Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - Do Cam Ward, Kyron Drones And Grayson McCall Have A Shot At Heisman? | Sleeper ACC Team | SMU MONEY

Starting point is 00:00:00 The ACC hasn't had a Heisman trophy winner in almost a decade. Does the drought break this year? You are Locked on ACC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Shout out to the everydayers 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. We're part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day.

Starting point is 00:00:35 He's Kenton Gibbs from Locked on Wolfpack. I am Alex Dono from Locked on Cains. On this episode, we're going to talk about the insane money that SMU has raised since they joined the ACC. Pony Express is back, baby. We're going to talk about Reese Davis has picked his sleeper team inside the ACC. Who does the college football, college game day host, I should say. Who does he think could surprise people this coming season? but also, Kenton, we're starting to chatter a little bit more about Heisman Trophy hopefuls.

Starting point is 00:01:09 And if you look at in the big picture where ACC players stand preseason, the outlook is not very good. Fandual sports book, which is the official sports book of Locked on, has the ACC's highest pre-season, again, preseason rated Heisman contender as Miami quarterback Cam Ward at plus 2,200. So that would mean a $100 bet, winning $100 bet would win you $2,200. But he's 10th overall in the country. Now, they do have Riley Leonard, who's not technically an ACC quarterback, obviously, being at Notre Dame. Now, some of the sites try to group him into the ACC, even though he was with the ACC last year. Riley Leonard has the ninth best odds. Other than that, it's a lot of Big Ten, a lot of SEC.

Starting point is 00:01:57 The top odds is for Carson Beck at Georgia and Quinn Ewer's at Texas. Texas has the second best odds. But if you just look at the Atlantic Coast Conference, On Three Sports wrote a piece. Jesse Simonton from On Three Sports wrote about the top five Heisman Trophy contenders inside the ACC. And he does agree with the odds makers having Miami's Cam Ward at number one. Now, he grouped in independent as well because he's got Riley Leonard at number two,

Starting point is 00:02:25 which is not, you know, if he wins, the ACC's cannot celebrate that with him being at Notre Dame. Grayson McCall from NC State comes in at number three. Kiron Drones from Virginia Tech comes in at number four. And Preston Stone at that very rich program in Dallas at SMU comes in at number five. But I mean, this is, it's not too unconventional, Kenton. Coming off the last two years that Cam Ward had at Washington State, it is kind of chalk at this point to think that he may be the guy in the ACC who's got the best shot at it.

Starting point is 00:02:57 Yeah, I mean, when you look at Cam Ward, you talk about, we often talk about how high his ceiling is and all those types of things, but we also need to look at how the Heisman is won, right? Because there are dynamics that play beyond how good a player is or is not into whether or not he wins a Heisman. If you look at the last few Heismans, right, Jaden Daniels, Heisman winner or a quarterback put up Godi numbers, Caleb Williams, quarterback, Godi numbers, Bryce Young,

Starting point is 00:03:26 quarterback, best team in the country, DeVante Smith, receiver, best team. in the country. Joe Burrow, quarterback, best team in the country. Kyle Murray, quarterback, Godi numbers. So what does that say? You have to have certain criteria that make it clear that you're going to be a guy who can win the high. One of them is you either have to be a passer or pass catcher. And the second one is that you either have to be a champion or a guy who's putting

Starting point is 00:03:59 up video game numbers. For Cam Ward, I can see him putting up video game numbers. You and I have talked to knowledge him about if he can get to turnovers under control, he will likely with this cast he's got at Miami put up some crazy numbers. We all talk about X

Starting point is 00:04:15 and how good he is. This young man is a wide receiver who is not black that nobody says a sneaky athletic. That's how good he is. That's our good brother. Okay, because everybody else if you are not, you know what I mean? If you didn't get to celebrate June 10th all the way through, they are not calling you, they're going to call you sneaky athletic

Starting point is 00:04:33 guys and wide receiver, you can get over. And the, by the way, the other buzzword on that is when people talk about intangibles. Yeah, nobody talks about, even though we all know Xavier Restrefer was an extremely hard worker. When you talk about him, everybody literally talks about he has separation for days. We talk about the fact that he's more quick than fast, but he's plenty fast. He's plenty fast thinking stress to feel vertically. So in essence, what we're looking at here is a situation.

