Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - BOMBSHELL: Syracuse STUNS Recruiting World | Can Fran Brown's HISTORIC Coup RESHAPE ACC Football?

Episode Date: July 7, 2025

SYRACUSE FOOTBALL SHOCKS WITH 5-STAR RECRUIT. Is a new ACC powerhouse emerging?Head coach Fran Brown's recruiting prowess takes center stage as the SYRACUSE ORANGE land Calvin Russell, a coveted 5-star receiver from Miami. Alex Donno and Kenton Gibbs break down this game-changing commitment, exploring Russell's potential impact on both football and basketball. The discussion shifts to recent ACC settlement agreements, with Florida State and Clemson potentially eyeing a football "Super League." Guest Jackson Holzer from Locked On Syracuse offers insider perspectives on Syracuse's recruiting coup.Tune in for expert analysis on how Russell's commitment could reshape the ACC football landscape and what a potential "Super League" means for college athletics.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!GametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE at www.monarchmoney.com/lockedoncollege for 50% off your first year.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get ONE HUNDRED 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.

The Syracuse Orange have just landed a verbal commitment from what will become the highest rated recruit in their program's history. Fran Brown just put the rest of the ACC on notice. You are locked on ACC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. You know, Kenton, I remember when, you know, Fran Brown first took the series. Syracuse job and everybody who knows him, everybody who covered him and said, just watch out Fran Brown on the recruiting trail. You do not want to go head to head with that guy. And again, like recruiting is not as easy in Syracuse as it is in, you know, a couple of other ACC schools, let alone the SEC, the Big Ten.

Fran Brown, he's making history right now with that program. Thank you so much, everyone, for making locked on ACC, your first listen and your first watch. We're available free wherever you get your podcast. We're free on YouTube. We're part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. He is Kenton Gibbs from Lockedon Wolfpack. I am Alex Dono from Locked on Cains. And today's episode is brought to you by Game Time.

Download the GameTime app, create an account and use code, Locked on College for $20 off your first purchase. We're going to talk on this episode about this stunner that Fran Brown in Syracuse just pulled off with Calvin Russell. and we're also going to talk about, I always smile when I see Super League in the headlines again, how Florida State and Clemson could end up leaving the ACC to join a football Super League.

I need this in my life. But for more on what Syracuse is doing, obviously the person we had to bring on, and he's with us now, is Jackson Holzer, who does a fantastic job hosting Locked on Syracuse here on the Lockdown Network. Now, first things, first, Jackson, with Calvin Russell, and I know this well covering Miami. And by the way, I was not expecting Miami to land him heading into announcement.

It was a weird recruitment. But I also felt that Russell, Russell really kind of threw people off the Syracuse sent over the final weeks. Because Syracuse had buzz weeks ago and months ago. And then LSU seemed to have a lot of buzz. But then right before the announcement, Michigan had all the buzz. I mean, do you get the sense that maybe Russell wanted to keep people. guessing leading up to his announcement. Totally. Totally. And honestly, so here's the backstory of Calvin Russell, okay. This is someone that Syracuse has been eyeing for over a year. They were one of the

first teams that were sticking out in the recruitment of Calvin Russell. It was for a long time Syracuse and Miami. And I had someone asked me this over on YouTube and I answered the question for and they were like, hey, was Calvin Russell an under the radar guy a year ago that Syracuse gone in on and all of a sudden he shot up in the rankings and there was this feeling of loyalty with them? No. Calvin Russell was a five star a year ago. Everyone knew who Calvin Russell was. Everyone offered him at least to what degree every school showed interest. I don't know. But he had the pick of a litter to choose from. Everyone pretty much offered him. And it seemed like it was going Syracuse's way.

