The Kevin Sheehan Show - Brian Robinson Jr. Traded To 49ers

Episode Date: August 22, 2025

Kevin opened the show with the breaking news of Brian Robinson Jr. being traded to the 49ers for a 6th round pick. He talked Terry McLaurin's "fair market value" according to Spotrac. Jayden Daniels debuted on the "NFL Top 100" list at #21. Ben Standig jumped on to talk 53-man roster projection and more. ESPN's Stanford Steve joined Kevin to talk Commanders' first and then preview the College Football season which begins tomorrow. Steve was at Skins' practice yesterday and had plenty of observations including a defensive player he thinks will have a huge year. 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 Cheehan Show. Here's Kevin. Two guests on the show today. Ben standing next segment. Ben's working on his 53-man final projection. Cuts are Tuesday, 4 p.m. Eastern.

We'll talk some Terry with Ben as well. And then Stanford Steve will jump on. Stanford Steve was at the skins practice yesterday. He is friendly with some of the coaches, and he's got some observations about our football team. And then we'll do a college football preview with Steve as well. Week zero tomorrow, real games, including a ranked team versus ranked team showdown in Dublin

between Iowa State and Kansas State. Real football, thankfully, tomorrow at noon. I know there's a preseason game tomorrow at noon as well, but nobody's going to play in the Skins Ravens game. I certainly don't think so. We'll ask Ben if Quinn's going to play anybody of note in the game. This has to be the worst football weekend of the season, week three, the final week of the NFL preseason.

Thankfully, there's some real college football to offset that tomorrow. The show's presenting sponsors always, Window Nation, 86690 Nation, windownation.com if you need new windows. This from Ronald to open up the show. Ronald writes, actually, hold on for one second, we've got some breaking news. The breaking news, as I am recording this podcast, is Brian Robinson Jr. has been traded to the Sanford,

Francisco 49ers for a sixth round pick. So Adam Peters dealing with his former franchise, the 49ers, gets a sixth rounder back for Brian Robinson Jr. So clearly that means that there was more than just one team interested. There were reports that the dolphins were interested in trading for Brian Robinson Jr. The team needed more than one team. If not, that one team would have just waited for Brian Robinson, Jr. to get cut. So they get a sixth rounder in 2026, back from the 49ers. I'm pulling up the 49ers depth chart because what is behind Christian McCaffrey? Jeff Wilson's back on their roster?

I thought he was in Miami. I thought he went from San Francisco to Miami. He did. And then back to San Francisco. They've got Jordan James on the roster. They drafted him out of all. Oregon. Oh, the guy Garrendo is on. He had some carries last year. So Brian Robinson, Jr. I mean, a sixth rounder at this stage probably means that Brian Robinson, Jr.

will be Christian McCaffrey's primary backup, I would assume. Good for Adam Peters. Good job. Out of him. All right. Let me read this from Ronald because I want to talk a little bit of Terry here in this opening segment. Ronald writes, Kevin, if you listen carefully to what Terry has said, it's clear to me that he wants to be paid partly for his last years, not just going forward. You've already answered that, but obviously he and his agent haven't listened. Yeah, I don't see them listening to anybody, certainly in media, and they shouldn't necessarily. But I read your email, Ronald, in part, because we haven't.

gone back to, you know, I think one of the reasons Terry and his agent believe he should get compensated at a very high level, and it is for services rendered. It's for the contributions of the past. And that just highlights, I think, this delusional corner that they are in right now. And it really is twofold. One, this idea that he's an elite receiver, which he's not, and number two, that somehow the team should include in its offer an acknowledgement compensation-wise for what Terry's been in the past. And I just think both of those things have contributed to them believing that the number that's fair just isn't necessarily the right number.

It's not fair market value. And what does fair market value look like? well, I'm glad you asked because yesterday SpotRack put out what a contract extension for Terry McLaurin should look like. Michael Genetti is the founder of SpotRack and the man that runs that website, the site that, by the way, gives you all of the player contract information, all of the salary cap numbers. We've had Michael on the show before. He tweeted out that Terry's contract should be three years, 82 and a half million, 50 million guaranteed. So that's 27 and a half million per year with 50 million fully guaranteed at signing.

It's kind of right in the neighborhood where we've had our conversations, 50 million guaranteed for sure. You know, I thought maybe a little bit more than 27 and a half per year if the team was going to pay a slight premium on fair market value. but if you believe that to be fair market value, and I do, Terry's got a long way to come back to, you know, to cave, to get to that fair market value number. And even if the team paid a slight premium, let's just say, you know, an extra, you know, million bucks a year, 28.5 million, an extra $5 million, an extra $5 million in guaranteed money. Terry's still got a long way to go if he's still hanging around the D.K. Metcalf deal, you know, because based on this fair market value offer, we're talking about $5 million. and a half million dollars in AAV difference per year. That's 16 and a half million dollars over three years and probably, you know, the difference of about 10 to 15 million and guaranteed money. This is why, you know, in recent conversations especially, I've emphasized that this is not

about what some of you think is just a one to two million dollar just pay him situation. That's not what this is. He's got a long way to go to get to fair market value. And even if the team pays a slight premium on fair market value, he's got a long way to go. We'll talk a little bit more about this with Ben or just get Ben's thoughts on where it is right now in the next segment. Before we get to Ben and then to Stanford, Steve, no smell test picks for this first real college football weekend end of the season. There was a game that I considered giving out, but I'm not going to, but I kind of like Hawaii laying two and a half at home against Stanford tomorrow night. That line has moved five points from where it opened. Stanford opened as a two and a half point favorite.

They're now a two and a half point dog, but no smell test picks. That will start next week. Maybe as early as next Thursday, because there's a slew of games next Thursday night. Games on Friday night, games on Saturday. There's a game on Sunday. There's a game on Monday night, Labor Day night. So next weekend is the first full weekend of college football. But the smell test will get underway next weekend. One more thing before we get to Ben. The NFL Top 100 list now includes Jaden Daniels. He comes in at number 21. CJ Stroud last year after his rookie season came in at number 20. Jaden comes in at number 21 on the list.

I thought he would be somewhere between 15 and 20, so I was off by about a spot. But Jaden Daniels, the highest rated Washington player. And by the way, this list includes more Washington players than this list has ever included. Laramie Tunsell came in at 86, Wagner at 74, Frankie Louvo at 70, Terry McLaren at 52, and now Jaden Daniels at 21. So the five Washington players on this NFL top 100 list is the most they've ever had going back to when

this list started, which I think was 2011 or 2012, something like that. All right, let's get to Ben Standing. We'll do that right after these words from a few of our sponsors. So guys, if you're like me and you've basically been buying and wearing this same type of underwear for years, in my case, boxer briefs, same brand, same type for a long time. Well, not anymore for me. I want to tell you about skims for men, something I've discovered recently, the softest underwear I've ever worn. I got a few pairs of the five-inch boxer briefs so comfortable, no matter what you're doing, from sitting in a chair in your office to working out. They are so comfortable.

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select podcast in the survey and select My Show in the drop-down menu that follows. This segment of the show is brought to you by MyBooky. If you want to bet college football, real football tomorrow, my recommendation is to go to mybooky.ag or mybooky.com. Use my promo code, Kevin D.C. MyBooky will give you a cash bonus when you sign up for the first time. They've got everything for tomorrow, everything for next week, including the big Texas, Ohio State game. Ohio State, a two and a half point favorite next Saturday at noon in Columbus, and everything for week one of the NFL is up there. Washington right now, a six and a half point favorite over the Giants on Sunday, September. 7th. MyBooky at mybooky.ag or mybooky.com, use my promo code, Kevin, D.C. Joining me right now is my good

friend Ben Standing. Ben is writing on substack these days. You can go to Ben's Twitter page to get a link to his substack column and reporting at Ben Standing on X on Twitter. He's got a podcast as well called Last Man Standing. We'll get to some of the decisions. decisions that Dan Quinn will be faced with on Tuesday, or in the days leading up to Tuesday, and the cut deadline late Tuesday afternoon. But I just wanted to be clear on something going into tomorrow's game against Baltimore, third preseason game, final preseason game. Quinn's not going to play anybody of note in this game tomorrow, is he?

