Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - BOMBSHELL: DEION SANDERS Accused Virginia of TAMPERING in Football Transfer Portal

Episode Date: April 23, 2025

Is the college football transfer portal a game-changer or a Pandora's box? With the Virginia Cavaliers at the center of recent tampering accusations by Deion Sanders, the landscape of college football... is shifting. Dive into the latest buzz as Alex Donno and Kenton Gibbs explore the implications of these allegations, featuring insights from guest Isaac Shade.The discussion covers NFL draft prospects like Cam Ward, who has risen from a zero-star recruit to a potential first overall pick. The episode also examines the impact of Bill Belichick's new role at North Carolina and the challenges faced by the Tar Heels amid significant roster changes.Tune in for an engaging analysis of how these developments could reshape college football. Don't miss out on the insider perspectives and expert opinions that could redefine your understanding of the game.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Supply HouseJoin the Trade Master program today at SupplyHouse.com/TM and start ordering plumbing, HVAC, and electrical supplies with just a few clicks. Plus, use promo code SH5 for 5% off your first order. That’s SupplyHouse.com!PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE and get $50 instantly when you play $5! You don't even need to win to receive the $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game. https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONCOLLEGEAmazon Fire TV Stick 4kDid you know your Fire TV is also an Xbox? Turn any TV into your gaming and entertainment hub with Fire TV Stick 4K devices — no console required. Head to Amazon.com/firetvlockedon to get started. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and compatible controller required.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 If I told you an ACC team has been accused of tampering in the football transfer portal, you would have a couple of guesses. Virginia would not be one of them. You are locked on ACC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Shout out to the everydayers and thank you so much for making Locked on ACC, your first listen and your first watch. We're available free wherever you get your podcast.
Starting point is 00:00:34 We're free on YouTube. We're part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Today's episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code locked on college at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. On this episode, we're going to talk with Isaac Shade of Locked on Tar Heels about North Carolina's transfer portal. Been some losses, been some gains.
Starting point is 00:00:59 A very notable loss this week was their star linebacker Amari Campbell who hit the portal. So what was going on with Belmont. Lombardi and the 33rd NFL team up there in Chapel Hill. I do want to talk some NFL draft because there is definitely one first round stone cold lock. I think the ACC is probably going to have three guys drafted in the first round. Could it be more? Should it be more?
Starting point is 00:01:22 But Kenton Gibbs, by the way, he's Kenton Gibbs from Lockdown Wolfpack. I am Alex Dono from Lockdown Keynes. Yeah, we saw it was late last week, Dion Sanders, coach prime, called out Virginia, Tony Elliott's UVA Cavaliers. He called them out for tampering with one of his safeties. Virginia ended up actually landing Colorado's leading Russia in the transfer port. Would UVA have been the team on your bingo card that would get called out for tampering in this portal season? If you told me UVA got caught tampering, I'd say, Odom already has an infraction?
Starting point is 00:02:03 Oh my God, people are already on his head. He's been on campus for like two and a half days. That's why I said football. I said football in the open. Tony Elliott doing some tampering. I barely know the guy recruited at all. I mean, you know, I will say this, though. They are getting some pretty big gets from Colorado and all that good stuff.
Starting point is 00:02:28 At the end of the day, it's like we talked about with tampering before. If you're complaining about it, you're just. teams just probably not good at it. That's probably all that is. Because we've talked about this on the show before, but I mean, in all seriousness, what actually is tempered? What is it, right?
Starting point is 00:02:44 I know there's been plenty of times where on Lockdoor Wolfpack, a guy got in the portal, and Grayson and I immediately were like, hey, Noah Rogers, come on back down south. Man, it's too cold in Ohio. Also, it's Ohio. Who wants to be in the state of Ohio by choice? Come on back down to North Carolina.
