The Bobby Bones Show - Lots to Say: 2x Super Bowl Champion Logan Ryan on NFL Playoffs and NIL Future

Episode Date: January 8, 2026

Bobby Bones and Matt Cassel welcome 2x Super Bowl Champion Logan Ryan to the podcast! Logan talks about his journey from the football field to being a broadcaster.  Logan had the chance to call Myles Garrett getting the sack record, but was it worth a stoppage of play? Mike Vrabel has brought a new swagger to the Patriots and coaches regardless of winning or losing.   How does the game change during the playoffs?  Logan look the matchup between the Chargers and Patriots.  The Bills are headed to the Jaguars and Matt wonders if Jacksonville is being overlooked.  How does a rivalry matchup between the Packers and Bears change in the playoffs?  Looking at the 49ers/Eagles matchup, Logan feels this game comes down to coaching.   If the MVP award is between Drake Maye or Matthew Stafford, who does Logan think wins it? Bobby asks how much prep time Logan has for the games he's calling.  Moving over the College Football, Logan gives his thoughts on NIL and the Portal.  How does it affect the players going through college and ultimately the NFL?   Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Cassel is part of the NFL Podcast Network See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Search 40s and free agents and listen now. Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and IHeart Podcasts. We got lots to say. Yeah, we got lots to say. Now here's Bobby and Matt. Hey, everybody. We're going to talk with Logan Ryan in a second.

Logan played the Patriots, the Titans, the Giants, the Bucks, and the Niners before he ended. He's got two Super Bowl rings. Which we got to wear them. We like this out. Yeah, it was really nice. I put one on my toe. Have you met him?

He was on my team with the Titans. I'm playing. Oh, okay, good. You guys did not cross over with the Patriots. No, we didn't cross over. He came in after me. I think he was drafted in 13, I want to say, or something like that. Do you guys, are you around each other at all if you're on the offense and he's a defensive

player? Not as much as you think, because offense kind of does their own thing. Defense does their own thing. But when you come into a locker room, you've got team meetings, all that stuff. you're eating we're pretty much around each other and so i got to know logan and he is an exceptional person great guy huh great great dude and then when you see him as a player i mean he was the true definition of professionalism he'd come in he'd be prepared he'd work hard in practice he had a great motivational voice for that defense you saw him always communicating doing all those things so

i just always had the utmost of respect for him and loved him as a guy both of you guys have baller kid, kids, athlete kids. I mean, they better be or they're not, they're getting water and their cereal.

Don't come home with a loss. Is that a thing? Water and cereal as a punishment? No. I've never heard that. If you just came up with that,

that's nice. I did hear somebody say that one time and I was like, that's actually pretty good. Yeah, you should have taken credit for it. I came up with it. Drafted in the third round,

went to Ruggers, won two Super Bowls, led all NFL rookies and interceptions with five in 2013. Yeah, super great guy And if you go onto YouTube You can look for an episode we did at his house

I got to know Logan a little bit Because he was back here doing some stuff And he came into the show And we talked about all this But we went to his house And he's such an athlete Oh, he's a freak athlete We played pickleball though

And I would go back and replay him Because we played pickleball It was super windy on his court Oh, are you making excuses? Did he beat you? I wasn't in my pickleball game yet I hadn't really focused He has a court.

I hadn't really started to be the player that I am now. Right. So you've evolved. It would be like playing defense against you in high school and claiming that you were way better than Matt Castle. You didn't get to who you were. Okay, that's fair. Yeah. So he played high school, me.

Now I'm Matt Castle. So you would go out there. You think if you went back, head to head, you'd take him down. Yeah. I feel pretty. I mean, I kind of want to watch this. Can we set this up? Well, I'm still, you know, nursing the ankle.

Nursing the ankle. be back soon. Anyway, we love him, and let's go over to him now. It's like I've watched him turn into a butterfly. He was a, he's a little caterpillar when I met him in the world of broadcasts. And he said, I'm going to be somebody someday. And I've watched him be somebody. He's now an analyst for CBS. And he's also the co-founder of Ryan Animal Rescue Foundation, which supports shelters and rescues through funding, education, and adoption-focused initiatives. If you want more information about that, R-A-R-F.org. Here he is, Logan, Ryan. Logan, what's up, buddy? What's up, guys? You know, the first time we met, it was you going, I think I'm retired, and I think I want to try to do broadcast.

