Andy & Ari On3 - Ranking the first-year college football coach tiers | Two fascinating Golden Gophers

Episode Date: July 30, 2024

Andy breaks down the first-year coaches as they begin their first preseason camps.(0:00-8:24) Intro: Michigan Receiving Allegations?(8:25-19:15) Sherrone Moore and Kalen DeBoer(19:16-29:33) Brent Brennan and Mike Elko(29:33-38:50) Curt Cignetti, Fran Brown, Manny Diaz, & Bill O'Brien(38:51-44:50) Jeff Lebby, Jedd Fisch, and Jonathan Smith(44:51-46:20) Wrapping up First Year Coaches(46:21-53:09) Mississippi State Head Coach Jeff Lebby joins(53:10-1:02:09) Mississippi State QB Blake Shapen joins(1:02:10-1:12:23) Minnesota QB Max Brosmer joins(1:12:24-1:19:27) Minnesota RB Darius Taylor joins(1:19:28-1:19:56) ConclusionWho is under the most pressure? (Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer)Who faces the toughest rebuilding job? (It might be Washington’s Jedd Fisch)Who inherited the best situation? (Could be Arizona’s Brent Brennan)Whose team might surprise some opponents?One of those who may surprise is Mississippi State’s Jeff Lebby, who had to flip the Bulldogs’ roster. Andy discusses that flip and with Lebby. Plus, Andy talks to new Bulldogs quarterback Blake Shapen.Also, Andy talks to two very interesting Minnesota Golden Gophers. Quarterback Max Brosmer spent five years at New Hampshire, but he’ll spend his final season in the Big Ten. Meanwhile, tailback Darius Taylor looks poised to have a breakout year after averaging 133 rushing yards a game in an injury-shortened freshman season.Want to watch the show instead? Join us LIVE, M-F at 8 am et on YouTube! https://youtube.com/live/B6hOuwaZXF0Host: Andy StaplesProducer: River Bailey

Welcome to Andy Staples on three. Today could be the day. Well, not the day Michigan wants, but it could be the day there's some movement in that Connor Stallions case and not just the movement toward the Netflix documentary that comes out next month about Connor Stallions. Chris Ballas of on threes, the Wolverine reported on Monday that Michigan is expecting to receive a notice of allegations from the NCAA, either sometime this week could be as early as today on the case involving the Connor Stallions advanced scouting situation. Remember Michigan already had a notice of allegations on some of the other stuff that was going on.

Jim Harbaugh, I remember, served that suspension early last season. And that had to do with having players on campus when they weren't supposed to have players on campus and having visitors when they weren't supposed to have visitors. And then they accused Jim Harbaugh of lying about it to the NCAA. So there was that. And also, Michigan released the notice of allegations from that case yesterday though they've had it since december so it's a little confusing but the one chris ballas was writing about is the connor stallions case so we saw remember the big 10 suspending jim harbaugh

for three games at the end of last season over that case. But we didn't know what the NCAA had gathered. We don't know exactly where they are with that case. Now, what's interesting is Ballas reported that his sources believe the NCAA is going to try to go for a postseason ban against Michigan. Now, this would not be this season. This whole process is going to take a while. So it could be all of it goes into 2025. Could be it goes into 2026, given how slow a lot of these cases have progressed. So we don't know exactly how long it's going to take. I would imagine Michigan will fight like hell to avoid a postseason ban. So

I don't know that anybody should assume anything at this point. AJ Adams in the chat. I thought we were past this nonsense. No, no, no. This nonsense continues. Remember, this is the NCAA. It does not go fast. The wheels of NCAA justice turn very, very slowly. And so we're going to have to wait and find out. I mean, most likely, let's say Michigan gets the notice of allegations this week. Not likely that they hand it out. Everybody's going to send in their records requests. They don't have to hand it out immediately they may wait a while they may sit on it just like they did the other one but we will find out what they have at some point i and i'm curious i'm like what what do they have like we know what connor stallions was doing we know michigan was using the signals that connorion's deciphered, but can they prove some grand conspiracy?

Michigan, I'm assuming, will say that this is a rogue staffer acting on his own. We'll see. We'll see. They can tag it to Jim Harbaugh. We know that. We know they can tag it to the head coach who was working there, but Jim Harbaugh works for the Los Angeles chargers. So I don't really know what that does. If anything, uh, ballast is a story said that there is no thought to vacating any wins, that sort of thing, which, you know, I would assume Michigan will fight like hell on that front, too, if that came to that. But I'm fascinated by this because I really want to know what do they got? You know, what did you find with all this? Because this is one of those where schools were lining up to turn them in.

Once all this became public. So this will find out AJ in the chat again again isn't part of the cat mouse game true try to decipher the other team's signals it certainly isn't baseball why is it any different in football oh we know we have to explain to aj what the rule is you can decipher signals all you want with your naked eyeballs during the game but in NCAA land you are not allowed to send people to games prior to playing the team you can't have advanced scouting essentially and what is that rule from it is a it was a cost-cutting move in the 90s it's smaller schools so we don't have the budget to send out people to games in advance so let's just make. That's, that's kind of how the NCAA has worked for a long time. If Toledo can't do it, Michigan can't do it either. And so in the late nineties,

they, or the, I believe it was the mid early mid nineties, they said no advanced scouting. So the rule was on the books. They actually had considered taking the rule off the books, but it was still on the books. There, John, why does the NCAA allow scouting for the CFP, but not regular season games the books. There. John, why does the NCAA allow scouting for the CFP, but not regular season games? They don't. They don't allow in-person scouting for the CFP.

Now they do allow it in the NCAA basketball tournament because I have sat next to assistant coaches who they played their game and now they're watching the team they're going to play. Let's say it's Thursday. They've won their game. They're watching the team they're going to play on Saturday. Perfectly allowed. They're in the same building. No problem. But that's the rule. Whether you think it's a dumb rule or not, that is perfectly open to interpretation. You can have that opinion, and a lot of us probably have that opinion, but it is the rule, and we'll see how strictly they enforce it, because my initial thought reading Chris Ballas' report is, I thought the NCAA was trying to get away from the postseason

bans, trying to get away from all the punishments that punish somebody five years down the road who had nothing to do with anything and we'll see how that how that goes now this is actually fairly quick if they have a notice of allegations for the connor stallion stuff now that is fairly quickly for the ncaa a lot of times it takes forever. But remember, they were moving with quite a bit of haste at the end of last season because they wanted to do something. They had a lot of Big Ten schools in their ear saying, you have to do something about this right now. And they did. The Big Ten, using stuff that the NCAA had shared, suspended Jim Harbaugh for three games. And here's where it gets kind of dicey for the schools that wanted Michigan punished. Michigan got punished pretty severely by losing their head coach for the final three games of the regular season, which included the two most important regular season games.

Michigan won those games anyway behind the acting head coach, Sharon Moore, who is now the permanent head coach. Which made it even funnier if you're a Michigan fan. So, it's a strange situation. We're going to find out what they have eventually. I love if Michigan would just say, hey, here's the notice of allegations.

We got it. They've not historically been that sort of school. Some schools do that. Some schools are like, here's what the NCAA sent us. Here you go. Take a look. But not this one. I do think if they're going to fight hard, if they think it's BS,

then maybe they mount a more proactive defense where they release some stuff. But we're going to find out but we're going to find out. We're going to find out. But one of the things that came out of this was we did get to see Sharon Moore as the head coach of Michigan. And that leads into the topic I wanted to talk about today, which is the first year head coaches. We've got 13 first year head coaches in the power conferences and they are

a range. There's, there's a couple on one end who are just taking over programs that are great that are expected to stay great. You've got some that are taking over programs that I think they're in a pretty good spot right now. Then you've got some that you have to stay great. You've got some that are taking over programs that I think they're in a pretty good spot right now. Then you've got some that have to rebuild. You have some that are taking over programs where it's actually kind of sneaky, where they may sneak up on some people. So we know with Sharon Moore, what I think that punishment of Jim Harbaugh accomplished is it allowed Michigan

to really scout Sharon Moore. Pardon the pun. Okay, don't pardon the pun. I meant it. I'm sorry. It was bad. I'm sorry. But it allowed Michigan to find out what does Sharon Moore look like as a head coach in a big game? And you look at the Penn State game where they had some issues with pass protection and they just started running the ball and won the game that way because they knew Penn State wasn't going to be able to score on them strategically, exactly what they needed to do. And not a move that a first-time head coach is necessarily going to choose or make. And then you have the Ohio State game where Sherone Moore basically called a flawless game.

