The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 3 - USC HC Lincoln Riley joins The Herd

Episode Date: February 2, 2026

Colin talks to NFL reporter Albert Beer who is at Radio Row about why Patriots HC Mike Vrabel is the total package, thoughts on the Vikings firing their GM, Sam Darnold making other teams realize they made a mistake, and more He also talks to USC head coach Lincoln Riley about the Trojans strength of schedule this season, QB Jayden Maiava, how the sport has changed, and moreSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. We are not on Radio Row at Super Bowl Week, although I'm dashing up there Wednesday. Albert Brear is Monday morning quarterback. He is joining us live from San Francisco. You know, it's interesting. People have said, I've heard this from friends. It doesn't really move me.

You got a team from the Pacific Northwest and then the Patriot. feel like there's still a little bit in a rebuild. Is there a storyline that intrigues you the most? And maybe it is Darnold. It's predictable. Is there one thing that jumps out to you that if you ran the network, you would sell this as the storyline? Yeah, I'd say a couple things, Colin.

The first thing would probably be Drake May's shoulder. It's something we're going to be following all week and kind of how that storyline took on a life of its own last week. And so where is he at? He was limited in practice on Thursday. he didn't practice on Friday. So just in the micro sense, that would be one. As far as like a macro storyline,

I think the Seahawks feel like they're on the verge of where they were 12, 13 years ago on the front end of something. And this is not a one-off. And if you look, you see a lot of really solid pieces at the premium positions. And I said this to you, I think, before the year. I looked at the Seahawks of the Packers in the same category. This is before the Packers traded for Micah Parsons. they had a lot of very good young players where if those guys could just elevate to become great players they'd really have something and that's more or less happened hasn't it i mean you look at it across the board jackson smith and jigba really good receiver now he's a great one charles cross at left tackle kenneth walker at running back byron murphy at defensive tackle devon witherspoon at corner you know you have guys that were probably pro ball type players becoming all pro type players and those guys are all young and so

You know, just talking to Seahawks people over the course of the last few months, they really felt like the team was continuing to get better over the course of time. That was because of that individual improvement. Now, what Sam Darnold is on this stage is going to be really interesting because for the most part, outside of a couple of games, he's been the same guy for two years now. Yeah. Like those games in Minnesota last year at the end of the year,

he didn't have his left tackle, the offensive line in general, didn't do a good job of protecting him against Detroit or the Rams. but for the most part he's been the same guy over the course of the last last couple of years. So now you're looking at like this quarterback with a chance to have full redemption and become the guy that everybody thought he was going to be when he was picked third

overall coming out of USC to the Jets and you have this team around him that looks like it could be another version of what John Schneider and Pete Carroll built 12 or 13 years ago. We were, you know, I was saying about 30 minutes ago, I said a Vrable could be

the best ex-player coach ever. Mike Ditka obviously formed the 85 bears. I just think when I look at Vrable intellectually and his ability to compartmentalize media responsibility, players drafting, developing, you know, so much of sports debates is about hoisting trophies. I don't think there are three coaches in this league smarter than Mike Vrable,

just in terms of, and you know this, Albert, he is the one patriot ever that didn't suck up to Belichick. First day, I mean, he has always challenged Belichick. When you cover this team and you're in that part of the country, there's a certain reverence he's almost held in. He's like the guy you don't want to mess with. I mean, how would you categorize him? I mean, he's always been that guy.

That's the other thing. I could tell you a story when he's 18 years old. He was a freshman at Ohio State. His high school coach showed up at the Ohio State facility to go and visit him. him and a couple other guys there asked where Mike was. Somebody told him Mike is in Cooper, in John Cooper's office, the head coach's office. And the coach walks in there and he sees Mike in there with his feet up at 18 years old. And so this is sort of like always who Vrable has been.

