DOUBLE COVERAGE PODCAST - Manti Te’o Sounds Off On Notre Dame’s Playoff Case, Lane Kiffin Going To LSU, and Jaxson Dart

Episode Date: December 6, 2025

Doubl3 Coverage Episode 9 With NFL Analyst Manti Te'o PODCAST on YouTube: ⁠ / @doubl3coveragepodcast ⁠ PODCAST ON Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/0yB2yjx... PODCAST ON Apple: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... INSTAGRAM | ⁠ / @doubl3coverage ⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to episode nine of double coverage. Today I'm honored to be joined by former Heisman finalist, eight-year NFL pro, the one and only Mr. Manteau. How are you doing, man? Thanks for having me, my man. Great to be here with you. But the people at home that don't know, maybe they're not tuned into morning programming, maybe they sleep in.

What have you been up to post-N-Fel career? So I'm currently one of the hosts on Good Morning Football. It's a live show here in California from 5 a.m. to 7. So if you're up that early, come listen to your boy and the rest of the crew. We like to blend a little bit of football, a little bit of pop culture, keep it light, keep it relatable. And we have a fun time. So that's what I've been doing. It's been great other than that, man.

Just I have two beautiful children. My wife is a rock star. She has her own business, owns her own meds ball. So I'm heavy into entrepreneurial work. So yeah, just a family man and trying to do my best for my kids. What time do you go to bed to start to show that early? Well, usually we get up to the room about seven, try to get our kids all bathed and in bed. I'm usually down by 8.30 so that I could be up by 245 in the morning.

Not for the week. Not for the week, for the week for sure. But, you know, it's part of the sacrifices you need to make in order to do great things. So it's all, I'm all about it. So the classic transition from player to media, was that something you had in mind during your playing career? Not at all. So how this all came about was I got inducted into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame. Now the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame has a deal with NFL network. And Steve Weish, who was one of their head chief reporters, flew out to Utah where we lived at that time and did an interview with me.

And after that interview, he said, hey, bro, you should really consider being on TV. And I was like, man, I never thought of being on TV in any capacity, but there was an opportunity. I wasn't doing anything other than some investor work. And so I went to the NFL has this broadcasting boot camp that they hold over there in Englewood. I went to the one a year later. I guess I made a great impression. Last year I had a part-time job for Good Morning Football to show I'm on currently. And again, I guess I made another great impression and they brought me on full-time.

So that's how that whole thing worked. So are you looking to expand even beyond that and do maybe even non-Nefil media, and maybe even hosting just, you know, the average shows, like a Nate Burlson or Michael Strayhan. Oh, you know, Nate is actually a huge guy that had mentor of mine that I've bounced ideas off of. When I met Nate the morning that the day that my documentary released on Netflix, I was in New York. And I made an appearance on CBS Good Mornings, which Nate is a host on. And so I met Nate there. This is a full circle moment.

So Nate is one of the original hosts on Good Morning Football. So when I got this job, I reached out to Nate and asked him for some tips. And a couple of things, simple things that he told me has really helped me to elevate my game and my craft. And as athletes, we're always looking on ways to improve. And Nate is one of those guys as a former player that you look at him and he's like the Michael Strayhan. You know, you're like, man, these are guys that have really transcended the game and have taken their careers probably further than their football careers have gone and that's saying a lot for what they've accomplished on the football field so that's kind of how this whole thing has come full

circle for me so funny story about Nate he was one of the first people to support me in my journey there you go um so I worked at ffu football under I mean the main umbrella was head coach link kiff and who we're going to get into yeah yeah but uh the guy in front of me DJ McCarthy wide receivers coach actually his son is our lead production guy is right where I'm pointing and uh so Nate showed love. Coach EJ introduced me to him and always super helpful. He's a big old-school rap fan. I was on a show with Jada kiss at the time So he was really helpful and he's always someone that I look towards as Inspiration and someone like even the little tiny thing even the way he moves his hands Yes, yes yes yes yes, there's so many Tony Romo I think is the classic example of player to commentator and getting like his perspective on that transition be really cool. Yeah, right?

Because he became a rock star a meet Yeah. No, no warm up, nothing, just first game. Yeah. And I think what's, what's difficult, right? And somebody that like Tony Romo and you have, even T.J. Watt so early in his career right now as a color commentator is it's being able to take what you know and dial it down in a version that your audience can understand. Yeah. You know what I mean?

Because I'm sure Tony Romo can get up there and start rapping about. rapping about what this coverage means and what this formation. The person at home is not going to be able to know. What are you even talking about, right? Yeah, of course. But the great ones are able to take what they know and deliver it in a very digestible form for their audience. And I think that's what Tony Romo does, you know, better than most. Yeah, imagine how hard it is for Tom Brady.

Yeah. The Almanac, right? Yeah. Yeah. So relate to the average person. Yeah. That's probably the hardest thing for someone like that is, okay, how do I get this out in a relatable way for the people at home.

And by the way, more people than ever are watching at home. So just the Thanksgiving numbers just came in, smashed the all-time regular season watch record twice. So first Packers Lions beats the record by 5 million viewers. And then Cowboys Chiefs come along and they do 10 million more viewers. So talk to me about that and working in the ever-exploding National Football League and what it means for the future in the sport. Well, number one, it just goes to show how great our sport is.

All of those Thanksgiving numbers, I think it's, It's all credit to the push to get it worldwide. Yeah, for all the booze that Roger Goodell receives, you have to give some credit, right? Yeah, how well the NFL's do it. They're killing it. No, right. All the booze, yeah, he's still up there with a smile. He understands the responsibility that he has and the title that he has and what that comes with good and bad.