He didn't rule out anybody yet, but, you know, other than, like, it looked like in the first game when like Josh Connerly and Trey Amos. us Johnny Newton were out there, I would imagine it only at some young guys and no event at all. So Terry McLauran's presence tomorrow or lack thereof will be notable as it was on Monday night. What's your guest? Does he post tomorrow or not? Well, I mean, he showed up outside for practice on Thursday. I don't know if that means anything at all related to his contract or whether he's there. Tomorrow we never really got a clear answer as to why.

He wasn't at the Bengals game, so I don't know. I mean, you know, when he makes an appearance, I don't know that he loses leverage, but it's like, well, I guess things can't be too, too bad, but if he stays away, then you're like, well, what's going on? So, I don't know. I don't know what, I mean, I don't know if he shows up. I don't know what it means. I'm just over this as I think everybody is.

Yeah, I get it. I just don't know if it's over yet. And I think actually much more important than tomorrow will be that moment in which they expect him to participate in a real practice. You know, 11 on 11, hitting the grass, as Kingsbury described. That may be the moment of truth whenever it comes. because Quinn with his ramp up to being ready to go for the opener, which has been sort of very vague in his descriptions of this. But whenever that moment comes, his presence or lack thereof will be significant

because I think if he doesn't post, we're then in a true holdout situation. and the team may have the ability to make it hurt if they decide to do that. Do you agree? Yeah, I think so. I mean, when they took him off the Pupplist and Dan Quinn said now it's the ramp-up period and we're all on the same page and there was at least some inference that he would be, we'd see on the practice field this past week. There were two only two practices.

Then that didn't happen. and so it still feels very vague, like we don't still have a good feel for, you know, when he'll be on the field or what's really going on. And that's the part that's just getting frustrating in terms of reading the tea leaves. You know, I totally get why, you know, I know people made like a fuss over Dan Quinn with the where's Waldo line when I asked about this, where were we going to see Terry? And people took that as him being mad of me. And that wasn't the case at all.

But he, he, I'm sure he's frustrated because he, he's, can't say anything because he doesn't want to put his foot in his mouth and possibly mess up negotiations that, you know, Adam Peters and others are dealing with. And he wants the guy around. So, you know, us constantly asking about it, which we need to do is no fun. And, you know, for us, it's like, we're not, you know, relative to other media, media groups, we are pretty tame. And, you know, we don't really want to have to keep asking about this, but we have no

choice. That's why it's just getting frustrating. And, you know, and I totally get it. Like, you know, people want to know. What do you think? What's going on? But, you know, I don't know. I mean, it just seems so weird to me that this has gone on for this long that they could be somehow this far apart. You know, I mean, T.J. Watts signed an extension recently for the highest paid

non-quarterback ever. And I'm going to say, he's worth it, right? You know, worthy of being a defensive MVP in the league or all that, but still, like, that got done. How is this not getting done at this bizarre? Yeah, I mean, every time like certain examples are brought up, it seems like the examples, even going back into the past and looking at, you know, Marvin Harrison and Jerry Rice,

somebody was doing that with me the other day on Twitter. It's like none of those players are, you know, a Terry conversation. Those, T.J. Watson, elite football players, the top 10 player in the league. So the incentive to get it done with him, it just, it's, you're talking about, you know, the difference in wins. And I know people think that Terry's worth like four wins. He's not. I mean, there's no, you know, value over replacement that would suggest that level of player. He's really good and he's important to this team. I still, as I sit here on Friday, August 22nd, and I still believe that an extension will get done. I just can't see Terry walking away from, let's just call it, 50 million guaranteed.

I ask you this every single time you're on radio with me or on the podcast. I'm at, I still believe the chances are better than not that Terry signs an extension before this season begins. We'll end the conversation with your stance right now. Yeah, I mean, that's been my view the whole time. I mean, the longer this goes, the more I wonder, is Terry willing to play out the last year of the deal? I can't imagine he's in the miss game. That's just too much money, you know, a million and a million dollars a week. But, you know, playing out the last deal could do that.

You know, of course, the risk there is, you know, all kinds of things. You know, injury, what if the year is just not as productive as it was last year and, you know, the offer, whatever it is now that they're offering of isn't there. and, you know, that's the risk. You know what I think, though also is that, and this is what happens to every fan base in every part of the country. You overestimate or over-criticize the things you see all the time, right? We obsess over these players, this team, and therefore, for better or for worse,

we over-inflate how good or how bad somebody is, because it's relative to the rest of the league that we don't pay as much attention to, or we're not as emotionally invested in or, you know, all these things. And Terry's obviously been a very good player. He's been, you know, pre-Jad and Daniels, you know, the rare positive that this group had, and therefore he was always put up on the poster as this is the guy. But, as you just said, T.K. Watt is one of the 10 best players in the league.

Micah Parsons is one of those kinds of guys as well. Terry isn't. I remember when I would cover the Wizards and, you know, John Walz just officially returned. tired the other day. And I think you were, I think I saw that you were talking about, like, Mount Rushmore of Wizards and whether he would be on it or this, any other. And look, John Wall was a very good player, all-star player, all those kinds of things. But he wasn't the guy that was going to take them to the promised land.

He needed that that just was not in his DNA. But yet here, that's what he was viewed as because he was the guy who helped turn this thing around. He would be, and so it's the constant overestimation that happens when, or, you know, and over-criticizing, depending on how you want to look at it, of the players in your base. And in this case, because Adam Peters and Dan Quinter coming from the outside, they are looking at it probably with more sober eyes. And it's not to say that they are right about whatever they're offering Terry,

but it is to say it's probably closer to the reality than everybody here, constantly praising Terry as a great player, because he is a great player, but he's not that great of a player. He has been here because there's been nothing else that's even been good for the most part. Yeah, I completely agree with you on that. And I've talked so many times over the years, and it's not just our fan base. You know, when there is passion in a fan base for that hometown team, often the rest of the league doesn't, you know, it gets ignored to a certain degree. And you don't put it in that context. But yes. And before I move on with football talk, we have a haven't talked about this. I have talked a lot this week about John Wall, and I do think John Wall's

jersey deserves to be retired. I do think John Wall actually is Mount Rushmore in Bullets, Wizards history. You covered the team when John Wall was there. What do you say? Yeah, I have a sort of a mixed bag. I enjoyed John, the person. He was always helpful. It was cool. I appreciate that he kept it, you know, 100, as the kids say, at all time. sometimes for the worst, but he was always himself. You know, look, there were, I think I got frustrated as an observer because there were years where he would show up the camp, not in shape, and he would have to work his way into it.

And, you know, on some level, I probably led to some of the injuries. And, you know, if you take everything a little more seriously on and off the court, you know, who knows what could have happened. But he helped restore this group to, you know, being a competitive one, you know, that four-year stretch when they made, or whatever, four or five-year stretch when they made the playoffs in one division round three times, and we'll, you know, this close, you know, to advancing three. Just this close away from the Eastern Conference finals, not the NBA finals.

Yeah, that's why I mean, like the Kelly Olenic game seven is always one that's going to be discussed here, and it was still a game seven in the second round. Like, it's like not even... I know. Yeah. You know, it wouldn't even make a Celtics. Kind of embarrassing. All-time Almanac.