And I think what he's evolved into is the total package as a head coach, leadership, relationships, scheme, game management, roster building. I just think when you're talking about the totality of what a head coach is, Mike Frable checks every single box. And I think it really crystallized for me when I was hearing about how they put the team together during the last offseason, right? And this isn't really Gerard Mayo's fault,

but the personnel department the year before went into it with Gerard Mayo as the coach, and they had a bunch of new guys, and those guys didn't really know what they wanted at every single position. And so it kind of became hard for them to put the team together. When Vrable came in there,

he knew exactly what he wanted from an intangible standpoint, from a skill set standpoint, at every single position. And that weaponized the personnel department to go up and find guys who are fits. And that I think is why, I mean, you look across the board. It's home run after home run after home run at different levels of free agency. They hit in the draft. Like they would tell you, Craig Woodson was a fourth round pick. They would tell you they viewed him as a starter from the time they drafted him,

and he winds up starting. And so I just think Mike has grown into becoming the two. total package as a head coach. I think the last piece came together at the end in Tennessee when there was some dysfunction in the building that really wasn't his fault. But I don't know that he did everything to bring things back together either.

And you saw the lesson he learned when he came into the first day into England and said, I'm going to unify the building. And he's really been able to do that. Again, like I think he checks every box as a head coach and you put him together with that quarterback and they should be able to sustain success. So a couple of things happened

this weekend. I was saying earlier a couple hours ago, you can do a lot wrong as a GM. You can miss on a lot of picks. But Brandon Bean got Josh Allen right and he got promoted. Okay.

If John Lynch doesn't draft Brock Purdy, that Trey Lance draft pick, he could have lost his job. And I look at Minnesota firing their young Princeton, Stanford, Wall Street GM, and my take is, if Donald goes to Seattle,

and struggles and win six games, but it was the weekly reminder, okay, you had Daniel Jones in the building, you had Donald in the building. I read a lot of stuff about fraternity leave and relationships. Isn't so much of this job, Albert, just hit the quarterback,

and owners forget about a lot of other mistakes. Well, I made the point in my column this morning, like, that they actually offered a hall for Drake May, and they love Drake May, Kevin O'Connell loved him. Josh McCown, who's their quarterback's coach, actually coached Drake Bay in high school. And so they were all in and trying to trade up for them now. New England, to its credit, wouldn't budge.

But how different does this look of Drake May as the quarterback right now? Right. Like, I mean, like, it looks, it's a totally different deal. If now Sam Darnold was your quarterback in 2024 and you're offloading him to go to Drake Bay in 25, I mean, they may still be playing right now, like based on where the rest of the roster is And so, you know, I think like with Quasi, it was the totality of everything. It was some of the work hours he kept. And that stuff was out there and had been kind of circulating in NFL circles for quite some time.

Not as much internally, but externally, you heard it from a lot of people that were out on the road and scouting. And that sort of stuff gets around. And I think when you compound that with mistakes that are made in the draft, and you compound that with roster building issues. and then you do what you did at quarterback and it doesn't work out. Obviously, then everybody's going to point right back to the other stuff and say that was the problem. And so I think it's the totality of it and that I think some of those things shrunk Quasi Adolfo Menza's margin for error with everything else. And then when he slipped up, all that stuff came back to Hana.

Yeah. I think, and I haven't thought this very often, but Clint Kubiak, Fernando Mendoza, I like their general manager. I think when they make that move, I worry about Clint Kubiak, I don't care who it is, Albert, what career. When you get the greatest job you've ever had in your career, it is hard to focus. I worry a little bit about that with Donald and the Seahawks. but I let's talk about that I think this one of the few times I really feel positively about the Raiders from Brady's Association

Spy Tech Clint Kubiak Fernando Mendoza how is he viewed around the league and in you tell me Kubiak's got a I think it sounds like Arizona wanted him as well how is he viewed I think this is the highest compliment I can give him like his dad you know I think that that's that's how people view him

he carries himself the same sort of way. And I think one of the best things you can say about him is he was genuinely uncomfortable pursuing the opportunities that were in front of him because he really was truly committed to the Seahawks playoff run. Now everyone says that, right? But the reality is, like, you've got this job in front of you that could be the greatest opportunity you'll ever have and it's hard to keep your focus on the task at hand

when that's kind of on the side there. But Clint was very disciplined about that. this. Clint didn't want a big deal made of it. I knew some things here that were like very difficult to report about what was going on because Clint was very tight about the way that he was handling all of this. And so I think that that's a, I think that's a good sign of his self-awareness, which is an important piece of being a head coach. We know what he can do from a scheme standpoint. I think what's cool about him is that he kind of fell on his face at the end in New Orleans. and I know he learned from that

