Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - College Football Playoff Analysis: SMU Faces Penn State + Big Picture Insight

Episode Date: December 17, 2024

Can the SMU Mustangs and Clemson Tigers navigate the 12-team College Football Playoff format and emerge as a dark horse contender? With the college football landscape shifting, the Hurricanes face fresh challenges and opportunities in this expanded playoff system.Join Alex Donno, Kenton Gibbs, and guest Jay Paterno as they explore the implications of this format change, dissecting key matchups like SMU vs. Penn State. They also dive into the Heisman Trophy race, spotlighting standout players like Travis Hunter and Ashton Genti. Paterno shares insights on the evolving dynamics of college football recruiting and player compensation, drawing from his experiences and his book "Blitzed."Don't miss this engaging discussion packed with expert analysis and insider perspectives. Tune in for a deep dive into the future of college football and the Miami Hurricanes' path to success.For your next listen, check out the Locked On College Football podcast! From NIL deals to never ending conference realignment rumors, Spencer McLaughlin gets you ready for an exciting season on the gridiron! Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!College Football PlayoffsThe College Football Playoff is here, and you don’t want to miss a moment of the action. The College Football Playoff presented by Allstate begins with FOUR first round games, December 20 & 21st on ESPN, ABC, TNT and Max!Rocket MoneyCancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to RocketMoney.com/lockedon today. PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE and get $50 instantly when you play $5! You don't even need to win to receive the $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game. https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONCOLLEGEGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelYou can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. New customers can place a FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - if you win your first FIVE DOLLAR BET ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started. 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.

College football has changed so much, including the inaugural 12 team CFP. We're about to get that underway. You are Locked-on ACCC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Shout out to the Everydayers, and thank you so much for making Locked-on ACC, your first listen and your first watch today. We're available free wherever you get your podcast. We're free on YouTube.

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On this episode, we'll certainly talk ACC in the CFP because before you know it, Clemson's going to be taken on Texas. SMU is going to be taken on Penn State. This 12 team format, who feels hard done by it? Are we going to expand to 14 or maybe even 16 in a couple of

years and we have the privilege here on Locked on ACC. I'm Alex Dono alongside Kenton Gibbs, as always. We are joined by Jay Paterno, author, longtime coach at Penn State, and of course, the son of the legend, Joe Paterno. Jay, thank you so much for taking some time with us. How are you? Good. How about you guys?

We're excited to talk some ball. And I know you've got opinions on the new CFP format. And I want to start with, because this has been the. debate. Did the committee get it right taking SMU over Bama? Because I know there's a lot of hard feelings in Tuscaloosa and around the SEC that the committee did not ultimately penalize SMU for playing in the ACC championship game. Did you think that they were right to put in SMU and not Bama? I think for all the people in Alabama want to complain, at the end of the day, you lost by 21 to Oklahoma, which is a six and 16. You lost Yvander, which is six and 16. So it's hard

for me to argue that they should be in. Do I think that would I rather see them in Beaver Stadium this Saturday in SMU? And I don't mean this is a slight SMU at all. It'd be fun to see Alabama have to come up here and play in December. We've actually got snow on the ground right now. So that part be right. But, you know, is SMU more worthy than Miami? That's another question. But I think what I hope the committee gets around to is strength of schedule mattering. I think Miami went to Florida early this year and beat them, and then all of a sudden everybody discounted Florida. And if you look at the way Florida closed down the stretch,

that's a good win. That's a really good win. And if you look at who Miami's scheduling going forward, they've got Florida, they got Notre Dame, I think they had South Carolina, Utah, some other teams like that. So they're making an intentional effort to schedule the kind of games that should get them in over some other teams down in the future. You know, you talk about the weather advantage that you would have over Alabama coming up there.

