Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - Will These ACC Football Recruiting Trends Hold Up? | FSU Shocks UGA For This WR | Miami's Class

Episode Date: June 26, 2024

There are surprising recruiting trends in ACC football, as we’re just over five months away from National Signing Day for the Class of 2025. Can Georgia Tech and Duke stay in the top 20? Will Clemson finish with the best class in the ACC or will Miami get that for the third straight year? Will Florida State continue their momentum after beating Georgia for four star WR CJ Wiley? Can SMU surge up the board if they have a good first season in a power conference?Hosts Alex Donno and Kenton Gibbs are joined by Locked On Network recruiting expert Brian Smith. Brian discusses which ACC teams have the most recruiting momentum after a busy month of June official visits. Brian also weighs in on the current lawsuits between the ACC and Florida State University. How close are the Noles to breaking the Grant of Rights?Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInThese days every new potential hire can feel like a high stakes wager for your small business. That’s why LinkedIn Jobs helps find the right people for your team, faster and for free. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/lockedoncollege. Terms and conditions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.eBay MotorsFrom brakes to exhaust kits and beyond, eBay Motors has over 122 million parts to keep your ride-or-die alive. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to bring home that big win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers.FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. As playoffs wind down, the sports stop sporting like we want them to. But this summer, FanDuel is hooking up ALL CUSTOMERS with a boost or a bonus, DAILY!That’s right, there’s something for everyone, every day, all summer long! Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDONand add a big win to your summer bucket list!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.

Some really strange trends in ACC football recruiting, but how many of these trends are going to keep up into National Signing Day? You are Locked on ACC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. I love talking recruiting in the summer. We are locked on ACC. 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 Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Today's episode is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account and use code locked on college for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. On this episode, the recruiting overlord is going to tell us which ACC football team is going to finish with the highest ranked recruiting class when National Signing Day rolls around. Florida State is starting to gain some momentum.

Can Miami repeat what they've done the last couple years in recruiting? What about some surprises who are currently in the top 20? Alex Dono alongside Kenton Gibbs. Kenton, how you doing today? I'm great as always, baby. I'm ready to talk recruiting, which means we get to talk the deepest kind of ball, the guys who are going to be on campus in a little bit. So our recruiting expert, Brian Smith, is with us.

Now, Brian, obviously long way to go till National Signing Day, five months and change left. But at this moment, I don't know what's more. surprising Georgia Tech with the 17th rated class in the country at this moment or Florida State with the 63rd rated class. But I'd like you to talk about Florida State's momentum because on Tuesday they landed a big one and they shocked UGA who was the favorite for four star wide receiver C.J. Wiley. Florida State snatched him up as a verbal commit. Yeah, I remember going into the day thinking, we'll see if Florida State gets any.

anybody today, and I didn't even pay attention to the Wiley announcement, literally. And I cover Florida State. What's that tell you about the expectation? So when I opened up my computer, like right after he committed and it said Florida State, I did a double take. This is without a doubt the biggest shock this year for the class 25 regardless of the program. So good for the Knowles. They needed a big-bodied receiver.

Sir Milton, Georgia, this out of side of Atlanta. They won the 7-A title last year in Georgia. Great player. Could have picked any school in a country. That's big news from Norbel and his staff. The other side of that is what you were talking about originally. I think he's commitment number six, if I remember right? Florida State has slow out of the gate.

They are not known as a dominant staff in terms of recruiting, but evaluation, whether it's portal or otherwise. And they had a relationship with him for four years. That's what won it over. The other part, they backended all their visits. The June 21st weekend was Florida State's big one at about 20, 20 kids in. Several of those prospects are expected to make decisions in the next 10 days. They'll be at double digits by the end of the month of July, but they're still a little behind.

Are they going to finish in the 60s? No. It'll be a top 20 class conservatively, possibly a top 10 class. And right now it's just quality over quantity. But some of the schools you mentioned, like Georgia Tech, hats off, man. Let's be honest. How many times is anybody on this show or collectively made fun of Georgia Tech in the last five years. I know I've done it a ton. I mean, everybody does. They were awful. They've gotten better.

