Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - UNDERESTIMATED: ACC Coaches Poll SHOCKS Fans | Big 12 Gets MORE LOVE Than Expected?

Episode Date: August 4, 2025

ACC Football Shakeup: Coaches Poll Sparks Debate, FSU's Camp Progress ImpressesThe 2025 coaches poll rankings have arrived, placing three ACC teams in the top 25. Host Alex Donno and co-host Kenton Gibbs dissect the poll's implications, questioning if the ACC is getting its due respect. Brian Smith, Locked On Seminoles host, shares exclusive insights on Florida State's training camp, highlighting Oseman Chroma's potential breakthrough. The trio analyzes ESPN's controversial ACC preview, debating team tiers and playoff contenders. They also assess the impact of new ACC head coaches, including Bill Belichick at North Carolina, and spotlight rising freshmen like Miami's Malachi Toney. Tune in for expert takes on ACC football's evolving landscape and predictions for the upcoming season.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!5-Hour ENERGYTime to fuel up and turn it up with 5-hour ENERGY®️ Transfusion! Go to https://5hourenergy.com today and use my promo code LOCKEDONGOLF to receive 20% off your order. This offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions. The code is not good on subscription orders.  GametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE at www.monarchmoney.com/lockedoncollege for 50% off your first year.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get ONE HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The coaches poll just dropped heading into this 2025 football season, and they're giving the Big 12 more love than the ACC. 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 Monday, and thank you so much to the everydayers for making Locked-on ACC your first listen and your first watch. We're available free, wherever you get your podcast. We're free on YouTube.

We're part of the Lockdown Podcast. network, your team every day. He is Kenton Gibbs, former NC State defensive lineman and co-host of Locked on Wolfpack. I am Alex Dono, host of Locked-on Cains. In today's episode, is brought to you by Game Time. Download the GameTime app, create your account and redeem code Lockedon College for $20 off your first purchase. ESPN dropped a new ACC preview. We'll tell you why they're crazy. We'll talk about Florida State standouts in camp so far because Lockdown Seminels is going to join us here in just a second. And well, speaking of Lockdown Seminels, the host of Lockdown Seminels is also the host of the awesome portal pod here on the Lockdown Podcast Network. Brian Smith joins us.

All right. So guys, take a look at this. The inaugural coaches poll just dropped heading into the 2025 season. They're top 25. There are three ACC representatives, which is less than Big 12, by the way. Although the ACC teams are ranked higher, two of them than the Big 12 teams, Clemson at number six behind Texas, Ohio State, Penn State, Georgia, Notre Dame. Then you've got Clemson. Then you've got Miami crack in the top 10. It's higher than I expected, right behind Oregon, Alabama and LSU at number nine. You got Arizona State 11th, Illinois, South Carolina, Michigan, Ole Miss, SMU, third and final ACC team ranked at 16th. And all right, so Brian, Let me start with you.

Anything they get wrong here from an ACC point of view. I mean, the one that I'm most curious about, and I'm guessing most people didn't think I was going to say this, is SMU. They really hit on the portal in the trenches last year. How many of those guys are back? What kind of continuity do they have? I think Brett Lashley is a really good football coach.

But they've got a bullseye on them now because they made the ACC title game. I'm okay with where they're at. I just think that it could end up being way higher or way lower. when you take the portal route for your linemen, it's a little iffy. As far as Miami, I think that they're about right. And I'm just going to go ahead and say it now.

I'm going to put you on the spot, Dono. Miami doesn't make the playoff. You and I need to have a discussion later this year about the coaching staff. As far as Florida State, I just saw somebody on the Florida State 24-7 board. I wouldn't count this far. Anybody want to take a guess where Florida State is and the actual votes, like those extra votes?

35? 48. Wow. I'm like, man, if that is accurate, I just saw it right before we started. If that is accurate, there's more problems that I know. I don't think they're 48th, but I digress. Yeah, you know, I look at this thing and I'm not seeing any problems with who's included in terms of the ACC. I'm looking out of glaring O mission here.

