The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Aaron Murray on Dawgs Dominance, Saban Final Act, Kelly/LSU Improvement, Texas/Oklahoma SEC Cred, NIL Market Correction

Episode Date: June 20, 2023

John is joined by SNAPS podcast Host and former Georgia QB Aaron Murray to discuss  Georgia’s current dominance under Kirby Smart, if Brian Kelly and LSU are better than Bama, how QB movement in the transfer portal has changed college football for the better, if Texas and Oklahoma will ever be accepted in the SEC, if USC can win a natty with Caleb Williams despite roster shortcomings, if if pre-draft character concerns surrounding former Georgia DL Jalen Carter were warranted, and what he learned from Andy Reid during his time with the Chiefs, and if NIL is due for a serious market correction, Follow John onTwitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow -  for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Here is the game plan. If you hadn't heard, I recorded a U.S. Open Reaction podcast, about 30 minutes, some thoughts of what we saw over the week and definitely on Sunday. So that came out on Monday. Today will be an interview only with former Georgia quarterback and current volume podcaster, Aaron Murray. He has a podcast called Snaps with Teabob, who is a trip, former LSU offensive lineman. I think I'm going to interview later this week.

We'll have that podcast out in the next couple weeks. So this is just going to be me and Aaron Murray talking some football, talking SEC, talking quarterbacks. And then we will have more golf stuff coming up Wednesday. We're going to interview a player on the PGA tour who might have been involved with the Netflix special. Talk to Sobel about some lasting images of his thoughts on the, what am I looking for? the U.S. Open, and then I will do a heavy, heavy mailbag come Friday. So I have a lot of mailbag questions I got to get to.

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I have to, validate this with him, but the all-time leading touchdown passer in Georgia history, not a bad stat to have, especially the last couple years. Aaron Murray. Just to correct you, SEC history. Okay. I'm going to roll that one back. Aaron Murray, what's up?

Hopefully for a lot longer. This is damn quarterback at Mississippi State, got the benefit of planning some air raid offense where they throw the ball from the one yard line for the past few years. So we'll see if he can take me down here the next year or two. But records are meant to be broken. That's why I'm still ticked off. I don't got a damn ring on my finger. You know, it's funny, for those of us on the West Coast, I mean, SC football is pretty big.

UCLA basketball's had some moments. But the SEC, even the Big Ten, two to an extent, but the SEC has been on another level. Do you, I know you didn't win a national championship. been an SEC championship game. Now that they're champions against first time, I guess they've done it back to back now since 1980, do you pay for anything when you go to town? Did you get lumped into that?

Or have you not been paying for anything for 15 years? I get taken care of a lot of times, which is great. It's not as well as Stetson. I tell you what, Stetson, you know, winning back-to-back Natty's at the quarterback position. I don't think he's going to have to pay for anything, not only in Athens, but probably the state of Georgia.

So, you know, he better, you know, apply for, I guess you can't apply for Augusta, but you can somewhat hit, you know, maybe he'll get that Augusta membership, you know, peach tree here in Atlanta, like all the top golf courses, he needs to start figuring out ways to become a member at, which will be good. He can use some of that NIL money here last year to pay for those memberships. But, yeah, listen, there's a reason why I'm from Florida. I grew up in Tampa. I love Tampa.

I miss it. I miss the weather all year long. but I would be an absolute idiot to lead the state of Georgia. And that's when I kind of tell all the kids that go to UGA. I was like, man, if you do write on the football field in the community, like once a dog, always a dog, like the people of this state will take care of you, which is awesome, which is also why I currently live in Atlanta and absolutely love it. I remember a couple years ago I got a buddy that scouts the SEC

and, you know, obviously you go through Alabama. So he knew Kirby pretty well. And he said early on in Kirby's tenure, he's like, listen, I don't pretend to be 24-7 high school sports rivals guy. But it's pretty clear that Georgia has, even when you talk to these college coaches, this was like three or four years ago, was going to have incredible like a couple high school classes. And he's like, Kirby's going to clean up on this. And you better watch out. And it has clearly come to fruition because you guys were always really good, right? Your team's, ton of NFL players.

It feels like he's equaled now, Alabama, top to bottom 10. Allen or some of those Urban Meyer, Florida teams where it's just like the season starts and they are on one or two, not like could win the national championship, like should win the national championship. Yeah. Well, there's no real in state threat. You know, Georgia Tech's not a threat. Just just, just that's true. Yeah. If you're a kid worth its salt here in the state of Georgia and is a big time recruit, you probably grew up a Georgia fan and you probably want to go to Georgia. So if Kirby comes in his

helicopter and flies in the 50-yard line of your country, your high school field and says, hey, here's your offer from the University of Georgia, nine out of ten times you're probably going to take it. Alabama still recruits at a high level, but obviously you do have Auburn there that may contend it. I wouldn't say that the town is not as good in the state of Alabama as is in Georgia. Obviously, Florida, you got Florida State, yeah, Miami, yet everyone in their brother that wants to go to Florida recruit.