They got consistently better. That coaching staff's done a good job on the trail. They're getting a lot of three-star kids, but they're building their program. They're starting to get visits from players. I'm like, oh, okay. Now they're starting. Now you've got to get a couple of them, but it usually takes a year to, it's a slow process. And let's be really honest, you're not going to beat UGA for a lot of in-state kids.

It's just reality. But they're getting kids outside the state, too. So they're sneaky. They've got a really good quarterback. Maybe they can get over the hump this year and win some games. Surprise some people. Excuse me, but they're not the only team in the ACC that's right. Syracuse has got 24 commitments.

Yeah. Imagine trying to recruit to Syracuse in upstate New York. They're recruiting down south. Getting kids. They got the number 19 class by 24-7. ACC is topsy turkey that you really want. Well, you know, 24-7 has the crystal ball, but we've got the crystal balled on here on locked on.

And I think we've got a winner here. So tell me this. Let's get back to Wiley for a second because he's going to the school that you cover. And we all, all three of us have been in this game long enough to know, 17-year-olds, 18-year-olds, they change their minds like radio stations. So what are the odds that not only Wiley stays committed, but come signing day? he signs on the dotted line to plant the spear with the nose. I would be surprised if he changed.

He's a really rare kid. He's from an elite program on the north side of Atlanta, very educated, very balanced personality. Whether he scored a touchdown or dropped a pass, he has the same personality after every play. It's just his mentality. He plays with Cam Newton's seven-on program, which is a national deal. When they won the title in South Florida this year in a big tournament, same kid before and after the tournament, he's even keeled. And he talked about Florida State's relationship,

having a four-year bond, blah, blah, blah, all the things you think of, almost like a business partnership. This is why I'm combining my company with another instead of this one over here. Everybody picked Georgia, which is easy to do. It was Georgia's like, that was the guy Georgia wanted. How often does Georgia lose a prime guy in state?

Not often. They got their butts beat by Florida State. Florida State's offense is good, but Georgia's was good last year too. This is about relationships. And I know I've spoken to each of you about that numerous times. Florida State just won the long game here. They got in on him.

They may not have the greatest recruiting staff, but longevity matters. And Norville's offense probably a pretty easy sell for a receiver after having two guys get drafted last year too. By the way, when Brian Smith joins us to talk recruiting, he's brought to you by LinkedIn job. These days, every new potential hire can feel like a high-stakes wager for your small business.

That's why LinkedIn jobs helps you find the right people for your team faster and for free. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com slash locked on college. Terms and conditions apply. You know, Brian, USC, obviously we're ACC, but there is a tie in here. They've lost some high-profile recruits to recent decommits and flips. And another one that Miami is looking closely at is five-star safety Hilton Drake Stubbs, who had a recent Miami visit. There seems to be some momentum there. What's the latest and do you think the hurricanes could pull off that flip? It's going to be Florida or Miami. I spoke to Stubbs a couple weeks ago and he was point blank.

The other visits I'm going to take her forward to Miami. I am completely out on him, ended up at USC. Everything I've heard, I will be shocked. It's just distance, man. It's just distance. That's the same problem that they always have. USC gets commitments in the East every year. And they never hold off to them.

This is just par for the course. they got to do better in California, Arizona, Seattle, et cetera, maybe get a few more kids or Utah and Nevada. They're not going to get many kids out here. It's just too far. That's just the way it is. But they're about to get burned again. Maybe this will be the last year they make that mistake.

I don't know. But he is a heck of a player. Had a great visit to Miami. UF is the other school. That's the school he rooted for growing up. But, I mean, the swirl around Napier is pretty heavy. So this might drag out until he knows what the coaching. And it's not like Miami situation is great either.

Whoever wins that game to start the year, nobody will be more interested than Drake. He's probably a guy I would imagine he'll be at the game. So this is a very interesting recruitment. Great kid too, really great kid. You know, it's so interesting that you talk about the on the field results of that game because I want to talk to you a little bit about the overall essence of whose season or whose recruiting class, rather, could be impacted the most by their success

or lack the relevant in this upcoming season? What teams are you looking at that you would say, man, if they have a banner year, they could really take off for, I'll tell you what, if they have a tough year this year, all of that, that top bracket they have, poof, Van Moose, gone. The two schools we just talked about

are top of the board in both directions. Border Miami. It's year three for both the coaches and a lot of people are iffy on both of them. recruits in general. I had one kid unsolicited earlier this year. I would name out? He said, why would I go to Ford?

