Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - BOMBSHELL: How ACC Head Coaches Stack-Up Amongst Nation's ELITE Recruiters | Who's the Best?

Episode Date: June 6, 2025

ACC football's recruiting landscape is shifting. Who are the top head coach recruiters shaping the conference's future?Jackson Holzer and Kenton Gibbs break down the ACC's recruiting powerhouses, analyzing Fran Brown's impressive turnaround at Syracuse and debating Dabo Swinney's Clemson legacy. The duo explores high-impact transfers, including Carson Beck's potential game-changing move to Miami. They dissect the Hurricanes' 2024 outlook and how Beck could alter the program's trajectory.Tune in for expert insights on ACC football's evolving dynamics and the transfers that could redefine the conference. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED 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.

Locked-on recruiting expert released his top head coach recruiters in the nation, which ACC coaches made the list. You are Locked-on ACC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello, everyone. This is Locked-on ACC. I'm Jackson Hulzer, the host of Locked-on-Sircuse. of course, we're always joined by Kenton Gibbs, one of the hosts of Locked-on Wolfpack and former NC State defensive tackle. And we got a great show for you all this Friday afternoon. CBS Sports released their most impactful ACC transfers yesterday.

So we'll discuss that on today's show. Also, we're going to begin the podcast talking about the best head coach recruiters in the country, according to locked on recruiting expert Brian Smith. So tons to talk about here on today's show. And without further ado, since this episode is brought to you by nobody, we can get straight into the list here from Brian Smith. I'm going to pull it up for those that are watching on YouTube. And if you're listening to this podcast on Apple, Spotify,

wherever you get your podcast, I will read you the list and the ACC coaches. that made the cut. So here it is. Here's the list for those that are watching on YouTube. Take it all in. And now I'm going to read it. All right. Kirby Smart from Georgia came in at number one. At number two, Mario Cristobal from Miami. Number three, Ryan Day at Ohio State. Number four, Dan Lannning at Oregon. Number five, James Franklin for Penn State. Number six, Marcus Freeman for Notre Dame. Number seven, Hugh Freeze for Auburn. Number eight. Abbo Sweeney at Clemson. So that's your second ACC head coach on the list.

And your third ACC head coach comes in at number nine, Fran Brown for Syracuse. Number 10, you got Lane Kippen at Ole Miss. Number 11, Mike Elko at Texas A&M. And number 12, Brent Venables over at Oklahoma. So Kenton, what stands out to you from this list? You're muted, Kenton. up here we go all right what stands out the most to me is your head coach i mean with all due respect

fran brown being listed as one of the top recruiters in the country it's not the biggest surprise in the world but it is a little bit shocking considering um all things considered in terms of where we sit with the 2025 recruiting class and even if we go before that and say you know his first year with syracuse in terms of the 2024 recruiting class i think that he's done a hell of a job to be at Syracuse. But at the end of the day, if you're talking the top, that was top 10 or so. Top 12 recruiters in the country.

He means the top 10. Yeah, Fred Brown being in that top 10, that's very high praise. And don't get me wrong, I know that if you include the transfer portal as well into that, that pumps up Syracuse's class a little bit. But I have a hard time putting him in that high this early. And that's not a disrespect to him.

But yeah, I love me some Fran Brown more than most people. I am much higher on Fran Brown than most. I think even with this year, he's going to pop out with seven, eight wins despite an absolute murderer's role of his schedule. With that being said, I'm not sure if I'm willing to give him top 12 recruiters right now. I think that he is, I think he's in that range. I think he's pushing up there. I think he really is.

I think he's knocking on the door. I'm not so sure that I would invite him into the top 10 party at this moment. Well, Kent, I'm glad you brought up Fram Brown because I'm the host of Locked on Syracuse, and I already did a show earlier this week talking about Fram Brown and recruiting. So I'm very familiar with this. So I came to all pre. I'm already prepped for this one, all right? Let's do it.

