College Football Live - COLLEGE FOOTBALL LIVE NATIONAL SIGNING DAY SPECIAL

Episode Date: February 4, 2026

College Football National Signing Day is here! Tune into with Zubin Mehenti, Roddy Jones, Tom Luginbill, Craig Haubert as they break down this year's national signing day news and transfer portal rankings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Amex Platinum, you have access to over 1,400 airport lounges worldwide. So your experience before takeoff is a taste of what's to come. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Conditions apply. On our signing day special, isn't going to be much of a commute for Lamar Brown to get to the LSU campus? He goes to University Lab High, which is basically on the foot of their campus. But the most important thing you're seeing on your screen stays with LSU.

Remember he committed. and Kelly got fired, stayed with him as Lane Tiffin, of course, is now in charge. He is a guy that you guys said in our first segment could be an immediate contributor. I'm back with Tom Luganville and Craig Haber. Craig, let's start with you. What makes this guy pro-ready, college-ready, right off the jump? Well, I'll tell you what, Zuban, there's not a lot of glory for Tom or I making an interior lineman the number one overall player.

But the more I've been around and the more we studied him, the more I am convinced that he is deserving of that. He is projected as a defensive lineman. That is where his heart is. He gets off the ball while he reminds me in some fashions of Rashon Gary, who played at Michigan. I think he could actually be a better offensive lineman. He's a natural bender. And one of the other things, you try to put as many pieces of the puzzle together, especially when he was talking about a number one player. And Lamar Brown has those intangibles down at the Under Arm of All-American game amongst a defensive line that was just filled with Alphiz and some of the top players. He was one of those players that even those guys kind of fell in line behind.

He was quiet from when he spoke. He spoke. He commands attention. And that's kind of a rare trait that even when you're around other great players, they tend to kind of fall behind you. And I think that's one of those things, Tom, where it's like you look at what he does on the field, but the way he carries himself and he could potentially be a leader all stack up

to being a number one player, in my opinion. I just want to see him be a starter on both sides of the ball in college football. Now, how fun would that be? And if there's a coach that would do it, it's Lane Kiffin. So I think that you're right and your assessment of him. He could play as a starter and a high-level starter on both sides of the line of scrimmage. You don't see that an awful lot. I think the other thing, too, is low bus factor, right?

Some of the things that you just mentioned that we try to identify with these guys, is there a red flag popping up? Is there something where you look at that guy and go, that guy's not going to make it because he has this, this, and this not weighing in his favor. But this kid doesn't have any of that. And he's a competitor. He likes to compete against the best of the best. And he's been a great kid throughout the recruiting process.

So the high probability of him panning out is above and beyond just physical attributes and talent. He's got that other side of it from the neck up. Yeah. And in the least surprising news of all time, it's another Louisiana kid that was dying to play for LSU. And they tend to get those guys. As you take a look at everybody that slots in here under Lamar Brown. Talked about Jackson Cantwell, Kishon Hendon. in our opening segment alongside Chris Henry Jr. as well.

Tom, let's start with you here. You kind of take a look at these 10 guys. Give me some guys you think could be impact players along the way. We've already established that Lamar Brown fits that stereotype. After all, he's the number one guy. Who else can we expect on a Saturday this September to be making major contributions? Well, I went outside the top 10, and I went with Edge, outside linebacker, defensive end, H.

Who signed with Oklahoma. you've ever watched Brent Venables on the sideline coach a football game with smoke coming out of his ears. His cheeks are beat red. He's got the bloodshot eyes and he is coaching his ever-loving tail off. That's how Krell plays the game. These two are going to be two peas in the pot. He's a high motor guy, runs on 93 octane at all times. I just think he's one of those guys that has so many intangible traits that he's going to work his way onto the field because he's got to outwork the competition. in the room. Yeah, Krell's a guy, Tom, who worked his way into five-star status.

And he earned it. Some guys kind of built up an early reputation. He went out there and earned it. For me, it always seems at this point in the post-Nick Saban error that the sky is always falling in Tuscaloosa. I think Kellen DeBore is still doing a really nice job. And he's got some impact players. And one of those for me in this class is Jira Edwards in the secondary.