So you got a good sense of what Sherone Moore would look like juggling the head coaching duties. Now, he was also calling offensive plays during those games. He will not be calling offensive plays. At least it won't be his primary duty now because he's got an offensive coordinator, but it told us a lot. So I've got Sharon Moore on the same tier. There's the two person top tier of these first year coaches, Sharon Moore and Kalen DeBoer in the same places. And I called that tier keeping it rolling because their job is to keep these programs at the top of the sport.

Sharon Moore takes over the defending national champion. Kalen DeBoer takes over a program that has won more national championships this century than anyone. And so far, they're doing everything they should be doing. And that's the thing. With more, it makes sense.

Now, I was thinking about this last week as I was at Big Ten Media Days, watching people ask Schroenmore over and over and over about how are you going to keep the Jim Harbaugh culture? And I thought that was interesting because I don't think that's going to be a problem because Sharon Moore and Jim Harbaugh were such kind of kindred spirits. I mean, Jim Harbaugh, Moore told the story last week. Dennis Dodd wrote about this at cbssports.com. Moore told the story that Harbaugh brought him in essentially and said, hey, I'm renegotiating my contract. We're going to make you coach in waiting. So Sharon Moore was going to be Michigan's next head coach kind of one way or another,

whether it was this year or down the line, that that was the plan. And what I think is interesting about this is when Michigan really started to take off, when things started to change at Michigan was after Jim Harbaugh made all those staff changes. Remember 2020 was a disastrous season. They cut his pay. They said, you got to do something different. You got to get better or we're going to fire you essentially. And he fires Don Brown. He brings in Mike McDonald as the defensive coordinator. He makes some changes along the, you know, throughout the staff. One of the changes he made is he made Sharon Moore, the offensive line coach.

That may have been the most important move he made because what group is more emblematic of how Michigan has done and what Michigan has been the last three years than that offensive line. That's the group that set the tone for pretty much everything. Now the defense has been awesome. They're still going to be awesome. They've got three potential first rounders on the defense this year, but that offensive line is the group that really changed everything. And it was Sharon Moore as the offensive line coach. And then the offensive coordinator,

you know, getting that whole, that, that ethos to the entire offense. And so I don't think it's going to be that hard for Sharon Moore to keep Michigan looking and acting the same way as it did under Jim Harbaugh, because I think Sharon Moore was responsible partially for a lot of the personality of the success of the last three years under Jim Harbaugh. I think that's the.

He might have been the secret sauce. So I'm not worried about that. Now, Kalen DeBoer at Alabama. This is one where we thought. Okay. What's going to happen think about how many times we hypothesize what the end of the nick saban era would look like what the post nick saban era would look like what would happen to alabama how many sec schools and coaches probably thought okay we don't have to live under their boot anymore. Nevermind that there's a pretty large boot in Athens, Georgia. It hasn't happened. The fall, and look, as successful as Nick Saban was, this is an easy

assumption that Alabama was going to fall off some and maybe they do maybe they do on the field but if we look at Caleb Nabor's history on the field that was the least of the worries coming in he's not lost very much on the field he has done everything he needs to do on the field we were were curious as how, okay, are you going to be able to stock the roster the way Nick Staven does? Well, guess what? Pretty much the same. Pretty much the same.

You look at their recruiting, they are taking commitments about the same amount of time. They are second in the on three industry rankings in the class of 2025. Like everything feels very similar to Nick Saban. And, you know, we've had most of these first year coaches on the show already. So I'll play a couple of clips of these guys as we talk about them but this is DeBoer on the pressure to sustain at Alabama how much weight do you feel to keep it this special as far as the tradition yeah everything uh yeah I mean that's that's the cool thing about coming here though and um if you think of it that way it probably can be overwhelming overbearing I just I just think it's it's about one thing about coming here though. And if you think of it that way, it probably can be overwhelming, overbearing. I just, I just think it's,

it's about one thing. It's coming in and being the best you can be, whether it's bringing your attitude, your energy, your effort. And that's all I ask of our guys. And that's all I'm asking, I'm going to ask of our staff. And I, you know, in return, I think that's really hope all they can ask of me. And, um, you know, when we bring our best attitude, energy, and effort every day, and we've surround ourselves with really smart people, experts that have low ego, um, I think we'll continue to, the results will take care of itself. And we'll, you know, that's been kind of the formula for success wherever I've been.

And, uh, you know, that's, I think, again, common, I think, in all successful and winning programs. And that's what we'll attempt to do. That's what we'll work to do. The results will take care of themselves, which is very much a Nick Sabanism. It's just packaged in a different way. You see how Kalen Abor acts about, about you know that question he'd gotten at that point about a billion times now you could say oh he's got he had to practice his hand he had all kinds of practice for that answer yeah but it came pretty naturally. And everything seems to have come pretty naturally so far. It really is an amazing fit.

And Greg Byrne, the athletic director at Alabama, you think about this, he did all this, the hire within 72 hours. I think he picked the right guy. It's shocking how easily DeBoer's been able to handle this. Because I do think there's a certain personality that you have to have to be the guy who follows a legend like this. And look, maybe it's not going to be as successful as Nick Saban's tenure. Nobody else's ever has been,

but if he keeps Alabama nationally relevant, making the playoff winning games in the playoff, then I don't think there's going to be any issue here and he certainly got the roster for it this year because you know I think the one kind of demerit with Kalen DeBoer is that he lost Caleb Downs to Ohio State we never really got a chance to keep him they got Caden Proctor back from Iowa. For whatever holes there were in the roster, which weren't many, he got guys from Washington to come help fill them because they lost Seth McLaughlin to Ohio State. They bring in Parker Brailsford, who was

Washington's center from last year. They bring in Jeremy Bernard, which gives them a better pass catching target. They lost Isaiah Bond of Texas, but it feels like they've got everything they need. I do think this team will be able to run the ball really well this year. Like Jim Miller, Justice Haynes running behind that line. Jalen Milrow is a, is a threat obviously with his legs, but I'm curious to see what Kalen DeBoer does with him in the offense. You know, we saw him make Michael Pennix Jr. quite a bit better than he ever was

than with anybody else. This is going to be a lot of fun. So those two, Sharon Moore and Kalen Abor, we feel very confident about. They obviously take over programs with tons of advantages. That's pretty easy to predict that they're going to have some success. They were obviously very successful before. It makes sense. Now we get into the tiers where it's no guarantee. We don't know what's going to happen. And my next tier is the big inheritance tier. This is the one where this coach walked into something that they could make pretty successful right away in year one, whether that is a lot of core players inherited or just kind of across the board talent that maybe hasn't been utilized as well as it could be. And I got a couple on this list. And the first one, the most obvious on this list

is Brent Brennan at Arizona. You talk about stepping into a good situation. Now, you notice I didn't say Jed Fish at Washington, which is a very good program. And I think Jed Fish is going to do fine there, but I don't have him here because he didn't inherit much at Washington. He left Arizona. And the thought was a lot of those players would follow him from Arizona. Some did, but the main core group did not. Noah Fafita, Tetra Roy McMillan, the really important players stayed at Arizona, stayed together to play, and they're going to play for Brent Brennan. And he talked about it when he came on the show,

about what that period was like when he found out, okay, I'm getting most of these guys back. So he's going to walk into the Big 12 with a team that's ready to compete for the Big 12 title. Here's Brent Brennan talking about getting all these guys back. So he's going to walk into the big 12 with a team that's ready to compete for the big 12 title. Here's Brent Brennan talking about getting all those guys back. How much did you have to work, you know,

on these guys to say, Hey, look, this is what my program is going to be like. We would love to have you here, but, but how does that conversation go? Because I imagine you mentioned being empathetic.

