Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - SHOCKWAVE: Fran Brown BLASTS Pena's Portal TACTICS

Episode Date: April 18, 2025

Can the ACC's football programs navigate the complexities of the transfer portal and NIL deals to maintain their competitive edge in college football? With star players like Trebor Pena and Hykeem Williams making headlines, the stakes are high for the Hurricanes and the ACC.Explore the latest developments as Alex Dono and Kenton Gibbs dissect the Trebor Pena transfer saga, including Syracuse coach Fran Brown's controversial comments. The discussion shifts to Hykeem Williams' entry into the transfer portal from Florida State, with insights from Brian Smith on the challenges facing top recruits. The episode also covers the impact of ACC expansion on travel logistics, highlighting the extensive miles Stanford and Cal will face.Join the conversation for a deep dive into the Miami Hurricanes' strategies and the evolving landscape of college football. Listen now for exclusive insights and expert analysis.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Supply HouseJoin the Trade Master program today at SupplyHouse.com/TM and start ordering plumbing, HVAC, and electrical supplies with just a few clicks. Plus, use promo code SH5 for 5% off your first order. That’s SupplyHouse.com!Amazon Fire TV Stick 4kDid you know your Fire TV is also an Xbox? Turn any TV into your gaming and entertainment hub with Fire TV Stick 4K devices — no console required. Head to Amazon.com/firetvlockedon to get started. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and compatible controller required.UpworkVisit Upwork.comright now and post your job for free. With Upwork, you can find specialized freelancers in marketing, development, design, and more—experts ready to help you take your business to the next level.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. GametimeDownload 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.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Was Trevor Pena really asking for $2 million to play slot receiver? Fran Brown indicated that, yeah? You are Locked-on ACC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Happy Friday and shout out to the everydayers. 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.

We're part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. He is Kenton Gibbs from Lockdown Wolfpack. I am Alex Dono from Lockdown Cains. We will talk about the crazy travel miles coming up this season in ACC football. It's no longer Atlantic Coast Conference. It's all Coast Conference now, as we know. A very talented hadn't lived up to it to this point. It's probably why he's leaving.

But former five-star receiver, Heikeem Williams, is leaving Florida. We'll talk about what that means for FSU and for him. But I wanted Kenton to talk about this Trevor Pena situation. Now, I know, like, the way I did our show open may make it sound like, you know, criticizing him for asking for a whole lot of money. I will say that watching Fran Brown, he did this interview a couple days ago on Cuse Talk Live. And I actually, I didn't really like the way Fran Brown kind of painted the whole thing about Pena looking for more money.

And I thought it made Brown to me come off in a bad life. But then he throws out the $2 million. And he didn't say it outright, but he implied that that's what Pena was asking for. I will just describe this as messy. Like for a coach to basically accuse a player of bag chasing after they leave the portal without any other context to it. I didn't think it was a great look. How did you unpack that whole thing?

Very interesting, Donald. that you would see this as not so nice on Fran Brown's and not on Trevor Paine's. Interesting, interesting development there. May that be a secret mousqueton. That will be used later. Who knows? But no, in all seriousness,

this is a thousand percent, Fran Brown saying, hey, he asked for an amount of money that we were not given. We are all speculating that the two million that he talked about is for Trevor Pena, because, I mean, this is the easiest game of connected dots I've ever seen. Like when you were a kid and you got to connect the dots,

a little drawing book and you said, oh, this is the first page. They're just four dots that are very close to each other. It's a square. Look, it's a square. That's what this is. Your top wide receiver leaves, right? Your top wide receiver gets in the portal.

You then in your next interview say, hey, you know, guys are looking for $2 million for receivers. I ain't paying that. Other than a little dude at Ohio State, Ain't nobody making that. I ain't paying. Not for me. You're not getting it for me.

I mean, that's very, very clear. And even to go further, some of the things that were talked about when he was saying, you know, guys are worried about things that the coaches should be worried about, like what the offense looks like and who's going to the ball, all that type of stuff. Again, this is transparency to a level that's going to make some people uncomfortable because we're not used to this. We're used to. We wish him the best.

He was a great asset here. You know, he decided to pursue opportunities that are best for him. We've got snaps available at receiver. Come on down to Syracuse University. Come on up to Syracuse University. And we're doing things the right way. We're building the right way here. That's all I've got to say on it.