He's going to get fired. I was like, wow. And I was like unsolicited. And this is a guy, a dude. You know, I'll just leave it at that. But at the same time, if Florida comes back around and let's say they go eight and four this year to shock the world, their schedule is ridiculous for anybody that hasn't looked. It's bananas. They've had a ton of great kids on campus.

They've done a good job. considering the circumstances. And at the end of the day, it's the swamp, it's the SEC. It is state you, period. That's not hard to recruit to. It's probably a top five job. If they turn it around it all this year, they could do that. Miami's Ross's the same deal.

They got the quarterback. They got the offense line. I got all the defense. Either one of them has a special year. They could just load up and just go on a run. But the coaches, you know, it matters. Kids want an 04. sure that the head coach is going to be there.

Right now it's not a lock with either school. So those are the two. Outside of that, they're a handful, but the one I'll just bring it up, and I think it's garbage, but he keeps getting brought up. Ryan Day at Ohio State.

If they fire Ryan Day, if he goes 10 and two, I'm going to laugh. Who are you going to hire? I just want to throw that out there, just in general. And then the ACC in general, there's a lot of, you know,

people talking about DABO needs to, they're not firing DAVO. I've seen that. I'm sure Kenton's talked about that on this. Get out of here. Who are they going to hire that's going to be better than Davo to go run that program? So there's a lot of programs where the fans are just completely unrealistic. It's part for the course because fan is short for Fanatic.

Well, when we come back, I do want to ask Brian point blank, which ACC school is going to have the best recruiting class in the class of 2025. So my friends, you want to keep it locked right here. We are only getting started on this brand new episode of Locked on ACC. No, I'm only getting started with game time. Guys, this is the only ticket app that I use because I am always getting the best prices and the prices get better, the closer it gets to that sporting event. Guys, we all love going to Major League Baseball games during the summer. Game Time is an authorized ticket marketplace of Major League Baseball, which makes getting tickets faster and easier.

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Locked on College for $20 off. Download game time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Thank you so much for making this episode of Lockdown ACC your first listen and your first watch today. Locked on 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. It's called Locked On Sports Today. It's here for you 24-7 covering the 10. Top sports stories of the day with the local experts of locked on, plus our national shows covering every league. Find Lockdown Sports today now available on the free Fire TV channels app. So we got a recruiting overlord, as I call him, Brian Smith here with Kent and Gibbs and I. So, you know, Brian, Clemson, Clemson has the top at the moment recruiting class in the ACC at number seven nationally.

There are obviously there are some surprises like Georgia Tech right now at number 17. Syracuse and Duke at 20 and 21. Both have a ton of verbal commits. Miami right now down at 33, Florida State, right now down at 63, Louisville 62, NC State 61. It's a marathon not a sprint. So come National Signing Day in December, who do you think is going to have the top recruiting class in the conference? Miami would be the easiest pick. I don't see any reason to pull away from that notch. prove me wrong. The one thing that staff does really well is recruiting. They work as hard as any staff to the country. Obviously, you know that firsthand.

Florida State will make the biggest jump of any school in the country because they're only six commitments. They'll finish in the top four, but I think Clemson will be the number two class quite possibly. Their D-line and their offensive line recruiting is phenomenal, and they've got some pretty good skill kids. Clemson also needs the hit with these high school kids. Let's just bringing it up.

I know it's beating a dead horse. They don't take portal kids. They got to start taking more high school kids just volume to keep up close to 85 scholarships. That's reality. So look for Clemson to go into overdrive and try to get closer to 25 commitments. And then there might be a surprise. Like Georgia Tech is my kind of dark horse team this year. They've got a veteran quarterback and such.

Don't be surprised they get a couple of kids later in the cycle because they're going to have a pretty good year. I think Georgia Tech's a team to watch. Well, let's touch on the team you talked about a little bit there in Clemson, right? You talked about they're hitting big and they have to. They have to because of the way that that team is set up. One of the areas in which I believe that shows what your coaching staff is about the most and is a reason that I'm a big, big believer in Michigan's coaching staff is offensive line development. The way that you develop those big guys is what it's all about.