LSU is kind of in the same path. I would say Louisiana, those kids who grew up in Louisiana want to go to LSU, which is why I I think Brian Kelly is in a great spot to obviously have success year one and they continue to have success there in Baton Rouge. But Georgia, like I said, Georgia's in a unique spot. They're probably top three, four when it comes to high school talent and they don't have the competition to really compete in state to get these top recruits. So Kirby's in a great spot. And, you know, I also tell a lot of people this. When it comes to a checklist of when Kirby's selling Georgia to mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, or the recruit,

facilities, top five in the country. When it comes to campus life, downtown life, you know, kind of enjoying yourself, for those of there have been to Athens, Georgia, it is absolutely incredible. You look at it all ratings for college experiences. It's one of the top ones out there. Academics, it's number three in the SEC behind Florida and Vanderbilt. You're an hour away from Atlanta, Georgia, one of the biggest markets here in the southeast. You know, NIL opportunities are through the roof as well.

So, like, you check off every single box. Oh, now you win championships and he got championship trophies. And then also Kirby's putting guys in the first round just as, as well as Nick Saban is. So you get the full experience at Georgia. This is why when Kirby took the job back in 16, Nick Saban said it, man. Like, Georgia's a sleeping giant. You get the full experience and treatment when you come to the University of Georgia, which is why, you know, I think Kirby's got this thing going in a direction where I don't see it slowing down anytime soon.

Well, it feels like there are four schools. Correct me if I'm wrong. That if you get the right coach, it's just, it's on like Donkey Kong. That's Alabama, LSU, Florida, and Georgia. And Georgia's proven that. Florida's proven that before. Savin's proven at Alabama and LSU obviously. It's won three championships in the last three decades with three different coaches.

You know, the thing with Kirby, you have a unique experience because you went up against him as a player, right? And as Alabama was really shooting like a rocket ship, your relationship of just knowing him from afar, obviously coaches in the SEC, even assistant ones are so famous, all the players and coaches know each other, they all recruit each other, to now getting to know him when he first got the job and what you've seen, like, have you seen the guy changed? Do you know him well? Like, what's your take on him throughout the years? Well, he hasn't changed. He's a little pit bull. You know, he's got that fire in his belly. I don't how he does it. I really don't. You know, honestly, I don't know how any of these coaches do it.

I mean, it is, it is, it's a grind. And you really don't realize it as a college player, because like you, you wake up, you go to school, you get to the facility a little after lunch, you go to meetings, you go to practice, and then you go home and, you know, hang out with your boys and play video games. Like, you don't really see the day-to-day grind of these coaches. I really didn't realize the day-to-day grind until, you know, I got to the NFL when I'm in my, you know, meetings with Matt Nagy, who was the quarterback coach in Kansas city and before our 730 meetings, he's facetiming his kids at 7 o'clock as they get up. And really his only time he got to see his kids during the week was 7 o'clock in the morning

when they were getting up before school and probably another face time before they went to bed at night because they're there from 5, 5.5.30 to 11 o'clock at night. And now you do that for a college coach, same time, but then you throw in recruiting where these guys are on the road. So, and it's, it's literally, you know, seven days a week, you know, you're in the office, 16 to 20 hours, and then offseason you're on the recruit recruiting. I mean, you maybe get two, three weeks off the year where you get to hang out with your family and relax a little bit. But even then, man, I remember one of my teammates, Christian Robinson, who is now the linebacker coach at Baylor. We're in his bachelor party two years ago. I mean, this is the middle of summer bachelor party.

We're having a good time. he gets a call from a top recruit. And he's like, I've got to go take this call. He's on a call with the top recruit for 30, 45 minutes. The guy called, the kid calling him during his time he's supposed to be taken off. But you can't, you can't ignore it. You can't mute it. Yeah, because that kid's then going to go call the coach at some other school.

And he's going to pick up the phone. And he's going to say, well, you know, Christian blew me off. This guy didn't. It's like, it is all year long. These guys got to be on. And, you know, so I kind of lump all these coaches. But Kirby is to even more. the extreme. I mean, he is a

absolute dog when it comes to recruiting. Obviously, he learned it from Nick Sabin, but I mean, he is relentless when it comes to that of just always on the road, always in his plane, always in the helicopter, always on the phone, always bringing recruits in. After they won the first national

championship, I'm down the field, you know, saying congratulations, you know, yada, yada, and he's like, man, I got to go hang out with these recruits. You just won a natty the first time in 40 years and he wasn't celebrating he was recruiting. That is his life.

That is his grind. So he's young. So he's got the energy to do it. I just wonder, man, like at some point, there has to be some sort of fatigue factor unless he's taking some magic pill that gives him enough energy to keep up with it. Well, I knew someone that had worked for Belichick

and work with Sabin and said both those guys have something in common. Like when the season, whenever that is, you know, in the NFL, it's usually training camp and basically runs all the way through the draft. you know, in college, it's kind of changed over the years with recruiting cycles, but there's like a football treadmill. And it doesn't go like 9.0. It goes like 4.5 or whatever.