Do you want to know Syracuse's recruiting rankings of the five years before Fran Brown and since Fram Brown has taken over? I'm going to guess the average five years before he got there was somewhere in what the 60s or 70s in the country? Yeah, good. So from 2019 to 2020, Syracuse's average overall recruiting ranking, according to 24-7 sports, was 64th in the country, 11th in the ACC. But hold on.

That was back when the ACC only had 14 teams. Right. So that was their average. Bottom five in the ACC and 64th overall in the country. In fact, in 2023, the year before Fran Brown, Syracuse reached rock bottom. They were 88th overall in the nation in recruiting last in the conference. Now Fran Brown takes over.

2024, 37th overall in recruiting. In the ACC, upper half. 2025, there's a slight dip. Yet it's still 42nd overall, 10th in the ACC. And in 2026, Syracuse is currently top 20. overall in the nation. Do I necessarily think that'll last very long? I guess time will tell because they are going after multiple elite recruits, Messiah Hampton from New York and Calvin Russell from Miami. But overall, Kent, and I guess my question for you is this, how many

coaches on this list could actually do what Fram Brown has already done at Syracuse? I mean, the vast majority of these coaches have been head coaches at places that were resource strap like Syracuse and they've done good jobs there. Not saying all of them, obviously we know Kirby Smart, born on third base per se. You look at Ryan Day, born on third base per se, guys who we have not had to see. Dan Lennig is another one. With all due respect to whatever you think he does on a recruiting trail, he went from Georgia's defensive coordinator to the most resource school in America in Oregon. So I think that some of these guys, we haven't seen them, have to do what he is doing in this situation, which I think that it's tough to kind of parse that out.

But also, some of those stats are not misleading, but need a little bit of context, right? 88th in recruiting the year the Dino Babers got fired. I was once a recruit, and I can tell you, when you know a coach is about to be fired, that changes the whole perspective for how you see at school. You could think everything is perfect about a school. You could love everything. You can think everything is amazing. If the rap is, that coach ain't going to be that time too much longer.

hey, that coach is hot as fish grease. That will absolutely play into where you're going for school. For example, for me personally, coming to NC State for me was the best idea because Dorn was going to be new in this job. So I said, regardless of what happens, unless it is a complete and other crap show, he's likely going to be my head coach, my entire playing career. And now, you know, 10 years or I believe 13 years later, he's still the head coach there and all that good stuff, which is great.

But knowing that a head coach is about to get fired, you don't go there unless you have to, unless you are absolutely like, hey, I don't got no other options. And this coach who everybody in the fan base seems to be out on all that. So I think 88 is not an indication of how hard it is to recruit at Syracuse, as much as it is, how hard it is to recruit in Syracuse and the coach is about to get fired.

But I will concede. I don't think Fran Brown is a bad recruiter. I've never said that. I would never go on any record saying Fran Brown doesn't belong anywhere near this list. I think he's right on the outside. I would just like to see just a little bit more before I throw him in here. And also, like I said, there are multiple guys that were born on third base in this list. When's the last time Oregon had a recruiting class that was outside the top 15,

regardless of who to head coach it? I don't know. That's my point. Like, at the end of the day, recruiting that Oregon is like going to the club and picking up Well, you got a Maserati and $100 bills falling out your pockets. Well, you know, like, you don't need the most game in the world where you're like, hey, everybody drinks on me, the entire bar is on me. I bought it up.

You don't need a ton of game when you can do that. So I see where you're coming from in that aspect. And I get why Dan Lennie being on this list is like, but are you really? You know, I get that. But at the same time, we still got to look at the results and say, hey, this is what you have objectively done. Now, if Fran pulls in the top 20 class, put him in that top 10. As a matter of fact, raise him up in that top 10. A top 20 recruiting class in Syracuse, New York.

