The McShay Show - 10 Tape Truths From Week 9: LSU’s Next Head Coach, Ole Miss Rising, Haynes King as Tebow 2.0, and More

Episode Date: October 27, 2025

Welcome to The McShay Show! Todd opens by releasing some behind-the-scenes intel on Brian Kelly’s firing and LSU’s next move. Then, the guys rewind the tape and give their biggest takeaways from Week 9 of college football. 0:00 Welcome to The McShay Show!3:00 LSU fires Brian Kelly, latest intel & what's next?20:34 10 Tape Truths from week 920:50 Tape Truth 1: Ohio State's o-line is missing a first round prospect26:53 Tape Truth 2: Trinidad Chambliss is the most dangerous SEC QB35:58 Tape Truth 3: Texas A&M's Marcel Reed is becoming great46:23 Tape Truth 4: Stop the Harold Perkins scapegoating52:50 Tape Truth 5: Ryan Williams drops are a thing1:00:25 Tape Truth 6: Pitt could spoil the playoff picture1:03:05 Tape Truth 7: North Texas QB Drew Mestemaker is playing free1:06:35 Tape Truth 8: Haynes King is Tim Tebow 2.01:13:50 Tape Truth 9: Muench is in LOVE with Cincinnati's offense1:17:10 Tape Truth 10: BYU's Bear Bachmeier is BACH on track Subscribe to The McShay Report for access to all of Todd’s mock drafts, big boards, scouting reports, and more throughout the college football season. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Host: Todd McShayGuest: Steve MuenchProducers: Tucker Tashjian, Conor Nevins, and Daniel ComerSocial: Jon Roemer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hell he gets crucified. Tebow has risen and Trinidad is king. It's a 10-tape Truth Monday here on the McShea show and just 178 days until the NFL draft. Mitch, you good? I'm good, man. Roll that beat, Tucker. In Sunday school growing up, everyone told me that God has a sense of humor. So I feel like it's well within my right to make some jokes in the open. What a wild weekend.

got wilder with the firing of Brian Kelly. This episode is presented by Duluth Trading Company. Ready to give rival tailgates the foam finger. Duluth Trading Company crafts Hall of Fame game day gear to help you grill hotter, cheer

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And parting ways, LSU and Brian Kelly. I do want to mention before we get into all of this, the McShay report is out, kind of a recap of everything that went on and kind of my initial thoughts with Brian Kelly, even before we knew he was going to get fired. And I'll touch on that in a second, as I said. Thursday, if you're not a subscriber to the McShay report, it's starting to take off, and we appreciate all of the support. Thursday, we have a special show and a special McShay report, right?

It's going to be for premium subscribers. So you can subscribe, just put in your email, and you can do it for free. But if you want to be a premium person, girl or boy, and you want to get the inside information, some of the biggest things that we do, and you want to be able to send a, and your questions. We're going to get to as many as we can on Thursday in the show. And then a whole bunch more that we don't get to on the show will come out Thursday morning in the McShay report. So it's your opportunity to ask questions. I don't care if it's about coaching.

I don't care if it's about personnel. I don't care if it's about college football or leading up to the NFL draft. We'll get to a host of things. So we're excited for that. And then, of course, we're back for Saturday night. Got another good slate coming up in week 10 of college football. And I'm back in studio. Everyone take a deep breath.

I know people were saying when I was down in Nantucket this weekend and had my vest on. Everyone was saying blink twice, you know, if you're in danger, it was a one-off. We apologize. It wasn't the most beautiful looking show, but we got to a lot of good content. So here we are. Back in studio, everything's normal and feels good. I'm energized today, Munch. And it's not because Brian Kelly was fired.

I just feel like there's a lot of big things going on in college football. the college football playoff, the college football coaching carousel, and this NFL draft class is fascinating, right? So we've got a lot of stuff that we want to get to today's show and throughout the rest of the week. We said it's interesting, right? It's funny how the world works, how life works sometimes. I'm watching the end of that LSU game on Saturday night.

And I can't help, but honestly, I would, was more focused on Marcel Reed and what they were doing offensively and how Texas A&M took off in the second half. We talked about Mike Elko and the singular focus of we've got to tackle better. And they threw a pair of interceptions. They had the special teams blunder that led to a safety. And LSU came racing back and they're leading 18 to 14 at half. So I'm focused on the exes and O's the personnel and what's going on in that game. But it was in the back of my mind as we're watching.

thankfully I've developed good relationships at a lot of places across the contrary covering college football and the NFL draft and pro days and everything else and my love for food too doesn't hurt so I wind up breaking bread with a lot of people when I when I travel and some of the conversations I've had over the last let's say 16 months with people in Baton Rouge and knowing the temperature there I feel like I'm kind of uniquely qualified in that I grew up in the north outside of Boston, lived 20 years in Boston, just about, but also spent a good time.

Like very few people grow up in the north, in the northeast, and spend as much time as I have over the past 25 years, covering college football, the NFL draft, going to pro days and all of it. Then I do, and I have,

and I've embraced the culture down there. And it is a different culture. and it's a wonderful culture. And the weather's different. And when you, it's like winter and summer and you, and it's, it's oppressive and you want to get out of there. It's when it's beautiful up here in the Northeast. And for about the other seven, eight months of the year, six, seven months of the year, it's what you want to be in the south and not here.

But none of this has to do with weather. None of this has to do with food. This has to do with the people, okay? And it's the sources that I've, I've accrued over time. And more importantly, honestly, it's having lived, like I lived in Greenville, South Carolina for a year. I had traveled there and spent four days a clip.