And I think he handles it really well. We spoke about kind of the transition from playing to commentating. Talk to me about the transition for you going from a Heisman finalist. a college superstar to the NFL when you're drafted by the Chargers? Wow, that's a great question. I think everything is case by case. And what I mean by that is there are some schemes that are easier to transition to the game, the professional game than others.

My college scheme was very, very simple, which allowed me to play fast. It allowed me to do what I needed to do while I was in college. It wasn't as complex as what I had to do when I got to the league. Now the system I came in to in San Diego was one of a lot of blitzing,

a lot of pressure. And whenever you're part of a scheme that does that, there's so many moving parts. If one guy motions this way, this guy who's supposed to blitz can't blitz anymore. Now it's my job to communicate that

to the guy who now has to blitz what his job is. Yeah, right? So from a college program where I could just line up, look at the offense, and ball to rookie year. I'm now on a defense where I have to adjust. And I tell kids all the time the difference between the NFL game, the pro game, and every level below it is the levels below it, you can play the game post snap. Yeah. And the NFL, everything is them pre-snap. If you don't know, if you are not 99% confident of what is going to happen before the ball snaps, you're done. You had kind of a rough nose style, almost a throwback, right?

Do you think you would have benefited more by playing in a different era where the rules weren't so tense for the defense? I think I was in this trend. To your point, I was in this transition phase, right? There was this phase and transition of going from a full back. I formation lead. Yeah. To spread them out, space game, try to get screens, RPO. It's like the college game started to leak over to the pro game.

I think I was somebody that fit better with a certain scheme. Man coverage, that ain't my thing. Yeah. I don't got the speed for that. I don't have the agility for that. But to be able to drop back in coverage, use my instincts and play ball, I think that was something that I really thrived in and there were opportunities where I had that and there were also opportunities where I did it yeah yeah your play recognition ability ability to make plays fill

gaps things like that definitely yeah that was easy bro seaball get ball is always my thing you're a proud Notre Dame fighting Irish alumni you guys have been in the news for a multitude of topics I mean we got a lot of ways we can go I want to start with maybe a slight curveball here but the Heisman trophy race you were embroiled in a tight kind of Heisman trophy conversation. And so is the current Notre Dame running back. Jeremiah Love. He's an absolute stud.

I mean, one of the best players in the country. Yeah. We got some quarterbacks in the list. We got your Fernando Mendoza, Dante Moore. Jeremiah Love, getting excluded from the love. Yeah. Who would be your Heisman Trophy winner? Jeremiah Love.

Come on, though. You know what I mean? I think quarterbacks get this nod. It's like the MVP of the NFL. Like, it's the most valuable player. it's always going to there's a little bit more grace when it comes to the quarterback position and I get it without a quarterback there's no way you can win however I think what germia love has been able to do this year alone this is excluding the past two years where he was also

incredible but this year alone the amount of yards that he's averaging per carry what he means to one of the best teams in college football and just how dynamic he's been and this a guy that doesn't get all the carries, right? This is a guy that splits his backfield that he continues to produce at a very, very high level. For me, it's going to be German Loweuf. No, his stat lines are funny. He'll be like, eight carries, 130 yards. I'm like, what?

Yeah. Is it eight? 18? Like what? Yep, he's explosive. Yeah, what are some standout characteristics, something that I see that makes him really different? And a cowboy style, former cowboy scout likened it to Ezekiel Elliott is his vision. Yes.

He's very, very patient, but when he sees something, he goes, right? And so he got that little Leviom bell to him, too, where he's patient beyond the line of scurrence, but when he sees it, he has the ability to really run through a hole. But his vision is second to none. And I do see that comparison to Ezekiel Elliott, where he can see, it takes a special running back, right, to see certain colors, right? For him, he knows that my teammates are blue in the home game and in an OA game. It's a white jersey. Some running backs just see color.

Yeah. You know what I mean? But he can see where his linemen are positioned on defenders and be able to really ride that wave that way. And I think the very, the special running backs have that on Jermont definitely does. Jeremiah, love, that one cut once he gets second level. You're not catching him. You ain't catching him. And even if you try to, he's going to jump over you or he's going to juke you out.

he has all the intangibles and he has every skill set to be one of the best running backs in the league. Yeah, what are your thoughts on a lot of people who, you know, players might categorize as nerds? Analytics type guys who say running backs don't matter. No matter what, don't draft them in the first round, don't value them. You can find a guy of similar value in the later rounds. You can rotate them, you know, just avoid them. Well, I think it all depends on who you are and what your team does, right? So like, can you say that to the Detroit Lions?

No, you can't, right? Like, without Jamir Gibbs, like they received a whole lot of hate. They received a whole lot of hate for drafting Jamir Gibbs. But Jamir Gibbs is now one of the best running backs in the league. Why? Because he's in a system that utilizes Jamir Gibbs the way that he's supposed to. Yeah. Right.

Christian McCaffrey. Christian McCaffrey is a guy that year and a year out. I know he was hurt last year, but the year before that, he's breaking records. And this year, he's been probably their main constant that's helped him to get to this point in the season so when you're looking at a running back if you're a team that utilizes running backs in a traditional fashion go get them yeah I mean because you also could make the agreement that somebody like quenchon judkins who is a phenomenal rookie running back who was picked in not in the first round is is having a great season as well so I think it's a case-by-case

basis what you're trying to do as a team as as a franchise in the NFL I think if you you were one who utilizes running backs at a high volume, go get them. Yeah, look at Kyle Monongai for the Bears going insane for Ben Johnson. Obviously, they have a great run blocking system, but he's running so hard. It's hard to imagine why that guy felled the seventh round. Yeah, him. But I also think that he benefits from somebody like DeAndre Swift, you know what I mean, where it's a change of pace.