Starting point is 00:04:59 where Cam Ward has all of the weapons around him to put up gaudy numbers, and he's coming to the ACC at a really good time to where he's going to have Hysman moments if he can get it done against a Florida state. He's going to have Hysman moments if he can dominate Florida to start the season. He's going to have moments that you can look at and you can say, hey, Cam's the guy. He did the thing that a lot of these other guys objectively don't have. You know, and I think if Cam Ward has a legit shot to win the Heisman trophy, and even though he may have the best odds within the ACC, his odds are not great compared to the other top contenders. He's going to have a legit shot to win it.

Starting point is 00:05:40 You outlined some of the criteria there. I think that there would be two paths for Ward to win the Heism, one of them would be, you know, he plays really well, but Miami also has an awesome season. It doesn't always work out this way. Like Dayton Daniels, like you mentioned, he won it last year because he was putting it. video game numbers. It wasn't because LSU was the best team in the country because they weren't. Absolutely. Quarterback had to win it because he was putting up video game numbers. But then a lot of times you'll see, hey, the best

Starting point is 00:06:06 player on one of the best teams win the Heisman. Now, again, like obviously Miami, you'd be talking about Miami making a big jump from seven wins last year to maybe 10 or 11 wins this year. That would be one path. If Ward has a really strong season on a really good Miami team, and let's say he has a great game against Florida State and a great game against Florida.

Starting point is 00:06:27 You need to have those Heisman moments against riot. Is that one path? The other path, like you said, would be putting up video game numbers. Now, if he does that, like, I think he can put up good numbers, but if he's putting up video game numbers, that's probably not a good sign for Miami, Kenton, because Miami would like to win games with a balanced... A balanced attack, yeah.

Starting point is 00:06:45 A balanced attack. And also, you know, if Ward's putting up video game numbers this year, it probably means you're playing from behind a lot. So if that's... were to be the path for a Heisman for him, you're probably talking about, you know, Miami may be going eight and four, but Ward putting up video game numbers. So I think it'd be a better thing for Miami if he, you know, if he can make himself a Heisman contender or Heisman finalist because he's playing really well on a really good team this year. A couple of quick facts when it comes to Heisman winners and ACC C Heisman winners. I mentioned at the top. It's been almost a decade. Lamar Jackson. That was a guy who put up video game numbers. He was the last winner. in the ACC, 2016. Lamar Jackson won it at Louisville. And then, you know, you talked about being either a passer or a pass catcher. Running backs don't win this award very often, Kenton. In the old days, the old days they did. But not since Derek Henry in 2015 has a running back won the highest

Starting point is 00:07:43 trophy. So I'm wondering, like, I know, somebody like Amari and Hampton at North Carolina or even Damien Martinez at Miami, could someone like that sneak into the mix? But it's not been a big running back award over the last 20 or so years. So let's talk about it, right? If you talk about the running backs that I've won it in the last 20 years, you go from 03 all the way up to now. Do you know how many running backs have won it in that time? Two?

Starting point is 00:08:09 Three. Reggie Bush, Mark Ingram, Derek Henry. What do all three of those guys have in common? Besides being Heism and winners, of course. National championship teams. National championship teams. If you're a running back, video game. numbers aren't enough. They're not enough. And not only that, what is considered video game

Starting point is 00:08:29 numbers for a running back are so freakish, we will never see it again, I don't believe. And that's, that's not a slight to the talent of running backs or the caliber of running backs that we see now. It is truly a credit to how far the game has come in many respects. Because do you think that we'll ever see a running back get 2,600 yards again? That's what Barry Sanders does. did. That's what Barry Sanders did. A guy doing that, trust me, I'm a Lions fan. I mean, I know my Barry Sanders history. But the

Starting point is 00:09:02 reality of this matter is a running back's only path. Damien Martinez or Mario Ampton, Damien Martinez has an exponentially higher chance. And I know, people are going to say, okay, you just want to take one out on old UNC. But let's be honest,

Starting point is 00:09:18 who do you think has a better chance at being a serious contender in not just the ACC, but nationally this year, the Miami Hurricanes, the UNC target. Let's be very honest with ourselves, complete bias aside. I'm taking my wolf pack tenant red glasses off. Objectively, this is not really a case where Omarion comes close. Now, can Omarion win the doke? Would I say he's more likely to win the dope than Martinez? Absolutely. Absolutely. But if you're talking about the Heisman, as a running back, you have to carry the lump, carry.