We're not used to guys very directly saying, hey, these are the things that occurred or even alluding to in direct ways. These are the things that occurred. This is why we, why we, feel how we feel and this is what this is because and i'm a pass to you after this but we got to understand you name pinia captain you're you get the deal done for whatever it was for the off season going in the next season you assume that you have a senior leader in your receiving room and on the team in this young man and then at the last second at 1159 right before the clock

strikes midnight he exits without even giving you the chance to replace a lot of things that he bought. So I am not going to sit here and say, oh, Fran Brom is wrong. Did he make it messy? Yes. Yes. But the transfer portal is de facto messy.

This is de facto messy. This is de facto a young man saying, actually, I think that I'd be happier. I go get better. I go get more. I go get whatever it is, is a better situation elsewhere. So the transfer portal is de facto messy

and guys like you and I get paid because this is a male sofa. Let's be very honest about what it is. This is better than pro wrestling. Yeah, it is. Because these guys aren't going to go backstage and shake hands and say, hey, we like you a lot, man. You know, I just set those things to get the crowd for. Now, but here, okay, here's the part, though, of that Fran Brown interview, and you alluded to it a couple of minutes ago.

This is the part that have me really scratching my head, though. And again, like, so Brown started talking about, like, the things that Pena shouldn't be worried about as a player, stuff that in his, mind only coaches should be worried about. He said this, Trevor was not a coach. He's a player. So he's worrying about things that players don't worry about. Players work. And that's what they do and not worry about us. Trevor was worried about his future. Like, I want to make sure I get to the league and have a year like I had last year. And I'm excited for the kid. I think he's going to have a good year. So like, is Fran Brown saying that it's not Trevor Pena's job? And again, one more year of eligibility left. Okay? He's trying to get to the NFL. And he just had a

really awesome year with Kyle McCord throwing in football just under a thousand yards, scored nine touchdowns, led his team in receptions. And so, like, I don't know, I can't help but feel like Fran Brown is downplaying the idea that a wide receiver has the right to worry about who's throwing him the football. Maybe Trevor Payne, after playing with Ricky Collins all spring is not sold. Maybe he's worried about, hey, I had 983 yards, whatever it was last year. Am I going to have 400 yards this year? Because I've got Ricky Collins and not Kyle McCourt.

So like for Fran Brown to say that a player shouldn't be concerned about that, I mean, you think about how easy it is now to transfer and find a better situation. And by better situation, I don't just mean better money. I also, yeah, we'll play with the quarterback and play in an offense that you're comfortable with. And Fran Brown makes it sound like Trevor has no right to think about that stuff. I think you do. Absolutely. And when I say that the portal is messy because this is objectively a guy saying I'm leaving for a better situation.

I agree with you, Donno. It's not just about better money. It could be a better position coach looking at you, Kyle. It could be, you know, better coordinator, whatever the case may be. It could be a lot of things that go into that. Again, this is one where I see both sides of this because I understand fully where Payne is coming from. I'm not going to sit here and say your quarterback throwing a ball to you does not matter at all. my only thing where I give Fran Brown

Brace and I say, I understand where you're coming from. You knew Ricky College was going to be the starter most likely at the end of last year. Number one. Number two, if you are going, I want to be as generous as actually, no, I don't. I don't need to be generous as saying this. If you are talking about quarterback play,

about who's throwing you the ball, for your first visit is to a place where Drew Aller is the starter, brother, brother. You know, but hold on, hold on. Like, I know we love to make, and so, and yeah, and Kenton, as you mentioned, so Trevor Payne is going to visit Penn State. That news came out this morning. Well, like, listen, as much as we like to poke fun at Drew Aller, hasn't Drew Aller proven a lot more?

It is probably better than Ricky Collins. And that's the problem. Drew Aller has proven more. We know what you are. We know that you are a dropper against good teams. We know that when it matters most, you are going to go missing. You will put up big numbers against the ball state. Oh, oh, yeah, y'all got Bowling Green on the schedule.

Oh, Harold Fenn is doing his thing on the, oh, yeah, you're going to find Tyler Warren and all that on their defense short. What are you going to do against teams that are loaded with NFL players? All of a sudden, uh-huh, uh-huh. That young man. freezes in the lights in a way that we have not seen in quite sometime. I remember during the playoffs last year, when every Penn State fan called me, everything but a child of God, when I said he's by far the worst quarterback left in the play.