Yeah, exactly. So it's like he, again, it's kind of what I'm saying. Like, he helped restore things, but, you know, from the bigger picture, you know, if his jersey gets retired, I'm fine with it. But it's more from what he meant for us, not that he was like this top 75 NBA all-time player. Of course. Yeah, but he meant, and he meant a lot here. Here's the rear of the question.

If you think Beal ever gets his? number retired? No. I would agree, and yet he's the one who's only like 100 points away from being the all-time franchise score, and I think the way it ended for him was rough, whereas for Wall, even though the way he got traded and the injuries and all that, I think that wasn't viewed as being him, whereas Beale was being viewed as like he was the issue with everything was going on. Yeah, no, Beals number two on the all-time points list behind Elvin Hayes. you know, Beale's all-time three-point field goals made.

Obviously, you can't, you know, compare that to the players of the past. But there's just something about John that, for me, is a step above in terms of his importance. And you brought up a really good point that I should have brought up the last couple of days while talking about this. And that is, there were years in which it was very obvious. It was frustrating to Randy Whitman and others that he didn't show up in the kind of shape that he should be in, and it would take a while for him to get going, and it may have led to some of those injuries. But anyway, back to football. All right, your final 53, is it out yet? Is this the final final that I'm reading on Ben Standig's last man standing, Standig substack

column? Or do you have one more before Tuesday? Yeah, I mean, I'll wait for this game to play out and see if anything, anything happens. I mean, there's certain a few depth chart battles that are, you know, I still would have written in pencil. I mean, you know, knock on wood, hopefully there is no injuries. But, yeah, I know. Sometimes after the game and before Tuesday's cutoffend, I'll put out a final one for sure. All right. Four running backs make the team.

It has to be four, right? Echler, Kroski, Merritt, Rodriguez, and McNichols. They kept three last year, but they have to keep four this year, correct? Yeah, and I think that's not only because they have a few guys that are talented, and they've got to figure out how to replace Robinson's work, but also, like, you know, where else are they going? But I don't even know that there's more than four wide receivers right now that I feel like you have to keep.

So purely from a talent standpoint and an offensive playmaking standpoint, the running back room is where they have more options right now than they do a receiver. So, yes, keep those guys. McNichols could be that he could be back there on kick returns with, say, Jaylen Lane and serve as either like the blocker, hopefully, or, you know, guy who can bring it back, so there's room for him. I won't even be stunned if they keep a fifth because Casimir Allen and Mietrich Felton have been back there a lot on kick returns.

So if we view it as more like the returner than, say, a running back, you know, I could see them being kept in, you know, Clit-Cingsbury said all summer that all these guys are going to be on an NFL team. And from what I've seen, I don't disagree with that. So, yeah, there even could be five running backs. depending on what happens, you know, I have receiver. Yeah, and I saw you tweet out something that I mentioned, too, which is they clearly, and it seems like every coaching staff,

since he was brought on as an undrafted free agent, they all believe that there's something there with Kaz Allen. And he did have, you know, a big return, a 33-yard kickoff return. And with the kickoff return rules changing, and the 35-yard line being the punishment for a, touchback. We're going to see a lot more kickoff returns, and you've got to have two guys back there for the most part. So, you know, whether you're right, and it's McNichols with Jalen Lane, or it's Rodriguez with Jalen Lane, it could be Kaz Allen, which would be a fifth back.

You said you can't see more for sure than four receivers, but there will be more than four receivers, right? Yeah, yeah, I just mean, like, you know, assuming everybody is available McClorence, Debo, Noah Brown, Jalen Lane, that's four. And then after that, you know, I presume Luke McCaffrey makes the team larger because of that he was a third-round pick. And, you know, I'm not saying he's without potential, but we just haven't seen much of anything yet. This summer, and obviously last year, you know, wasn't a big deal with either previous

lot, but it, you know, not like we saw a tonne last year either. And then the other guys, you know, the Michael Gallops, K.J. Osbournes, Chris Moore's. I mean, you know, no disrespect to them, but I don't see the appeal for any keeping any of those guys. Then there's the Jacori Brooks-Tay Martin level of, you know, guys that are more unknown. Sure, but like I think all those guys clear waivers. And that's the thing that needs to be remembered here when we talk about the 53. It really is, it's really more like the 70 or the 69 or 70 for counting the international pathway program player. You know, if they keep five receivers, they'll probably have three on the practice squad, and therefore,

it's not really that they're keeping five. They just only five they wouldn't get through waivers, that type of deal. So, you know, the same thing with the running backs potentially and really with any of these positions. But if it's receiver in particular, you know, and look, I think whoever the waiver, cut down days really a big deal, we'll see if there's another Noah Brown type. But even if it's not like sort of an obvious guy like Della Brown, there could easily be a younger player who just has some upside. Yeah.

You know, like you're not, I assume Mitchell Tindley is making the Bengals, but just like somebody like that, or Bryce and Tremaine, who I heard Dave Canales, the Panthers coach, say some good things about this week. So there'll be some young guy that they might say, hey, we should take a flyer on him because it's not like we have a ton of else going on. Yeah, the problem, of course, is Washington's position in claiming players off waivers.

It's far different than it was this time last year. year, right? Yeah, the first, I think it's like the first three weeks of the year. It's based on last year's standings, right? I think so. Right. Yeah, yeah. The last year they had a much easier time to get what they wanted.

But also, like, you know, that's in terms of sort of the younger guys. If it's vets, at a certain point, they just become free agents like knowing Noah Brown was last year. You know, so there's also that opportunity as well. And look, this is a, you know, if the claim is that people want to play with Jayden Daniel, and he's not the only quarterback in the league he would say that about, then, you know, this should be an attractive spot for a lot of guys, because, like I said, the path to playing is not that complicated,

especially with, you know, Noah Brown being banged up and Dan Quintz had to positive things about his return at some point, but unfortunately his career is littered with injuries, and, you know, Harry, we'll see, and, you know, go from there. Anyway, even with Jaylon Lane, who's looked good at all camp, you know, they're trying to see what he can do on the outside because that's not his typical role, So if they can find an outside receiver to be the third guy per se, then that would be,

you're one-no brand into your way from playing. So I would think this would be an attractive spot for some receiver who gets cut next week. All right. When we get all the cuts before the deadline on Tuesday, I'm not going to go through each position group here with you because I want people to read it on your substack. But will there be a name that we are surprised? prize to buy? I don't know.

I think the defensive line is probably where maybe that happened. I'm going to guess they keep 10 one way or the other, and there's probably 12 or 13 guys that I think could justifiably make it. I started to put, and maybe I'm late on this, I started to put Cleveland Farrell more in the bubble than I had. I just sort of been like writing him down as like being on the team, but I didn't realize when I wrote that 53. I didn't really that he was playing into the

deep into the second half. It was, yeah. Of the game the other day. And, you know, when that's happening, that's a sign. You know, they've now sort of added pieces over him. I think Jacob Martin has passed him on his depth chart, I would guess. He's had a pretty good camp. Obviously, they bring in a Von Miller. That's another

defensive end. I feel like Jalen Holmes has been a pretty good player. He's somebody gives you versatility to play inside and outside. And, you know, Javon's back piece. He's missed most of the summer with an injury, But he's been back at practice the last couple days, and, you know, I think if it's a tie, they probably lean towards the second-year player who they drafted rather than an older

event. So he's somebody who, you know, from a name perspective, might count. Other than that, you know, and again, we talk about some of these receivers, no Michael Gallup or KJ. Osborne are names, but not necessarily for here, just the league-wide name. I don't know. Am I missing somebody? I don't, I mean, I feel like the section of Airfields. kind of set the running back room again unless, you know, if you can't have Kaz Allen or

Demetrike Fulton, which you shouldn't, you know, Josh Johnson, Sam Hartman, I don't know that either one of those guys are making the team. What about Eddie Goldman? You know, they signed him. You know, another guy that they thought could really help them defensively, especially against the run. I'm assuming he has not had a very impressive camp because it seems like very few people that cover the team like you do think he will make the fun.

final 53. Well, you know, this is where, you know, the inability to, you know, watch back to practice tape or things like that, you know, hurts us. Because, like, he's one of those guys along with Farrell that I just didn't hear much about at all this summer. And the part that's, if we don't ask Dan Quinn the question, Dan Quinn isn't automatically going to, say, you'll mention certain players, same thing with the coordinators, and he's a guy that is kind of, you know, just haven't heard much.

