Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - BREAKOUT: Why James Franklin Will TRANSFORM Virginia Tech—ACC Spring Game Season Hits Critical Mass

Episode Date: April 13, 2026

Eight ACC football spring games could reshape the championship race—are Miami, Louisville, or SMU the true contenders? Alex Donno and Kenton Gibbs break down the most intriguing spring storylines, spotlighting Virginia’s quest for sustainable success under Tony Elliott and James Franklin’s high-pressure debut at Virginia Tech. The conversation heats up over Miami’s spring game, with Darian Mensah set to take the reins at quarterback and wideouts like Malachi Toney and Cooper Barquette grabbing attention. The episode tackles ACC basketball transfer buzz, including key moves like Flory Badunga to Louisville and Neo Aadalas to North Carolina. Off the field, the hosts offer clarity on Reuben Bain’s car accident, resurfacing during NFL Draft season—and question what draft “red flags” really mean. From quarterback battles to portal shakeups, Locked On ACC spotlights the players, programs, and controversies shaping college football and hoops in 2024. Everydayer Club  If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub     Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Rugiet Get 15% off your treatment → https://rugiet.com/lockedonnhl Rugiet. Performance medicine for men. Rocket Money Let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Join athttps://RocketMoney.com/LOCKEDON. Turbo Tax This year you’re getting a major upgrade — Intuit TurboTax now has in-person locations nationwide. Visit http://TurboTax.com/local to book your appointment today. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel.Right now new customers can bet just five dollars and get two-hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets if your first bet wins.Visit https://FANDUEL.COMto get started — Play Your Game.   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.

We've got eight ACC football spring games coming up this week. We're going to learn a lot about the contenders and the pretenders. You are Locked-on ACC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. He is Kenton Gibbs from Locked-on Wolfpack. I'm Alex Dono from Locked-on Cain's, and today's episode is brought to you by Fanduel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get $200, $150 in bonus bets if your first bet wins.

Head to fendool.com to get started on this loaded episode of Lockdown ACC. What we can actually clear the air on in terms of the Ruben Bain car accident from two years ago that is now right in time for NFL draft season being heavily brought up this week, what really happened and what it actually means. We'll talk ACC basketball transfers because the portal is starting to heat up. Miami's got a player. States got a player. North Carolina's got a player. Louisville has a couple of players. But let's talk ACC Springball, Kenton, because this is, even though a scarce few of these

are actually going to be live streamed or televised, we're going to have our spies reporting on this throughout the week. You've got no less than eight spring games happening this week, KG. On Friday, we're going to have Louisville Spring game, SMU Spring game. Both of those teams could be contenders for an ACC championship. You and I are both. especially high on SMU, I think, but we're not sleeping on Louisville. And then on Saturday, we're going to have spring games from Cal, Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, I'll be at that one, Virginia and Virginia Tech. Which ones of those, Kenton, are you looking forward to most? I'm looking at Virginia and Virginia Tech a lot.

I'm looking at the Commonwealth. And let me tell you why. Virginia, how do you come back from one of your best seasons in program history? where ultimately some people would say, oh, losing a Duke in the ACC championship is just so awful. You cost yourself a shot at the playoff. I do agree. I do agree that if they win that game, they're very likely in the playoff. I don't, you know, they got a good shot at getting in, but they didn't, right?

How do you bounce back from that? How do you prove it wasn't a one-year wonder? Your quarterback has officially been denied his ability to come back and play another year of college football. How do you replace him? Is Perbuehler the guy? is hosting the guy. Who's taking those first team reps? How does the offense look with either one of those guys?

And quiet is kept. Honestly, I'm not even as worried about the quarterback replacement. Who are you replacing those backs with? Because Taylor last year was a workhorse. That young man, he did it all. He did it all for that squad. So I'm sitting here asking myself, how are they going to be?