Give him his got to raise him up on that list. But again, right now, I'm just a little bit skittish to say he's top 10 already. Fair enough. We can continue this conversation, though, because I do want to discuss the other head coaches that made the list, Davos Sweeney, who came in at 8. and Mario Cristobal, who was second, and also I want to talk about whether or not any other ACC head coach should have made Brian Smith's list. So we'll talk about that next here on Locked-on ACC. The NBA finals are in full swing and every night delivers highlight-worthy performances,

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This is Locked-on ACCC. I'm Jackson Holes are the host of Locked on Syracuse filling in for Alex Dono, who is still in Europe. We wish him nothing but the best there, having a great time. Of course, on Lockdown ACC, we are always joined by Kenton Gives, one of the hosts of Lockdown, Wolfpack and former NC State defensive tackle. We left off talking about the top 12 head coach recruiters in the nation, according to football recruiting expert from Lockdown and also the host of the new Locked-on Portal podcast, Brian Smith. We discussed Fran Brown in the first segment, but I do want to discuss the other

head coaches that made the list. So you had Mario Cristobal at Miami who came in second place and Davo Sweeney made eighth on this list. Kenton, what's your takeaway from that? You know, I look at Mario Crystal Ball and I say he's a great recruiter. He's done a great job. But I also want to throw out a little bit of context here. Miami has finished in terms of where they have been in recruiting historically. They finished 13th amongst Power 5 programs in the last 20 years. So Mario Cristobal ain't been there for 20 years. He has not been. a guy that anybody would say, hey, he is the sole driving force behind this thing.

But again, how much can you say is Mario? How much can you say is the university? There's definitely that aspect of it in terms of what we see from this staff and from their ability to recruit or their rankings and all that type of stuff. You definitely got to have that conversation of what's what. How is he actually doing it? What is the deal in terms of, is it Mario? isn't the situation, what's the deal?

Because I think that there's definitely some value and some credence and asking that question. But again, the results are there for Mario to where I'm not sure I'd be questioning it as saying, hey, you don't belong. Yeah, I definitely don't question Mario, Christofal, being on the list. I think number two is a little bit too high. That being said, I mean, getting Jackson Cantwell, who at the time of his recruitment was,

actually, it might have been changed right before he committed to Miami. but he's a regardless, five-star player, top 10 overall in the country. So he definitely deserves to be on this list. I would argue that Davosweeney at eight is a little low. Yeah, I agree. On that list. And I think people forget that Clemson now is not what Clemson was 15 years ago. Davoswini built up that program to what it is.

And I think we forget it because he's been with Clemson for a very long time now. But I just think the fact that he built Clemson to what it is now based, it was basically through recruiting, right? Through recruiting, obviously solid. Obviously we know he's a great game day head coach as well. But we're solely talking about recruiting here and getting talent to commit to Clemson. He did that. He built up that program.

Go look at their season history before Davos-Sweeney. and then when he took over. So when I look at the premier recruiters in the nation, yes, he might be stubborn a little bit with the transfer portal, but you know what? He can recruit, and I think he should be a top five on this list. Keeping dabble out of the top five is very interesting to me

because what evidence do we have that he was born on third base in terms of recruiting? That's the point. What evidence do we have that says, hey, Clemson and Clemson wasn't a thing before he got there? In fact, we have evidence to the contrary. We have evidence that Clemson historically was not the best place to be at. It was not a place that people were like, hey, you need to go to Clemson. If you are a star, you are going to Clemson.

And that's all and that's all. That's it. That just was not the case before Davo got there. So I think we need to put more respect on his name nationally in terms of, hey, he is this guy as a recruiter. He is exactly who we think he is. Because Trevor Lawrence, do you get the number one player in the country? country there by accident. Deshawn Watson, the guy that

off-field stuff aside, fantastic. You cannot make enough arguments for how good he has been in the lead before he, you know, started to suffer some injuries back-to-back. And again, the off-field stuff. The Andre Hopkins, Bowers,

all those got Big Beasley, first-rounder after first round after first round after first rounder, the Terrell brothers. So many. Ball. I was going to say one more. I think C.J. Spiller as well? He might have been the first five-star guy that he got.