It really did. I mean, he was in attendance for the Syracuse Miami game at the end of the regular season. That was a big win for Syracuse over Miami specifically because those seemed like the two front runners at the time. He also goes to the Syracuse spring game over plenty of other schools. And so that kind of raised everyone's intent thinking like, oh, this is actually real. you know this syracuse and calvin russell stuff is is not a joke like he's really considering syracuse so you got to figure at that point you're going to get an official visit with him right wrong yes they did not they did not get an official visit with him over the summer he visited

everywhere else and yet he still chose syracuse so my theory because i don't know but my theory and based on how it played out was he had understood officially visited Syracuse four times. He knew the campus. He knew Fran Brown. He knew the relationship. And he set a bar. And that Syracuse was the bar and everyone was guessing. Nobody really seemed to realize because he's taking official visits elsewhere. And yet Syracuse is always kind of just hanging around in that recruitment. And then you get to decision day. And I'm not going to lie to you. I didn't want to get my hopes up too much. But you know how when Michigan, they tend to get a big recruit,

all of a sudden you see their coaches, you know, post eyeball emojis and everything like that, like a couple hours before some big announcement Michigan's involved in? I was refreshing Twitter the whole day on that Saturday. Crickets, nothing from the coaches. You know, there was articles out there from insider saying Michigan, but I'm like, where's the coach's eyeballs? Normally they know at least a few hours beforehand.

him and then he picks Syracuse. And it's the biggest Syracuse recruiting win literally in my entire life. Not since 2001. Have they gotten a commitment ever? So there was one bigger than that, like on paper, of course. No, literally not since 2001. Johnny Moran is the last Syracuse recruit to be rated at the level of Calvin Russell or maybe even higher.

I think he's slightly higher rated if you go look at the all-time commits. on 24-7 sports. But that's how long it's been. So this is a pretty big deal for Syracuse football. So in terms of this commitment and what has happened here with Fran Brown, does this finally put to bed the notion that he was one of those coaches that was born on third base a little bit in terms of, oh, he's a great recruiter at Georgia. Oh, the guys that he got out of the quarter last class, they were hitting gyms.

People weren't that high on Ohio State's quarterback after last year. we were all saying, Kyle McCord is, are we sure about him? Meeks, another guy. People weren't clawing and screaming. We got to fall over ourselves. Go get that. He's bad, dude.

But this is a situation, like you said, a five-star through and through. Six foot six, 190 pounds in high school. He's got an NFL body already. And this is a guy that Fran Brown goes out there and gets. So do you think, in your opinion, this puts to bed that idea that Fran Brown is,

He's a good recruiter. He does fine. This cements him as like, hey, he's one of ones, as the kids would say in terms of recruit. I think it was already put to bed for Syracuse fans. I think the expectations had already been elevated, but around the country, yeah, this cements him as, okay, you can't just look at Syracuse on the recruiting trail anymore and say, it's just Syracuse, we got nothing to worry about, you know, we're some big powerhouse program, We're the University of Michigan. We're the University of Oregon.

We're the Florida gators. We're the Georgia Bulldogs. We're going to win out for this recruit because we're going up against Syracuse and we're going to make this recruit not say no to us. You can't do that anymore no matter who the recruit actually is. Because you had one of the top players in the country say, you know what? I'm from Miami. Miami is in my backyard.

I'm not even going to put them in my top four. My other top three are going to be three power programs, like traditional. programs, and yet I am still going to commit to Syracuse University without taking an official visit. He had already elevated Syracuse recruiting, but maybe not in the way people realized. It was a little bit more subtle because Syracuse football recruiting up until Fran Brown was one of, if not the worst recruiting schools in the power conferences. Seriously, they were among the worst teams in recruiting basically every year for power conferences consistently ranked outside

the top 50 on every major recruiting services year in and year out. Fran Brown takes over and from day one, he elevates Syracuse to kind of a middle of the pack recruiting team. It took his first class. He does it. Middle of the pack recruiting. So already Syracuse fans have a different expectation for Fran Brown now because he's earned that. He has elevated Syracuse football recruiting and now he gets Calvin Russell. now they have a top 20 class in 2026. I got to tell you, I was optimistic about the Fran Brown higher. I did not see him getting a top 20 class at this point of the game in 2026.