I mean, you're looking at a Georgia Tech team that's returning. you're a starting quarterback, you're starting running back, and all-ACC and borderline, All-American Guard in Redledge, I'm looking at a group that I'm saying to myself, you know they're going to be extremely well-prepared, you know that they're going to have a quarterback that's tough as nails.

I mean, how many times have you ever heard of a quarterback hurting his shoulder and saying, well, I can't throw it, so I'll only be a run. I'll be a runner only because I'm banged up as a quarterback. That is the type of stuff that team is made of, and somehow they don't, make this list and Duke as well. That's another team I'm looking at. I get it. It's Duke football. Nobody wants to talk about it. Nobody wants to have an honest conversation about Duke football.

However, the amount of success they're having is quite literally unprecedented for that team. This is new territory. Beat Florida State for the first time ever. 27 wins in three years. The second time in program history that has happened and it spanned across two coaches. You want to talk about continuity. Their second. to all-ACC performers and Moore Rivers. And yet we can't get them any love here. And yet we're looking at a Boise State team that when you stopped Ashton Genti last year,

us three could score more points on the college defense than they would. And they get in the top 25. So I'm a little confused by those omissions and the fact that, you know, we couldn't even get anybody on the back end, like they kind of snuck in all three of those big 12 teams at the end in terms of Iowa State BYU and Texas Tech, none of which are bad, none of which I'm saying, hey, they're undeserving or

terrible. I just think that it's a really bad omission to leave again. Georgia Tech and Dukeoff, who both had phenomenal years last year. Yes, when I mentioned the Big 12 angle of it, and I'm sure our guy, Drake Toll, is going to get a lot of mileage out of. Like, they, they sneak more teams into the coaches top 25 than the ACC did. All those, though, on the back end. I mean, Arizona State is pretty well ranked at number 11. but then they also sneak in Kansas State at 20th, Iowa State, BYU and Texas Tech 22 through 24. So I will still take two teams in the top 10 over a bunch of teams in the back end of that.

But yeah, Brian, you know, I obviously co-sign on what Kenton is saying, you know, about some ACC teams that deserve more love. I mean, if you could add any ACC team or maybe two into this top 25, who would you add? Louisville is the easy pick. Yeah. Got an experienced quarterback of transfers in. And whether people like him or not, Brahm is a very good football coach.

They had this guy in the backfield. Isaac, well. Two of them in the back field. Yeah. They got one guy that is just, like it looks like video game stuff. His first step speed is insane. Isaac Brown. Isn't that his thing?

Isaac Brown. Yeah. Isaac Brown. Look, I'm not a Louisville fan, but if I'm scrolling and they're on and they got the ball, I want to see if he's in the back to go. I'm going to watch. There aren't many defensive coordinators that want to watch. Okay. Unfortunately for me, I'm not going to have to worry about that. But how are they not at least top 25 with their track records since Brom has been there?

I don't know. That one's interesting to me. If there's anybody else, I mean, the Georgia tech thing that Kenton brought up is really interesting. I'm doing a really big deep dive. I've talked to Donnell about this with offensive line recruiting. And Georgia Tech, their head coach is an O-line guy. They have developed well. They have one of the best running backs in the league.

Ironically, he was a receiver before last year. It's kind of wild. The only thing with them, they lost Singleton to Auburn. They got Pilford. He took the bag. Let's just call it what it is. But Georgia Tech is not, I guarantee you, in private, there isn't a single team that has tech on their schedule this year that's like,

all right, we got a W here. There's no chance. That is a drag all the way down to the bottom. bottom into the scrum kind of game. And they will take your skill talent away because Mike Kenton, I mean, he played D. He knows playing those kind of teams is no fun for a DLIM. And either they're going to double team you on one play.