You, you just left a job too. So how do you handle those conversations? Well, yeah, I think, you know, the first team meeting I had when I got introduced to the team, I just told them that let's start, let's start out with respecting each other. And over time I'll earn your trust. And that was a good kind of an easy starting point for us. You know, I didn't come in there talking crazy or like I had all the answers, because like I mentioned before, I was feeling, you know, kind of the hard part of leaving San Jose and leaving the players that I had grown close with there. So it was just a matter of spending time with them.

You know, and that second day on the job, Noah brought a bunch of players to my office and we just sat and talked for two hours and I just let him ask questions. I said, whatever you want to know, go ahead. Um, and when we're done, they said, you know, I was like, how was that? I was like, Oh, that was cool. Thanks coach. I said, all right. Hey, thank you guys. And then the next day, and then I said, do you guys want to do this again tomorrow? And they said, yeah. And then they came in the next day and it was the same thing. And, you know, know they all had they all had questions and some of them were funny and and some of them were uh like simple you know like what color cleats are we gonna wear or whatever but um it's just there was a real just like trying to accelerate the getting to know each other process and Noah Fafita is a special kid man

like anyone that's ever been around him uh like he is everything that's right about college football everything so he has a show with tetra roy mcmillan your amazing receiver and and they're you know friends from way back but i was laughing because they were talking about the decision to stay and t-mac goes i just didn't want to move all my shoes. And then but then Noah says, hey, for an hour there, I was going to Washington like I had decided to leave. And then he said it just sort of to pull on him the idea of maybe maybe if we stay together, we all stay together. And for the most part, they did all stay together. And how did that that process go as you were finding out, okay, they do want to stay? Yeah, that was just an incredible moment because it was Noah and TMAC grabbed me in my office and said, hey, we want to talk to you.

And so they broke it down for me. And it was really special. And I think the team is incredibly close. And Coach Fish and that staff did a great job of recruiting quality young men and quality players. It was really special. And I think the team is incredibly close. And Coach Fish and that staff did a great job of recruiting quality young men and quality players. And, you know, that connection they felt. And I think also some of the, you know, the trials and tribulations that they've been through, right?

They've been through some years of hard football and not playing good football. Then all of a sudden they have this magic year where everything takes off and goes right. And, you know, they were, they're really, really extremely connected. And I think that part of it was something that they weren't willing to walk away from. So Brent Brennan should be very excited about this year because look, the big 12 is pretty wide open.

Arizona walks in with an established quarterback with maybe the best receiver in the country. TMAC is on that short list. That conversation also includes Luther Burden. Travis Hunter as a receiver at Colorado is probably on that list somewhere, but TMAC is certainly up there. And if you ask the NFL folks, he might be number one on that list. So big spot for Brent Brennan, but he's, he's the one that's the obvious one, the less obvious one. And I think if you pay attention to the preseason win totals, then maybe you see where I'm going here. Mike Elko walks into Texas A&M and you looked at Mike Elko at Duke and he obviously overachieved at Duke. Goes in there nine wins the first season. Last year dealing

with Riley Leonard being injured a lot of the year, but they were still pretty good. Elko comes back to Texas A&M where he had been the defensive coordinator. So he knows a lot of these players, helped recruit a lot of these players, understands the roster, also understands what was wrong in the Jimbo Fisher era, what needed to be fixed. Whether he can fix it or not is another question, but he certainly understands. And one thing I thought was interesting because the assumption is they signed the number one recruiting class in the country two years ago. He's sitting on a mountain of talent. So while he is sitting on some very good talent,

there are some good players, you know, across that roster. He made very clear when he came on the show, it's not a, it was not a complete roster. Well, and especially with this one, I think people look at the recruiting classes

and recruiting rankings for Texas A&M over the last few years, but you had some work to do with the roster because they'd lost quite a bit to the portal. You had to get the numbers right. Yeah, I mean, we had some massive deficiencies in certain areas that we had to hit really, really well in the January portal. And, um, you know, we were able to do some things in December, but I think the majority of what we were, we were primed to do, uh, was in December or in January. And so, you know, we went into January knowing we needed to fill some critical spots. And I think we came

out of January in a much better position with where this roster is and what it looks like moving forward so that was mike elko kind of sounding the warning and really you go back to that class that 2022 class it was not very balanced and i think a lot of the problems for a and m where they were taking some guys where they wanted to take highly rated guys but didn't necessarily pay much attention to positional balance, class balance. And that's sort of the, the situation that he had to work on.

That said, there's some great players on that roster. We'll see, you know, Connor Wigman's healthy. Every time we've seen Connor Wigman healthy, he's been good. So you've got a quarterback.

Torrey New York at linebacker. Shamar Turner on the defensive line. This defensive line could be really nasty. The most interesting thing about that D-line is that probably the best defensive lineman in the class of 2022 based on in college production. So who of the D lineman who signed in 2022, I'm not talking about A&M, I'm talking about everywhere who had the most production. It's probably Nick Scorton who grew up in Bryan, Texas, just around the corner from Texas A&M, but was a tweener coming out of high school and did not get offered by A&M. Ended up going to Purdue. Elko gets there.

He's gotten exporting back at A&M now. So that, again, makes it very interesting because this is going to be a nasty defensive line. And that gives you a chance. That travels. The schedule, of course, is hard. It's not easy. They start with Notre Dame. They go to Florida in week three.

They play Missouri at home. They've got LSU. They've got at Auburn. They've got Texas. It will not be easy. But there's a reason the sports books have their win total at eight and a half. I think that's a little high. I think that's probably asking maybe too much of a first year staff against that schedule,

but let's say they win eight games. Let's say they're eight and four with this schedule. It is going to be a scary thought for everybody else because if Elko gets A&M right, and I know you've heard this before a million times, if somebody ever gets A&M right, they're going to be a force to be reckoned with. And then nobody ever does. But I'm telling you, Elko strikes me as the kind of guy who understands what he needs to do here and he's not as stubborn as jimbo fisher he's going to be willing to adapt the way he needs to adapt i think and the way he went to duke and made a group of players i mean basically jedi mind tricked them into being better than they were if If he can do that at A&M, that is going to be a very interesting situation. All right. So those are the ones that could really work out well. Let's go to another one where they've taken a

job that is hard, but I think you should be worried if you see these teams on your schedule and i'm going to start with a guy that you saw on the show last week kurt signetti at indiana i'm telling you right now if you see indiana in your schedule unless you're michigan or ohio state i think you should you should not be thinking this is an automatic W. Well, maybe for Michigan and Ohio State, maybe you think that too. And you got to Indiana, and you said, yeah, we want to beat Purdue, of course. We also want to beat Ohio State and Michigan. A lot of coaches wouldn't do that.

What goes into that, being willing to make that statement? Well, you know, when you're 62, 63 years old, you lose your filter a little bit. Oh, yeah. I've been around this game for a while. And, you know, this is the entertainment business. Thank you. I can remember Jim. So few coaches. Yeah, yeah.

And saying, we'll never lose Michigan again. I just took it up a few notches. And plus, it put you out there in the middle of the field with 17,000 people. You know, you've got to get them charged up. So, you know, that's your rival. But that's not where we want to stop. You're sort of setting an expectation level. Exactly.

Now, it may have pissed a few people off, but so what? It's kind of like the locker room talk that the head coach gives. That lasts about 15 seconds. Then you've got to play the game. I may have pissed a few people off, but so what? Let's make that the motto of Indiana football. That would be tremendous. I can't wait to see these guys.