And Bill and Nick can just consistently go the entire time until it ends. And after, you know, Kirby saw it with Nick. I heard a story. I knew Jim McIlwain, who was the offensive coordinator on their first national championship team. After they won that first national championship of the Sabin Dynasty, he looks at everyone like, I don't know, after the celebration, or maybe even before, like, we got a recruiting meeting tomorrow at 8 a.m.

And everyone looked at each other like, is this guy, he was dead, they had the meeting the next day. And obviously, Kirby does it a little differently. And I've heard there's a little bit of a rivalry. They may not, and it's just natural when you are to become Nick's competition. And that's Nick's thing, right? It's, he likes you. And he loves Kirby.

Kirby's his greatest protege, right? I mean, he's proven to be, I mean, he's going to carry on Nick's legacy in a way, but he's starting to beat him. So Nick's not going to like that. No. And obviously Nick last year, I mean, we always wonder, like, when is the end for Nick Saban? Like at some point, I mean, he's 71, maybe 72 this year, somewhere in the early 70s. And college football is changing. And there's always a thought of, you know, can you, in the saying of, can you treat an old dog new tricks? Like, can Nick continue to evolve with the new SEC, expanded playoffs, this NIL world, which is a complete headache?

right now. Like, is he, does he have the energy to do it? And he proved me last year he still does. I mean, number one recruiting class, probably the best recruiting class that he's ever put together, which says something, because they've been number one, you know, a handful of times since he took over, you know, back in the mid-2000s there. So, you know, he's still got the dog in him. He's still got the fight in him. You know, T. Bob and I kind of kicked this around on our show and snaps of, you know, how much longer two things. You know, will Nick ever win? another Natty and over under four years left of coaching and or four and a half years. So, you know, will he coach five more years?

I don't think he coached another five years. And I don't know if he wins another national championship either because I don't think it's going to happen this year. I think it's going to be more and more difficult to win a national championship because of this new format. And, you know, all of a sudden you start to see Nick Sabin, who has dominated the sport for so long, slowly start coming down that mountain of, you know, he's already lost, you Has it won in two years, which is rare for them.

You don't win again this year, which I don't think they have the team to do it. Then you don't want again next year. All of a sudden, that's four years in a row. And people start questioning like, okay, is that truly the last time that we've seen Nick win a few years ago? So I would say he makes it another four or five years. And I just don't know if we see him win another national championship, though. Would you do LSU Spring Game? I did do LSU Spring Game.

And I remember, I think on Twitter you posted, like, like a picture and like they're my pick to win it. Like you came away really impressed. I mean, obviously, nothing's probably changed since then. So you're, you're even acting like,

you don't even think Nick's the, the favorite to win the West. I mean, LSU would have, the difference between LSU and Alabama this year is Alabama is more depth. I mean, they're too deep, which is just a,

you know, them recruiting at a high level for a long time. LSU is, is built depth this offseason. They've done a great job in the portal. they've done a great job recruiting, you know, but it's not to the level of Alabama. But if you would ask me today, if you just want to compare starter versus starter, LSU has more, I would say if you did a whole point category,

LSU would get more points for me than Alabama if we want to break it down. And especially the big time areas, I think they're better at quarterback. I think with their transfer running back they have in there, which is kind of a coin flip. I think they got better tackles. I think they got better receivers. They got a better tight end. offensively, they're better, and they get the quarterback. I mean, that's the big hiccup.

You know this. Like in today's game, you need a QB. And right now for Alabama, we don't know who that quarterback's going to be. And I can tell you one thing, it's whoever it is of those three guys they have on the roster right now, it's not going to be to the same level as Jaden Daniels is. So then you look at LSU on defense. I got Mason Smith back at defensive tackle, who's probably going to be a first rounder. They got Harold Perkins, the best linebacker in the country.

Like position by position starter wise. LSU is as talented as anyone in the country. It's the two deep. It's all of a sudden, and if those starters get hurt at a couple of key positions, they don't have the depth to compete. And the problem is you face Alabama at the end of the season, how healthy are you going to be by the time you go to Tuscalo? So that's the only question.

But if LSU is healthy, they're the better football team this year. And I think Brian Kelly is one of the best coaches in America. You give him another year of recruiting. They're going to have a top five class. Yeah. They're going to hit the portal well. all of a sudden you're talking about 2024, they got momentum, they got one of the better coaches who's a little bit younger, and now all of a sudden, that gap of depth has significantly shrunken. So LSU is here to stay.

You're not saying that Kelly's going to always beat Nick Sabin. I think this is going to be just as good of a matchup year and year out where it's kind of a coin flip kind of game. But I would say, yeah, right now, LSU Healthy, LSU is a better football team this year. Do you know that Angie's list is now Angie? You're home for everything home? Listen, as someone who's been looking to buy a place and want to do big projects once I do close on a house, I don't know where to start.