How are you going to act after putting up one of the best years in program history for a coach that was good as fire? You know, he was good as he was in the grave like Undertaker in the early 2000s, WWE. He just, all right, we got it. We're going to get us one more season, boys. And so, you know, Tony Elliott, heck of a job. Nobody deserved a year like that more than him in terms of things that he's experienced

off the field as the coach and all that. Nobody deserved that year more than him. But now, as Andre 3,000 said, you only funky as your last cut. Soon, that's no longer going to be your last cut. What do you got? and Virginia Tech because James Franklin, if you only fuck you as your last cut, your last cut stinks, brother.

It stinks, stank, stump. Everybody was out on you at Penn State. They threw y'all to Happy Valley unceremoniously in the middle of a year, despite you being one, or what's that young man's name? One Drew Aller away from a national championship. Because Lord knows, I've been telling people for years that that boy stinks,

but it wasn't until that moment that everybody agreed with me, oh, he might not be good. Drew Aller, the more he played, the more people realized what a fraud he was. Because like he, because like every, it seemed like every year, they're like, oh, he might be a number one overall draft pick. And then the more he played, well, second round, third round. I mean, he did get injured last year, but now we're looking like, uh, mid late round.

Don, no, I'm going to just tell you this. Okay. All I know is there is not a single quarterback. who is a legitimate first rounder, I don't care how bad you're receiving her. And you talk about they didn't catch a single touchdown pass from you over the course of like, what was it, the last seven or eight games of the season

or something crazy like that? Yeah, I know what you are, buddy. I know what you are. You don't have to convince me. But anyway, who is James Franklin? How does your research look? He looks the part. He looks excited.

His smile is brighter. The energy is up. He's going to all these events in Virginia and tech. How does the on the field? product look. Those are the two. I got my eye on the Commonwealth because I want to know. I want to know. How do your two teams look coming into this year? Yeah, two fascinating stories. Tony Elliott, Virginia is trying to prove that what we did last year was not just a flash in the pan. That we're building something sustainable because

their record stunk in the previous years before what they did last year. And you mentioned Elliot was on the hot seat. He got himself very much off the hot seat. So are you building a sustainable operation? And Virginia, I think, is more motivated to really invest in football. I'm talking financially resources-wise because of what's happening at the other part of the Commonwealth, because Virginia Tech is all in. They have access parts of their budget now that they didn't even know we're there to try

and invest in James Franklin. James Franklin has that. It's funny because right before he got fired at Penn State, like he was, I don't know, just not really well respected by a lot of folks out there. And then Penn State looks so bad in the way they fired him and how long it took them to replace him that I felt like his popularity rating just kept going up and up and up. And also him going to a school that hasn't enjoyed success in a couple decades. I think creates an exciting opportunity for James Franklin.

And he brought a lot of his guys with him from Penn State. Now you could say, like, how come, you know, those players who were actually backups to a lot of the guys at Penn State, why weren't they beating out the starters? Why wasn't Grunk and Meyer a starter prior? I mean, Alan, you know, or Drew Aller did have seniority over him, but he's bringing some dudes in. Some were starters, some were backups, but there is an expectation that Virginia Tech, Kenton, I think there's some pressure. Now, you know, you could say first year for any head coach, you're kind of on scholarship, but there is pressure there for James Franklin in the first couple of years. to show that he's really building something special in Blacksburg because we've been waiting a long time since, you know,

the Frank Beamer era before that started to go south in the latter years. We've been waiting a long time for the Hokies to be a real factor again. Donald, that was a very public breakup at Penn State and Happy Valley. And we're all in the Fray Group. Whether we want to be or not, we're all in the Fray Group. So now we know what we're doing. We got to watch to see who wins the breakup. Who's going to win the breakup?

Does Penn State, you know, we had our guy from locked on nitty lines on here multiple times to talk to him about what does that look like, what is winning the breakup look like for Penn State. And we know what winning the breakup looks like for Virginia Tech. And so the question becomes who's going to win it? Who's going to win it? I mean, you can say what you want about, oh, Penn State's got more resources and this and that and the third. We've seen Penn State in the wilderness before. I have a very strong inclination. they're going back.