He's out of St. Francis Academy in Baltimore. They play a national schedule. They play in a lot of big. games and he may be the ultimate Swiss Army night in terms of defensive prospect. Six foot to 200 pounds, 80 inch wingspan. He could play that center field. He's played some corner for St. Francis. He can move down in the box as well. The ability to move him around and to put him in situations where he could be successful, but also help you keep your best 11 players on a field is so key. I think he's a huge addition for them and a guy who has really climbed in the

rankings. Yeah, I'm with you, man. You know, this guy is always following, except for Alabama's always recruiting good players and they're going to have good players. And Caitlin DeBoard and staff are really good football coaches. But I think on defense and with a guy like Edwards, the thing that's really important is you better have scheme versatile players on defense in today's game because of what you're seeing offensively, all of the different looks, the eye candy, the window dressing, everybody's spreading you thin and sideline to sideline. You better have people that number one can play in space and run, but can also tackle in space. And I think,

that gives Edwards a bit of an advantage because for all we know, he might outgrow the safety position. He might end up finding out that he's better near the box or around the box, which is just going to give them more opportunities because of the positional versatility. I think that's vital,

but I couldn't agree more. I think there's still really good football players coming to Alabama and Edwards is one of them. 93 octane, premium gasoline, meaning on the way, the premium thing you need to do to hang in this sport is kill the portal. Who did?

And who could be doing a little bit better and why one guy's decision cascaded everyone else at the most important position in the sport. Talk about that now. Be acrobat studio, your new foundation. Use PDF spaces to generate a presentation. Grab your docs, your permits, your moves,

AI levels of your pitch, gets it in a groove. Choose a template with your timeless cool. Flex those tunes. Drive, design, deliver, make it sing. AI builds the deck. so you can build that thing. Do that, do that, do that with Acrobat. Learn more at Adobe.com slash do that with Acrobat.

He is just one of four SCNX 300 defensive linemen in this class, and that's a big standout for me and what the Trojans have done. I think you hit the nail right on the head right there, and you ask yourself, well, why hasn't SC gotten back to dominance? It's because they have not been playing with dominant players up front on both sides of the ball for the last seven. several years. This class cements that, particularly

on the defensive side, but also in the offensive line, we know SC is going to always have access to skill. They're going to have quarterback access because of Lincoln Riley and how favorable that offense is. So you got Boobie Feaster, wide receiver coming in. Could be an impact player. But I just go back to

the trenches. If SC is going to get back to the pinnacle of college football, it begins and ends right there. You add Gary Patterson on the defensive side of the football, load up up front, and now all of a sudden the tide will turn if you're an SC fan. And it's felt like forever, Lugues, the tide had swung towards Oregon on the West Coast and winning the lines of scrimmage. And the fact that SC is in this conversation, I think bodes really well.

You mentioned the Gary Patterson edition on the defensive side of the football. They've made strides on defense the last couple of years with Danton Lynn. He's off to greener pastures. Gary Patterson comes in. It's one of the most respected defensive minds in the entire country getting back into coaching. And you've got Jane Maiavo, who's in his third year starting a quarterback. It feels like an all-in year for USC. It's a big year for Lincoln Riley, obviously.

There's a lot of anticipation. This could be a team that gets in the college football playoff. There's no doubt. A team that's familiar with the college football playoff is the Texas Longhorns. We're going to hop scotch around and hit some of the big teams, programs, and names. And Tom, I want to go to you because at Texas, it's always about quarterbacks, right? Whether it's Quinn Ewer's, Arch Manning, or who's next. And many people think the next guy could be a guy by the name of Dia Bell, if you're a basketball fan.

NBA trade deadlines coming up here at the end of the week. His father was Rajabelle, the longtime NBA player. Tell me what this kid Dia Bell, maybe the next in line to play on the 40 acres under center after Manning brings to the table. Well, first and foremost, I think it's really important that he's not going to be expected to play right away. So he's going to have a normal acclamation process where he can learn, grow, mature, develop at a reasonable pace.

My only question, I think Craig would echo this, is can he stay healthy consistently? He has had a history of being injured because nobody ever questions Dio Bell's talent. This kid can flat out stroke the football. He's a good athlete. He's got anticipatory traits. He can create when the play breaks down. I'm really excited about his overall physical attributes. Got to stay healthy,

but I love the fact that he's going to be able to learn at a moderate rate and not just be thrown to the wolves right away as a true freshman. Yeah, we'll see how he comes along. You're right. I think that developmental time is going to be huge. When you look at the five stars, Richard Wesley is a player who I think can work his way into the rotation along that defensive line,

much like Colin Simmons did when he was a freshman. He was never technically a starter, but they found situations to get him on the field and let him make an impact. I think Wesley in a similar fashion can do that along the defense line. And the other key one for me is a five star running back Derek Cooper. Texas lost a handful of running backs. And yes, they dipped in a portal for players. like Raylick Brown and Hollywood Smothers.

But Derek Cooper, I am all in. I'm pushing my chips all in on Derek Cooper. He's got a powerful stride when he runs. Reminds me at Adrian Peterson. He's outstanding out of the backfield with his hands. He's coming off a thousand-yard season at Shamanamadana, one of the power programs in South Florida. I truly believe he's a true freshman.