They're going to trap you on another. They're going to wamblock you. You better bring your notebook with you and be ready because they've got a little bit of everything and they're physical. It'll be close against them. So them being out is a pretty good point by Kenton. But Kenan, I just got to ask since you're an NC State guy, should they be top 35, top 40?

Just going to throw it out. I don't say top 25. Is NC State a top 40 team this year? Yeah or nay? There's an argument for it, but there's also very strong arguments against it. So I'm not mad that they're not in the top 40. I'm not upset at that at all because they can score on anybody. Unfortunately, that offense is one-third of football.

Yeah, you got to get some stuff. You got to get some stuff. In that edge rushing room, I'm a little bit concerned about. Dixon from Alabama was doing a phenomenal job from what I had heard throughout spring ball. He goes down with a fairly serious shoulder injury. And he was what I heard was one of our best airbrushers. So I'm like, man, you're in a thin air dressing room.

You know, you take another hit. But I want to go back to Louisville for a second, just for a second. I left Louisville for you, Brian, because I needed some meat on the bone here. Imagine if I told you, as good as Isaac Brown is, they had another running back that had over 65 carries and average nine yards a carry. That team is nasty in terms of that offensive line and their ability to run the ball, which is counterintuitive when you think about a coach Brown-led team, but that's what they do extremely well.

To think of Isaac Brown as the bruiser of the two to say, oh yeah, we got another guy that makes him look a little slow. What? What? You know, so shout out to Duke Watson of Louisville as well, because he can absolutely get it done. just telling you, there are so many talented teams in the ACC. There is so much talent.

This is a perception issue more than it is a scale issue. Because if we were to go one for one in terms of teams ranked in the ACC, teams ranked in the Big 12, or just teams in general, in terms of we say, where did you finish last year in your conference? Let's go at each other one for one. There is no world in which at least through the top five or six matchups, the Big 12 sniffs coming 500. I really don't think they would.

So, you know, I really and truly look at this and I say to myself, you know, the clips just had an album called Let God Sort Them Out. I believe in Let and Ball sort them out. Let the field sort it out because preseason every year, we see at least one team in the top 10 that finishes on rent. We see a couple of teams that were outside of the top 40 that sneak into the top 25. And we see a couple of teams that were barely clinging on to that. others receiving votes that sneak into the top 15 or so, which I suspect Louisville and Georgia Tech

it easily. Well, when we come back, let's take a deep dive on a team that didn't crack the top 25, but they did apparently crack the top 50. And those are the Florida State Seminoles because there are several days into training camp. We'll get a progress report from Brian Smith when we come back. You want to keep it locked right here, my friends, we're only getting started on this brand new episode of Locked on ACC. Folks, it's time to fuel up and turn it up with five-hour energy.

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For your next listen, make sure you check out Locked-on Seminoles. Brian Smith does an awesome job hosting not only the portal, but Locked-on Seminoles available free, wherever you get your podcast and free on YouTube. All right, so, Brian, big chip on the shoulder for Florida State. I mean, Mike Norvell was yelling at media days a couple of weeks ago, coming off the two and 10 season. What's been the buzz on training camp so far and who's been standing out? The offensive line is starting to gel a little bit, which, as Kenton will tell you,

Ken, how much progress report concern did you have when you played and you guys weren't pad yet? Talking about the lineman. Oh, man. You couldn't get too much. If anything serious is going on, when you don't got pads on. You don't really know who's put on the line at that point.

That's kind of where I'm at. But allegedly, because they got one holdover transfer and four new transfers, putting that together is hard. But allegedly, they're bonding the best. I don't know. They've got some talent, a bunch of guys that have started. That's great. Castellanos is going to be a great fit.

Not worried about that. Deuce Robinson's taking a big step up in leadership. He's a great guy. I've had the chance to be around him. He's going to be a problem with six, five, six, 26, 220 pounds. But the guy that I knew that was going to play somebody, he's already possibly moving towards being a starter.