Curtis Rourke comes from Ohio. He likely will be their starting quarterback. They've got Taven Bryant, too. We'll find out where that lands. But I think that's more than likely going to be Curtis Rourke. And they have quite a few guys like that who are very successful at the group of five level who are older. And you know what? They're not going to be scared of any of these big helmet logos that they're going to see. And if you look at Indiana's schedule,

first six games are all winnable. You get Nebraska at home in game seven. That's maybe Nebraska. If Nebraska's lost to Colorado at that point, Nebraska may be trying to get bowl eligible in that game, which, as we all know, has kind of been a thing. And then Washington, we'll talk about Jed Fish in a minute. Michigan State, we'll talk about Jonathan Smith in a minute.

These are all games that Indiana is going to have a chance to compete in. I just like the way that the roster got built here. I think it's going to be a team that is old now. We don't know how deep they're going to be. So if they have some injuries, maybe not. But you port three-fifths of the line from James Madison, which is where Kurt Cignetti was last year. That team was really good.

You bring in some guys from bigger schools who maybe had not been playing as much. I think it's a good mix. I said Taven Bryan. I think it's a good mix. I said Taven Bryan. I think that's the former Florida defensive tackle. Taven Jackson is the other quarterback competing for the job at Indiana. So we'll see who winds up winning that.

But Curtis Rourke feels like the guy. And so Kurt Cignetti is the guy in the Big Ten that you kind of worry about if you see him on your schedule, the ACC has three new head coaches where I kind of feel like all of them could sneak up and bite you. And I, well,

I don't even know like Fran Brown at Syracuse. I don't even know if it's a case of sneak up and bite. Like if we look at the schedule for Syracuse, that's a team that, I mean, look, nine wins at Syracuse is asking a lot. I know Dino Babers did it once, but the schedule makes that look somewhat possible. Virginia Tech, NC State, Georgia Tech, those are going to be pretty tough. Miami is going to be pretty tough there at the end.

But you look at what Fran Brown's done. Now, here's the thing with this new administration at Syracuse. Fran Brown comes in. He was an assistant coach at Georgia. He coached DBs. Elijah Robinson was at Texas A&M. He was the master recruiter but had not called defensive plays yet. So you've got a situation where nobody's actually called defensive plays yet in a game at this level. So it really depends on, is somebody a natural at this? Like is Elijah Robinson

good at this? We don't know. We haven't seen it yet. If one of these guys is good at calling plays, if it turns out that that works out, I think this team could be very good. I mean, they bring back. Remember, Syracuse kind of fell off the table at the end of last year because of quarterback injuries. They're playing a tight end at quarterback in the bowl game, Dan Valari, who by the way is back and is one of their more versatile offensive weapons. But now they got Kyle McCord at quarterback. Kyle McCord's sitting here taking strays from the New York Giants coaches as Marvin Harrison Jr. is going through the draft process.

I think Kyle McCord's probably pissed off too. Fadil Diggs comes from Texas A&M. That's a guy that Fran Brown, who's a Jersey guy, had recruited in the past. He's got guys that he helped recruit to Georgia. They've got a corner from Notre Dame who had been playing, but was probably not going to be starting because they were just very deep at Notre Dame this year. So Syracuse has improved a roster.

Got a Rondae Gadsden back healthy. This is going to be a tough out in the acc but they're not gonna be the only one duke with manny diaz coming in yeah it's interesting if you look at manny diaz when he got to duke he you know elko leaves goes to texas a&M. Duke starts looking for a coach. A lot of players go in the transfer portal. Manny Diaz gets hired. A lot of them come out of the transfer portal and stay at Duke. And I think that's a very telling thing. Offensively, they should be pretty capable. We'll see who ends up being the quarterback. Grayson Loftus has been there. He was backing up Riley Leonard.

Malik Murphy, who we saw star of the Texas spring game a few spring games ago, and we saw him have to come in for Quinn Ewers a couple games last year. He's the other guy who could be starting at quarterback. And really, I think it depends on how does Manny Diaz develop some of the younger players on this defense? Because Manny's a defensive guy. His defense is at Penn State where obviously lights out. Now he's not going to have the personnel he had at Penn State, but he is going to have a pretty good defense. So the question for Duke, I think is bowl eligibility because the schedule is very gnarly in the back half. Florida State, SMU, Miami, NC State. That's not fun. But can you jump up and surprise

somebody? They're at Northwestern. That's one of the ones that David Braun, who was a first-year coach last year, they won a lot of close games last year. Can Northwestern do that again? Have they gotten better? That may be a chance to go win one on the road early. We're going to find out. But I think Manny Diaz can kind of keep things going at Duke. The other one who I'm really intrigued to see is Bill O'Brien at Boston College. We talked about this a little bit last week. Bill O'Brien getting Thomas Castellanos is fascinating to me. So Castellanos threw for 2,200 yards and ran for 1,100 yards last year. He took over the job. He's a freshman. So the last memory of Bill O'Brien, of course, is

things not going well in New England with Mac Jones. But remember right before that, he was the offensive coordinator for Alabama when Bryce Young won the Heisman. And also, when he was the coach at Penn State, he got production out of Matt McGloin, helped him get to the NFL, got more production out of Christian Hackenberg than anybody else did. Like this guy does seem to make quarterbacks better at the college level.

So when you give him a quarterback who is electrifying with his legs, Castellanos averaged five yards of carry. And that's with sacks taken out last year, scored 13 touchdowns on the ground. Let's say you raise his per pass. I think he had a 6.8 per attempt average. Let's say you can raise that to 8.5 or even eight all of a sudden you got one of the most dangerous qbs in the acc cannot wait to see what bill o'brien does with castellanos that that is going

to be a very fun pairing so those are you know those are your coaches who I think can sneak up on you, can win a game you're not suspecting. Here's one more in that group, and we're going to hear from him in a few minutes. And that's Jeff Levy at Mississippi State. Because Jeff Levy inherits a weird situation. Obviously, Mike Leach passed away suddenly. They elevate Zach Arnett, who had been the defensive coordinator, but gave him a contract that essentially made him a long-term interim. And so they fired him before the end of his first season there and ended up changing over to Jeff Lebby, who's going to bring that veer and shoot offense,

which used to be unusual. Jeff Lebby was one of the people at Baylor who helped develop it, but it's now at Ole Miss where Jeff Levy used to be the OC. It's at Tennessee with Josh Heupel, who Jeff Levy used to work for. So that offense is a little more widespread now, but he's got a quarterback in Blake Chapin who's never gotten to run anything like that before, who wants to try it, who wants to run in an up-tempo offense.

And we've seen Blake Chapin be really good at Baylor. We didn't necessarily see him be very good the last year at Baylor, but that's another one. Schedule's brutal. Schedule's rough, but that feels like a team that if he hit on a couple of receiver transfers, some of the young receivers play well, that could be another one where they can sneak up on you the rebuilds though these are the ones that are a little bit tougher and the one i'm going to talk about right now is so surprising because of the program what just happened and the guy who took over these three things together you'd think they wouldn't wind up on this list.

This, I called it this. So I've got a column on, on three, if you want to read about all this stuff, but I call it ripped down to the studs, but need to find some studs. And that is Washington right now.

Cause Washington was just in the national championship game with Kalen DeBoer. Jetfish takes over. You think, okay, just in the national championship game program with great tradition, great fan base, great town, beautiful stadium and Jed fish. Who's just had recent success at Arizona. So this should be a team that should be great right off the bat, right?

I don't know about that. I think Jed fish has a much harder job than anybody realizes because of the circumstances. Now I think he's going to be fine. I think Jed Fish has a much harder job than anybody realizes because of the circumstances. Now, I think he's going to be fine. I think eventually they will get going. And I mean, like year two, year three, they should be fine. But initially, this is going to be hard. At Rutgers, not an easy game. Michigan. At Iowa.

I just mentioned at Indiana. USC. At Penn State. At Oregon. This not an easy game. Michigan. At Iowa. I just mentioned at Indiana. USC. At Penn State. At Oregon. This is a hard schedule. And, well, here's Jed Fish from last week when we were talking to him at Big Ten Media Days about who they've got. If you turned off the game and then hasn't turned on a game, you're not going to know one guy. We've got maybe one.

