College Football Live - UNLV and Matthew Sluka Part Ways

Episode Date: September 25, 2024

Victoria Arlen, Sam Acho, Tom Liginbill, and Pete Thamel bring breaking news on QB Matthew Sluka from UNLV as well as get you ready for the game of the Week between Georgia and Alabama. All that and more here on CFB Live Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When you're flying Emirates business class, relaxing in an exclusive airport lounge, you'll see that your vacation isn't really over until your flight is over. Fly Emirates, fly better. Welcome to College Football Live, presented by Google Pixel. Welcome into College Football Live. I'm Victoria Arlen, alongside Tom Luganville, Sam Acho, and Pete Samo. Now, as we all know, there is never a dull moment in college football, especially this season. And just when you thought you've seen it all, we're going to kick things off with a major developing story coming out of UNLV.

Matthew Sluka, UNLV's starting quarterback announced via social media that he will not play any more games this season, citing certain representations that were not upheld by the program. Despite transferring in the offseason, Sluca will now utilize his redshirt status this year. the rebels are currently undefeated and considered group of five playoff contenders. Now this is what Slucus said on social media, quote, I committed to UNLV based on certain representations that were made to me, which were not upheld after I enrolled. Despite discussions, it became clear these commitments would not be fulfilled in the future. I wish my teammates the best of luck this season and hope for the continued success of the program. So Pete Thammel, we're going to bring you in on this.

What's the latest you can tell us about this developing story? Well, Victoria, it's a really fascinating moment in time for college athletics, and it's a little peek into the Byzantine way that these college athletes are paid through the current NCAA system. So I was told this morning by Matthew Sluca's agent, Marcus Cromarty, of Equity Sports, that Sluca agreed to go to UNLV because of a $100,000 verbal offer from a UNLV assistant coach. Now, that's a pretty standard offer for a quarterback of his caliber at a group of five school. It's nothing outlandish. And Cromartie was clear to tell me that Sluca had much bigger offers at bigger schools, but they chose UNLV from the situation. So the story goes, as Sluca said in his tweet,

he did not start to get payments on what he was expected. Now, that offer was never formalized through UNLV's collective, a representative of that collective told our Dan Murphy today that he never saw this deal, essentially, that this $100,000 was only done verbally. And that's where the ambiguity around this lies. And so there was a conversation between the UNLB coaching staff and Sluca this week. He wanted the money that was verbally promised. They, at the highest levels, did not, did not authorize that money to be delivered. Sluca's dad told her Adam Renberg that Barry Odom, the head coach at UNLV, said, look, Brendan, Mary in the O.C was not authorized to make the offer to Matthew Sluca. So here we are, and the result is pretty,

simple. Sluca is going to red shirt. He's going to work out with a quarterback trainer this fall. He's going to transfer to another school come December. He'll have a full spring, which he did not have transfer from Holy Cross this year because he graduated. And with that full spring, he will be somebody else's starting quarterback very likely come next fall. UNLV, 3 and O, plays Syracuse in one of the bigger games in modern school history this weekend is going to look to Hajmalik Williams, a Campbell transfer, to start at quarterback. Of course, they've been having an incredible season so far. Now, this, Pete, is the first time we're seeing this, but probably not the last. Are you anticipating any changes to be made overall in this space?

So what I would say, Victoria, is this is the first time we've seen this, this public, right? He said, she said, over NIL payment. There have been whispers since NAL started over unfulfilled payments and people leaving for different reasons. This is the first time it was put out in a very linear and clear fashion. We were verbally, and I stress verbally, promised this, We didn't get it, and so we're going to leave. On Thursday, coincidentally, decades of NCAA inertia come under review again in the settlement of the House case. That's the multi-billion dollar case that could transform how college sports works and, most

importantly, how money is distributed to athletes. They would obviously allow a revenue share where schools could pay athletes directly. Right now, part of the issue is the collectives are third parties paying these players without the coach's approval, hence disconnects like today. And those lines keep getting a little blurred. All right, let's bring in Sam and Luges in this discussion. Now, Luges from a team perspective, how does this affect them? Well, obviously, you've taken the most important player in the sport off the field of a football team

that looks like they're the frontrunner for possible inclusion into the college football playoff. And listen, maybe this is a get off my lawn statement, but I feel like we went to an extreme here. Was there not something that could be worked through while? Matt Sluca does what he does best, and that's play football and try to win football games. If I'm one of his teammates right now, obviously I'm very, very frustrated. But this is what happens in the Transfer Portal era. If you bring in hired mercenaries and things don't go right, what is their allegiance and their loyalty to the program or to their teammates? There really isn't any.