His Osman Kroma, he was an elite recruit out of Georgia. Every school in a country offered him at running back. They got a deep running back room. So that's kind of interesting. They've also got some defensive players that they completely change their philosophy, a lot more zone. They're going to use basically three safeties. And Shaheen Brown let him in tackles last year.

He's not on the starting unit right now for what I've read. And I'm like, man defense is totally different. I get it. But your leading tackler, allegedly not in this. I don't know if he's banged up. Like they're not letting anything in in terms of washing practices. The first practice is a little stretching in a few drills. And that was it.

They're done for fall camp, which is not a good move, but that's another story. So we're only going on hearsay. But the back end, they got a lot of competition and a lot of difference makers in terms of like, man defense may, may not. not play and they're switching to the zone. And Jeremiah Wilson comes in as a transfer from Houston. He's their leader as a trans. It's wild.

Up front, a guy that is true to Kenton's heart, they got big Daryl Jackson, who's a former Miami player transferred up there. It's now the leader, allegedly. He was the guy last year I was screaming at on the post game shows because he loath too much. But he's 335 pounds and incredibly athletic. Allegedly he's the guy now. I need to see it.

But like there's been some surprises. Like who's playing where, who's starting? It's pretty wild, man. And I'm curious to see how much of that stuff that I'm getting actually carries over. Because let's not forget. Alabama is game one. There is no hiding, especially in the trenches. Caden Proctor, that got arguably the best center in college football to.

They may have Ty Simpson back. The heck, they could have Dono at quarterback. It's not going to matter when you're throwing to Ryan Williams, Jeremy Bernard. I mean, they got a plethora. or a player. So Florida State's completely changing both sides of the ball and scheme and all this. It's going to be wild, man. I'm curious to see them because I wouldn't bet a nickel on how they're going to play against Bama, not in any way shape or four. I'm going to tell you something, man. I don't blame Jackson for Loafing as much he did. You seen that chain on his neck. That thing is so big.

I wouldn't be able to move very fast for a bunch of plays either with that thing on my neck. But in all serious. You see, see, that's why he weighs over 330. He's 300 counts, just the chain. You go. 30 pounds of diamonds. And the things is yellow, white, every type of dime. No segregation going on with his diamond. But Brian, let's talk for a minute about moments of optimism, right? Because we have all talked about our concerns about this Florida State team. We've talked about Costalanos being a little bit mouthy.

We've talked about the concerns in terms of jelling offensively. We've talked about the lack of kind of carryover from last year defensively. And a defense that I think was all right. I don't think they were great. I just think they were on the field too much because the offense could pitch and drop. But what are the areas of optimism that you say, if this team is to finish where the four people who gave them first place votes in the ACC media believes it'll be because of this.

Defensive line is legit in terms of talent and experience. Again, Darrell, he will go into the combine and wow everybody. Like his length, his hand size, all that stuff, his speed. He's won. but they got Jason Jenkins from Tennessee or whatever it's worth. And Tony White is a very good coach. He comes over from Nebraska to be to D.C.

He said Jenkins could play the stand-up jack position all the way to Nosecard. And I'm like, I'm like, okay. I need to see that. He's 6-6-275, though. So he fits the profile. That's the guy they're really excited about. And then they got James Williams,

a kid that transferred him from Nebraska as a pass rusher. They've got the length and the size up front to at least compete. with Bama, like they're massive. Florida State's defense front is massive. Might be the biggest in the country. But they still got to prove it because they had all kinds of talent last year. We joked about it

after the season started. Where's this at? Remember me saying like this team ain't going nowhere, even the D-line? Like a lot of those guys are gone. Jackson is the one mainstay. And they got Daniel Lyons and some other guys that are smaller at like 295. So they've got some really unique players.

