The Kevin Sheehan Show - Aiyuk Soon?

Episode Date: March 11, 2026

Kevin opened with the three new Washington additions on day 3 of NFL Free Agency. His analysis included an overview of the Commanders' aggressive start to the off-season. Steve Suter jumped on to share his thoughts on Chig Okonkwo and Nick Cross, both of whom played at Maryland. Former NFL safety Donte Whitner who does a 49ers podcast joined Kevin to discuss whether or not Washington should sign Brandon Aiyuk when he is likely released by San Francisco. Kevin finished up with more on Bam's 83 against the Wizards last night, the Terps' final game of this miserable season, and the NFL's plan to play on Wednesday night before Thanksgiving.   For all your football betting needs: DCRELOAD at MyBookie for a 50% Deposit Match Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You don't want it. You don't need it, but you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Sheehan Show. Here's Kevin. Three new players added to Washington's Free Agent Hall today, and that's a good word for it because that's what it's turned into. Since Monday, and as of the recording of this show today, Washington has signed seven new players that's near the top of the league

in both new players added and months. money spent in free agency so far. This show's presenting sponsors, Windows Nation, 86690 Nation, windownation.com if you need new windows. The three new players added today since the podcast last night, linebacker, New England,

Kalevon Chase-on, pass rusher, for sure. More on him coming up. This afternoon, Titan, tight end, Chigokanquo, former Maryland tight end, been in the league with Tennessee for four years. He was at or near the top of my wish list entering free agency.

It's good that the former Terp is coming back to play in the area where he played in college. And then one of his college teammates, Nick Cross, was signed just moments ago. He was drafted same year, 2022 out of Maryland by the Indianapolis Colts. I've got a lot to say about all three of the new ads. And Steve Souter will jump on with me in the next segment to talk about O'Conquo,

who he loves, and Nick Cross. He called all of their college games when they were at Maryland. Steve won't be the only guest on the show. We're going to talk about Brandon Ayuk on the show, who is expected to be released by the 49ers. It may have happened actually by the time you're listening to this podcast, but former NFL safety Dante Wittner, who does a 49ers podcast with Hall of Famer Patrick Willis.

Dante is going to talk about what happened with IUC in San Francisco and whether or not he thinks Washington should take a chance on him. Let me just mention that I've already recorded the conversation, with Dante, and he was so good in talking about IUC. I think this is must listen on IUC. That will be the third segment of today's show. And then I'll finish up the show in the fourth and final segment today with some thoughts on BAMs 83 last night against the Wizards,

the Terps season coming to an end earlier today at the Big Ten tournament, and an NFL schedule note that was announced earlier today. Before I get to my thoughts on the three new players, this from Danny C. in Potomac, Danny C writes, Kevin, this isn't just directed towards you, but it includes you. I'm pretty much over being told to shut up and sit down because I'm not a fan of Adam Peters. It seems like many of you in media

are carrying the water for Peters and even Josh Harris instead of holding their feet to the fire. I've listened to you enough to know that you are more than capable of holding our owners and general managers to a high standard, but you don't seem to be willing

to do it with Peters and Harris. And then to make matters worse, you and others in media have turned to patronizing fans. And that's just wrong. I hope you'll read this. Well, there you go, Danny C. I did read it.

So it seems to me, and I could be wrong, that Danny C, you're upset that people like me have said to people like you, or maybe not like you, but to people who were 15 minutes into free agency on Monday, calling for Adam Peters' head because he hadn't signed, you know, five big free agents in the first 15 minutes on Monday. Yeah, I certainly responded on Monday and even yesterday by saying, hey, everybody that seems to think that Adam Peters is doing a terrible job so far in free agency,

I did say, you know, calm down. You know, this isn't a two-minute musical chair. game. You know, it's not like if you don't find a seat in two minutes, you're out. And look, that may not be what you were referring to, Danny C. But if that's where you felt like people like me in sports media were saying, you know, calm the blank down. I didn't say shut up and sit down, by the way. That response usually comes at me, not from me. But I definitely told a caller or two the other day to relax. You know, you don't evaluate a GM's free agency 30 minutes into free agency or even a day

after free agency begins or even a week after free agency begins. You really don't evaluate it until they start playing games. But of course, we are going to evaluate some level of free agency before the games are played. But you don't do it in the first 20 minutes. The social media reaction on Monday to what they hadn't done so far, at least on my timeline, it just seemed over the top. I know it's social media, and that's hardly a fair representation, but I got calls with fans upset over Adam Peters not doing enough. As far as carrying water, I don't know what you want me to say to that. I think so far Adam Peters and Josh Harris and all of them out there, I think it's been a lot more good than not good.

That's my opinion. I promise you if my opinion was that they're doing a terrible job, I'd say that. And then I'd back it up with substance and with facts. But I don't believe that. I think they've done a good job. I think they've done a really good job in spots. Look, this past season was a real deal. disappointment. I get it. The expectations were high going in. They were the highest they've been for us

in forever. And they went five and twelve, and it was an ugly five and twelve. But come on, people. Like, there's a lot of context around that. There is no doubt that the most frustrating thing in follow-up to 2025 is when I hear people saying, yeah, they really regressed. I mean, 24 was such a fluke. They regressed big time. Jaden really regressed. I mean, he wasn't anywhere near the player he was in 2024. I just can't deal with that. Or I can deal with it, but I deal with it by saying, are you out of your mind? They didn't have their best players playing in games. That's why they were five and twelve. Jaden Daniels played in four complete football. Jaden, Daniels, played in four complete football. ball games. Come on, people. You don't judge a second-year quarterback when he plays basically

four games out of 17. It's a redshirt year. Standing said that to me on radio the other day. It's the right way to describe it. He basically had a redshirt year. You know, he got injured and they're redshirting him. The only problem with the redshirt description, of course, is that it's not like he gets an extra year on his rookie d'all. deal. But anyway, let's look at the big picture for Washington's free agency so far, with now the league officially open for business in 26. It is post-4 p.m. Eastern on March 11th. Here we go. As of this moment, Washington has added seven new players. That's the third most in the league right now in terms of added players that are new from other teams.