And for a defense, when you have a running back where you have to look in the backfield, be like, okay, now it's Kyle Monong. Yeah, it's a different approach. okay now it's DeAndre Swift okay it's a different approach that creates another hurdle as a as a defense that you have to be aware of that man when you have one one running back right there it's just like okay it's Sequin I know what he's going to do you know what I mean so I think kai monongai he is a great talent but with that scheme with DeAndre swift I think they do do a good job in utilizing him and obviously ben Johnson gets that he's recreated it twice I mean what

a phenomenal job to build what he did in Detroit. A lot of people may be questioning his ability to move teams, new system, become the head coach, recreates the same thing. Yeah. I mean, gets a one-two punch. Grab's a guy in the seventh round. He's got the Chicago Bears atop the NFC, not just NFC North, atop the NFC. This is a team that's struggled for a lot of years and now things are looking more positively than, since May, 1985. Yeah. So talk to me about Ben Johnson's Chicago Bears. I think Ben Johnson brings a stoic approach to him. And I think what's the biggest impact that Ben Johnson has had has been on Caleb Williams

and his demeanor. I think when you watch Caleb Williams this year, it's a more mature Caleb. You know what I mean? I see a Caleb Williams that isn't real flashy anymore. It's like, hey, man, I'm all business now. And Kyle Brandt got the opportunity to sit down with him yesterday. to have a conversation with him and Kyle relate to us on our show on Good Morning Football that he's just locked in you know and that's that's such a dangerous thing when you have somebody

like Caleb who has all the skill sets that you could want in a quarterback locked in mentally that way and you have now that run game that they have that you could really rely on yeah i mean the exes knows and also his approach to the draft he kept He goes against Colston Loveland. He goes against Luther Burden. He understands that you can never have enough weapons to surround your young quarterback your number one pick. He trades for Joe Thune from the Kansas City Chiefs. That's under the radar move a lot of people don't talk about. I mean, he really transformed this team built it his way. It's all seeing instant success. Yeah, well, it's funny because I think you look at last year, Caleb Williams was the most sacked quarterback in the NFL. So you brought up Joe Tunney from the Chiefs. Like, shore up your offensive line. And I think when it comes to the best, you know, Ben Johnson, everybody gets caught up in the trick place, right? This fancy formations and all of the things that he did in Detroit. But if you understand Ben Johnson is at his core, he's a runner. Yeah.

He wants to run the football. And that is what I think has been impressive, is for him to establish a rushing attack that now you have a quarterback like Caleb Williams, who has all the abilities in the world, but you don't have to use that just yet, right? You can keep that kind of stash and continue to. to cultivate that with him. And I thought he's done a phenomenal job alongside Ryan Poles.

Prior to the season, receives a lot of flack from the fan base. Yeah, right? I mean, that's the nature of the business. You know what I mean? Like, not everybody's gonna like who you draft, what you draft, you're gonna have some, some of your own fans question.

There's never like, no one can ever follow five year plan. No one sees the vision right away, so it's a tough business. You gotta believe in your vision. That's the number one thing. Yeah, when I'm evaluating Ben Johns, I think the trick plays are about 3% of it, right? And it's all set up and predicated off the fact that they can run play action so effectively, that linebackers like you have to crash because the run game is so effective, then you

can set up the stuff deep down the field. Yeah, you have to have, you have to establish something for the counter, right? There are teams in the NFL right now that haven't established anything that are throwing counter punches and it's not surprising anybody, right? Yeah. when you have established something, now those trick plays come into play. It's like trying to run a screen when you haven't even thrown a pass yet. Yeah.

It's like, that's not tricking anybody. Like, we're not even surprised you ran that. You have to establish something in order for those trick plays to work. So I think that Ben Johnson is one of those guys that's really good at it. I had a lot of box. It's like trying to throw a big right hand, but you haven't sent it up off the jab. Yeah, yeah. You better not throw that hook before anything, bro, because they're going to see it coming.

Yeah, exactly. So, yeah, Ben Johnson's done a phenomenal job, turned the franchise around. I want to pivot back to Notre Dame. They're just in a lot of news right now. There's a lot going on. College football, playoff race. This is the big story right now. This is the one that a lot of people are up in arms.

I have a feeling where you're going to land on this, but I'm still going to lay it out for you. The main debate here is who deserves that 10th spot. There's a tight race. The main two teams that are coming up often are the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the Miami Hurricanes. They played head to head earlier this season. The Hurricanes won.

but after that game, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, go on a 10-game winning streak, right? The hurricanes have some setback. So on one side of the argument, you have people saying, hey, Notre Dame showed remarkable consistency to win those 10 straight games. Their two losses were to two top programs.

And Miami didn't show as much consistency, isn't on that type of a win streak. Their two losses were to inferior teams. And then you have people on the hurricane side saying, hey, this team beat that team head-to-head. They've got to be in over them. What are your thoughts in this situation? Trying to not be biased.

Obviously, it's hard. I'll leave it with what Marcus Freeman said. He's like, this is, the playoffs is based on how you're playing now, not how you play in week one. Can I tell you the real shaman at all? There's multiple teams. You asked me, Oklahoma or Miami. I'd rather play Oklahoma. Ole Miss or Miami.

They don't even have their coach. I'd rather play Ole Miss. So the real shaman at all is Miami, Notre Dame, both probably top 10 programs. Yeah, yeah. So, you know, the minutia in at all, you know, trying to pick one or the other, you get lost in the fact that both these teams are surging and dangerous. Yeah. BYU wins. No.