And then the other spot, the running back room is pretty deep. Nobody's talking about it. They got Jaywood Lucas, who can play in the slot, who can play running back his really fast, kick returner, whatever. They've got a bunch of speedy guys. And again, they got Cromont. They got Cam Davis. They got Rodell Williams. Those are two spots that I feel pretty good about. I need to see it, though, at receiver. Because otherwise, they're just going to double Deuce Robinson, because I would. And then in the back seven, how well do they adjust to the scheme? They got a ton of talent in the secondary. But how many

of those guys will pick up this scheme because it's more thinking than the last defense in terms of just playing man. They were predominantly a cover one team. You're going to see a little bit of everything because they're going to try to confuse other teams. It could be really good or really bad. That's the one that I really don't know what to expect. Now, Brian, I need you to address something because Kenton referenced this. I want to get your take on it. So Florida State did receive four first place votes from media members at the ACC Media Days. And for reference, Louisville, got zero first place votes. I don't think Georgia Tech got any.

It's like, were you one of the four who voted FSU as conference champion this year? That would be a hell no. Look, I mean, I'm sure some people want to have fun with it and all that. And some of these media polls, I heard Bud Elliott say this the other day. He was a, I don't know which one it was. Maybe it was Big Ten. Talk about a lot of media members don't even fill these things out. It makes you wonder which ones from a,

newspaper, whatever, you've got an intern, like you're really working on an article? Are you filling it out? Or is the guy that is inter, I don't put a lot of stock in that because some 21-year-old who's a homer for Florida State or Miami or NC State, they're going to fill it out how they want it to be, not what they expect. Florida State should win seven or more games this year based on talent. If not, they failed. But to win the league after last year, look, I will be the happiest guy if that happens

because my show will be a lot easier to do. I can assure you. But if they win more than eight games, all three of us would be very surprised and people that actually understand football would be surprised as well. You see, Kenton, when I saw the results, it made me mad that I put like a good amount of effort

into my ballot. Like I'm like, I took it like, yeah, I didn't vote from, I did not vote for Miami number one. But coming out of them, maybe I should have Virginia Tech got a first place vote. Oh, come on. I nor Grayson voted for NC State for first.

So there's that. But, Brian, I do want to talk to you about one of the biggest, I wouldn't even call it departures, but change of roles in Florida State. Obviously, you talk about the D-line and how much talent they have. That D-line, which has been a kind of the trademark of FSU for all these years, has been led by O'Dell Higgins for decades. And he's moving to a very different and new capacity.

Is that something that you worry about in terms of replacing a literal living legend in the game in terms of O'Dell Higgins in that defensive line? Terrence Knighton is the new D-Line coach, aka this is one of the greatest nicknames of all time, pot roast. He is the new D-Line coach. He played the NFL like seven years. I don't know what all is normal for this kind of situation, but you were correct, Kenton. Higgins is a way. I remember him when I was coming out of high school. I'm going to be 52 later this month.

He's been around. So that's a long time. But he was out at practice on day one. Him and Knighton were standing next to each other and they were going through the sled drill. I mean, it's as generic as it gets. He lost his mind on a rep and told the guys to come back and do it. Knighton just stood there and watched and just enjoyed it.

So he's still involved. I don't know how that works. But he made it clear what needed to have. happened and nobody, nobody said anything. So O'Dell is still around. And I think it's good for the kids to still have a voice like him because he's a Hall of Fame assistant coach. He could have taken head coaching jobs, coordinator job. He never left Florida State. In this era, I really respect him. He was a great recruiter, great mentor, great coach. So I hope that works out. And he's some kind of associate AD role or something like that. But good for him. And he still gets to be around the program.

It's a happy win for Florida State. Great stuff here as always by Brian Smith. You want to follow him on X at FB Scout underscore Florida and at LO underscore the portal. The portal podcast that he hosts is awesome. They talk all things, NIL, transfer portal, of course, recruiting. Brian is awesome with that. It's a busy time of year for recruiting. And of course, check them out at Lockdown Seminoles. Thank you so much, Brian.

Enjoy the rest of your week. Appreciate it. Take care. And happy early birthday, brother. Yes, happy early birthday. He'll throw you a party. I'll take it. I'll take anything I can get at this age.