You know, 15 weeks a year, I'm going down in the south, a good portion of it to go cover big time football games. And I'm meeting people and getting to know them. And there's no place in this country more welcoming than the south, especially like the southeast of this country. when you're a visitor, they want to share with you. It's not like when you come up here. When southern people come up north,

northern people are kind of confused by them. They talk a little different. They care about things that maybe we don't care. In the Northeast, we're very intellectual. We have the best hospitals and the best colleges. And there's some wonderful aspects of people in the Northeast. We don't bullshit. What you see is what you get.

go fuck yourself you know like that's kind of the culture but we but we love hard here we just love differently down south they embrace and they welcome in and they love the hospitality aspect of it and even living there for a year the men are more fun the women yeah more beautiful but the women are like are like hosting and together that like you're out on boats and you're in the golf shores and you're hunting and fishing and golfing and like and there's and there's barbecues and there's like it's a culture but when I live there I noticed they get over the fact like you're not a visitor anymore and it's kind of like yeah I don't know how how in we're going to let you get does that make sense yeah it's interesting yep as a visitor as a visitor I felt like this and

there's no place in the world like this. As a resident, it was like, he's a Yankees. He's coming down here. I don't know. I don't know. It's going to take a long time

if we're going to actually let him in the circle. And I don't know that we ever will. So that's the backdrop here. And it's why I say I'm kind of uniquely, I feel like I have a unique perspective on this. I think at first Brian Kelly was a visitor. And he came down and he did the fan. family thing. And he was a championship caliber coach. It's so it seemed. And he had won a lot of big games. And they felt like he was the next up. They've had three coaches in, you know, recent history to go to win national championships there. And he was going to be the next guy up. And so they embraced him as kind of a visitor, but someone who was going to, you know, take him back to where they want to go in Baton Rouge with the LSU football program that demands excellence.

they support it in a way financially, emotionally, all the ways that you need to support a program, it is met by the people of Baton Rouge in the state of Louisiana at LSU. But then Brian Kelly became a resident. And there seemed to be this divide going up. And as I'm talking to people down there, the shine wore off.

And now he's this northerner who grew up in Somerville, not far from where you and I grew up, Steve, and kind of has a little edge to him and a little bit different than what they're used to and maybe he doesn't understand the culture down there. So it was kind of like really quietly underneath the surface brewing a little bit. And I was aware of that. And that's why when we came on Saturday night, even though I didn't plan on really talking about it much,

you asked me the question. And when we were done with the show at about 1 a.m. Eastern time, you said, sorry, I don't know if you wanted me to ask you that question of like, are you talking about like he's done or you just feel like this season might be over? And I wasn't planning on talking about it, but you asked the perfect question, Steve, at the perfect time. And I just dug in. And I said the sharks are circling.

They have been, and people didn't know quite to the level. And they were waiting on an opportunity to say, this is the moment. And I said, Sunday or Monday, I feel like something might happen. Sure enough, here we are. And it happened fast, didn't it? Did not take long. I told you he was walking off the field. There was a clip of him walking off the field talking to a deputy AD.

And I called you, and I texted you. I was like, dude, this feels like Herman Edwards walking off the field at Arizona State when it was over there. It just had the same feeling of... Let me ask you this question. Let me cut you off. Sorry. Do all those people meet and come to a decision, hey, we need to go talk to him. We're going to put the action in place.

The plan of action, like, let's get it in place right now. If it hadn't been brewing. No, no, no. You don't do that in the second half of a game. Like, all of a sudden out of nowhere, everyone's hands. happy. We believe in this guy. One half of football, 30 minutes of football, we better go down the field and talk to Brian, right? Right. I mean, it has to have been going on for a while. And I'll say this, I don't think he got fired because he didn't mesh with the culture down there. He got

fired because he didn't win enough games to be the head coach of LSU. And I think that's what you're saying, too. But the point is that his not being able to endear himself to the fan base and the community gave him less wiggle room. There was not. If he's one of, them and he had endeared like ed ors you're on is kind of one of them love it love cojo love you know but and then things were brewing but there was a little bit of a longer leash and an acceptance even when it was a hundred percent disaster that last i think it was 2020 right 100 percent this felt like give us a reason to and we'll take it yeah and that's what happened I agree.

And so with that, my expectation, and whether it's me reading between the lines, some of the tea leaves, or just understanding the culture, or talking to people down there. And I can answer that. Like, it's a little bit of all three. The next hire will be one of them, if you will.

Someone who is ingrained in the southeast, portion of the country, area of the country, has an understanding of what is, it's just college football down there, man. You know, they're going to be. So when I hear the names start to come up, keep that in mind. Saban.

Saban, Saban's coming back, right? Nick Saban, Lane Kiffin, Lane Kiffin, which is interesting, but he's, you know, whether it's, you know, Alabama, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Like he has been in that culture and has ingrained himself in that culture for so long. And Dan Lannning, time in Georgia, right? Right.

Joe Brady. That magical 2019 season, what he did with Joe Burrow and the special group of talent that they had in the offensive side of the ball. Those are the names I'm hearing that I'm actually taking seriously. Makes sense. Someone that's been there, done that. in the Southeast, in the SEC, proven success track record. And it's kind of,

that's the hierarchy. I'm not saying there's not other names that won't come up. And maybe it's a name that's not, you know, maybe it's a candidate that gets hired that's not of, you know, one of those four.

But those are four of the names in talking to people and understanding the situation that kind of make a lot of sense. Could you imagine if they got Marcus Freeman? another noted game coach like i don't think that's happening either it doesn't make sense but it would be i mean that'd be quite the story and i don't want to like we will get more information and we'll stay on top of this as it moves forward i can say this based off of what i do know ls u is going to make an offer

to nick and to miss terry of course that will force them to reconsider their their justifiable stance of this point in our lives working college game day ESPN ABC is where we where we belong it's healthier. Nick's enjoying it. Miss Terry's loving it. It's time. And I want everyone to remember that Nick left seven national championships. All the greatness and he's the greatest coaching college football history above Bear Bryant. But he left because because college football had changed. And it was time. And the recruiting and the NIL and the transfer portal, it's just like, it's hard to coach anymore. But there's no one more qualified to commend, even at his age and his point in his career to kind of temper, keep the brat poison out and do all the things. And he's

even said publicly. And I've talked to him in meetings. One of his, I don't want to put words in his mouth, but regrets in his coaching history was leaving LSU. Now, I don't, I've literally sat in two different meetings with him and talked to him about the Drew Brees and the injuries and the doctors and Miami and the ownership. And I've had really long, interesting conversations where he's just gone on rants about it. And it wasn't necessarily about leaving LSU, although he truly does. hold a special place in his heart from Baton Rouge, LSU, in that program. He does.