Notre Dame's out too. Yeah. The thing I think with Notre Dame is there are benefits to being independent and there are disadvantages to be independent. When you are part of a conference, winning that conference automatically gets you in, right? So there are people that look at Notre Dame and are like, oh, you're independent so you get this nod. It's hard to get into the playoffs as an independent. Why? Because we don't have this card we can throw up there and be like, oh, but we're conference champs.

We're big 12 champs, we're big 10 chance, we're SEC champs. We don't have that. So it's not only in who you beat, it's how you beat them. You know what I mean? So that's something that on our resume that we always have to keep in mind. Now, we did lose to Miami and Texas A&M in close games, you know, so it wasn't like a blowout. Now, I think if it was a blowout, that's another conversation to be had. But again, the way we've been able to play the past few weeks, I think says a lot.

Yeah, and I think also on the committee's mind has to be the year previous. You guys have a real tough loss in Northern Illinois. Bounce all the way back. Go to the national championship. Right? So I think that's replaying in the committee's mind as well was what Coach Marcus Freeman was able to bring. to Notre Dame last year, Jeremiah Love, some similar guys in mind. Yeah, I think that's an excellent point that a lot of people miss

when talking about Notre Dame being independent is if it was up to Coach Marcus Freeman and maybe the former alumni, maybe the players, they would probably love to have a conference championship game opportunity to kind of put a finishing stamp on the season. You have to have one loss. It's still like, man, I don't know if we're going to make it. And there's a lot of teams in a playoff picture right now that have multiple losses, but because they won that conference,

they're going to get in. You know what I mean? So, again, there's pros and cons to being independent. I mean, what a wild playoff race. I touched on a little bit ago. We have one team that doesn't have their head coach. So I have some hands-on experience. I mentioned this earlier.

I worked at FA football. I was 16 years old. Lane Kiffin was the head coach. He later obviously went to Ole Miss, had tremendous success. I got a chance to kind of study the playbook, go over it, the most brilliant, mind I've ever been around in terms of football, Lane Kiffin. I mean,

his, the brilliance of his playbook and play-cong ability can't go unnoticed, and that's why LSU goes out and offers him seven years, $100 million. I thought hearing his explanation about his father's words ringing in his mind, which was really interesting

because he was also on that staff, and I got to meet him as well. He was obviously the architect to Tampa 2 defense, so legendary coach, Monty Kiffin. He said the kind of guy is his mentors, who he looks to after his father's their past Pete Carroll, Nick Saban, told him, go ahead, take that job. Yeah. Right. Nick Saban, coach LSU, he understands that job.

What are your thoughts on it and how would you feel as a player? As a, how would I, let me, let me ask it, let me answer it as a player first. If I was an Ole Miss player, I would be hurt. I would, especially where they are right now, having been so successful, obviously a lot of those guys that bought in, right, it's not like Lane was there for one or two years right he's been there yeah and so he's brought it yeah so he's brought in a whole full class so if i'm one of those guys that where i had a coach sit in my living room with my parents and told me like hey i got your son and then to believe in that and for him to leave i would be hurt regardless

to what anybody says right like we had a special thing going on and then he left on a flip side for lSU i'd be excited yeah you know i mean now i'm getting a chance a new start with a coach that he was in our conference, he had a lot of success, I would be really excited. From where I am sitting today, it is a complicated situation with the whole transfer portal and coach has been doing this for a long time, right? Coach has been getting up and leaving.

Like we had our own, Brian, Brian Kelly was the coach before that. He was my coach at Notre Dame, right? So this has been happening at the coaching rank for a long time. I'm excited for Elaine Kiffin for what I know the state of Louisiana can do.

Me being a former New Orleans saint, I know what football means in Louisiana. I'm sure it means the same in Mississippi and at Ole Miss, but I can only speak on to what it means in Louisiana. Now, Louisiana State they got a thing about producing some really good football players, man, especially at skilled position.

And they're all instinct. Yeah. So what that possibly could look like. I'm not saying Lane Kiffing going to LSU is all of a sudden, oh, they're going a national championship. I am saying that the talent that is in Louisiana, when put together correctly and utilize the right way, look into the NFL and tell me what LSU guy you would not want to have on your team.

Yeah. It's special what they have over there in that state. And I think somebody like Lane Kiffin, to your point, with the offensive mind that he has, has the potential to do a lot of great things for that school. I'm going to say it. I would be shocked if they're not a national championship contention sooner rather than later.

Yeah. No, the only thing that's going to be his biggest challenge, him being Lane Kiffin, is how can he navigate the cultural aspect? Right? because me I always preach about culture and how important that is in football. Louisiana has a certain culture. Yeah. When the mayor and the governor of Louisiana is part of this whole scenario of replacing a coach,

that's how big football is over there. If Lane Kiffin can come into this scenario, understand the culture, respect the culture, but then implement his own and find that perfect recipe for it, I think when he's able to do that, if he's able to do that soon, for sure. If he isn't, I think it's going to take some time. But it's all about trying to find how do I establish this culture while still respecting the culture that's already here. How do you think the off-the-field pressure for the LSU players

could affect the team with all this outside drama with Lank Kiffin? You were a college player who experienced a lot of off-the-field drama, a lot of people mentioning your name. These players all of a sudden now, they're going to be a top of conversation. If they're like it or not, Lane Kiffin has dominated the new cycle. It's going to continue. All eyes are going to be on the LSU team. How do you think the players are going to respond to that?