Starting point is 00:09:54 the low and be a guy that's on a national championship team or else they'll find a way for one of those quarterbacks who's in the national championship conversation came into the year with a little bit of hype he'll get it. It'll go to him and that'll be all there is too. Well, I want to continue this conversation because there are a few other ACC quarterbacks who are on that list that are getting a little attention, right? Maybe sleeper Heisman candidates. We'll talk about a sleeper ACC pick as well when we come back. Alex Dono from Locked on Caines, Gibbs from Locked on Wolfpack. Folks, we are only getting started on this brand new episode of Locked on ACC.

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Starting point is 00:11:19 eBay guaranteed fit, only available to U.S. customers. Thank you so much for making this episode of Lockdown ACC, your first listen and your first watch today. We love the Lockdown Network. And Lockdown has launched the first ever national sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube. And now it's also available on Amazon Fire TV and the free Fire TV channels app. Locked on Sports today is here for you 24-7 covering the top sports stories of the day with the local experts of Lockedon, plus our national shows covering every league. Find Locked-on Sports today now available on the free Amazon Fire TV channel.

Starting point is 00:11:54 app. So Kenton, interestingly enough, after Ward, the next high's been hopeful from the ACCC that gets listed is NC States, Grayson McCall, who transferred in. And funny, the top two guys are both transfers. Ward transferred to Miami from Washington State. Grayson McCall transferred to NC State from Coastal Carolina. You know, this is someone, you know, you've covered and watched during spring football. Are you starting to buy the hype a little bit that McCall could be a sleeper. So McCall has many things working for him that people don't realize in terms of Heisman buzz.

Starting point is 00:12:31 For whatever reason, as much as NC State folks like to believe that like, hey, the nation hates you, I disagree. The ACC may hate you. Yes. The ACC officiating whatnot, they may have it out for you. But nationally, you're a white hat school. What does that mean? When you're good, people root for you.

Starting point is 00:12:47 There's black hats and there's white hats in the world. Generally, to get a black hat, you have to be perennially good. there has to be some major scandal where y'all did terrible things to people over an extended period of time. NC State is a white hat school. With that being said, if Grayson McCall leaves this team to undefeated, if he leads this team to 11 wins, something like that, an ACC championship, people are going to be said, wait a minute, what's going on over there? And unless that multi-headed running back room pops out and dominates, it's very likely that Gracie McCall will be the guy that's most likely to represent NC State. state in New York at the end of the year. So with that being said, I mean, you know, I'm not surprised by him being a guy who has

Starting point is 00:13:31 pretty high odds because as much as I love Casey, it's really hard for a wide receiver to win the Heisman. If you're a wide receiver winning a Heisman, not only do you have to be, you either have to be a record-breaking receiver on a juggernaut team that everybody knows is going to win a national championship or you have to do it in the return game. You got to do it as receiver. you got to do it a little bit in the running game, which Casey has shown us. He can do it in the running game.

Starting point is 00:13:56 He can do it as a pass catcher. If you put him back that return, I'm sure he could. But why would you need them to do that many things if you're NC State? You've got a ton of other guys that can handle those responsibilities in terms of Dylan Smothers and the Jonathan Payler and company who can handle those return responsibilities and a much better backfield than you had last year. So you wouldn't expect to be doing as much as a runner. So, you know, the reality is if you are looking at somebody who's likely to represent NC State there, it's absolutely Gracie McCall.