And I heard it in his voice and in his words. The regret was more, I'm the greatest, he didn't say it, I'm paraphrate, I learned quickly in the NFL, my mission was to become the greatest coach, the most successful coach

in college football history. And maybe I should never, I know I can succeed in different circumstances in the NFL, but this is where I belong, college football. But it does hold a special place in his heart for LSU. And I think LSU, knowing what I know, I don't think they have delusions of grandeur.

I don't think that they believe that they absolutely will get Nick Sabin. But I do know the people down there, and I will be shocked privately. Not something that is going to, you know, Thamel is going to start reporting or anyone else. privately, there will be an offer made that will make Nick walk into his home office with with Ms. Terry or get out in the lake and say, let's at least talk about this for a minute. What would this look like? That's my guess.

But I don't know that it's going to be enough. I don't think $100 million over X amount of years would necessarily be enough. He's got money. He's got rings. He's got everything that you could ever imagine a coach when you set out to be a college coach. could have. Right. But this might be the only place that he might say, well, let's sit down and talk.

Let's think about this. Interesting. Yeah. I think it all tracks, man. It all tracks. I mean, you hit all of the points. I will say that's interesting to me is he's not sitting at home and a desk. And I do wonder if that schedule, that travel schedule for game day is a little more

than maybe he anticipated when he first took that job. And, I mean, it's not like he's fully retired. hanging out on the porch, sipping ice tea. You know, like, this is a guy that's still working. It's not someone who is not in a position to come back and do this kind of a job.

So, no, he's a CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Yeah, I've been around a couple of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, and at some point there, it's a forced retirement. And,

but you still have access to security, to car services, to private planes. You're a board member. You have an office in the building. And so you're that's, I mean, that's what he is. He's still a CEO of a Fortune 5 company. Yeah.

And that Fortune 500 company is Alabama football. But that can easily be transferred from Alabama football to LSU football. And there's a way to structure it where he's doing the things that he wants to do inside the program. But has the people running the some of the operational things, including the offensive and defensive coordinators and all that. And that's how he was running it during his latter years at, um, at, at, um, at, at, um, at, um, at, at, um, Alabama. regardless of all that, Dan Lannning is awfully intriguing. I'm told just a quick couple calls,

like the buyout is astronomical, and it's both Oregon and externals. It's beyond just a school buyout, okay? Yep. And we're coming up on 20 minutes in the show, and I didn't want to go this long, but I think it's important to mention some of those names. And to share why I was saying what I was saying

late Saturday night, even though I hadn't planned on it, but I'm glad you asked me the question. And it led to me being able to share what I did know through experience and through conversations I've had. And we saw within 24 hours that move was made. Lane Kiffin, Lane Kiffin's about to be way richer than he, than he was. Yeah. Old Miss don't pay that man. And he's a rich man. But now it's about to be general, like his great, great grandkids, are about to be taken care of. His grandkids are, maybe his great grandkids, but his great, great grandkids are about to be taken care of.

Because if it ain't LSU, it's Florida. If it ain't Florida, it's Ole Miss. Someone's about to pay that yoga, hot yoga doing transport, son of a gun, yeah. And I love it, and I'm here for it. Me too. All right, let's move. Today is about 10, 10.

tape truths. And I'm going to be honest with you off the top. I hope I don't disappoint, but Mention and I have talked. We've gone back and forth. I think we've got an awesome show for you. So let's kick things off. I've talked too much already. Mench, take it away with tape truth number one here on a Monday in the McShay show. Tape truth number one. We haven't had a lot of chances to talk about Ohio State because of the schedule, but tape truth number one is I don't see a first round offensive lineman when I watch Ohio State's tape, but I think the sum is greater than the parts, and I think they're going to be all right. And before I get into it, I just really want to recognize the passing of Nick Mangold, who obviously played at Ohio State.

It was a three-year starter, national champion, All-American at Ohio State went on to be a first-round pick for the Jets, seven-time pro bowler, two-time first-team all-pro, went to two AFC championship games with the Jets, which is saying something. Just an amazing football player. I actually got to know Nick during his Jets career after he was drafted. And quite honestly, more than anything, anything. thing in all those accolades, just a good man. And it's gut-runching. So I'm glad you brought that. I did not know him, but every interaction I've heard about with him is that he's just a

great dude. And I think, you know, an interesting quick story is that anyone who watches the show knows I'm a big fan of the band Fish and the guitarist for Fish, Tray Anastasio, is a big Jets fan. And his favorite football player of all time was Nick Mangold. And they had developed a little bit of a relationship. And it speaks to me about what kind of a reach he had in terms of other communities. I mean, everyone who's ever talked about Nick Mangold, who's also in the ring of honor. I don't know if I mentioned that.

But really, my thoughts are with his family. I had 41 years old. It's a big time loss for the football community. And it's a big time loss for people, you know, overall. So with that being said, talking about the Ohio State offensive line, again, I don't see a first round talent up front. There are some issues here. I mean, this is, Ohio State ranks 10th in the Big Ten and rushing yards per game. Okay.

and any one of their starting five can get B, clean and pass protection. There are some issues there, okay? The other thing I'll say is I'm more confident in the left side of their offensive line, center out than I am on the right side. The right side is when we start getting into the Indiana's of the world and Texas A&M and Oregon,

when you start playing those games in the Big Ten championship or in the playoff, this is going to be a come-to-Jesus moment for this offensive line. That being said, here's why I feel good about it. It's been the same starting five in every game. These guys play really well together. I think there's been some development. I like the way they're not great athletes,

but the way they run inside zone creates natural double teams on combo blocks. And they're really good about, if you're an offensive line, you know what I'm saying, about securing the line of scrimmage before working up to the second level. That inside zone is something that's going to think be key for them in their run. They do some misdirection and counter stuff that I think is really good for that offensive line. and they compete their asses off. They really do compete hard.

They're not great athletes, but they fight like hell to stay in front and pass protection. And they're generally good enough, especially with those receivers who can get open quickly and Julian St.in, who can move around a little bit, they're generally good enough to survive in pass protection. And I mentioned that all five, the same starting five for all games,

that means they're really good about understanding how to pick up pressures, pass off line stunts, and you see that on tape. So, you know, again, this is not, There's no elite talents up front. You know, Josh Simmons didn't play much last year, but he's not there anymore. Donovan Jackson's gone. He was great for them last year.

