College Football Live - CFB LIVE - BOISE STATE HEAD COACH SPENCER DANIELSON JOINS THE SHOW

Episode Date: August 14, 2026

On today's episode of CFB Live, Zubin Mehenti, Jordan Reid, and Harry Lyles Jr. talk who could go 1st overall in the 2027 NFL draft. Plus Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson joins the show. All this and more on CFB Live! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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I'm Zubin Mahente. You know the term Sweet 16 is generally used in basketball. But today, we're going to use it for football. Jordan's got a great piece up on ESPN.com on the 16 guys that could be the number one pick in the next NFL draft. Without further ado, everybody loves talking draft. Let's get it going. So Jordan has broke this down into three categories. The first, the serious contenders.

You got Dante Moore, who could have been one or two in this past draft. You got Arch Manning, who's pegged to be number one. since he was at Isidore Newman in New Orleans. And we've got a couple of defensive guys on this list, too. We can't shortchange Dylan Stewart and Colin Simmons, who, of course, is Manning's teammate. Jordan, let's start with you. This is your list, your article.

Again, it's on ESPN.com. Which one of those four guys right now you really want to hone in on as the potential number one draft pick contender? Well, it's the player in the program with the most pressure on them entering this year of college football. And that's Arch Manning at Texas. I'm a big fan of Arch Manning. And I know he didn't get off to the greatest start imaginable last year just because he had insurmountable expectations.

He went out and was very disappointing against Ohio State. But I thought around mid-September, he really started to figure it out. And he flipped the switch during that midpoint of the season. I thought he finished really strong. Now, what gives me a lot of hope about Texas this year is the additions that they have made around Archmanning. I thought he just had to do too much heavy lifting this past season. But this year, he adds a new tandem in the backfield on Relique Brown and Hollywood Smothers, as well as Cam Coleman.

when he comes over from Auburn, and then they have revamped offensive line and get Trevor Goosby back at left tackle. So it's not just the confidence of Archmanning improving, but it's the improved surroundings around him as well, Harry. Yeah, to me, things. And I think these things are one going to help Texas reach their ceiling this year,

but then also help Arch as he goes into his pro career. The first one is a leadership piece, George. You mentioned the rough start that he got off to. That was a mental bridge for him, and he saw that and felt the struggle with it, and his teammates saw it in him too, but it ended up being a positive because when he finally turned the tables, they saw a different arch and realized this is a guy that we are going to be able to have,

that is going to take us to the promised land. And Colin Simmons has said this offseason that that's going to be the type of arch that they need in order to succeed. Now, the second piece of this is the short yardage game. If he can improve in that area, to me, that is going to make all the difference for Texas. Between zero and 10 yards, he completed 56% of his pass. That was one of the worst in all of power for. Sark said between those weapons,

Jordan, that you mentioned that Texas has gotten and they have a better understanding of what he likes to throw in that area. I think that is going to be all the difference for Texas this upcoming season in Arsmanning. All right. So I mentioned that Jordan in his article actually has three categories. We ran through the series contenders. Next up, the potential risers. So these guys have a lot of room to perhaps move up. CJ Carr will be a part of the college football live spotlight tomorrow. Darymanz is wearing the Duke uniform. Those are his numbers there. He's with Miami. We'll talk about the portal impact in a second. Drew Mestemaker was great with the Mean Green.

Now he'll be at Oklahoma State. Lenora Sellers had an injury plague season at South Carolina. Jordan, I want to go to you. Pick one of these guys. Just a reminder to the folks at home. Last year in your potential risers category, it was some guy named Fernando Mendoza who ended up winning the Heisman and was actually the number one overall pick.

So this group of four might have some real claim to number one. Who you spotlight? I'm going to go with CJ Carr of Notre Dame just because I think there's a clear pathway for CJ having a big year and for the Irish to go 12. during the regular season. I'm going to circle that November 7th game against Miami. They're going to be looking to get some revenge in that game. But I thought he was one quarterback of any last season that had a lot of success against Miami. And we have to remember, he didn't

even know that he was going to be the starting quarterback coming into last year. He was named the QB1 coming out of training camp. But he went on to have a very successful season. But I think C.J. Carr is a very clear candidate to rise to the top of many draft boards just because of the way Notre Dame schedule plays out. But he has a lot on his plate this year. We have to remember, there's two first-round running backs that are gone and Judarian Price and also Jeremiah Love. They have to replace Malikov Fields as well, who was a day two draft pick in the NFL. So CJ Carr is going to have to turn into a catalyst for this offense. And if he's able to do that, Harry, I think he's going to position himself to be at the top of the draft.