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But the transferring of quarterbacks to me has been the coolest thing that's ever happened. I mean, a lot of guys like put you in, let's use you as an example. Can just go to school and have a really good career and don't need to transfer. But I saw Jaden here at Arizona State like he needed a change. Bo Nix needed a change. Penix had gotten hurt. And now we're talking about all these guys. I mean, Michael Pennix, Bo Nix,

these kids can potentially first round picks if they have another good year. Jaden, if they win 11, 12 games and competing for a national championship, he's a big time athlete, big time arm. You were in the NFL. You saw like some guys just need a change of scenery, new scheme, new coach, new position coach. And it's a lot of people talk shit about it. But I really believe, like it's had a lot of positive benefits for the sport, specifically with quarterbacks and kind of changing.

programs immediately. Oh my God. It's the key position. I mean, look at Sam Hartman. I had Missouri Wake Forest in the bowl game. And you kind of knew, we knew heading into the game that that was going to be his final game at Wake Forest, whether he would go to the NFL or transfer. We weren't sure.

But he needed a change. He'd been there than everything he could. He kind of maxed out at Wake Forest. And all of a sudden, he's going to be the starting quarterback at Notre Dame this year, who's going to be a really good football team, who they're missing piece. What was it a quarterback? So, like, you can change your. team, as you know, with just a quarterback.

Look at Southern Cal for goodness sakes. You get an average team. You get a brand new head coach and a quarterback, and all of a sudden, you're a couple plays away from being in the playoffs. And now of a sudden, to me, they're the favorites to win the Pact 12 this year. Like, that's all you need. If you got a special quarterback and you get a couple pieces around him, you're a contender today, today.

I mean, why was Alabama good last year? Bryce. You take Bryce off that team, and which is why I think Alabama struggles a little bit this year because I'm not sure about the pieces around the quarterback. It's a eight win team, nine win team. I mean, that's the difference. So, you look at quarterbacks nowadays and it was weird because you did see a couple power five quarterbacks that were starters leaving. You're kind of like, okay, is it NIL? Is it, the thought of winning a championship? I think a couple of guys made some mistakes leaving

their spot. But, you know, whatever the reason is or just change the scenery, it's, it's, It's good for them. I think you brought up Bo Nix. Bo his last year at Auburn, because I covered him a few times, was great. He was a magician, man. He was a one-man band. He was making plays running around, making defenders miss, extending plays, had no support from receivers.

They actually fired the receiver coach middle of the season because that's how bad they were at the receiving position. And you're just like, man, if you put this guy in a team that has some support, there's something there. And all of a sudden, he goes to Oregon and has a hell of a season. I think he's going to have a hell of season again this year. So it's been fun to watch. It definitely makes the offseason a little bit more entertaining.

And from a coach's perspective, do you want to risk bringing in a high school kid that may end up transferring anyways or getting a guy at a Power 5 school that's a proven commodity, bringing him in, plugging him in now, and then all of a sudden your roster's improved day one. It's a fine balance. You never know what to do,

but it's hard to pass up some of these guys that are at smaller schools have balled out for a couple of years that you know can come in and be your starter day one. You know, I kind of have a theory that over Nick Savan's tenure, which is like the lead boat that has brought this tide that's lifted up everyone, made the conference way better, which has bled down to basketball, now your power. You guys have always been good at baseball, but now it's like you're hosting all these regionals. These golf teams are all flying private that I remember a couple years ago being in Sacramento playing golf with this guy. who's a farmer. And both of his kids, one went to Tennessee and one went to Ole Miss. And I hear more and more stories about kids that aren't going to like San Diego State or Arizona. They are leaving to go to the South. Yeah. Yeah. You know, do you feel, I know you've lived in the South most of your life,

but like the SEC has just become in, I don't know, much more cool. Like, just like, it's, it's less regional now and more just like, I'd go to, I'll go to Georgia. I'll go to Florida and I'm from Arizona or I'm from Seattle or whatever. Not even to put, I'm not even talking to play sports. I'm just talking to go to school. Yeah. Yes.

Yeah. Well, I would say for a lot of the universities, I mean, academics have improved. They're not, they're not, I wouldn't, I'm not going to say the,

the academics are the same as some of the schools on the West Coast. But, you know, that is improved. I think more than anything, to me, the difference is the money and what they're putting into it in the resources. And the coaches, too. I mean, you brought up basketball for the SEC.

You know, what's been the big change for basketball over the past five years in the SEC? It starts with Sankey. Obviously, you have probably the most powerful voice in all of college sports in Greg Sankey. And he said, I want to be better in basketball. We got players in the southeast to be a better basketball conference.

We don't need these guys going to North Carolina and do crowds of the West Coast. Like, we need to keep them here in the SEC. So what do we do? Spent money on facilities. Spent money on coaches. All of a sudden, now you've got elite coaches, elite facilities, and now these kids want to stay home and come to these schools. And all of a sudden now you're seeing, I mean,

there was a handful of teams in the SEC tournament. Alabama was the number one team in the country for a while. Last year, Auburn was one of the number one teams in the country for a while. Obviously, Kentucky is one of the blue bloods out there. So from top to bottom, basketball is improved. Baseball is always going to be great. You know, the women's sports is phenomenal. Basketball.