There's no elite talents, but I think this group's going to be good enough for them to make another run. It's interesting you say that. And I remember last year, the offensive line with the injury of Simmons left tackle and kicking Jackson out to left tackle and the movement, some of the struggles that occurred come playoff time, they peaked. They worked out, right? They got a new offensive line coach, too. Tyler Bone, it seems to be doing a really good job.

And so it'll be interesting to see if that staff can, with a new offensive line coach, with new personnel, can have a similar trajectory. And don't forget, week 10, first day in November, supposed to be like a truth Saturday for the Big Ten, for Ohio State, for Penn State. And I'm not saying Penn State's totally incapable.

of shocking the world, but I'm saying it pretty, pretty damn close from what, based off what we've seen. It doesn't look good. It does not look good. But then it's like, I want to say Purdue, UCLA, Rutgers. Like these are all massive favorites until you get to that Michigan game. And will this be the year, Ryan Day and the Buckeyes were able to kind of exercise all the demons. But my goodness, are they tracking to just, it is like the Acelot. if you live in the Northeast, as I mentioned, the Acela train to the college football playoff as a number one seed right now, as it looks, right?

Agree. Yep. I like that. And I feel like it's important because here's why it's important, Steve, because we know about Julian saying, and I spent a lot of time on him last week, and he is taking those next steps. We know about the wide receivers. Best tandem in the country, Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate. and historically they're just, they're up there, right? With Brian Hartline.

We know about Heartline and what he's been able to do, offensive coordinator. We know now about Matt Patricia and this defense that lost eight starters. But the run game in the offensive line for Ohio State, because the schedule has not been what we expected it to be and has not been to the caliber of what we're seeing week in and week out in the SEC, it's a little bit of an unknown right now. So to hear you say that is promising,

but it's certainly kind of the one area that we're looking at this team saying, like, if you can get them, maybe that's part of the equation in getting them, but it probably won't be until Michigan and beyond this season. All right, tape truth number two. I'm going to take a sip of lemon perfect because we're about to roll. I am at least. Munch is already rolling. Tape truth number two.

There is not a quarterback in the SEC that I would feel. fear more playing on a given Saturday than Trinidad Champlus at Ole Miss. Whoa. Not one. And we came into this year, Mench, don't forget. Not Ty Simpson, your guy. Not right now. Not this very second.

I'm saying Ty Simpson is the best quarterback in the country. Right? You're saying two different things. I understand. I'm saying two different things. I'm saying the way that they're used, and I'm glad you met. But we came in in this season. Remember, it's arch.

it's Nussmeyer, it's Lenora Sellers. I'm not saying he's the best. I'm not saying he's playing the best. I'm not saying any of that. I'm just saying there's a special thing going on at Ole Miss with Lane Kiffin and Trinidad Chamblis. Okay? And Ty, and Ty's a different plane.

Ties to Joe Burrow. Yes, like, Ties is the best quarterback I think in the country. And I've gone on long rants. But I'm saying there's, something about this cat right now, Trinidad, with Lane Kiffin more dialed in and a step ahead, maybe two steps ahead, every other defensive coordinator that he's facing, including Kirby Smart, including Brent Venables. I just don't want to play these guys. Because I look at Ty Simpson, I see like, all right, well, if we bottle this up, and if this happens, and if they don't have much

of a running game. Like, there's some physical limit. I don't want to say limitation. This isn't about me knocking Thai. I love Thai. I'm the biggest tie. No, no, no, no. You don't have to so I don't want to sit here and have to explain it. But I'm saying to you that in the SEC now as

Pavia, Diego Pavia, has become the golden child and all the success they've had. And he's a wonderful story and he's doing some Johnny Mansell like things. And as Marcel Reed is exploding onto the scene, like a second time and seems to be taking his game to another level.

I'm watching, and I'll get to Marcel Reed in a second, I'm telling you right now, for all the love Marcel Reed is getting, and most of it is deserved, I'm taking Trinidad with Lane and that offense right now. With Lane. That is a key caveat. Go ahead.

Okay. I'm watching a guy who now has fast eyes. Lane has gotten him to the point where he totally 100% understands where to look with those eyes, what he's looking for, and what the beater is. Okay? It's not necessarily the most complex pro style left to write progressions, full fields and all that. But he is so damn decisive right now. And that wasn't the case, even a few weeks ago.

It's getting better every week. And I'll sit here and I'll talk to you. The weakness is, the weakness is for Trinidad, touch throws, finesse throws are his crypt tonight. We had a quarterback at the University of Richmond. Jimmy Miles, right? Love Jimmy Miles. Love Jim. Great guy. Love being in the room with them. Absolutely hysterical. But between the lines, all business. But mobile, strong. Like almost kind of similar.

traits to Trinidad. Great leader, natural leader, yeah. Natural leader. Everyone kind of, but mobile, like, athletic, strong runner, big time arm. I remember the first day sitting on Richmond, coming from Swampscot,

Massachusetts, and watching him throw this like 20 back to 15 out and being like, oh shit, I don't belong to. You know what I mean? Yeah, well, over to college. I could hear the ball spinning. right but but then we would do some drills and i remember like jim reid our coach was like mitchie

like you go run the screens you go run some of the like because we weren't getting the looks for the for the for the number with the one defense because he he just struggled with the kind of that touch finesse drop it over wait for the linebacker to get to you drop it over some so like i would have to jump in and do a couple of those things and but for all the talent in the world this this guy has it's that that touch throw so with trinidad it's the same i'm watching whether it's screen. It's a short, like one of those easy. He had, where it was a screen pass and then 10 seconds left, third quarter, is a third and one play action. One receiver releases, single receiver, right? Gets behind the defenders. Chamblech just doesn't get the touch to drop it in,

overshoots it. Now, I did see later in the game, 704 fourth quarter, it's a slug-o. It's a little bit more down the field, almost easier for him. But he's missed, he missed on some deep shots over his, you know, season so far. But it was a huge play for them. We're down the right rail on that slug-o. But that's his, that's his kryptonite right now. But I'm telling you, I'm watching a guy who is driving the ball intermediate, vertically, into tight windows. He had that one rollout to his right where, where he, like, the tight window with two defenders closing just drills it in there on the move. Awesome throw.