SMU is known as Miami West and that school is in Dallas. Well, it gets some colder weather, but it's not exactly, you know. You and I know, Jay, that northeastern, Midwestern cold is a different beach. It's a different beats altogether. So I do a TV show. Yeah. I think state show every week. We're on like 13 stations, but I ran down SMU's last seven.

games and kickoff temperatures. So at Duke 83, Pitt 7, they were home events, Pitt 75, BC 76, at UVA 56, Cal 60, and Clemson 44. So it may be 30 at game time, maybe it'll snow

on the ground. So hopefully, hopefully it's leaving a little bit colder. As you know, it is a lot, it's a lot easier to go from cold and playing warm weather than the other way around because you cannot simulate that at all. Absolutely. But I want to talk about, you know, that's one of the advantages, but do you think that the playoff committee got it right in terms of

the way that these are kind of quasi-neutral site games, even though they're home games and both teams get the introduction and all that? Would you like to see a more traditional home game feel? Or are you like, you know what? I like what it is now where it's like, yes, both teams are celebrated for being in a playoff, even though one team is objectively at home. Well, I can tell you this. I'm a member of the board of trustees of Penn State now. So I just ran to our AD the other night and he said, you know, we would rather just run it. You know, just give us the home game, let us run it, our operations, because now they're, you know, they're there, well, who runs the chains and who does this and who does that? We've got to paint these logos in the field.

And we've got to do all these things that it becomes a real, a lot of these other things become more important than it become a painting new, you know what, to get right. And rather than just letting you operate it. But, you know, they're trying to make it as, as, as fair as they can. Although, you know, Indiana and SMU, I think they both got 3,500 tickets for their, for their visiting allotment, which is actually less than we give Big Ten visiting teams. So, I mean, how fair is it really? Yeah. We got Jay Paterno with us. And we look at this college football playoff field. We mentioned 11-seat SMU playing at Penn State for the AC. fans out there. You got Clemson who gets in with the 12-seat

ACC champs. They're going to be taken on Texas. But let's spend a little bit more time, Jay, on that, the Penn State SMU game. Temperature, again, going to be a nice advantage for the Nittany Lions. What have you made of SMU this year, really a Cinderella team? And how do you see this game playing out? I do, you know, we do a segment in our show where I break down the team we're playing. I just spent all day yesterday looking at SMU. And, you know,

for all the people that are out there saying Penn State got an easier path to the because of being the six seats as opposed to Oregon being the one seat. Jennings can play. He's dangerous. When he gets loose, you better get, you better stay in your rush lanes because he's going to find people that are open and make big plays. That's a problem. I think SMU's up front. They're a lot better than people.

If you haven't seen them play, they can rush the passer. They're aggressive. They create turnovers in the secondary. The one thing SMU does do that is they put the ball on the ground a bunch. They've lost 12 fumbles. So that's something if you're Penn State you're really going to focus on. But I think SMU is a dangerous game because the mentality here is that, oh, we would have rather at this team or that team or, you know, we've got an easy path because we got SMU and then we get Boise State. Every team that's in this tournament can play.

And they've all got guys that can play and beat you. If you don't come to play, you're not focused. You can get your ass knocked out of this thing in a hurry. Now, one thing that has been a constant criticism of Franklin is big games. He's allergic to him. He goes into anaphylactic shock. You got to have your epicent ready on the sideline whenever James Franklin is having a big game here.

This is objectively one of the biggest games in Penn State history. I don't think anybody can really argue against that in terms of this is the inaugural 12 team playoff and Penn State is going to host one of the first home games ever. What is it about this team that you would say SMU wins if Penn State wins if? What would be your two things that you would look at in that regard? I think if Penn State turns the ball over, which they did against Oregon, I think that's a real problem for them. I think they can't afford to give SMU anything easy because this is going, if SMU gets in the rhythm with their no huddle, which is what Oregon did, Penn State. You know, Penn State would rather line up, call complicated blitzes, line up, point