But, you know, maybe I'm wrong. And then on the Virginia Tech side of things, James Franklin, like you said, they've been itching and hoping and wishing. And I'll tell you, I thought that Fuente was the guy until I saw how they were playing around with Hendon Hooker at quarterback.

I knew immediately after that. I said, wait a minute. Who is this guy? What was that quarterback that they had that they were rotating in with Hendon Hooker and he went to San Diego State, then retired from football all together, very shortly after.

I can't remember his name, but I believe it was like Broomister or something like that. That boy couldn't hit the side of a Super Walmart. He was terrible. He was terrible. And somehow him and Hinden Hooker were splitting reps there. So you're absolutely right. Is it Burmester?

Bermester. Baxter Burmister. Braxton Burmice, I believe that's what it was. I couldn't think if that was him or a hockey player because some of the names get all, mixed up in my head. But yeah, Burmeister. Hey, listen, it's all right. You and I both can say that the CTE got us. You know what I mean? It's all right. We're two old football guys. That's how it goes sometimes. But in all seriousness, Virginia Tech is clamoring for success. They're clamoring for a coach that brings intersendman back to relevance. They have one of the best interests in all of

college football. I've seen it at night. It is a not fun experience if you're a visitor, especially, and I'm not going to say any names, but especially if you aren't warned of what's going to happen, especially if nobody tells you, and you're just warming up on the field, and you're getting ready, and then everything cuts off. You're like, hey, did they, like,

are we not playing? Is that, did they power go out or something? It's a very jarring experience. So Virginia Text Climbly for a winner here. James Franklin wants to win the breakup. We're going to see how this thing pans out, and Saturday will be a big step. in one direction or the other.

James Franklin wants to win the breakup so badly that financially he didn't have to coach this year. He could have sat aside, just collected money from Penn State, but he wanted so badly to show them, I'm going to win this breakup. And I'm not saying it was all out of spite. That wasn't necessarily his primary motivation because James Franklin also loves to coach. So he wanted to get right back into it. But yeah, he could have sat out a year, two years if he really wanted to. but he wanted to get right back into the fray.

When we come back here on Locked on ACC, I'll tell you what I'll be looking for this weekend at the Miami Spring game, and let's talk hoops transfers, because the portal is already churning for the ACC. You want to keep it locked right here. We're only getting started on Locked on ACC. Folks, the NBA playoffs are here, where every possession matters,

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And during those playoffs, that extra insight really matters when you're looking at stars, role players, and key moments. It just makes the entire playoff experience more engaging from start to finish. Head to fendual.com to get started. FanDuel. Play your game. Folks, it is time to join the everydayer. club. If you consume our content every single day, you're an everydayer, but make it official.

Go to locked on podcast.com slash every dayer and join the everydayer club for locked on ACC, locked on wolf pack, locked on canes or all the above, all your favorite shows. You get exclusive content, exclusive ad-free versions of our episodes, locked on newsletters, Discord chats with hosts and other listeners. Go to lockdownpodcast.com slash every dayer to find your favorite. shows and join the club. Thank you for making Lockdown ACC, your first listen. Alex Dono, alongside Kenton Gibbs. All right, so Kenton on Saturday morning, I'm going to be at Green Tree Practice Fields and Coral Gables. They're actually hosting it at the track stadium on campus, Cobb Stadium

for Miami's spring game. And I'm extra excited for this one compared to the last several. You know, two years ago was a lot of fun when you had Cam Ward who threw for like 450 yards in the spring game. But I knew. coming out of that one in 2024, we might have a problem with the defense, that Miami doesn't seem to have a whole lot of defensive backs who can stick to their receivers, maybe not enough pressure, although pressure in a spring game is kind of non-existent. But Ward was just cutting through that defense like a knife through butter, right? Then you fast forward to the 2025 spring game last year. The big positive from that one was Malachi Tony, who was an early enrollee, true freshman there in