Yeah, but that's, and that's why I have to give credit to dabble and say, Clemson was not a destination school until he got there. So I think that he deserves more credit than guys who you walked into a situation where maybe your school was not the school that always won championships. But if you're knocking on the door and you're on the precipice of greatness, you're right there for greatness, right? I think it's a lot easier to come into that than a school that has languored in mediocrity for decades before you got there. And then all of a sudden, you raised them up to this level. And besides that, I do understand the idea that, hey, you can't really say that his inability to recruit the portal or his choice to not lean as heavily in the NIL as some of the other national heavy hitters is a hindering.

because he chose it to be that way. But even still, even with those things, Clemson is still one of the top recruiting things every year. You don't see Clemson in the 20s in recruiting. That just doesn't happen. So, you know, I really and truly think that Davo needs a little bit more respect for my man Smitty on this one. Yeah, we are in agreement.

I'm going to pull up the list again here. I mean, do you put him ahead of Kirby Smart? I'd leave him behind Kirby. I'd leave him behind Kirby. What about Mario? Mario is such an interesting case because he's a double dose of the born on third bay from Oregon to Miami. That's a double dose of born on third. But I'd say 2A, 2B for those two, honestly.

I'd say 2A2B, really. I think I can get behind you on that. I think this one's obvious. I'm taking Davos Sweeney and recruiting over Ryan Day. I'm sorry Ryan Day was. Ryan Day wasn't born on third base. He was born on home plate. I agree.

Hey, born in the middle. He was born in the middle and the pitcher can't pick him off. I think me and you can recruit at Ohio State. It really isn't that difficult to recruit at Ohio State. Come to Ohio State with Brian Hartline, if you're a wide receiver. We'll get you a first. You'll be top five in the draft. Dan Landing at Oregon, I mean, with all due respect to Dan Landing.

Again, I don't know if it's born on home plate, but born on third base for Dan landing. James Franklin. James Franklin definitely deserves there. Marcus Freeman, Hugh Free. I mean, I got to take dabbo over a lot of these guys and just solely recruiting. Again, he built the program. The absolute worst I could see anybody putting him at. Absolute worse is fit.

The absolute worst. Like if you don't understand ACC football at all and you're saying, you know what, I'm going strictly by what you have produced. You can't tell me he belongs behind James Franklin and Hugh Freeze. You can't tell me that. You really cannot tell me, hey, strictly by what your classes have ranked and what you have done, you belong behind those two. Absolutely not. And that's not even factoring the on-the-field production.

That's not even factoring the whole everybody in their mama screaming their heads off about the, oh, well, his wide receivers never get open in terms of Drew Allen. He'd be so good, his wide receivers just never get open. Well, that sounds like a personnel problem me. It sounded like I just ain't got no good receipt. What is, you know, whose fault is that? So I can see Dabo at worse at fifth, no worse than that. I agree 100% with you that he is definitely a top five recruiter in the nation. And you can even make a case that he's two, three.

Yeah. I think there's more of argument for him at two than eight. I would a thousand percent say that. Yep. We're in agreement on that. Do you think that there's any other ACC head coach that deserves consideration or maybe even should have made the top 12th? I don't think that there's any other ACC coaches that should have made the top 12.

However, however, I think that the same way that I have Fran Brown as, you know, he's, to me, he's right there. He's literally right there. I think that Mani Diax, we need to start talking about him. We need to start talking about him because he is at one of the schools that has the highest barriers, the highest paywalls blockages for players to get in. You're talking about Duke here, baby. We're not just talking about any old like, oh, this is a, you know, just get in where you fit in type of school. This is one of those Harvard of the ACC type schools.

And yet he is still finding ways to come up with some pretty impressive classes here in terms of, again, Duke football now. We have not seen this type of stuff very often. Elko kind of ushered in a really good wave. I think that many is kind of riding that wave to more success. But if anybody says that Duke is a born on third base situation, absolutely not. Absolutely. And we were talking basketball, yeah. Exactly.