I like that pick. I think it's going to be a good year for the Irish Jordan. I'm going in a different direction. I know a lot of people sometimes frown upon the transfer portal. To me, though, it could be a sign of something greater to come. And for that reason, I'm going with Darry and Mensa. And when I look at him, I think of guys like Jalen Hertz, Joe Burrow, and Jaden Daniels, who started at one school, transferred to another, and continued to improve along the way. You saw that from Mentsa.

He started off at Tulane when I spoke with Michael Pratt, who helped turn around that program at the quarterback position. He told me even when Darien was a freshman, he said, hey, this guy's work ethic, his mental, it's way ahead of where you would expect it to be. Obviously, he played at Duke last season, continued to improve. And so when you look at him joining this Miami squad, great leadership, obviously, with Mario Cristobal. but you also saw what it did for Cam Ward and Carson Beck. If he's able to trim those turnovers, I think it could be a monster year for Darian Mentsa. And just to put a fine point on it,

you guys know they're going to be taking the field against each other on November 7. Jordan actually kind of indicated that in his first answer, Notre Dame and Miami, one of the most anticipated games of the season. The third category of Jordan's article had the long shots. And, you know, this is football and it's unpredictable. He can never count anybody out. These are some of the guys Jordan's got on this list. All, Jordan, pick a guy here who runs it out.

doesn't have maybe the greatest dimes, but who knows? Anything can happen. Yeah, without question. I think this is the most exciting returning player in all of college football. And that's Trinidad Chambliss at Ole Miss. We can talk to about any point in the regular season last year when he took over during that third game of the season. He's one player that just constantly continued to get better, whether it's that fair estate transition into the SEC. I just love the growth that he was able to show this past season.

I go back to that college football playoff game against Georgia, where he was just remarkable in that one. He has all the offense coming back. Yes, Lane Kiffin is gone, but I don't expect this offense to skip a beat. I'm going to what Julian saying here. Look, some things are going to change like his physical profile, and some people won't be able to look past that. But I'm mostly curious to see if he can get the perception of him change this year. This offense was pretty conservative, but very efficient.

Jordan, you actually described him as they discover and distribute quarterback. If Arthur Smith can open up this offense for them this year, I think Julian saying could really change the way that he's looked at this year. And speaking of quarterbacks, we're going to spend five good minutes, talking about why the number five is causing a huge rift between an LSU legend and the school. He brought a Heisman Trophy to. This is a crazy story. We'll have it for you next.

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Gentie, first round pick of the Raiders, the Silver and Black taking on the Cardinals. That is coming your way tonight. Of course, this man knows a little something about Ashton Gentie. Look at this stat on Spencer Danielson. Okay. Three in O in conference. championship games, all the more amazing because he's been on the job in Boise for two and a half years. Three championships in two and a half years. That coming in the Mountain West, although a new era is coming for the Broncos. We'll talk about it now with Coach Danielson, who joins us on College Football Live Coach, it's great to have you here. First things first, your program has been one of the most rock solid of the last 25 years, the whole century, except for that blip in

23 where there was some turmoil. Coach Avalos left, you took over. What was it like for you? at that young of an age to be put in charge of a program with a legacy like this. Yeah, this is, this is season number 10, Zubin, and I just appreciate you guys let me, let me on. So I've been here for a little bit, and I'm, Boise State has had so much success over the past decades. And everything we do, we stay on the shoulders of the coaches that have come before us, the players that have come before.

And so taking over the reins at Boise State was, you know, the biggest honor, one of the biggest honors in my entire life. And I thank Jesus for it. I know that's why I'm here. And everything for us is about developing young men. And I think I got the best job in the country. What does it mean for Boise State to now be the flagship program of the PAC 12 conference? Yeah, growing up, Zubin, you know, I'm a West Coast kid and grew up watching the PAC 10 into the Pac-12. And then, you know, a few years ago, we got one of the best athletic directors in the country. I believe he is the best athletic director in the country. When he told me two years ago that we're going to the PAC 12, you need to make those moves.

You need to be cutting edge. You need to scale forward. And I can't wait. I mean, every single school in the PAC 12 has an opportunity to win the conference championship. Week in and week out, it's going to be great football, great for the fans. And it's West Coast football, right? Our players' parents can come to these games. There's going to be great rivalries.

The best is still to come for the PAC 12, and we're fired up to be a part of it. Speaking of fired up, I mentioned him right before we saw you on camera. I just wonder what one player can always do for a program. People always say it's a team effort. But in honesty, coach, what did Ashton Genti mean? Not just for that season where he's the Hysman runner up. What is he meant for Boise State football even today? He has left such an amazing legacy and not just what he did on the field.

Also who he was as a teammate, how he was in this community. I mean, he's got his own foundation. He comes back here every summer to run camps for kids. And people can watch all the cutups you're going to see of him running over guys, explosive touchdowns. You won't find a young man that practiced harder, that was a better teammate than Ashton. That's a legacy that he established that will be here for decades to come. And he put Boise State back in the national spotlight. And I tip my hat to him.