Starting point is 00:03:03 line. Because somebody say that we were tampering or, oh, can you get into the former player? Therefore, it is tampering? Is it only if you're on the roster? Is it third parties? Our third parties okay to reach out and inquire. All of these types of things. And the NCAA can do its best to outline, hey, this is tampering. But again, what actually is it and how fair is it to tell a young man, you can't tell your former teammate that he should come join you because there are multiple guys that played with the Noah Rogers in high school on NC. roster most notably backup quarterback Lex Thomas, who is of the Thomas bloodline. A lot of them play for NC State. So again, it's a question of what actually is tampering.
Starting point is 00:03:43 How is it being done? And if you're complaining about it, not talking about 10, your team just got somebody posting you got to live with. So here's how this is unfolded between Colorado and Virginia. So last Thursday, after one of the final spring practices for the Buffaloes, you know, Dion Sanders, as he often is, was on campus. camera, right? You get a lot of video content that comes out of Coach Prime and Boulder. And it was last Thursday's well-off media YouTube channel. Coach Prime was talking to his team
Starting point is 00:04:14 after practice and he starts talking about safety. Carter Stoutmire was offered a bag to enter the transfer portal. And he asked Stoutbeyer, who offered you that bag? And he says, Virginia. And then Sanders says, Virginia, you got to stop. I let you have one. I ain't say nothing. about it. Come on now, come on. We let you have one. I ain't say nothing about it. So he calls out Virginia. And I don't know if the tailback Isaiah Augustiv was Augustive. I screwed up that name, Roy. I don't know if that was the one Dion was talking about what he said, we let you have one because it was revealed a few days later that Isaiah Augusta, who was actually the leading rusher. And I was very much a running back by committee
Starting point is 00:04:56 in Colorado. He led the team on 394 rushing yards on 85 carries, 6 foot 2, 210. 10 pound running back, but in the transfer portal, he ends up with the Virginia Cavaliers. And by the way, Kenton, I don't bring all this stuff up and you were talking about what even is tampering. So I'm not bringing this up to slander Virginia or anything, like quite the opposite. Like I bring up the fact that Virginia has been accused of tampering in football, mind you, just to bring up the fact that everybody's doing it, right? But it's how do you define tampering?
Starting point is 00:05:31 Is it third parties reaching out the third. parties. Like I highly doubt Tony Elliott personally called the cell phone of either of those Colorado players to directly tamper with them. So how do you define it? Probably everybody's doing it. Just maybe some schools are a little bit better and more sneaky about it than Tony Elliott's crew is. And what rises to the level of like, hey, this is illegal, right? Again, there are, for example, I'll give you a prime example, right? I played a cash tech. There were plenty of guys who, you know, anybody who knows high school football at a high level knows about CASTX, a little bit of a football powerhouse in the Midwest there.
Starting point is 00:06:08 And not a little bit of, but we're being humble here. Anywho, you, you, if, let's just say, I was a freshman All-American at NC State, and then Jordan Lewis, who I played with at CASTEC, who then played at Michigan gives me a call and says, they, it gives, man, you know, I know that this is the school you always wanted to play a growing up. Come on, man, we need to need to detack with what you think. How about it? We got some money for you.
Starting point is 00:06:30 we got is that illegal even if the coach had nothing to do it the coaches said nothing about it the coaches didn't have anything to do with it he's just like hey we got to replace two first rounds now you see what we're doing up here you see we make the first rounders up here you come be the next one is it illegal if the coach doesn't know about it if the coach doesn't know about it is it still illegal and it's just a lack of institutional control at that point so it's it's so many dynamics and so many things that play here and of course let's be very real about this we all know that there have been plenty of players enticed by offers that did not exist, by offers that had not been made, by shady agent.
Starting point is 00:07:10 Oh, their agent who is working in their best interest, here's, oh, hey, if you've got a good defensive tackle, I can, you know, make something happen for. And again, the coach might not know where that defensive tackle is coming from. They just tell the agent, hey, tell me what you got. And the agent is now shopping that player around. So it's a ton of different ways that these things can happen. But again, we need to outline in specifics, hey, this is a leap.
