeah, it is. And last year at this time, we were selling basically what we accomplished at UIW. And we were going to be able to transition to the FBS and have the number one offense. And so to be able to come out and have their one offense in the Sun Belt and have a stadium packed full of Bobcat fans and excited and and go to the bowl game and win the bowl game, jump in the river.

You got 40,000 students here. We got a 40 million dollar end zone complex going on like once we get these guys here they they love it and they're excited um we're in a great location with a great fan base great president everything's going in the right direction so just a great time to be a bobcat that's a stadium with two decks to my friends at ea sports that we had on the show the other day. Two decks. I think there's time to fix that before the game drops. So hopefully that happens. That's the one thing they got to put in the game, though, is the jumping in the river.

There's got to be a way to put that in. If you guys have a big win, there's a scene where people are jumping in the river. That would be awesome. They definitely have to do that. We got to get the coaches on there next year, get the coaches, get the swag going, get us jumping in the river. That would be awesome. They definitely have to do that. And we got to get the coaches on there next year, you know, get the coaches, you know, get our, you know, get the swag going, get us jumping in the river. You know, if you're, if you yell at the referees, get some of that going on. I mean, let's, let's get it. You know, if we're going to do it, you know what it is, they're afraid your agents are going to get mad that you're not asking for money. Cause I, I talked to Lane Kiffin and he's like, I would do it for free. Like it's great for recruiting for me. So you tell me, you know, if they got you exactly right.

And then your mannerisms, right? Like, do you think it would help you recruit? I think so. Speaking of coach Kiffin, I don't know, but like him throwing his clipboard after a touchdown. That's what I want. I told them that when I was down there, I was like, if you get him in there, you got to have that.

Throw it in there. You get coach Malazan booming on the sidelines. mean yeah it would be great we got to add the coaches for sure oh yeah no i've now like if you had it was back in the day and you had will musk champ i don't think you could have them actually talking because then you have to put a different rating on the game but i yeah i'm all for that and like like, cause you got the, you know, the thing, you know, we'll get it all. Absolutely. And they're like, you, you wear the hat, like the kids wear. And so we got to have you in that.

Like Kirby's got to have his visor. It's perfect. For sure. I love it. So I'll, I'll talk to your, your agents. I know, I know who works with you guys and, uh, and, and I'll tell them, hey, look, don't put any pressure on these guys. All the coaches want to do it. Let's make it happen. Let's do it. We can do it. I am excited about that. But I imagine that when you guys get back and when you got back

in the spring practice, now that you're into the end of the offseason program here because you you retain these guys because they had success is it a little easier for you as coaches to let the players kind of lead things now yeah i think that's kind of what you want a natural transition to happen you see that in the summer workouts you see some of the leaders start, you know, speaking up. It's not, you know, the best teams I've been a part of, really, the coaches were able to kind of step back, like you said, and the players led. So that's what we're trying to transition to. I don't know if we're all the way there yet. Just because every year now you're bringing in so many players.

But we do still have a core return, guys returning that can be able to do that. So I think it's been good so far, but we've got to continue to go in the right direction. How do you handle that? Because like you said, this day and age, even if you do retain a decent amount, there's going to be a lot of turnover on any team, even the ones that have had success. How do you get the players to where they're comfortable with one another, where they get to know one another? Is there anything special you try to do in the spring, in the off season, so that by the time you get to camp, that they're a team?

Yeah, I think last year was great for us for that experience, but I think it really comes down to the relationships between the players and the coaches, the relationships between the players and the players. And so we're always going to float the river this summer. You know, we'll have some kind of game night. We'll have the players go over to the coach's house and be around the family. But I think just being real with the guys

and them knowing that we care about them more as just players. And it's a real family. We just don't talk about it. I think that is key more than than going and playing video games that that you know at your local arcade i mean i think it's more about the relationships and and and them knowing we got their best interests at heart and and that that we can help develop them on and off the field i think that's all they want. I saw a photo on social media a few months ago of Josh Abbott visiting you. Josh is a listener of this show. For those who don't know,

one of the great Texas country artists, Josh Abbott band is incredible. If you have not heard the song My Texas, you're missing out but that's a dedicated red raider do you do you think you can convert him i i don't think so he gave me a shout out at the concert and he even said that part of that i'm a diehard red raider so um you know i'm sure joey saw that and appreciated that but i met josh i guess in 2000 and maybe 11 when i was a senior at tulsa. And he came to Tulsa to play a concert.

And I think I tweeted at him and met him. And we've really become friends. I've probably gone to over 10 of his concerts. And just a great performer and super talented guy, but also a huge sports guy. So we always have a good time talking ball. Yeah. And he's got to be a little – because, listen, his audience is the state of state of Texas and beyond. There's a lot of loyalties in the state of Texas. So you gotta make sure you, you take care of everybody. But, uh, that, that was, that's gotta be a fun situation because you,

you've, you've embraced everything that is Texas state and everything that is San Marcos. And how does that help in terms of, you know, creating a culture in the program, but also getting people who aren't from Texas who've never been there to say, ooh, this is a place I might want to come play? Yeah, I think it's all part of it. Like I said earlier, being a head coach is kind of like being a psychologist now, but also just being yourself. I think that's one of the things that you know coach peterson doug peterson when i was in philadelphia and i went to go take that first job at hawaii and probably didn't know what the you know what i was doing but he just said hey be yourself you know you got it be

yourself and so for me being a texas guy and being in this uh area of texas man it's easy just being myself and um it's a it's a lot of fun and this people that haven't been to this area of Texas, man, it's easy just being myself. And it's a lot of fun. And people that haven't been to this area, you know, the central Texas, the hill country area of Texas, it's beautiful. We've got great people and really good football here. And great barbecue and tubing. And you, it sounds like heaven. DJ, thank you so much. I appreciate you.

That is a pretty spectacular area if you've never been. So that's also water parks. Lots of good. You got a giant water park tubing. I'm not trying to do a Texas State recruiting video here, but it is in terms of of the things I like, it's kind of got, like, growing up in Florida, I had no idea. Texas State should have been on my list. Should have gotten an official visit.

So, DJ Kenny is a rising star in the coaching ranks, so keep your eye on him. Keep your eye on this show. Monday, we have a very special episode. The game that's sweeping the nation, the Transfer Portal Game Show. Whose team is it anyway? That's coming on Monday. We played it in the preseason last year.

We felt like we needed to play it again because there's been a lot of people moving around. We're going to have some fun with that on Monday. Everybody have a good weekend. Be safe. We will talk to you Monday morning.