I think that's a position where, you know, we already know about probably Duran Payne, Johnny Newton, Javan Kinlaw, but then you have Goldman, you have Carl Davis, who was here last year as vet, and he's had some good moments in the Patriots game. Sheldon Day was a guy that filled in last year at defensive tackle as well as the moment. I even like the kid Pollard. I thought he's had a couple of pops in Cam. Maybe he's a practice squad guy.

But, yeah, that's the thing. It's like they have other options. options there isn't just locked into Goldman. So, you know, I don't know that he's a lock for sure. But again, if a guy like Cleveland Farrell is cut, maybe that opens up a space to keep five tackles knowing that Kinlock can move to the edge. They played, you know, Geron Payne, you know, and they want, you know, run heavy looks to play on the edge as well.

So maybe they decide we want to keep five tackles. But, yeah, I think Goldman, yeah, for Kenningham is a name. I think that's somebody who's on the bubble for sure. All right. doing this, as always. I will talk to you next week. Look forward to it. Thanks, man. All right. Stanford, Steve, we'll join us next. Stanford, Steve, will talk Washington football with us because he was at practice yesterday.

We'll start with that and then get to college football right after these words from a few of our sponsors. Week zero, college football, real football starts tomorrow. And then a week from tomorrow, number one versus number two, at least in one. of the two polls. A man who will be a part of your college football season on ESPN is Stanford Steve. Of course, part of the Scott Van Pelt Sports Center. You can follow Stanford Steve on X on Twitter at Stanford Steve 82. But we're not just going to talk about college football and have him preview the season. You were out at Washington's practice yesterday watching Jane Daniels and the boys.

So what stood out to you in this, you know, training camp, last training camp practice, actually. Yeah, I've been able to go out a couple times, Kevin. It's been great. Coach Quinn's been, you know, open door, and I've taken advantage of it. I think the biggest thing that stuck out is, you know, going back a couple weeks on a Saturday morning

and seeing them try and hash out who's getting reps where. And then yesterday was fantastic. He calls it winning time, and it was just all game situations. Like, you could just tell the players were into it. They came out. They did five, ten minutes of individual. And then it was, all right, two minutes, need a field goal, two minute. You need a touchdown.

You're backed up inside your own five-yard line. Go-line situation. You know, you got one time out, and we got to get a field goal at the end of the half. It was all the had the NFL referees there, super buttoned up, and how efficient DQ does things. And it was great. I think there's a lot of guys on that roster that have opportunities to help the team

that we didn't see last year. Obviously, everybody was going to talk about Debo. I think Kenlaw is a guy that looks like he is absolutely rejuvenated. He's a former top pick, you know, a couple of years back. I think he was the COVID draft from South Carolina, big de-tackle. We know Jonathan Allen's gone. he's a guy that stuck out to me that could have a huge presence for that defense.

It's interesting. You're not the first person to suggest that Kinla is going to have a big year. Logan Paulson was on with me the other day, and he's really excited about Ken Law. I'm excited about Debo. I think Debo's going to have a big year. I think Kingsbury's offense, along with the best quarterback he's ever played with, along with the fact that this is a contract year, if he stays healthy, I think we could see the best of Debo Samuel this year. What do you think? I totally agree.

The issue is maybe it's the days I've been there. There's been some drops. And it's been in like, you know, heavy intensity situations down on the goal line, Redstone. But then yesterday, Jayden came out and put the ball right in his bucket where he couldn't. There's no way he was going to drop it as he's running to post corner to beat balls. And Jayden and Devo really. look to be on the same page.

And so when you look at that, I feel like people will think of Debo more as, you know, getting reverses and coming out of the backfield. Clip's going to do that. But right now, I mean, obviously with the, with the elephant in the room of not seeing 17 out there, they got to get Debo the ball. And I think Clips is good as anybody at playing their strengths of your offense.

So every way possible, whether it's the short game, mid-range at deep ball and then you know reverses jet sweeps all that to keep defenses on balance i do expect be able to get plenty plenty of touches the excitement with respect to the young guys as in the rookies uh i don't think anybody's generated more excitement than corner trey amos and oh yeah there was some talk that he could go in the first round he ends up going closer to the third than the end of the first um i i forget what you thought of him coming out and I'm just you know I'm wondering if you saw anything or you if you've

heard anything from the people you've talked to about the kind of contribution he could make as a rookie well I love him I think he can plug in place starter out at corner and then you see what they have and the other pieces they've gotten in the secondary stator still is it's amazing that kid and how he's just always around the ball his his football IQ is just phenomenal. And you saw that back at Michigan. And I loved when they took him. But Amos, I mean, go back and look at who he's lined up against.

It's as good as there is. Every receiver drafted in the FEC, he lined up against. The first Saturday practice I went to, I want to say it was three weeks ago. They were doing, it was like Cluck Territory offense. And they came out. It was Debo. it was Gallup and it was McCaffrey. Like three of the first six plays,

they tried running go balls on Amos out on an island, and he defended every single one of them. His talent is through the roof. He's going to be asked to tackle a lot more, it feels like. You know, Dan's team always seem to do a great job with corners in the secondary tackling, which is enormous.

I think it's the biggest thing you need to have in the NFL when you talk about how teams can space you out now and one-on-one tackling. So I think the world of Amos, I love that pick. And I really think he's going to be opposite to Lattimore. How do you answer the question or the comment? Yeah, Jaden was great last year, but, you know, second year, sophomore slump possibilities.

He can't be as good at this upcoming season as he was last year. You know, it's hard. It's the first thing I thought of, you know, everybody, you know, I think Bo Nex is in that category. Caleb, you know, I think people are going to expect a bigger year. But, yeah, the old sophomore jinx. You know, the one thing you really can't get, Kevin, when you go is the run blocking by the offensive line. And that's the one question I have, you know, all this to do about a Robinson being gone. And then you look at every other running back, right?

So it's Echler, it's Mick Nichols, it's Allen, it's Felton. Well, it's Kroski Merritt, who's in Rodriguez, who are going to be the guys we think. Yeah, go ahead. Yeah, and throw them in there. I meant to mention them. But just to set the point, they are all the same size. They're all the same height and weight, it seems like. And then they all have their different years.

You know, they're doing kickoff return yesterday. And, you know, Echler, we know, got knocked out last year. Or was the year, yeah, last year doing that. But every running back seems to get reps at kickoff returners. So they want to get the ball in those guys' hands. They like that group. Rodriguez seems like he's. changed his body and looks better.

But Bill, I mean, in the idea of what you think of in this offense, it sure feels like he's going to be the guy when that first snap comes, at least the way I look at it. Now, he had the black jersey on yesterday, so that was no contact. Maybe he just got dinged up in one of the preseason. He didn't play against the Bengals, though, right? So maybe it was going back before. Who, Merritt?

Oh, yeah. Oh, no, he played a bunch against him. He was banged up before that, though. Yes, he had a shoulder deal, yeah. There you go. So that's, I think there's just being, that was precautionary because he's still within all the game situations that they were doing. So, I mean, it's going to be a committee.