It could be a big-time addition within that backfield and help that running game. Well, you had me. It reminds me of Adrian Peterson. I certainly stopped when I heard that. Roddy, let's go to you because we kind of mentioned sons and progeny of famous athletes with Diabelle and Rajabelle. There's a kid Ohio State has brought into the mix. A lot of people are familiar with his father as well. Yeah, stop me if you've heard this one, Zubin.

Ohio State's got one heck of a receiver coming in and Chris Henry Jr. Son of the late Chris Henry, former Bengals and West Virginia great. But Ohio State's got another one. They're going to pair a 6-6 receiver with ball skills. speed and incredible quickness with Jeremiah Smith on the other side. I mean, Julian Sayans got so many toys. He goes, he's going to think it's Christmas Day, just brought it up to this guy, letting him take it off of guys' heads.

He is an incredibly talented prospect. The size obviously stands out, but he's really smooth when he runs, too. So I'm excited to see that receiving court next year. Roddy, he reminds me so much of T. Higgins. When he came out in his class out of the state of Tennessee, obviously went on to Clemsdon, and big, long, rangey, but can actually really, really run. And you mentioned his ability to run routes. He's smooth.

He can get in and out of breaks. He's not just a run and catch guy and take the top off the defense and catch a 50-50 ball. He's one of those unique, tall, long players that actually's got long field speed. And you're right. I mean, this is turning into wide receiver you year after year after year. And they integrate them early. They get them engaged early. And what a great guy to tutor.

runner, a better guy to tutor under than Jeremiah Smith. All right, Craig, to you, I want to mention something about the national runner-up. A lot of people felt like Mario Cristobal did a great job with recruiting, particularly along the lines, which is really his specialty, and it looks like he's hit the jackpot again, huh? Yeah, you know, Tommy had mentioned a little bit earlier. You look at these classes, what can you get? How quickly can you get production?

They got that a few years ago with Francis Maui and Goa, who was able to step in as a true freshman. There were some bumps along the road that initial year, but turned into one of the top offensive tackles in all college football. He moves on. They go out and get the number one offensive tackle in this class, and Jackson Can't well out of Missouri. He's a big body. He comes from great bloodlines. Both his mom and his dad were Olympic shot footers. He's powerful. Great bend could potentially play on the right side, potentially kind of develop into a left tackle. But much like Maui and Gowa did, I think Kenner, Well is a plug-and-play guy that could be an elite offensive tackle.

You pair him with S.J. Alo Faitouli, who they signed last year, a five-star interior offensive lineman who, if you notice, was in some jumbo packages this year, and they're really restocking that offensive line nicely. Yeah, they are. I had a chance to talk to Mario Cristobal before Francis Maui Noah's freshman season and asked him if he was going to play. He said, absolutely, because he's number one athletic, but number two, he's big. And if you're 6-6-330 pounds,

takes a long time for guys to run around you. Where Jackson Cantwell, 6-8-315, takes a long time for guys to run out. I expect to see him early. There's no doubt. We should mention it was maybe about a quarter century ago where a team like the Tennessee volunteers would be owning National Signing Day.

But they are owning the news cycle today as we've got a developing story here. Their quarterback, Joey Aguilar, trying to become the latest junior college player to get an extra year of eligibility. He was granted a temporary restraining order with the eventual goal of getting an injunction to allow him to play in 2026.

His lawsuit alleges he could be making $2 million in NIL compensation if he was allowed to return. On the way, what about the guys that we just talked about that signed today are in December that can be day one absolute contributors? Who are those guys and what teams are lucky enough to have them? We'll talk about that next when our signing day special continues. At Medcan, we know that life's greatest

moments are built on a foundation of good health, from the big milestones to the quiet winds. That's why our annual health assessment offers a physician-led, full-body checkup that provides a clear picture of your health today and may uncover early signs of conditions like heart disease and cancer. A healthier you means more moments to cherish. Take control of your well-being and book an assessment today. Medcan. Live well for life. Visit medcan.com slash moments to get started. The Sunday day in many ways has been passed by the portal, according to ESPN's Max Olson. These are your top five guys. No surprise there.

More than 50 percent are quarterbacks, one guy protecting the quarterback, and one guy catching passes from quarterbacks. It is all about quarterbacks. Roddy is back here with us. Tom and Craig return. Roddy, I want to start with you because it feels like everything cascaded after the Brendan Sorsby decision to go to Texas Tech. The reason I want to start with you is you caught his first game of the season this past season with Cincinnati when they played Nebraska way back in August. And then tell me how he goes from that game, right, on a random Thursday night,

to being the most coveted guy in all of college football. You saw the arc of it. Tell me how this happened. Well, first and foremost, they surrounded him with better players, which helped. They were able to get open and man coverage, and he was able to show off his skills a little bit better. But secondly, there was some. Real development from a body standpoint. He came in in better shape.