Starting point is 00:07:36 And if you are participating in this illegal activity, these are the punishment. Because I think the easiest place to root it out is via the agents. Because again, every agent is going to lie and say, oh, none of us are shopping players around before they hit the portal. We both know that. We both know. It's like, yeah, again, like there's so many gray areas with tampering. like the the interpretation of the tampering rule that is by far the easiest to enforce and once in a blue moon a coach will have a lapse in judgment or I think it may have happened to Deshaun Foster last year's first year coaching at UCLA. Sometimes maybe you don't know the rules or have a lapse of judgment.
Starting point is 00:08:16 If you're if you're at the podium or you're on YouTube doing an interview or a media session and you, you know, talk about a player who plays for another program directly or you talk about a recruit that. has not signed with your program, then that's an open and shut case. Like you're on video, you're on record talking about it. That's tampering. Like that's the easiest part to enforce. But when it comes to, you know, alleged contact and intermediaries and he said, she said, it gets very difficult for the NCAA to actually enforce that. And, you know, that's, you know, right now, Virginia, they're over under is five and a
Starting point is 00:08:53 half wins for this coming season. Maybe if they keep tampering, they can up that to. six and a half, seven and a half wins by the time we get closer to the season. I got to see if Cal's over under has changed, Kenton, because they, you know, we talked about the running backs that Cal has lost, but they've lost multiple receivers. They lost two tight end, three tight ends, actually, including Jack Endries, who was really good last year. Six of their top eight pass catchers, gone. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:09:24 Six of their top eight from last year. The number could be higher because the latest transfer to hop in might have also been an impact player. I have not looked to see the exact numbers. But you are absolutely right. Jonathan Brady was the latest one to hop in. Yeah. So there's been, I mean, they're not just losing depth pieces that were like, oh, that kid was going to be a lovely software engineer at some startup and a few. You know, Cal Berkeley a little different.
Starting point is 00:09:49 You know, most of these athletes, if you go to a school that ain't got much academic merit, get ready to learn enterprise. You go to Cal, you know, get ready to learn VC starting. That's what you got to get ready to learn out there. But in all seriousness, you know, that, I mean, Cal is having just an extremely tough time. And they could do all the tempering that has ever existed in the world. And I don't think they'd be able to replace all the production. Yeah. They lost last year.
Starting point is 00:10:12 You're talking about starting quarterback, all conference preseason running back, your actual leader in rushing. Five of your top seven or six of your top eight pass catchers from last year. I mean, woof, wolf to say that job is going to be an uphill battle coming into this year regardless. But now with all these losses and the hits that they took to that secondary in terms of graduation and guys just aging out. Well, we'll talk about North Carolina's transfer portal a little bit later on when Isaac Shade joins us. Also, we've got the first round of the NFL draft coming up on Thursday night. It's going to be here before you know it. unbelievable story as to how Cam Ward went from zero star recruit to consensus first overall
Starting point is 00:10:59 pick. And how many more first rounders is the ACC going to have on Thursday night? You want to keep it locked right here. We're only getting started on this brand new episode of Lockdown ACC. Oh, folks, we're only, I caught Kenton mid-y-y-law. But you know what? The reason why Kenton is so relaxed right now. he's able to yawn during a commercial break is he knows his finances are secure. So he's never been this relaxed since he found Monarch Money. Does you ever check your bank account and you wonder, where did all my money go between dining out, online shopping and entertainment?
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Starting point is 00:12:05 Now I budget smarter and I save more. And instead of juggling multiple accounts and apps, you can use Monarch to check your finances, track your spending, even plan your long-term goals. So take control of your finances with Monarch money. Use code, locked on college at Monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That's monarchmoney.com code locked on college for half off your first year. Thank you for making locked on ACCC, your first listen and your first watch for your next listen. Make sure you check out locked on NFL draft.