And, you know, I don't think, but, yeah, you mentioned Rodriguez and Bill are going to be there, and they have plenty of good. Rodriguez, the only thing is, hold up. on the football. I mean, he, go back and look at his rhythm and college. I mean, you can put him up with anybody in the SEC running back, but it was the problem with putting the ball on the turf, and you obviously can't have that. So going back to Jaden, that's, the issue to me is, is the run-pass balance, and that

starts for me with the office of line. I'm not sure how well they're going to be able to run the football, and you need that in that office, knowing how much, you know, they go out of the shotgun and it's one back looks, and Cliff's creativity to run the ball in that scheme, that's the key because you don't want to be trailing in every game and everyone knows that you're throwing the ball and every defender is lined up with his ears pinned. That's never a good sign for a quarterback. So to me, it's that run balance with the path. They have to have some balance and it starts with that offensive line. Yeah, unfortunately, the run-pass balance last year was a lot of Jaden running.

You know, he ended up leading the team and rushing in 10 of the final, I think, 15 or 16 games. And, you know, I think the preference would be that we don't see that this year, although he's capable of it. That's for sure. No doubt. What else? What else has stood out? Before I get to your thoughts on Terry McCorn, anything else? Yeah.

It was just awesome. I've known Zach Ertz since he went to college, and I finally figured out the word that I gave. him after practice one day. It's like, man, you're just slippery. And what I mean by that is now, I mean, it's year 13. And, you know, going back in the first two minutes, I watched a couple weeks ago, like he got the ball four times. And he's amazing at still. He's not as fast he used to be. He's not as strong as he used to be. But gosh darned, man, he knows how to get open. Whether they're playing, man, whether it's a linebacker running up the scene with him, whether it's an option route against his zone. He and Jayden have a great, great,

relationship. The issue I see is if he's going to be asked to do as much as I saw him do in camp. I just don't know if the body will hold up. If he's going to be the first option on every third down, that's asking a lot because then you want him in on first and second down so you can see how they're going to play him. And, you know, he's not the best blocker. Bates is a monster. Love what he brings to the table in the run game. So how much 12 personnel are they going to run? I know they've wanted more out of Senate. He's had some drops, and they thought he was going to be more of a balanced guy. He hasn't stepped up.

But, I mean, still, I mean, the guy's in second year. We have plenty of time. I think they're going to fine-tune a bunch of things in this last two weeks, which is really still weird to me. I don't know how you feel about this, but after they got rid of the fourth preseason game. Now you've got two weeks. You make cuts, what is it Tuesday? Yeah.

And really now you've got to fine-tune your game plan, right? Now you're going into your division opponent that you're playing week one. And you've got to get a look at it. It's just weird to me because it feels like the foot's off the gas, but it can't be because now you're in game mode of having this two-week window, which is weird. But no, I think Ertz and Jaden have looked fantastic. I mentioned Kinlaw.

And then, you know, the Connerley deal, watching him out there, everyone's smaller than Laramie Tonsul, Kevin, when you look at him out there. But what could he do? You know, he's obviously going to get thrown to the wolves when he's gets in there. And, you know, if he did it, week one, you're playing against maybe the best D-line in the league. And, you know, one-on-ones, you see the vet helping him out. You know, Vaughn Miller got him a couple days. But Von Miller's going to get every single rookie in one-on-on

pass pro. It's just what he does. So I think, speaking of Von, I think he has enough in the tank. He's like, he can't play every down. But, you know, in that division where you've got to get to the quarterback, knowing how crucial that is in those game situations, I like, you know, the piece of Bonn. I really believe he can help get the quarterback on the ground on the other team. You know, you brought something up, and when they first went to the 17-game schedule with the three preseason games, I actually thought that teams would treat the third preseason game like the real, like the old third preseason game, which was sort of the, you know, the rehearsal, you know, the dress rehearsal. I mean, there's really not even a dress rehearsal anymore

because these teams just don't play anybody in these games. But it was specifically, because of what you pointed out. This game for, I mean, last night you had, you know, two games. They've got literally 17 days until the opener for those teams. And I thought maybe teams, because there was so much time between the final preseason game and the opener, rather than it being nine or 10 days, it's another six to seven added to it, I thought that they might treat it that way. But nobody has.

And we'll see basically nobody. play in what may be the worst sports offering there is, which is the third preseason game in NFL. I think the whole preseason is a terrible offering. You know, you were met. I mean, I will say, I'll just add quickly, Kevin, though, like, you know you've talked to enough people, and that's the bummer of what happened that was supposed to be yesterday, was they really, really put the foot on the gas for these joint scrimmages.

And then losing that one. It's now happening in noon. Yeah, no doubt. And I know they're not, there are some feelings there as to what happened. So there's, um, why, so why,

why did Baltimore cancel so, so, I don't know the why. I don't know the why, but it sure sounded like they were, they were the, uh, they were the culprit.

I, I'm actually surprised at that because when the news first hit, I was like, well, this seems obvious. Washington played on Monday night. Why did they have a, Wednesday joint practice, you know, schedule, you know, and it just seemed like too quick

a turnaround. But then we kind of found out it was Baltimore that canceled it. So interesting. Yeah. By the way, you were talking about Bates. I'm just curious. Were you a good blocker? No. I knew it. I knew it. You just never blocked anybody until I went to college. It was a Lord of brought this. That was the biggest eye opener for me going to college, and I still have nightmares. And we had three defensive ends that got drafted at Stanford my freshman year. So it was a long road, man. Stanford, Steve, for those of you who don't know,

was one of the highest recruited tight ends out of high school in Connecticut and ended up going to Stanford. And I don't think I've ever asked you specifically about the kind of tight end you were, I was going to guess that you were not an exceptional blocker and maybe even a disinterested one. Yeah, it got old really fast. I'll just say, if you had the strengths and weaknesses underneath my profile, the weaknesses was a lot more filled up than strength. All right. What do you think, as we sit here on Friday morning recording, what do you think of the Terry McLaren situation and how do you think it'll get resolved?

You know, everybody has their take and feelings, Kevin. It's just the timing of it. I was watching the Cowboys documentary that came out. That's fantastic. Is it good? Is it good? Really? Okay.

Oh, it's fantastic. And then, you know, everybody, everybody, what they remember, there was that game in 91 where Aitman got hurt in RFK and the Redskins were undefeated. Burline came in. Burline came in. They do that whole game. It's amazing. Oh, they do?

Oh, shit. I'm going to have to watch. That game was, that ended Washington's, you know, perfect season. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And every guy in the Cowboys locker who talks about that turned their belief in and Jimmy and everybody around.

Wow. It's fantastic. You know what the key play in that game was? I'm sure you saw it. Before the half. Hail married, Alvin Harper. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, they showed it.

Yeah. They didn't show that one. So with that, they fast forward to, I think it's the second year. They're going for back. Yeah, they're going for back to back. And Emmett holds out. Yeah. And Emmett is home for the first two games.

They lose both games. And they're going back and forth. And he's not budge. Jerry's not budging. And he wanted, I think the number was 16 million he wanted four years. And Thurman Thomas was at 116, I believe. 11.5. By the way, it wasn't 92.

It was 93. Was that the next year they won the, Super Bowl. 93 was the Emmett. 991 the Reds can still won that year. Okay. Yeah. Because I didn't realize Akeman didn't play in the playoffs when they got smoked by Detroit.

By Detroit. By Detroit. Yeah, Burline. I totally forgot about that stuff. Anyway, going back and then Emmett, all he wanted to be was the highest paid running back. And Jerry gave him 100 grand more than Thermatomas. And all that time could have been hashed out if he just did it. Now, he, I mean, he was feeling the heat.

That's where Jimmy really started getting upset. Like, what are we doing? We have a Hall of Fame runner back, and he's not here. So I go back to this in the idea of the visual, right? He wants this number. But to me, everything more sounds like it's the agent. The agent is dead set. This is his highest guy.