I didn't see it coming. Here's what I want to break down, what we want to break down with Jackson on the other side. And, you know, Kenton, you mentioned Calvin Russell, five-star receiver, you know, how big and tall he is. This is not only a football recruitment. He's going to play two sports at Syracuse. We have to talk about the basketball. angle as well. You want to keep it locked right here. We got Jackson Holeser with us. Kenton Gibbs and Alex Dono on this new episode of Locked on ACCC. You want to keep it locked.

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Alex Dono and Kenton Gibbs alongside Jackson Holzer from locked on Syracuse talking about biggest Syracuse recruiting win in at least 24 years landing five-star receiver Calvin Russell. And I'm not going to be shy about this one, Jackson, because obviously as the Miami guy, seeing Calvin Russell, who not only goes to school at Miami Northwestern, which is down the street, but his mother, Chenevia Broussard, is in the U.M. Sports Hall of Fame. She played basketball at Miami. So this one hurts. Like it hurts to see Calvin Russell go elsewhere.

I mentioned at the top, like I wasn't expecting Miami to get the decision on decision day. Ultimately, for whatever reason, Miami didn't get a hat on the table. But it's a hard loss for Miami and it's a big dub for Syracuse. I mean, were you surprised Jackson? Because you and I, we've had conversations going back months for Calvin Russell. And even though I wasn't optimistic on Saturday, if you talked to me about it two months ago, would have said, hey, ultimately, I think Miami is going to find a way to get this done.

They didn't. Yeah, I was surprised that Miami didn't even get a hat at the table. Because for so long, it seemed like it was Syracuse and Miami and it was this two horse race and that it was like every other school involved. It didn't really matter. It was interesting to say the least, I go back to a year ago when I actually spoke to Brian Smith about this. And he said, I can't remember if it was on the air or off the. year, but regardless, I can share it because it's not like some big deal anyway. But he told me when Miami lost Jeremiah Smith, you know, that was a really tough loss for Miami.

And he's like, I don't think they're going to do the same thing with Calvin Russell. I don't think they're going to let Calvin Russell go elsewhere. They're going to make him essentially choose Miami after what happened with Jeremiah Smith. And I'm not going to sit here and say Calvin Russell was on the level of Jeremiah Smith because Jeremiah Smith is the best receiver commit in maybe ever. I mean, if you go look at his rankings, to be honest with you, he's one of the highest ranking guys literally in the history of the recruiting era. But another five-star receiver from South Florida in Miami's backyard says no to Miami.

And they don't even just say no. It doesn't even get a hat on the table. I got to tell you, Dono, you'd probably know better than I do. But I found that really strange that Miami didn't get. more consideration. Well, there's a weird, there's a weird thing. It's sorry to cut you off, Kenton, but there's a weird thing that sometimes happens with South Florida players. It's like, for whatever reason, some guys just want to, they want to leave the area. And I think that might be the case with Russell. And this is not me making an excuse, because I don't like it,

but it happens sometimes. Because you go back, anyone who's watched Locked on Cains, you guys remember, like right after Calvin Russell made his official visit to Miami in June, I broke down the comments that he made afterwards. And I said, Jackson, it sounded like a three-star Yelp review. Like, he was very like, yeah, I had a little fun. It was an okay visit. Like, it wasn't like, because a lot of times got, whether you like it or not, usually players after an official visit will say, oh, I was blown away. It was incredible. Calvin Russell was like, yeah, I had an okay time there. It's like did not sound like this young man wanted to be in Miami for whatever reason. Nope, no, not at all. But don't know, I think that's something we need to get into from the

Miami angle of things here. Because we're talking now about 10 stars worth of recruits in two guys that are not like, they're not from the state of Miami, you know, if you know, they're from the city of Miami. Miami. They're literally in proximity to Coral Gables that nobody else can match. Are you starting to get a little concerned about Christopal's ability to recruit specifically the receiver room as well?

