College Football Live - Who Got Next?

Episode Date: December 14, 2023

Host Kelsey Riggs is joined by Sam Acho, Jordan Reid, and Pete Thamel as they continue to discuss familiar names in the transfer portal & take a look at some potentially great matchups, in the 2024-2025 college football season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome into college football live. I'm Kelsey Riggs, and we're coming out of the tunnel with Transfer Portal quarterback that could affect the CFP. Texas's backup quarterback Malik Murphy is out. What's the impact for the Longhorns? And where's a good fit for him? Plus, speaking of backups, how do the other backups in the CFP compare if they ended up being needed? We'll dive into that. And we haven't crowned a 2023 champion. But the SEC's 2024 schedule is out. The biggest stands out and challenges coming up on college. football live. Kelsey Riggs, great to be with you. And guys, we are counting down just 18 days away from New Year's Day and the CFP semi-final matchups between Michigan and Alabama and the Rose Bowl and Texas and Washington in the Sugar Bowl. And we start with the big news out of Texas as backup quarterback Malik Murphy announced he's transferring from Texas and won't be available for the CFB.

Now, R. Pete Thamel spoke to Murphy last night. He told him this. I hate it. I hate it. I'm super invested in this team, everything that we've done along the way and all the work we've put in together. It's hard to walk away, especially at this point during the season. So let's bring in our college football insider Pete Mammle for more on this story. And Pete, when you spoke with Murphy, kind of different tone than you hear from a lot of guys when they're transfer portal, quarterback,

because obviously they're playing right now and getting ready for these big games. What did he tell you about the timing and the why of why he's doing this right now? Yeah, Kelsey, had a lot of empathy for Malik Murphy on the phone with him last night. He's clearly at a tough crossroads for his career. He wants to be with his teammates for the next game and potentially two games and help them win a national championship. But as that process unfolds, there are seats being taken in the musical quarterback chairs game. He said for himself and his future, he felt like it was the best for him to go on visits and explore, explore opportunities that may not be there, especially if Texas wins and plays on January 8th.

So Malik Murphy told me it was a difficult decision. As you said earlier, he hated it, but he felt like the best move for his future was to push on. He was one of the top quarterback recruits in the class of 2020. Kelsey, he won both his starts for the Longhorns this year and will be one of the most coveted quarterbacks to go through the portal this year. And I read your story, saw there were some quotes as well from his coach. His teammates who obviously understand what he's going through.

Signing Day is the 20th. So you would imagine even more of those spots. will be locked up next Wednesday as we talk about what's next for him. Any possible landing spots for Malik Murphy right now? Well, Kelsey, preliminary list. It's very early still. A couple of schools that have indicated interests are both U.S.Cs, Southern California and South Carolina, Baylor, Georgia, Oregon State, Syracuse, and Duke.

Those are basically double as a list of quarterback needy schools, and there's going to be plenty of interest for Malik Murphy. If J.J. McCarthy leaves Michigan, that could. be another potential landing spot down the line. Lots of big schools to keep an eye on big programs that could have an opportunity to get him. We will continue to monitor that. Pete Thamble back with us in a little while. But let's take a look at the other side of this big story.

And that's the Texas quarterback situation now because Malik Murphy, he only had two starts. But when he got his opportunity, he did produce, of course, Quinn Ewers is the starter. Started 11 games from them this season. And then Arch Manning, a name that everybody knows very well. But we haven't seen very much of just five pass-a-tube. attempts in his first year there and completed two of those. So obviously you hope your starter stays healthy guys, but does they get ready for the college football playoff semifinals?