and took valuable lessons from that and the Seahawks are reaping the rewards of that now and I think he'll be able to put together a good staff like I think there's a possibility he's going to try to get Jim Schwartz out of Cleveland and so now you start to talk about some of these pieces coming together and because of his connections in the league

and because of the respect he engenders now you can start to build a program and so obviously a lot of this is still going to come down to is Fernando Mendoza the right guy and are they able to put the right pieces around the young quarterback? Like, it's always going to come down to that. But, I mean, Clint was in high demand for a reason, and his name picked up steam in December,

and I think he went from thinking, maybe I get one or two interviews to everyone wanting to talk to him, and then at the end, having his pick of two jobs, which is pretty remarkable when you consider where he was a year ago. Okay, so I'm looking at every coach hired from Mike LaFleurre to Brady to Monkin to Halfleys, to Fansky, Harbaugh, Jesse Minner, Mike McCarthy, Robert Sala. Is there one of these?

Now, most of us, we feel very strongly about a John Harbaugh. We're not sure about, you know, Todd Monkin. Is there one of these hires that if I said to you, Albert, in four years, one of them ended up being sneaky good, that you looked at it and you went, wow, that really fell together. I mean, J. Mack made this point earlier that if you look at Arizona's town, You know, Mike LaFleur walks in there if they ever get the quarterback right, like they have some really interesting elements. Now the division's tough. But is there one to you that you're like, that one's going to be better than the market thinks today?

So, Stefansky's too obvious, right? So I won't go to Sifansky because I think he was kind of like right there with Harbaugh as far as the pursuit. Teams loved him and really had a lot of respect for the job that he did in Cleveland. give me i like jeffley in miami wow and i like jeffley in miami here's why all right and i feel the same way about jesse minter but like that might be a little too easy too because the program like he's going into a program he was already in i like what they're doing because i think they're focused on the right things and i think the front office there before they went out look for a new general manager new head coach says we did not do it a good enough job over the

four years drafting and developing. They had fewer draft picks than any team in the league over the last four years. Their 22 draft class was an abject disaster. There's just not young talent on that roster. And I look at John Eric Sullivan coming from Green Bay where they draft and develop their own and that roster always has good young talent on it. And then I look at Jeff Hathley, who was there in Green Bay and was a part of that. Not only that was a college head coach playing at a disadvantage, right, like at Boston College, where he had to develop young guys to be competitive. And I just, I mean, when you're talking about, like, I always think of it this way, right? Could I explain this to my 11-year-old or 9-year-old son, why this is logical,

right? Like, I think it's one of those where it's like, we didn't have good enough young talent, we're bringing in guys who can develop young talent. And so, like, I kind of like where Miami is, and I think that one has a chance to look a little bit better than people think. What was around the league? What did people say about Mike McCarthy and Steelers to you? So I think that one, the way most people digested it was the Steelers don't want to be bad. And I wonder what this is going to look like in two years because a lot of people's logic on the Steelers was it's time now to tear it down. Right?

And it's time at this point to go in. Jalen Ramsey's in his 30s, T.J. Watson is in his 30s. Aaron Rogers in his 40s, you're going to have to go and find a new quarterback. I think it's something like nine of the 22 starters in their last game or 29 or older. It is an older team. And it just felt like the right time to say, we're going to jam on the reset button, go with the young coach like we always have, like a Chris Shula, somebody in their 30s that we can build around.

And maybe we'll be bad in the here and the now. But like we're going to try to build this thing back up. And that's not what they did. You know, like what they did, I think, is Art Rooney telling you, I want to remain competitive. I don't want to sink to the bottom of the league. I want to try to get a little bit more out of the core I have in place. And the best way to do that is to bring in a guy who's got experience

and who's won in two different places. So I think the message here is we don't want to sink to the bottom of the league. We feel like we have a team that can still win right now. Whether they're right or not, I'm not sure. We'll see. But it felt to me at the end of the year, like that was a place in need of a reset. And I don't think that they're going to go through a full reset now based on who they hired as their head coach. Albert Breer, enjoy it.