He came into school in July. So for me, this is a much broader mess that is devalued the worth of a scoff. scholarship, who in their right mind agrees to terms without something in writing. I think Marcus Cromarty, how do you do this deal and you haven't talked to UNLV's collective? You haven't confirmed anything in writing? That's poor representation, in my opinion, looking at it from this perspective. So this is just a bigger mess.

And it will not be the last time we see this, y'all. And part of the issue, too, is the fact that a player wants to go and play for a coach. and a coach is making promises. And a coach may be making promises that they may not be able to uphold. So the player is not going to go to a coach and say, well, hey, I need this in writing. They just want to go and play.

And so that's why you see certain misrepresentations like this happen. Now, from the team perspective, I think there's two pieces. One, there's a piece of, hey, this is our starting quarterback. This is the reason we're 3 and O. He's been doing it in the air, doing it on the ground, right? Critical situations.

That's one piece. The second piece is also the next man-up mentality. Even, you know, go back to the time in the NFL, I played. It's always about the next man up. And so let's say Matthew Sluke would have had an injury. It would be the next man up. Let's say he would have been suspended for some reason. It'd be the next man up. And so this UNLV team is going to have to overcome a lot, not only because Matthew Sluca was the most important player on their team, but he's one of the best players on the field. And that's the reason why they're having so much success. And so, yes, that miscommunication

led by misrepresentation, but that has to be that next man up mentality. That communication is everything and I do want to note that this is a developing story and we'll be closely monitoring this and providing more info when we can. We're going to shift over to the SEC where we've got you covered for the biggest game of the weekend. Georgia taking on Alabama and Ryan McGee is in Georgia and he caught up with Kirby Smart. Coach, it seems like sometimes there are bad times to have off weekends and then sometimes there are good times to have off weekends. This feels like a good time maybe for some rest for this team. Yeah, the last, uh,

Off week's been great. We got to work really hard on some future opponents and work really hard on us. And I think that's important of every off week. A lot of talk about this game being big. And you've always been big and rightfully so about the next game is the next game. How do you check those emotions for a room full of 19 and 20 year olds? Well, I think the emotions can be good as long as you're not emotional. And you're playing big games when you come to University of Georgia, you sign up for that. And this is certainly one of those. There'll be a lot of big games this year where our schedule sets up.

Yeah, there's no question about it. All right. So if I talk to you Saturday night, perfect case scenario, what will you have done right? Georgia has done right to win that football game? Outstrain, out effort, win the line of scrimmages, and don't turn the ball over. I mean, those are all things that you could say every game, and that's not going to be any different in this game. We've all asked questions, and we're going to keep asking questions about going to Tuscaloosa, and Nick Saban is not the head coach there.

How different of experience or will it be a different experience for you? I don't think so. I don't think that changes anything. They've got a really good football team. They're very well coached. They're very sound in all their schemes. That hasn't changed. And good football players are going to determine this outcome, not coaches.

And it's a familiar opponent, but it's an unfamiliar coaching staff. How do you prepare for that? Is it just, is it kind of a nameless, you know, tape you're watching? How's that work? Well, good thing is we've got three games of the body of. of work. We got a lot of history because they go back and they've done things where they've been both defense and offense. And you do the best job you can with what you have and you try to make good decisions based on that. A great decision is we've got you covered on this game from all

angles. Coming up, we've got live reports from Marty Smith and Ryan McGee. And the guys are breaking down just how important this game is. Plus, it's Wednesday and Lug's is telling us his freshman standouts from week four. Who made the list? And who should we be keeping our eye on this week. Stick around. College Football Live is presented by Google Pixel and in part by Verbo, private vacation rentals. Relax. You booked a Verbo. You and your crew do the big shows with Go Transit. Go connects to all the main concert venues like TD Coliseum in Hamilton and Scotia Bank Arena in Toronto. And Go makes it affordable

with special e-ticket fares. A one-day weekend pass offers unlimited travel across the network on any weekend day or holiday for just $10. And a weekday group pass offers the same weekday travel flexibility from $30 for two people and up to $60 for five. Buy yours at go-transit.com slash tickets. College Football Live, we're going down south with two guys who know it best. Welcome Marty Smith and Ryan McGee.

Now, Marty, let's start with you. You were at Alabama's practice this morning. What were your impressions? Victoria, good afternoon. It's interesting to me that I feel like there's a misconception because Kalin DeBoer's natural disposition is far more calm than Nick Saban's unbridled intensity that Alabama's practices now are just tidly winks and touch football. Let me tell you, that could not be further from the truth. That is completely inaccurate.