But Sam, the reality of it is the reason that Malik Murphy had those two starts is because Quinn Ewers was hurt. He's had some injuries. What's your reaction to all of this and how it shakes out for Texas? My first reaction is empathy for Malik Murphy. Why? I got a chance to spend time with this team this season. I called one of their games last season.

got a chance to see Malik Murphy in the way that everyone gravitates around him. You know that he wants to be with the guys. The issue is in less than a week or really a week, yeah, less than a week is when the early signing day comes. Now, the other issue is this. Malik Murphy actually won his two starts, right? The reason Texas only has one loss is that when Kuhnui was got hurt this year, Malik produced to Adonite Mitchell is probably his number one target and to Xavier worthy.

And so will Archmanning be ready if an injury were to occur? That's the biggest question. Two for five. We saw it. He did look good. but he has not been operating as a primary backup all season long. Jordan. Yeah, it's really interesting just because Archmanning is at a very different situation.

Now, usually when you're the number three quarterback going into the week, you're imitating the quarterback that your defense is matched up against. So in practice, he's probably been imitating Michael Pennings, Jr. up until this point, but now he's capable of being the backup now. So he goes from reading a scout team card to now taking significant reps behind when you were in practice. And he has to understand that he's one play away. from going in the game.

So Coach Steve Sarkeesian, he did a good job of this throughout the season, especially during the back album, incorporate Arch just trying to get his game speed up to bat so far. But once again, Arch Manning has to understand that he's one play away from going in and they've done a good job of just trying to get him into the mix and he's just not going in their cold. And the importance, Jordan, of the point you just made is that not only did Quinn Ewer's miss games this season.

He also missed some games last season as well. Last season, it was a different quarterback. We saw Casey Thompson-Hudson Carr, some of these quarterbacks, in. And so there could be a potential of a backup being needed, if not in the Sugar Bowl, potentially if you win in the national championship. A lot of changes over the next 18 days as this team gets ready to play in the Sugar Bowl. And of course, we hope that Quinn Neuer stays healthy. But we have seen quarterbacks get hurt on this kind of stage before. And the last time Texas played in a national championship,

2010. I know Texas fans remember, quarterback Cole McCoy, it's hit on the first offensive possession at the shoulder. He's out for the rest of the game. Now, Sam, you also. remember this very well because you were on that team. So take us inside what that's like, what the impact is of seeing your quarterback go down on this kind of state. We weren't ready and that was the issue, right? Colt McCoy, we were undefeated that season. So Texas, that team went to the national championship, hadn't lost. We won every game. So Colt McCoy was a primary guy, right? Hiseman Trophy conversation. And though Garrett Gilbert did play in every single game or 10 of the games, excuse me, we weren't ready for him to be the starter. And so when Colt got

injured, Garrett didn't really have a ton of that experience. So similar fashion, let's say something happens. I'm going to say something does, but let's say in this situation, you have a quarterback in Arch Manning who has been operating as the three. And so there's not that litany of reps or that opportunity to get ready to be the backup. So the issue is going to be that mentality of can you take your team to a victory, not just playing anybody, you're playing some of the four best teams at all of college football. And they do have 18 days to prepare for their next game. And then we'll see what happens. As you take a look at some of the other backup

quarterback because I kind of got us thinking of who else is in the mix and you take a look at the four teams and what they have. Ty Simpson uses legs when he had an opportunity rushing for 118 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Of course, no more Tyler Buckner for Alabama. He's transferring back to Notre Dame to pay play lacrosse in the

future. So that's interesting. Also Jack Tuttle for Michigan and then Washington's Dylan Morris, who is in the transfer portal, but is going to complete this season with Lockhart for now. Still to I'm here on College Football Live. Bowl season is upon us, but so is scheduled season.

We've got to look at the SEC's rundown for next season. Coming up. College Football Live is brought to you by Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen. Welcome back into College Football Live, keeping you updated with our portal tracker, and it continues to grow those numbers changing over 1,600 players, 1666 to be exact, Still those 113 FBS scholarship quarterbacks, but then a lot of group of five and power of five players almost split right down the middle with that. But Sam and Jordan, as we bring you guys back in,

the reason that these players are in the portal, it differs from player to player, from school to school, from reason to reason. And a lot of it, of course, bigger opportunities. NIL, you're looking for different things. But Sam, it's not always that. What's your thought on the transfer portal? Well, both Jordan and I played in college football at a high level, We understand that though the game has changed, some of the coaching issues are still the same.