I hope to see at the volume party on Wednesday, buddy. And thanks. All right. Thanks, Colin. You bet. Of course, we'll both be having an ice tea. Stay laser focused. Don't stay out late.

All about clarity, Jay Mack. We're not out there on the mean streets. the Bay Area. That's why you've got to be careful when you travel with J-MAC here. Things get a little Randy. Well, first of all, I'm not a lock to be joining you. It's 50-50 coin flip, but it depends what's it. Is it an open bar? Are we talking to? Of course. It's my party. Of course, be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. St. Gaut's here. I have a podcast empire. It continues to grow. And I have brought it here to I'm also doing a live radio show from 3 to 5 p.m. Eastern because my wife wanted to kick me out of the

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Stugatsen Company and God bless football. Taylor's livelihood depends on it. Do it today. And you can check all of those out on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? We created

our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how did we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember.

I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas.

And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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 Letter 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying,

and nobody's telling you exactly what happens. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer-beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs.

And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jenchen won. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface.

Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of I Heart Women's Sports. Do you see Melania this weekend? That documentary is catching fire. Yeah, opening night. I was there.

Great, great film. It's getting some assorted, mixed reviews. Yeah. It had kind of a godfather vibe to it, like just an all-time classic. Right out of the gate. J-MAC with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the Herdline News. All right, you know we love gambling, Colin, and it's time to start thinking about Super Bowl 60 MVP. I was surprised to learn that Sam Darnold is the MVP favorite. I mean, it shouldn't be, right? Quarterback of the team that's favored by four to a half five points. JSNN is third. Drake May is second. Okay, all right.

So Darnold plus 120, Drake May plus 235, JSN, followed by Kenneth Walker, who's an interesting choice. With Charbonnet out, he's going to get a lot of touches. That's right. The Patriots linebackers are not great in coverage. I don't know that he's going to have a lot of running room. I interestingly, no defensive players in the top six. Now, if you like an under, like me, you start looking at some maybe. DeMarcus Lawrence.

DeMarcus Lawrence, possibly. Is there somebody in the secondary, you know, the same young safety you love? I'm unwarie. I hope I said his name right. Yeah, he's tremendous. Rashid Shaheed, plus 3,000. Yeah, you could see him having a kickoff for a touchdown. Special teams.

He's a beast. Ramandre Stevenson plus 2,800, interesting. Yeah. Anything, I mean, listen, if your guy Darnel gets MVP, holy cow, you're going to be more insufferable than normal. Come on, Darnold going from cast off by the Jets and the Panthers, bench warmer on the Niners to MVP. No, this is the second time Seahawks and Patriots have met in a Super Bowl,

and I have mixed feelings because I grew up in the Northwest. I love the Seahawks. I love Darnold. but I spent 10 years with New England, and I'm a big, I know Mike Frable, if there was a team beyond the Seahawks to win it that I'd be happy, it would be the Patriots. So there's certain teams, like the Rams here in Los Angeles, now I know some people with the bears. You want to see people that you like rewarded. So when these two teams meet, I have, I just want it to be a really good game.

But don't you want Texas, is it your sister who's a big Seahawks fan? Oh, big Seahawks. Come on, we've got to go Seahawks here. We've got to become the Seahawks. So I will say I watched your favorite movie The Big Short over the weekend. Yeah. And I wonder if there's a long shot defender that will give out maybe later on the week. All right.

There's got to be somebody. I can't go with the quarterbacks. All right. Next up, let's go with the Rams. Some news today, Colin. Good stuff in that Sean McVeigh and Les Sneed, the dynamic duo head coach and GM. They have announced a multi-year extension for both. Rams came within one game of the Super Bowl.

They were thought to be pretty much the best team in the league. for most of the season. McVeigh has just been such a home run as a head coach, playoffs in seven of nine seasons. He's 10 and six in the playoffs. And you know what less needs done, obviously, in the draft and free agency, DeVonte Adams. They don't miss a lot. You know, I mean, they draft and develop and they don't miss a lot. And if you look at that offense is Higby the tight end and Kyron Williams and Pooka Nakuwa. Great roster. Jordan Winningham.