We'll get the man of cake. All right, coming up next, ESPN has Clemson in a tier of their own. You want to keep it locked right here. We're not done yet on this brand new episode of Locked on ACC. Folks, find out why GameTime is the only ticket app that we use. We've all been there. You log in early, you're waiting forever for concert tickets to go on sale, only to lose your spot for a show that you've been dying to see.

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Thank you for making Locked on ACC your first listen and your first watch. Now I do have a couple minor bones to pick with ESPN's new ACC. preview that they just dropped. This is not one of them. I see this as fair, given the Clemson defending ACC champs, number six in the coaches poll,

they might end up being top five in some of the other polls when they come out. So Kenton, the tiers for the ACC this year, ESPN has Clemson in a tier of their own, should be in the college football playoff. And then the next tier

is in the running where they've got Miami, Louisville, SMU, and Georgia Tech. And listen, I think that's fair. I know Brian Smith said earlier that, you know, Miami's talented enough they should be in the college football playoff. And I agree, but the fact that they haven't been there, I can understand why they would be in the running and not should be in. I don't know, Dono.

I mean, Cristobal told me that they haven't always had the talent. JK, that's an inside joke. But in all seriousness, you know, Miami talent-wise, they absolutely weren't being there. they've got to get over to can't get right on it. They have got to get over it. Dono, what year has they did, what year did Miami join the ACC?

2004. 2004, which means we are coming up or we are past two decades of them being in the conference. How many ACC championship do we have to show for it down in court games? Same number that I have. Hmm. Zero. Well, well, you know, you've got to get over that can't get right at us. because there have been some supremely talented Miami teams in the past. We have seen some Miami teams that have been spectacular,

that everybody said going into the year, oh, that team is going to work the wheels off some folks. And then something happened. They just fuddered. Even last year, everything's going right. And then you have a 21 point lead blown in Syracuse that kind of cost you a trip to the ACC championship game. So I believe that, you know, talent-wise,

Miami's there. No bones, let's make no bones about that. Let's not have any qualms or quarrels about that. But it is about the execution because talent, as Miami has shown us time and time again, not enough. Yeah. Here's actually a cool stat that I learned when going through this ESPN ACC preview. In this section, they call numbers to know. The first number to know is three. They note that they, hey, there are three new head coaches in the ACC this year, Bill Belichick. North Carolina, Frank Reich, who's interim at Stanford, and Jake Dipper. Yeah, Wake Forest. But this is the stat I hadn't thought about.

They say last season, the ACC's three new head coaches, which were Fran Brown at Syracuse, Manny Diaz at Duke, and Bill O'Brien at BC. They all had at least seven wins. That's a pretty cool stat, right? Three new head, because, I mean, usually if you're taking a job somewhere, it means there's a reason why the former coach is no longer there. and it might take you a couple years to build the program up. I mean, you know, Bill O'Brien, Boston College was, you know,

they didn't overachieve. I wouldn't say that. But the other two new coaches last year probably overachieved based on the expectations. Oh, to say they overachieved is an understatement. Brand brought himself on the map in the way that if he has an eight-win season with the gauntlet that he has this year, he said Newark is home. But, you know, you give somebody about 10 million reasons. they'll find a new home.

They'll get real comfortable in a new place. You give them enough reasons to go there. And, you know, you talk about Manny Diaz bringing in, he's part of the reason I said, Duke football needs to be a clue. They have a lot of continuity. Even if you talk about losing Malik Murphy, Malik Murphy was such an enigmatic quarterback. He could throw it 40 yards on a dime and all that good stuff,

but you're actually hit a swing route, and it would be the most frustrating thing that you've ever seen. So, you know, they're replacing him with Derrymanza. Yes, they're losing their top rushes and all. Like, yes, they're losing the top receiver. But with the amount that they're bringing back defensively, I struggle to see a world where it's like they can't be one of the top 25 teams. So I think that all of those coaches last year walked into situations that they turned into good.