21 new starters, I think and uh all new coaches uh there's nobody that was on last year's team that are now uh i think we have 38 scholarship players from last year's team out of the 84 scholarships that we have so it's a brand new situation it's a brand new team we It's a brand new team. We're trying to really reestablish ourselves in what type of football we're going to play. It's a completely different world when 10 players get drafted from that team. Three more signed free agent contracts. So that was an NFL team in that championship game. And now we're sitting here and we're trying to build ourselves back up to that level. So the truth in the chest is I honestly think Washington will surprise

people. I don't know about that. I think it's going to be hard. Like here, here's the, like the situation at center, I think is, is very emblematic of what they're dealing with.

So they lose Parker Brailsford to Alabama. Landon Hatchett was his backup last year. They're very excited about him, but he tore his ACL and sugar bowl practices. So he's been recovering from that. They think they're going to have him back for the season. They're feeling pretty good about that, but they're not sure.

So they brought in a center from Portland state named D'Angelo to tally, but he hasn't played with them yet because he just got there. So they just don't know what they're going to have. And I think once Jed fish and that staff really understand what they have and what they need, they're going to be just fine, but initially it's going to be hard. And the schedule again is very tough.

Jonathan Smith, Michigan state, kind of the same thing. Like Jonathan Smith brings Aiden, kind of the same thing. Jonathan Smith brings Aiden Childs from Oregon State. So he's got the quarterback. That's a nice foundational piece to start with, but they lost a bunch out of the portal. Now, a lot of that seemed to be kind of just divesting themselves of much of the Mel Tucker era saying, you know what? This didn't work. We had to fire him. It was a weird situation. Let's all start over. But then you also had guys who had played

and were expected to play like Derek Harmon and Simeon Barrow, the defensive tackles who leave in the spring portal, who look, market forces essentially push them out and they were decent starting defensive tackles in the Big Ten. They knew if they went in the portal in the spring, they could command a lot of money. And so that's what they did. And Michigan State couldn't afford to keep them. So Jonathan Smith walked into a very tough situation. I think he's going to be fine too.

If you look at what he did at Oregon State, the way he built Oregon State, now that took some time too, but being good and old on both lines of scrimmage, having a great run game that makes it where you don't need a quarterback who's Superman, that all travels. And actually, it's the way Michigan State has won when Michigan State has been good.

But I think that's going to take some time. Deshaun Foster, UCLA, you saw him on the show last week. That's going to take some time. He inherited a tough situation. Willie Fritz at Houston is our final guy. Another rebuild. That's going to take some time because they lost a lot of their best players into the poor.

Matthew Golden goes to Texas. Jamari Call goes to Oregon. Tyler Johnson goes to Colorado. Sam Brown goes to Miami. It's a tough situation for Willie Fritz because that was a team that really was dealing with depth issues in its first year in the Big 12 under Dana Holgerson. And so you lose a lot of your better players right off the bat. Fritz is going to have to figure out how to build that up. But we saw him do it at Tulane. I don't doubt that he can. I just doubt that it happens immediately. But we'll see.

Now, let's talk a little more in depth with one of these first year coaches. This is a guy who had to flip his roster. Jeff Lebby comes to Mississippi state. It was actually a fairly old roster last year. Like the, especially on the defense, they had guys like Jaden Crumety and Jet Johnson who were, you know, very good veteran players, but they were out of eligibility. Probably would have still been playing at Mississippi State if they could. But Jeff Levy had to do a lot of work in the portal right off

the bat. And that includes grabbing quarterback Blake Chapin, who we're also going to hear from today. So let us talk to Mississippi State coach Jeff Levy. We're joined now by Mississippi State head coach, Jeff Levy. Your first experience here. I always wonder, so, you know, you grew up in the era of this event being all over television. Yeah. Did you ever picture yourself here? You know, I don't know if I specifically pictured myself here. Obviously, throughout the years, was ready for this opportunity,

wanted this opportunity, and dang thankful to have it. So how do you go from playing on the O-line to becoming a guy who coaches quarterbacks, who coaches backs, and who devises this offense? Because it does seem like there are more former O-linemen that are that are becoming kind of offensive gurus which I love to see right because they actually care about who's blocking it that's right now I've said this but I think for me being able to learn the

game front to back instead of back to front is a huge advantage to me it creates answers for the test and to be able to help put guys in positions of success. And that to me is the biggest part of coaching. I was talking to Blake Chapin earlier and he was talking about how he obviously saw your offense at OU when he was playing at Baylor and they'd be watching, just watching you guys. That looks kind of fun. What was that first conversation like when he's in the portal and you realize you got a shot? Yeah, there was excitement on both ends.

You know, I knew that Blake was going to be an incredible match for us and a guy that I wanted to be able to go get. And the other side of that coin is Blake wanted to be a part of the offense and get coached the way that he's getting coached. And so it was incredibly natural. There was great familiarity. And it was. It was really, really smooth.

I mean, I know the roots of this offense were in Texas high school football and getting the basketball players to come out and play receiver. You gotta throw it to him, you gotta have some fun with it. But this is really a running offense. Yeah. Do people not understand that? I think people at times get caught up in all of the chunk plays and the play action shots and how we throw the ball vertically

when at the end of the day it is. It's all about how we run the football and still having some game control and being able to impose your will. Is it strange for you because when you guys were at Baylor, you guys didn't let this offense out of the bag very much. You didn't let a lot of people come clinic it. Right. Now you're here, and Tennessee runs a version of it,

and Ole Miss runs a version of it, and you were at OU running a version of it. Right. Is it strange to see it everywhere? It is, and there's just so many different people that have created familiarity with it and through a bunch of different reasons and our paths and journeys. And you see guys doing it in their own way and making it their own

and having success with it. I remember Coach Leach would kind of get tickled at the different flavors of the area. Now, he refused to run any of them, but he would always see what Dana Holgerson was doing. He's running three backs out of the air. And how about as one of the people who helped create this offense, what's it like to watch people kind of taking little different pieces and changing things? I think we can all learn from each other all the time.

And we're constantly looking at ourselves, self-scouting ourselves. And, again, I go back to personnel placement. What are our guys really good at? Let's ask them to do that. And that's why it's forever changing year to year, week to week, is where's the matchup? What do we need to do to give us a chance to go win? So you come in as a first-time head coach in a period of just incredible change

in the sport. Is it almost easier that you don't have kind of set in stone like this is how things work because it changes every day it feels like having the ability to adapt right now in college football matters in a huge way and so I think that is an advantage without a doubt and we'll try to continue to view it that way how how hard was it to fill needs when you because because you come in the portal's going. Yeah. And you obviously, like, you got a quarterback out of the portal.

But was it kind of, okay, what are we dealing with losing? What are we dealing with gaining? How much are you thinking about that the first three months on the job? To me, that's what it was all about inside. Until that portal window closed, it was all about adding pieces to the puzzle to make us better now. And that was so incredibly constant as we got there and we're getting it off the ground.

And how different is that than the world you grew up in where you get a job and you're starting to work on their first full cycle, or like you would have been working on the class of 2025 and we're going to get that class and then we'll get the 26th class and by 27 we'll have the foundation set that's right now it's like go get a team and win now yeah it's uh it's completely different than obviously what it's been but i do for for us being able to get the right pieces which i do i think we've done time

will tell but that was a huge deal is being able to attract the right guys and get them a part of our roster well coach it sounds like pretty excited about this group yeah uh who who are we not talking about we need to be talking about yeah i do i think there's a couple of guys you know you look at it on the defensive side of the ball jay lou john lewis is here with the stone blanton i like the play of south carolina he's played at south car at South Carolina. Travion Williams is another one. Interior D. Lyman. So we've got some real pieces in the middle of our defense that are going to give us a chance. When you can plug in, like Stone Blanton's played in all these SEC stadiums. None of this is new to him. Blake Chapin's new to the SEC, but he started

a Big 12 championship game. Right. How much easier is it to adjust? The experience you've got to live, and that's what we'll continue to say when we are able to go get the right guys from a transfer standpoint. It will be about getting experienced guys. Well, good luck. It's going to be that every year.