And now you're killing it. Look at this. It's awesome, dude. I don't know about killing it. I'm trying, but I would say you put me on, Bobby, I hopped on your show a few years ago, and you told me, you know, I would be okay at this one day. And you're, you know, you were taking PJs to your comedy shows and whatnot. I'm like, one day, that's what I want to be. grow up. I want to be Bobby Bones. So how did you guys meet? You guys did a show together?

Yeah, he was in Nashville. He just came by the show. He just came by the show. But then we stayed in touch, and he's done the show. And I went to his house and worked out with him. He wants to like, you guys worked out together. He wants to flex on me. That's a brawl. And he came to the barn. People know about the, the Ryan family ranch we have here in Tampa. And Bobby came to the barn. He came to the wait room. We did some one-on-one routes out there. That's something on the internet. You could imagine how that went down. I think I was just quarterbacking, though. Yeah, you're a quarterback and giving us tips. Yeah.

I want to say this before we talk about ball is that, is there a single seven-year-old that can touch your kid on the playing soccer? I watched his whole highlight tape last night. Watch the whole thing. Is he heads and shoulders above everybody? We don't know, right? I don't know all the seven-year-olds ranked. I think there's people that literally rank seven-year-old teams.

That's pretty sad. But we did take him out to L.A. because we heard that's where the best seven-year-olds are. And my son doesn't really play his age. He usually plays up with eight, nine, and ten-year-olds. But he had a chance to go with the top seven-year-olds, they say, in L.A., and he was head and shoulders better than them. So he did his thing.

I'm happy for him. He works really hard. And a lot of people think he's just good because he's my son. I'm not that good at soccer, two different sports. And he works really hard at it. And he has big dreams to play for Team USA one day. So, Matt, as you know, I know you got a bunch of those kiddos. Yeah, none of them are ranked right now either.

I'm not taking my kids out of state to go get ranked, though. I promise you that. But, yeah, we got a bunch of them. Yeah, and we just put up to see what the competition was like. 100%. He went and did his thing. So it's cool. And, you know, you learn a lot for being an athlete.

And he knows he knows he's learning what that's like. And if you want your dreams, I'm going to support it. But I'm going to show you what it takes to be those things, which he knows a lot of hard work. You know, now that you're in media and come over to the dark side a little bit, but what's been the most rewarding part of being able to explain the game through your eyes now that you're in the media? I mean, I think that's it right there, right?

I just try to be a bridge, I guess, from the players to maybe some guys in media that haven't been around the game in a long time. I think the game has changed, Matt, as you know. A lot of offenses changed, a lot of defense have changed. and being recently retired from two seasons ago, I'm able to kind of tell that story and, you know, fortunate to be able to call Miles Garrett you know, sack there the other day

and explain what that's like. I mean, I don't know what that's like as a player, but the best I could. I think it was a really cool moment in my immediate career to be able to be on that call for a historic call like that. Let's talk about that specifically since you brought that up. Zach Taylor after the game, a little upset that they stopped the game,

although I didn't feel like it was like a LeBron-type stop or they stop and throw confetti. It was quick and then they celebrated on the sideline. Did you feel like that stoppage? Because it was a very pivotal part of the game. Did you feel like that was too much then? I don't know what Zach Taylor was told by the refs. We were told from CBS from the production that if Miles were to get the sack early in the game

or in the first half, they would stop the game. But if the game was competitive or down the stretch, they wouldn't. That's what we were told because we have to know how much time to talk about it, replay it. that was in the fourth quarter of a one-score game. And, you know, I don't know if the Bengals were expecting the Browns have to call timeout, use a timeout to have it. But when it happens, the Bengals were in tempo. And the Browns all rushed the fields.

So they all the, I mean, there's not 12 men on the field. There's 37 men on the field. Right. And the Bengals are lined up. Like, hey, like, we're in tempo. We're trying to keep the tempo going. So they felt like it really messed up their flow. but that's such a historical

play and the game had no meaning other than draft order and whatnot. So I think it's a very unique situation, but I see both sides. I see the Bengals side of it because they weren't told that that was going to happen and I see the refs, the NFL, say,

hey man, like we got to honor this. So it was not clearly explained. We were told something differently on TV that didn't play out. Yeah, but I agree with you. It wasn't for a division title. This is a record that's been standing for, what, 20 years? And Miles Garrett just did something that was extraordinary.