Obviously, there was a lot of other players and coaches. but don't get twisted. Ashton Genti, you know, took this by the reins. When everybody thought he was going to leave and all that, he said, no, I'm staying here to leave a legacy, and he absolutely did that. Yeah, I know they're commissioning a statue of Kellynne Moore. I think they might want to create a little room to the left or right because I think there'll be another one coming up pretty soon.

Last one for you. I heard in the offseason you had a chance to officiate the wedding of your starting quarterback Maddox Madden. And I also hear this is not like a one-off for you. What was that like? where do you get the interest in doing this? Yeah, so a few years ago, Zubit, my friends got married and I was blessed to be able to officiate his wedding.

And so, and then probably a year and a half to two years ago, Braxton Feeley, one of our D. Lyman, got engaged and I was like, hey, I do weddings. You know, you can have it all at Boise State. And he was like, coach, honestly, me and my fiancee talked and we went you to marry. So it just kind of took off from there. And it's something, I mean, I love these kids.

I mean, my heart is for them to be the best version of themselves. I'm in every part of their life. And so, you know, Maddox asked me to officia his wedding. It was just a huge honor. I think the world of that young man and then was able to do a couple other of our players' weddings that have graduated this off season. So I guess I'm a man of the cloth at times, too, Zubin, so you could have it all here. No doubt about it.

I will say in your first full season on the job, you nearly stunned the world when you went into Eugene and nearly knocked off Oregon, they got you on the last play of the game. and I'm sure you know who this year's season opener is against, and both fan bases are ready to go in a new era of two powers in the West. Coach Danielson, thanks so much for joining us. Zubb, appreciate you. God bless you and go Broncos. So Boise opens against Oregon. LSU will open against Clemson.

And you might have heard this story last night. Jaden Daniels, who wore number five during his Heisman trophy campaign. He said a cease and desist letter to LSU, saying no more NIL opportunities between me and the school moving forward, since you gave my number five, which, by the way, is not retired, to DJ Pickett, a five-star sophomore corner. It's gotten a lot of play. A few minutes ago, Jaden put out this statement to try to tamp it down.

Look about halfway down. Quote, obviously, there are issues to be worked out between my team and LSU, and my hope is that it will get done privately. Now, you might expect somebody around the LSU program we might have heard of was asked to comment on this. I just want to give you the opportunity to comment on the Gene Daniel situation. I'd be disappointed if that wasn't the first question.

I commented a week ago on that. And so that's the comment that I had. And moving forward. About the number situation, what a number of my whole life since I was four years old. It's a number I was promised. Yeah, and I wish Jayden the best. good player and he did real good here. So that's all.

Take you behind the curtain just in case you were wondering. I'm sitting next to Harry. He's doing like this. He's getting ready to talk about the. You can see your body language. All right. Dig in. This is a crazy story that broke last night.

Yeah. So look, I understand his frustration to a degree. And I understand his Cam's frustration to a degree. I don't really want to get into that piece of it though. I do want to float the idea that it is a misconception rather that the best way or the only way to honor a player is to retire their number. Michael Irvin was on Jimmy Kimball a couple of years ago, and I thought that he put it perfectly. He said that, you know, when I pass and they put my number up in the rafters during a broadcast

will say, you know, we lost Michael today. All right, go back to the game. Whereas if C.D. Lamb is wearing my number and he catches the ball, they say, man, he looks like Michael Irvin doing that. Or if he drops a ball, man, Michael Irvin would have caught that football. So to me, it's not to say that retiring the number is not the best way, but there are multiple ways to do this. I also find it ironic that this is happening at LSU of all places where this is a place that is famous for bestowing the number seven repeatedly on its biggest and best playmakers, which is also Zubin, by the way, a number that they are going to retire later on this season. But because of policy at LSU, the number seven, although it will be retired, can still be worn by players at LSU.

I feel, again, the frustration, understand it, but a little fluky in the reasoning here. Yeah, you make a lot of great points. And I think it could have just been handled differently. And I know in Jaden's statement and his team statement, they said they wanted to be handled with a private conversation. Well, why did you go out and make a cease and desist about it? That's what I don't really understand. I just think it could have been handled better behind closed doors, have Jaden sit down with Lane with the athletic director, the director of athletics there at LSU. And then also everybody else involved.

figure out a way to figure this out. And yes, I'm in favor of retiring numbers and Jaden was a heck of a player there at LSU, but I think it was just really petty on his standpoint and from his team of how they handled it. I thought there was just a better way of doing it behind closed doors. Last word to you, I'll just say Matt Liner at USC has to unretire his number earlier. He said, no way because you know what's going to happen? You're going to get that number to a kid. He's going to transfer right away and all my work's going to go out the window. He makes a good point. Hopefully there will be some kind of resolution. This guy did a lot for the school and the school gave him a great opportunity.