Starting point is 00:14:26 But even going forward, if you look at somebody who's likely to represent the ACC, I like Grayson McCall here. But I think the guy behind him has a little bit better of a chance than he does. And that guy behind him is Virginia Tech signal caller, Kyron Drones, who, you know, you saw the difference that he made when he took over midseason last year. and some of the expectations that the hokees don't have like you know clemson florida state and miami type of expectations but the hokees do have an expectation to improve big time from last year and drones is the biggest reason for that let me tell you something caron drones is special he's one of those quarterbacks that i watch play and i say you know being retired ain't so bad being on this side of the game ain't bad it ain't bad because every time you think oh man we've got them no you don't

Starting point is 00:15:18 And not only most quarterbacks that are always breaking tackles and all that, you think about guys who are elusive and quick and shifty, like a Kyler Murray, like a Lamar Jackson. He does it in the way that Cam Newton did it a little bit. There's a power to him. Even when he's jukeying you, there's a power to Kyron drones where it's like, man, that's a big fella. That's a load to bring down there. And then on top of that, he is a guy that I think as he gets more comfortable than that offenses, he trusts his past catchers more.

Starting point is 00:15:45 And his past character become more trustworthy, to be honest. they will be better. He will have the opportunity to do some special things, especially against the schedule that, you know, it's not the toughest in the world, not the toughest in the world by any stretch of the imagination. And anybody who knows my rule for transfer of quarterbacks, do not expect immediate success,

Starting point is 00:16:06 or at least don't expect the highest level of success in year one. You always or not always, but generally, you need two. It takes two every time. It takes two years. That first year, They're getting their lab legs wet. They're figuring it out. That's second year is where they flourish and shine and become all the things.

Starting point is 00:16:24 Who could have predicted what Joe Burrow was going to become based on year one? Right. Yeah. That's true. That's a great point. But then in year two, he shows up. He shows out. He dominates, right?

Starting point is 00:16:35 Kyler Murray, same thing at Texas A&M. Or I'm sorry, same thing at Oklahoma. He was not a guy who showed up on campus immediately dominated. It took a year. And then the second year, when he took over as the guy, he came in. and showed exactly who he was. Unless it's a situation like Caleb Williams where the system is transferring with you,

Starting point is 00:16:54 you're not in a situation generally where you're going to have a lot of success year one. Justin Fields and Cam Newton are probably the only exceptions to that. And both of those guys are studs to the highest degree in terms of talent and ability. Karon Drones, I think, is a notch below them, but he's going in a year two. Let's see how he can do in this second year.

Starting point is 00:17:15 And I could see Drones putting up video games. game numbers because he's such a dual threat. I mean, he rushed for almost a thousand yards last year. So you, so you would expect that, and he only, he only has three interceptions to 17 touchdowns. So you like, you can expect him to put up prolific numbers, both through the air and on the ground, which means the total yardage is going to be really high. People love that stat of, you know, all purpose yards. And the touchdown, the overall touchdowns, if you combine the rushing with the passing, those stats are going to be high. So again, I don't expect them to win the Heisman, but that could be something that could make him a contender if he puts up video game

Starting point is 00:17:50 numbers. And then, like, another, you know, important factor when you taught, like, having a great story is another thing. And, like, I can say, like, Camp Ward, if he has a really good year this year, he would have a great story. I mean, this guy, you look at how talented he is, somehow was barely recruited coming out of high school, had to start his career at Division II Incarnate Word. Word.

Starting point is 00:18:12 Yeah. He works his way from Incarnate Word to Washington State. to Miami. I mean, it's a great story. Like, I think he's carried a little bit of a chip on his shoulder ever since he came out of high school. Uh, you know, McCall, McCall and drones have great stories as well. You know, those would really be like rags to riches types of stories going from where their teams were, uh, before, especially in the case of drones, if he can really pull off, pull off a great season, uh, could be some great stories. So the Heisman stories are also very, are always very important. And listen, maybe if, uh, if NC State has the type of season that

Starting point is 00:18:45 Reese Davis, college game day hosts thinks that they're going to have. Maybe there is something to be said about Grayson McCall. So Reese Davis on the College Game Day podcast, he named NC State as his sleeper team in the ACC for this year. Kudos to the Clemson Insider for transcribing this. He says NC State would be the first one that comes to mind from the ACC for me. They may be preseason top 25 anyway, Davis said. But with the addition of Grayson McCall, they've got a really good receiver room now.