They are also currently third in dollars spent so far in free agency per spot track. Of course, that also includes Marcus Marioada's deal. But the Titans and Raiders have spent more so far, but Washington per spot track, third most dollars spent so far in free agency, third most in terms of new players added. We also know that they were interested in other big names and other big spending opportunities. Alec Pierce, Tyler Linderbaum, Jalen Phillips, Romeo Dobbs, and Trey Hendrickson, who committed to Baltimore this morning after the, you know, somewhat sketchy ending to the Max Crosby trade. Washington reportedly was very interested in

Hendrickson late last night into early this morning, and they were in the running for Trey Hendrickson. Remember, they were interested in Hendrickson last year, but Hendrickson goes to Baltimore in the division in the AFC North, and Washington then turned to Kalevon-Chayson as their second edge signing in free agency. But the point here is that while there's still a long way to go, Washington is been very aggressive in free agency. And I guess Danny C, that's where some of the frustration from people like me in sports

media stems from is that very early into the day on Monday, you know, a lot of fans. And again, social media, whatever, saying, wait a minute, we were told we had all this cap space that we were going to spend all this money. We were going to be super aggressive. Well, here we are, 52 hours, you know, into free agency. Washington's been one of the most aggressive teams in the league. They had money, and they needed players. On defense so far, they've added six new players.

Owey, Chason, Chenal, Settle, Robertson, and now Nick Cross. Oway, Chanel, I mean, penciled them in as starters day one. Cross, perhaps, is pretty close to a penciled-in starter as well, are certainly in the rotation at safety. Robertson is the likely slot nickel corner starter. Settle might start at nose too. I mean, the defense was horrendous last year, as we know, and now two months removed from the season finale.

They have a new defensive coordinator and pretty much a revamped staff defensively. And they have, you know, three to four new starters right now, minimum, and another two to three major contributors, and they're not done yet. That includes the draft. And yes, even at number seven, I don't think all of these defensive players being signed means that we can now say,

you know, Jeremiah Love or Carnell Tate at number seven. I don't think it means that. I still think if a David Bailey is there, if a Reese is there, I still think it's best player available. Now, what this allows them to do, which they should be doing anyway, is really put themselves, you know, at ease that they don't have to draft for need. They draft the best available players,

as long as that player is not a quarterback and he won't be. On offense, they got their wish and brought back Marcus Mariotta to be the backup for less money also than he made last year. By the way, today, Marcus Mariotta held, I guess, a Zoom press conference, had very nice things to say about David Blow. He actually preferred to move back to the West Coast, but he really likes it here and loves his role here and really thinks highly of David Blow. But Mario to coming back was big, but now the other add to the offense is Chig O'Conquo.

Not too bad so far. From my standpoint, for Adam Peters and the front office, I think they've done a really nice job. And yes, they've swung and missed on some players. You know what? That happens in free agency. You don't get everybody you want unless you have no discipline from a budget standpoint and you're willing to pay 20 to 30 percent above retail. That's why during all those years, the skins got. all the players because they were paying way above the market.

By the way, the team did lose one of their own today. That's been an interesting thing here in the first 52 hours or so of free agency is Chris Paul hasn't signed anywhere as of now. Bobby Wagner hasn't. Debo hasn't. You know, Ertz, some of the others. Chris Rodriguez was not tendered as a restricted free agent that had to happen. By 4 p.m. today, he hit the market and he signed a deal with Jacksonville.

He actually gets two years, I think it's $10 million, $5 million a year. I think I saw reported for Chris Rodriguez. I'm actually now a little bit upset about that. I really liked Chris Rodriguez, and they did not sign a running back in free agency. And I know that everybody's like, well, this just means Jeremiah Love, Notre Dame, number seven if he's on the board. I don't know if it means that or not. I really don't.

But Bill Kroski Merritt currently is the only running back under contract on the roster. Rashad White's still out there. He hasn't signed anywhere. But Rodriguez to Jacksonville gets decent money, man. Gets decent money. I think Chris Rodriguez is a good back. I do. All right.

Chigerconquo. This is, you know, along with Oway and Chenol probably my favorites. Chig, I've watched him since college, 6.3, 235, 240, a tight end, who is much more a pass-catching tight end than a blocking tight end. I think, by the way, the signing of a conco is a sign that Senate isn't the past-catching answer for Ertz not being on the roster. You know, he's not the Ertz replacement. Chigg is. When Peters said, and I went back to this and I think, you know, read the quote, or maybe I even played the sound for you a few weeks ago, when they drafted Senate, he said he reminded him of Kyle Eusecheck when they drafted him in San Francisco.

That may be the role for Senate, you know, in the new offense, in the David Blow offense, a fullback, you know, an H-back, you know, something similar to, you know, something other than a passive. catching a pure pass catching tight end. I mean, Chig is a pure pass catching tight end. He was so good at Maryland, man. I always thought that he was Vernon Davis light. I mean, Vernon's an all-time complete, you know, athletic freak and was at Maryland. But Chig, a con quo, is first and foremost really good after the catch. You know, on a bad offensive team with, you know, inexperienced quarterbacking this passion,

year and bad quarterbacking in his first three years. This year, he finished ninth in the league for tight ends and yards after catch. In terms of aggregate yards after catch, and again, they were not a very good offensive team. That's really what he is excellent at. He is really elusive and then physically overpowering at times, even though the size doesn't necessarily say that. He is physical after the catch.

He's got good vision as a runner after the catch. I think he's more explosive than maybe a lot of people think he is. He's a good route runner. He is a hands catcher. Really good feel for the football. Really good feel for space as a pass receiver. The thing that surprised me, and I didn't really know this until recently, he did not test well in terms of that RAS score that Adam Peters loved.

when he was coming out in 2020. He was picked by Tennessee in the fourth round, and he may have dropped to the fourth round because some of the athletic measurements weren't great. He does not have and did not have a good Rast score. You know, Nick Cross did, and a lot of the other players that Adam Peters's preferred have, which tells me he's drafting a guy he thinks

is much more athletic with a uniform on, and the game clock running than he is, you know, in underwear in Indy in the month of February. He ran 4-5-2 coming out. That's not bad, but the rest of the scores just weren't, you know, didn't add up to a great relative athletic score. I think he shows up on the field in uniform as a player with more than enough speed and athleticism. He doesn't miss games. He's played 17 regular season games in all four. of his seasons. Is he a great blocker? I don't think so, but I don't think he's a major liability as a blocker. I think some of the advanced numbers would say that he's really not very good as a blocker. But again, Tennessee as a whole really struggled offensively. I just really like the player.

I've liked him since he arrived in the pros, loved him as a college player, have followed his career in Tennessee. The money is reportedly three years, $30 million. So as far as the AAV goes, top 15-ish, money for a tight end seems right. He's 26 years old. They just got a lot younger at that position. And he's entering his prime. I love it. Nick Cross, another Terp, four years in Indy after being drafted out of Maryland in the same draft as a Conquo.