I think that the game needed to be stopped at that point just to recognize the moment. True? I definitely feel like that moment, you know, needed to happen. But on Zach Taylor's defense, he don't know if he's getting fired. Maybe he does or doesn't. You don't know if these last games matter in terms of your job security and whatnot. And you want to win the game as well. I think the Brown should have been used to timeout.

Okay, stop the game, but call timeout. for the Browns to give Mile Garrett his moment. So I feel like that's what it is, call a time out for that moment. But regardless, the game should have been stopped. And I'm happy for Miles Garrett. He's really deserving when you get to know the guy. He's obviously a freak of nature,

but he works really hard at it. And he's a historian of the game. He's a really good person. So I think he's deserving. You played for Vrable as he was coaching in a playoff game, I believe. What does he say to you guys? And what does he say to his team in Newark? England. Can you give me a little background in that?

Well, I think Rable, like the playoffs aren't out of reach when Mike Rayble was your coach. He's making that a true possibility similar in New England, Matt, where, you know, the season doesn't start to have for Thanksgiving. We got to still getting better. And, you know, New England won a lot of games this year, probably more than maybe some of these players thought. But Mike, you know, always says, like, I'm going to coach the wins as hard as I coach the loss. So it doesn't catch up to us. And I think that's why the Patriots haven't been caught up on because although they're succeeding and people aren't expecting it, they're expecting it and they're also getting coach hard after their wins, which prepare you for this.

So I think he takes it game by game and he makes you believe like, yo, if we win the next game, oh man, we're an indivisional round. Oh, we're a game away from the Super Bowl. Who would have thought Mike Rable truly believes he can coach to win every single game? And he's literally good enough to give his team a chance to win every single game just by coaching alone because he's as good as any coach I played for. The 2026 NFL draft is here and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. Join me, Greg Rosenthal and Jordan Roderig after night one on Thursday.

Nick Shook joins me night two Friday and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh. We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks. Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and free agents.

The games may be over, but the NFL never stopped. This is my favorite part of the calendar. Yeah, mine too, Greg. Free agency, the Combine, the NFL draft Pro Days, trades. This is where teams reshape their future. This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money. On 40s and free agents, we break down every move that actually matters. From my draft evaluations, mock drafts, and team fits,

to my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts, and all the tough decisions included. You got quarterbacks on the move. We got teams rebuilding. It's hope season. Yeah, absolutely. It's hope season. We'll tell you what's real, what's noise, and what it means for your favorite team.

Smart analysis, real conversations every week. I don't know about the smart, but definitely analysis. Listen to 40s and free agents on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Talk a little bit about that mentality because a lot of people don't understand how they hold you accountable and like the New England system

that we grew up in and now Mike Vrable and what that exactly means because I feel like it almost was harder during wins versus losses. Yeah, so if you lost a game in New England, it's almost like it caught up to us, right? These habits of not closing out games, right? Say we're up by three touchdowns

and you're on defense and the coaches say, we're up three touchdowns, but don't let your guard down, close the game out. And you let the team, the other team score a meaningless touchdown. And you win by 14 instead of 21. Well, then when you're in a tight game and they score that meaningful touchdown, it's like, we've told you guys for three weeks. And that's how Mike Vrable is. Like, you never know when that mistake's going to cost us.

You fumble when you're up. You're like, oh, whatever, who cares? But then you fumble in the final two minutes of a game, right? So he's coaching in the wins equally as hard. So when you lose, it's almost like, see, this is a habit that we let go. And a lot of other teams or some teams just coach the result. Oh, we won. We're not going to watch the tape.

Oh, we won. The fumble doesn't matter. He's kind of coaching the habits the same, if not harder in the wins, so that when you're in the tight game, when you're in the playoffs, you're not making these careless mistakes that end up costing you your season. So I just think he coaches ahead of it. He doesn't coach the results. He coaches the habits.

And that's something you've got to get used to as a player because you're always judge on your results. You won the game, everybody's great. You lost the game. You're the worst player in the world. I think Rable stays much more level-headed than that. And that's what you need in the playoffs

because there's that much pressure in those moments of, you know, your season ending. Does it amplify, how much does it amplify as you're going into week one of the playoffs from regular season to, you know, starting the tournament?

It's March Madness. It's a truly whole new season. Like, it literally does not matter what you did. obviously seating matters. But, you know, on the season, you're going to pull from the players you know that made plays that you can trust. Like, who can I trust to win the game?