Exactly. But, you know, it's like it's, I mean, with all due respect to John Shire, it's, it's almost like the Ryan Day. You know, it's like the, yeah, you're, you're taking over a fan, the best situation basically possible. You have unlimited resources. Now, you still got to give credit to those guys who end up doing the job. You know, I've seen head coach's tank before where they completely sink a program.

So you got to still give him credit, but you're right. Duke football and him still being able to pull out, I think he pulled out a top five ACC class in 2025. That is definitely really impressive. Another head coach who I believe deserves a shout out here, Brent Key at Georgia Tech. Yeah, yeah. Georgia Tech in 2025.

I'm looking at it right now. Take a guess on 24-7 sports. Don't look. Take a guess on 24-7 sports where they rank in the ACC in recruiting. First, I just want to let everybody know. I just want to let everybody know my prediction on Syracuse was so spot on with Jackson. Now I think I'm cheating. He thinks I'm looking.

I'm going to say Georgia Tech was in the 25 to 30 range. Yes, but you didn't necessarily. and answer my question. Oh, well, 27? No, no, I meant in the ACC. Oh, oh, in the ACC? I'd say they were what, fourth? Close.

Third? Oh, my. Oh, they were cooking. Okay. They were cooking. I mean, you got a five-star and Josh Petty out of Georgia? Yeah. A five-star lineman out of Georgia went to Georgia Tech instead of Georgia.

I mean, listen, if you want to. stay home, then you only got two options. You only got two. I know, but I'm just, I'm just pointing out like, no, you're right, though. That is a huge year. I'm going to try to pull up like four to five examples of this, but how many five-star recruits out of Georgia pick Georgia tech instead of Georgia? You're absolutely right. It is, it is just an objective fact that, again, Kirby Smart Company, it is a much more proven brand. It is much easier to sell Georgia. And, hey, this is how many first round picks we made then Georgia Tech. And Georgia Tech's another one of those like Duke.

The barriers are not low. The academics, not low. You have to absolutely get into it. So, you know, them being... Put some respect to the University of Georgia, though. That's a tough school to get into. You think Georgia's on the same level as Georgia Tech? I didn't...

I did not say it was on the same level. That's what I'm saying? It's not... I did not say it's Duke or Georgia Tech. I'm just saying it's not an easy school to get into. I'm not saying that Georgia is allowing anybody in there, but I'm saying there's a difference. It's in the words of what is his name? Jay May, it hit different when you're talking about a Georgia Tech or Duke as opposed to, again, these universities, all of them give out good degrees, okay?

My NC State degree has opened some wonderful doors for me. I'm not saying, hey, NC State education, nothing. It's a Research One Institute. Okay, it's a great. It's different than Duke. It's different than Georgia Tech. You know, same thing with Georgia. With all the respect to them, it's different than Georgia Tech.

You know, some say that the SEC just means more or it's different, but I'm just making a joke there. Georgia Tech, by the way, not 25 to 30 in recruiting. They were 21st in the composite rankings. 20. Oh, Coach Kee is cooking. I love it. You know, I'm starting to think if I'm starting to think if Georgia Tech has a really good year this upcoming season. They go maybe nine and three, maybe 10 and two.

He's going to get some other head coaching looks. He's not leaving. He's not leaving Georgia Tech. I know. I mean, that's what everyone says. Nobody's ever going to leave. But that's his alma mater. That's his alma mater.

How many guys are coaching that their alma mater and leave? I understand. I understand. You know what? I totally get it. I've just seen too much. I've just seen too much. So we're like, yeah.

He's got PTSD, ladies and gentlemen. He's got PTSD because it really hasn't, like, happened, like, so bad to, like, myself with any of my team. But it's just you see it around the country where, like, he's never going to leave. And then, lo and behold, he leaves. Yeah. He just takes a different job. And it's just like, it happens. Yeah.