Third round for Nick Cross as a safety. Man, he's been a versatile safety, but he has really, really excelled the last two seasons in Indianapolis as an in-the-box strong safety. Listen to this. Among defensive backs over the last two seasons, only Buda Baker in Arizona has more tackles than crosses 266 for the Colts. He's been an impactful in-the-box tackling safety in the run game. He's 24 years. old. He came out early. He's six feet to 12. He blitzes well. And he, like a Conquo, plays and doesn't miss games. He's played in all 17 regular season games in each of his last three seasons. He missed

one game as a rookie. He's made 34 consecutive starts for the Colts since taking over in that strong safety spot in 2024. And for his career, 322 tackles. five interceptions, two forced fumbles, and three and a half sacks. I like Nick Cross as a player. I liked him at Maryland. He always looked like a potential pro player when he played at Maryland. Also, the money for Cross, two years up to $14 million. So up to $14 million.

Let's just assume that it's somewhere in the neighborhood of, you know, five and a half to $6 million a year that he's definitely going to earn. it might be $7 million a year. Regardless, he's the highest paid safety on the roster. Will Harris's deal last year, two years, $8 million, so $4 million a year. Nick Cross is going to be a significant part of what they do defensively on the back end. I could certainly see week one, Nick Cross as they're starting strong safety, Will Harris as they're starting free safety.

Lastly, Kalevon Chase-on. Look, he had a great 20-25, and because of it, he was certainly one of those edge pass rushers that people were talking about after the big names of Trey Hendrickson and Jalen Phillips and O'Way and Moffey. But he had an excellent year on an excellent defensive team at the end of the year of the New England Patriots. he did not have a very promising start to his career. At 6.3.25-2-60, Chase-on out of LSU was drafted in the first round, 20th overall by Jacksonville and produced next to nothing in four years with Jacksonville. They didn't pick up his fifth-year option.

He ended up signing with the Panthers where he was cut before the 2024 season. Then he was picked up by the Raiders put on their practice score. squad before 24. But then he got an opportunity in October of 2024 with the Raiders, and he played well enough to get himself a one-year, $5 million deal with the Patriots, and the rest is history. He played very well for the Patriots this year, seven and a half sacks on that defense. So he's got 12 and a half sacks in just the last two seasons. And really, it's not even two full seasons. And only 11 combined starts.

So, you know, they're catching a guy who's young, who may be coming into his own at 26 years old, who has real explosiveness as a pass rusher. And, yeah, that's what he did well. And he did it well throughout the postseason for New England as they really obviously got after it defensively in their wins over the Chargers. the Texans and then in the snow against Denver. But three sacks for him in the postseason, in addition to his seven and a half in the regular season.

You know, Washington added Doran's Armstrong, you know, in 2024, and then Armstrong had a really good postseason, and after having an okay regular season in 2024, came back and had himself really, I think, the best defensive regular season of any. on the team before he got injured. They signed Oway, who had an outstanding playoff game against the Patriots, and they signed Chason, who had seven and a half sacks during the regular season, but had three in the

postseason. So this guys played big in big spots, and they've got two edges. Would have been really, really interesting had the two edges been O'way and Hendrickson. but Chasin gives him another relentless high motor pass rusher. So there you go. The three new players added today. Lastly, here in this opening segment, and this is what I will get to with Dante Wittner,

and it hasn't happened in terms of any official news on Brandon Ayuk being released. The expectation is he will be released. It will be released. Jonathan Jones, who is a reporter for CBS Sports, tweeted out the following earlier. When the 49ers release Brandon Ayuk and he signs with the commanders, the expectation it will be a one-year deal. Washington isn't putting their wide receiver two eggs in his basket, though. It's a move that will come with risk. So there is a growing expectation that A, IUC will be released in B, Washington will be interested.

More on that coming up with Dante Wittner. But up next, Steve Souter will jump on with me. Steve called all of Oconquos and Nick Cross's college games. We'll get his thoughts on both of those players after these words from a few of our sponsors. Hey guys, I introduced you recently to Thrive Market, the convenience of getting items delivered, and then also being able to filter by dietary preference for the entire family, hard to beat. Thrive Market is a membership-based grocery service where you can shop from wherever you are. You simply just hop on their app.

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Back with me on the show is Steve Souter. Steve broke down film of Washington's games for us. all season long and did it very well. Steve's one of the greatest punt returners in the history of college football, having done his damage as a punt returner at Maryland in the early 2000s. He's been calling Terps games with Johnny Holiday now for several years, and he called every single game of Chigacanquos and every single game that Nick Cross played in as well, two of the players that Washington has added in free agency.

and I just wanted to get Steve's thoughts on both of those guys. And I know that you haven't watched a lot of their NFL stuff, but you knew the players very well. And you and I talked about Chig recently on the podcast, and you love what kind of player he is and the kind of person he is. So let's just start with what is Washington getting in Chigakanquo from your standpoint. I love Chigaconkow when he was with the Terps for sure. I remember specifically saying it during one of my broadcast

that he is the most athletic tight end that Maryland ever had next to Vernon Davis. He goes Vernon Davis number one. Then it goes Chig number two. And that's what he was. You could just feed on the field, just a very athletic guy, fluid. You know, maybe not a burner, right? He's not a 4-3, but it doesn't matter.

He plays with his speed and his size, and he had power too. so he could take a 10, 11-yard catch, break that one tackle, whether it be a lineback rear safety on him, and he could turn it into a 40-fifty-yard game. So he was just really goody doing that through his career at Maryland. Also, really smart guy. Interviewed him several times. He was doing a master's degree in school,

and it wasn't one of those fake ones. The dude's smart. He might have had two or three degrees, including the matchers. I'm not exactly sure. That's flipped in my memory because I'm not as smart as chick, but he was really intelligent, too, so you're getting a two-way player there, cerebral and athletic, and that's all he can ask for.

My only knock on him while he was at Maryland was when he did drop a pass, it seemed like it was on third down every time. So he's corrected that in the NFL, and he comes up with clutch catches, then I think he's a great fit, and he obviously was a good player with the Titans, even with the poor situation he's been in,

and the offense he's been in. He's been able to put up some good numbers, So I think it's a great signing for him. And the more I think about it, the more I thought about it, you and I talked about it and Pat, and just in it, is he going to be able to fill the shoes or do it? I don't think so. He actually sent it as an H-back kind of guy,

like a tweener, a full-back slash tight-end. Yeah. Not really a guy that's ever going to get down the field and get separation from anybody in the secondary or a linebacker, for that matter. You don't just all of a sudden become more athletic, and that's going to be since problems. So he's an H-Bec guy.

I'm really glad that Shig's there coming home and going to be the guy here for Washington. So, you know, it's interesting that you said that about Senate because a couple of weeks ago, I pulled the quote from Adam Peters when they drafted him and he said, you know, he very much reminds him in some ways of Kyle Yuschech, you know, a fullback in San Francisco. So that role may be more suited to Senate. Now, Chig, this is the Zach Ertz replacement. He's a pass-catching tight end. You're not going to rely on him to be your big-time blocking tight end, although he can do it.