I think you got to understand that both coaching staffs are normally good. You know, that coach on the other side had a really good year too. That quarterback on the other side had some comeback wins as well. So that team's used to winning as well. You're not, sometimes in the NFL you play teams that once they start doing bad, they can't bounce back. where just because you're up against the chiefs doesn't mean they're not going to come back, right?

So everything's amplified because the person on the other side the ball is equally as good as you. And I think it's going to come down to little things and those practice habits and all that stuff pays off. But it's completely a whole new season, Bobby. I think with the NFL being as wide open as it is this year, not having the big dog quarterbacks in the race, not having Mahomes and Burrough and Lamar Jackson,

is completely wide open. And you're going to have the most upsets, or I would say lower seats winning games, in my opinion, that we've had in the playoffs in a long time. Well, look at this matchup that's coming up between the Chargers and the Patriots. When you look at the Chargers and Herbert, the explosive nature of it,

what does the Pat's defense need to do? Is it contain him in the pocket? Is it to limit explosives pressure? Like, what's your key for the defensive unit for the Patriots to slow down this Chargers offense? I'm comfortable with this matchup. I really am for the Patriots. I think the Patriots pull this off.

They got to limit the explosive plays. I look at the Chargers. Herbert's been beat up. They obviously rested him so you can think he's going to feel a little fresher. But their offensive line has been decimated. They don't have their tackles. And that's been a huge part. So the Patriots don't have elite edge rushers, but they have a really good team pass rush.

And I think against a banged up O line, that's going to work really well. I look at their receivers. They have Keenan Allen and Ladd-McConkie, elite route runners, but possession guys. And I look at the Patriots. They have Carlton Davis and Christian Gonzalez. These guys stay square. They put hands.

They're not going to create a lot of separation against those corners. So I really like the Patriots D-Bs matching up in this. I really like the D-line. So I feel as if defensively, they match up really well against the Chargers. Chargers are going to try to run the ball. But as long as they don't let up the big plays,

I don't see how the Chargers put up enough points. On the other side of the ball, Drake May is so good against man and zone defense, the Chargers live in zone defense. He's been so good all year, Drake May, that is. So I think he'll be comfortable back there, picking apart the zone defense at the Chargers run. And as long as they don't like turn the ball over or give up crazy, fluky, explosive plays,

I think the Patriots methodically run away from the Chargers. The Bills and Jags are super interesting to me because it's Josh Allen, can he finally do it, versus the Jags, nobody really expected them to be here. And they have developed the Us Against the World Mentality. Did you ever play on a team that was a, we're not getting respect, us against the world mentality? That's literally the Tennessee Titans.

I mean, that's, I left the Patriots, to the Titans and Free Agency. And we got Mike Rable. And Bobby, you know, we end up being like a sixth seed going on the run. We beat Tom Brady in his last game, which is hard to do. We beat, you know, the 14 and 2 Baltimore Ravens that had MVP Lamar Jackson. And we were literally called the hyenas. Like Tom Brady put out a video before our first game, before the wildcard game.

Al, he was the king of the jungle. And it was like a lion. And Vrable took the video, put it in our meeting, and was like, well, if he's a lion, we're a pack of hyenas. So he had like a bloody hyena picture up of a hyenas hunting a pack and they're like the disrespect. You know, they live in the shadow realm and Lion King. I don't know if you saw it. They're not allowed to touch the light.

So we literally rode the whole hyena wave and were, you know, a famous old tall tail, a half away from beating Patrick Mahomes and going to the Super Bowl as a sixth seed. So I literally felt that exact thing that the Jags are feeling when I was on a Tennessee Titan in 2019. You know, the more I watch Jacksonville, too, offensively, I think Trevor Lawrence is playing the best football of his career. He's got, what, 39 touchdowns, threw for over 4,000 yards. He's on a roll. But also defensively, they're number one rush defense in the league,

31 takeaways. Do you feel like Jacksonville could absolutely run away with this game, or do you think this is going to be a four-quarter game all the way down to the wire? I think the first quarter is going to tell the story. And the first game I called NFL game, my career this year was Jacksonville at Sincere when Joe Barrow got hurt. And I sat down with the production meetings behind the scenes. Liam Cohen's legit.