Because we know what he does in the trenches. That cannot be argued. We know what he does in the portal. but it seems like we're talking about a second time now in a row where Brian Smith acknowledges it as well, hey, they can't do this again. They can't lose another guy like this. And it's like, actually they can. Actually, they did in a way that like Jackson said, he wasn't even, there wasn't even a Miami hat on his there.

There are more Miami hats in his podcast than they were on Russell's table right now. So when you look at that, does that concern you from Miami standpoint? It doesn't concern me. it annoys me. And I'll tell you why, like the reason, it doesn't concern me because if you, if you zoom out, Christobal and his staff are overall doing an incredible job. But it's like they've made it more national in terms of recruiting. You know, Miami, obviously not just Miami, you compare, you know, recruiting today versus recruiting in the 1980s. Everybody's got access to private jets. Everybody's got access to film from around the country, you know, I mean, Miami does place

importance on scouting players in person. But, you know, it's easier to become aware of players. So I think I think Christobal has made Miami's recruiting more national. So it doesn't concern me because I still think he's doing a bang-up job and will continue to do so on the trail. But it, the trend, though, of, and it's wide receipt, it happens more with receivers than it happens at any other position. The trend of top flight receivers, because over the past 20 years, a lot of the top guys from South Florida, they'll go to Alabama, they'll go to Georgia. They'll go to Syracuse now, apparently. A lot of them go to Ohio State.

That's been a thing for a while now. Miami seems to lose more receivers from the area. So it's like I don't necessarily know how you fix it because you can't force players to stay home. You convince them like it was a big decision when Ruben Bain decided to stay in South Florida. You know, Miami did keep a receiver in the area last year, Malachi Tony, who had been, you know, committed elsewhere for a while. they convinced Malachi to stay home, which was big. But it's annoying, Kenton, because I can't, like, say, like, oh, Cristobal's lost his recruiting touch because clearly he hasn't.

I mean, he got, you know, Vance Spafford is one of the top receivers in California, who left California to come to Miami. So it's like, but I do, I do want to win more of these local battles, though, the long and the short of it, because, you know, you've got schools like Miami Northwestern. And ironically, the head coach of Miami Northwestern is Teddy Bridgewater. who was a South Florida kid who left to go play his college ball at Louisville. So maybe he tells his players, you don't have to stay home at Miami. So it's a little ironic there.

But yeah, I mean, Northwestern is an important pipeline. Miami Central, an important pipeline, you know, Shamanad Madonna, where Jeremiah Smith went, and Miami has gotten some players from there has become an important pipeline. You always hate to lose kids from those schools. I'm not going to say this is a big indictment on Mario Cristobal, but it is something that annoys me frequently. It doesn't concern me, but it annoys me.

And Donno, I can build off that point because I actually understand exactly how you feel. And I'll tell you why. About a month before Calvin Russell committed, I was annoyed on the Syracuse podcast that I was doing. And I don't know if you all are aware of this, but the number one recruit in New York is also a wide receiver, Messiah Hampton. Yep. Messiah Hampton's from Rochester. Rochester. That's not far from Syracuse at all. That's a couple of hours. That's it. This is a hometown guy that you got right here, a four-star wide receiver. Consensus four-star receiver, I might add. One of the better wide receiver prospects in the country. And Syracuse did not win that recruiting battle. They finished in second place, but second place gets you what? Nothing. It gets you nothing, right? Where did he go? Oregon. He went to the Pacific Northwest far from home because he trusted the former Syracuse

wide receiver coach Ross Douglas who went to Oregon this offseason. So I get it. But at the same time, it starts, I'm starting to think that, you know what? I don't know if proximity really matters as much as it used to with these recruits. Maybe for some it does. They want to stay closer to home. I totally get that. And there's great stools probably close to wherever they are.

are located for the most part, especially if you're in the southeast. There's plenty of schools to choose from that are close by, even if you're up north. I mean, you got Penn State in the area, Syracuse, obviously. You want to go a little bit more west. You got Ohio State. You got Michigan over there as well. You got big time programs. But the point is that I don't know how much proximity really matters this much.