No more foundation building anymore so congratulations coach thank you that's jeff lovey you heard him say like you just got to get the team to win now not worry about two years from now three years from from now. And I think that should be the ethos of any first year coach in college football. Now you have the opportunity to reshape the roster. Don't go thinking I got a bill for three years from now because the players you take next year might leave. So just try to have the best roster now. I think you're seeing that as the transition goes. Now we're seeing more first-year coaches come in thinking that way.

One of the guys that Jeff Levy picked up, Blake Chapin, I mentioned, started a Big 12 championship game at Baylor. He's now the head, well, he's now the quarterback at Mississippi State, played in an offense that always intrigued him. So here is Blake Chapin. Here with Mississippi State quarterback Blake Chapin. Is it still weird to hear somebody introduce you as the Mississippi State quarterback after four years as a Baylor quarterback?

Yeah, I think it's definitely weird for sure. I mean, I was at Baylor for four years. Being able to come into a new place, new faces, everything, saying that I'm the quarterback at Mississippi State is definitely, you know, it's different. So I'm trying to – a lot of times this – when you transfer, you wind up going to a coach you wanted to play for originally or during your recruitment.

Where was Jeff? Was Jeff Levy at Ole Miss when you were being recruited at a three-point? No. So he was at UCF. He was at UCF. Okay. He got there the year after. Okay. When I got, first got to college, he got hired at Ole Miss. Okay. In 2020. So did he recruit you at all for UCF or? No, so he didn't recruit me at UCF. Okay. So there was no previous relationship. Okay. Interesting. So, and, and you looked at Arizona State before you ultimately decided to go to Baylor. Now, when you decided you were going to the transfer portal how did you set your criteria for where you wanted to go?

You know I think for me it was having a plan coming out like if I knew I was going to get in the transfer portal I need to have a plan and what I want to do and what I want to accomplish and why I'm getting in it yeah um and for me it was to play for offensive minded head coach and or just offensive mind right um where he becomes the head coach so no for me like i knew coach levy because i didn't really know him personally i played against him at ou and i got to saw the offense in person so i knew that wherever he went i knew it'd be like a place that oh yeah and that's that's what i was wondering because this is such a different offense than what you ran at baylor like uh jeff grimes game was wide zone You know, this is spread out the the old Baylor offense, basically, which is crazy.

You're because you're coming from Baylor and that was their identity for so long. Right. And now you're actually going to run that offense. So, you know, it's completely different. I mean, I was running a pro style offense. Yeah. Coming here, we spread it out. The splits are a lot wider, deep option routes and routes and different things like that. It's been new to me, but it's been a process. And I love I love the offense. How much of it is just reps getting used to, you know, because I know, you know, in that offense, there's a lot of communication to the quarterback from various places.

And you've got to figure out, you know, pre-snap what you're doing with it. How much does that does that just take experience and reps to get used to? It's a lot of reps. You know, you got to sit there and work on it time and time again, be able to get it footworks a little bit different within this RPO system and, and deep options and things like that. Like our footworks a little bit different than what I'm used to. Yeah. So reps is a huge thing.

Is this a little more similar to what you ran in high school? No, no. So this is all, this is all new for you. completely new and and i mean you mentioned you wanted to play for an offensive-minded head coach you saw this offense when you played ou when you when you were watching offenses like this was it like man i if i could just get in one of these let's see what let's see what would happen yeah no i mean i'm not gonna lie there are a lot of times i would watch games and i'd be like wow like that looks that looks a lot, like a lot of fun. Yeah. I want to be a part of that.

And I think that was the biggest thing for me in person, seeing Coach Levy and how he called the game against us whenever he was at OU. I feel like that was a big deal because I got to watch it in person and I knew from seeing it in person I wanted to be a part of it. Have you reached out or have any quarterbacks you've played for Coach Levy reached out to you to kind of help explain how this works works yeah so i actually got to spend some time with dylan gabriel oh good okay very nice passion academy so great dude uh was able to talk about the offense being able to you know i was like i think i texted the other day and i was like you know what was the

hardest thing for you within the offense so just being able to like pick his mind and be able to you know figure out what his answer would be has been big for me. Well, and he played at UCF and at OU, so he's seen it forever. I think he spent four years. Yeah, yeah. So that's about the biggest expert you can find. And what's the relationship like with Coach Levy? Because obviously this is his baby. He's very hands-on.

Right. No, so for me, he's a great guy to start with. But, yeah, he's very hands-on with the offense. He's very hands-on with us, which I love because he's a great guy to start with. But, yeah, he's very hands-on with the offense. He's very hands-on with us, which I love because he's a great guy. He's a great coach. I want to learn from the best, and he is the best, I think. Now, you've – you know, it's funny because everybody's going to be like, are you scared of going in the SEC?

Like, you've started a Big 12 championship game and won before. Like, how different is it coming into this? Does it feel intimidating given the level of competition or is it just more fun? I think for me, it's a new challenge. I've had a lot of challenges in the past, but I look at it as a new challenge. I'm getting to play new schools and new teams and be in different environments. So I'm looking at it as a blessing. I thank God that I'm able to do it. So Of the road games this year, where are you most excited to see in person get to play it? I think all of them are circle for me. They're great environments. I heard Tennessee is pretty fun too. It's wild. Yeah, that's what I've heard.

What's weird about that is it's going to be the bones of the offense will be the same on both sides of the field. Yeah, from two guys who used to work together right so no doubt yeah and that offense because it's it's funny i remember when baylor was running that offense and the coaching staff wouldn't tell anybody how it worked right and then it's now it's spread out and oh you know oh you was running it all miss runs at tennessee runs it now mississippi state runs it so uh but what is it you know when you first get you you know into it when you're in spring first

doing 11 on 11s with it how much how much different is it how much fun is it knowing that you're going to be chucking it around like that it's awesome i think for me the first day it was it was weird just because of how different the whole offense is so being able to get normal like normalized with it and everything yeah for me was a big deal but you can't run the ball in this offense that's that's part everybody forgets is like when it's really working you're running for like 400 yards a game yeah that's the biggest thing people they'll see the passing yards but they don't see the rushing yards and the rushing yards are just as high as the pass. Yeah. Yeah. That's it. I remember some of those games where they'd run for 300 and throw for 300.

And it's just like, it's crazy. So you played at Treeport Evangel Christian, one of the great high school programs in Louisiana, great quarterback. You and I were talking about Brock Berlin before we started. And then, and then the booty brothers, what is it like when you're in you know a lineage like that when you when you get into a position where there have been so many great guys in the past I think for me it's just recognizing its greatness like there's a lot of greatness that has came through Evangel you know I don't think it's an expectation or anything that I need to live up to or anything but I I felt like for me, just understanding the expectation of what it takes to be a great quarterback was big for me.

And it's pretty cool to realize how many great quarterbacks came through Evangelo. Yeah. And is there pressure? Because people always assume there's pressure at the college level. But I'd imagine when you get the starting job at a place like that, there's probably a pressure there too. Oh, no, there's a pressure for sure to win.

And there's expectations to win every single year because that's there's probably a pressure there too. Oh, no, there's a pressure for sure to win, and there's expectations to win every single year because that's what's expected. How much did that help you when you got to college and then had allies on you? Because you had to take over at the end of that Big 12 championship season because Bohannon was hurt, and then you become the starter. How prepared were you to be that guy and have that level of attention because of that?

Right. I think we played some tough games. Like, we were a small school that would go out and play Duncanville and Allen. Wow. St. Louis. And it was unreal with the amount of teams, the good teams that we were playing. So I think it got me ready to go into college and be able to be in big time moments a little bit. Obviously, it's not the same, but it was able to get me ready for it. And I'm blessed that I got to go to Evangel. Favorite thing you've discovered in Starkville so far? Favorite thing.