Like Jacksonville found their coach for a long time. He had so much. You talk about accountability. I mean, he was on Trevor Lawrence early in that game on the sideline yelling at Trevor Lawrence, talked about how much untapped potential there was there. He's, you know, he comes from that RAM system at where the running game is really complex and a lot of checks at the line of scrimmage. he wanted to get rid of Trevor Lawrence's wristband

and make Trevor Lawrence learn the plays and the checks. So I felt like accountability was similar to Rabel. On the defensive side, Anthony Campanelli, their D.C., coached me at Rutgers. Crazy Italian dude. So Jersey Italians against. So he's fiery. They got turnovers a lot this year. They have a really good defensive team

and they're going to run the ball. They can run the ball on the bills. And if they can run away from the bills and run the ball and keep Josh down on the bench, that's how they get it done. I do think that the bills are a sleeping giant. I don't think the bills, I don't think it's the best bills team Josh Allen's had,

but he is the big dog in the playoffs. And if Josh Allen doesn't get it done this year, he's not going to have years about Mahomes in it. He's not going to have many years about Burrow or Lamar Jackson. This is the easiest path for him. So I don't think Josh Allen's MVP this year, but I think he's the best player in football. In terms of size, speed, armed talent, running ability,

createability. I think he's the best player in football. ball. And I think that if the game is close, Josh Allen's going to have too many possessions down the stretch to be Josh Allen. So I think that the bills do get it done. But if Jacksonville gets up early and is able to keep the ball away from it with that running game and Etienne and all that, then maybe don't give Josh Allen a chance. We talked about the playoffs being amplified for everybody, but also when it comes to a rivalry game and the playoffs, Packers and Bears, that's a rivalry game. They've played two of the last three weeks anyway.

Whenever you're playing a rival in the playoffs, again, does it elevate even higher? Or is the rivalry kind of off because it's all playoffs? It elevates higher. I mean, you don't like your division teams as much. You see them so much. Both teams are very in tune with what each other's calling and whatnot. So strategy goes, are they going to do what they did last time?

Are they going to try something different? You probably can overthink that, you know? I know both those games were thrillers. Like one, you know, the other. Bears could have won and the Packers get a pick to end the game. The other one, the Packers could have won an onside kick in the Bears win the game. So it's truly a coin flip. I do think, and there's no Michael Parsons in this one, but the Bears have been very turnover-based.

A lot of turnovers have led to their wins when I'm not able to get the turnovers. Obviously, they don't win as much. And I just, I'm going to lean on experience again and go with Jordan Love and LaFloor here. And this might be an upset. This is an under-seed. I told you lower seed you're going to win. I have the bills winning as a lower seat. I have the Packers winning.

But it's going to come down in one of those final plays. And I just think LaFleur and Jordan Love have more time together. With that, I think the future's bright. I think Chicago's had a great year. I think they got a great head coach with Ben Johnson.

But I just think that Jeff Hathley is going to be a head coach next year. And I think he's going to do a defensive masterpiece here. And it's going to be a tight one down to stretch. But I'm going to think Josh Jacobs might be the best player in the game. And I think he's going to have a big game against the Bears. 49ers at the Eagles.

I mean, I'm excited for this game, but what's your thoughts on this one? Yeah, you know, I say this sometimes on CBS and whatnot on my podcast that, you know, football is not as a 12v-12 sport, not 11 v. 11. It's your 11 plus your play caller. And it's Robert Sala and the defense who's banged up

versus the Eagles 11, but their play caller's not that great. Offensively, obviously, this year. They've had some woes. And then obviously, Vic Fangio versus Kyle Shanahan is like Hall of Fame play calling on both sides there. So look, if the Niners won last week, then they're the one seat and people might have called them Super Bowl favorite.

Then they lose the game and now they got to go to them Philly on the road as an underdog. It's crazy how the NFL works. Christian McCaffrey's special offense player of the year. Sequin I played with as well, really special. I just feel like a little insider here. I was a 49er in my last season. The 49ers feel comfortable playing against Jaylen Hertz. They truly have a game plan rush that I'm not going to tip too much,

but you'll see where they feel comfortable playing against Jayland Hertz. They've always felt comfortable playing the Eagles. They felt as if if Perry doesn't get hurt, they win at MC championship a couple years ago. And obviously that's a big if and who knows. So I'm going to go with the Niners and the coaching. I truly do. I think that's a big upset. But this is true 50-50.

I can see why the Eagles win it. They're healthier. I don't think Siriani wrestling in starters was smart. I think that's going to bite them. I think the inconsistency on play calling all year from the Eagles, I think they lose this game. It's not good for Siriani. So I think the decision to not play your guys when you have something to gain

has something where the Niners had a lot to play for and loss. I think the Niners can rally here and hopefully hold on to Fred Warner gets back. But I have the Niners pulling off a close one, and this is truly a coin flip. I'm going to go to Niners. MVP, Stafford, Drake May. Drake May. both great years.