But not only is the throw and the physical ability, it's the confidence he now has and the decisiveness he has. He's just trusting it. He's trusting his eyes, trusting his arm. Like, it's a special thing to watch a quarterback go from any level, but to go from D2 and to be in some of those moments and then to fail a fourth quarter against Georgia and pick himself right back off the map.

And there were a couple times in this game on Saturday where you're like, uh-oh, is he going to go revert back? Is he having like PTSD from fourth quarter Georgia? And he pulled himself right out of those moments. It's growth. I'm also here to tell you, while he's a work in progress as a pastor, and I'm not saying he's ever going to be this really good starter in the NFL, I'm drafting Trinidad at some point in April. Interesting. Because I'm seeing the progress in such a short period of time. And he does have a good deal of game experience, just not at this level. But to see someone grow like that and thick, thick frame, strong runner,

the ability to drive the ball on the move, create, like as a backup quarterback in the league to be able to come in and have those tools at his disposal. But this is about Ole Miss right now. And they've got a quarterback that is absolutely like developing at a rate that is exciting to watch. And Lane deserves a lot of credit, but Chambliss deserves a lot of credit for it, too, man. Because he's taking to the coaching. He's putting in the work. It's so clear that he understands what they're doing now better than he has at any point in this season. And I then watch Marcel read and we'll get to him first in a second. I'm taking Trinidad over Marcel. And I know that my, like I just,

yeah, and Lane, yes, of course. Yeah. But Trinidad is thicker, he's stronger. Marcel is super quick, and I'll get to Marcel. That's my next tape truth. Marcel is super quick, lightning quick. I'll talk to you about all of his traits. But he ain't that fast. Trinidad is just as fast.

Maybe a tick faster. And he breaks tackles, and he weaves through. And his arm and his decisiveness. This is an offense that's operating. Texas A&M isn't always that. old miss is in the college football playoff i mean i know it's not factual but i don't see i haven't seen any this is the type of game that old miss would have dropped in previous years easily you know what i mean yeah things are different down there right now and lane deserves a lot of the credit but

and and don't forget he this guy trinidad simmons was i mean trinidad chambliss who replaced simmons Austin Simmons, yeah. Austin Simmons was like 263rd or something like crazy like that on some board with the transfer portal quarterback prospects. Such a great story. And Lane saw his tape and was like, no, that's my guy. You guys can take the other 250 plus. I want him.

I just love stuff like this. And it's not just because it's D2 and move. It's because the product on the field is actually something I'm really intrigued as an NFL draft prospect. And I didn't think I'd ever be here. All right, tape truth three. And I kind of touched on it there. I love Texas A&M. I've been beating this drum for a while and I know you do too, Steve. I love their defense. I love Cassius Howell. I love the fact that they get home with four, four rushers better than maybe any other program in the country. They're up there. Even more so than know how they got seven sacks on nussmire this week you know how many they had to blitz to get zero all

seven four man rushes i love the growth we're seeing from marcel reed i love those wide receivers casey's conception i talked last week before this even this game i he didn't make the top 32 he's on the fringe keep an eye on this guy special with the ball in his hands kind of the body control the vision, contact cards. Return game. In addition to wide receiver, okay? And I love Craver, opposite him. And I can't heap enough praise on Mike Elko.

Mike Elko is the man that has been missing at that program for so long, okay? And I want you to look at this. Marcel Reed in the offense, record-breaking night in Baton Rouge. This program is now 8-0 for the first. time since 1992. And offensively, A&M, they scored 40 plus points for the fifth time this season.

That's a first ever, apparently. They're doing special things, is my whole point. And I'm buying what Elko in this program is doing. But with Marcel Reed, let's touch on the grate. The great is, and Kirk Herb Street mentioned this on the broadcast. I was watching the game. I had to get up and go grab something real quickly. And as I'm walking away from the TV

screen. I still had the volume on. And I heard Kirk say, make a comparison. He's known Marcel, I guess, since grade school or middle school. And his kids went since school. So he has a unique vantage point on him. And he was, I know he was talking about the parents and, and the mom, you know, the dad's a coach and the mom is the boss and all those things that you love to hear. But he, he said, there's some things in his game that remind me a lot of Lamar Jackson. And I, and that's when I was walking away, I was like, what? How are you going to finish? How are you going to land this one, Kirk? And he said, I'm not saying he's the same, but at that stop start, and that part I agree with

him. And I, because when there's two parts of his game. That stop start is special and it creates so many yards and ability to create and extend plays so frequently. Then there's also this part of his game when he gets to the top of his drop and decides he's going to go. And I don't even mean takeoff running. I mean sometimes climbing and then sliding. Those first two, three steps are like Guinness Booker World Record kind of, you know, on the football field. He is lightning quick when he decides I'm going to run, whether it's to stay in

the pocket or to run out. That first two through that, it is, it's special. And it creates a lot of these big plays. But what he doesn't have and the reason why he wouldn't go full Lamar on you, Kirk, is that top end speed. I want to remind people, Lamar Jackson ran an unofficial 4-33. Michael Vic ran a 4-3-1. I think he was his pro day. I got an eye for this. Marcel's a 4-5. It's pretty good. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not bigger. Probably a 451, four, five, three guy, okay?

And so that's a difference. And so while it just puts a little bit of a ceiling on in terms of like what he can do against elite, talented defenses and like the chunk runs sometimes, here's the thing with him. Like, I don't think it's yet been exposed, but Marcel Reed is getable.

And I don't want this to be taken as McShay's dog in A&M. McShay's dog and Marcel Reed. I am not. I see the growth. His footwork is better this year. He's making throws this year that he couldn't make last year. He is more decisive at times. And they're doing a really good job.