Starting point is 00:19:14 I think Casey Concepcion, their slot receiver. I think he was the ACC rookie of the year last year. He was very productive. They've added some guys through the portal. I think they'll be fine up front. They're usually solid on defense. So he's got NC State as a sleeper to watch this year. Yeah, and it makes a lot of sense because, you know,

Starting point is 00:19:33 you talk about the defense and Tony Gibson, he's always going to put out an A solid defense. They may not be the best in the nation. You could give, you know, you could give Tony Gibson six clones, of you and me each and he find a way to work it out so that they end up in the top half of the ACC. Now, Donald, you're going to have to be lifting on the back end, brother. I'm just letting you know. But with Tony Gibson coach you up, I think he'd make it happen. But in all seriousness, the big thing about NC State is something else that he said in that article, if they can

Starting point is 00:20:05 stop stepping on the rake, right? What does that mean? It means proverbially getting in your own way. It means proverbially losing games you're not supposed to lose. It means proverbially turning one loss, one loss where it's like, man, this was a close loss, it was a tough loss, it was a loss to a great team, letting that loss trickle into two, three, four losses. Now all of a sudden, you're out of it. You're out of it because you let one loss turn into two, and that two turned into three, and now you're in a bad situation. You never want to have that happen, but historically, NC State has been the kings of that.

Starting point is 00:20:38 I have seen it first person. I have been a part of it, for Christ's sake. I know that's a very real thing with NC State. if they can have the countenance to win the games that they're supposed to win, and even the ones that you're quote unquote supposed to lose, let that be that one loss and don't let it linger, they have an excellent shot at making it to Charlotte and beyond. Because again, this is a really good team.

Starting point is 00:21:02 They have everything that they need in terms of a running back room that is deep and talented. A wide receiver room, I don't think we've seen a singular position group in the country hit a 180 the way that NC State did from last year to this year. That wide receiver room was so devoid of talent. You could throw a rock in there and you were more likely a hidden accountant than a guy who would get a camping. That's the reality of what you were looking at there.

Starting point is 00:21:27 So, you know, you go forward from there. You look at the offensive line. Like you said, they're good up front, good in the running back room, exponentially improved at the raw receiver position. All you're hoping for is, again, Grayson McCall can return to the Grace and McCall of old, make good decisions, get the ball, out on target on time, not asking you to be Superman, not asking you to be a 5,000 yard passer,

Starting point is 00:21:48 get the ball out on time on target, have a running game that is good enough, and they can definitely see themselves in Charlotte. So the fifth member of that list of ACC Highs has been hopefuls is the SMU quarterback, Preston Stone. We have to talk about SMU because this is some of the most impressive fundraising in college football history, college sports history. I should say is going on in Dallas right now. You want to keep it locked right here. We're only getting started on this brand new episode of LockdowneACC. So this is pretty remarkable, Kent and Gibbs.

Starting point is 00:22:28 This has been reported throughout the day to day according to front office sports. SMU has raised through boosters and I would imagine ticket sales because apparently they're setting records for season tickets next year through boosters and ticket sales. SMU has raised a massive $159 million in 2023, 2024. And for reference here, because this was sent out by Texas football life, they say SMU Athletics has just announced that they raised $159 million in 23, 24. For reference, Texas A&M led the nation with $115 million raised last year.