Absolutely. And look, I think whether they retire the number, and I know there was a comparison to Joe Burrow, and people want to sort of litigate that. I don't even think that we have to do that here. I really do think that each situation can be unique. If Jaden wants that, I will say I do think it is fine to respect that. But again, when I look at that LSU logo Zubin that is behind you, I think about that number seven, and I think about Tyro Matthew, I think about Leonard Fournet, I think about all the great

players that have worn that number. and there's a lot of significance in that as well. Yeah, Kiffin's like, you don't think I got enough on my shoulder. I've got to answer these types of questions now, too. Speaking of coaching, on the way here on College Football Live, how do you go from high school and drive yourself to the college football playoff? The incredible journey of Joey McGuire, as Reese continues his official visit tour. Next.

It's another Saturday. It's our football tonight. Or each other and with each other cannot beat a beat. They don't know. Nothing but the fuck. I don't know. We're built for this, man. I want to hear no more talking. It's time.

16 days away. You know about a couple days ago, Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire said he might have the most hated program in the country. But it doesn't mean you can't love Joey McGuire's story. About a decade ago, he's a high school football coach. Cedar Hill High School, Texas, home with the Longhorns. Like 10 years later, he's in the college football playoff and challenging the Texas Longhorns to a week one game. In the fourth installment of Reese Davis and the official visitor, RD found out with coach everything is bigger and faster in Texas.

Did you hear a car guy? One of my dreams has been to own a Corvette. Whenever Debbie and I were dating, I told her, I said, I want to own a Corvette before I turned 50. And this is number two. So tell me the story of when she got you your first Corvette. She kind of played a little trick. She acted like the garage door wouldn't open. So I opened the garage door and there was this Corvette said.

in there. One of the biggest surprises in my life. When do we break this baby out? We break it out on Sunday. Today's Sunday. Yes. When you got your first Corvette, is that the first time you'd ever driven a Corvette?

It is the first time I ever driven. I did. I did get pulled over one time here in Lubbock. I was going a little bit too fast on the highway. And I thought he was going to ride me a ticket, He goes, hey, coach, please just slow it down. And I said, yes, sir, I apologize. The Brendan Soresby era at Texas Tech is over.

After a flurry of legal activity that ultimately led to a mutual parting of ways between the embattled Sorsby and his final collegiate home. Is there anything from this offseason that you would have handled differently? I hate that Sorsby is having to sit out this year. And if I could have seen that coming, I'd definitely. Definitely would have said, hey, look, let's take a different approach. You're going to be able to go in the supplemental draft. I think the reason they canceled it is because of all the issue and all the outside noise.

You had one plan for a quarterback. Now you've got Will Hammond coming off injury, and you've got this entire situation where it looked as if Soresby would be your quarterback, and now it's not. How do you handle that? We're fortunate. Will and Sorosby, Brandon, are more alike than Will and Barangler. We've been fortunate with that, that there's not a lot of change whenever Will steps in. This will sting for a little bit of time, but boy, Joy McGuire's had a fine year with this team.

I know the game didn't wind up the way you wanted it to, but how did making the playoff impact the development of your program? It established the program as that you can do everything from Lubbock that you want to do as a player, but we're really hunting. hungry because that's the last memory we have of football. Like, we're still pissed off from that game. And so that's helped us drive this off season. What speed do you think you'd hit before you go? Okay, I need to back it off. I got up to 129, and I felt good, because I will tell you,

it seems like the faster I go, the better this car drives. Is that the same with your coaching? The harder you coach, the faster you go, the better. team response. I really believe that there's a lot of times that teams take on their coach's personality. We know who we are. So be first to the fight. Put your foot in the tire and go to work.

I want our guys to play fearless. It's okay. You're going to make a mistake. Just make it giving great effort. I think going fast shows great effort. I hope it is as fast and smooth as rival just had all season like that. What you need to do is you need to get one of these. You can take it to a game day.

That's right. Drive up in style. Oh, man, it'll be pulling up. Driving to success. They are, despite all the off-season turmoil, the favorite to win the Big 12. The value play might be on the extreme right, Houston Cougars coming off a 10-win season. On the way out the door, Harry spends a lot of time in the American. He knows about Tulane.

How about these new Marty Grah themed uniforms for the team from Nola? From Nola. Zubin's so good. You know, a lot of teams when they go the alternate uniform route, they go all black, they go all white. Some teams are still making the mistake

of thinking this to 2010s and going gray. Leaning into the Mardi Gras of it all. I mean, this team is in New Orleans. You lean into that culture. This is a win. There's no doubt about it. And if we had any more time,

I'd put on some beads. But thankfully for America, we're out of time. Tomorrow. Maybe. Tune in Friday.