So let me ask you this. With the struggles that we've seen from Clemson in terms of producing offensive linemen who are going to be first rounders, right? because we've seen them get top tackle in the nation. We've seen them get, you know, classes where you say multiple offensive linemen are really good. Do you think that this is more of a they haven't recruited the volume of really good tackles or they haven't developed the tackles that they've gotten or a mix of both? What do you think that is for them offensive?

I would lean strongly towards development because they've had a few guys that were high four-star and five-star guys that were good. They got drafted, but they didn't end where we thought they would. look, there's no nice way to say sometimes development's not what it needs to be. Nobody's complaining about Clemson's development on the D-Line. It's as good in the last decade as any school, if not the best, in college football. O-Line has not been the same. I'm not saying they couldn't be there, but just as an example,

they got Braden Jacobs committed this year. It's a kid from Beaufort, obviously a tradition-rich program. Florida State and Georgia and all these programs are after. He's committed to Clemson. This is the guy they got to take and this has got to be your future left tackle. He's got to be your dude. They don't get enough to these guys anyway.

You have to develop him if you're going to beat Georgia. If you're going to beat Penn State or Texas or Notre Dame or Southern. Whatever it is in a play in a playoff when you're going against an NFL edge rusher. You can play a great defense, but you've got a score. And their offensive line has been okay? Remember last year when they had all those struggles in the red zone? Yeah. Hard of it's the old line.

They were pretty good, but were they as good as like something other, like the linebacker group or the deal? No, that's got to come up. You know, Brian, you cover so many high school athletes in recruiting. You talk to so many of these players. You have a pretty good pulse of what's going on. Is it all this conference realignment talk that's happening now? Like, how common is it where you talk to a kid who's being recruited by, you know,

better teams within the ACC who tells you, but I really want to. want to play in the SEC or I really want to play in the Big Ten? Like how often do you encounter stuff like that? A little bit. I know I had mentioned to you last year, T.J. Lindsay picked Auburn over Miami because it was in the SEC. But that was an outlier. Like I didn't know anything about it. He just brought it up to me. I'm like, whoa, that's a great quote. So it does happen. But I think it will be more acute now that it's really a big two. There are four conferences, but we know the two that matter. And I know this is the ACC, but like the Big Ten and SEC are way ahead.

It's just true. The question is how much of that is still going to be mitigated because of location. ACC for a recruiting perspective, much of the conference is just right where it needs to be. Georgia Tech's in the middle of it, Clemson, Florida State. It's proximity. So it depends on the school. ACC's weird because Boston College is in the ACC, but they're not in a good spot. They're not.

Syracuse is not a good spot. Virginia. okay, but their academics get away. There are some other weird things with it. The SEC's just got the cachet and they've got the big payouts. I'm going to ask, I'm coming up on an event later this week, literally. That question, it's ironic that you mentioned it. Does that matter to you in your final decision?

It's called Future 50. Under Armour puts it on. It's an IMG Academy. I go every year. These are elite players that will have 30 and plus offers. I'm just going to ask every kid, how much does the SEC mean to you? Because now that this has been out with the Big Ten expanding, the ACC lawsuits and all that with Florida State, you've heard rumblings with North Carolina, Clemson, Sue, like, I'm curious what that means because it's time to ask that question to each kid. It's awkward, but I don't see how it's avoidable.

We need to know the direct details. Well, you know, there's absolutely an argument there in terms of how the conference realignment affects every team and affects the teams in those conferences that are, in the power four technically, but you're not one of the big two. With that in mind, tell me about what you think in recruiting in terms of the middle of the pack or the best of the rest, right? Because we know when it comes to recruiting in the ACC, Florida State is going to be there. Miami's going to be there. Clemson is going to be there.