Do you think that could maybe make them play better knowing that spotlight is on them? Do you think it could negatively affect them? I think it would be different if we're talking about a smaller college. But I think a university like LSU that are used to that limelight. You know what I mean? Yeah. When you go to LSU, you're not somebody that goes there thinking that, I'm the small town college program that maybe will be on TV some weeks.

LSU is going to be on TV, right? Everybody is going to be at that game. When you go to LSU, you see all the celebrities on the sideline, right? So I think that with Lange Kiffin and all of this attention and this coverage that is coming from this move, I think that it plays well with what they're trying to do over there in LSU. For all the, for all the players, I mean, they dance to everything. You know what I mean? there's a certain vibe down there in Louisiana that I think it's something that isn't going

to be fought off. Like it isn't going to be something like it doesn't vibe well for them. I think the players down there in Louisiana will really, really embrace that attention that's coming their way. Why do you think things didn't work out for your former head coach Brian Kelly? I think Brian is a really good offensive mind. from a leadership standpoint. And this is the same thing

that you alluded to with Ben Johnson. From a leadership standpoint, there's a question when you go from a coordinator to a head coach. A coordinator doesn't have to stand in front of a room and really command the respect

of, in the NFL's case, men. Yeah. In college, it's young men. You don't have to do that as a coordinator. for Brian Kelly, he was always a head coach. However, he was mainly offense. Was that leadership ability a factor at all going into the national championship game against Alabama? So you're going against perhaps the greatest leader in the history of college football and Nick Savant.

I also think that when I, and I've talked about this a few times, there was a major difference with the talent at Alabama. from the top down compared to what we had at Notre Dame. That's a great point. There was a huge difference. I still remember to this day, and you would appreciate this as a player, we would come out for stretch lines, right? And, you know, you come out to our 40,

the team comes out to their 40. And you know, like, the main dogs are on the 40, right? So, like, I'm over there on the 40, I'm looking at Alabama. Their dudes are in the 40. And you're talking about, like, guys like Eddie Lacey, you got a whole bunch of first, strong draft picks or sooner. Amari Cooper, you had Ha ha ha Clinton Dix over there. Like you had like

dudes. Yeah. But you know like the guys that are on the go line that that's usually like the walk-ons regularly. So I start peeking at the goal line and I'm like them dudes look like the dudes on the 40. And that's when I knew. I was like it wasn't any type of fear or any type of anxiety or anything like that. It was just like an acknowledgement like, okay, this is this is different. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like they have dudes top to bottom that I'm sure that those dudes on the goal line could be starting at any other school in the country.

So it wasn't our loss to Alabama was our program having a special year, a spectacular year, going against a jerk or not that's been there, done that, and had the resume to back it up and had the dudes to back that up as well. So that's, yeah, that was a long night for us. Yeah, they had three and if a running backs in a location. Eddie Lacey and T.J. Yeldin. And imagine, like, I had to go, re-ran a traditional three-four defense. Traditional three-four defense is you have a zero technique, noseguard head up on the center.

And then we had two fours. D-tackles head up on the tackles. The issue was that works for everybody we played. Now, we didn't play no slumps. We played Oklahoma. We always played LSU. We played Miami. that year we played we we played dogs yeah when the guard that's uncovered is chance

Warmac and the tackle next to him is DJ Fluker and then you had Eddie Lacey running the ball behind them and then when Eddie Lacey got tired T.J. Yeldon went back there and then when you finally stopped him two times in a row they would run a play action bomb to Amari Cooper you were just like it was an Oklahoma drill or did they would decide when they wanted to to not hand the ball off in Oklahoma drill and throw it to a guy that's that's open. And so that was, that's what all of us had to go through for that game. And it was definitely a humbling experience.

What running back was toughest for you to tackle in the backfield? Because you get different opinions from linebackers. Some guys say they struggled with elusive guys. Some guys say, hey, I didn't mind those guys. But the Marchion Lynch's of the world, they really gave me a hard time. Who was toughest for you to tackle? The, the toughest would be Marshawn. Marshall Lynch, where he would laugh at the bottom of the pile, and it was just like,

okay, this guy's psycho just like me. That's got to be a little bit debilitating. Like, you make a good tackle, you think you got them good, and he's laughing at you. Oh, man, what a legend, beast mode is. And, yeah, he was a part of a team that helped lead the way as far as the transition with the Legion of Boom, the Seattle Seahawks. They're back. Yeah.

I mean, the Seahawks are back being an offensive team. It's great to see they had those Russell Wilson years where he's an MVP candidate. at it and he was kind of leading the way, but now they found their identity, they have head coach Mike McDonald, and they have studs all over this defense. It starts with the acquisition of Leonard Williams. A lot of people talked about, they give up too much. They got a steal and Leonard Williams. Yeah. And what the identity that he's brought to that team and what he does up front against both the run and as a pass rusher is similar, also analogous to what Quinn and Williams brought to the Dallas Cowboys. Yeah, that's a great analogy, bro. It's great. We're seeing this

kind of transition into really valuing the interior defensive lineman who I know made your job easier as a linebacker yeah I think it always goes back to I mean talking about the Seattle Seahawks right you got something like Quinnin first guy that comes to mind as Aaron Donald you know when you have I mean you got an Annamican sue like not Dombekin was over my time defensive Heisman candidate yeah you got somebody like Vita Vail who's over there in Tampa so when you have somebody that's in front of you, right, that can take up multiple blockers and you can run free and makes my job as a linebacker a million times easier. And I think it just creates a

mentality, right? That for our defense, like, it's set by the interior guys, by the, by the interior de-leman, by the linebacker, and by the safety. At least that's how it was when we grew up. You know what I mean? Like, the Ray Lewis, the Ed Reed, and the Holotinata. Like those guys was in the middle. Yeah. Right? Now, the outside guys are going to get paid. They get the D-Ns, the rush shares, the corners.