I was in practice all morning this morning, and it was extremely spirited. The tide looked very good. Jalen Milrow has such tremendous command of the offense to come. Coach DeBoer wants him to run. He looked fantastic today, throwing the deep ball. And I will tell you, in terms of interest surrounding this game, we all know that Donald Trump will be there on Saturday afternoon. But the media interest far eclipses, even the Texas game here one year ago.

And there will be 17 different NFL franchises represented by 23 different scouts on Saturday evening here in Alabama as Georgia comes calling. I just spoke a few moments ago with Jam Miller, the running back for the Crimson Tide, and he kind of grinned and said, oh, yeah, this is the biggest game of the season. Of course it is. That's what they say here in Alabama. Let's head over to Athens where my guy McGee is with the dogs, sir. Yeah, man, so all these people in this building where I am,

they wish they had had the access that you had this morning to that Alabama practice, because, yes, the opponent is familiar. Yes, they have played in every gigantic game it feels like for the last decade, but they don't really know this coaching staff. And I asked Kirby Smart about that. I said, is that weird? Because this is his mentor, Nick Saban, who had a very difficult time beating, beat him once ever. And he said, it's not weird.

It's just a lot of different work. So now what you're doing is, if you are the staff here at Georgia, you're not just watching film of this team after three games. You're also watching film of two years at Washington. You might be digging into the Fresno State Reels. You're doing everything you can. to look for tendencies. But at the end of the day, as Kirby Smart said to me,

listen, Jalen Milrow, Marta, that quarterback you just mentioned, he's still the guy under center. He still is the captain of explosive plays. We know that guy. We know how dangerous he can be, so you know how to prepare for that. Victoria, they know the opponent. They just don't know the bosses that well yet.

Well, you guys are great bosses over there because nobody does it like Marty and McGee. We love you both. Thank you so much, fellas. We appreciate you. Now, Alabama and Georgia have a dominated conference play since 2014 with a combined 150 total wins. Both undefeated at 3&O coming off a by week and looking forward to their 11th meeting in Tuscaloosa. Five of their last six showdowns have had SEC or national titles on the line.

So no doubt we should expect fireworks this Saturday. All right, let's talk Georgia, Alabama. And Sam, what's on the line for this game? It's respect. at the end of the day, respect is on the line. Alabama, when Nick Saban left, there was a lot of talk about how, well, they're going to fall off because the greatest coach in college football, one of the greatest coaches is no longer there. But if you listen to the players at Alabama talk, whether it was at SEC Media Day, when Tyler Booker was saying, we're not going to listen to the rap poison, or you listen to any Jalen Milrow, listen to them talk. This game is still about respect.

And so what I think is on the line more than anything is the fact that can this Alabama team still not only win, but be dominant even without. their head coach Nick Saban. I think the answer is yes, but the answer is still to be determined. You know, Sam, I'll tell you what isn't at stake here, and that's elimination from the college football playoffs. So we can remove that out of the equation because I don't think there's any issue with that as it relates to this ball game. What I do think, and to further your point, if you're on this Alabama football team, you're a player. There's got to be a part of you that wants to prove that you can beat Georgia without Nick Saban on the sideline. And maybe there's a small part of Kalinda Bohr that feels that same way. He's got a longstanding history of success,

a longstanding history of playing in and winning big games. And quite honestly, they have the most dynamic player on the field between both teams and quarterback Jalen Milrose. So I think this is going to be very interesting from a personal pride standpoint for the University of Alabama locker room. And if you look at different levels of leadership in business, there's level four leadership and level five leadership. Level four leadership says, hey, when I'm the guy at the helm, I have success. But when I leave, all of a sudden, the team is in shambles. Level five leadership says, when I'm at the helm, I have success. But when I leave, our team still has success. I think that's what Nick Saban has built at Alabama, this level five sense of leadership. Even though

he's gone, I think that Alabama, at least they have shown they can still have success. So more than anything, it's just reminder of, hey, we're Alabama. We're not. We're not. not only Nick Saban, whether it's Tyler Booker, whether Jay Lamar, whether it's Malachi Moore, Parker Brailsford, who transferred from Washington, that's the proof that they want to show is that it doesn't matter who's coaching us. We're the ones who control the outcome of the game. Well, and they have with Georgia, because I just want to wrap up with this quick, quick note. The Bulldogs are 45 and 2 since the start of the 2021 season with both losses coming against Alabama. But more on that, here's where you can check out this Georgia Alabama game.