It really treated the offseason like a professional before last season and was more effective with his legs. But better decision-making also really cut down on the interceptions in that Scott Satterfield offense. When they're able to run the football, he could really spin it downfield. So I think that it was a mixture of things. Some of it confidence, some of it decision-making, some of it a dedication body-wise. but ultimately it all led to him being the guy this offseason because the physical talents are obvious, the size, the speed, the strength, the arm strength, and he was really able to showcase it this season. You know, Roddy, it's interesting some of those things that you said because I think they apply almost equally to Darian Mensa, formerly of Duke and now at the University of Miami. And now Miami's going to get a quarterback with a high production level, several starts under his belt, an ACC championship win,

and you bring the athleticism that maybe you didn't have last year with Carson Beck, but you did before with Cam Ward, which is just going to make that Miami offense all the more difficult to defend because now all of a sudden, they're going to move Darian Mensa around. He can be involved in the quarterback run game, can make all the throws clearly great athlete. This was a monster pickup. And just imagine, guys, had this not happened from Miami where they would be at the quarterback position,

And on the flip side of that, look at where Duke is now as a result of it. Yeah, and I think, you know, when we're seeing with the portal and with coaching changes, and there was the coaching carousel spun really quickly this past off season, that is when a coach leaves, if he has a good quarterback, is he going to follow him? And that was the case, certainly with Auburn and goal is going from South Florida to the Tigers and the need there to find some consistency at the quarterback position. He was able to bring Byron Brown with them. And he's one of these players who's a dual threat.

I think he's really truly best in a short to intermediate passing game. But his ability as a runner to make play and the detail too. You get a chance, I had a chance to do a South Party game. He's got a seven point dental plan that he goes through every day to take care of his teeth. Now that may seem small and it's a kind of an interesting talking point. But what it also says is a young man who crosses his teeth and dots his eyes in every way. And if you're willing to do that and to maintain your oral health, think about what you'll do in terms of kind of getting into your playbook. So I think that's a really good marriage to keep together there at Alburn.

I had a couple of his games, too, and I have now heard that dental story a ton of times. And the details are absolutely hilarious. Look it up if you haven't seen it. I think why this one is so important for Auburn is because this is a brand new clean slate. And what better way to start off offensively, which has been a. program that's been highly criticized for the lack of offensive production, then to essentially have an extra coach on the field and in the meeting room at the most important position on the field. I think this was a critical pickup for Auburn, and Alex Golish nailed this one,

and now you put the pieces around him, but this was an outstanding move for Auburn. Guys, I had to Google. I didn't know there were seven things you could do to your teeth, so I had to Google the dental plan, and now I have something to aspire to in my morning and nighttime dental routine. So thank you guys, and thank you, Byron Brown. I want to talk about another guy, though, that's following his head coach from a previous school to another school, and that's true Mestamaker. He's following Eric Morris from North Texas to Oklahoma State. All he did last year for a guy that did not start a game period at the quarterback position since his freshman year of high school on B team, all he did was lead the nation and passing by

almost 400 yards. And it's not just Mestemaker going to Oklahoma State with Eric Morris. It's that guy Wyatt Young. It's his receiver, Caleb Hawkins, both of which were top five in the country and rushing and receiving respectively, or I guess reverse that, receiving and rushing respectively. So this is a guy, and Oklahoma State's a team that is going to be dangerous offensively. How many wins will that lead to? I don't know. The entire team is new, but they'll be exciting to watch. No, fair enough. And I think you probably heard this before when you always see these, nine out of ten dentists

will always tell you that Davosweeney will never go in to the transfer portal. But that has changed. Now, even though he goes into the portal and ends up getting guys, even when those guys show up on campus, guys are still calling to try to get them out of Death Valley, and in this

case, into Oxford. You might have heard about it. Luke Farrelli, from Cal to Clemson, and then poached by Ole Miss. And Davos Sweeney led Pete Golding and everyone else know he's not okay with it putting everyone in the sport on blast. There's tampering and then there's blatant tampering. You know, tampering 101 is when you're talking to kids who aren't in the portal. Tampering 201 is when you've already negotiated the

deal with the kids not in the portal. Tampering 301 is when you got a kid who's gone in the portal, sign somewhere, move there, gone to classes. And you're still, you're texting them while they're in class. That's like a whole other level of tampering. I'm not out to get anybody fired. That's not my objective in this. I'm not out to get anybody fired, but there has to be accountability and consequences for this type of behavior

and total disregard for the rules. If this happened in the NFL, which is an actual lead with rules, they would be fined. They would take draft picks. They, you know, hit the cap, whatever. Again, I'm not trying to get anybody fired. I just want accountability and there should be consequences for a total disregard for the rules. And this is such a terrible example.