So transfer portal opens up. Sometimes players want to leave. Sometimes coaches are recommending that they leave. Coachers are saying, hey, you may be number two, number three, number four on the depth chart. You may not get an opportunity. So I'd highly recommend that you go. They may not do it on the outside and publicly, but inside of some of these meeting rooms, I think the reason why you're seeing these portal numbers blow up isn't solely because players are

looking for better NIL deals. Some of them are being kicked out. And it's not just for those reasons, too. It's also for opportunity, like we talked about a little bit earlier, Sam, off the show. Some of these FCS players are looking for bigger opportunities. And I think a great example of that, take an example of Jared Verst, going from Albany to Florida State and the impact that he has had. So there's a lot of kids that are going for bigger opportunities from FCS schools. And those FCS Division II Division III schools, they're kind of have transitioned into being a feeder system for those bigger schools.

So I think that's one of the biggest reasons that a lot of these smaller school kids are looking for those bigger opportunities. not only with NIL, but also just having, being able to be showcased on a bigger stage, too. Well, 100% and the other thing that you take into account is coaching changes because guys do leave when coaches come in, and that shovels it too as we bring back in our Pete. Thammell, Pete, a lot of the big name guys we're talking about are for obvious reasons. For bigger schools, better opportunities, NIL deals. Take us through some of the big names in the portal right now and what you're hearing today. What's the latest?

Well, Kelsey, just within the last half an hour, we broke that Aidan Childs, Oregon State's backup quarterback last year is going to follow Jonathan Smith to Michigan State. Childs was good enough that starting September 30th, he played the third series of every game in place of DJ Ui Ungolet. Jonathan Smith now has a quarterback to build around in East Lansing with Aden Childs. He's 6-3-200 pounds and extremely talented. It's been a great match for both sides. As for Kyle McCord, what we know is that he will not be going to Nebraska. sources have told me in the last 24 hours that that match did not happen.

It's another sign that Dylan Raola will likely be headed there. He's expected to visit Lincoln this weekend, and we could have a decision on Raola flipping from Georgia to Nebraska in the upcoming days. Rayola is obviously one of the top recruits in the country. And then we'll finish with a little bit of an unusual twist here, Drew Pine, the Notre Dame quarterback, who went 8 and 2 as a starter there, transferred to Arizona State last year. year started just one game because of injuries. He's actually transferring back to Notre Dame, Kelsey, but he won't be playing this spring. He's going to be a civilian student, take 15 credits,

get his degree. He then plans to transfer, and he'll have three seasons of eligibility remaining left. He has the 2020 COVID year and a medical red shirt. So Drew Pine will be on the market after this spring once he gets his degree from Notre Dame. 26 years old potentially if he's able to play those next three years. It is a really interesting story. But hey, you know how much that college degree is worth, especially when you get it from Notre Dame. Pete Thamwell with the latest here on college football live. Now, some other teams that are doing big things in the transfer portal and in NIL. Well, no surprise, Colorado, as we take a look at some of the commits that Coach Prime and the Buffalo has received from the portal. Six of their eight commits thus far are

offensive linemen. No surprise. It's an area of focus as their quarterback, Sher Sanders, were sacked 52 times this season, the most in every. FBS. Jordan, this is a team that we were really hot on and excited about early in the season, but then they finished four and eight, had some trouble down the stretch, staying healthy, protecting Shredder Sanders and some of the other things. But Jordan, how do you see this working out for Coach Prime in the Buffalo's in year two when they are getting it done with so many new faces?