I think Colin Klein was a great hire by Mike Elko. Again, I love Mike Elko. I love what they're doing. I love their defense. Special teams had that one blunder early with the punt block safety, that they get a kick return that was massive in this game. All three phases. one of the best coached teams and programs in the country.

But if you play a disciplined brand of football and you have the cats up front to chase him and bottle him up a little bit, he's getable. And I saw this, and I've seen this throughout the year, and I went back and watched this tape because it was an awesome game against an LSU defense that was in shambles, and I know you'll get to that in a minute, Steve. But he explored with his athleticism and his quickness

and his ability to think, on the fly so well, he exploits defenses that get, they get out of position and make mistakes and aren't discipline. Auburn bottled him up pretty good, man. And I'm looking at this, you know, I'm looking at the, you know, down the stretch. I think he can be got. I think Missouri and Texas are two defenses that are going to give Marcel Reed a lot of trouble because he, while he thrives in chaos, he takes himself out of the structure of the offense a lot. And I know that stick nod in the end zone through the interception, like a lot of good quarterbacks will get beat on that look.

But there are times and decisions that he makes, and there are times where he could stay within the confines of the offense and takes himself out. And there's a lot of times where he's patting the ball and holding on too long and gets away with it and has gotten away with it. I'm just saying against quality defense. And Texas hasn't played to the level every week, but they did against Oklahoma one week.

and we know Missouri's, we saw it even this past week, bottled up Pavia. What do you have like 17, 17 rushing yards on 13 carries? I'm just looking forward. And while I believe that they are up there, I think it's Ohio State and Indiana and Texas A&M deserve absolutely to be that top tier of college football right now in the rankings. I'm saying this shit ain't over for A&M. Marcel Reed's going to have to play better. And I wonder when he's going to be got, but I think he might be got at some point. And I think if A&M's to go down,

it's going to be because of some of the things I'm telling you right now. So I'm just forewarning that. Yeah, I love the take. I mean, you've obviously, you watch these guys back to back, and you have a really good feel for it. And I understand, but like, I don't know. Just file this moment.

Because I didn't, I went into it trying to heap all praise. And I hope people understand I'm heaping a lot of it. But I'm saying there's trouble on the horizon. with Marcel Reed in this Texas A&M offense. And I just, I don't want to be, I don't want to like to get on your phone. I'm not trying to be first to market. I'm just saying experience has told me in tape study that there's trouble on the horizon. They could drop one.

I could absolutely see them dropping one. And Marcel Reed is super inconsistent. I understand that. I get that. I also think he's extremely dangerous. And I don't know if it's one game, I might want to face Chandles instead of Reed. But, you know, teach their own. And you just watched them, and I love that that's the, I didn't watch them back to back like you did.

So obviously, you have a better feel for it right now. All right, moving on. Go ahead. Excuse me. Sorry. I got you choked up. I love your hat backwards today. I feel like we're back in the film room, you and I, even though we're at a distance today.

Yeah, it's a nod to. It's a nond of man. Like, he always had to have it. Oh, I love that. Yeah. Little nod. The McShay show is brought to you by Fanduel. Fan Duel is changing the way you live bet football.

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I just think that they're begging you to take the commanders. so I'm going to ride with the Chiefs. I also think that Rishi Rice is destined for a touchdown this game. In fact, wait till the in game, start to look at the next drive. Maybe when the Chiefs get the ball, maybe a couple times throughout that game, go with Xavier Worthy. He's going to walk away with this game with a touchdown. Anyway, visit Fanduil.com slash McShay to download the app today and bet the next drive your way. Must be 21 and older in President Select States or 18 and older in President, D.C., Kentucky,

Wyoming. Opt-in required. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable profit boost tokens. Restrictions apply, including any token expiration and max-wager amount. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-gambler or visit RG-Halthelp.com. Call 1-888-889-7777 or visit ccpg.org slash chat in Connecticut. This episode is brought to you by American Eagle. Listen up. And you heard it from me here first. American Eagle just launched the second drop of their exclusive limited edition collab with True Colors by Travis Kelsey. And I'm pretty excited to see what new styles are out there. From incredibly comfy graphic tees to cool jackets to vintage inspired rugby sweatshirts, you're going to find something you love

guaranteed. Not only that, but American Eagle also has so many new arrivals that just dropped from trending gene fits to cozy flannels to luxuriously soft sweaters and more. You can check it all out on A.E.com or just head to the store. Tape Truth, number four, I'm not here for the scapegoating of Harold Perkins for the LSU defense. And I want to be very clear about this. I am not here also. I am not the PR guy for Harold Perkins. I am not his agent.

I am not here to tell you that he played better than he did. I'll get into the Perkins stuff right away, Perkins Jr. stuff right away, and what my concerns are, both from what's going on with the LSU right now and as a quick snapshot of the draft process as well. A couple of things I didn't like. I didn't like when Reid broke the long run early, the long touchdown early. I thought Perkins, the motor wasn't as good as I've seen in the past. And when Reed cut back, if he had run as hard as he could, I think he might have made a play there.

I really believe that. There were a couple times that Reed just shook him in the hole. There was a couple times that Perkins was late reacting. He weighs 220 pounds and he's playing inside linebacker right now instead of that star position. And it's not a great fit because he can get pushed around. I think that might be happening because Whit Weeks isn't in the lineup. So yes, Perkins did not play well. And the concerns I had about from a draft perspective about what his position fit will be in the NFL of come raging back, raging back.

I thought maybe this was going to be the year that he kind of proved that he was kind of that nickel safety. and that would be the role he played in the NFL. I'm not sure about that because he's having problems making plays in space and he's reacting a little bit later than I would like to think. Or that I would like to see. That being said, this LSU defense gave up 42 points

and 426 yards to Texas A&M on Saturday night at home. There's a lot of blame to go around here, man. Like, let's not pretend that this was, like, that LSU was going to win this game of Harold Perkins played better, and they just picked on Harold Perkins all night. I just don't get that. that narrative. I don't get that take. In fact, this LSU defense that we were so high on, the three teams that they've played that are currently in the top 25, they've given up an average of

34.7 points to those three teams. The defense has not been good. And when you watch the tape, it's clear to see what's happening. I mean, guys are, it's a mess. Guys are trying to do too much. Guys are getting caught out of gaps. You know, people, you know, I get that the 268 pound tackle Gooden, that people, Bernard Gooden, that they like him as a disruptor. He's 268 pounds. And that Texas A&M fraud is physical. And when they got their hands on him, he looked 268 pounds. The transfer from Florida State, I'm just going to be 100% honest about this. Patrick Payton is an absolute bust.