fingers, say, okay, this guy, that guy make adjustments. They had trouble doing that against Oregon. I think where SMU is dangerous is they've got six or seven different guys that catch the ball effectively. So they can spread you out. You've got to match up. And now if you, if you don't take care of the quarterback, so if he has a great day, this can be a shootout and that's when we can win missing. Penn State, if Penn State can run the ball and control the tempo of this game and get the kind of pass rush and stay in their past lanes with some discipline, then I think Penn State wins this one. We've got more to come here with Jay Paterno, who's kind enough to join us, a longtime coach at Penn State, author. I want to talk about

his favorite to win the CFP. And also, do we like this 12-team format or should that be tweaked even further. You guys want to keep it locked right here. We're only getting started on this brand new episode of Locked on ACC. We're only getting started with Fanduel. Guys, there's so much NFL action still to come. We got the CFP coming up. Bull season is upon us. You want to get ready to tackle all of that NFL action with FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook.

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You get started with that $150 in bonus bets if you win your first $5 bet. That's fanduel.com. Never waste a hunch and make every moment more with Fandul, an official sports book partner of the NFL. Thank you so much for making this episode of Lockdown, ACC, your first listen and your first watch today. If your next listen,

make sure you check out Lockdown College football. Spencer McLaughlin does an awesome job. He's talking a lot of CFP this week as well, taking it around all the big games and all the big storylines. We got Jay Paterno with us. You know, Jay, we take a look again at this field of 12. You mentioned that Oregon, they get the number one seed, but then their reward for that is, you know, taken on the winner of Ohio State versus Tennessee.

I know the Oregon Ducks fans felt like they were a little bit hard done. They are the top team in the country. They went through their regular season undefeated, you know, other teams out there that have good odds to win the playoff. Texas is right up there as well. I kind of wonder about Georgia with Carson Beck being injured, what that's going to mean with their backup quarterback leading the field. Who do you look at and say, like, who's your favorite to win this thing?

And do you have any dark horses? Well, I think the two teams, again, I'm going to tell you, I think Penn State's going to win it because I'm biased. But let's pretend that, you know, let's pretend I'm not biased for a minute. I was at the Ohio State Oregon game and Eugene saw that game live and I came away and said those two teams have as much speed on the edge as anybody I have seen. I think where Oregon has the advantage is they're cool. Dylan Gabriel reminded me a lot of Russell Wilson. Same kind of height, same kind of mobility.

When he gets out of the pocket, he's looking downfield and throws that deep ball that just has that right trajectory. It seems to drop in unexplicably. So he is really, really dangerous. And they've beaten three teams that are in the top 10 right now. That said, you know, they get the winner of Tennessee, Ohio State. And Ohio State would scare me because they are as talented as anybody. And they're angry right now. And they've had a little time off to kind of figure out, you know, some things and get some things right.

So that's a team that I think is really dangerous. Arizona State, I mean, there's something going on there right now. they've got some momentum. That's a dangerous team. Georgia, if they figure it out. And, you know, Notre Dame is so good defensively. But I think, I think Oregon, the Oregon, Ohio, if Ohio State beats Tennessee, which I think they will,

I think the Oregon, Ohio State winners, probably the team to beat in this whole thing. I am so shocked. I am, I am taken aback by the fact that a paterno is biased for Penn State. I cannot believe it. I cannot believe this. Who is the, right? The biggest surprise.

But let me ask you this, and I know that this ain't on the slate, but we got to get into it because the biggest and one of the closest Heisman trophy races, in recent memory between Travis Hunter and Ashton Junkie, you see two spectacular young men. About all accounts off the field, they're both great guys, all that good stuff, but on the field, in terms of what you saw of those two guys, not just the playoff committee. Do you think the Heisman committee got it back?

I probably would have had Gentie first and Travis Hunter as a 1A, probably. But I mean, you can't say, the funny thing is, you know, you can't say Travis Hunter didn't deserve it. Because he did things that were historically off the charts and let's you go back to the 50s when everybody played both ways. You know, when, you know, Jim Brown played both ways. Lenny Moore was in the NFL Hall fame, played at Plent State and played both sides, you know, every snap. So that, you know, you look at it and go, whether it's Dylan Gabriel, whether it's Cam Ward, whether it is Ashton Gentie, Travis Hunter, all those guys. In any other year, they probably wouldn't think going away. But you had three or four guys there that just did incredible things in one year all at the same time.