And there's a lot of third, fourth, fifth, sixth round guys. that can really apply. All right, final story is Green Bay Packers have a new defensive coordinator, and that's Jonathan Gannon. He will replace Jeff Haffley. By the way, the Albert Breer take on Jeff Haffley. Dad had to be floored that Haffley's going to be a home run. I like this Gannon move, by the way.

Obviously, having Michael Parsons back in Green Bay will be very important. Gannon was thought to be a good defensive mind. It didn't totally translate with the Cardinals, but it's Arizona. They don't have a ton of talent. Any thoughts on Gannon and Green Bay? Yeah, I mean, I think, I know one person in the, league who knows him and speaks highly of him and i think green bay is a place where they have their

act together so most of the time if you go to green bay you know you're working in a really smart work environment and um i thought halfley was great yeah he was good so remember he's getting a healthy micah parsons well with micah halfley was great without him they started to hemorrhage points at the end that's right j mackle the news well that's the news and thanks for stop The Herd Lye News. Lincoln Riley at USC's around the corner. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app.

Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts.

We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. We were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down?

Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my life. little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL'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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending. Opinions are flying. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversy. and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action

with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jenshin win. I mean, she went down in three to Roebuckina,

but I'm delighted. is an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Big Ten schedules came out, and there's so many interesting things about what NI. is doing to college football and college basketball. The rosters are older. I saw something the other day where the last three national champions, Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana are older teams. And like all these young freshmen, you bring in, they're flashy. You want mustaches and beards on your football team. And Lincoln, Ronnie, the USC coach, who just got his Big Ten schedule.

You know, it's interesting. You actually have both. You have number one recruiting class in the country. But I want you to talk about that, how NIA. I mean, the bottom line is if I have a guy that's been in my weight room four years opposed to right out of high school, do you have, do you believe you have enough 23-year-olds to compete for the national championship next year? We do. We've got a good mix of, you know, the freshman class that you referenced,

a really good freshman class that came in, I think provides some talent and depth and really, I think just upgrades our roster. But honestly, most importantly, we return so many guys, especially. especially at key positions, guys that have been major contributors for us the last few years. We're going to be very experienced at O-Line, at quarterback, at running back, at linebacker, a defensive line. So kind of those core positions on your football team, we're going to have a nice mix of experience, guys that have done it with also a really,

really talented freshman class that we expect several of those guys to come in and contribute as well. So two players I want to talk about, Lemon the receiver is a remarkable player. have been told and two people in the NFL have said, I'll deny it if you say it. They think he is a kind of a J.S.N. player that could go mid-first and be dynamic as a rookie in the NFL. Or McKay Lemon, did you think he would be this good? When did you drive home one day and go, man, this kid is different? Because he's got a little JSN. route running hands, strong hands. Once he gets it, you can't get it away, but not a burner.

When did you realize how good he was? Yeah, the two cops I hear the most are JSN and then St. Brown, even past just the USC ties. And he's a special player. He just got better and better as time went through. He got more confidence. He was able to stay healthy. And I think the time we really started to see what this kid could be was,

was a year ago, kind of the back half of that year, he really started playing well, really established himself as the best receiver on our roster. And then from there, even though he started to have some success, it's like that fueled more confidence. It fueled the work ethic continuing to grow. And he just got better and better. And he's just such a consistent player. He was so easy to teach, so easy to coach because he was hungry and really understands

the game on top of having some of the physical skills. So, yeah, I think this is a guy. I think that could fit in at any offense at the next level does so many things well, and somebody's going to be really happy with this kid. So I defended you and USC about the Notre Dame game, and my take was, go look at the Big Ten schedule. Folks, give me a break. Indiana is now formidable.

Iowa should have beaten Indiana. Penn State hired Matt Campbell. Excellent coach. You know him well. Michigan, Ohio State. and my takeaway was, I saw a fan the other day, and I said, do you know where the Notre Dame game would go? That'd go right in between Ohio State and Indiana.

You really think that's the way to get to the playoff. So when people push back on that, your take was what? Two things. I mean, one, we tried to allow for the game to continue. The other side didn't, and therefore it's not going to get played the next few years. And then past that, like our strength of schedule, the quality of competition that we're going to play, here in LA at the Coliseum and on the road is as good as anybody in the country, and that's part of being in this league.