It's a terrible example for young coaches in this profession. And to be honestly, this is crazy. To me, this situation is like having an affair on your honeymoon. I've had a lot of people reach out with their stories. And so I want to challenge all of those coaches that have reached out to me. I want to challenge all of them. You need to step up and call it out. Otherwise, don't complain.

You either step up and you be an example to young coaches in this profession and be people of integrity or just shut your mouth and don't complain again. Even Tyler from Spartanburg is nodding his head saying, you go, coach, 100% with you on that. Roddy, you work for the ACC Network, you played in this league. You know, Coach Sweeney, you've been around him. When you heard that, you thought what? I was not overly surprised that he went scorched earth

because this is a guy who's been hesitant to get in the transfer portal. And now he's swimming on the deep end of the pool. And if something happens that he doesn't like, as long as he feels like he's got everything in order in his own house, I can absolutely see him or the reason why he would go and do that. The thing is, and the thing that I would push back on is for years, the example that's been given to young coaches is that one thing matters. And that's winning. That's the only thing that we've incentivized.

It's the only thing that these young coaches are thinking about because if you don't win, you get fired. And if you do win, you get eight-figure contracts. He was one of the first to have it. He built it the right way, sure. But all the coaches, all the young coaches see is the winning and the end payday. And if you don't, you'll lose, so they'll do anything to get the players to do the winning. They did plenty of winning with Deshawn Watson and Trevor Lawrence, two iconic players. And speaking of winning, thanks to an iconic play.

Our 30 for 30, the Philly Special, need to say any more? A Nick Foal special Friday night in advance of the Super Bowl. On the way, Lane Kiffin, his impact in his new Portal King venue. We'll talk about it. Stuck in that winter slump, try Dove Men plus care aluminum-free deodorant. All it takes is a small change to your routine to lift your mood. And it can be as simple as starting your day with the mood-boosting sense of Dove Men Plus care-aluminum-free deodorant.

It'll keep you feeling fresh for up to 72 hours. And when you smell good, you feel good. Visit Dove.com to learn more. On our signing day special, top portal classes, no surprise LSU is at the top. Lane Kippen working his magic in Oxford. Baton Rouge, and this is fresh hot off the press. This is Kiffin moments ago. You know, as you look at the class, when you combine the high school class and portal class,

which I think kind of the way you got to look at it now, almost if you were in the NFL and you took the draft class and the free agency, if they were the same time of year, and you looked at them together, I feel like that's kind of the way to look at it now as you remake your rosters each year. So it's kind of crazy to think about three new quarterbacks, four running backs, 10 wide receivers, nine offensive line, two tight ends, six defensive line, two linebackers, three defensive backs, and three specialists. So, and that's not obviously counting the numbers of players that were here that were potentially leaving and re-signed here, which now is obviously a part of it too. So that's a lot of numbers. And I do think that our staff did a really good job in a very challenging situation.

Now, luckily, we were recruiting to LSU and all the great things with that that made it made us able to put together this class. But that was a challenging time. So that's Kippen just moments ago. Tom, let's start with you. He did the same thing at Ole Miss, but the advantage at Old Miss was he just kind of got out in front of it when the portal and all this was brand new. and then the expectation level obviously is a little bit lower. Taking into account the advanced degree of difficulty and pressure at LSU, how do you see this portal class for him?

Well, I think it's off to a great start, and you hit the nail on the head. You can sit there and go nine and three or ten and two and do that year and year out at Ole Miss, and everybody's going to be fired up. You're not going to do that at LSU, and at LSU, it better happen overnight. And as we've seen college football shift to being able to wave a magic wand, and correct the issues immediately. You take a look at these names here, and I would also add another three or four wide receivers

just in the portal alone, including U.G. Wilson, who I think is going to be a really good player coming over from Florida, Jordan Seaton, obviously, in the offensive line. But not only did he address the quarterback position with Sam Levitt, but he addressed the ability with Hussein Longstreet coming over from SD.