You've had South Carolina and now LSU look as the top. two teams in the country this year. Gymnastics has always been elite. Softball has always been one of the top schools. Now you add Oklahoma next year into the mix who's been the predominant team in all of college sports when it comes to softball. Like there isn't a sport now that the SEC can't say we're one of the top, I guess basketball, maybe you could say they're three, but besides men's basketball and maybe that that's even a good discussion too, we're one of the top one or two conferences in that sport in America. It's just they got more money to spend.

And these kids want to go to places that have big fancy facilities that they know is going to put me in the best situations to excel in college and then possibly go to pro afterwards. Obviously from a money standpoint, Texas and Oklahoma only going to bring more cash with those two brands. But from an on-the-field standpoint, do you consider yourself one of those SEC elitists that just go, we are going to beat the shit out of these guys? No, I wouldn't say that.

I mean, if there's two teams that are ready to join the SEC, it would be Texas, Oklahoma. I mean, I know Oklahoma had a little bit of a down year last year. You expect Venables to kind of get that ship going in the right direction. They had a good recruiting class. Aaron, he better because he won't make it to the SEC with another season like that. I think he's so well. I think they'll give him three years.

You don't want to go into the SEC with a brand new coach either. That's true. It's kind of like, do you want to go into the SEC? With a brand new coach, you fire that one, then you get a mass exodus of players in the transfer portal. And you're kind of limping into the SEC. It's like, I'd rather give him one opportunity, you know, give him that third year to build and then see what he could do before you make a decision. You know, if anyone's on the hot seat at Sark, I think if Sark, you know, if Sark has a 7-8 win team this year, then you do question, okay, you've had the time and you can't have success your third year in the Big 12. What gives us any confidence you're going to have success in the SEC?

like that's a problem. But I do expect both teams to be contending for the Big 12 this year. They're just more talented than everyone else, but they've also been more talented and they haven't proven in the past couple of years. So we'll see if they get the ship right. But if anyone in the Big 12 or the PAC 12 to make the transition right now or the ACC, those would be two of four or five teams that I said, okay, you bring them into the SEC right now.

They could compete possibly day one. you're a quarterback and I know you keep tabs on all these guys. Trevor, probably the last couple of years, best prospect, you know, Bryce and some of these guys and E.C.J. Would you put Caleb? I mean, for my money, Caleb might be a little more physically gifted than Trevor in terms of probably a little more powerful arm. Obviously, Trevor is going to turn into an excellent NFL player. But I mean, Caleb's got a chance to be one of the best prospects in recent memory. I mean, Caleb would have been the first player picking off the job.

draft this year. I mean, that's a little bit of a conversation now. I mean, if, if Caleb and Trevor coming out at the same time, who you take it. And I mean, I'm just such a big fan of Mahomes and what Mahomes has done. And he is, to me, he's Mahomes today. There isn't the work that Andy Reid needs to put into it of, you know, sitting behind Alex Smith for a year, reading, you know, refining his tools and then kind of giving him to the keys to the car the following year. Like, you get Caleb now. He's, ready to go. And he does everything you want from a quarterback standpoint of, you know, the arm talent, the accuracy,

the escapeability, the creativity, um, the running ability, all that stuff. I mean, he is, I know everyone hates comparisons, but you just, you have to, you have to give comps to people because you kind of have to project what they could possibly be at the next level. He's, he's, he's, he's, my homes, but he's more ready to play in the NFL earlier than Mahomes was. So I would take him, I think he's, I think he's a better prospect. but I'm with you too.

Like Trevor is a freak. You know, and Trevor had a hell of a year last year, finished off strong. I was with Doug Pearson for three years of my career there between Kansas City and Philadelphia. And I can tell you one thing, Doug's going to make sure that that kid continues to get better

and better and better and better. But right now, Caleb is, he's special. I mean, he's special. And, you know, to me, I know Bryce was in a position to go back-to-back, Heismans. Caleb's a better prospect than Bryce Young was. And it's even more of legitimate opportunity to go back to back when it comes to

Heismans. One thing was clear by the end of the year, right? SC's defense, they had no business being a playoff team. They couldn't hang with the big dogs. He's definitely, he's landed at multiple SEC transfers on defense. Clearly they've, I'm sure, recruited that position. Do you think it's enough time to be competitive with, you know, the top two or three? Could they win the national championship this year?

They could, they could easily win the national championship this year. I don't think you needed, you don't need an incredible improvement on defense. I don't think you do. I don't think you need all of a sudden to be, I mean, they're giving up, you know, high 20 points per game, 27, 28, I think somewhere on there. You don't need all of a sudden be giving up 18 points a game to be a national contender. With Caleb at quarterback in that offense and how good they're going to be this year, you just need to be a team that gives up instead of 28 points per game,

gives up 24 points per game. You know, that's it. I mean, you look at their games last year, I mean, their losses were, you know, one-score games. So if you can just get a little bit better, which personnel-wise, they're significantly better on defense, which should translate into, you know, points per game. To me, anytime you have a quarterback like Caleb,

you're going to have an opportunity to win a national championship. And I'll say this too, even though Georgia has dominated on defense the past two years, offense is still win championships. Look at two years ago versus Alabama. Alabama beat the living crap out of Georgia in the SEC championship game. Probably would have beat Georgia once again in the Natty, had both receivers been healthy.