Starting point is 00:12:40 Guys, Damian Parson and Keith Sanchez do an awesome job. As your favorite collegiate players get ready for the next level, get the latest on draft rankings, rumors, and news every day. Find Locked on NFL draft on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast. All right. So, you know, Kenton, I know that some folks like Shady McCoy a couple of weeks ago had a hot take where he thinks Cam Ward is going to be a bust because he's never seen a zero star recruit, you know, become a franchise player at the NFL. He's never seen it. Now, there's some context there with Cam Ward. Maybe he just, you know, maybe should have changed high schools if he wanted to be a higher ranked recruit because he was running a wingtie offense at Columbia.
Starting point is 00:13:24 high school in Columbia, Texas, I think somewhere in the outskirts of San Antonio. And he only had one offer, one scholarship offer, and it was from FCS Incarnate Word. That was the only offer he got. He went and lit it up at UIW, was what they call it there in Texas Incarnate Word, lit it up for two years, transferred to Washington State, lit it up for two years. He had the extra year because of the COVID year. So fifth year goes to Miami and he lights it up. to the point where he's about to be the first overall pick.
Starting point is 00:13:58 I know Shady McCoy may look at it and say, this is why I think the guy's going to be a bust. I think this is going to be one of the better stories we've had in the NFL draft, Kenton for a guy to have the chip on his shoulder to work as hard as Cam Ward did for the last five plus years to put himself into this position. I hope NFL network and ESPN have those really good, you know, tear jerking video packages ready to take us through the key. Cam Ward journey because I am here for it.
Starting point is 00:14:26 I'm so happy for this guy. You know, Shady McCoy is a prime example of all former players don't necessarily have great opinions. One thing that Nick Sabin, who is known as the greatest college football coach of all time, always said to his players, he said it multiple times on air. He was on record saying this. He said it out loud, he said it quiet. He said it from Ms. Terry.
Starting point is 00:14:51 He said in front of the player's parents and moms and that. I've had a thousand coaches come in my building, a thousand. And I've never had a single one of them asked what type of guy, what type of player was he as a freshman? Yeah. So why we're talking about high school for Campbell? We're talking about, oh, people didn't think it was much from high school. I have seen it with my own two eyes.
Starting point is 00:15:17 All of the projections, don't get me wrong. I give much respect to the Allen Trues and the Steve. Whitphones and the Tom Lugan bills and all them of the world. That is a very legitimate job. It is more art to science, but they honestly get it right a lot more than they get it wrong. That's just a fact. Look at the national champions.
Starting point is 00:15:39 Look at the last few national champions. Look at all the teams of the playoffs. Look at how many blue chip guys they have. Look at how many of those guys already acquired those stars before committing to two place X, Y, Z. And it's not really an effect of, oh, I, you know, Miami offers me now people think I'm a star. No, no, no. They thought you were a star. So Miami offered you is what happens much more often than not. But you, there are going to be exceptional moments where we see
Starting point is 00:16:06 something different. Everything that's never happened before has never happened until it happens. That, oh, there's never been a zero star recruit to go for, yeah, there hasn't. Now there is. What about, What are we going to do about this? Again, if you are rooting it in Cam Ward's style of play, if you say, hey, it's not sustainable the way that he plays football, I see your argument, I disagree, but I see your argument. If you say, hey, Cam Ward has not had to take a high volume of snaps from under center, and generally that doesn't bode well for NFL quarterback. That's a factual statement at Washington State, mainly shotgun, at Incarnate Word, mainly shotgun, even at Miami, where he did his most work under center, it still was a ton of shotgun.
Starting point is 00:16:57 I get you. But we're talking about the player he was before he had air on his chest. We're talking about the player he was when his voice was still cracking and he's going through puberty as, oh, this will be who you are going forward. I mean, what are we really doing here? You know, I get it. Shady McCoy was an All-American and all that in high school. He was a guy that, you know, was a big timer going to the pit where they're best recruiting quite some time and whatnot.