Ironically, that's exactly where Jackson Dart came over from to Ole Miss after his freshman year. And now you've got a young guy that you're excited about because he's talented and he doesn't have to play right away and he can be the next guy in line. So I think they really addressed the quarterback more so than just Sam Levin. Yeah, I mean, the retooling of this roster

was impressive. Sam Levitt, you mentioned Jackson Dart. There's a little bit Jackson Darbibs with Sam Levin and his ability to run. Now, the question is going to be how quickly can he pick up this offense? Remember, had the Liz Frank injury that he had to have addressed in October? It's a little bit of questions

about his availability for the spring, but the talent is evident. Took Arizona State to the college ball playoff. You know, and I think the thing that really stands out is the athleticism and how much better he got throwing the football over the last couple of years. But you mentioned some of the targets that he has to throw to. You know, Trey Wilson out of Florida is fantastic. You get Jordan seen up front who's got a really high ceiling,

albeit it was bit inconsistent at Colorado. I really like what Lane Kiffin and that staff was able to do with the roster that really needed some retooling. Well, there was a reason why he left Old Miss on the cusp of a playoff run was because the feeling is the resources are there. You know, Zubin, you mentioned he was able to get out in front of it early on in the portal at Old Miss. Circumstances a little bit different. But I think he made this move in order to build classes like this. To get Seton as an example, he came out a little bit later once that portal window had opened.

He's a plug-in-play potential first round offensive. tackle. And into secondary, think about those great LSU teams. They were always great in secondary. Ty Benefield, the very experienced player coming over from Boise State. And as you had mentioned, Tom, with like a Hussein Longstreet coming over at quarterback to develop, Bahim Delane coming over from Ohio State is a player that they could develop as well into secondary, a big safety. Tom, I want to go back to you, because if there's one team that was kind of criticized for having a little bit of a slow start, but a super fast flourish at the end, it was Texas. How do you size up what they were able to get?

Well, listen, if you're looking at them offensively, and you're going to say, okay, the quarterback position is cemented, all right? They're going to be better in the offensive line than they were this past fall. Well, where did they need help? Where did they need to improve their talent level? Well, they needed somebody opposite of Ryan Wingo. Well, they got that in Cam Coleman coming over from Auburn. All right, well, they had a slew of running back.

As Craig mentioned earlier, that went out the door, and they've had a lot of injury issues with it running back each of the last years. So what do they do? They go out and they get Relief Brown out of Arizona State. They get Hollywood Smothers out of NC State. And then we mentioned Derek Cooper in this recruiting class. I think Texas did as good a job as anybody in addressing needs with upgraded players as you will find in college football. So I was really impressed with what Sark and this group did. And then bring over Wilmuch Champ on defense to get that thing in order. And Texas could be one of the number one or two ranked teams in the country going into the year.

another team that could have an argument to be one of the first or second ring teams in the country is Miami. And we've touched on it a little bit earlier in the show. But as you said, Luke's, where would Miami be if they didn't have Darian Mintsa at quarterback? They were able to snag him out of the portal, well, out of a contract and then out of the portal. But he is talent-wise, maybe the most talented and productive at this level that they've had, including Cam Ward and Carson Beck, when you combine talent and production, you know, and then the fact that he was able to get Cooper Barcate to come over with him,

you couple that with Damon Wilson, who was third in the SEC and SACS. I mean, this is an absolute loaded team. Defensively, they've got a lot of young players that played last year that are coming back. You added Damon Wilson, you had some guys on the back end. Miami's going to be absolutely loaded.

Yeah, I think another team he got to look at is Oregon. And here's the thing. When you talk about the portal, I think a lot of people confuse quantity with quality. I think the goal for a lot of programs is they just have to supplement their rosters with portal additions. And that's what

the Ducks did with Coy Perich coming over from Minnesota. They are losing a safety in Dylan Theon and to bring in a player like Perich, who just quite frankly is a football playing dude. When he was at Minnesota, he contributed all three phases

of the game while he was there. He's one of these guys who has a ball hawk. He gets around the football. He's a good This is, I think, a great example of how you use the portal. They had a spot. They needed a fill in the secondary. They went out and got one of the best players in the country at that spot. Yeah, it's interesting you mentioned the quantity and quality.

That's why it's so important to look at that average player ranking. That sometimes can cut through everything. Now, there was one school that had fallen off in recruiting, but they got a head coach who was tremendous at recruiting. And that, of course, is Virginia Tech on one end and James Franklin on the other. Picking up a ton of guys from Penn State, as you would expect. That just seems to be the trend. The guys talked about it earlier, right?

Guys following their coaches. Franklin, on Signing Day, had a message. One of the things I talked to the team about very early on, maybe our first team meeting, was about embracing competition. It did not feel like there was enough competition throughout the program on the current roster. We needed a legitimate three-deep at every position.