I don't know if there's a favorite thing. I know the food's unbelievable. Oh yeah? Where are we eating? Two Brothers. I love Two Brothers. Two Brothers is amazing. Yes.

Two Brothers smoked meats, everybody. Smoked chicken wings. Cotton District. Smoked chicken wings are fire. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. What if there's an appetizer there? There's some kind of – I'm trying to remember now. I haven't been there in a little – because I remember going there right when they opened.

I don't know. And it was just – I get the smoked wings and the patty melt. Oh, the patty melt is very good. Wow. Okay. All right. Now I'm hungry.

Blake, thank you so much. Yes, sir. Appreciate it. Yes, Okay. All right. Now I'm hungry. Blake, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Yes, sir. Thank you. The appetizers in question at Two Brothers Smoked Meats is the pork rind nachos. They are spectacular. But, yes, listen to Blake on the wings. The wings are tremendous. But this is a time of discovery when you're a new quarterback, new town.

That's it. I hope our next guest has discovered the butcher and the boar. So the butcher and the boar is a place in Minneapolis. They have this beef rib that is so good with this massive long bone it's a very impressive dish in the first place but it is so delicious now it's you got to have some nil money to to be able to do this one but this is a guy who i think you know maybe he commanded a little because he was one of those guys that a lot of people were intrigued by that a lot of schools were looking at max brosmer he's the new starting quarterback at minnesota butchering the boar is in minneapolis

max is from atlanta but played the last four years at new hampshire but played the last four years at New Hampshire. Led the FCS in passing last year, was a guy who, if he decided he wanted to go up to the FBS level, was going to be highly sought after and was. Now he's at Minnesota. This offense could be very interesting

because of the next two gentlemen you're going to hear from so we're going to talk to max then we're going to talk to darius taylor minnesota's sophomore running back who had a great freshman year cut a little short by injuries but a fully healthy version of that year would be spectacular so let's hear from max first who's had one of the more interesting journeys in college football, the new Minnesota starting quarterback, Max Brosmer. Joined now by a guy I've been waiting to interview probably since I met your running back from last year.

Max Brosmer, Minnesota quarterback, transferred from New Hampshire. So we met Dylan Laube at the Senior Bowl. He had some very nice things to say about you. Now's your chance to say any nice things you need to say about him because i can't like that guy's a quarterback's best friend a running back who you can hand it to him and you can throw it to him and he can do anything yeah yeah we uh we roomed together for uh three years i think wow we were roommates for three years we had some good memories together uh both on and off the field um he's an outstanding individual i i had a blast playing with him and being his roommate and going through college

together. And, you know, I can't thank him enough for what he did for the team and also just being friends outside of football. And now you get Darius Taylor. Yeah, that's a pretty good, pretty good trade because Dylan's with the Raiders now. So no, no hope of getting him. But we talked to Darius earlier today, and he's a sophomore in college, and he's talking about all the stuff he does to take care of his body. It's like listening to an NFL, like, 10-year veteran. Yeah. And that's got to be exciting. He's an extremely mature individual for how young he is.

Yeah. You forget he's a second year in college. You know, he had an outstanding year last year as a freshman, and then he comes in as a sophomore, and he's talking like he's been here for five years yeah so it's cool to have that in the room and um it's cool to have him with such a unique you know skill set um in the backfield so you're from georgia right and you brought the the skill guys down to georgia how important was it to get to know them get let them get to know you yeah yeah we have we have very limited time um i just got here in january so i've been here for six seven months

i think i think it's been now um so you know they're on the same page the fact that you know we we only have so long together in order you know to be successful this season and to train and build chemistry on and off the field um and so when i when i pitched the idea to them because i did that unh yeah the trip at unh um so i brought And so when I pitched the idea to them, because I did it at UNH. Yeah. I did the trip at UNH. So I brought it to Minnesota, and I pitched it to them. Like, hey, what do you guys think about this?

They were all in. Wow. And it was a blast. We did lake time. We did on the field training, field and workouts. We did a Braves game. That was fun. Nice.

I took them to the aquarium. Oh, that's a good one, too. Yeah. Atlanta aquarium is no joke. They got, like, whales in there and stuff. No know i always wonder how they fit a whale in there like every time i walk by it it's like yeah there's a there's a whale in there right now the lake time like okay tubing wakeboarding or what are we talking about we we stayed away from the water sports okay we have a thing is that a pj fleck order no no okay family thing we don't we don't really like to do

that uh just because you can get hurt so easily. Oh, yeah. So we just floated. Nice. Had some really good dinners together. My dad and my mom, bless them, they were amazing. Ten guys in the room. Oh, yeah. But cooking really good food and dinner for us. And it was just the time off the field that we spent together that meant a lot.

That's going to really contribute to our success this year. And that's the thing. You have to do this in such an accelerated fashion you only have the one year right here and so you've got to make sure they they know you you know them right and the chemistry's right totally yeah and yeah it's a it's learning about people from their backgrounds and outside of football that yeah that really brings a team together yeah how hard is that you know because you you haven't you played four years at New Hampshire, you know, those guys so well to leave that and then embark on this, this new journey. Yeah. It's, it's, it's not easy. It's definitely, it's extremely difficult. Um, number one,

just leaving in general, the team that you've been with for so long, I was, I was there for five years. I had, we had COVID, I had an injury. Um, and so I was there for five years and this is my sixth year. Um, so learning how to lead lead those guys, you know, it's, you're always learning something new every single year. And then you, that kind of gets cut short because now I'm transitioning to a different school where I have to kind of restart. So I kind of took some tools that maybe I learned from New Hampshire that I felt, you know, helped my success as a leader and brought them here.

And, you know, I think the other side of it is the fact that people are buying into me. And that means a lot because ultimately I can't do my job if people don't buy into me. How'd you make the decision to leave New Hampshire and then say, I'm in the portal and let's try this at a different level? Yeah. Something about it just felt like it was time was time it really did I think there's a piece of me that I wanted to say because it was home and it was family yeah um but I felt like I had to I had to challenge myself yeah and try something new I felt like I I needed to to go play on a bigger platform um and I couldn't be even more grateful for my coaches at New Hampshire because you know they were supportive either way um they weren't you know obviously they wanted me to stay right um but there was a lot of it that

said hey like if you go like we're going to be 100 your supporters and yeah your corner because we know your goals and your aspirations and we want to see you succeed as well and when you narrow those down how do you decide on Minnesota as a place for you it was the culture um and the team and so know, meeting Coach Fleck in person was pretty cool. I'd heard about his days at Western Michigan. Oh, yeah. And how he kind of transitioned to Minnesota and, you know, brought his culture with him.

And it's such a unique culture. And I didn't know if I was going to blend in very well with it until I got there. And, you know, I met the captain's counsel on one of my visits there. And, you know, there was older guys. It was like fourth and fifth year guys. they were they were amazing I've met I've meshed with them like that yeah it was a five-minute meeting and you could see the culture is so tangible in the building you know everyone it's one big family it really is and that's what I look for in school how does it feel

because you've been in the FCS for your whole career does it feel different when you get on the field or i imagine it feels different when you're in the locker room or the facility because these big ten schools have all this stuff right but is it different on the field i would say are you talking about like the into practices and then speed of play yeah yeah working with these teammates and yeah it's it's definitely a lot different i think the minnesota practice culture is is unique in its its own right not just from fcs to power five or power four but in in every single you know part of those p4 teams minnesota's practices are are legit yeah and oh you guys actually hit there oh yeah yeah and there it's it's for a reason everything's that everything has a reason behind it and um that's, it's for a reason. Everything's there. Everything has a reason behind it. And, um,

that's something that was definitely a big transition for me, like practicing in the indoor, which however million, millions of dollars it takes to build that in New Hampshire, you know, we practice outside every day in New Hampshire, even when it was snowing and, you know, spring ball in New Hampshire was awful because we did 6am practices and it was like maybe eight degrees out at 5am.am um and you have to just go out and just dog it out and at Minnesota you know we get to walk in the indoor because we have it yeah