Starting point is 00:23:12 So the team from Dallas said to the team from college station, hold my beer or hold my oil can because we're going to up you on that total. You know, this brings me back to Kendrick Lamar a lot because, number one, he just had a concert on Juneteen called the pop out. And, you know, sometimes you got to pop out and show folks what you can do. And that's definitely what SMU has done here because they're saying that money trees are the perfect place for shade because this team is coming in. to a new conference. They already were in a situation where they had to pay a buyout to the American conference to join the ACC because they weren't at the end of a contract. On top of that, you're looking at a situation where they could not take a full cut because, again, they're coming in as a limited member. So to think about that, you say, how can they bridge

Starting point is 00:24:02 that gap? How can they do it? They were going to need a massive infusion, a massive infusion of cash. And where was that cash going to come from? Well, shout out to the boo. Shout out to the donors. Shout out to the new shirtwood blunts of the world. Still free shirtwood blot till it's backwards. The pony express is back. Okay. The pony expresses back in the building.

Starting point is 00:24:25 And I'll tell you what, on the field, they do have an electric team in terms of Preston Stone at the head of Red Lashley's offense. And you would rarely see a quarterback and head coach as perfectly matched up as Preston and Red. Those two, they have that type of back and forth relationship. They feed off of each other. They boost each other because that offense is dynamic because Preston has that moxia bottle, that provost that says, I'm going to do what I need to do, how I need to do it,

Starting point is 00:24:58 but it's a quiet provider. It's not something that's loud, that's overbearing. And correct me if I'm wrong here, but do you not get that same feeling for Brett Lashley? Do you not get that same feeling like he knows he's the guy? He just doesn't have to tell you. I know. Yeah, I covered him in Miami.

Starting point is 00:25:11 For sure, he's like that. Yeah, so those two seem like a match made in heaven. And I'll tell you what, this team mixed in with that Dallas old tradition, that old money seems like a match made in heaven as well. Because what a job. What a job by them to raise this money to keep themselves economically viable in the situation that is tough. This is not an easy jump at all.

Starting point is 00:25:35 And you're jumping during this time where, hey, congratulations, extra 20 million. dollar bill on your doorstep. It's a situation that no team would look at and say, hey, this is easy and tenable for most of the group of five. And yet SMU is doing it flawlessly. And wouldn't you say that this might be maybe motivation for other schools in the ACC in Big 12? And again, like I'm not saying Florida State's board of trustees should see this to say, you know what? No, no. Forget about leaving the ACC. The answers lie within it. I'm not saying that. I understand why Florida State and Clemson and whoever else want to get out. But, you know, for those who may be stuck in the situation that they're in, maybe you can say,

Starting point is 00:26:19 you know what? Maybe we need to up our fundraising game. Maybe we need to be more like SMU because they're making up. And like you said, not only are they in the ACC, they have a revenue gap even within the ACC, not getting a full cut or I think are they not even getting any cut the first couple of years? I don't believe they're getting any cut the first couple of years. And then even when they start getting it, it's a partial cut. Yes, exactly.

Starting point is 00:26:42 Exactly. So this is really their only option, but they just went out there and apparently set a fundraising record. So this might be some motivation for some other schools who are in a situation where they are not on a level playing field financially. Yeah, absolutely. There's no doubt about that. More often than not, and not just for the schools who want to get out, for schools who are

Starting point is 00:27:06 thinking about turning to private equity, more often than not. The answer is more likely internal than external. Again, I say this as my normal job is a recruiter, right? And more often than not, when I go into a company and they ask me, hey, we need these positions feel yada yada, yada. The first thing I say is, do you have somebody on your team that you can feel comfortable promoting to that position? Because the person that you're getting them replace or the positions you're getting them to fill, if that is above the position they're currently at, you can get them on a discount and you can hire somebody into their position pretty cheap. as well as opposed to hiring this

Starting point is 00:27:41 this more senior person. I'm saying all that to say more often than not, it is less risky and you are looking at a better situation if you seek that funding internally, if it is possible, if it is feasible to get that funding internally,

Starting point is 00:27:57 that's where you need to be looking. Yeah, well said, and a good place to leave it off for this episode. He's Kenton Gibbs, locked on Wolfpack, is where you find his other show. I am Alex Dono. on Cains is the other place you can find me. And we will talk to everyone again next time on another episode of Locked on ACC.

Starting point is 00:28:15 We are part of the awesome Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - Do Cam Ward, Kyron Drones And Grayson McCall Have A Shot At Heisman? | Sleeper ACC Team | SMU MONEY

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