spring ball. He looked great, but it wasn't the best time to evaluate Miami a year ago because QB1 Carson Beck was not playing yet. He was still coming off the elbow surgery. So we were watching backup quarterbacks and it wasn't really a full picture of what Miami is. This year seems like we're going to get the full picture, KG, because Dary and Mensa, full participant at Miami's practice. He's been practicing really, really well. The new QB1 that Miami, you know, kind of stole from Duke. I think we've covered that extensive. on this program. Corey Heatherman's defense, all the important players are available for him. By the way, Miami just extended both of their coordinators today. Corey Heatherman on defense,

Shannon Dawson on offense, both signed multi-year extensions here on Monday. So they're trying to roll with that continuity. But I think, honestly, spring game on Saturday for Miami, who is the prohibitive favorite to win the conference this year, it's probably going to be the most complete spring game we've had in a number of years. Oh, absolutely. It's going to be the most complete spring game because you're not only talking about, hey, the defense being bad one year, not seeing the quarterback next year and all that, but you have a good picture of who's going to be where. That's a very important thing.

And on top of that, you talk about when your quarterback is coming in and the wide receivers that he's building rapport with and all that good stuff. Darian Mensa is coming over with Cooper Barcate. So you're seeing a situation where Tony, is he is who he is. Nobody's going to deny that, right? We see how he's a celebrity amongst the kids in South Florida, amongst the kids from the state of Miami, as they call it.

He is a celebrity amongst them, and yet you're bringing over your own wide receiver one, and it's like, well, you know what's good about the wide receiver position? It's the exact opposite of the quarterback position. And quarterback, if you got two number ones, you got no number one. The Y receiver, if you got two number ones, you just got two number ones. If you got Randy Moss and Carter, you got Randy Moss and Chris Carter. That's what's going on.

If I got Jamo Williams and Amunrod, if I got Higgins and Chase, enough of the comparisons. But you get the point. If you got two ballers, you got two ballers. And so you have that at minimum at Whiteout at Miami, despite Porto departures and whatnot. You have a ton of talent in there and you bring back. You're starting running back. You know, so you're going to see a very good look at what everybody looks like.

And the only question that I have will not be answered in the spring game, because like you said, pressure is non-existent. And Kentwell has looked good. Every time they show clips of him, he's looked like a stalwart. Everybody I've seen reporting out of Miami, nobody can get around a kid. That may be indicative of a bigger problem if you ask me. That may be indicative of a bigger problem. I don't care how good my freshman five star is. If I'm playing big time power for football and I believe I'm a national championship contender,

I need somebody that's going to whoop on that boy relentlessly with all due respect, with all due respect. Unless he's a first battle Hall of Famer and I just don't know it, which is possible. That's possible. You should have somebody that can put him through the ringer a little bit. But it's like you said, it's an exciting time for. Miami fans because this is the most complete that you will see of a spring game from Miami quite sometime. Let me share, you're talking about Jackson Cantwell. So Bustin with the boys, they

visited a Miami practice. I think it was on Saturday. Here's a couple of reps from Jackson Cantwell. In the first one, he goes up against Marquise Lightfoot, who's one of Miami's, you remember Bain and Mesidor, obviously going to the NFL. Lightfoot is one of Miami's premier edge rushers. The second rep is against Herbert Scroggins, the third, who should be enough. prominent member of the rotation. Cantwell 79. Putting in that work. Locks tell the whistle.

Here's one more rep coming up. That's against Scroggis. That's courtesy of busing with the boys. And like you said, Kenton, hopefully, for Miami's sake, that's indicative of just how great Jackson Cantwell is and not any weaknesses with Scroggins and with Lightfoot. Because I say it coming into this year. I said, you know, they may have guys returning from last year.