Well, the only way to go is up, right? Especially with this offensive line, they just were not very good in front of Shador Sanders last year. But with Colorado, I think the thing that's really interesting is that when I look across the landscape of college football, and I see some of the best offensive lines in the country, whether it's Alabama, Oregon, Georgia, Michigan, some of these blue blood type of programs, the thing that is a little bit tricky with offensive line is that you want them to develop within your system. So I think the tricky part for Colorado is getting all these transfers is going to be really difficult for them to mesh together. And Sam can attested this as

well, excuse me, specialists and offensive linemen, they're their own group. It's like their own little click together. So go ahead, Sam. Yeah, and Jordan, to your point, Jordan, it takes so long for teams to mesh as a whole. One of my best friends is a coach at Purdue University of Northwest. Coach's basketball there, and he's talked about how much he's on the road. This is year four or five of this program, and they're finally finding ways to win. They just be the number 14 team in the nation. And so whether it's through transfer portal, whether it's through recruits,

we saw Colorado sign one of the top offensive line recruits in the nation. We saw Travis Hunter, one of the number one recruits of the nation, come to Colorado. all we're seeing is the team meshing, and it's actually more challenging when you bring in transfers because they may not know your culture. They may not know how you operate as a team. And so I think you have to actually be a better coach

to get everyone together. We're seeing it in some of the championship teams, right? We're seeing Jane Daniels, Highland Trophy winner is they transfer. Dylan Johnson running back, start running back from Washington, transfer. And so for me, Michael Pendix transfer, the list goes on and on and on.

And so shout out to some of these coaches who are actually building their programs with players who weren't a part of their initial coaching staffs. It is really interesting and interesting time in college football right now. Also, Sam, you said one of your coaching best friends, and I thought you're talking about Coach Prime, thinking back to when you're hanging out with him on the sidelines early in the season.

Meanwhile, it's time for our weekend lineup brought to you by Wendy's Beef. Three bowl games on Saturday on ABC, 12 p.m. The cricket celebration bowl, 3.30. Avocados from Mexico, Cure Bowl. And finally, the L.A. Bowl at 7.30. More to come here on college football live. On the other side of this break, the SEC, The schedule is out for next year.

Yes, there are more teams in it. Some of these schedules are going to be tough. We take a deep dive after this. The thing you to feel us all season, all season. Where else would y'all rather be? We're going to do what we do, though. A Dr. Pepper, some big news as schedules for the SEC was were released last night. And you guys, I want to dive into some of them.

And we're going to start with Alabama. Of course, we've got all 16. SEC teams getting ready for next year. We got to see all of the schedules and to look at who they're playing and win. Obviously knew a lot of the matchups, but now officially we know when. So Sam, let's start with Alabama and their schedule as you take a look at it on their screen. One of the big things, and this had kind of come out in pieces before. September 28th. We're going to get to see Alabama, Georgia. That's going to be a massive one. Well, I can't wait to watch that one. But interestingly enough, the week before they go to Wisconsin. Wisconsin may be. be improved with their second year head coach. And so you go to that Georgia game September 28th. Fast forward, I look at LSU. I see Oklahoma.

You see the Iron Bowl as well. So those are going to be huge games. Oklahoma will be under its third year under Brent Venables. That's when Steve Sarkesian made the jump. Oklahoma may be making that same jump as well. It's going to be really interesting. Good stuff there for Alabama. Let's take a look at another team that I know a lot of people have a lot of

interest in and that is the two time defending champs in Georgia. I mentioned that game. Of course, you'll see it on this schedule as well. September. 28th, just the fifth time the past 20 years, these SEC powerhouses have played in the regular season. Jordan, what else stands out about what the Bulldogs will have to deal with? Well, of course, the season opener is one that everybody is going to be looking forward to, as you alluded to, that game in Clemson in the Mercedes Ben Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

I'm really looking forward to that one. But, of course, the showdown against Alabama actually happening during the season this year. Both teams have bi-weeks before that game, so they're going to be well-rested. And I just cannot wait to see Kirby Smart and Nick Saban clash now in the season. It's going to be interesting. You mentioned the bye weeks. Two open dates for each team. They would play at least one required opponent from the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pact 12,

Major Independent, and then, of course, have those two buy weeks. Let's take a look at another schedule. And it's Florida, because this is going to be a really tricky one for the Gators. You start things off with Miami, which Sam is always fun to get to see Florida. and Miami go to head to head. Look at the back half of their schedule, though, Acho. Hey, Kelsey, I'm going to call this November. Look at November, y'all.