They get most of the money. But you're only as strong as the guys in the middle. And I think that's, I love the defenses that have that. What a poll that is, Hologi Nata with Ray Lewis. Nata is the unsung hero. No, no. I mean, this Samoan mammoth of a man is eating up these double teams and freeing up gaps for the most feared, you know, tackle in the history of the league, obviously, Ray Lewis.

For a guy that didn't need him to take a block. No, Ray Lewis, you know, one on 11 would be a pretty good match for Ray Lewis. That would be a good game that I would watch. It might be 50-50. You know, they say like, you know, if you see me in the jungle with the bear, help the bear. That's how I feel about Ray Lewis. Yes, yes.

And I'm assuming when you're watching film and you're looking up to guys, Ray Lewis is jumping off the page. Oh, Ray Lewis was probably one of the main guys that I watched growing up. Another guy is probably Patrick Willis that I watched his. I loved not only guys who could play this game at a high level, but I love the generals. I love the leaders, like the guy that he was the top dog, right? Ray was that way.

I like Brian Erlacker, his athleticism, his ability to run sideline to sideline. I love Novara Bowman, even though he was a weak side linebacker, his patience and how he played the game of football. He reminded me a lot of one of my best friends. I call him my little brother, Denzel Perriman. um his got to denzil paramed yeah his ability to just be patient but when he saw something he would just go and when he would go he would hit some food so when they had patrick willis

and navar bowman in there for the san franciscoll 49ers i doubt that was unfair yeah absolutely and then alden smith justin smith all those guys oh man dogs and then you had you had um you had you had what's his name in s s safety dante wittner dante whitner i was thinking of his i was thinking of his nickname it when he turned it to hitner hitner yeah hitner yeah dante was that dude they were definitely put in fear yes besides marshan lynch yes he did okay but everyone else was uh yeah was getting clattered for sure no i i love that point what about troy palomalu so troy i mentioned all the linebackers right when i when it comes to the singular person that has had the most impact on my career and me as a human being would have to be Troy Polomalo so Troy I trained with for the last year my career

he's become like a big brother of mine I'm a huge mentor he and I have been have become so close that I named my son after him oh wow yeah so he's he's somebody who's very special he's a special individual and when you get to know him on a personal level he's funny man he's hilarious but he has so much wisdom not only in the game of football but they in Game of Life is so humble. And so if there's somebody who I would love to mimic my life, like both on and off the football field, it would have to be Troy.

I've said this before, but the only guy I think that could stop the Philly Special, Troy Polymala. His instincts, bro, it was just... You can't teach that. You can't teach that. And, you know, I'll tell you something about Troy that he shared with me.

Remember when Troy would just jump over the line and you would just time up snap? and he had blitz beat in the A gaps and he'd get there right when So gracefully. Yeah. So I asked him, I was like, hey big bro, how did you manage to do all of that? And he told me he was like, I would not only take the snaps when the one defense went out there. He was like, but I also took the show team snaps, the scout team.

He's like, and the reason why I did that was two part. One, for him, he wanted to have that confidence to know that he had double the work. work that anybody in the entire league had and because he did double the work he was more prepared than anybody number two instinctually hearing the cadence all the time helped him to know when they were actually snapping the ball when they were going on sound by the the the little nuances of the the own line how they would rush to the line and scrimmage okay they're going on for a sound how they're going on one when they're going on two and because he saw so many reps of that that gave him that six cents of when he knew the ball was going to be snapped.

And just so just those little things that I've learned from, from Troy, just help me to just appreciate his greatness and what he was able to do. No, it's great to hear. Obviously, I was born in 2002. But when I'm getting into football, I'm young, bro. I'm young, but Troy Palomalo is that guy. Yeah. He's on the Madden cover.

I mean, he's, you know, he's in the Super Bowl and the commercials. I mean, the whole nine yards. Troy Palomalo, Ed Reed, are the two guys. I mean, two of the greatest safeties ever play the game, obviously, and the rivals. So they always went hand in hand for me. So when you mention Edrie, I'm like, I got to bring up Troy, because I know you're going to have some thoughts on that. The Pittsburgh Steelers, their fans are growing tired. And they have, what sounds like a good problem, you know, they got a lot of Super Bowls.

They've had more success than, you know, maybe any other franchise, I mean, New England page number one, but they're right under there. I've had three head coaches in their history, but the fans are growing tired because even though Mike Tomlin consistently outperforms, expectations it seems like they have a limited ceiling. Nobody's really giving them a shot to maybe go deep into the playoffs, right? We understand offensively, they're limited. I mean, they have DK. Metcalf is the number one, but they don't really have a number two. They're not as explosive as these other AFC teams. Talk to me about Mike Tomlin, the Pittsburgh Steelers and are the fans overreacting by trying to get him out of town? Is it

justified? It's I, I see where the frustrations come from from this fan. Right? It's, I think one thing about Mike Tomlin that I think we've, we all know for sure, or we've gotten accustomed to is that Mike Tomlin's going to get him to the playoffs. And I think when you're dealing with a franchise and a fan base like the Steelers who've traditionally been, they've won so many times, there's this expectation, right? Like, man, this is what we're going to, like, we need to do more than that.