I can't believe Matt Stafford's never had MVP vote or won MVP before. That's kind of surreal. But I look at Matt Stafford's throwing to Devante had as a Pooka and Nakua, which is as good as it gets. A lot of Red Zone touchdowns have had those stats. Can't knock it. It's what Peyton Manning used to do.

But I'm going to go with Drake May to see that Drake May's been as efficient as he has every single game. No real bad games from Drake May all year. 14 wins with Mike Rabel, 14 wins. and Matt, you can maybe talk to first year in a new system how hard it is for a quarterback. Stafford's been with McVeigh for a few years. When you're throwing to Stefan Diggs and Mack Hollins

as opposed to Pooka Nakua, Devante Adams, no shade on anybody. I'm going to go with Drake made a consistency, how hard that is to do with this roster the Patriots have. I think he's been more valuable of a player. Do you, in season, how early do you get told what game you're going to? it's typically in season maybe maybe three weeks out you know obviously they're going to send

romo and the eight crew to the top game they know about three weeks out when it gets toward like week 18 um and some games had no meaning some games had tons of meeting miles garrett's game had a little bit of meaning because of that sack record that was like six days out like i knew on monday night tuesday that my game was cleveland and i was excited about that joe burrow's angle cleveland's angle, Miles Garrett, the future Shador, obviously. It could have been Kansas City Raiders, which don't have a lot,

but that's Travis Kelsey's last game. I came in potentially. I came in with Travis Kelsey, played him in college for four years. So it's like, wow, how crazy is that? I came in with this guy in the draft, knew him and covered him in college, and now I'm potentially calling Travis Kelsey's last game of his Hall of Fame career. So

I try to find meaning and everything I'm calling, but I think I got that assignment like six days before the game. The 2026 NFL draft is here and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. Join me, Greg Rosenthal and Jordan Roderig after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me night two Friday and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh. We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks. Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and free agents. The games may be over, but the NFL never stopped. This is my favorite part of the calendar. Yeah, mine too, Greg. Free agency, the Combine, the NFL draft, Pro Days, trades. This is where teams reshape their future.

This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money. On 40s and free agents, we break down every move that actually matters. From my draft evaluations, mock drafts, and team fits, to my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts, and all the tough decisions included. You got quarterbacks on the move. We got teams rebuilding. It's hope season.

Yeah, absolutely. It's hope season. We'll tell you what's real, what's noise, and what it means for your favorite team. Smart analysis, real conversations every week. I don't know about the smart, but definitely analysis. Listen to 40s and free agents on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Is your prep work for these games more film study and interviews and stuff like that more so than what you ever went through when you played? Yeah, I don't know everyone.

There's no like, here's how you're here's how you become an analyst. Here's how you prepare for a game. I think everybody's different, Matt. But I just kept my NFL prep work. So, you know, I watched the last three games of both teams, you know, on Monday. And then, you know, Tuesday, I start breaking out aside. the ball. The problem is, when I'm playing, I just watch the other team's offense. Now that I'm calling the game, I have to watch both teams' offenses and both teams' defenses. So it's literally

like double or triple the amount of film because I'm just too young and novice to not put in the work yet. Like, I haven't figured out how to like go wing it yet, you know, maybe Bobby got there and do a show just off of the muscle. I'm not comfortable yet to do that. So it is about, you know, 15 to 20 hours of watching film. The good thing with me is I either played for or against everybody, covered everybody still. Like, oh, I played against Miles Garrett. I know how good Denzel.

I played against Joe Burrow. I covered Jamar Chase. So I have a lot of my memory bank of what that's like. And I try to bring that on air. But it's definitely double the amount of prep I did as a player. Maybe I'll get more efficient when my contract goes up money-wise and guaranteed I'm a little more comfortable. but right now I'm putting those rookie hours, that rookie season hours.

I'm going to give you one more question, and let's go to college for a second. When you watch in the past couple days specifically, the portal is open, and the portal is jammed. Everybody jumps in. Some guys don't jump in until like today because they know how much money is now being offered to them. What do you think about the portal and NIL as a whole? That's a great question. You know, obviously it's good and bad. And, you know, I think, I don't know how Matt feels, but we all support players getting paid.