I think it's more about how you can build relationships. And then, of course, there's also the NIL factor that matters. Well, hold on. Oh, go ahead. Go ahead, though. Well, I wanted to, because I teased it before. I want to make sure we get into the basketball angle here of Calvin Russell. Like, it's been one of those things where it's hard to do both. Like, there's a reason why, you know, Clemson just converted a basketball player into tight end.

He's not going to play both sports. He's switching to football. Like, it's hard because there's a couple months of overlap. But it's something Russell is very serious about. He wants to play both basketball and football, had offers from both sports from Miami and Michigan and from Syracuse where he has pledged to play. Are we full speed ahead on that, Jackson? And how much do you expect him to help the basketball team?

I got to do, I got to admit, I got to do more research on it. Him as a basketball player, he's definitely more known as a football player if we're being on it. I mean, you go look at all the recruiting rankings. You don't really see much basketball for him. you see mostly football. And I'm struggling to figure out where exactly he ranks as a basketball recruit. Like if he was solely a basketball player, what type of offers would he be getting? Because I know he got a Syracuse basketball offer and he's going to play for the Syracuse basketball team.

I know that he got the Miami offer. He got the Michigan offer. And on the surface, if you get offers for basketball to play for Syracuse, Miami or Michigan, you're probably a pretty good basketball player. but how much is that influence solely because he wants to play basketball in college a little? And they're saying, you know what? We want to get this guy so badly as a football player that we're fine if he's the 15th guy on the roster or maybe he's actually legitimately a really excellent basketball player who can help the

basketball team as well. And I had also someone asking me about, you know, can you actually feasibly play two sports? The answer is, yeah, you can. I mean, yes, there is an overlap. but when there is an overlap, you prioritize football. Right. You prioritize football when there's an overlap, and when the football season ends,

you've still got a couple of months of basketball season. Basketball is also played on Tuesdays and on Wednesdays and not during a game week for football. I think it's feasible. I think you could certainly do it. It's been done at the highest of pro levels out there. So if the highest of pro levels can do it, It could be done at the college level as well.

I'm just trying to figure out how good is he exactly at basketball? Is he a guy who's just there? He's going to be the 15 guy or is this someone who in 2026? I'm saying, hey, Calvin Russell's a legitimate rotation piece for Syracuse. I really don't know. Hey, hey, hey, I've got to step in and stop you here. It was done at the highest level professionally decades ago. It hasn't even been done in college at the highest level for a reason.

The point is that there's, there's, precedent out there. Hypothetically, yes. Hypothetically. And here's the thing. Travis Hunter proved us all wrong about playing both sides of the ball. So hypothetically, Mr. Russell could show us, hey, I'm the six man off the bench. And I'm the first guy off the bench for Syracuse basketball. And I'm a dynamic wide receiver. I just think it'll be much more of that. DeAndre Hopkins, he played on the basketball team type of deal. I think one brought to my attention, Keon Coleman at Florida State. I think he was. Yeah. Yeah. He