Like, there are some teams in the NFL, and I won't mention them, but we all know that just get into the playoffs. It's like, oh, we're good, we're good. Like, we're going to be fine, right? So I think when it comes to Pittsburgh, people want to see more. And you mentioned it has a ceiling. I think when you watch the offense,

that offense has a ceiling, right? Arthur Smith's offense doesn't have the firepower that other offenses had. And I did this research on his offense for our show, Arthur Smith's offense has not come back from more than an eight-point deficit with less than five minutes in the game. How many games have we seen lead changes within the last three minutes of the game? Yeah, absolutely. So in a space and in a game now where there's offenses that can put so many points on the board in such a short amount of time,

when you have an offensive system that is unable to do that, I think it puts you, behind the eight ball already and not to mention D.K. Metcalf being possibly their only wide receiver that they utilize, their other three pass catchers are tight ends. You know what I mean? And so it's just like... This is the biggest thing and this is the ultimate pitfall is the kind they got out of town. I mean, the Steelers fans are seeing George Pick and Sommate and saying, what did we do? You know he reminds me of? Remember Anquam Bowden?

Absolutely. It's my guy. Anquam Bowden with the ball in his hand was a monster, bro. You know, Anquam Bowden. He was so ridiculously strong. Heinz Ward. He reminds me of those guys that, okay, it's one thing to guard him, and then it's another thing to tackle him when they get the ball. Yeah.

So when you reference all of those things. Brandon, well, yeah, shout out to Brandon Marshall. He will be on, he and I will be working the studio for the Christmas game for Netflix, so I'm excited to work with him so shout out to be Marshall guy's a dog yeah is a monster you know I feel all those guys someone and they wear defenses down obviously he's in a contract year a lot of people are bringing that up as well do you think that he could maybe regress once he gets paid maybe but or is that really not a thing for an NFL player no that's a thing that's definitely a thing

for some guys I don't know George Pickens enough personally been around him enough to say that he's one of those guys I hope that he's not because the game of football in general is better when players like him are are really humming the way he's been doing number one I hope he does get paid because this has been a dream of his since he was a little boy I assume I'm sure there's a lot of people that depend on him he's gonna get paid um but in the event that something happens I just I just again I hope that he just keeps a level head and he's able to be able he's able to provide for his family and be a productive football player. That's a very mature, reasonable take.

Something we don't see a lot in the NFL media, so that's good. That's what I always try to bring it to the table. Yeah, usually, you know, you get a lot of the opposite. You know, you check your TikTok or Instagram. You know, there's that one guy that's, you know, going off right now. But, no, that's a very mature level-headed take. And that's one that you can only acquire from years of experience being an eight-year NFL vet, right?

And going through all things you did off the field to kind of give you that ability to evaluate and perspective. Yeah, perspective. Can you talk about your passions kind of off the field and what you're trying to do to impact the world? Yeah, so I was born and raised in Hawaii, right? And being born and raised in Hawaii comes with a lot of perks. It's a, it's a beautiful place to live, a beautiful life. However, there is a lack of resources there, at least exposure to, right? We live in California. I can drive down the street, be at UCLA, I can go to USC. I can even go down to Irvine and visit down. there, right? There's so many different places that I can get different experiences in, whereas in a place like Hawaii, that isn't the case. However, I got the great experience of going to a private school. My parents sent me there, and that private school took me to different

colleges while I was in high school. And for me to be able to have those experiences and actually see and grab and smell of college campus, I said my dreams became a goal at that point. And so I know the power of being able to see and experience something throughout my life I also know the power of surrounding yourself with people that are trying to achieve the same goal also to have education now the education that I'm referring to isn't necessarily restricted to that in the classroom I think being able to talk to the CEO of a financial firm in some cases is better education than you'll get in a finance class right And so being able to have the network that I have, I want to be able to give back to the youth by providing them

with those type of opportunities to learn in a traditional way. Yeah. But then being able to bring in people that I know from different professional landscapes to be able to help these kids, but then to have the best training, what learning what I know about about nutrition now you know what I mean like sourcing all of that stuff I want to be able to bring to the forefront for these for these kids and fortunately for me there are a few individuals that have done it

before and are currently doing it that I can just I I plan on meeting with them and say okay how did you do this and how can I implement that on my own you mentioned nutrition is that how you're saying in such good shape I was in better shape. I think with our job being up at 2.45 in the morning and going, it's almost impossible for me to be able to adhere to a certain strict regimen. But I am definitely, when it comes to nutrition, I'm a big advocate for proper sourcing of food.

I'm very, very aware of where I buy my stuff at. I try to buy them at farms. I don't, I don't, I rarely, rarely buy things at the grocery store. Just because I think how these animals are treated, what they're fed has a direct impact on me and my children and how our bodies receive it. And so that is what I want to be able to give to the youth because growing up, it was just like, here's some ramen. Yeah. No, it's funny. You're good, you know what I mean?

I did some podcast with Lamar Odom. Okay. And his love of candy and Rosco's chicken and the things he eats was so funny to me. And he told me like he was even worse during his blanker. I'm like, how is that possible to be that gifted to be able to eat like that and treat your body like that and still go out there and form that level? And then you hear D.K. Metcalfe, it's like, I have a Starbucks coffee. I ate a lot of nerds. And then I have a dinner.

And then I'm good. And he's like 2.30. Yeah. Fibbers of body fat. So it's also good to hear that you look like that and you actually really try. Yeah. It's about the effort. I would have been a little disheartened if you were like,

ah, just wake up and eat whatever. Oh, no, I ain't no way, bro. I don't have the genetic clue for that. Okay, good. I got to work at it. Makes you feel a little bit better.

Good. I can work up. There you go, bro. I can get big. There you go. I like that. One last thing. It's a very current thing.