And he wants Terry up there along the lines. And we've heard it all. You know, they want it higher than DK. But then what about, you know, the idea of Portland Sutton's sign for 20. a year. And the idea of this new regime, and everybody I talk to sounds like Peters is an absolute stubborn, not going to budge. So how does this happen?

The player's got to compromise. And that's where I think this is going to get ugly, but that's why you have an agent to have those conversations, so you're not dealing with the player and the front office. But to the front office part, Kevin, they get what he's meant. They know what he means to this, but they can't pay him for years past. they're looking ahead. You have to be looking ahead now in this NFL day and age of looking at numbers and personnel. And that's why I think the Eagles have taken just their mindset of constantly looking ahead has been tremendous.

So there's got to be a compromise. You always feel like when it gets to the game, I don't think he's going to miss the game. I would hope not. I mean, those game checks are real. I don't care what the contract is. So I believe it gets resolved. there is a fine line of a number in there, but there's a way to make everybody happy,

and I think it's just to sit down and realize that this season is, I mean, I'm looking at all the primetime games. I'm like, good Lord, do people like Jason Dale? They want him on at prime time. I mean, there's a lot of pressure on this team from the TV deal. But I believe it gets resolved, and their feet on the ground moving in the week once. Yeah, I think I agree.

agree with almost everything you said. And bottom line is, I mean, I have been on this, Steve, if we haven't talked about it already, that he's under contract and entering his age 30 season, he cannot hold out. I mean, it would just, it would be self-sabotaged to do that more likely than not. And but we'll see what happens. I think tomorrow is a big day. When I say that, I mean, I think we'll be able to tell what the, tone, current tone is, if we don't know it already,

based on whether or not he shows up for the preseason game against Baltimore. He did not show up on Monday night. No, and I think going back to have any of your questions about practice, that's the biggest eye opener. Yeah, no, yeah, does he? I mean, yeah. When he has to be on the grass 11 on 11, we'll find out for sure. Yes, agree.

Yeah, yep. All right, last one on this, not on Terry, but on the team. What do you think they do this year? You know, the consistency, I mean, obviously everybody points the schedule is different, right? And they made the most of playing that schedule last year. And that's what you need to do, man. I say it all the time in the NFL, you've got to win the games you're supposed to win. and they took that even more

and then, you know, ends with the upset in the playoffs and everything sky high. And when you go back and you look at it in its totality, the wins, you know, the Eagles win was fantastic. You know, the Devote Smith drop. I don't know if that happens if he doesn't drop the past. Right. But you're playing 17 games.

Those things are going to happen. But to see how good Jaden looks. Like last year it was like, You're hoping, right? You're hoping, all right, you know, he's so slight. He's going to make it through the season. And then it's just week after week after week. He's putting up numbers.

And then you mentioned, you know, the rushing numbers of what he did. I believe they're a wild card team. I don't believe over the course of the season with this schedule that they could win in the division, as nice as that would be. But I look at, you know, 10 and 7 should get you in, right? and that's the way I sort of look at this thing. I really like to see them be a, you know, I believe the home building will be better, you know,

with those division games, it's not going to be a road game for them anymore. It does be a lot, you know, being out of practice to buy in and seeing so many more Washington shirts around town. It's been really, really cool. So, yeah, the roster has plenty of talent. And obviously we just talked about the biggest factor in what they have. If you get Terry and that's the thing you haven't seen out on the practice field and what you're banking on is having 17 and Debo out there at the same time,

that's a tough thing to defend. So just the break of the season and all that, I'll go 10 and 7 in Wildcard. It's funny, you know, Seattle went 10 and 7 last year in the NFC and didn't make it. You know, the last wild card in the NFC last year, was Green Bay at 11 and 6. And I think the NFC, at least, you know, as we sit here today, it actually looks loaded. But 10 and 7 should typically get you into the postseason. Yeah, I think all the divisions are obviously you cover the NFC East.

Phenomely. And I love that the NFC plays the north. Like that's great. You're going to play. It plays the AFC West too. Yeah. And that's the division that looks like it could take the biggest, of the most improvement in teams when you're talking about teams like Oakland

and the Chargers. Obviously, you know, Kansas City's going to be there. Yeah, now, I'm sorry, I'll say. I do it all the time. Still can't get it. Can't do it. So, yeah, it said, I mean, they are front and center when you look at this NFL schedule, which is really, really cool.

And I haven't seen that since I moved there, so it's awesome. All right. Real games tomorrow. the start of one of the best sprints in sports, the college football season. We'll get to that with Steve after these words from a few of our sponsors. If you haven't had a chance to rate or review the podcast,

if you can spare 30 to 60 seconds to do it, it would be much appreciated. It's very helpful. Also, follow the podcast on Apple and on Spotify by hitting the plus or the follow button. We continue with Stanford, Steve. of course, part of ESPN's College Game Day with

Reese Davis and Kirk Herb Street and Desmond Howard and Nick Saban and Pat McAfee. You had a good year last year picking games, correct? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You had a good year last year. And so real quickly, before we get to kind of the season as

a whole, do you like anybody tomorrow? Not really. I mean Kansas State just because they have more coming back, Kevin. I think Iowa State, I mean, you saw the draft, them losing two NFL wide receivers. It's one of those weird conundrums I'm in.

I like Kansas State's personnel better, but I like Iowa State's quarterback. I really like Rocco Beck, who's, you know, consecutive 3,000 yard seasons, but they lost a lot. So, it's, you know,

they had a great year last year, because they had 20 starters coming back, and now this year, they only have them. And they're, or a guy. I love Campbell what he does. Media days, he said, our guys know that they're taking a pay cut when they come here. And that's still in the program, which is a great mindset. If everybody's all in, it's really cool. And you know how he does things in kind of a blue-collar way. So I'd lean Kansas State, but I don't love it. Why did the Hawaii line move like five points? Stanford Open minus two and a half and Hawaii's now minus two and a half?

I think the quarterback back for Hawaii means something. They put some stuff together at the end of this last season, and I just feel like, you know, Stanford's roster is decimated from the portal. Coach had changed late in the spring, not a proven guy at quarterback. So it sounds like they're going to go back to the old way

on their hardball and Shaw, you know, two tight ends and run the ball and keep the ball away from the opponent. but if that doesn't work and Hawaii's throwing the ball up and down the field it could be a long day. If Stanford to win that game, it's going to be super, super ugly. How many times over the years

have you been in a bind on Saturday evening at about 10.30 and the late games you've got going you don't feel good about and you fired on the Hawaii game just because I'll say this.