Like, we wish we had it. And people ask me, would you have left Rutgers, you know, if the portal was, I would have transferred three times, you know, because the money is so big. And as stuff, you can't just, when you come from not a lot of money, you can't just say a million dollars isn't worth it. Or two million isn't worth it if you're an all-American player at a smaller school. And I look at, you know, the top quarterbacks in college football, they all transferred last year. and Mendoza made himself some money by transferring. So you can't argue the transfer. Do they have any control of it?

No, absolutely not. So obviously they need more control. But I do like the fact that talented players are getting compensated for what they're bringing. I guarantee you the schools are still making good money and they're not taking too much of the pie. It's just a wild, wild west. I'm sure there's agents taking advantage.

I'm sure there's a lot of people still taking advantage of these athletes that I don't know enough about. But I am a fan of it. I don't like the timing and all that stuff. I don't think anybody does. But I'm okay with players getting paid if you got that. I know if I was a tennis player and I was 15. I know if my son can make money at 13 playing soccer.

He's going to make money at 13 playing soccer. Like I'm not going to be like, you don't need that. Like, no, if you're going to be, if Nike's going to pay you, then you're going to be a 13-year-old Nike soccer player. So I'm not against that part of it. The only issue I have with it right now is now that they're putting out these social media eclipse. We just re-signed so and so. You don't like the resigning

resigning? I was like, you already committed to go to school there. You played a whole season. What the hell you talk about resigning? You're just going back to school. You're just going back to class. Yeah, you're just not going in the portal. I'm back. Can I ask you guys a question real quick? Sure. So, Dylan Rayola, right? He's obviously transferring. And I saw,

they said Dylan Rayola has loyalty problems and this guy has transferred every year since eighth grade. Yes. He went to four different high schools. And now he committed to like Georgia, then he went to Nebraska, now he's leaving Nebraska. Now, I think in a year or two,

Dylan Royola probably like, what, the top quarterback drafted? He'd be in the conversation potentially. Right. So you're looking at $30, $40 million. So do you have a loyalty issue if you got your kid in position or he's in position to make $40 million when it's all set and done, transferring every year since eighth grade,

or what is your thoughts on it of how Dylan Royale's family or him has been moving around so much in his, you know, livelihood. You can go first. Yeah, I think it's a unique situation. I don't think that's for every player because I cover college football and you go around. You see a lot of these guys have been to different high schools just from a competitive standpoint, but not in different states.

We're talking about different states. he was in Arizona, he was in Texas, he was in Georgia, and then ended up going to Nebraska. Nebraska made sense because his uncle was the O-Line coach, his father went there, was a legendary player, he's up there on the wall, and then I can see even when we talked to him at the media days, and we asked these obscure questions,

like, if you could go anywhere, where to go, and he, without a hesitation, went Ohio State. And I was like, wow, I mean, he immediately said it like that, right? And so what you start to understand is he's got the mentality where he wants to go be on a team that's going to be able to compete and put him in a position to be successful. And whereas Matt Ruhl told us when we're in the production meeting when he was recruiting Rayaola, he said, the reason I told you to come here was because you have the talent, but we can develop you to be ready for the NFL. We're not there yet, but you're going to go through some struggles early on as we develop this program and make it. to something that's going to become a powerhouse. And we're going to put you into difficult situations,

but we're also going to prepare you in a pro-style offense. And that's what resonated with him. And that's why I went there. But obviously, after last season the struggles that they had as a team, he's moving on to the next best thing. Well, I think the culture of that, to me, it's not even the Riola issue. It's he is an outlier in the world of college athletics,

meaning he has a ton of untapped potential. What's going to happen is, and again, I grew up in a freaking trailer, Park. So I would be going on where the money was. However, you're going to have these guys that are transferring one, two, three, four times. They're not going to have their degree. They are not going to have a home base to go back to, meaning they're not going to have the relationships in order to have a career outside of athletics afterward, or even an alma mater to go back to that really appreciates them.

You played one year. You're not going to stand on the sidelines and be celebrated unless you won a national championship. So I think the culture of all the moving around as dominant as it is right now, it's good for a few if they're continuing to look for a bigger opportunity, but I think it's poisonous to most because what's going to happen long term is they're not going to have a home, they're not going to have a degree, and they're not going to have a career in professional sports because they really were never going to anyway. Well, I think also the other caveat to that is once he does get drafted to the NFL, Logan, as you all know, guess what, there's no transferring.