And we mentioned it. We briefed on it, but not on camera. Jackson Dart gets hit on the sideline, New England Patriots. There was a big time fight that broke out. thoughts on that hit number one i am um i love the hit uh number two i am so glad the refs didn't throw a flag um that i i don't think people understand how big that was the message that that sent when the

the refs didn't throw a penalty flag um number three i have a newfound respect for jackson dart um because he didn't complain about it um he didn't flop he just said, hey, man, this is what I do. Dog. Like, I know that I'm going to get hit. Now, Jackson Dart, let's slide a little bit. Why?

Because I want you to have a long career. The Giants want you to have a long career. He's been phenomenal. His rookie year, especially when Camp Scataboo is in there. But unless you're out on the field, you can't impact your team in a positive way. So I was so happy that that happened as, I would say,

a traditionalist in this, in this game of seeing actually a big hit that isn't flagged. And I hope that guys continue to play this game at a very fast level, at a very violent level that is within the rules of the game that isn't dirty. I think the dirty stuff, I think there's a clear difference between a clean, violent play and a dirty one. Yeah. And I think the refs in that instant demonstrated like, oh, we know that was a clean play. We're not going to throw it.

So I was really happy about it. And I love that you touch on the point of Jackson Dart, not complaining, getting back up. If I'm a prospective head coach and I'm looking at the tandem of Jackson Darton, Cam Scadabo, I'm thinking, I'm in. Right? These two are dogs. Yeah. They're rookies. They have the right mentality.

They are lovers of the big skin. They're not going to complain. They're going to show up. They're going to get to work. I want to lead these young men. Yeah. And you haven't even mentioned your boy's favorite guy, Malik neighbors. You know what I mean?

Child to Aviv. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, with Malik coming back, he is also an exceptional talent from Louisiana State. And I think to be able to have that with those two young quarterback in their running back, good things could happen for the Giants. God, maybe Lynn Kiffin will do a lot. Odell Beckham, Malik neighbors, Justin Jefferson, Jamar Chase.

Yeah, you got some dogs, man. Pretty lengthy list. Yeah, it's a bit. Brian Thomas, Jr. Oh, God, it's kind of surreal. You say all the name. Wow. Watch out.

I want to thank you for coming up. Appreciate it, my man. It's deeply appreciated. It was amazing to speak with you, man. Yes, sir. Likewise. What's up, guys, Mr. Zach here to give you a stone cold lock of the week. Me and Manti got to break down the ins and outs, the off-the-field drama for both

college football and the NFL. And now it's time to do my job. Give you one stone-cold lock of the week. One thing you can place your hard-earned money on. I'm going to go with the six-point teaser. The game that I'm going to start with is the Seahawks going against the Atlanta Falcons. The Seahawks are minus seven in this game, so we're going to get him down to minus one. And the reason why I love this is all the reasons that I've illustrated on this show in the past weeks.

The Seattle Seahawks are dangerous. They're for real. They're contenders, and they can be an absolute danger to anyone, especially in aging Kirk Cousins. He's a statue in the pocket. Drake London banged up. I don't see a way that Kirk Cousins can stop the Seattle Seahawks defense from absolutely motor racing this offensive line. They've got Leonard Williams. They've got to Marcus Lawrence.

They've got a back end that you cannot get separation on. I think the Seattle Seahawks are going to make Kirk Cousins' life a living hell this Sunday. I like them minus one. And my second pick of the week comes in an NFC North Showdown between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. The Green Bay Packers are minus six and a half. This is a six-point teaser, so we're going to get them to minus 0.5. I love this pick because the Green Bay Packers are at home at Lambeau Field and we're in December. This is where the going gets tough.

This is the toughest environment to play in when it hits winter. And every single year, we see a hot start, NFL team. We see a hot shot, maybe second or third year quarterback, waltz in the Lambo field, expecting to have that continued success they had in the previous weeks, and it never quite works out that way. There's something about that field that's sobering, humbling, and I think that's going to happen to Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears offense this coming Sunday.

Micah Parsons, the Green Bay Packers, have been putting a lot of pressure on opposing quarterbacks, Roshan Gary as well, and I think they're going to to have that welcome to the NFL moment for head coach Ben Johnson and second year quarterback Caleb Williams. Chicago Bears obviously coming off a great winner of the Philadelphia Eagles, but the Green Bay Packers at home at Lambeau Field, where Jordan Love playing the way that he's been playing last week against the Detroit Lions, one of the best Jordan Love performances I've seen across the NFL. He's always been one of the league's most talented guys.

He has the arm strength. He has the ability to make any throw on the field. But the way that he saw the field against the Detroit Lions and was able to pick apart both zone and man coverage was something special to see. They obviously have Josh Jacobs in the run game to also help expand upon the Packers' continued offensive success. Christian Watson comes back from a torn ACL. He's been a massive help to this offense, as well as Don Tavian Wicks.

I mean, how about Don Tavian Wicks coming down with those two impressive catches against the Detroit Lions? Green Bay Packers are hot, they're rolling. We're in December. It's at Lambo Field. I think this is the exact time you take them in a six-point teaser with the Seattle Seahawks. That's my stone-cold lock of the week on the double coverage podcast.

Appreciate you for watching. It was an honor to have Mante Tayao on, former Heisman Trophy finalists, and it was great to speak with someone who could kind of wrap with me about every single topic. Hope you enjoyed it. Please come back for episode 10. We got a big one coming. Ambition comes in all shapes and sizes.

At First Citizens Bank, we roll with your goals because we're built for what you're building. Fit for your ambition. First Citizens Bank.