He played a basketball team in Michigan State. And again, he was the 15th guy with the bitch, where it was like, yes, I exist in this space. He was not like, Izzo was not serious. Like, oh, yeah, this guy, he's going to be a serious trip. So I could see that situation where he's on a team. But just from a physical demand standpoint, what is called for in both basketball and football now is very different

from when offenses were, hey, stand around, dump it down in the post. Maybe we get a little bit of motion going. and maybe somebody gets open beyond a three because they're doubling our big and we work it out that way. It's a very different game in terms of pace and space now for basketball

to then say, oh, and I'm going to play football at the same time. Well, I didn't say it was going to be easy. I didn't say it was going to be easy. I just was like, people have played two sports. I mean, it's not unheard of for someone to play two sports, but again, it goes back to what I've been saying, which is I don't know how good of a basketball player

he actually is. Clearly there is some level of baseline here. Clearly, he's not a complete scrub because you could say how much you want to play basketball all you want, but if the coaches are going to say, you're not even close. You're not even remotely a possibility to play D1 basketball. They would not give him an offer, even if it meant they can get him on the football team. So there's there's something there, but let's just say this. I think it's far more likely that Calvin Russell plays in the NFL than he does in the NBA. That is well said. And we'll leave it at that.

Excellent job, as always, from Jackson Holes or locked on Syracuse. And I, this is big for you, Jackson, to get a player like this. And I know you've been making the most of it. So make sure you guys all check out locked on Syracuse, where Jackson has been breaking down this massive commitment from Calvin Russell. Thank you so much, my friend. We'll talk to again soon. All right.

Take care, guys. See you soon. All right. So, you know, Kenton, my interest is piqued when I start to see Super League in the headlines. again. Maybe that's the ace in the hole that Florida State and Clemson have right now when it came to signing this settlement. You want to keep it locked right here. We're not done yet on locked on ACC. So this was some good reporting by Matt Baker, who is now with the athletic. All right. So as people are starting to parse the language in the settlement, right? The settlement

that Clemson and Florida State signed with the ACC to finally put those lawsuits to bed, right? All right. So Florida State and Clemson, this is, I'm reading this from Saturday down south. They could leave the ACC behind in football, join or form a Super League, and owe the ACC only a fraction of the exit fee it would otherwise have to pay. However feasible and actual college football super league might be is beside the point, according to report from the athletics, Matt Baker. The settlement the ACC in its two disgruntled schools agreed to earlier this year may have created an exit ramp to a football only conference of champions. All right, let's see the language in here. Officially called an option of limited withdrawal.

It's the juiciest part of the agreement and new information, regardless of whether it's feasible. Suppose at least six members want to leave the same sport to join a single sport league conference or other association alongside other schools. In that case, they'll owe 75 million or 50% of the current withdrawal figure in practice that would allow, say, Florida State, Clemson, Miami, North Carolina, and a few other top programs to leave for a super league in football while remaining ACC members in basketball, baseball, and every other sport. Now, Kenton, the fact that this language is even in

that settlement, that at least makes me feel like Clemson and Florida State felt as though there is at least an above 0% chance that a Super League could happen in the future. It's been talked about private equity money. You create just a football super league that becomes the new preeminent college football conference. Like hearing that tells me there's a chance this could be a reality someday. Dono, I've got to get to law school. I have got to get to law school because them folks charge the ACC all that money to leave every single door in the household. and then say, oh my God, there's a bear in the house.

What is this? What is happening? I am genuinely confused. What did the A, C, C get? I am so, okay. So now you don't even need the majority of teams. You don't even need half of the teams. You don't even need half of the original teams before the expansion out west to SMU Cal

Stanford. You don't even need half of those teams to say, hey, we're actually going to go for there to be a severe reduction in the buyout here. Now, the Super League aspect of this is very interesting because you're right. It does mean that there's a non-zero chance. I'm interested in this from the ACC standpoint in terms of what did y'all do with the lawsuit. But speaking on the Super League aspect of it, I think that that would be a very interesting concept to see because what teams would be invited in. What would be the criteria? Would it be your winning percentage in conference? Would it be recent conference championships? Because if that's the case, now you end up in a very wonky situation where who's eligible to enter the conference of champions. At that point, it would be what?

Florida State, Clemson, who else, Pitt, Wake Forest, and I guess Notre Dame would be in there since they won one for us recently. But that's, that's it. If you're going by winning percentage in conference, you come up with a different result to the nose. And, you know, it's just a very interesting thing here to see. What does this Super League scenario look like in terms of who gets invited and who stuck holding the bag?