It hasn't happened as much as a That's true. Hasn't happened in a long time for me. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, there was a recklessness there where you always had that one circle and you know the worst was like when these tickers came out way back in the day. I would miss it sometimes because they would put it on Sunday

because it would actually kick off after midnight Eastern time. So, and we're like, wait, are they playing this week? What's really cool, though, is I saw, I forgot what pack of, deal. You know, they went through a stretch where they were in, you know, their league, and you had to, like, pay to get the games,

but now I know they're going to be, they're on a nap somewhere, which is really cool, because it's, I mean, you go back, they've had some wild teams. It had some success. But it's just a cool. Everybody knows Hawaii is the late game. And it's good that people can watch

them a lot easier if you're awake. A very underrated movie from, I don't know, maybe 15, 20 years ago now, the dilemma. If Vince Vaughn's in it, Kevin James is in it, Jennifer Connolly is in it, Channing Tatum's in it, and Channing Tatum basically acts as if he's Vince Vaughn's bookie in sort of a family get-together intervention for Vince Vaughn's character's gambling problem. And Channing Tatum just says, I mean, he bets the Hawaii game.

and there there certainly was a percentage of the audience that knew exactly what he was talking about. All right. No doubt. So let's start with this next weekend. Are we going to see the two best teams

going at it next week, Ohio State and Texas? Are they the two best teams in the country? No, I don't think so. Not in my opinion. I think there are two better teams are playing at Clemson that night. Wow. I really diving in

on this stuff. I look at, you know, what you, it's really different this year, Kevin, because last year when we had this conversation, you know, you talk about the Will Howard, the Cam Awards, you know, the guys that were coming to a school for one year and that they were, the school was buying in on a one year transfer quarterback. Now when you look at it, a bunch of the teams, it's all quarterbacks that have been within the program. You know, you look at Arch, right at Texas, come through the program, staying at Ohio State. You know, he committed

when Saban was the coach at Alabama. When he retired, he left for Columbus. You go down, you know, Nussmeyer at LSU, no clubbnik at Clemson. So, Aller at Penn State, the car kid at Notre Dame, you know, Tide Simpson at Alabama,

everywhere you look, Miami's like the one outlier that's going with the transfer. So I think there's a comfortable within teams that have their guy and there's not this not knowing if this is going to work out. Does that make sense to you? Like, they've seen these guys. Yeah, right.

And so I like that for a sense. I talk to people at Alabama and Georgia. There's a real strong, quiet confidence where it's like, hey, go ahead, talk about Ohio State. They won it last year and talk about Texas with Arch. And talk about Clemson with Davo being back. Like, they like what they have at those two schools, and they're just, they're laying in the weeds and have some, have some opportunities early on to really show what they have.

So I lean towards, I ranked my, I did the top five, and I had Clemson won Penn State 2, Notre Dame, three. Wow. So, no Texas, no Ohio State. No, I believe they're, well, Texas lost a lot on the line of the scrimmage, man. Everybody's going to talk about SARC and the creative play call and, you know, this and that. But like they had NFL guy after NFL guy after NFL guy on the office and defensive lines drafted. In Ohio State, I just think there's a, you know, Ohio State's never going to rebuild.

But as they reload, there's things that you want to see. And it sounds like they want to see more out of the quarterback. And that's why Keenholz, you know, hung around with saying longer than people expected. But I love the idea that they're playing each other in these big early games because one loss doesn't crush you anymore. And also, with no preseason games in college, you really find out what you got. And you have plenty of times to make up for it. And that's the best thing about college football. Now, I mean, Ohio State lost the worst possible game they could have last year and got it together and won the national championship.

That game was on the other night on the Big Ten Network. I just still can't believe Ohio State lost to that Michigan team last year. Yep. And to their credit, they come back. They win the national championship. You know, like that's the good stuff. That's like, I don't know if Ryan Day gets enough credit for that. And what he was up against, knowing how long that two weeks was.

Remember, we were talking about job security after they lost that game. Yep. So you and I talk a lot about quarterbacks when we have these conversations, and I don't think this is going to be any different because I just don't get the excitement over Cade Klubnick. Why do people think that he actually has a chance to be a Heisman Trophy winner and the first pick in the draft next April? I just look at what he's done in the second year of that offense. And secondly, he's got NFL receiver. now. And it's been so long since Clemson, I mean, going

back to the Sean Watson days where they had guys. But I also look at last year where they they lost a running back Maffa, who's on an NFL roster somewhere. And they really had to throw the ball. And then you go back to the situations

that they were in where it was must win, you know, in the ACC championship game. And I actually watched the Texas Clompson game last night. There's some free turn overs off tip balls in that game. But I just, I mean... Texas was the better team, though.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. For sure. But like, it was, it was one of those, is this a three-score game or is it a one-score game, you know, like going into that game. God, I had Texas for the limit in that game last year. Loved them. I just thought Clemson was just so overrated. Just did not like them, in part because of the way I felt about the quarterback.

But anyway, continue. Sorry. Yeah. So when Mafa got hurt, he had the shoulder a bunch of the stuff, and he produced. I think it was 36 touchdown six picks through, you know, top five rating when you want to look at the QBR numbers and people want to do that. And people are going to point to their schedule. I get it.

But then I looked at like McShay put out a mock in like the two defensive linemen are in the top eight picks, Clubnics up there. So it's just a combination of things that I really think he has set up to succeed. I mentioned the receivers. When you talk about Williams and Westgo and more, you know, they got some wiggle and some juice. And the ACC is not what the SEC or the Big Ten is. So when you go down on the schedule, tricky game at Georgia Tech, who I think is going to be very good. And then the game at South Carolina at the end of the year.

So it's set up. The road is there. But when you look at this day and age of college football, and you talk about returning production, I want that. And nobody has more than Clemson. So that combines with my thoughts on what I feel about their talent. And I love the addition to Tom Allen on defense. I think that guy's a great coordinator. And he left Penn State to take over to Clemson job. And I expect big, big things from Clemson this year. I've also said, if they beat LSU, I could see them going on defeat. And LSU's had problems with these opening games during the Brian Kelly

era here. You know, that Florida State game from a few years ago comes to mind. Data lost twice to them. Yeah. Yeah, they lost in New Orleans on a boxed extra point, and then the next year they played in Orlando and Florida State just gave it. The three-saw Keon Coleman and all those guys, they dominated. But I said this to all my LSUs writing down there too. I'm like, I love your team. I love Brian Kelly. I just go like you week one. I think they're going to the playoff. The schedule. sets up, they absolutely violated the portal as far as defensive

linemen. The defense is healthy. They're going to play Perkins at that star position which gets him in space and he can rush the passenger, which is what everybody, everybody wants. They revamped the secondary again, but it's bona fide starters from other programs. And I, the

difference in the Sloan offense, who's their office cornered as opposed to when Jaden was there with Denbrock, that's where I see it. They really struggle to run. the football, and they had four offensive linemen drafted. So is their balance?

That's where they got in the trouble last year when they had that three-game losing streak, too, is they didn't take an onus in running the football. And when I think of LSU, the great teams, that's what they did. They always had a guy there, and there was a balance there. So that's the one thing that's got to get fixed for LSU when I look at them, is having more balance because it's only going to help your quarterback when you could run the football and put the ball in the running back stomach. James Franklin's team last year

had a fourth quarter lead in the national semi-final. They kept losing to Notre Dame. That was, I think, a necessary run for him. Are they good enough? And is he good enough to win the whole thing? Absolutely. No doubt in my mind.

I go back, and now we're going to do this, Kevin, with these quarterbacks getting millions of dollars and staying in college, like, I'm sitting there watching that game with Nick Saban, and Franklin decides, all right, there's minimal time left. We're going to go for it. Tie game, we're going to go for it. He put the ball in his quarterback's hand.

James Franklin didn't throw that interception. James Franklin did not coach Drew Aller to throw back across the field in a two minutes. You know, that's on the quarterback, man. And they're going to get paid this money. They've got to take some more accountability. I love Cotal Nicky. I still don't understand how Warren didn't get the ball once against Ohio State. the goal line when he ran it down there for you.

And I love Knowles coming over from Ohio State. They, I mean, when you look at them and watch them, they are as impressive a team physically now. Offensive line is 7-8 deep. The running backs are back. The receivers they brought in, I read, they had three receivers come in, and they accounted for 23 touchdown catches last year. And the receivers they had last year at Penn State only caught 12. and that includes not catching one ball against Notre Dame. So they address their needs.

Defense, I think, is going to be lighted out. When you look across the board of the NFL guys, they have their schedule is easy. And they get Oregon coming in the 27th, which will be an all-eyes moment because they don't play anybody before that. But no, I expect Penn State to be there in a national championship game. Digress real quickly.