um so there's a little bit of difference in that and you kind of have to realize that hey it's still football yeah I'm here for a reason um you know we we're all practicing with the same goal in mind yeah speaking of that it is still football but it is different because you're in a video game now oh it's pretty cool yeah what was that like first time you saw yourself very cool seeing seeing uh my last name on the jersey was very cool um did they get your face right i don't i think it's pretty automated like generate like ai generator oh it's not they they tried they they had your headshot okay i i went down there before they released it they were trying to explain to us like because the nfl guys they

all get scanned at the combine so like they have the full body scan of those there's too many of you guys right so they have like they have like 200 hairstyles and 200 face shapes and 200 mustache combos yeah and so they try yeah but well now i to go into the game and look and see how close I'm Relatively close. Okay. I know there's some guys on my team where I'm very happy. Oh Like I think they made our kicker our righty, but oh Line an update he's an all Big Ten kicker to like he's legit Sorry, he's a lefty that made him a righty I know one of my guys like philip daniel is one of my tackles yeah like they mess his face

up so bad on the game and he's a little upset about that but um i think the guys are just super grateful to be in the game attributes though do you feel good do you feel like it looks like you yeah i would say generally the arm good enough the the accuracy good enough no comment everybody can be a little better even donovan edwards who's on the cover was like i The arm good enough? The accuracy good enough? No comment. Everybody could be a little better. Even Donovan Edwards, who's on the cover, was like, I could have been rated a little higher. Everyone will say they could be a little higher.

But I just like the fact that I'm in the game. Well, hey, when you tear it up the first couple weeks, they'll update. Yeah, hopefully. Yeah, I'll see. Well, good luck, Max. I appreciate it. Thank you, man. Thank you.

That's Max Brosmer. Now, he's got another QB's it. Thank you, man. Thank you. That's Max Brosmer. Now, he's got another QB's best. He had Dylan Lyle last year at New Hampshire. He's got another QB's best friend this year, and that's Darius Taylor. Only played in six games as a freshman. Averaged 133 rushing yards a game. So 5.8 yards a carry when he played a fully healthy darius taylor is a

terrifying prospect for opposing defenses we got a chance to talk to him you're gonna love this guy here's darius taylor guys i like this this formal look we got the we got the tuxedo oh yeah with the shawl collar man how do we decide how we're going to look at media days? Because this is introducing yourself to the world here. Honestly, I keep it all natural, you know, just the black, just black and white. Keep it real simple. I'm a little different with the tux. Most guys are wearing suits.

I felt like the tux was just a little bit more formal. It's a formal occasion. Yeah. A little bit more sleek. And we got the Louis V tie, and you can't see them. We'll take a picture, though. We got the Louis V shoes. Oh, yeah.

That is, I'm getting used to that. Like, are they comfortable? They are comfortable. Okay. These are honestly gym shoes. Really? I mean, they literally, super squishy, just feel like gym shoes. All right, so it might be worth the investment.

That's what I'm trying to figure out. I mean, you could wear them every day if you really wanted to. I'm just not sure if I want to retire my Jordans or Dunks for Louis V's or how my wife's going to feel about that. I definitely have a lot of Jordans and Dunks, but I would never retire those for these. So you just sort of burst on the scene last year. Did you know that that was coming?

I mean, I knew that I put in the work for it. Yeah. I knew that I understood if I did my job and relied on my O-line and tight ends that we'd get the job done. So, I mean, I could see it coming. And then now you're coming in as a guy who they're relying on, they expect big things from. How did you handle this offseason with more responsibility, more leadership?

The biggest thing was, yes, becoming a leader in the running back room. We brought in a lot of transfers. The guys that are older than me are also still being that leader and gaining the respect of the transfers and the respect of just the guys in the room as a leader and also just working on myself whether whether it's from working on football or just me as a man I think that a lot I needed to fix a lot of things when it came to take care of my body and and things that I need to fix at my position and I think I've done a great

job of that and I'm excited. How did you adjust taking care of your body because that's something that you know I hear college players talk about that a lot now and it's something it's not something you used to hear until guys got to the NFL. Yeah. But how do you – what have you changed over the last year or so? I've been in the training room probably three times as much. I've done a lot more, like, with my diet and also getting, like, massages outside of the team massages

and doing things that just – just investing in myself just a little bit more. Yeah. I think that it gives you a better chance at playing this violent game. I think that it sets you up. If you want to go to the next level, it helps you keep some of that tread off your tires, as people would say. So how much time, like, so you're obviously lifting and running in the offseason and then in practice, but how much time do you spend a day on kind of the,

what do they call it, prehab, the massages, the different ice baths, all those things? What does that take up of a day if you're doing it right? I mean, on the daily altogether, it's probably two to three hours. Wow. But, I mean, we're in the facility all day just as a team. Yeah. Whether we're running, lifting, or doing player practices, walkthroughs.

So, I mean, we're in the facility, so what else would you be doing? Exactly. Honestly, that's something that I've grown and understood. I mean, if you're there, why not do extra stuff? Was there a veteran last year who said, hey, here's how you should be doing that? Or is that something that you just kind of took upon yourself? It's something that Coach Fleck kind of instilled in me. Him watching Muhammad Ibrahim, what he did here,

and how he took care of his body and the learning curve that he had from his freshman and sophomore year all the way up to his senior years. I think that he was pretty educated at what a running back needed to do, so he led me where I needed to be and told me a lot of things that I needed to be doing. So you've been doing all this stuff, taking care of your body. You had a great freshman season. Yep. But how different could you be as a sophomore?

I think that Coach Nick McKissick-Luke, my trainer, Joe, Coach Fleck have prepared me for this season. I'm not really looking at any end goals, any end numbers or anything like that. I'm kind of just going day by day, going one and no every day, just winning the day and getting better each day. I think that that's the biggest thing for me right now. Is that mentality something you've had your whole life? Because I found most really successful people, that's how they operate. But I just can't imagine as a really young person thinking that way.

I remember when I was young, I was always like, well, got to do this. You got to win this or get this job. But how do you adjust your mindset so you're just thinking about, I'm going to dominate this rep or I'm going to dominate this hour? I think that everybody has end goals. So, I mean, you have to have a big picture and a goal, and my goal is to make it to the next level. Right.

And the small increments that you have in between, you don't really have to pay those attention because if you put in the work today and put in the work tomorrow, those things will come true. So you don't really focus on the end goal. I think that that's just something that's been instilled in me my whole life. The end goal is going to come if you put in the work now. Favorite P.J. Fleck saying? I know he has a million of them.

What's your favorite one? I'd say just respond. Respond? Yeah. That's something he says to me a lot. Every time you make a mistake in practice or even you get tired, he just says respond or let the other man get tired. I like that.

Oh, yeah. So when he says, what's up, how are you doing, do you say you're elite? Yes. It's part of the culture. I mean, that's just I'm doing elite. Okay, let's define it. How does one feel elite? Do you wake up feeling elite?

Do you always wake up feeling elite do you always wake up feeling elite or do you have to make yourself elite some days to feel elite you have to just know that you have to have perspective um there's children in in our minnesota our masonic children's hospital that that are going through way more than we're going through no matter what you're going through um like in the grand scheme of things it's nothing nothing. This is just a game. Football is. So, I mean, having a – like last year I had a hamstring. Having a hamstring is nothing compared to a kid in the hospital with a terminal illness. So, it's a lot of perspective.

So, I mean, yes, I'm doing elite. Even if I'm going through an injury or if I'm having a bad day, I'm still elite just because there's people that are going through things that are way worse than me. So, elite answer, elite perspective. way worse than me. Elite answer. Elite perspective. Thank you so much. Thank you. Elite.

Darius Taylor, and yes, only got six games in him last year. A full season of Darius Taylor could be absolutely elite. This has been Elite Show. Thank you so much for watching. We hope to be just as elite tomorrow. We'll talk to you then.