And it's, you know, I'm glad I didn't have to vote because I would not, you know, I would have been sitting there for days looking to balance him. I got it. And then I don't even want to forget about the. the quarterback in Army, Bryson Daley. I mean, that guy scored 30 touchdowns and did things with the Army. I mean, there's so many, Tyler Warren, the tight end of Penn State. There's so many guys you could have put in that top three and felt good about it. So, yeah, I mean, this was as close and exciting as it been.

Jay Paterno, you know, you coached for so many years at Penn State and you have a lot of experience on the recruiting trail. So I'd like your take on just how much it's changed. changed. I mean, because, you know, recruiting nowadays, it's, it's so much more, you know, based on money and NIL being a thing for the past few years. You've got unlimited transfers now with the transfer portal, a lot of that is NIL driven. You know, the sport is, it's a lot more transactional than it used to be. And I know it, you know, it rubs a lot of fans the wrong way. At the same time, I feel like players deserve to get paid. Just maybe the way that they go about it is, uh, is not always the best way. What, I mean, what would it be like for you trying to recruit in this era?

And what are your thoughts on the changes for the sport? Well, I think the transfer portal has hurt high school recruiting because now guys are saying, well, you know, we can go sign this kid out of high school or we can get this guy we've seen on film. And so I think that's hurting it. I think the roster limitations going to 105. This particular year right now is hurting kids in high school because teams are going to have to dump 20, you know, a team with 120, 25 roster right now is you have to dump 20 guys to get down to 105. So I think that's another part of it. I think, you know, the reality is this, you know, revenue sharing is coming.

We know that. Collective bargaining, I think, has to happen to have some kind of control on this thing and now say to guys, look, if you sign with us, you know, if you want to make sure you get that four-year scholarship with us, then you sign for four years and you have certain transfer rules. If you want to go year to year, then we're not beholden to you and you're not beholden to us and let's be honest about what we are. But I think the reality is, is the Big Ten, for example, you know, the Big Ten media rights is $1.1 billion per year right now, billion with a big. And the players are looking at and saying, well, wait a minute, the head coach makes $23,000 to $25,000 a day.

I'm the one that's getting concussions. And look, you know, we can, we can, we can, talk if Penn State and Miami played the next year, for example. If five minutes before the game, all the players walk off the field, you know, I'm not going to stick around and watch Mario, Cristobald and James Franklin play cornhole. They may be great. I'm not judging their cornhole ability, but the reality is, is I'm not sitting around to watch that, and Fox is not paying a billion dollars to put that on TV. So the players really are, you know, we've just got to be honest about what we are. So the players should get paid. The revenue sharing should be equitable. And so that's got to, I think that's how this whole thing settled down.

Because right now, you know, you can be a head coach and find out at 1130 on a Sunday night that your backup quarterback's going to the portal. And maybe he tells you maybe he doesn't tell you. You're starting wide receiver can say, I'm going to go to another school. And it just creates a really chaotic system right now and nobody is in charge. So let's pretend for a second. Jay Paterno is in charge, okay? There's a GM of all the college football in your head. What are the changes you would make right away to say,

we need to make this product better? This is how we do it. Why did you got to get into collective bargaining? Let's just be honest about what we are. We're in the sports entertainment business, and we've got to do it in a way that does not compromise the academic mission of these universities. Because I think we're there right now.

Just looking at the kind of money we're spending on facilities here at Penn State, you know, we're up to, you know, with the stadium renovation, we're close to $900 million in spending, which is too much. It's ridiculous. When you start talking about we're an academic institution and the debt level of service is taken up, but I think you've got to get to a revenue sharing model with collective bargaining. So guys are protected, schools are protected, because it goes both ways. School recruits a guy in and they invest all this time and energy in them for two years. and the guy just says, I'm out of here with no, with no obligation back and forth. Let's be honest about what we are. So I think that's important, number one.