Georgia Tech is obviously one of the surprises. But when you think about that group, when you think of Georgia Tech, Syracuse, NC State, UNC, Wake Force, those types of schools that are kind of middle of the road, maybe even lagging behind Virginia Tech can be in. that group too. Who do you think, who do you look at there to say they're prime to have a big year in terms of recruit? NC State and Louisville. It's easy picks here, man. I know people will think I'm just being nice to Kenton because that's where he played. But NC state staff, they recruit to their scheme

really well. They, I mean, I've known a few of the kids they've taken, especially in the trenches that I'm like, this gets fit. They run a very unique defense. They run a lot of three. man line stuff. You take certain body types. If you don't get it, I don't care who you have on the defensive side coaching. You're toast.

They keep getting guys that fit their scheme. And every year they're playing with juniors, seniors and fifth year seniors. That's how you win, man. If you ain't going to have five star kids, you need to have experienced. Kids have been through the weight room, et cetera.

The other one, this is where it's unique. And I'm curious on this one. I'd like your two opinions. Louisville is a basketball school. It will always be a basketball. a basketball school. The Bromkin coach. They've got a lot of NIL and they focused on the portal.

I get that. I know he would like to bend a little more towards high school, but he wants to get a certain level of kid too. He's kind of in a tough spot because eventually you've got to eat it. And you just got to take the kids in red shirt and play with the younger roster. He's not the most patient guy. Do you think they could start getting, again, their NIL is sick thing, how much they got?

They could get some four and five star kids if they just got rid of what they take. 33, 34, portable kids, it was ridiculous. Yeah. They cut back to like 10, 12 and said, okay, we're probably not going to be great this year, but we're going to play freshman and sophomores. That second year, do you think they could? Because they're the kind of sleeping giant,

because he's an elite coach, play caller and all that. He's an NFL guy, I think if he ever leaves Louisville, it's the NFL, and that's it. Do you think they could? Because that's my other pick. Well, in terms of could, I would say flat out, no. I don't think that Louisville can at any point in time sustain that type of recruiting. Even though I would love to see him do it, it's not even so much about the basketball thing as much as what you talk about a lot in terms of proximity.

It's the same problem that I see with Kentucky in terms of Kentucky gets a lot of guys from Florida and all those places, but it's still a trek in terms of proximity. And if you want to make that proximity jump, you have to be a brand that people think of that are worthy. People were talking about Brown potentially having a breakout year this year. And Donno and I both discussed what more does he need to do? He went to the ACC championship in year one for Christ's sake. What does a breakout year look like? But that's the brand, right?

If we're talking about Mario Cristobar going to an ACC championship and losing, people are ready to build a statue outside of Rock Hard for him at that point in time. If you talk about some of the other prolific brands in the ACC, if they win at that level, they're absolutely going to get that love. And even brands that are premier, but they're very niche to their region like Virginia Tech. They have that.

For whatever reason, Louisville just doesn't have it. So in my opinion, I think Brahm is doing it the right way and loading up in Port-O-Ga-Ga-Gus because it's a lot less recruiting intensive on the coaches during the year. I got to say, I disagree a little bit because, first of all, Brian mentioned their NIL, assuming that's sustainable, right? I mean, we're so new into this NIL thing, right? You never know.

And obviously, there were some rumors when they were losing kids through the portal. But as far as I can tell, Louisville's had really strong NIL the past couple of years. And also, and Brian knows this as well as anybody, they've really made an effort to recruit South Florida. And they've actually made quite a bit a headway. I mean, they're close in proximity to Kentucky, but Kentucky doesn't recruit the Dade Broward County area the way that Louisville does. Like, that's kind of part of their culture ever since Charlie Strong. was there to really to heavily to heavily recruit south florida so i don't know i mean would would they ever be able to recruit you know the way Miami recruits the way florida state recruits and obviously

they're not going to stay at 63 for very long i don't know if they could ever get into that conversation but when you have a strong nil and when you spent quite a bit of time over the past 12 13 years really focusing on one of the richest hotbeds in the country for high school talent i think they could creep into that again. So I'm a little bit, I'm a little bit more, more on, I guess, the pro-Luble side in that regard. That's the program that's interesting because Tenton's right. Proximity is not in their favor. If they don't have the NIL, this conversation doesn't happen. That's true. You're not. So you've got to have a happy medium there, but they also need a Messiah. They don't need the same guy that's now in Baltimore playing quarterback,

but they need somebody, again, that's going to make them cool to get them over to the top, especially with defensive guys. For all the coaches, offense, they'll get receivers and running backs. Not worry about that. They need those guys that are as big as Kenton come out of high school. They can play in the training. It's just true, like, the difference between the elite teams, it's the guys up front. Same thing every year. And I'll tell you this.