Last year, Ohio State, probably should have beat Georgia if they're healthy on offense. If both receivers are healthy, if Marvin Harrison doesn't get knocked out. what had to win the game for Georgia, their offense. Defense can get you there, and it's awesome to have. But if you want to win a championship in today's game, it starts first with the offense.

And right now, USC has a championship offense and a defense that just needs to get a little bit better, which they will. So, yeah, they're 100% contenders. Sabin's been saying that now for half a decade, right? But the game changed. I get a lot of questions from people, Bears fans, Lions fans, Falcons fans that like, why didn't we just take Jalen Carter? And my take on this is just the Eagles were uniquely set up with older vet,

legend guys on defense, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, and then kind of that young guys that have played with him to kind of handle the situation. You're a Georgia guy. What was your take on the Jalen Carter just overall situation? And do you think that he went to the right spot? well he went to the right spot for him i think the biggest thing is is the georgia players i mean they have that many guys that were his boys um that he he knows and he's comfortable with you know if i'm if i'm howie i'm telling those guys like hey you better be taking him to dinner you better be

rooming with him you better be with him 24-7 and you guys just rotate and and and essentially be glorified babysitters so i think for him it's a perfect spot because he's going to be comfortable to be able to hang out with those guys to you know hopefully stay at a trouble and do everything right but when it comes to just pure talent, he was the most talented player in this draft to me. I mean, he was the best player in the draft. He's a guy that, you know, if you didn't need a quarterback, I'm picking him first.

He's instant Aaron Donald, day one disruptor, takes on two blocks, can win in the run game, can win the past game. You know, to me, as a quarterback, that's always a tougher guy. Like, I love Lou Anderson, you know, but if there's a, you know, a one technique or a three technique that can get after the quarterback and put pressure in my face,

that is so much harder than a defensive end coming off the edge, so much harder. So best player, most gifted player in the draft, if that incident didn't happen with the crash, I think he goes higher. But I think for his sake, this was the best situation for him to go to the Eagles. Yeah, I mean, and when you say Nacobi, Dean and Nolan Smith are like captain level high character, you know, that's pretty uniquely suited for them. I don't think people probably listening quite understand this. You know, in college, it's like, how do guys that leave the Alabama's program

then get in trouble in the pros? Or, you know, it's like, well, actually, it's easier to control in college than once you get to the pro, you have a lot more time. And I guess with NIL, it's changed a little bit. But you've got a lot more money, especially your first round pick. You're also not living in that town either. I mean, most NFL guys, you know, as soon as the season over with, they're in the flight the next day to go back home.

You know, there's not that controlled environment where you go to Georgia, you go to Alabama, you usually have a guy who is in charge of making sure everyone kind of is doing, you know, what is right on and off the field. And you're in small college towns most of the time. So it's a little bit easier to manage. Now, obviously, Georgia's struggling a little bit with these kids wanting to be NASCAR drivers, and that's a bit of a problem right now. but you can usually handle it a little bit easier,

you know, but then you do have the problem of the, they are 18 to 22 year olds that are still physically and mentally maturing. And they're going to make a lot more mistakes than a guy that's, you know, I would say the majority of guys that are in the NFL that are five plus years in,

you know, a lot of them are married. They have kids. They got responsibilities. Like they're not going, they're not going crazy, you know, and obviously they're a little bit more mentally and physically mature. So it's kind of however you view it. But it is, like you said,

it is a little bit easier to control when you're in a small college town. You mentioned it when you got drafted, you went to a place that had Andy Reid, Alex Smith, Doug Peterson, and Matt Nagy. What was just first impressions getting to the chief? What was that experience like? It was awesome. And I remember my first meeting because we also had Chase Daniel,

who, you know, one of the greatest backups, in NFL history when it comes to money. You know, he's just done a hell of a job. But, you know, I remember walking into that room and seeing all those just powerful minds that just know the game. And I remember they were talking about plays. And I sat down and they're going through certain plays. And I'm like, they're just messing with me. Like, it sounded like I'm trying to learn Mandarin right now.

It sounded like Mandarin to me. And I'm like, what the hell are they talking about? about. I thought it was like some rookie hazing. We're just joking with a young kid. And I open up the playbook and it's it's legit. I mean, you know, it's old school. I mean, it's true West Coast offense where plays are 15, like 25 words long. And that was a really hard part for me. But the way that Coach Reid kind of broke down the plays and why he was calling the plays and kind of how the offense changed. I mean, today's game nowadays, which is incredible, which is I love it. really goes through the tight end a lot of times.

You see in the NFL, you see it in college, and it's all about matchups. It's how can we move our chess pieces around to get the best matchup? And I remember my rookie year was Travis's first year to play, the year before he was hurt, and seeing how Coach Reed moved him around the offense, seeing how Coach Reed moved Jamal Charles around the offense. I mean, we had zero, the first time in NFL history,

zero touchdowns, receiving touchdowns from a receiver, but we would flex Kelsey out. We would move Jamal to receiver. I mean, Jamal ran a bench route as a receiver and caught it for a touchdown. Yet our receivers didn't do that. But Andy Reid knew if I put Jamal in this situation, he would have the better matchup to be able to run this route, get open, catch, and score touchdown. Things like that, which I just never thought. I was like, running back plays running back. Tight end plays tight end.