Warren or Loveland, better NFL tight end. Uh, I, I've watched them both a bunch this spring, and I think Warren is getting there. Warren, Warren, we call it a collision, collision escape, where you're running a route and you just collide into the linebacker, knowing that you're bigger, stronger, faster, and that's how you get open. Uh, you know, there's collision releases, all that. Uh, Loveland's way more polished as a route runner, but Warren just has to realize he can't do that anymore like he did in college. these guys are bigger and stronger, and he'll find it out. He learned a lot in that first game against the Ravens. But Loveland has got serious juice.

He'll put up better numbers, and he's more polished. He looks better. So I would leave Loveland. Interesting. I was surprised that Loveland went before Warren, but you know tight ends for sure. All right. Yeah, I just look at the system also. All right.

So. drafted them. The net of it is you think a better chance of a national championship preview is LSU Clemson on next Saturday Labor Day weekend instead of Texas, Ohio State. Give me a team or two that you think from sort of the back of the pack ends up threatening a playoff berth and could be dangerous when we get to December and January. Texas A&M. I love what Elko does. They got a schedule that'll give them opportunities. They go to Notre Dame early. They got a quarterback that's back

that lit the world on fire last year when he got thrust into it. And then they struggled in their biggest game. Texas, you know, dominated them on the lines of scrimmage and they scored seven points in a win and take all, go to the SEC title game at home. I was there and it was

tough to watch. They got super humbled. But like I said, I think the world of Elko as a defensive mind, they get a kid from NC State in case he could step to own, which is exactly what they need. I thought he was the best receiver in the portal, and that's a kid that Marcel Reed needs. They have an awesome offensive line set up. They're deep there. You know they're going to have talent on defense.

The running backs are extraordinary, and they're a team that is my dark horse in the SEC. I really, really like what they bring to the table. Sticking in the SEC, how much do you like South Carolina and how much do you like their quarterback sellers? I like sellers. I don't love the team this year. I think they are a team when you look at what you lost and you talk about returning. I mean, they lost guys. I mean, that defense was put them up there with anybody at the season with the games that they won.

But they're all gone. You know, now, instead of having a young, you know, Stuart, opposite three NFL guys on that defensive line, he's all by himself. So now it seems to be a plan for him. Sellers, I hate to be easy, but, like, he just got to, he just has to play more football. You know, you saw the good,

but there still are plenty of games in there where it wasn't pretty. And, you know, he makes two runs against Clemson, and those are the two biggest plays on the game, and they win. you know, in the bowl game, you know, Illinois gave it to them. And that's going to be more of what South Carolina looks like this year than as opposed to last year. So they are a wait-and-see team for me. I really like all the, Bama, Georgia, A&M, LSU. I like better than South Carolina.

I put them in the categories they were Auburn. Okay. just so much you want to see. They could knock off a couple of those top teams, no doubt. But, you know, when you look at this, can they get to 10 and 2, or is it more it look like at 8 and 4? I lean towards the 8 and 4s there. Is the best player in America, Jeremiah Smith,

wide receiver, Ohio State? Yeah, I would lean that way. When you look at what he's capable of doing and having a relationship with Chip Kelly and just being able to talk to him about what he, did off the field and hearing what guys, you know, thought of him and the way he stepped into a senior-laden team that really needed him and just took everything in stride, I just thought it's really, really special. So, yes, I believe he's the best player.

How many games does Maryland win? Oh, you know, the schedule, if you want, I mean, Penn State and Ohio State and all those, they would die for Maryland's schedule, but Maryland doesn't have the personnel of those teams. So when you look at what they're up against, they got a decision to make at quarterback, you got the Martin kid from UCLA, and then you got Malik Washington,

who's the local kid who looks absolutely fantastic. And, you know, Wax's going to get receivers. They went in the portal and got, I think, Peru from Oklahoma stud. But now you look at what they lost. They lost their starting quarterback, and starting running back. both tight ends, top defensive linemen, two linebackers, three defensive backs all transferred out.

Like, it's really hard to assess what you have. And, you know, you go to Wisconsin for your first big 10 game on the 20th. You've got to be 3 and O going into that game. And that's a winnable game. And that's kind of where I think it goes because then, you know, you get Washington, Nebraska coming in. You got to go out to UCLA. I'll say six and six.

They go to a bowl. Wow. It's, you know, the back end where you got Michigan, like, how beat up are you? It always feels like, you know, well, they don't have depth on the lines of scrimmage, and they always had to play Penn State late, and even a Rutgers team that's going to be improved. You know, those teams are built from the line of scrimmage out, whereas Maryland, you watch them, and it's like, wow, look at that skill guy, look at that skill guy. So, you know, a big step is the quarterback situation.

it sounds like they want Malik to be the guy. But you've got to be able to protect them, and that's the one thing I worry about. So six and six, I believe, is the feeling. Where's game day tomorrow, and where is it next week? There is a studio show with Reese and Pete Sammel, and I believe E.J. Manuel and Roddy White from Bristol, I believe, tomorrow. And then week one, we will be in

Columbus for Coach Corso's last game, which is going to be as emotional as a thing as I've ever been a part of. And we've already had meetings about just how different this is going to be. You know, we do the first two hours when we're at the big noon game outside and then we come in for the last hour. And then we're going to go down the Chapel Hill for that mayhem of an opening night. Oh, right, on Monday. Yeah. If I didn't go to Stanford, Kevin, I was going to go to North Carolina when Mac Brown was there.

Yeah. And that was the heyday, like 96, 97. And just talking to people down there, this is the biggest game since they, game day went there in 97. They were top five. Port State was number one. They've sold out every game. I don't think they've done that since the 90s. Chapel Hill, as much as I am not a basketball fan of North Carolina, it's such a good campus. in their stadium is awesome. Beautiful. Beautiful. I mean, it's as good as it again.

I'll put it up against anybody in the country. Yeah. But I have no idea what the football team is going to look like when they come out. And CCU's got a quarterback that's really good. So I'm fired up to be there and see that place with the buy-in that Belichick has provided. It's been really, really cool to see people excited down there. So I'm fired up to be there on Labor Day night. All right.

this. Appreciate it. We got a season finally. Before I let you go. Yeah. The McLaurin saga on your Mount Rushmore of hardest, worst things to talk about in your years of doing this. Is it top five? No, because, like, this is the most anticipated season since probably Gibbs's season when he came back in 2004.

But in terms of the anticipation over a really good team. We even had this since 2000. 2000 was, you know, the Snyder off season with Dion and Bruce Smith and, and they were, they had won a playoff game the year before. They were very close to playing the Rams in that NFC championship game. And so, you know, actually, Steve, you know, without the Terry thing this summer, we would have had the least amount of drama ever. And at least it gave us something to talk about every day and to debate. And it was also very, you know, for a while, polarizing with fans. No, I mean, the number of dramas over the years with this organization on and off the field during this portion of the calendar, they were, you know,

numerous and many of them were just silly. I mean, we didn't have a quarterback, you know, debate this summer for the first time in a long time. But yeah, to me, it's been very interesting, and I think we've learned a lot as we've gone through it. And I think, you know, you nailed it. I think Terry's gotten some questionable advice from his agent in terms of what they think he's worth. And hopefully it'll get resolved. Either way, I think he's going to play. I agree. All right, brother. Thanks for doing this. All right.

you. Stanford, Steve, everybody. Steve is great, by the way, for those of you who don't know that, just a great guy and is really good on that college game day show. And I root for him every Saturday to nail his picks because in that role, it's all about winners. He's got to supply more winners than losers on that show. But good stuff from him on the skins. as well. All right, that'll do it for the day. Again, no smell test pick here on college football weekend number one, also called Week Zero. Back on Monday. Look, you bet's on the bulls and the socks, the Cubs. They bet on the Hawaii game. Only degenerate's been on the Hawaii game. I don't want that for you, man.