It's not even close. And everybody said, he's about to play Riley Leonard. You're going to see him play the worst quarterback. And who was better in that game? Riley Leonard. Even when you take the interceptions off the board because of penalties, one of which I believe was legit when I don't, who threw that game away when. when they had a chance to win it.

Drew Aller. Hmm. So again, he has proven more, but more are you necessarily always good, Dono. You can see the take and see, oh, no, this guy, he's not it. We can sit here and say, oh, his receivers couldn't get open. They couldn't get separation. Oh, these guys couldn't do this.

He couldn't do that. You had a tight end that's going to be the top tight end in the nation. Don't tell me about who could and could not get open. You just cannot throw the ball, son. So that to me is why I understand Fran Brown from the asking. of you're worried about things that coaches should be worried about because as a player, you only have but so much of a vision for these things. And most players do not have the football IQ and the want to to watch tape on.

All right, before I go to this offense, let me watch hours of tape. What does this quarterback roll out? What does he look like? Is he a big game? Dropper is a big game rival? Who is this guy so I know what I'm going into thoroughly? So again, I'm player empowerment just like everybody else. I'm not saying pain is wrong.

I'm not saying, hey, if you go play with Drew Aller, it's clear you only care about the money because the perception around Drew Aller is one of the best. One of the best out. Hold on. Let me argue that point. And again, like, I don't know exactly what dollar amount schools may be offering him. But I, to my understanding, like Penn State, I'm not saying they don't have money, but they're not known as a big NIL spender. Like Penn State, like they're not in that same tier as Ohio State or Texas A&M or even Miami. and whoever you want to bring up. So if he does end up at Penn State, I don't think it's because of a bag.

Like I don't, that's not their MO. I mean, I guess there's certain spots that Trevor Pena could commit to where you can say, okay, that was a money grab. But no matter how we feel about Drew Aller, I don't think Penn States can he give him $2 million? I don't. I mean, here's the thing. We don't know what the specifics of the money are.

We don't know that. All we have to go off of is what's being reported, what's being speculated. nobody's come out and confirmed any of their numbers. And every time a player gets in front of a camera, he says those numbers are inactive, right? Every time I've seen the player get in front of it. I have not heard one single player say,

yeah, that's the exact number I'm getting paid. Yep, that's correct. You know, for a multitude of reasons, I understand why players do that. But I'm looking at this and I'm saying to myself, if you go to Penn State, to me that doesn't disprove or prove that you left for bad. At this point, the question is,

the question is, who does, do you believe here? Do you believe Fran Brown? Do you believe Pena's family member? That's what you got to believe. And even if you believe Fran Brown, and Fran Brown's own words, it's not all about the money because the quarterback situation was a part of the play as well. He said that. Like he said, oh, it's not all about the money. And then he proceeded to talk all about money for like the next five minutes. So I feel like he was trying to finesse that interview. I'm not saying it's because of the money, but here's all the reasons why it's because of money. say what you want about Fred Browper.

If you call the man not media savvy, you got to be one of the, you know, I'll sell your ocean for a property. I love covering Fran. I absolutely, and listen, listen, I cover Mario Cristobal who was, when you gave that example of what coaches usually say about a player leaving, you were basically doing a Mario Cristobal impersonation,

where he's either going to wish the player well or he's going to say nothing. And most of the coaches that I've covered are like that. So as a media guy, I love me some Fran Brown. I love me some coach prime. Like those are the best coaches to cover. Absolutely, absolutely. So I think that he addressed that, hey, it is not 100% about the money, but he knew the big

headline clicker, the big getter is going to be saying, hey, man, ain't nobody for Jeremiah Smith making that $2 million. Ain't nobody. You ain't getting it for me, you know. And again, to me, the fact that he did address the other things, that is very, that is very big of him to say, like, hey, there are other things that play here. whether or not he covered it from the right angle he did acknowledge there were other factors that came.

He said like there are other factors at play but did not talk about any of those other factors, only talked about the one factor. But all right, so there's a couple other things interesting in the transfer portal. And I'm not going to drag Florida State here. Like when we talk about Heikeen Williams, like this is not me saying necessarily that like,

oh, this is Florida State not developing a guy. because a lot of people can say the same thing about Miami. Like Miami lost Zayquan Patterson in the transfer portal of safety, who was like a borderline five-star coming out of high school. But, you know, Florida State is losing a young receiver that to this point has not lived up to the hype. Let's talk about Heikin Williams. Let's talk about some of the other transfer portal goings and comings in the ACC. You want to keep it locked right here, my friends.