Starting point is 00:17:26 Everybody does not have that track. And that does not mean that they'll be bad. Yeah, no, I absolutely. And so the over under, by the way, for first round draft picks for the ACC, it's three and a half. I would like to see us go over that as a conference and get four or five guys drafted in the first round. I think it's going to go under, though, Kenton, because, you know, and again, like I'm not saying mock drafts
Starting point is 00:17:53 or the gospel, right? These are, you know, these are not the actual GMs doing mock drafts, but the ones who pretty consistently come up in the first round, Cam Ward at number one overall. Amari and Hampton usually comes up around 20 to Denver. It can be a little tricky with running backs, though. Sometimes they get devalued more than we expect. And, you know, he's definitely getting taken after Ashton Genti.
Starting point is 00:18:16 It's just how far after would be the question. And Donovan Azaraku, edge rusher from Boston College, is the other guy who shows up in the mocks. I don't consistently see anyone else from the ACC. So I have a feeling we're going to go under three and a half. But a guy like Azare Thomas at Florida State is someone who may come close to that. Maybe Elijah Royo, the tight end from Miami may come close, but probably second round. but I hope to be wrong, but I think we're going to go under three and a half. I agree.
Starting point is 00:18:46 I think that we are going to go under three and a half. However, I would not guarantee that and put money on it because a lot of these GM, we see it every year. We see it happen every single year. I'm going to talk about the guy that was ACC adjacent for a moment. Kyle Hamilton was a guy. If you watched him, you knew, oh, he's the real deal. he looks like he knows where the play is going before
Starting point is 00:19:12 before the offense knows nine times out of ten and he flew around in a way that you're just like this is a big long safety he can tackle he can cover he can do it all but then his sport he was too slow and he was supposed to be to me there's a guy that looked like a defendant of top five pick but he drops out of that range because the sport is too slow
Starting point is 00:19:34 when you look at Azare Thomas and Elijah Royal, they're on the exact opposite end of the spectrum. Nobody thought of those guys as first round guys coming into this year, but all of a sudden,
Starting point is 00:19:46 you see, hey, this Thomas kid is about six too, Amy. Oh, those hips look a little nicer than we thought they are. Hey, this is a Royal kid, you know, he looks kind of fluid out there in shorts and a T-shirt.
Starting point is 00:19:58 He's getting in and out of his breaks. And all of a sudden, all it takes is one GM. All it takes, that's all it takes, you know. Same way that, the same way that the betting odds were for Tim Tebow to go in the first round, right?
Starting point is 00:20:12 We all knew what we saw. We knew what we saw. But, but it took one GM to say, you know what? We're going to give him a shot. So for the ACC to go for, we need one GM to fall in love with Elijah Arroy or Azarii Thomas. Just one. Just one.
Starting point is 00:20:29 Or somebody get real crazy and do a patriot-like move when Bill Belichick was there and said, you know what? I'm thinking I want a guy that's mocked in the fourth round here. I'm thinking I want a guy that's mocked in the third, fourth round at pick number 29. Well, Bill Belichick is now at the helm of the North Carolina Tar Heels. Maybe his fiance is maybe the one really calling the shots there. Maybe it's Mike Lombardi who's calling the shots there.
Starting point is 00:20:56 Wait, that's the fiancé now? That's a fiance. I thought it was his girlfriend. They engaged? Oh, I think he, hold on. Let me ask Isaac Shade. Sorry, sorry. They're, they're just, it's not his fiancee.
Starting point is 00:21:07 Is it, Isaac? No. Ain't no ring. No ring. No, no. I jump the gun. Slating these relationships over here, my man. Come on.
Starting point is 00:21:16 Well, we're going to talk to Isaac about what's going on. I hope I didn't like break Bill Belichick's engagement plans. Like I spoiled it for him if he was looking to do that. We're going to talk about what's happening in the transfer portal in North Carolina with Isaac Shade from Lockdown Tar Hills. You want to keep it locked right here on this brand new episode of Lockdown ACC. And after making locked on ACC your first list, and make sure
Starting point is 00:21:44 you check out Locked on Tar Heels for your next listen, because there's plenty of stuff going on right now in Chapel Hill. Apparently, the engagement is going down over there, too. We've scooped inside Carolina and locked on Tar Heels. We'll scoop them all, baby.