It's not necessarily what he does best, correct? Hard for me to agree or disagree, just haven't watched him at the NFL level. I didn't get that sense in college, but that's a different level of football that you're playing there. might not have been asked. I mean, you say that, my gut says I never really solve him as a liability blocking, but again, probably not. Maybe he wasn't in trenches like that, and I wasn't paying attention that closely. So it'll be interesting for us to break down his film this year and see if I have as many negative scores as I used to give her as for a blocking situation. So I'm hoping that's not the case. Yeah, he, what's interesting about Chig, and I looked

this up because I thought it was going to read differently. What you said about him at Maryland, I always felt like I was watching Vernon Davis light. Because let me just say that Vernon Davis in college is one of the best tight ends I've ever watched anywhere in college. He was literally, you couldn't tackle him in the open field. He was such an explosive player and so great after the catch. Do you remember some of those games where he would just take defenders and just throw them with one arm with the ball and the other? Yeah, I got a quick, funny story. I may, let's see, it's spring, it's spring ball. Vernon comes on campus to visit. He's not in, he's not in school yet. And I'm out with a meniscus tear, so I'm not practicing in spring. So coach just said,

hey, can you walk around with Vernon and just be with him doing practice? Like, sure. So now are two guys just shooting his shit during practice. Obviously, he's towering over me, and he's got 40 pounds on me as well, all muscle, and he just asked me a question. He said, who's the best kind of team? And at the time, it was me. So I said, well, that's me. He said, well, not for long when he comes in.

I said, yeah, like, there's no way you were going to be even close to his fast. And he would how big you are and how tall you are. But sure enough, I mean, he didn't beat me, but he was close when he came in. So it was just so shocking that a guy that size and that much muscle could run as fast as he could. And he was a freak in the way from, he just, I mean, everything about him, just scream freaking. And it sure enough showed in the NFL too. He ran, I just looked it up. You know, he and Chig kind of the same size.

You know, they're both 6'3. Chig is 240. Vernon coming out was 245. Vernon Davis ran 438. coming out. 4-38. So my fans in college is 4-3-5. Yeah.

Obviously, I mean, he's right there next to me, but he wasn't doing that as a freshman. You know, four years of college and then you're training for it. That gets you that 4-38. But, I mean, the dude was just a freak. He really was. And I don't know if I would have thought of Conklo and his weight were the same. I would have put Vernon a little bigger. Yeah, me too.

In thinking about the two, you're right. But I just looked it up and they were pretty close. Now, back to, like, Chig not, you know, testing well coming out as a rookie. That probably was a big reason why he went in the fourth round overall. Remember, Vernon was, you know, not only a first round pick. He was, well, he was top five, wasn't he? Didn't the 49ers pick him? Yeah, he was at least.

Number six, number six overall. Now, you know, he was a better college player than Chig was. But Chig's testing, he ran a four, five, two. He didn't jump necessarily that great. And his overall relative athletic score, which a lot of teams use, Washington uses it. They just ignored it on Chig because he just plays differently than he tests. Because even in watching him at Tennessee, Steve, I never thought to myself anything other than that's the player I watched in college. He is really athletic.

He's a hands catcher. He's, you know, he's evasive, but he's also physical. He'll run people over. He'll search people out. I just, I'm, that may be one of those guys that, you know, the underwear Olympics really are completely fraudulent with somebody like him because he. Yeah. Yeah.

It's not just him, man. We could go, you should give me on a 10. I just hate all those scores and a rass or whatever you said. I don't even know the rhythm of it, and I don't care about it. So Combine annoys me, too. I'm not like an old head. I'm just, I'm a film guy, and I like to see what I see on tape. Watch the tape.

Who cares what your 40 and all that stuff that is up to? Do you see anybody catching chig on the film? If you don't see my catching chig on the film, I don't care every runs of 4-8. Yeah. If you don't get caught, he don't get caught. I'm not saying he's never going to get caught, but he had the ability to go 60. He's done it before. So it's in there.

He is athletic. I'd be curious. I mean, I want to put you on the spot, but what are the two of the tight ends that went before in the draft? How are they doing? Right? Here, I'll look it up. It won't take me long.

But, yeah. Shig is just, he was a really solid player for Maryland. He's a solid player for the Titans, which just, you know, makes it even better that you're just evolving there as a player. And you're getting numbers. I look, what, 56 catches, 560 yards, and two TD last year. Yeah.

With that squad, come on now. The dudes can play. It's a really good get for Washington. So he was the 10th tight end taken in the 2022 draft. Here were some of the tight ends taken before him. Pretty impressive list, actually. Trey McBride, who you can make the case.

He might be the best tight end in football right now. Jalani Woods, Greg Dulchich, who just signed. a free agent contract. Jeremy Ruckert, Kate Otton, just got a deal. Daniel Bellinger just got a deal. Charlie Kohler just got a deal. Jake Ferguson in Dallas. Isaiah likely was picked four spots ahead of Chig. So, yeah. So not a bad tight end draft, actually, in 2022. So legit reason to fall to where he did. Big pick for the Titans and now a good gift for the commander. I mean, he's a good player. You need another ball catcher for sure. I know you guys have been talking about that at probably nausea him on the off season. You need somebody else to catch the

football. You're hurting there. So this doesn't solve the issue by any means, but it helps. I mean, he needs somebody in that tight-in spot because who knows how Earth is going to come back. That was a bad knee injury. And I don't like Bates and I don't like Senate to fill that role at all. Yeah. Agreed. I, I, I, Actually, you know, I started to get to the point because I've been pushing for a con quo. I was starting to think that, well, maybe, maybe they really are believers in Senate. And they're not going to make a move, but they did. And it's a really good player from Tennessee.

All right. The other former Terp, Nick Cross, Safety, Indianapolis, you got to call all of his games as well. By the way, something real interesting about Chig and Nick Cross. between the two of them, they have missed one regular season game. That's it in their four years. They both came out in 22. Nick Cross missed one game as a rookie, played in all 17 games in 23, 24, and 25, and Chigaconquo played in all 17 games in all four years.

So availability has not been an issue. So what are your thoughts on Nick Cross? That's a very impressive set. The availability is awesome. First impressive for Nick Cross were every time I was watching the game, you could just tell it was an NFL safety. And Matt, you don't get that impression all the time.