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Head to Amazon.com slash Fire TV locked on and get started. Xbox GamePass unlimited subscription, ultimate subscription, I should say, and compatible controller required. Also available on select devices, including Fire TV Stick 14. K, Fire TV Stick 4K Max, and Fire TV Cube. Thank you so much for making Locked on ACC your first listen and your first watch today. So, you know, one thing, Kenton, when I saw, you know, Hykeen Williams, who's a South Florida kid who had, you know, offers from everybody, class of 2023 coming out of high school, five star receiver was the third ranked receiver in that class. Like that was a huge recruiting victory for Mike Norvell, beating out Miami and others for Hakeem Williams.

and, you know, for whatever reason to this point, it had not worked out. I want to play this clip. I talked with the host of the portal, Brian Smith, about Heikeen Williams this morning, and then Ken, we can react to this. One thing with him is he's been banged up a lot. He was banged up again this spring. That doesn't help. You've had receiver and offense coordinator, like all kinds of coaching changes around him.

I haven't heard anything specific, though. I'm just guessing it's an accumulatory. on why. Where he's going? I've heard crickets. I haven't seen anything. Nobody has. Now, he's out a strand of hand in Fort Lauderdale. He's a kid that everybody recruited. Miami was in at Ford, etc. I'm sure there's going to be a lot of interest. But the first question, just like we just talked about Pena, what's he want? Because now you've played two years and you don't have a track record of being on the field all the time. I have a very bad inkling that what he wants NIL-wise and what he's valued at are not even in the same stratosphere.

That is my concern with a lot of these kids. And it could cost him. Use good judgment. That's all I'm going to say on that. But Miami needs a boundary receiver. They need more speed. I mean, they can say they didn't, but there's somebody that's made an inquiry. I mean, you've got to inquire about him, right?

I mean, you have to. It's a South Florida guy, and he's 6-2-15 and runs like a gazelle. Yeah. So I would assume you have, but he'll probably get 50 phone calls of some capacity through whoever is agent or whatever it is. That's a really talented guy, but this is boom or bust. Injury prone and I think he had, I went off the top of the top of had 16 catches last year for like 180 yards. He just wasn't that productive. So we need to see him take a step forward because if he's locked in and he's got a real quarterback, now again, Fort State.

they didn't have any help around him last year, the quarterback. Yeah, I was about to say that, yeah. Yeah, I mean, like, he could be a 50 catch guy. Like, if he had played in Syracuse last year, how many catches Hakeem have? If he had played with Cam Ward, how many catches, Hakeem have? So he's very talented. But Florida State was a joke last year on offense. There's just no way around that.

But you still don't know. And he's not a guy that's been public about leaving or anything. So this is a weird scenario. So here's my question to you. Kenton as I would look at this Hikeem Williams thing who's had, you know, very little production in two years in college, 16 catches or 186 yards in a touchdown last year. Brian mentioned the injury issues. He's really yet to break through. This to me is like very much the opposite of Trevor Pena's situation. Like Trevor Pena has this awesome year in the bank from last year, an experienced guy. He's a known commodity to this point. So, you know, he's in the transfer portal looking for better

situation, whether it's financially, football, all the above, right? For a guy like Heim Williams, if he is looking for NIL money that may or may not be out there for a guy who's proven virtually nothing, do you think this could be a case where maybe somebody should have told him the grass isn't always greener? Assuming he wasn't forced out. I mean, Florida State may have nudged. I don't know if they did or didn't. This happens in the transfer portal.

If Florida State nudged him out, that's one thing. But if this is Hikeen with a very limited resume looking for a better situation, he may not necessarily like the amount of calls he gets. Well, I think that this is the opposite of Trevor Pena, but opposite. Actually, no, no, I would take that back. I don't think this is the opposite. I think this is two sides of a potentially very similar coin. You see, he is the antithesis of Pena in a lot of ways. Pena has proven production.