Now, that is the one area I will disagree with you because I think that they've done a decent enough job in the trenches to be in a bunch of portal in high school. The place that I think Louisville is having the biggest problem, like you said, that Messiah, that quarterback, you have to have it. You have to have it. I don't understand how you go from who was the guy last year?

He was a plumber. Jack Plummer to Tyler Shuck this year. What are you doing, man? Go out there. I would have given, I would have given Cam Ward a blank check, literally. I would have said whatever you, whatever number you want to put, we will find a way to come up.

Whatever number you want to put down, brother, put down the number, we'll find a way. With Brahm and him, that was a dope. And that's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying. Of all these positions that they go out and get, and this is not, you know, Brown knows that roster better than me. Far being for me to say I can do his job better than him. But the reality is, I firmly believe when you look at that team last year,

you were a good quarterback away from multiple either dominating, wins or outright wins. If you have a good quarterback, you beat Florida State last year. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You're going to win that game. But instead, you had Clumber, who was, who just looked unsurious, not saying that he wasn't a serious quarterback about his profession. He just was not good. So, you know, you're looking at Shuck now, who I don't believe is ever thrown for 3,000 yards in a season. And we're telling us. He doesn't play a lot. He gets injured all the time. And we're telling ourselves that you're going to put your wagon, hit him. your wagon to Mr. Paper, skin, and glass bones?

This is, you know, but, but I do think that if Louisville gets that quarterback, they, for some reason, they have consistently had a defense that is physical, fast, swarming, which is all you can ask for from a defense. They consistently have that. They need the quarterback. If they can get the quarterback position to sort out, you are right. That sleeping giant will be woken up with some magic beans to make sure nobody can reach up that stop.

Well, I got to ask Brian when we come back to put on his Locked-on Seminole's hat. When it comes to all these lawsuits, you want to keep it locked right here on Locked on ACC. In addition to being the recruiting expert on this network, Brian Smith is also the host of Locked on Seminoles. And I know, Brian, you love talking ball, like you love talking X's and O's, but you got all these distractions out there in the courtroom. Florida State suing the ACC, the ACC suing Florida State, the Florida Attorney General, getting in involved in suing the ACC. What are you hearing in Florida state circles? Like how close do they feel they might be into some kind of a breakthrough,

maybe a settlement, an exit path from the ACC? The last conversation I had was with somebody much closer to the situation than me that's a lawyer that follows Florida State. I'll leave it at that. And he said, this is a deal where it's just getting dragged out. The ACC, their number one go, it's not Florida State deal. they know once the barrier is broken, it doesn't have to be forced.

They can be any of the schools. The other programs in the ACC are going to be like, oh, why not us? They know it's over. So they're going to drag this out and try to get everything they can to delay, delay, delay. That's first point.

Second, it's trying to manipulate that number. And again, ACC doesn't want any number because they're done once that happens. They can't lose Florida State or Clemson. And those are the two most likely to leave. Like the football brand is done. The TV contract will go on the toilet. ESPN and all of them will not want it.

And you know, if you make ESPN mad in football like them or not, they annoy me to death. But they're the main cog in college football. That's a problem. So I'm hearing a lot of back and forth under the table with the negotiation or what the number could be. And I haven't heard a solid number in a long time. Have you guys? I have not. No. That's the key because, like, again, that tells me what I had heard from my buddies,

pre-accurate. They're trying to delay, delay, delay. Because no number works for the ACC, because soon as the crack and the dame is open, you set what they call on quarterback precedent. It's a very bad word for ACC right now. If either one of Clemson or Port of State is able to leave, even if they pay out, that opens the door for North Carolina, for North Carolina state, or anybody else that would want to jettison and go to the Big Ten or the S&, I'm hearing the Big Ten might be more likely because they, Dono and I talked about this before. They want a footprint in the South.

If you get Florida State, you got four to market. You'd get some of the Atlanta market. They'd be all over that. And they'd be in the heart of SEC country, which, let's be honest, the two conferences do not like each other. So the ACC is in a really bad spot. The only thing they can really do is delay. So I don't know what their next measurement is.