I think you'd have to pull up a, you'd have to absolutely back up the Barak's truck to get key away from there in a way that is. I don't think most teams would be. willing to do that off one really good season and two to three really good recruiting glass. I'm not sure teams would, but I mean, hey, I've seen teams. I've seen teams reach for less. So I wouldn't be surprised. I'd be more surprised that he left that play because he seems to be a yellow jacket through and through.

And I absolutely adore him for it. I didn't say he was going to leave, but I do think he'll get some looks if he has a really good. He'll definitely get some look. There'll definitely maybe be some offers there. And now here comes every Georgia Tech fan saying I'm an idiot and how he's never going to look. Here it comes. I already know it. It's okay. Just know that it's happened plenty, almost every school around the country at some point in time. I think we're good talking about these head coach recruiting rankings. So coming up, CBS Sports ACC, ACC high impact transfers.

We'll talk about that next here on Locked on ACC. This is Locked on ACC. I'm Jackson Hulzer, the host of Locked on Syracuse. Of course, we're always joined by Kenton Gibbs, the host of Locked on Wolfpack and former NC State defensive tackle. So yesterday, CBS Sports released their list of ACC high-impact transfers, and they gave one transfer for every team. Now, I'm not going to go through the whole list because we got 17 different names to go over. So Kenton, just looking at the list yourself, what stands out to you? I think it's very interesting that Thomas Costalanos is not listed as the guy for Florida State,

but more power to him, more because I believe quarterback is the most impactful position, which we'll get into a little bit later here. But even beyond that, I think a lot of these guys, you know, a lot of people who talk about who's going to be the most impactful and all that good stuff, I think one guy that is really and truly not getting the respect that he deserves is that edge rusher from Purdue that headed on over to Clemson. I really do think that that guy's something special. I really, really do.

And I think that if you're telling me, if you were to tell me, hey, he's going to be the most special, the most special transfer guy in terms of positive impact this year, I can see that. Also, Kendra GFiel headed from NC State to Cal, they've got carries.

They got plenty of carries. They got all the carries in the world available because that running back room, me and Jackson got calls saying, hey, would y'all, would you consider it? Like, Berkeley's the grade, not kidding. I know you're big on education. You get a great education out here, man.

And, you know, they were- You're right. I did get a call. It didn't last long, though. Yeah, yeah. I'm sure they asked about that 40-time. They called me and they were like, hey, so, you know, we haven't really seen you.

So what's your height and weight? I gave it to him, and they, I didn't get it. All of a sudden, it went to dial tone. I couldn't hear him anymore. He said, Coach Wilcox, well, well, you're sure? You got some scholarship money from it? But no, in all seriousness, I think that, you know, that's a situation where you're looking at a ton of snaps and a ton of a ton of carries available

form. But like I was saying, Will Help, I think he, with that depth and the just sheer volume of talent that Clemson has, adding in Will Help is just like, what are we doing, man? What are we doing? What is the, we talked about Daubo not using the transfer portal for him to do that, for him to get a SAC specialist from Purdue. They didn't have to worry about anybody else there. You didn't have to worry about blocking anybody else. So, you know, I'm yikes. Just a big yikes to the tackles in the ACC having to block a guy that's going to be

drafted in the top five in Parker and then this guy on the other side. My tease and peace, thoughts and prayers are with you all. Yeah, ripped Steve Angelia at Syracuse. He's on this list, by the way. He was the Syracuse representative, which is really really. funny because I can get into it for like two seconds here. They also got another quarterback, Ricky Collins, and they mentioned in the article that he'll have to beat out Ricky Collins for the starting job.

And so then I'm like, how can you say that he is the most impactful for Syracuse? If you don't even know if he's going to be the starting quarterback, it would have been very simple in the article if they just kind of cheated a little and said, all right, we're going to give it to the Syracuse quarterback. We're going to say it's either Ricky Collins or Steve Angelly for him. But that's neither here nor there. This is not the Syracuse show. This is locked on East D.C.