You're now going to have a contract for four years. So if you go through some adversity early in your career, which we all do, you're going to have to look yourself in the mirror and say, how do I get better? And there's no running from that. You're on the team that you're on. Yeah, and I will follow with this. I know NFL Scouts, the first question, you know, when I call a college game,

the first thing I look at is like, okay, this guy, the quarterback via this school. Like, everyone's transferred. So NFL Scouts, the first question is, well, why did you transfer? you got to be able to answer that. If you said I transferred from Alabama because I wasn't playing there, then you're probably not going to be playing at the next spot or you might not be good enough to play in the NFL

if you're not playing at the first spot. So Dylan Rayola might say, you know, I'm transferred for the better opportunity. I want a better quarterback coach. I want to get in a pro-style offense. Whatever, he might have his reasons, but he's going to have to answer those questions of why. If you're just running from adversity,

that ain't going to always steer clear. Now, if you're like a great player at Delaware, and you want to go to Alabama because to get better competition to get ready for the pros, that's understandable. They're going to be like, okay,

we can understand that. But if you're, like, transferring three times because you're not playing, and guess what, you're probably not going to be playing in the NFL if you're not going to have

to play in college at one of your schools. So I think answering the why is a big reason. And that's obviously different, you know, from case to case spaces. Well, Logan, we really appreciate the time. And hey,

what are you doing, your Animal Foundation that I mentioned earlier? Like, that's a passion for you, Why so? You know, I've always grew up with animals, but really is my wife. You know, we were dating and she moved, you know, as my girlfriend moved to me in New England and she was a college softball player.

She was trying to figure out what life was like post sports. And she started volunteering in an animal shelter, working, cleaning kennels, like dirty jobs, like making very little money, but did it for the passion. And I started getting around it. And I only seen the animals that needed help but seeing the people. I was like, man, it would be really cool to bring a platform this. So I've always tried to combine my sports platform to animals. And we all know our dog lovers and cat lovers usually have a good heart and have empathy.

So they're like my type of people. I usually like people that have pets. I don't know. That's how it times out works out to be. So I've always tried to use my platform to shine light to adoptable pets and help with those type of things. So it just aligned really well. But my wife Ashley worked it and lived it. I love animals.

I'm not saying I'm going to get a job at a kennel. playing times. My wife did. So I definitely support her, support everybody in that field. And, you know, always, since I had a platform, I try to shine light on the people and the pets. Did you know that he adopted a hyena, too? Did you know that you have a pig? Does he know you have a pig? I've got a pig, dude. So I'm an animal lover too, even though I hardly mess with the pig. Chickens, everything. I bet you do, bro. I know you got a ranch out there.

I don't let him play. Yeah. I used to drive a sprinter van. He had so many kids. I still got that big. Yeah, yeah. R-R-F. that was real. Yeah. R-A-R-R-F.org. Hey, Logan, great to talk to you. Super happy for your success. It's been really cool to watch you,

like, start to blow up in this world. So congratulations, and hopefully I'll talk to you soon and Matt will talk to you soon. Yeah, congrats, buddy. Appreciate you guys. Keep crushing it. All right, that's it.

Thank you, thanks to Logan Ryan. Thanks to my friend, Matt Castle. Thank you. You're my friend, too. Great job. Your beard looks great. Yeah, I've been, I mean, growing this thing out. It's getting scruffy.

It looks not scruffy, though. It looks like an elevated view. Like, I like it. You have the boots on today? Oh, I did. You know, these boots is a funny story. My wife bought these boots for my son for Christmas, my 12-year-old, by the way. Same size.

He didn't fit into the 13s. We had to get him a 13-and-a-half, so she still hadn't sent these back yet. I just tried them on today, fit perfectly. You wear the hand-me-downs of your way younger son. Yeah, he's 12. He's wearing a 13-and-half. I've got a 13-on, but I felt pretty good. I don't even know what, hey dude?

I haven't heard of before. Hey, dudes are super comfortable. They're super comfortable. Yeah, no free ads, but they're super comfortable. No, no, no, no, free ads. But, I mean, I didn't even know what this brand was. I was like, are people going to make fun of me when I wear it? No, super comfy.

I have the same brand. I know, yeah. Huh? Yeah, the Louis Vuitton. Hey, dudes. Didn't know they did a collab. Pretty impressive. All right. Thank you guys.

We will see you guys next week. Bye, everybody. Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and IHeart podcast. For more podcasts from IHartRadio, visit the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcast. or wherever you get your podcasts. The 2026 NFL draft is here

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