I don't think we had a legitimate three deep at any position. A guy you can win with, a backup you can win with, and then a young guy that you're excited about in the future. And I think we have that at pretty much every position now, a three deep that's going to have a chance to compete. That could be very bad news for the rest of the ACC if he's able to build that up that quick. Tom, what do you take away from the initial kind of run here for James Franklin? Well, the timing couldn't have been better, Zubman,

because of when this firing happened with Brent Pry, it gave James Franklin a huge head start, whether it be high school football recruiting efforts or the transfer portal. So he was able to get ahead of this in a big way. It also happened to time up with the fact that Virginia Tech was very public about going all in and pushing their chips to the table with football

and a $230 million investment. So the recipe for success here has a lot of ingredients that all seem to be poured into the pot at the right time. Yeah, and your timing comment is interesting, too, because the ACCC is totally wide open. A national signing day, Penn State didn't have a coach because James Franklin was fired and Matt Campbell was yet to be hired. So as you see, their December signing day total was very minimal. But Matt Campbell, look, I'm the guy that's going to use the coaching cliche, not the coach.

He's drinking out of a firehouse. You know, the last two months, like I said, has been a whirlwind and a multi-term. multitude of different ways. It's the last time I probably have seen everybody in one place at one time. It's been a it's been a lot and it's been a lot of it's been a joy to watch this thing come together. It's these dark days that nobody ever gets to see that are the critical moments and the critical time to begin to build football team. So I can't wait. I think our staff feels the same way of just really getting back around our football team and beginning to build team. Everybody. words uses the buzzword culture. Culture is not words. It's how you live. It's how you act. It's how you carry yourself. And we get to begin to build those foundational blocks within our program.

And we're excited about that. Micro, macro question here, Craig, to you, obviously, I want to hear your thoughts on Penn State. But are we just now in a position where if a team loses a coach to another team, you can just literally almost expect just a massive transfer of one group of players to follow the coach. That's what seems like happened with Franklin and now with Campbell. Yeah, I think, listen, like LSU, that did not happen. It did not happen. When Brian Kelly left, that class for the most part stayed together.

Lane Tiffin made some changes. Florida, when they moved on from Billy Napier, that class pretty much stayed together. So I think sometimes when you see a coach maybe jump up from a G5 to a power four, you may see that change. I think the Virginia Tech thing was a little bit different. just because James Franklin leaving. I think, you know, not only did he do a nice job, but I think he was motivated. He kind of wanted to show Penn State,

wants to show Penn State that they've made a big mistake. But I think on the other side, Penn State, I really questioned the way they handle that. I think they landed in the best case scenario with Matt Campbell because I really truly believe that he's a guy at Iowa State showed he can identify and develop talent, which is going to have to do a little bit to kind of get caught up now, Roddy. I do as well.

landed in a great spot. A lot of it's because they've landed with a great quarterback and Rocco Beck, who is an absolute winner. Obviously, the son of Anthony Beck to, who was a great NFL player, college player. But I think the toughness and leadership that he's shown is certainly going to help Matt Campbell get Penn State up to speed very quickly. And Zubin, this is sort of a unique situation that we're seeing in Matt Campbell going to Penn State and in James Franklin going to Virginia Tech, is Kyle Whittingham going to Michigan as well. It's not often that we see these head coaches take other really good power-for head coaching jobs and have enough players that have eligibility left to go with them.

But I do think that if you have those players, it's always great to start with guys that know your culture so you can help get everybody else up to speed. Great point. Last thing I would say, Matt Campbell was 72 and 55 at Iowa State. That's actually a tremendous record for Iowa State. He was doing less with more, and now he's going to have a chance to do more with more. On the way, who did more to increase their playoff chances? After both signing days and the portal are closed, the answer from the fellas.

When we return. Everyone needs help with something. If investing is your something, we get it. Cooperators' financial representatives are here to help with genuine advice that puts your needs first. We got you. For all your holistic investment and life insurance advice needs, talk to us today. Cooperators, investing in your future together. Mutual funds are offered through cooperators' financial investment.

Services Inc. to Canadian residents except those in Quebec in the territories. Segregated funds are administered by cooperators Life Insurance Company. Life insurance is underwritten by Co-operator's Life Insurance Company. How would you describe the turnaround at what you've been able to build in a short period of time? It'd be a hell of a movie. You have

to appreciate the greatness of this Indiana time. A century of cutility is forgotten. The Indiana Hoosiers are the Kings of Palace football. We won the national championship at Indiana University. It can be done. It's got to be one of the greatest stories we've ever seen in college football.

The old days, the only way to do it was to win by recruiting. The numbers of the decimal points in the middle, that's the recruiting rank. So basically, over the last half decade or so, you needed to be somewhere in the top five or six to have a chance to win the title. Michigan pushed the boundaries a little bit. Indiana completely blew it wide open saying you don't really need those five stars out of high school to do it. Maybe the best example of how much of an impact the portal is having. I want to go to you here because I know you wrote a big piece on our website today talking about who really improved their chances and the different ways in which you can do it. Which team or program really catches your eye?