So we don't have to talk too much about Syracuse here, even though it's in my background. I mean, I have to represent a little bit here. I, you know, impact for this list, they were implying positive impact. Right. But we can also talk a little negative impact as well because I'm going to give you, in my opinion, the most polarizing transfer out of anyone in the ACC. I already know. Yeah.

Yeah, I already know it. Carson Beck, 100% the most polarizing. Because here's the thing, you can, you tell me Thomas Costiano at Florida State, like, all right, maybe he has like some sort of ceiling, but we've seen enough of him to know what his floor is. Like that's fair. We know his floor. We know what he is and maybe he can be a little bit more than that.

With Carson Beck, this was a guy that heading into last season was projected to be the number one pick in the NFL draft. And obviously, he did not live up to that expectation, considering that he, he's still in school and that he's no longer at Georgia, he's at Miami. And he's also coming off elbow surgery on his throwing arm. That's not good. Yeah. So when you're talking, he was Miami's, he was Miami's guy. Like on this list, it's Carsonback most impactful transfer. Kenton, he's definitely going to be the most impactful transfer at Miami. He's going to be the most impactful transfer in the ACC.

But like I said at the very top, impact can be positive and impact can be negative. So he is the most polarizing transfer out of anyone in the ACC. See, that's solid logic there because this is the logic of, hey, you know, the idea that humans should work together collaboratively made a great impact on society. but you know what made an even bigger impact? The asteroid. That made a much bigger impact. I get where you're going here because he does have the ability to alter and change not only this season, but I really and truly believe the course of Miami football history.

And I'm not joking. History. Hold on here. History. Let me tell you why. Let me tell you why. How many of these games on Miami schedule do you think that they can win without Carson Beck rolling at at least a decent clip this year?

How many do you think they can win? Notre-day, not Notre-day. Bethune Cookman. Okay, you got one. That's a gimmie. Mm-hmm. South Florida. Okay.

Do you give them Florida at home, even if Carson Beck isn't 100 percent? Like, I think they could win that game. I personally don't. It is kind of a state rivalry, maybe. I won't call it a gimmie. I won't call it a gimmie, but I'll get a point a five. It's definitely not a gimmie. I'm just saying, like, you're talking about can win the game.

Like, they can beat Florida, even if Carson Beck isn't 100%. Could, yes, yes. I'll give you a 0.5.1-hour, sure. At Florida State, I guess they can win. Louisville at home, they... You're up to three. Louisville at home, I guess they can win.

Three and a half. But again, can win, it's like, again, it's Carson Beck's health here. Stanford at home, they should be able to beat them with no quarterback. At SMU, they're not winning. if Carson Beck is not healthy. Syracuse at home, I don't know how good Syracuse is going to be, to be honest with you, this upcoming season. I mean, they're also a very polarizing team in the ACC, in my opinion,

because I don't know what's going to happen with quarterback there. NC State at home. I'll give you another half for Syracuse. I'll put you at five. You could beat NC State at home, I guess, and then at Virginia Tech at pit pick one game. All right, so five and a half. So you just named six and a half.

games and that was a lot of gimmies. More of those wins came from, or a lot of pickums, not gimmies. They're mostly, if you're telling me that Carson Beck is not healthy, then a lot of the games here that you would think that they should win or have a very good chance of winning, all regretting kind of can become pickham games. And the game like at SMU goes from, that's going to be a tough one to you got no chance. And that is my point. Let's just say that all of these pickums except two go the other way. You're looking out a three, four wins season? You're looking out of four wins season?

It's on the, it's very weird because I could see Miami going 10 and 2. And I can also see them being Florida State from a year ago. Like that's how crazy the swing is with Carson Beck and his health. That's what I'm questioning. I think I'm higher on Carson Beck than most when he is healthy. I still think he's really good. I just want to know if the guy can throw a football. Absolutely.