I'm watching him getting collapsed inside. Dude, you can't. I know you're supposed to be working inside on a slant. You can't go three gaps inside. That's just not a thing. You've got to get vertical at some point, man. And it's creating creases. And then Harold Perkins is coming over the play to try to make the play late.

And it looks like he's missing a tackle or he's late reacting when the reality is, that's not his goddamn play to make. that's someone else's play to make, but that guy's getting run down the sideline, and the linebacker West Weeks is too far upfield. I mean, this is A.J. Halsey, the safety who I love, he's got force on one play, and he gets caught peeking inside,

and they run right outside of them. Defensive tackles are running into each other's. Guys are dropping to the right spots and coverage. This defense is an absolute mess, and it's sad because we had such, it's disappointing. I don't know if it's sad. It's disappointing because we had such high hopes after that Clemsing game for Perkins and the defense,

And they just haven't played up to that level. They just haven't done it. And some of it's probably Whitweak's not being in the lineup. But that's not all of it. It's not all of it. But don't give me this. You know, even the play that, and listen, Herbie's awesome at what he does.

And he probably has forgotten more football than I'll ever know. And I'm not trying to go there. But when he talked about Perkins spying in that goal line situation, I just didn't see it. Perkins gets to depth. He turns his head and looks for crossers, which I wish he wasn't doing. I wish he had a better feel for where he was on the field

in that kind of coverage situation. but he is looking for crossers. He's not spying. I've never seen the mechanics of a linebacker who's spying a quarterback where he's churning his head to locate crossers and getting depth like that. I just don't think they were doing it. And even if he was, again, he's not making plays in space,

so it's a problem. But all of that being said, LSU had a systematic failure on defense, and it's been an issue really since the Clemson game. They've been regressing the entire time. So don't give me the everyone piling on Harold Perkins about this game because, There's plenty of blame to go around. Do you feel good?

Yeah, I just didn't like, I just didn't like the way it was, you know, when you're really, I get it, these are big boys playing, they're getting paid now, and they're playing on big stages for big programs, and they deserve the criticism they get, and Harold Perkins Jr. certainly deserves the criticism that he gets. But it just felt like, and not necessarily from the broadcast, I'm not saying that Herbie was doing that. I don't think he was doing that.

but I felt like the reaction on social media afterwards was like Harold Perkins is just what happened to him and he's just the worst and all of that and we've had some listeners who have had some strong reactions as well and I understand but as you watch that tape it is a that is a systematic problem for LSU on defense yeah Harold Perkins has proven that his his position in the NFL and in college football is is not off ball traditional linebacker they got to figure something out for him who has and and the injury to weeks obviously forced him back into a role that he was unsuccessful in last year. And there's a reason we went and met with a defensive coordinator in the offseason.

They came up with more of the star position for him because it features all of his strengths and it masks some of his weaknesses. I even set you a clip watching last night late last night as I was watching Marcel Reed. And I'm watching the other week's brother like in, like in play, ball snap, almost like grabbing him and like trying to like, no, there. but as you mentioned like well what's what's weeks doing on this play and like and how about the like 60 some 60 plus other plays like there's just this is not a defense that whether it's and i think baker excuse me is a good coach but there's something lost in translation it feels like and and we and i think initially perkins was taking a lot of the heat from the message boards and all of that but i think very quickly that it transferred to brian kelly and like the the captain of this ship took on all the water as he as he you know deservingly did for what did what had happened they're not good enough up front they haven't been in a long time they just have not been they have not been that those LHU defensive fronts you know the back in the day that we all thought were impressive they haven't good good upfront like that in quite some time all right sticking in the SEC because this is this was a big SEC weekend um tape truth number five is that Alabama a wide receiver Ryan Williams

drops are actually a thing. I feel like we've been all tiptoeing around this. And I'll be honest, like I've mentioned it throughout the season, and I keep wanting to excuse it. And I think you've heard it in me, kind of mentioning it with some curiosity. And this is the second time in just a 72-hour period, Steve, where you've been, like, you're always my, you know,

my whatever, Batman to my Robin and I'll just be Robin, whatever it is. You always, you know, every once in a while, you'd be like, hey, why don't you go in this direction?

You send me a text. Like, why don't you just look up? It's 14 drops. It's a clip reel. Look it up. So I did. I got back home last night,

sat down and watched the 14 drops. And here's the thing with Ryan Williams. And I, let me start with this, Alabama fans. No one's a bigger proponent. I picked Alabama to win the national championship. I have a great deal of respect for Kaelin DeBoer,

and it's always that third season for DeBoer, where the program is installed, or is it second, what is it, third season, right? Or second season? I guess, no, second season. What am I talking about? And Ty Simpson is number one quarterback on my board.

I think he's playing at a higher level, even though I said Trinidad, it scares me the most right now with the way they're dealing offensively. Ty Simpson's the best quarterback in college football. And I love Ryan Williams' talent. I can't wait to see him as a lot. a draft prospect and we do all that thing next year. And like Alabama, like this is not affecting

Alabama to the point where it's cost them, but I have my concerns and they were growing. And I look like Bama deserves all the look four SEC ranked wins in a row, never done before. And it was bound to be somewhat of a letdown against a three and four South Carolina team on the road. And it was like a live dog South Carolina was at home. This is our chance to spoil somebody else because our season's spoiled and has not been what we expected it to be. And by the way, I want to mention this little nugget that I read yesterday. Prior to yesterday, there were of FBS teams that trailed by eight points with three minutes remaining in all FBS games. Those teams that were trailing were two and two hundred and thirty-nine or no, 293. I wrote that 293.

only two times of the team that was trailing by eight points with three minutes left, come back in one. Alabama became the third. So this was kind of that resilience. I feel like every championship run has a game like this. And they overcame, the timing was off, they just weren't playing in rhythm, all those things. But once again, one of the questions in the back of my mind was,

there's another drop for Williams. What's going on here? He's too talented. It's him and Jeremiah Smith. And above all the other great receiver, that we're going to see in 2027. So I went and watched the 14. And I'm not going to go through each one of them,

but I did this for you as the audience. It's very, I don't want to say it's very simple. I kind of broke it down into three categories because all 14 of the drops over the last two years, and there were 143 catches. So this is a 10%, just about 10% drop rate. That's significant. And it's especially significant for one of the elite,

top wide receivers in all of college football. Someone this talented should not have a 10% drop percentage or ratio. But I broke down the 14 and some things became very clear. And I wish I had done this earlier. Because it was seven drops a year ago and he's a true freshman. He's doing so many special things. He'll, you know, offseason kind of get his bearings. He's got bigger and stronger and all that stuff.