It's a difference being the guy that the offensive lineman is like, we finally get a break from Bain. And then you surprised me. He's like, oh, man, this guy can ball too. And being the guy on the scouting report. I know how offensive lines in college scout. And I'm telling you, it's a difference between being the guy where they're like, this is his favorite move, this is how he likes to set that move up.

This is his counter to that move. You know, he's going to power when he does this. It's a difference between being that guy and being the guy. and being the guy that's like, yeah, he's got a nice little dent rip. Yeah, he's got a nice little, you know, he spins off the dent rip if it doesn't work. You know, he's not, it's power rate that great. But we're not worried about him. Four, that's what we're worried.

We're not worried about him. Mezzledore. That's what we're worried about. It's a difference between being that guy that they're saying they're not worried about and the guy that they're like, if you keep him off the board, son, you're going to make yourself a lot of money this game. Yeah. Over the hoops, Kenton, we've had some transit.

Already going through in the ACC with the newly open transfer portal. Louisville has been very active so far. Pat Kelsey has added a couple highly rated transfers, power forward slash center out of Kansas, Flory Bedunga, and point guard out of Oregon, Jackson Shelstad. North Carolina added a player. They stole one from within the conference. Virginia Tech Guard Neo Abdalas, originally from Greece, and Miami added a highly rated center.

Miami needed big men, Sompto Cyril from Georgia. So those are some of the, and you were mentioning NC State. It hadn't updated yet on my list. NC State also made an addition. What was it from San Jose State? Santa Clara.

See, he'd be it funny. He'd be funny. He's being funny because we got our boy from Herb Sendecker, former coach at NC State, who is now coaching at Santa Clara. And we got Guard Christian Hammond, who was averaging about 14. and two per game, I'm sorry, 15.6 and two per game.

Check this out now. 48% from the field, 40% from three. So he can light it up. He can light it up and he'll be asked to do so on an NC state team that, you know, you don't know how many guys are bringing back right now. But I'll tell you what, the ACCC is doing a heck of a job of recruiting in terms of the portal with basketball. And I'm tired of hearing everybody talk about, oh, all these players, you know, players barely

We played three minutes and they're asking for a million dollars and this is a lot. Well, there's a funny thing called the free market, you know. Yeah. If we, if you and I both went to David Locke tomorrow and said, we need a million dollars apiece to continue to be the face of the ACC. What do you think he'd say? I think he'd say for Kent and Gibbs, yes, but for that Dono clown. I would love it.

I would love if you were right, Donno. But the reality is the market doesn't bear that out. You can get what you get to go. for. And the reality is that these, you know, these, these players are going out and going to schools that are working out in their best interest. And maybe their best interest is more shots. Maybe their best interest is more money. Maybe their best interest is, you know, more playing time. Who knows what these guys are deciding based upon. But they are decided to come to the ACC and that will keep us in power conference contention. And the ACC is doing a heck of a job of retaining all of our all conference players of basketball. in a way that we could not meaningfully do in football. Yeah. Oh, yeah, that's a great point. Are we a basketball conference again?

It seems like it, brother. It seems like it. Because we're football. Every time one of our players is our conference, the rest of the teams look around. Hmm. That's good eats. We might need to get in on that. But in basketball, we seem to have our chain thoroughly tuck.

When we come back as we look ahead to the NFL draft, there have been a number of Rubin Bain topics of conversation, whether it be the length of his arms or now something that just became very public over the weekend about a car accident that Bain was involved in. But we'll give you the bottom line when we come back. You want to keep it locked right here. We're not done yet on this brand new episode of Locked on ACC. Yeah, it's tax time. But for a lot of us, the old way of doing taxes is a lot. try to book an appointment that's not the most convenient.