A lot of the time I'm watching guys. You're like, ah, maybe, maybe not, maybe not. But Nick Cross, you could tell, yep, he's going to the league. I'm kind of a quiet guy amongst the team. Didn't really talk to him too much as far as interviews goes, so I can't speak to him on that level. but when you would pass him, whether it be on the plane or you'd be him get off the bus,

you would just be impressed just with his physique. So he definitely always had the body for. He was an impressive, he was an impressive, he was an impressive combine guy, I'm pretty sure if I remember correctly, he might have ran a four-three. But always had NFL implications to him, solid player from Maryland, never given getting beaten, doing things of that nature now.

I haven't watched him since he went to the league. I'm not even sure. I want to say he wasn't starting with the coach all the time or he was in and out, but I will say that. Yeah, he's been a starter in the last two years. And he's really, you know, kind of been versatile, although a lot of his best works been done as a strong safety, you know, in the box. He's excellent against the run. He's very good as a blitzing safety. So, you know, what did he play primarily at Maryland? Free or strong safety? he was oh man I want to say he was free

at Maryland I think he was free for the most time but the beauty of him was I mean his physique was so good I'm sure they didn't change right rolled him up had him at free

and then played him download at sometimes and your secondary needs I mean we already kind of went over us last I'm like Reeves and I'm people might laugh at me but Reeves was the only guy

that was indispensable for me in your entire secondary so bring him in I'm like Will Harris can go Martin can go They can all go in my book From the film I watched last season I think Reeves are just a great band-aid

That can help out the safety I'm not saying he's a starter But he can help out like he did all last season And I think that's an invaluable Player of that position So I'm all for trying somebody else And if he's been starting the last two years with the Colts And that makes a lot of sense

All right Anything else on either one of them? No now at the top of my head, man. Now I'm excited to watch them, watch them film, break it down, see how they do. We'll be doing it. All right, I'll talk to you. Thanks for jumping on quickly.

I appreciate it. Yeah, man. You're welcome. Steve Suter, everybody. Up next, Dante Wittner, former Pro Bowl Safety in the NFL. He's got a podcast with Patrick Willis covering the 49ers. Really good stuff on Brandon Ayyuk from Dante Wittner next. After these words from a few of our sponsors.

This segment of the show is brought you by My Booky. March is here, and that means plenty of college basketball all week long, all weekend long, and then we get into the tournament next week. If you're going to bet the tournament, my recommendation is to do it at MyBooky. Go to MyBooky.com or my bookie.orgie.orgie. Use my promo code. DC Reload, D-C-R-E-L-O-A-D, and My Bookie will give you a 50-1-1-1. cent cash bonus when you sign up for the first time or if you're an existing customer when you come back to make a new deposit. We basically have hoops around the clock for the rest of the month. If you're into wagering on March college basketball, MyBooky's the place to do it. All the prop bets that you can imagine for all of the big games. Mybooky.ag, mybooky.com. Take the free money,

the 50% cash bonus using my promo code DC Reload. All right now, joining me right now to talk about Brandon Ayuk and maybe even the safety that Washington added earlier today is Dante Whitner. Dante played for Washington in 2016. He was a first round pick all the way back in 2006, played the bulk of his career in Buffalo and San Francisco. But at the very end of his career, that 2016 team, which was a really good team offensively, Dante started nine games and played in a lot of the games defensively for Washington

at safety down the stretch. By the way, Dante, I had Kirk Cousins on the show a couple of weeks ago, and we talked about that season. That was a really good offensive team with a ton of weapons. I mean, Deshawn, Pierre, Jordan Reed. That was a good offensive football team. I'm sorry? Crowder.

Jameson Crowder. Yeah. Trent Williams. Trent Williams. Yeah. It was a good team. Do you remember how that season ended? I do.

We didn't have any consistency on defense. And before I even arrived in Washington, I had a familiarity with Perry Fjord, a defense. as a coordinator. Yeah. And early in my career, I learned a lot from Troy Vincent being in the same locker room, learning under Perry Fuel. And then I realized that Perry Fuel didn't understand defense. He lost a few games for us with just normal calls that I later understood once I got

to San Francisco. So, for example, in Buffalo, we were playing the Dallas Cowboys, and we were up, you know, three touchdowns early in that game. Tony Romo and the boys started to come back. At the end of the game, we're up by, you know, I think a touchdown, and he called a cover two. And all he had to do was call a sideline, forced the ball into the middle of the field, somebody get tackled.

They get it out of bounds. They kick a long field goal or something in tight a game and beat us in overtime. So I had a familiarity with him. And then when I got to Washington did much change. Everything was very basic. Well, Joe Barry. Joe Barry. Joe Barry was actually the defensive coordinator.

Perry Fuel was the DB's coach. Yeah, but he would take a lot of insight from Perry Fuel. Interesting. So somebody has the label, but then it's a team effort behind the same. Yeah. But what I was going to say about that last game of the season, all we had to do, and I say we, because I'm a Redskins fan, all we had to do was beat the Giants who were playing for nothing

to get to the postseason, and we lost that game at home. And that was sort of the beginning of the end of that group that they had together, which was very good offensively, but to your point, really was a team that struggled defensively. But anyway, Dante's not on to talk about the past. He's on to talk about the future. He and Patrick Willis, certainly one of the best inside linebackers of all time. They do a podcast together called The Grit Code podcast. You can get it wherever you get your podcasts.

So I want to talk about Brandon Ayyuk and the very likely possibility that he's going to be available and that Washington might be interested. Before we get to what kind of player you think he might be if he ends up playing in Washington, Dante, tell us from your perspective, what the hell happened here over the last year in San Francisco? Well, with a lot of immaturity,

a lot of ego. And when you're dealing with a guy like Brandon Iyuk, you have to think that behind the scenes, someone told him something and didn't actually follow through on it or something of that nature. And then I think a lot of it is, you know, the power of,

once you sign those major contracts, there's a lot of people out there that don't understand the power of feeling like you can do whatever, whenever, and however you want to, So it was about a combination of those things. But I think all in all, Brandon Ayuk is still in his prime. And whoever gets Brandon Ayuk is going to get a motivated guy who feels like there's a lot of people against them

and he has to prove himself all over again. Do you think Washington's the landing place for him? I think it should be. I think that right now with him not trusting organizations, with him not trusting a lot of his teammates, I think when you have a deep-rooted relationship with a quarterback like Jaden Daniels, I think that that's the most opportune situation for Brandon Ayyuk. And he already has trust coming in the door because it's not that, you know, everybody has to earn his trust.

He feels like, you know, who can I trust? So I think Jaden Daniels getting into that offense and being, you know, out there with McLaurin, I think that that will be a dynamic duel. that a lot of defenses would have to stay up night to try to stop. What do you think Brandon Ayuk is is a healthy, motivated player? Where is he on the list of really good receivers in the NFL? He's a top 10 receiver in the NFL. Top 10 receiver.