Coverage of this one begins at 730 Eastern 4.30. Pacific. But before that, our college football Friday night on ESPN and the app, we've got number seven Miami hosting Virginia Tech in the ACC opener for both squads at hard at the hard rock stadium coverage kicks off with college football countdown at seven Eastern. Alugues, it was a wild week four. And we were all watching, including yourself, who were your top freshman of the week. All right, well, let's start off in Clemson, South Carolina and linebacker Sammy Brown, who the top 10 overall player in last year's class. But he's played on multiple sides of the football and the kicking game on offense on defense.

He's just now settling in to that middle linebacker role at Clemson. Eight tackles on the day. He was a wrecking ball. He is just scratching the surface of what he is going to be. Excited to watch him mature and grow. How about the leading rusher in the sunbelt? Floth Bothwell. Fleth Bothwell, excuse me, 116 yards, two touchdowns on just 14 carries as a true freshman as they dismantled

App State last week. He is an exciting dynamic back that looks like he's going to have barring injury a monster year on the ground. How about Jordan Seaton, the former five-star offensive tackle coming in to try to help solidify and if anything improve this offensive line for Colorado.

He's a true freshman. There are going to be potholes in the road, but he's starting to come into his own. You can see the athleticism. You can see the strength. What they need is four more like it. him, right? And that's where recruiting comes in, but good to see him starting to make some progress at the tackle spot. How about wide receiver, Maseo Bennett, from South Carolina? Five catches, 71 yards, and a touchdown

versus Kentucky. I think he's one of those guys that's starting to get into the groove, starting to be trusted to potentially be a go-to guy. They're down with Nora Sellers, having to play with Robbie Ashford, the freshman stepping up last week for the game cock. And for the second week in row. Isaac Wilson, Zach Wilson's younger brother. This time he takes Utah on the road in a ranked on ranked contest in a very hostile environment and beat the Oklahoma State Cowboys. So Isaac Wilson, a touchdown on the day, very efficient through the air. He did turn the ball over two times. However, this is now two wins under a true freshman quarterback on a team that can run the football and play defense. But what a huge win on the road for a true freshman quarterback.

All right, coming up, it's a big matchup in the Big Ten as Illinois heads to Happy Valley to take on Penn State. We'll hear from QB, Drew Aller, on what their focus is heading into week five. You're watching College Football Live, presented by Google Pixel. College Football Live is presented by Google Pixel. Let's take a look at today's road test presented by Good Year. Number 19, Illinois, looks to add another ranked win on their resume as they hit the road to face number nine Penn State. Their plus seven turnover differential ties for second best in the FBS fueled by a conference leading 10 takeaways. But we are going to move on to our top story of the day as we continue to monitor this story with UNLV starting quarterback Matt.

Sluca, we bring in Pete for more. What's the latest update, Pete? Yeah, Victoria, UNLV just issued a statement regarding the situation around Matt. Sluca leaving the school to go take a red shirt. They said in the same, quote, to clarify there were no formal NIL offers made during Mr. Shluka's recruitment process. Additionally, Friends of UNLV, which is the name of the collective,

did not finalize or agree to any NIL offers while he was part of the team, aside from a completed community engagement over the summer. At Blueprint Sports, which is the organization that kind of oversees the collective, and Friends of UNLV, we take our commitments very seriously. So I think this sort of sets both sides of this situation, Victoria. We have the agency and the young man who say they were verbally offered $100,000 in order to go to UNLV. That was obviously never processed formally through the collective. So when the young man, Matthew Sluca, went to collect the money that he thought was verbally

promised to him, UNLV wasn't aware that that had happened. And their collective, which obviously would be in charge of paying him, didn't have anything on its books that indicated that. So that is the disconnect that's led us to this moment, which could end up being really a transformative one in college athletics because it gives us a peek behind the curtain at how nonsensical these NIL deals being paid by third parties really are. Well, and where do you even see there being a solution to this bigger issue, Pete? Well, the solution would have to come holistically.

And look, how to pay athletes has been a decades-long, Thorne and the Solution side of the NCAA as they sort of had the notion of amateurism being perpetuated for all these years and money got to players through under the table means. Now, there's over the table means, but it still has to come through a side door, essentially.

And if the settlement passes through the house, through the courts in Northern California, in the upcoming weeks, revenue share would give sort of a direct way to pay these athletes. Well, I'll tell you what the solution is, long

term how we get there. I don't think anybody knows, but that's a labor agreement between the universities and the student athletes where there are assurances and guarantees that both parties are protected in times like this. So that's where it's got to get to. We've got to put them under contracts that are accountable and both sides are protected. And that accountability is everything. Sam, do you have something quickly to say? I'm just hoping for a solution for both parties. Yeah, we're all hoping for that solution. All right, for Pete. Sam and Lugues, I'm Victoria. Thanks for watching. We'll be back tomorrow.