Sitting in a waiting room with a stack of papers, emailing back and forth and wondering if they really get your situation. But this year, you're getting a major upgrade. Intuit TurboTax now has in-person locations nationwide. You can meet face-to-face with a real tax expert, and your documents get uploaded straight to your TurboTax app on the spot. And just like that, you're done. Your TurboTax expert works to get you every dollar you deserve

while you get real-time notifications as you go about your day. It's the relief of walking in and meeting a real person and walking out knowing your taxes are being handled right. Head to turbotax.com slash local to find a store and book your appointment. Thank you for making Locked on ACCC your first listen. For your next listen, make sure you check out our other shows. Kenton Gibbs and Grayson Boone do an awesome job on Locked on Wolfpack talking all things NC State. I talk all things Miami on Locked on Cains. And so, yeah, Kenton, a Miami-related story came to light over the weekend.

And I definitely want to treat this incident with the respect that it deserves because someone lost their life in this car accident in 2024. Destiny Betts, 22-year-old young woman, a college student who was in the car, was in a coma for a few months, and then ultimately succumbed to her injuries. So complete respect and condolences to her family, you know, who have to live on on with that. And so the story that came out, Kenton was this was 2024. This was, I think, spring after Ruben Bain's first season at Miami. He was driving a car and he was involved in a car accident that ultimately this woman lost her life because of. But then other facts in this story.

And, of course, the timing is weird. and it's like nobody was covering this thing up. Like it was public record. I'm not sure why it didn't become, you know, national news before because the info was out there. Like no one was actively covering this up. But maybe the reason why this didn't become news was ultimately with Rubin Bain Kenton, he was not speeding and he was not intoxicated in any way. And initially after the accident, he was cited for careless.

driving, which is essentially a moving violation. But that citation was then taken away. Like they either determined they didn't have like enough to cite him or perhaps they realized it was the other driver's fault. Like we don't exactly know the facts there, but he was driving five miles per hour under the speed limit. He was not intoxicated. And it sounds like this was just an accident, a tragic accident, but an accident.

And the family of the young woman had actually came out after this report. was reported yesterday and said, like, they didn't, like, want this to become a national thing because they didn't want, you know, the passing of their daughter to become this big story. And they were grieving privately. And they even wished Ruben Bain the best in his future endeavors in the NFL. So it's like, and then the other part, Kenton was, including the Lions GM, you're a Lions fan. He came out yesterday or today and said they've been aware of it for months. Like, they knew that this was a thing and they vetted Bain for it. it. You know, I, I, anybody who knows me knows I can bring levity to most situations,

but in a situation where somebody lost their life, there's a much levity to be found. Yeah. And, you know, much respect to the best family. They didn't know, uh, Rubin anything in terms coming out and speaking up and they, their daughter's going. There's no way you can bring it back regardless of who's that far, regardless of if, if Bain was speed and hanging out the window drunk, which I know was not the case. I know that was not the case. Regardless of whether he was so stone cold. over driving 10 and 2 or whether he was, you know, being ridiculous, their daughter's going

forever. But I do want to talk about the fact that this is the worst part about draft season. Yeah. Because we lose all sense of nuance and understanding for things that happen in life. I was involved in an accident a couple of years ago where I was in a car that got hit and rolled over. Am I a bad person? Because somebody else? did something wrong to me in a car. You know, somebody walked away from that, unable to walk for a little while. It wasn't me.

I was okay shortly after, but it was a rollover accident. Things like that happens sometimes. And so this isn't to say like, hey, there's nothing to see here. He's a great player, so it doesn't matter. This ain't about the player. This is about the fact that the 24-hour news cycle incentivizes

covering stuff like this. And I can understand different situations. Like, for example, there was an edge rusher a couple years ago who every university in high school and at his first university, there were allegations against him of very inappropriate conduct with young women. That is a different story. That's a repetitive pattern. That's like, hey, everywhere you go, this thing comes up. That may be something to look at. There's been stories of young men doing things that are, even if it is a mistake, a very malicious mistake.

where it's like, hey, I hope that you became a better person from that. But damn, what? Why would it take all that for you to realize that's not okay? I get that. But in this situation, by all reports that have come out, this was legitimately an accident. Yeah. And now, you know, it's coming out and people are trying to use this as like,

he needs to slide down a drive board thing. I don't know if this is a team trying to pull. at Dan Marino where it's like, oh yeah, he drinks too much. He drinks all the time. Don't draft him. Let him slip. I remember about a decade ago when my dolphins drafted Laramie Tunsell when that, that, uh, the, the gas mask bong picture came out right before the draft started.