Starting point is 00:22:01 I mean, but if he's going to hand her so much power, he might as want to put a ring on it. Like, she's running the program. Dude, at least... Perhaps the most frustrating thing to me she's got a carolina basketball jersey my wife my wife told me this i hadn't even seen this it's a number 23 you know her name is jordan but it's oh n this is blasphemous she got a 23
Starting point is 00:22:26 carolina jersey it says jordan on the back with an oh n i'm like you're you can get strung up sister you can't be doing that oh man wow and when the rind is telling you it's blasphemy you know it's a did. Isaac don't play about that. He ain't playing around. I don't know if she's the one making transfer portal decisions there as well. But like talk to me about losing Amari Campbell, one of the top defensive players of the Tar Heels into the portal. Now, this couldn't have been a huge surprise though, Isaac, because he he had dabbled in the portal in December, but I guess he decided to, you know, kind of see things out with the new coaching staff. But now, now he's in the portal. How big of a loss is this going to be?
Starting point is 00:23:13 Dono, look, you talk about dabbling. All I can envision is him just sticking his big toe in a little pond and then stepping back out. Like, here's the thing. Here's why this is the biggest disappointment, I think, to me. North Carolina has kind of had this succession of linebackers. It's not, you know, I'm looking at KG. And I think about like Peyton Wilson, who was just the dude for all those years in a row in Raleigh, right? For Carolina, they've kind of had this passing of the baton from Chas Surat to Jeremiah Gemmell to Power Eccles to Cedric Gray and, or from Cedric to Power Eccles. And now it was like, all right, Amari Campbell, your turn. You're the holdover, right, in the linebacking core. And part of it is Carolina, at least in the Mac Brown 2.0 era,
Starting point is 00:23:59 didn't really go very deep at linebacker. They had some dudes, but just those two dudes. And Amari was the guy that I was like, okay, here's some dependability. Here's somebody you know and can trust. And so in that regard, I was like, yeah, that's where there's going to be some stability here, especially having with Bo Atkinson just piecing out last week, the big edge that I thought was going to be so helpful for like, Brian Smith and I were literally just talking about this before I hop on with you guys of like he just, Atkinson just felt like a Belichick kind of defender, you know, Bill or Steve, which,
Starting point is 00:24:36 every Belichick you want to go with. And so in that regard, it's like, yes, I think you can replace Amari Campbell. But the stability and who he was and what that kind of has stood for in that passing of the baton, I think for me is what makes it so hard. You know, you talk about both Atkinson leaving and kind of what he would have been as a chess piece for this defense. Which of these two moves do you think makes the biggest impact? Atkinson or Mark. I think it's Atkinson for sure. Just the things he had started to show his size and athlete, like I think of the two,
Starting point is 00:25:19 and I'm not looking at an NFL draft board as we sit here, but I think Atkinson just is the better projected football player all around, right? Where Campbell can do it at a college football power conference level. Bo Atkinson is a dude that I don't think is, is as replaceable. And so that makes it more difficult for me, Ken. Well, okay, let's talk about the good, because it's really not that surprising
Starting point is 00:25:47 when you change coaching regimes and you have a new GM, there's going to be a lot of turnover, right? I think UNC, at least according to the 24-7 sports database, they've lost, I guess, since December 44 players, but they have brought in 26 transfers. So in terms of the incoming, Isaac, what excites you most? Not having the same defense. I mean, that's what I'm like, what is so, what's been so frustrating to me about the
Starting point is 00:26:19 Mac Brown 2.0 era is you basically squandered five great years of Sam Howl and Drake May because they had to win football games and that put more pressure on them. And so it's like any questions like draft experts, and scouts had about decision making for Sam Howler, Drake May, I think is purely a product of, yeah, because they're having to do it all and push and press because they know that the defense can't stop anybody. And so I think just at the big picture level, that's maybe my biggest area of excitement for the Tar Heels is just like start brand new and bring in a whole new core to go with coaches bellichick and let's just see if we can get something going.