I just want to know if he can throw. And I'm not disagreeing with you at all in terms of his health being the onus of this conversation. But what I am saying is with a non-healthy Carson Beck, with a version of Carson Beck that is not going to be, he's going to be a shell of what we saw from him at Georgia, that team could win four to five games. And if they win four to five games, and I know Miami fans are going to call me, everything but a child of God, and I'm okay with that.

They're going to say, I'm sneak this and Donald because it's not here. Well, Dono shouldn't have been enjoying the French countryside is his fault. But if we're talking about what that team could be, if they go four and eight this year, do they bring Christopal back? Absolutely not. He's gone. That's what I mean. There were fans of Miami saying he should be fired after losing to Syracuse.

So that's what I mean. Would they go 10 and 2? This regular season? I believe so nine and 3 or 10 and 2 something. Yeah, 10 and 2 because they lost the ball game. They lost a ball game. You're right. 10.

And three. So you're looking at a situation where if Carsonbeck has a bad year, they get a new head coach. You have effectively changed the course of Miami history as opposed to, hey, we went on to win eight, nine games. And then we gave crystal ball another year to figure it out. And maybe that third year is a year that he figured out. People don't realize how much these details matter. And I know the world over our time here. So I'm going to leave you all with one story about how certain.

things happening in certain moments, align things in a way that changes the course of your history. Michael O'Connell, NC State is down against Virginia, and McGlinchie, they're down three points or two points against Virginia. McGlensie misses a free throw, makes one. Virginia goes up three. Michael O'Connell then goes down to court, hits a three-point to tie that game. NC State wins that game in overtime. If Michael O'Connell missed that shot, if McGlensie makes his free throw, Kevin Keats gets fired last

year. If Kevin Keats gets fired last year, guess who is not leaving his college to come to NC State? Will Wade? Frank William Wade. That one shot drastically changes the course of NC State basketball history because of the way this happened. Carson Beck has the same opportunity here. He has the same opportunity to get another year. You know, you can maybe make Crystal Ball a lifer at Miami in terms of, hey, we got him another year. And then with that next year, That was the year where he went on to do all the things. Or this could be a situation where he gets the ax early because Beck's health was not there. Completely agree with you.

And you also left out the most, maybe the most important part of that whole NC state story there, which is that they went on to go to the final four. Well, yes, yes. That's why they didn't get fired because they made the shot. They go on to win the ACC. They go on and go on and make the final. I don't think it would have been fired if they made the tournament at all, which that shot.

help them win the ACC tournament. So that's what I mean by like, you know, I didn't want to get too deep in the weeds there, but that's what I mean in terms of like, hey, one moment can be the changer of your program's history. This could be a moment for Miami. You know, Syracuse also has a moment with that with Dino Babers in 2022, when they were six and no going to Clemson,

double-digit lead in the second half. They have Clemson on a third and 25, and Elijah Fuentes Pundiff commits a dumb, unnecessary roughness penalty, completely flips the game, completely flips Syracuse. That could have been a year where Syracuse went nine and three or ten and two. And all of a sudden, Dino Babers does not get fired after the 2020 season because Syracuse would have said, well, he just had a really good 2022.

So he's not getting fired after 2023. And Fran Brown is not the head coach of Syracuse football nowadays. You know what that's called the butterfly effect of sport? It's pretty fun. So, all right, that just about does it, everyone. Jackson Holzer, host of Locked on Syracuse here, Kenton Gibbs, host of Lockdown, Wolfpack, and, of course, former NC State Defensive Tackle. Make sure you check us all out on social media at LO underscore Syracuse for Kenton at TGIF

underscore Kenton, and you can find his channel wherever you get your podcast, Apple, Spotify, on YouTube. And of course, when you're done watching or listening to this podcast, you can check out the new locked on portal podcast with football recruiting expert Brian Smith. So folks, thank you all so much for watching. Thank you all so much for listening. And we'll see you all again soon.