Number two, let's, you know, if guys, you know, this down, I've been radicalized in a regard that, you know, if a guy wants to come and play three years of college football because he wants to get the NFL, let's stop wasting our time with professors and just say, you know what, this is an internship. It's a paid internship that you come to, you come here. No, that said, I mean, you know, that's that's heresy in the NCAA right now. But when you're really honest about what's going on, a lot of the grad transfers, they're rental players. They come in, they put go through the motions for six credits. And that's all they do.

And that's as much time as they spend. So, you know, let's not be hypocrites about this thing. I want to circle back to the playoff real quick. And this ties into what we're talking about. 12 teams now. Is that, is that enough? Should they add more? Is it too much? What are your thoughts on the format going to 12? I think it's too much. I mean, if you look at, if you look at the semifinals in the 14 playoff era, the average margin of victory is over 20 points in the semifinal game. So it has not, you can't, you can't sit there and say that anyone, you know, and then

when you look at the five seeds that haven't gotten in, the five seeds have lost their bowl games, I think seven out of 10 years. So you can't really say there's a, five seed that really belonged. Now, Florida State probably the best argument last year because they were undefeated. And I felt they really got slighted. And, you know, to say their quarterback got hurt really wasn't fair. Ohio State went into the playoff in 2014 with their third quarterback and won the whole thing. So, but, you know, I think the thing about 12 or even 16 games, you're talking a 12 game season, a conference championship game. You're 13. If you lose that conference championship game like Penn State did to win it all you're looking at 17 games and uh that's

too many for guys this guys this age unless and i think what's going to happen next year is they're going to get a cut of the playoff money and they should if you're going to ask guys to play four more games they should get a cut of the playoff money um again if all the Penn state and SMU guys walk off the field Saturday at 1150 um what happens that's a great point you got anything else kenton No, I'm all set. I appreciate the time, Jay. So, Jay, before we let you run, you know, you keep up with with everything going on these days in college football. And I know that a lot of that is related to your most recent book, which people can grab now. Tell us about blitzed.

So blitz is basically, it's what I call nonfiction fiction. I've been consulting in NIL stuff with a group that's all over the country. So I've heard stories from all over the place and have a good sense of what's going on. So I wrote this book as a fictional book, but it's all real stories. So the things you read in this book are going to be things that have happened at schools you would know, but I've reassigned where they happen. I make it as a fiction because, again, I don't want someone to blow my car up if I'm writing stories about what's really going on. So it takes you, it really takes you into the head coach at Ohio State and the pressures he has. It started

of the book called Hot Seat, where he lost to Michigan, lost his bowl game, was told he had one year to go. So in the book, Hotsey, it took you through that for a year. Well, then a couple of years later, people said, you ought to write about what's going on in NIL right now, because people can't, you know, when you start telling stories about what's going on with collectives and what's going on with, you know, booster saying, well, I bought that kid for you guys. Why isn't he not playing? And if you don't play them, I'm going to, all these different pressures. And the pressures the players are going through from a mental health standpoint in terms of mom and dad are now saying, or maybe it's his family members, they're saying, well, this guy's making 800 grand.

You need to switch schools. Even though you love it there, I want you to switch schools for you can make more money. You know, these guys got to play at their highest level. Now they got to make money. And oh, by the way, they got to go to school. Coaches are dealing with the pressures of guys, hey, it's constantly, where's this? Why am I getting paid for that? So it takes you through all those things and the pressures that go on with a book like that

that make it really, it really is the first book to really peel the curtain away and let people see what's going on in college football right now. I love the concept. I'm going to check it out. I've been looking for some new stuff to read and I'm going to check out Blitz. Those watching it on our YouTube channel, you can see what the cover looks like. So check out Blitz by Jay Paterno. Jay, can't thank you enough for taking the time. We appreciate the insight, all the opinions.