Pena also has the proven ceiling. you know what panga is you know i'm not going to get certain things out of trevor he's not going to be my bondry receiver that i'm like hey we need a deep jump ball he's the guy he's not going to be that right so you don't have that and this is a guaranteed one year rental Trevor is one year that's it you will not have him beyond that regardless of what happens regardless of how amazingly how poorly he plays you will not have a man out this year as opposed to Hakeem, you can potentially have three. I mean, there's a lot of different factors to go in this. And then you want to talk about a quarterback situation that guys may or may not be running away from or whatever the case may be.

You and I are both very high on a young man that just went over there. We are very high on Boston College and former quarterback. You and I love the kid. Jackson Hosure doesn't. There are plenty of people who don't. There are plenty of people. He's a very polarizing player. He just is.

So there are a lot of things that can go into this. And again, this is why I say the NCAA, I think one of the best things the NCAA could use, even though a lot of players might not use it. Some would have a third party, watch guys film, see their story, see their full breakdown and say like, hey, this is what is most likely and most accurate.

for you to get this is where what you you know it's possible because all it takes is one school to fall in love and give you a big deal or whatever it's possible but it's also possible that the rap sheet out on you is too injury problem not worth the risk well i mean one of the things that i i take away from this situation and some of the others around the portal is like it's it's it's hard to jump to conclusions as to why certain young players make a jump because i know like some people will be quick to, you know, to troll Florida State, like, oh, you had this five-star guy and you couldn't develop him. You failed him. You know, people saying that to Miami about Zaqwan Patterson, but it's like there's always, there's always more to the story here. Because I'm sure if you

talk to, you know, people within, uh, within the Florida state community, they'd probably give you reasons as to why. Like, hey, it just didn't work out. And that's not, you know, Mike Norvell's fault and this, that and the other. Uh, so they, to me, like, to me, like, sometimes to kind of go back to to what you're saying, sometimes players can benefit from a change of scenery. Like, you know, maybe Hakeem can reach his potential and it might happen someplace else. Exactly. There's a ton of things that play here and again.

If it's for any player that is moving around strictly for the money, I will say this. There is, you know, we go to college to get a good job. You go to college, get your degree, get a good job. and get a good job to get the money. If you are playing a money game, like what we're looking at potentially, with the Pena, like what we're looking at potentially

with the Williams, I understand moving around for money. If you are not this kind of guy, if you are a second string defensive tackle, don't you take your tail in that portal with the hopes of, oh yeah, I'm going to go and make all this money. If you're at a academically rigorous

and prestigious school, get that degree, put yourself in position to be set for life. Now again, if we're talking about, you know, the school you're at is nothing academically or whatever, you know, we're talking about Georgia's looking at you, Bama's looking at you, Florida's looking at, Miami's looking at you, you know, if we're talking about some big spenders

in the NIA looking at you, yeah, sure. But again, if that's not you, if that's not who you are, taking the account of the whole scenery and even guys that are doing it for big money, that means you're on the verge of NIA, NFL. Take more into account than just the money you can make right now because what does it benefit you to make a ton up front but you're costing yourself because you could have been first, second, third round elsewhere, but now because you played in a terrible situation,

you end up undrafted having to prove yourself in a rookie mini-calf. Well, coming up next, you know, the additions of Stanford and Cal to the ACC have really put a travel burden on the conference, except But Virginia Tech apparently did not get that memo for 2025. You want to keep it locked right here on Locked on ACC. Thank you for making Locked on ACC your first listen. For your next listen, make sure you check out our other shows. Kenton Gibbs and Grayson Boone do an awesome job, keeping you updated on everything

NC State on Locked on Wolfpack. I talk all things Miami on Locked on Cains. We're available free. For ever you get your podcast and free on YouTube. So I'm looking Kenton at the travel miles. This is just for football, right? And at least football is a revenue sport. Like I still feel bad for the non-revenue sports who have to, you know, travel from Miami to Berkeley or Boston to Palo Alto.