Not running back goes out and plays receiver. tight-in goes, plays receiver, tight-ins in the backfield. Stuff like that to me just really opened my eyes up to what the potential of offenses can be. And now we're seeing more and more of it at all levels of football. What was Andy like from a player's perspective in the meetings with the quarterbacks? hilarious. Always joking.

Always getting after us about something. And always a hell of stories. I mean, like we would have our post-practice meetings, which would end 5-530. and, you know, that would always turn it. He would come into those meetings with us with the quarterbacks. And ended up being, he would tell us like a 20, 30 minutes story after that of something from like back in the day at Green Bay or Philly. And it was just always really cool to hear that.

I was always joking with guys, dirt installs, had a fun way to, you know, because it gets monotonous, man. You're installing a lot of times very similar plays over and over and over again. And every time he'd find some new little funny, twist on it to get guys to pay attention to grab one more little nugget about the offense, which was his specialty. But, man, he was, he was awesome to be around. And Nagy was the same way. And so was Doug.

What, uh, how about Alex? Obviously his career, you know, you were seeing the, the career renaissance of a guy who's seen some low moments, uh, just being around him on a daily basis. What was Alex like? he was, man, he was like a big brother. It was funny because Chase and Alex were very different. You know, and both of them are great, and I got great relationships with them. But Alex was, you know, so secure for a guy that, like, you loot to,

at such ups and downs to start his career. I mean, four offensive coordinators and four head coaches in his first four years. He was like 20 years old when he got drafted, obviously all the back and forth between him and Rogers and all that stuff. But to be so secure with who he was and what he was doing. his process and to never feel friend. You know, he was always there to give advice and give help and break down a place for me. Like, I mean, was just, was just so awesome to me.

And Chase, Chase is the same way. Chase is so damn smart. But Chase would haze the shit out of me. I mean, just absolute haze me. You know, especially my rookie year with, you know, having to do, you know, pick up shoulder pads and pick up donuts and this and that and the other. But both were awesome, awesome, awesome to be around. You know, people often ask me, like, why is Andy such a better offensive coach than, like, 99% of people?

It's just beside the crazy stuff that now Mahomes does, even back when, were you at the game when Jamal Charles had like the three against the Raiders? Scream. Oh, yeah. Five touchdowns. Oh, yeah. There's a year before. Yeah, five. I think it like four or five total and then like the three screens, yeah.

It was just like, why do you think coach Reid is such a good offensive play caller slash schemer? I mean, it goes back, I think because of what I talked about before, like he's not afraid to put guys in different positions. I mean, to tell a guy like Jamal like, hey, man, you're going to flex around and you're going to move around. Like, you may have just played running back at Texas your whole life, but you're going to play a little receiver. And Kelsey, you're like, he just thinks outside the box.

And another fun thing is, you know, we'd be in morning meetings and he would show up like at, you know, seven, not he'd already be there in the facility, but he'd walk into her meeting and he'd have like a napkin of dribbled up place and he'd like look at us. What do you guys think of this? He said, I woke up last night and just thought of this and just wrote it down. Like he'd have like just random like, you know, 7-11 napkins by his bed or in his office where he would just jot down ideas. And I think that, man, it just really pushing the limits of what each player can do.

And then when you give that player that responsibility, I think guys like that more. You know, they like to be, you know, to know that, hey, Coach Reed views me as not just this, but this, this, this, this, and this and this. And this is how I can better the offense. And I think that helps guys take their game to another level as well. So not only is it the schematics, but it's getting the most of the players. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast. Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

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Hypothetically speaking, would you rather go NIL money, pay taxes, or get the large brown bag, no taxes, hypothetically speaking? I mean, is there a difference in the money? I mean, what are we talking about? You got a factor in the taxes. Yeah, I mean, similar for quarterbacks, you guys now. I mean, I don't know if brown bags were ever hitting seven figures. Have you ever thought about like what you would have done?

You know, let's just let's just say half a million dollars, you know, at 19 years old. Half a million dollars of brown bag money. Like the problem with that is that's, that's, that's a no brainer. Well, no, I don't know if there's no brainer. I mean, how are you going to clean that cash? That's true. Are we going to have to go, you guys don't have to pay for cars or food or anything? You just pocket money.

Yeah, but what am I going to do with half a million dollars in cash? I'm going to stuff under my bed in my dorm room. I don't know. I mean, that just, to me, that sounds stressful. And I'll end up getting like arrested because I'll put it all my bank account. And then all of a sudden, I, you know, get a knock on the door like, where'd all this half a million dollars come from? And you haven't reported any of it. So I've watched too many Ozarks and stuff like that.

That's true. That's true. I have to find a way to clean it. So it's stress me out. So give me that aisle. The stories on these NIL, I mean, you're living it around these guys hearing these stories calling it. Is it a little overblown?