Starting point is 00:27:08 Yeah, you know, I'm always glad to remind people that two of Drake May's last completions ever were to Peyton Wilson and Jekine Harris safety. When he was at NC State. It was either him or Boykin, one of those two. It was one of those two last completion ever. But speaking of the quarterback position, right, obviously you talk about a line of Carolina quarterbacks. That was record breakers, top 10 picks, all that type of stuff.
Starting point is 00:27:35 How do you feel about the quarterback room now with Gio Lopez kind of assuming the mental as the guy and, you know, seeing some of the shuffling like, oh, boy, heading back to Purdue and whatnot? What are you looking at as like, hey, I feel good. I feel great. I feel terrible. I'm indifferent about this quarterback room. What are you thinking?
Starting point is 00:27:56 Yeah, I mean, we talked about it on ACC squad this week with Ryan Brown. leaving Purdue to come to Carolina, going back to Purdue before he ever played a single down. I mean, you guys, he got the QB1 reps at Carolina's spring. They didn't play a spring game, but he got the QB1 reps over Bryce Baker. And at that point, Gio Lopez hadn't committed. I'm definitely not feeling great if I'm taking your categories there. I want to feel good, but I, the problem is, if Gio Lopez is your QVs, be one he's not coming in until after spring ball with a whole new regime like if you're doing that
Starting point is 00:28:38 but everything else is set and stable around it and he's just got to come learn the system that's been in place for five six years or whatever maybe you feel a little bit better about that but everything is so topsy turvian up in the air that nobody knows what to expect we don't even have numbers or names on the jerseys at spring ball i i just how how could you feel much positivity towards it until you see what happens against TCU on Labor Day weekend coming up here in a couple months. And so I think it'll be Gio Lopez, but Carolina now is still being connected to other quarterbacks in the portal. And so it's like, are we done? Is he the guy? Is Bryce Baker going to be the guy? Are you going to bring in somebody else in Bryce Baker redshirt? Like,
Starting point is 00:29:21 what's going to happen? I don't know. Guys, I don't know. You heard it here first, folks. Bill Belichick is getting engaged. Hammer the under for UNC. You heard it. We've got to cover and locked on ACC, baby. By the way, if I was a reporter who covered Tar Heels football, I would have been so mad at Belichick for not putting numbers or names
Starting point is 00:29:43 on the spring football practice. Like to try to go out there and cover practice, like at least Miami gives me numbers. Like they don't have a name. At least I have a roster and I've got the numbers. Legitimately, I wasn't there at practice like a pro, which was the name of the spring day. But literally the other beat reporters
Starting point is 00:30:00 that were there were like, oh, I think that's Bo Atkinson's tattoo, so I think that's it. You know, it's like, they're just looking for like body markings or like, oh, look at that flowing hair. That's got to be. Them articles had to be brutal. There was a tall black receiver that had a lot of catches. We don't know which one it was, but he was tall,
Starting point is 00:30:21 narrow, and dark skinned. That guy, watch out for him in the fall. But we saw Jordan Belichick out there directing traffic and I'm just giving her the last name. Why not? Yeah, you already. I mean, I already got her married. You're giving her the last name.
Starting point is 00:30:36 Man, this went off the rails a little bit. Well, we appreciate Isaac Shade for spending some time with us. Make sure you check him out, not only at Locked on Tar Heels, but also Locked on College Basketball. He's another two-show man. Check Kenton out at Locked on Wolfpack and here on Locked on ACC. Check me out here on Locked on ACC and on Locked on Cains. And make sure you guys check out Locked on NFL draft.
Starting point is 00:30:57 Make that your next listen. And we'll talk to you again tomorrow. On another episode of Lockdown ACC, we are part of the awesome Lockdown Podcast Network. Your team every day. Locked on Temperance podcast coming next, folks.

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