And, of course, goes without saying it was a huge fan of your father and everything he meant to the game. So God bless your family. And thank you so much for taking some time with us. Appreciate it, guys. Thanks. And hope it's a good weekend, not too good for the ACC, but I hope they did really good. I love it.

There he is. Jay Paterno, huge shout out for him taking some time with us. Alex Donno and Kenton Gibbs with you. Want to talk a little bit now, Kenton, you brought it up. up Heisman, it ends up going to Travis Hunter by a slim margin over Ashton Genty. I felt like my dude, Cam Ward coming in fourth, I felt like he deserved a little bit better. You guys want to keep it locked right here. We're not done yet on this brand new episode of Lockdown ACC.

Thank you so much for making this episode of Lockdown, ACC, your first listen and your first watch today. We are proudly brought to you by the college football playoff. How appropriate, based on the conversation we just had with Jade Paterno. Guys, it's that time of year. The college football playoff is back. And with the newly expanded 12-team format, it's guaranteed to be bigger and better than ever, bringing you all the hard-hitting and high-flying excitement that you love.

TNT sports coverage of the college football playoff begins December 21st, starting with the CFP kickoff show presented by 18T at 11 a.m. Eastern leading into our first matchup, SMU Mustangs battling Penn State at noon. Then the Clemson Tigers look to upset the Texas Longhorns in a show down at 4 p.m. Eastern. Don't miss a moment of the action. watch the college football playoff presented by Allstate Live on TNT, True TV, TBS, and Max.

Thank you so much for making this episode of Lockdown ACC, your first listen and your first watch today. Alex Donno and Kenton Gibbs with you. All right. So Kenton, you know, I got a stand up for my guy, Cam Ward, and I just want to say, I'm not saying he should have won the Heisman. Like, I get it. It was a very top heavy group with Ashton Genty and Travis Hunter. I had a feeling Hunter would win, and he did.

I know people feel like Genti was hard done, but I look at Cam Ward coming in fourth with only six first place votes. He won the Davey O'Brien Award, best quarterback in the country. He was named first-team All-American quarterback over Dylan Gabriel at Oregon. So how does Dylan Gabriel get so many more first-place Heisman votes than Ward? I know we're splitting hairs when we're talking about third place versus fourth place, but I thought Cam Ward should have come in third place. it is what I've always believed, what I'm always being confirmed on, and what I'm trying to tell

myself, this must be confirmation bias, but it's just what I'm flatly seen. Media members are lazy. That's all it is. That's who votes on the Heisman, and the media members are a lazy bunch. They don't truly love and enjoy watching film at a high level. They don't truly love and enjoy, hey, this is what makes this player great. This is what makes that player great. And it's so disappointing to see because, like you said, the awards where you have coaches voting for the most part, the awards where you have some type of criteria that is based on, hey, this is what people who have watched the game at a high level are seeing. Cam Ward was determined to be the best quarterback in the nation. But when you get national talking heads, when you get folks that have not watched a full game that they are not covering in years, you get what you get.

And again, I want to know by what rationale, by what reason, by what angle has Dylan Gabriel been a better quarterback to Cam Ward? By what? I think that now in these talks about the Heisman, we can't say that two gentlemen have had

a fantastic year. All of these guys have wonderful years. All of them have wonderful years. For me, I thought that Jonti deserved the Heisman, but I wasn't mad at Travis for reading it. I thought either one of these guys will be go down as one of the greatest house of winners ever. And then you go look at the next group because we can all agree it was those two

and then the drop. I don't see what Gabriel had done to jump in front of war. I very genuinely don't see it. I don't see the moment where I say, if Dillion Gabriel plays for the Miami Hurricanes, they win this football game. That's a great point. I don't see that.