Like, I guess we're still ACC football teams. Okay, well, my understanding on the way the Super League would work, and of course they would theoretically, you know, cherry pick high profile programs from, the top conferences, the top brands to form, you know, like a 60 team, 75, team, 80 team, you know, where you don't worry as much about losing one game and costing you a champion because it's the best versus the best. But my understanding is Kenton, the criteria to join the Super League. Think of the Super League as capitalism on steroids, right? Don't tell me about, oh, Pitt won an

ACC championship a few years ago. Like I, the only thing the Super League is going to look at is what kind of television draw are you going to be for us? How much money you're like, they're not going to say, hey, you know, Wake Forest. You had a pretty decent season like five years ago under Dave Clost. They're not getting a super league invite. Pitt is not getting the Super League invite. You know, Miami.

Miami has never won the ACC in 21 years, but they would get it. They would probably get a super league invite because, you know, I'm trying to make it fair, I'm trying to make it a meritocracy based on who won the games. You're trying to make it fair. They're trying to make some money. Hey, you're not wrong. And here's the sickest part about it. You're not wrong.

And anybody who knows me knows that, like, I intentionally avoided the money egg for a reason because I'm a big fan to line it up. But at the end of the day, sometimes line in the pockets is what really matters. They don't give a damn about lining them pockets for 50. they care about lining them box for 50 years. Well, because the other one, like, I know, like, Texas A&M has been super hot on the recruiting trail in recent years,

but like, what have they actually won? Like, they haven't won anything, but they would be in the Super League. Like the, so by your argument, Pittsburgh would have more of an argument to be in the Super League than Texas A&M. A&M's getting in. Pittsburgh is not.

Well, I thought you were talking to League of Champions, baby. I thought we was talking, you know, Premier League type stuff over here. Like, oh, you win your deal. You win your deal, you do your little bit of a new. put you in the Premier League of college football. But I get it. I understand.

It's about the money. It's about, you know, Texas A&M, they're one of the biggest draws in the country, regardless of if they're a 12-win team or an 8-win team. And I understand that aspect of it. So, you know, this Super League, you're absolutely right. It's going to be dictated by ratings and viewership. But for my personal gratification, I would like to see just a smidget of, hey, you need to show us some recent success if you want to get in here.

Because, I mean, again, I understand the thought of we're doing what's best for the money. At some point in time, all that damn money that Texas N&M is spent, what is there to show for? All of the money in the world that's spent. All the people talk about Ohio State's roster, how much it costs? How much do you think A&M's cost? How much do you think they got Nolan from Old Miss from? How much do you think they got these players for? And you're just, well, they'll be good enough.

They'll be close enough. It's hard watching. Oh, man. I just, let's see, we want to make sure, Kenton, that we say nice things about Super League. Because if, in a couple years, if there's a locked on Super League, you and I need to have our names into that hat. Like, we're. Yeah, Spencer, you keep Locko Conce football. We'll do Locko Super Bowl.

Me and Donald. You can talk about all the loser teams that don't get Super League invites. We're hosting Lockdown Super League. You can do your show on Wake Forest. We'll do our show on Super League. Hey, listen, I am not above capitalism either. Okay, y'all, y'all pay me to write about it. I'll be sitting right there telling you why Rocket Money is sponsored this year's Super League player.

I love it. Well, good times as always. Thanks to Jackson Holzer for joining us. Make sure you check out Kenton Gibbs and Grayson Boone on Lockdown Wolfpack. Kenton, of course, former NC State defensive lineman. He and Grayson do an awesome job. covering all things NC State. I cover all things Miami on Locked on Cains.

Follow me at Alex Dono. Follow Kenton at TGIF underscore Kenton. And we'll talk to you next time on another episode of Lockdown ACC. We are part of the awesome Lockdown Podcast Network. Your team every day.