Not necessarily for like a Caleb, but just the average. Way over both. Is everyone making $375,000? It is so overblown. It is your superstars. It's top recruits because of these collectives. These collectives are putting together pretty lucrative packages for some of these recruits. Like a down payment to buy, like to get the guy?

Or do I sign a deal over the course of his career? How does that work? You sign a deal over the code. He signed like essentially a deal. I just don't know how long like that's going to last because, you know, A&M just dealt with this. You get this incredible recruiting class. Guys are smoking weed in the locker room. Guys, half that class is gone.

That was my favorite SEC story in 2022. Dude, smoking weed in the locker room. I'm like, if I'm a booster and I just wrote a check for 100K and that's what I just paid for. don't think that I'm going to write another check for 100K next year. I just did that model is so unsustainable and not what NIL was intended for. And at some point, the market's going to correct itself a little bit. It's a mess right now, so we'll see. But I will say what you said is it ain't, everyone ain't getting paid.

That's for sure. There's definitely a we got our haves and we got our have nuts. Just like the NFL though. That's like the NFL, marketing. Yeah, that's true. You know, the big boys are getting paid. You know, obviously you got a salary cap, so it's not that big of a deal.

I mean, guys are still getting paid, but, you know, offense alignment aren't getting $2 million, $3 million of marketing money. They're getting their base salary. They're getting their Madden check and that's about it. When you go to one of these spring games or you call a game, the number one thing, the assistant coaches are complaining about is dealing with NIL and transfer guys? Yeah.

Not even close. Right. Yeah. 24-7. it's it's I hope the market corrects stuff a little bit and it goes to what it was intended for which was you ball out and

your waffle house wants to give you a deal then you get a deal with Waffle House or Nike or Gatorade not you know hey we want to go incentivize this kid out of high school who's never played college football to come to our university we're going to offer him $13 million like the whole Jaden Roshata thing like that's just stupid that guy even good

I guess you'll find out being there in Arizona. You'll find out soon. Well, like two years ago, I was living in the Bay Area and he was right down the street, kind of close to where Najee Harrison played high school football. And he was kind of a late, you know, Najee, people knew about him when he was like 10. This guy was kind of a late bloomer. And then it just kind of took off like a wildfire.

And then all of a sudden he's being offered $15 million from Florida collective and like that. No, this is not happening. But that feels kind of like a seminal moment in this whole thing, where people are like, this is, or is that too much? Maybe, maybe not. He's like, I don't know if he's somewhere on like, he was around that like 10 number 10 mark for quarterbacks.

I mean, he was going to get paid more than all these other quarterbacks that were, you know, projected a lot higher than him. I just, it made no sense. It got to be some battle between, believe, them and Miami and just number got being bit up and bit up and bit up. Yeah, that's true. And obviously got a little bit too out of control. So I don't know. I just, I think, like I said, at some point, booster. are going to be like no moss.

Like we can't just keep funding these kids. What do you got on tap? The rest of the week of 9 at Augusta maybe later this week? Or what does a guy, former quarterback in Georgia do? I would love that. Try and golf as much as I can, you know, as long as the white flight's me. We got two kids now, which a little bit tough. And daily show and snaps, maybe.

So if you need a good college football show, you know, we got our brand new channel now. So make sure you check it out. on YouTube, YouTube.com, backslash at volume snaps. It's myself and Teabob. So we have a lot of fun. You know, I kind of chatting up before this show right now. And Teabobbob is one of the best characters in all of college sports. So we have a good time.

Absolutely. You would not know. You just think he was like a radio performer. He also played football at LSU. You know, it's not like he said. Highest ranked player on NCAA his senior year for LSU. What was his number? I think you, I mean, spend the 90s, several in the 90s.

Now, because, you know, you former athletes complain non-stop, the game may never come back. You know, everyone's bitching that they're only getting $500 or something. I read, I saw a headline. Because they're so stupid, so stupid. Like, who cares? Yeah, there's 7 million players. What do you think? Every guy is going to get $7,000?

Take your money, be in the game, and be happy. Oh. It's just that's some agency that's trying to make a name for itself and put players together and tell them that they're getting ripped off. Is it a great deal for you? Probably not. Who gives a crap? Just sign your name and you're going to be on the game.

And guess what? Guess what? NCA, the game, was great without you. And I guarantee you they'll move forward without you too. People don't care. The number one mode in NCA is Dynasty mode, which you're out of Dynasty mode after two years anyways. So they'll be happy just to go on with the game even without you.

So don't, don't be an idiot. Well, Aaron, thanks for coming on, bro. Have a, have a good rest of the summer. I know you guys, you guys in the south, you go to the shore, you go to here, and, you know, weather's good down there. Your ocean's about, you know, 80 degrees. This isn't the Pacific Ocean out here. But you got some sharks and alligators.

You got a lot of critters down there. Yeah, we'll have a good time. Well, appreciate you having me on today. Take it easy, man. The volume. Another podcast from some SNL, late night. comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and

head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where Doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.