And granted, Oregon is undefeated. So it's not really a moment where you need to say, oh, if Cam Ward plays for Oregon, they win this football game. But is the Heisman about who has won the most? Or is it about who has most positively impacted winning for their team? Because if that's the question, there are many moments where Dill and Gabriel looked very human. And Oregon was okay. Every time Cam Ward looked like just a guy, Miami got down two, three, three. test downs. It hurt. That's right. That's right. Yeah, very, very Ward dependent. Speaking of

quarterbacks, by the way, and Cam Ward is someone who, he raised his draft stock at Miami. He was getting day three projections out of Washington State last year, decided to play one more year in college. Now he's projected as a top five pick. So he raised his draft stock. Do you think DJ Oweungalai raised his draft stock at Florida State? Because Kenton, I just got this headline, just came across my desk. DJ O'Yungalai, he, he, he's declared for the NFL draft. I feel like this is one of those, who's going to tell him memes?

Like he's not, I mean, is there any chance DJ gets drafted? I mean, maybe he'll get an opportunity to try out somewhere as a UFA. DJ, I mean this with everything that's in my heart and soul. Brother, go be the starting quarterback in Huntington, West Virginia,

at Marshall. Yeah. Go get paid about $100,000, $200,000 to do. It didn't Marshall's entire team? opt out and leave so they got spots. Hey, I'm not saying go do it because I love Tony Gibson. I'm a liar. That's exactly what I'm saying go do it.

But in all seriousness, brother, why are you so pressed to go work for Enterprise Rennelcar? Why are you so, what about Lenovo is so interesting to you where you're like, I got to go work for him? Like, you're not going to, you're not going to get drafted. Not only are you not going to get drafted,

if you get invited to somebody, camp what do you think you're going to do what do you think is the path forward for you you know and this is why this is why i'm very excited about nil because it helps out in situations like a cam war where he came back made two million and raised his draft stock which i said all along this was going to be an unintended consequence of these players get paid players that shouldn't be leaving are no longer going to leave at the same clip that they used to because they'll have an incentive to say, you know what, I'm a borderline and a bail guy right now.

If anything, me coming back is betting on me for real because I believe that if I come back and I take this money and then I stay healthy, I'll go and get an even bigger payday. I'm going to pass up a decent opportunity for a potential great opportunity,

which is what Cam Ward did, which is what DJ should do. And honestly, for DJ it's not even good to great. It's no opportunity because I And I know, you know, you're a Florida, you're a Miami guy. I'm an NC State guy. They'll say we hate Florida State and this is what we're saying. But very genuinely, Dono, is there anything you have seen DJ you do at an NFL level

where you're like, that's an NFL quarterback? He looks more like an NFL defensive tackle. He's got the body for that. His brother plays defensive tackle. So if you're saying it, I'm saying it. Everybody said this ain't even one of those things where it's like, oh, this is just Kenton and Dono because they watch the film and we do the knowledge here in Locked on ACC. No, no, no, no, no. Everybody agrees that young man is not getting drafted.

Go get you some more money somewhere. Finish up a master's degree. I'd vehemently, I wish we would have had Jay Paternal longer because we would have discussed the importance of education in all this in terms of. Don't you dare say nothing like this is an internship and you ain't getting a degree. you got to be the biggest fool out of the scene. You better get something out of the deal because I can tell you, as a guy with a torn left bicep and two surgeries, we repaired Achilles,

you got to get something out of the deal. So, DJ, go back to school, maybe not in Florida State, maybe somewhere else, and go find you a pastor that's going to pay. Again, you're not going to make what you're making in Florida State. But you're going to make better money than you will doing the quarterback coaching camps that we all, nor inevitably coming your way in a few months in Inland Empire in California because you've decided to go to the NFL when that's not the path for you.

No, it sure isn't. Well, we appreciate Jay Paterno for joining us and dropping some knowledge. We appreciate Kent and Gibbs, as always. I appreciate me too, I guess. We all appreciate it, Donno. We all appreciate you, brother. We love it. We will talk to you guys again next time on another episode of Locked on ACC.

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