When he's 100% healthy, locked in and he's on top of his game, he's a top 10 wide receiver. And I believe that he's going to come back extremely healthy. He missed more than an entire year. He's had to hear the noise, and I think he's going to come back extremely motivated. So if Washington can get him, they're going to get one of the best wide receivers in the national football league. What makes him a top 10 receiver in your mind? His ability to be able to separate at the top of the route, make every route look the same,

the ability to track the ball, the ability to run intermediate routes, over the middle routes, yards after the catch, the deep ball, the way that he tracks the football, and he's extra motor. on game day. There's a lot of guys that's motivated throughout practice and all season. There's a different switch that you have to flick in the regular season, and then even more so in the playoffs, and Brendan Ayuk, whenever the moment is biggest, he comes through with some of the biggest plays. And I've seen it for the last five years. He's still in his prime, and I guarantee you that they're going to get a dynamic player. Does he block well enough as a wide receiver? I mean, Joanne Jennings has been there as one of

the true elite blocking wide receivers in the game during his career. What is Brandon Ayyuk as a blocker? Well, I don't think you can play for Kyle Shanahan in a run-first offense if you're not a good blocker. And there's been many times on different highlights from Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle and anybody that catches the ball, Debo Samuel, where you'll see Brandon I.U. You give an extra effort, helmet almost falling off down the field. So I don't think that you have to question his blocking ability when you kind of

from a Cowan-Henahan offense. Good stuff on Brandon Ayuk. One more on him, and I do want to ask you about Joanne Jennings. But what would be your biggest concern? I would assume, I don't know if you would assume the same, that this is going to be a highly incentivized deal. There's not going to be a whole hell of a lot of guaranteed money. This is probably going to have to be a prove-it contract.

First of all, do you agree with that? I do agree with that. you leave an organization like the San Francisco 49ers and you get everything that you wanted and a contract and then you know you go through an unfortunate situation where you get get an injury. I think the number one thing with Brandon Ayukes, it's not going to be on the field. It's not going to be in the locker room. It's going to be his emotional intelligence and growth because we've seen a lot of

immaturity. And there's no football player that I've known that I've played with that would have handled the situation like Brendan Ayup did. Right. Especially when you already have the contract that you want. All you really have to do is show up, go to meetings, go to rehab, get yourself back in peak conditioning. I don't know anybody that would have handled it like this. So it might be a slight bit of some type of mental illness as well there. So I say this all the time. Guys should get therapy. We deal with a lot, especially the current players, and hopefully a brand, I, you can, you know, grow and erase a lot of that immaturity and increases emotional intelligence. There's no reason why he can't be a top five-wire receiver in the NFL.

You know, that is some really good stuff and very thoughtful. And I'm curious as to what you would be looking for, what you would be asking is, let's just say if, you know, play GM for a moment, play somebody in the front office of an organization that's exploring the idea of signing Brandon Ayuk. What would be the questions you would ask them? What would you need to know about that, you know, maturity level and that emotional quotient, that part of it, and whether or not there's some therapy that would be necessary and would he be willing to see that?

Like, you know, I'm just throwing it out there. I have no idea if that's what his issues are at all, but you mentioned them. what would you ask him? What would you need to know before signing him? Well, first and foremost, I would need to know the entirety of the story because we know it's always three sides to a story. Secondly, his side, her side, and the truth usually is somewhere in between, right? And the truth. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. And then I would need to know if he's willing to take accountability for how it all played out. Wow.

And, you know, that's a deep conversation. And then I would know, what are you doing to, regulate yourself and make sure that this doesn't happen again and a lot of times you know what that is the therapy that's something that makes you uncomfortable where you have to tell a third party your inner most feelings and figure out the type of trauma that made you react and act out in this situation and then I would need to know and I need to see it each and every day I need you to show up before everybody else I need you to stay in the film room I need to stay in the gym. I need you to stay in the weight room. I need you to be a leader, not just with your voice,

but with your actions. And that's each and every day. And then it would be heavy stipulations in the contract, right? Any type of not showing up, any type of, you know, a pin drop we're finding you. And you put it incentive base. Right now, I think the going rate right now will probably be one year, $15 million with the chance to earn $5 or $6 million based on incentives, based on play, yards, and team success. So that's what I would do for Brandon I use. The rest of it, I don't know if it's tangible enough to even gauge. You know, you said something in that answer that I think, for me and just thinking about it,

just as an observer of the human condition for, you know, lots of different people, people in lots of different parts of life, that it's that taking of accountability. You mentioned that very early in your answer. If he didn't take accountability for his actions, and you knew the story enough to know that there was an area, there was room for him to take accountability, would that be too big of a red flag for you to overcome? That would be a very rare flag. A very rare flag.

Because remember, just because he signed onto the Washington, commanders doesn't mean that they're going to have success and doesn't mean that he's going to get back to the way that he's accustomed to playing. So those things don't go as you expect them. How are you going to react? Are we going to have to deal with the San Francisco 49ers, Brandon Ayuk, or in those tough moments, are you going to show the growth, maturity, and emotional intelligence that we need to get this thing back and correct it? So that would be a huge rare flag because taking accountability is primary before you. You want to fix any type of bad habit, mistake, anything that you've done in life.

So he has to take accountability first and foremost, and then I think that he can go on to play some football. Yes. Obviously, we haven't even mentioned the medical. He's obviously got to clear the medical and be healthy physically off of the ACL injury before you even move forward with that. But that's really, really thoughtful and good stuff on Ayuk. So let me ask you about Joanne Jennings. He's been one of my favorites in free agency, and I've wanted Washington to sign him. I thought that, you know, and still think he'd be a great fit here.

They're going to change Dante the offense. David Blouse, the new offensive coordinator. It's going to be more of a Ben Johnson slash Kevin O'Connell. Those were his two influences before Cliff Kingsbury the last two years. So they're going to be under center more. They're going to run the ball more, marry the run to the play. action game more. And to me, Juan's perfect

for that style of offense. What do you think of him as a player and a fit for Washington? Well, there's certain players that I like more in certain offenses. And Joanne Jennings is a player that I like more in a Kyle Shanahan offense where he'll strategically

get you on mismatches to exploit the weakness of the defense, and it really doesn't matter who it is. When I think about Joanne Jennings, his number one characteristic is effort. And number two is toughness. And then he does have some speed and quickness,

but I don't see him as one of those guys. You can just align it to X or a Z and go out there and win consistently. So I think that's probably why the 49ers passed and allowed him to go out and test the market. I'm not saying that his market is closed for San Francisco. I'm just saying that they allowed him to go out and test his true market because I probably am correct. about how front offices and particularly general managers are viewing him, especially when you turn on the film. When you have a run first offense with Christian McCaffrey and a play action and all of those

different gimmicks, it's different than being able to just line up and beat somebody over and over and over. Just real quickly, and you may not have an opinion on these players, but Washington just signed Nick Cross safety from Indianapolis. Do you have any thoughts on that signing and on Nick Cross as a player? Well, I can't speak intelligently about him, and that would be unfair, because I haven't really to see him that much. Yeah, no worries.