Well, I think you got to start with Indiana in the sense that you're right. They are way outside the average. But if you look at it, they're kind of the outlier because most of those teams that have been consistent title contenders have put together top 10 classes. Now, what Kersignetti was able to do in Indiana was certainly oppressive. But you look at this class that he built this year was just outside the top 25. Several SC-NX 300 players. This is one of the best classes that Indiana has put together in a few years. Then you go into portal, you get Joshua from TCU,

who's got one of the best releases in all of college football, and he's putting the pieces together to continue that run and maybe not make this a one-year fluke, but say, hey, you know, you count Indiana out at your own peril. I think he's building something successful. And I think you're going to start to see that. average, start to shrink down a little bit over the next few years. He's been one of the best talent evaluators in the country.

A team that really stands out to me is Texas. This feels like an all-in year for Texas. I mean, you've got Archmanning in his second season as the full-time starter. He's going to be the presumptive number one pick, if not number one, certainly top 10. He'll be a Heisman trophy favorite, one of a few. And they have surrounded him with incredible talent, getting Cam Coleman, one of the best receivers in the portal, getting Relique Brown and Hollywood Smothers at the running back position, adding it to a recruiting class that we already talked about is very talented as well.

I look at Texas and say, look, this is going to be one of the best two or three teams on paper in the entire country. Yeah, you know what? I think another team you've got to say the same thing about is Notre Dame. And Notre Dame has been a high school roster built foundation. All right. They have supplemented with the portal, but they have built this roster through player development and player identification. and you've got the quarterback back in C.J. Carr.

Now, they're going to have to replace Jeremiah Love and a lot of run game production. You bring in two running backs to hopefully fill that void to some degree. They go in the transfer portal and they really address the defensive front. So you've now got that taken care of it. The high school ranks, you've got Thomas Davis Jr., who comes over out of North Carolina as an outside linebacker, edge rusher, Devin Fitzgerald, who's Larry Fitzgerald's son at wide receiver. And on defense, Notre Dame is returning 10 of their top.

11 tacklers coming into next year. So they supplemented through the high school ranks, developed through the high school ranks, and then found a couple of missing pieces in the portal that could plug some holes. And it's, I think, pointed you ended with Notre Dame, just gives us an opportunity to just pass our best along to our colleague. Lou Holtz, coach, we're fighting for you. When we return here on college football live, final thoughts, both signing days and the portal are closed. So now one of the guys looking at before spring practice rolls on, When McDonald's partnered with Franks Redhot, they said they could put that shit on everything. So that's exactly what McDonald's did.

They put it on your McChrispy. They put it in your hot honey McNuggets dip. They even put it in the creamy garlic sauce on your McMuffin. The McDonald's Frank's Red Hot menu. They put that shit on everything. Breakfast available until 11 a.m. At participating Canadian restaurants for a limited time. Frank's Red Hot is a registered trademark of the French's Food Company LLC.

Five and a half weeks away from selection Sunday, Notre Dame in Louisville, Oklahoma, and Kentucky tonight right here on ESPN 2. As we wrap it up, Tom, you said at the top of the program, and I think a lot of people that used to love this day. No, it doesn't quite have the impact that it used to, but there's still things that we can certainly take away from this February signing day. Your closing thoughts as we wrap up shop on signing day number two. Well, listen, here's the good news, guys, is at least every team in college football now goes forward and knows who there are. team is going to be come September 1st, right? We don't have a spring transfer portal period. So now you're going to get to integrate your high school prospects that hopefully you've had enrolled mid-year. You bring in your transfer portal players. You get into the winter conditioning

program. You get into spring football and you leave spring football going to the summer having some semblance of order with your roster. That's a huge positive. We may not have corrected the scheduling flaws with the calendar just yet, but that is a big positive and it's going to make college football teams better. You know, one of the things, Tom, too, is as we wrap up this 2026 cycle, the next key thing is recruiting is one part of the puzzle. How do you get those recruits to play? That's what made Nick Saban so great. Urban Meyer so great. They would recreate outstanding classes, but did them to get them to play and produce on the field. So that is the next step. How do these players

wind up performing that they have signed? What type of production can they get? Yeah, it used to be all about this day because recruiting was a lifeblood of the program. Now it's about overall talent acquisition and this sort of puts a bow on it. Lug's, I love your point about teams having their roster set now. And with a few exceptions, Trinidad, Chabas and Joey Hagelar in court being those, these coaches can now start to dig in and invest in their rosters and you're not going to have those midseason additions, which I think will help chemistry and maybe help some of these teams that want to be the next Indiana that don't necessarily have the high-end talent. point. Just a reminder in the ever-changing world of college football, don't be surprised if your

team doesn't have a spring game this year. It's just the latest evolution as the sport continues to turn. For Tom and Craig and Roddy, I'm Zubing. Thanks for being there.