You got Georgia, which is number six right now. You got Texas number three, LSU number 13, Ole Miss number 11, Florida State, number five. All of November is going to be brutal for Florida, unless they get their stuff together. There's going to be no ETIPEN, enter the transfer portal, start running back. And so this is going to be very interesting

for fans. One of my other buddies, Davis Trey, Bertin, he played in NFL, played for Florida. He'll be rooting the team on. But, man, Georgia, Texas, LSU, O'Miss, Florida State, good luck to them, Gators. I mean, the whole schedule, starting up with Miami, then you had Texas A&A at Tennessee, mid-October. That's always

a tough place to play. But man, those last five games are going to be a brutal, brutal stretch for the Gators. Let's take a look at another schedule, and that's LSU. We know they started things off in a big way this year. Of course, they had reigning Heisman trophy winners looking to see what they can do next year.

But Jordan, as you take a look at what lies ahead for them, what stands out for the Tigers? There's three games that really stand out to me. And of course, that season opener. That's one game. A lot of people are going to have circled in the Legion Stadium in Las Vegas. I cannot wait to see the matchup between these two teams of LSU and USC. Stylistically, two teams that are similar with Lincoln Riley system being more so of an air raid. And then also Brian Kelly system, that down the field passing attack, LSU is likely

going to be breaking a new quarterback next year, so we'll see what that's happened there. But also Alabama. That is always a great game returning back into Death Valley where LSU did beat Alabama last season. And then, of course, the season finale against Oklahoma. Those are the three games that I'm going to have circled on LSU schedule. Texas and Oklahoma coming into the SEC has been with the big storyline for such a long time. And let's take a look at Texas' schedule and what they're going to face in their first year in the

SEC. And Sam, I saw you shaking your head already. You see the game with Oklahoma on October 12th. And then a lot of those really, really tough SEC opponents, especially on the back half, Sam. Yeah, I don't know if the Oklahoma game should be the game that we're highlighting, right? Go to September 7th. Zoom your eyes there.

Day after my birthday, right, your boy's going to be getting older. Michigan at Michigan, right? So one of my, I don't talk about my buddies today, Steve Carter, a good friend of mine, huge Michigan fan. We've been talking about that game for the last two or three years. It's going to be epic. UTSA is going to be a great game as well. Jeff Traylor, one of the best coaches in the nation.

Oklahoma, we talked about. Then after that, Georgia, what? Okay, what? You got Michigan, Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida, talked about them. And then last but not least, renewing the old rivalry between Texas and Texas A&M. Remember, back in 2011,

the last time Texas and A&M played each other. And Justin Tucker won a game when he field goal and all of a sudden A&M went to the SEC and the rest of history, right? I will say this, though, that will be epic. That's going to be at A&M. That's the loudest place I have ever played in my life. Kyle Field, the home of the 12th man.

I also played in the NFL, played against the Seahawks. That has a 12th man as well. That game's going to be crazy. So Texas fans, welcome to the SEC. We love rivalry renewed. We also love the fact I do anyways. No divisional competition for this team, for this conference, first time since 1991.

Quickly, before you let you guys go, Just wondering, I love you in your jobs now. Nobody leave us. But Iowa actually posting on their website that they're looking for an offensive coordinator. Not something you see every day. Just click it, apply. I mean, Sam. Give it to our former QB, Kelsey Jordan.

Give it to Jordan. Former QB knows the game, knows all the players. Get all the recruits. Go ahead. Get it.