Like, it's ridiculous, this, you know, bi-coastal conference thing that we have going on. And the top traveling football team this coming season is going to be Stanford. Like, you figured it was probably either going to be Stanford or Cal. Stanford is traveling 23,000. 503.21 miles. That's for six road games this year. They're traveling a lot. And yet somehow, Virginia Tech only has to travel like one-tenth, the amount that Stanford does this year. I guess Virginia Tech got the luck of the draw, because they don't have any trips out west this year. They will only travel 2,855 miles compared to the 23,000 or 23,000 plus miles that

Stanford has to travel. I'm looking over the Virginia Tech schedule, Kent, and they play against South Carolina in Atlanta to open the season. They host Vanderbilt, they host Old Dominion, they host Wofford, they play NC State in Raleigh, which is not far, they host Wake Fort. They play Georgia Tech in Atlanta, so they play in Atlanta twice this season, it's not that far. They host Cal, they host Louisville, they play at Tallahassee against Florida State, they host Miami and they play Virginia in Charlottesville, which is obviously not a not a far trip. So they benefit. Now, another one that I was looking at, I was very curious about was, was North Carolina

with Belichick. And they're, they're near the middle. I think they are, they're below the average travel miles. So they travel less than most of the teams do, 7,213 yards, which is pretty manageable. And North Carolina also has one of the easier schedules. So an easier schedule and not a whole lot of travel this year. Donno, I know that you bet and degenerates are out there. I know that I share a podcast with one of them or actually two of them because you and Grayson.

Oh, Grayson too. Oh, I didn't know that. I've received calls from both of these gentlemen at 2 a.m. talking about I'm telling this really easy, this really good table test game. Yeah. I'm going to tell you this, both of those schools in California and ACC, hammer that under for a win. for both of them. Both of them.

I don't think y'all understand how bad it's gotten at Cal, okay? Oh, my God. Five of last year's top seven pass catchers, gone. Started quarterback, gone. Five receivers, gone. Then you jump over to their rival Stanford,

head coach, gone. Elyle of Manor, the only person on that, on that offense, I'm not like, I don't know what you are. You're in the county. He's gone. He's gone.

He's gone. He's gone. He's gone. Yeah. He's gone. So everything that they had that was like, oh, this is decent. Gone. Gone. And you're going to be doing that with the most traveling ACC, which, by the way, I know for a fact that has to be high up there in the country in terms of travel. I would imagine it's, it's, I only have the ACC chart in front of me, but I can't imagine there's a team in the country that travels more than Stanford. Like I can't. I know West Virginia, the Big 12 gets hit hard by travel every year, but that's the only team that I could think of that would be even close. And even with them, none of their trips are clean across. Maybe Rutgers in the Big Ten, because they're all the way on the East Coast. I don't know if they go out to Los Angeles this year.

So Rutgers is probably up there too. But that's my point. You know what I mean? Maybe one of the California schools in the Big Ten might be up there too. But guess what? All of those teams have something that these teams. Two teams don't. Talent.

Yeah. Palit, ladies and gentlemen. And again, this is with all due respect to those guys at Cal, you know, they got a guy that's going to get drafted, leaving out of their defensive backroom this year as well. This is all due respect to those guys of Stanford, their scholarship athletes. Like I said, they had some pros, a pro on that squad last year. I am telling you right now, those two teams are in for a world of trouble next year due to forces that are somewhat outside of the player's control. you know, Fran Brown talks about things players should worry about.

Apparently every player was worried about who the offensive coordinator would be because Harsanan ran off everybody in their moment. Stanford, your head coach is gone. That's something a player needs to worry about. Hey, Mike, wait, where did they got a group? He was bullying.

That type of thing, man. The players can do nothing about it, and yet they're the ones who are ultimately going to be in a position to get whacked time and time again in conference because of them. You're so right. Brian Harsen, the new, O.C. at Cal. He's like the Grim Reaper. He shows up and the whole offense leaves. They're all gone.

There's nobody left. You know what's funny? He's gotten rid of so many guys. Somebody on the Calgary did the meme of the Grim Reaper knocking on doors. But they had to do a bunch of them like back to back to me. I'm like, oh, God. It's like four frames to get. I said, oh, geez. Oh, geez, Louise, this is bad. This is tough. So, you know, it's both of those teams travel, external factors. I mean, darn, that's just a tough look, especially when your new cousin that joined the ACC, SMU, living high on the hall. They said, they're like, oh, y'all don't have got a conference championship appearance yet? Cannot relate.

Cannot relate at all. And SMU is actually top three in most travel. So they're, you know, they got, they had a. favorable schedule last year, which, and again, I'm not taken away from what they accomplished, but, you know, it was like the perfect storm. They didn't travel as much last year. They avoided some of the heavy hitters in the ACC last year, and they took advantage of it. The schedule gods didn't do them as many favors this year, including the travel. They travel over 10,000 miles this year. It's going to be a little bit tougher on SMU this season.

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