So we're excited about our schedule. We've got a lot of great games, a lot of great challenges that are coming up that will give our team, our program, a chance to prove everything that we want to prove next year. Jaden Maiava is coming back. It is unbelievable how many top Big Ten quarterbacks are going to be Sunday players. I thought he was about, you know, second round player. I'm like he could use an extra year. I'm not sure.

Did you have to re-recrued him or did he come to you and say, hey, listen, if the NIL thing worked, because I think he's a Sunday player, but you really transformed him this. I didn't think that a year and a half ago. Mid-season, I went, wow. I remember the Illinois game going, man, he is making really tough throws. How good can he be?

I think he can be really good. As you said, the difference from two years ago to last year, how much he improved, his awareness, his confidence, his command of the offense was so much better. And I think those of us around him feel this kid's still got a whole another level to his game and still so much he can improve on. So he was all in really from the beginning for returning for next year. I think he knows what this team's capable of.

I know that he wants to continue to improve as a player and lead this program and has a lot of unfinished business here at SC. So glad to have him back. It's obviously a key position to be able to return a guy that's been productive, that's been consistent, has the experience he does. So a great thing for our program to have Jaden back. A lot of people grumble about the NIL, but I don't get the Indiana story without it,

and I love that story, and I don't get the old Miss story without it, and I was getting tired of Alabama and Clemson. I like the Blue Bloods. I love the sport. Now that things have settled with the NIL, is there anything that you love about it? I know it's not traditional, but is there anything you're like,

you know what guys this part of it is excellent i think the parity i i think it's what you said it's stories that wouldn't have happened before that are happening now i mean now you know now there's not just one part of the country paying players everybody's able to do it and and it's a great thing because i do think it's created a much more level playing field and it's given schools the opportunity to to really compete if they want to invest and and i think it's been a great thing for players. We all know there's still parts of it to be worked out. It's obviously not a finished product by any stretch of imagination, but it has gotten better. There has been a lot of positives, and I think you're going to continue to see a lot of great stories, a lot of new opportunities

for all different types of programs, which I think is really good for the sport as a whole. Hey, before we go, your new D.C. Gary Patterson, do you know he plays a mean guitar? Have you ever heard him? Oh, yes, I have. I've heard it live. Oh, wow. Yeah. Yeah, he's talented dude. Congrats on that. He can do it. He can do it. We do a coach's charity golf tournament at Pebble Beach every year.

And so every year he gets up on the guitar and entertains the crowd. He's pretty good. Hey, yeah, good seeing again, coach. You too. You too, go on. Thanks. All right, Lincoln Riley. Yeah, it's really interesting about NILJ Mac.

Like, you get older players. And if you, I went, there was a graph on the internet. Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana. A lot of 23-year-old dudes. Yeah. And so that's why. why, what does that help the fan? Well, you watched Indiana, Miami.

It felt a little bit like a pro game. Yeah. Like, I mean, Miami was running like half zone, half man to man. Indiana's fourth down play calls. You're like, this is really high-end level football. It's not pro, but it's not college from eight years ago. And I think the sport, the quality of the games and quarterback play, I think college football with older players has just gotten smarter.

Oh, definitely. And I like his little dig there more than one part of the country paying players. Very nicely done, Lincoln. That was a five-star jab. You've been saying the same thing. I mean, a lot of people have said it. I just like how he slid it in there. Just slit it in. Yeah. Yeah. Notre Dame. I was at the airport. I was at the airport yesterday. A couple of Notre Dameers. The husband and the wife, the wife's name was Ginger. They want to see USC and Notre Dame play. Yeah. I don't think Lincoln Riley wants to see that. Well, I told those Notre Dame fans, I said, well, when you guys play maybe a varsity schedule instead of the JV. What are you calling it, a Big 12 schedule? I mean, go look at Notre Dame schedule and any Big Ten schedule. Go look at Ohio State schedule.

Go look at Texas's schedule. And look at Notre Dame's. Don't hate the player, hate the game. That's right. Don't hate the player. All right, we got through it. Super Bowl week. You got Christian McCaffrey going on this week of it.

Ooh. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

Nice. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick.

Tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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, SNL'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

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