So, yeah, it would be unfair for me to speak on him. Okay. Then the last one I have for you is just my favorite signing so far in free agency just across the league, or certainly near the top of the list, is Mike Evans to Sanford. a receiver like Brandon Ayyuk was in 2023 that is going to really, you know, insist that a defense focus a lot of attention. And I think it just ends up making it so much easier for McCaffrey and for whenever Kittal comes back.

What do you think of the Evans edition? Well, I think perception is, and on paper, they should dominate the league. when you have an all-pro Mike Evans who's dominated the league for 11 consecutive years, probably 12. If he didn't get injured this year, George Kittle ever since he's been in the league,

Christian McCaffrey the same. You have an up-and-coming Ricky Purcell who's going to enter the season healthy and a Brock Purdy who's at the top of his game. So I would think, perception-wise, people would think, like, oh, man, they're going to all click, they're all going to shred the league.

And if they do, the 49ers, they deserve to be, Super Bowl favorites. But then when I think in reality, and I know how I felt at about 30, 31, 32 years old, and when I think about Father Time, Father Time, he doesn't send a notice. Father Time just sneaks up on you and just snatches your talent, like the repo man. So when you think about the ages of these players, Trent Williams is going to be 38. You have Mike Evans is going to be 33 coming off consecutive years of having. having like big injuries.

You have George Kittle who's going to be 33. He's coming off an Achilles injury. Christian McCaffrey has been known to be injury prone before this past season. Right. I'm thinking it's the oldest offense in the National Football League and it can either be really, really, really, really good or it can be really, really, really bad. And we will find out, but I'm not too sure about it right now, being that they didn't really go out and get the youth that I thought they needed.

You know what was interesting about the 49ers season is that Washington was decimated by injuries this year. I mean, their quarterback essentially only played in four games start to finish. That's usually doomed for any team, especially when the quarterbacks are really good one. And they were, you know, they lost their wide receiver. Well, that's what I'm getting to here in a moment. More times than not, when you suffer the kind of injury season that Washington had this year, you're in big trouble because it wasn't just their quarterback. Their best players were lost for portions, if not the entire season. And all season long, I would take calls from people who would say, well, what about the 49ers, Kevin? The 49ers have

had all these injuries and here they are, you know, 12 and 5. And I did say during the course of the season, first of all, they still have a lot of really good players on the field, number one. Number two is they really didn't have the roughest of schedules. They were beaten some pretty fair to less than fair teams. And when they got up against Seattle in that season finale, that score was really not even reflective of how one-sided that game was. And then the playoff game was obviously a route as well. And by the way, two 49ers, you know, Super Bowl runner-up teams,

the following years they got injured a lot and didn't play well. So I don't know where this is leading other than for me to ask you, why do you think the 49ers of 2025 were somewhat of the aberration in which they were a very injured team, but they won 12 games and went to the postseason? Well, first and foremost, I agree with you. They did have an easier schedule this year. They did have an easier schedule. You're saying they did. You're saying they did. Yeah, right. Yeah, they did. They did. They had an easier schedule. schedule. Secondly, they didn't have majority of their major players with major injuries all at the same time. Then the backup quarterback situation. When Brock Purdy went out, Mack Jones, who had

experience starting in the National Football League, Kyle Shanahan was able to strategically pretty much overfeed Christian McCaffrey in the underneath game, running the football, and the defense was been but don't break. That's how they did it. So it wasn't anything like magical. It was just having a backup quarterback that's competent that doesn't turn the football over, that takes the field with confidence,

and believes that they're a starter in the league. Which is why Matt Jones and his value has skyrocketed. I really enjoyed this. Thank you so much. The insight on Ayuk was great. Thanks, Dante. Oh, thank you. You have a good one. Dante Wittner, everybody, former Pro Bowl safety in the NFL,

and the co-host of a podcast called The Grit Code that he does with Hall of Famer, Patrick Willis. Really good stuff on Brandon Ayuk, that is for sure. We'll finish up by going back to last night in BAMS 83. We'll do that after these words from a few of our sponsors. ratings and reviews for this podcast. If you haven't rated or reviewed the show ever, and you don't mind spending a few seconds to do it, it's a tremendous help for the show.

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But I know based on the number of people that listen to this show on a regular basis that the majority have not rated or reviewed the show yet. And it literally takes just a few seconds. If you don't mind doing it, it would be much appreciated. Also, following the show, just hit the plus button or the follow button. That's also, you know, two seconds to hit the plus button or the follow button. That's a big deal for us as well. This from H in Bethesda, H writes, Kevin, if you take free throws out of the mix,

BAMs 83 becomes 48 and not even top 100 of all time. Let that settle in before being overly impressed. H and Bethesda, thank you for that. For starters, let me help you out with the math. Bam made 36 free throws last night, so 83 minus 36 is actually 47, not 48. So if you take the free throws out of the mix, he would have finished with 47 points,

not the 48 that you mentioned. Secondly, if you take free throws out of the mix, That's like saying, you know, if my uncle had, you know, breasts, he'd be my aunt. Like, what? What are you talking about? Free throws count as points in basketball. One point for each made free throw. I think what H you're trying to communicate is that Bam shot last night in his 83-point game

against the Wizards in Miami. He shot and made a lot more free. throws than Wilt did in his 100-point game, then Kobe did in his 81-point game. But still, free throws until further notice count as points. You know, if you take away, by the way, Wilts 28 made free throws during his 100-point effort in 1962, he would have finished with 72, not 100. Kobe made 18 out of 20. So take away those 18 free throws and it's not 81, it's 63.

But yes, BAM did set NBA records last night for free throws made 36 and free throws attempted 43 in a game. As a percentage of his overall point total last night, Bams came in at 43.4%. So 43.4% of his points came at the free throw line. I did find Michael Jordan's all-time free throws made game. 26 free throws he made in a game. He scored 58 that night, one of his all-time great games. That's 44.8% of Mike's points that night came via the free throw line. Yeah, a lot of players get to the free throw line.