I mean, let's be honest about Frank Brown. Soft schedule, but it was Syracuse. Dino Babers did not leave those covers full of, you know, plentiful. delightful delights. It just wasn't that. And he took what he had and turned into something special. I don't believe that we'll see that trend this year. I don't think any of

none of these new coaches will win seven games this year, not Belichick, not Dickert and not right. That's fair. And I wholeheartedly believe that. I whole whole heartedly believe that. You know, when people looked at the ACC the locked on ACC poll

where we had North Carolina like, was it 14th or 15th, Everybody's coming at me about it. Hey, hey, fun fact, I did vote an ACC poll in terms of the media one. I did not vote in a locked on poll because I thought it's too few voters and I can sway this in a very meaningful way. So I'm going to abstain for voting. So don't blame me. The North Carolina's back there. I ain't have nothing to do okay.

All right. So one thing that I noticed where I did I don't, I don't, this is not right. And I don't have any problem with the, and I also don't want to make it sound. like I'm criticizing the player because they went through this list here of three freshmen to watch in the ACC. And one of them that they listed was S.J. Alofai Tully, who's a new interior offensive lineman at Miami. Like nothing against, I think SJ is going to be a great player.

And you know how Miami recruits and develops offensive linemen. So I'm taking nothing away from SJ. But when you're talking about someone who's going to be at best your second string center, year probably won't get on the field a whole lot. There's a ton of other freshmen at Miami that I think are going to have a bigger impact this year. Again, taking nothing away from SJ over the next two to four years. But being out at practices, Kenton, the guy that keeps blowing me away is Malachi Tony,

true freshman receiver. You know, Miami's going to need some juice at slot receiver because they're replacing Xavier Restrepo. And Tony is like making eye popping plays every single day. So I would say he would be the freshman to watch there. The other two freshmen to watch that they have, Gideon Davidson at Clemson. I co-sign on that one because he has an opportunity to be right nearer at the top of their depth chart this year as a freshman at running back. And Dimitri's Samuel DB slash wide receiver at Syracuse.

I don't know a whole lot about him. Jackson Holzer is going to join us tomorrow. I don't know if this guy's going to try to play two ways a la Travis Hunter this year. You know, I'm going to tell you this much about Gideon. Not only does he have the opportunity, he has the talent. That young man is an absolute freak with the ball in his hands. It's really going to be about what's between the ears because dabbo has shown the propensity to play younger players, even if they don't get the entire playbook,

if they're supremely talented, a la Wesco last year. He played a ton of football last year, and he stated openly, my biggest thing right now is learning the playbook, learning where I'm supposed to be, how I'm supposed to go. So I believe that Gideon is going to have a lot of opportunity to get the ball and to do good things with the last year, especially with you look at back-to-back years of Clemson's leading rushers to party. You got Shipley two years ago gone. Last year, we got my foot as your leading rush are gone. So you're coming into a situation where everything else ready made around you. Multiple law conference offensive line.

Quarterback that is a Heisman frontrunner, multiple, you know, a receiver room that many people are saying. is top three in the country, and it ain't three, right? You bring in all of that, and then you say, well, if we could get a running back to just be serviceable, you could be the X factor that takes them over the edge. I think that Gideon has a great opportunity there. But like you said about the young man for Syracuse, I'm excited to have Jackson on tomorrow to talk about. Yeah, so Jackson is going to join us tomorrow, get his take on the early buzz from Syracuse training camp.

You know, we'll ask him who's standing out there. Thanks again to Brian Smith for joining us from Lodon, Locked on Seminoles and the portal on Lockedon. He is Kenton Gibbs. Make sure you follow him on X at TGIF underscore Kenton. Check him out at Lockdown Wolfpack. Check me out at Lockdown Cain's and on X at Alex Dono. And we'll talk to you again tomorrow on another episode of Lockdown ACC.

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