I know they just got, they lost their, for something to do with stay or whatever it is in Tallahassee they lost that it's all these just little body blows though there's no big news that i've heard yeah and it's like and kenton and i talk about this so much like the crazy thing about it is that we're not even at the point where the judges are like ruling on really who's right and who's wrong they're just ruling on where are we going to see this ridiculous this is taking a better part of a year just for that That is also proof that the ACC just wants to go right out the door every chance they can just to lay. Let's get another two weeks.

That's all they can do. They're not going to win in the court of public appeals. They're not. No. So this isn't going to end well for them. It's just try to drag it out as long as they can. It could be three, four years. These kind of things can take forever.

Well, that's so interesting, Smitting, because we have a day coming up here. What is it, Donald? Was it six days? or so where Dono 30, five day, or four, four days, June 30th. Yeah, Dono and I have committed to bringing out the robes and the cigars because we were told that Florida State and Clemson would both magically be out of the conference by June 30th.

And not only that, but that the whole conference would collapse by June 30th. What are the odds that me, you, and Dono, none of us got that phone call directly from somebody that matters if that was true. You know, I've been putting in calls. I've been putting in a... My phone would explode. I'd be really pissed because I booked a non-refundable hotel stay at the ACCC Media Days in about three and a half weeks. Like I booked it through my credit card site non-refundable, so I'm going to Charlotte one way or the other.

I got my hotel book. There it is, brother. Look, I... Based on what? These things, they haven't even got the... court case is done. You think the ACC they're going to say, okay, you guys go ahead and have precedent and you can leave?

Get out of here. You know, it's good to not be delusional. Who know? Who know? But anyway, to that end, to that end of not being delusional, as much as we talk about Florida State and Clemson are very much

the top dogs and the ACC would not want them to leave, there's a reason there's a court case court cases going on and they have it just left. Let's explore the possibility for a moment. this does not end up in the drip, trickle, flood type of way that these schools start getting out. Let's hypothetically say the ACC wins all five of these cases, and there ends up being nearly a half a billion dollars that has to be paid out if these teams want to leave. What then in that reality does it look like for Florida State?

I guess they're in the ACC. Do you really think they're paying $400 million or whatever? whatever it is. I forget the number. Well, so the number is supposed... Yeah, so the number is supposed to be $150, but the rights to their games in perpetuity up until it's over is where the big bucks are at. And so...

If they lose 100%, 2036 is the year they would. I mean, that's it. There's no way in the world it's going to be that. Everything is negotiable. It's the old course. We all know that. There is no way you're going to pay a half a million. I'm sorry. They don't have it. That's it. Nobody does.

I mean, who does? Yeah. That's what I'm saying. There are only a few schools that could do that. They're private schools, you know, like Ivy League, Stanford, Notre Dame, except they got billion dollar endorse. Texas A&M's got an $18 billion endowment. Okay, they can.

They're an oil school. Florida State is not. It is not a school that's well off financial. It's not. They are stuck if that happens. That is the other ed. So it's a good point that Kenton brought this up in why they're trying to trickle, drip, just play it out because they don't force they ain't got to cash.

I've heard about how they're trying to do it through alternate means and all that, but it ain't going to be 500. I already been told that way, that ain't, that ain't workable. Two something, maybe. Then you're starting, you know, getting down to brass tax. But that's like half. Come on, bro. I mean, 500?

Smith, it doesn't hit us with the got to be two something to do something. Oh, exactly. This is. Well, we've said a lot today. We appreciate Brian. Smith for joining us. Follow him on exit FB Scout underscore Florida. Brian, enjoy, I was going to say enjoy your weekend, but it's Tuesday. The team I cover, the hockey team I cover just won the Stanley Cup. I don't know what week it is. I don't know what day it is. I'm just here. Brian, enjoy the rest of

your week, sir. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Always a great job by Kent and Gibbs as well. Make sure you follow his other show, Locked on Wolfpack. Follow my other show at Lockdown Cains, and we'll talk to you guys again tomorrow on another episode of Locked on ACC. part of the awesome Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day.