And again, it's a, it's a difference to me between what Laramie did in, you know, this situation with Bain. Yeah. Some of the other situations we've seen where it's like, hey, this is a, legitimately, this human being is questionable. Like, do you want this type of human around your facility? You know, but this is, I mean, we should stop this as the media, slinging in mud like this.

Because guess what? I'd say the same thing, even if this wasn't Ruben Bain, who I'm a big fan of. Even if this wasn't the ACC guy, I would say the same thing. Again, it's different. If we're looking at the Micah Parsons and Penn State locker room, things like, oh, hold on. What's going on there? sure it was a one type thing but that's a lot that a lot went on there sure but like this situation come on man come on we've got to be better as journalists and me is about getting our clicks and

getting our things off than to stoop so low as to use another person's passing as I got aha there's a thing here when there's clearly nothing here was the statement from miss betts family they say destiny's passing was the result of a tragic accident that occurred several years ago. While the loss remains incredibly painful for our family, we have worked hard to find peace and move forward. At this time, we are not seeking public attention surrounding this tragedy

and respectfully request that our family's privacy be honored. We also wish that Mr. Bain, we also wish Mr. Bain the best as he continues his life and career. And then the other thing about, you know, you talk about the clicks and stuff, like the initial report that came out, the author of the report, when he's promoting, you know, this scoop that he's got.

You know, he mentioned citation for careless driving, didn't mention, like, in the headline that that citation was actually dropped and that, you know, made it seem as though this is, you know, a person who did something criminal or terrible when you actually read the story, you realize that probably wasn't the case. So, you know, clicks are good, though. And that's, again, where there's a point, it gets to a point where it's like, like, what are we doing here?

What are we doing? Right? When we're talking about real stuff, and even if we're talking about stuff that's like, you know, somebody hasn't intentionally done something, like everybody talking about the Vrabel and Rousseini thinking, oh, is this something? Is it nothing?

Is it what's going on here? Who wants to talk about it? Who doesn't want to talk about? Everybody's alive, number one. And number two, those were very intentional acts by two adults. Okay? That's something that you could talk about. As much as I hated talking about, you know, Belichick and Jordan.

Those are two adults. Everybody's alive. Everybody made intentional choices. This, by all accounts, I was not there. I'm not going to say what did or did not happen. I wasn't in the car. But by all accounts of what the reports say, this seemed to be an accident. This seemed to be an accident.

And again, and again, I very much so want to say that it was. you know the best family condolences my heart goes out to them and they had no reason to if whatever the case may be even if you know you're a conspiracy theorist and you got the 10-foot hat on and said oh they were paid off they signed an india you know what you can also do on there in india when somebody asks you hey what's going on with this person who hurt your job

I don't want to speak on a no comment get off my yard bye and slam your door shit and yet they went out of their way to say we wish them all the best you know It's a painful moment. Again, this is just, this is nasty journalism right here, man. This is, this is like the, like when you find out your friend has been DoorDash and Arby. So you're just real disappointed. Like, why, why are you doing this?

Why are you doing this? There's a million better things and better ways to report this. Yeah, here, here. We appreciate everybody for making Lockdown, ACC, your first listen. Make sure you subscribe to that every day or club. And make sure you check out Kent and Gibbs at Lockdown, Wolfpack. follow him at TJF underscore Kenton. Check me out on Lockdown Cains.

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