Adrian Dantley used to live at the free throw. free throw line. But by the way, I didn't say that I was overly impressed. In fact, last night, this all was happening as I was recording the podcast. I didn't even watch the game until the very end. I mean, my phone was blowing up. I'm sure many of you were like, have you seen what's going on with Bam at a Bayou? I didn't go back and watch the entire game.

I did watch kind of the condensed highlights. And I know that there were some shenanigans there at the end. You know, Miami was fouling the wizards to stop the clock to ensure that Miami got, you know, additional possessions. And some thought that the game was sort of a mockery at the end. I don't really fault Miami for, you know, trying to get banned the record. I mean, they were up by 20-something, so he could have come out of the game. But, you know, you got a shot, I say the record. I feel like Wilts record will never be broken.

So Kobe's second best of all time, 81, has been, you. know, for a number two on a record list, it's been a pretty entrenched and visible number. You know, Kobe's 81, you know, 20 years ago during the 2006 season. And I think a lot of people because of Kobe's passing and because of how many people are Kobe fans would have preferred that if somebody were going to beat Kobe's 81, they did it, you know, in a game in which they weren't trying so hard to break the record. But I learned last night that the New York Knicks in Wilt's 100-point game, they were fouling other Philadelphia players so that Wilt couldn't get to 100.

So there were total shenanigans going on in that game. Now, in a different way, Wilt did end up getting 100 in the game. Look, I'm not worked up over what happened last night. I'm not one that thinks it made a complete mockery of basketball or the NBA. I don't think that the wizards should feel like emasculated by being on the wrong end. I think the big thing about BAMs 83 versus Kobe's 81 and Wilts 100, and this is really the biggest thing, is that the heat last night, we're playing a basketball team that's openly tanking.

you know, if there's an asterisk to be thrown on BAMs 83, it would be that they were playing a team that has been openly all season long trying to lose. You know, not with players throwing the ball away, but with the lineups and with the strategies, etc. We know what the wizards have to do and they're doing it well. They are now solidly in the bottom four. and the chances are becoming, you know, kind of remote that they're going to fall out of the bottom four, which means they will protect for sure their draft pick, which is the last piece of this, you know, tear-down, rebuild tanking three-plus-year effort. They have to have this pick in the 2026 NBA draft.

But I don't think that next year, if the Wizards are a competitive team winning games with Tray Young and Anthony Davis and Ballal-Cold of Bali and maybe AJ DeBanza and Alex Sar and Trey Johnson, et cetera, I don't think I'm going to be like, yeah, but still, they're the team that gave up 83 to BAM. That's just me. And as far as Miami and Spolster, et cetera, I mean, come on, man, if your team had a player, no matter what the circumstances were, I think you'd be rooting for him to get there. It really isn't the player you thought would do it, right? I mean, Luca, Duran. you know, Dame, you know, Lillard, you know, over the years, I thought maybe he'd get hot or Curry would get hot or Hardin would get hot. Not Bam, whose previous high was 41.

He's been a good player, though, man, a really good player. And that team has really overachieved, overperformed over the years. Maryland's season came to an end earlier today. They lost in the second round of the Big Ten tournament. losing to Iowa. They actually had an 11-point lead in the first half. They had a one-point lead at half-time. They had a four-point lead early in the second half, and then Iowa went on a devastating 210 run. They were knocking down threes from everywhere. Maryland ran out of gas. They were tired, and Maryland's worst season in my lifetime comes to an end. 12 and 21 overall. They had 15 regular season losses, the most ever in any conference they've ever been in. And yes, they played hard and they had players that really fought for their coach. There's no doubt about it. You know, I was talking to Naki the other day, and I forget if it was off the air or on the air. And he just said, they love Buzz. Those players love Buzz Williams. Okay.

And I give him credit, man, this team did not, you know, go away meekly. They fought every night. They just didn't have enough. You know, and they lost their best player. or they lost certainly their best big in Farrell Payne. But bottom line is at Maryland, this time of year, you're supposed to be in the NCAA tournament. And if you're not in the NCAA tournament, you have typically been right on the bubble. You know, you've had a winning record. You've, you know, it's been a down year for you, but you had a winning record. And you were in the middle of the pack in your league, or maybe a little bit, you know, in the bottom third.

bottom 40% of your league, but you were still on the bubble. It's been a couple of years here and there where you weren't on the bubble, but for the most part, 12 and 21 is unique. And next year, I've said this, buzz is won everywhere he's been, but I know this fan base, and I know the appetite for basketball at Maryland, from not only the fans, students, alums, but the biggest of donors.

this time next year, they better be in the Big Ten tournament as an already locked in four-seed, five-seed worst case. You know, you can't be the team that's waiting and, you know, hanging on your, on every word from the CBS pairing show on whether or not your name's going to be revealed. You have to have it locked up at this point. That means a top five Big Ten season. That means 22-23 wins in the regular season, some big wins, or they'll be looking for a new coach after 2027. I think they can do it. They've got a great recruiting class coming in,

and they've just got to recruit the portal well. And look, Andre Mills was a revelation, and I certainly think that Darius Adams is worth bringing back. I do. And you get Phrell Payne back on a medical. Redshirt, you're off and running. Baba, by the way, one of the top players in the country

that signed with Maryland, played I think in his first game last night in the state semifinals in Maryland for Blake. They won the game and they will face my alma mater, Walt Whitman, in the state finals

Saturday night at UMBC. I'm hoping to get there. My good friend, the coach, Chris Lund. It's his fifth state final, fifth state final, insane. And his third in a row, Whitman's in the state finals for the third year in a row. He is just, I've said this many times over the years, he's just flat out one of the best coaches in the area. And a lot of people don't know that because he coaches in public school. Coaches in Montgomery County. He doesn't coach in the Catholic League in the WCAC. He doesn't

coach in the IAC. But I've watched enough of his games. I've been around him enough. I know how good he is. And to do that at Whitman, fifth state final, he won the title back in 2006. He's been to five state finals. Good luck Saturday night against Baba and Blake. Go vikes.

Hey, last thing that I wanted to mention is this. I don't know if you guys saw this. but the NFL is considering a Wednesday night before Thanksgiving game starting as early as this upcoming season. So Wednesday night, one of the biggest party nights of the year, the night before Thanksgiving, NFL football. You'd have to have the two teams playing coming off by weeks because you're not going to go Sunday to Wednesday. And you can't go Saturday to Wednesday like you did before the Christmas day. Wednesday games a couple of years ago because college football owns Saturday, you know, at that point in November. They can't play on Saturday. So it would have to be two teams coming off

by weeks. Man, I don't think the NFL can ever actually be oversaturated for me anyway. But that Wednesday night, I don't know, kind of a family and friends night. I'd prefer there not to be football on that night. All right. Done for the day. Back tomorrow with Tommy.