But this year, that was seven drops, Steve, in, I think, 13 games. This year, he kind of missed a little bit of time. We're talking, what, seven games played probably for him? Something like that. He already has seven drops. He's already matched that number. So it's not getting any better.

And the tape study showed me that it's really three things. One is there's this combo of eyes picking up the ball late slash not quite confident, that split second right before the ball comes in. You can tell. You can tell by the helmet moving and he's just not, he's not picking it up in time. There were five of the 14 that were that. Three of the 14 where he's just,

and I think part of it's a carryover where it's like that last split second and the lack of confidence tracking the deep ball. I'm talking balls thrown really well. Two of the three, like in the bread basket dropped. So tracking it over the shoulder. tracking it in. The most concerning, though, of them, I shouldn't, I don't even know most concerning, but the one that jumped out the most and happened the most often. I think the concerning part is like that last second eyes, you know, the confidence losing track of it and

kind of not sure of it, that hand eye, yep. But the last one has the most, and that's six of them, concerned about oncoming contact. Just can't be the case. That's a, that's a lot of the, I don't know if it's as much physical as it is mental. The lacking confidence and then worried about a defender that's coming in, like the Wisconsin guy and the goal line recently, like coming right and it looks, in the olden days, he probably would have like ejected and just knocked him out. But you can't in college football anymore, but he still has a fear of it. He's been banged up.

And he's lean. Yeah, but it happened before then. Yeah. So. And listen. Aryan Smith, I remember why Aaron Smith had all, like way worse struggles than this, like really struggling and fighting the football at Georgia. And the jet strapped him, I think, in the fourth round.

I don't even know what production he has right now. But I remember reading a thing this summer where they're doing the combination of high reps catching, like this training with like the jugs machine and then also strobe goggles, using specialized goggles with lenses and alternate between clear and opaque, forces the brain to process information faster and ignore external distracts. So like there are now ways. It used to be like, get on the jugs, man. You got to catch a hundred balls in it.

You know, now it's like there are very specific tailored things to help with this. But I'm telling you for Alabama, there have been missed, like big chunk plays and first downs, missed opportunities. And when it's on the line, we keep talking about they're going to Jeremy, not to Ryan. They want a big play. They're going to try it. and he creates a lot of big plays because he's such a special talent. But it's a thing and it's something to keep an eye on.

And I'm certain it's going to be something that he's going to focus on. The coaching staff is going to focus on in the offseason. Because if that doesn't improve, there's concern. If that does improve, he's a top five, top 10 pick. So it's going to be fascinating to see how this all works out. Go ahead, Steve. All right, tape truth number six. Pitt is, who is third in the ACC now.

I don't think they're going to run it out and compete for an ACCC Championship, but they can very much play the spoiler and have an impact on the playoff picture. So Mason Heichel is an 18-year-old freshman who came in and had his first start against Boston College. They replaced the starter, Eli Holstein, with Mason Heichel. And since that time, he went off in that game.

He went off. Dude, he's been going off. Pitt's been going off. They're 4 and O, and they're averaging 41.3 points. 41.3 points in those four starts. He is, I mean, just to get into him a little bit, just what he can do, playing with a lot of poise. He moves well. He can extend plays.

He can make off-platform throws. He really seems to be trusting the system. I think Cade Bell, the offense coordinator for them, is doing a great job. Something that I think is really interesting for them is they have four wide receivers that are averaged better than 15 yards per catch, and they have a running back that's averaging 14.9 yards per catch. This is a quick strike offense. And why I think that is important,

one of the reasons why I think that is important, is this is a team that down the stretch plays. They host Notre Dame, they're at Georgia Tech, and they host Miami. They have the opportunity to rise up and strike and really make an impact on one of those scenes. They beat Notre Dame, it's over for Notre Dame. They beat Georgia Tech.

All of a sudden, they're going into the Georgia game the next week with a loss, and it looks a little bit different for them. Miami, that would be their second loss in conference. I mean, they are in a position to make some moves. The other thing that's really interesting about them, they have two different players with punt return touchdowns. They have, I think, seven different players with interceptions. Their defense isn't good enough for them to, I think,

really make an ACC push. I think they will fade at some point. So it's not like I think that Pitt's a contender for the conference, but there's enough ingredients there for them to surprise one of these teams and shock a team and make an impact on the playoffs. I love that. I mean, it could happen. They're in a good spot to do it.

It'll be interesting. Now, they've done it. I want to be clear about this. The four teams that they've beaten, the run they've been on is bottom tier ACC, okay? They're about to, they're about to come down a little bit. Yeah, but you're seeing things. Right. There's enough there.

They could lose every game out. They could lose every game the rest of the way. But I will tell you there, there's enough there for teams that they better. they better cross their cheese and dot their eyes going into that game. They better know what they're doing. All right, why don't you take the next one since I went on such an SEC rant? Dude, the North Texas kid, Drew Mestemaker, hey, caught my attention. So my tape truth number seven is, dude, the North Texas kid.

That's all it should be. It's no, it is no fluke that North Texas is leading the FBS in points per game. And is seven and one. I saw that. I didn't realize how good of a season they're having. The only losses in South Florida. There's seven and one, man. They still got, they can make some noise too.

But Drew Messemaker, if you missed the show on Saturday night, the last time he started a football game was for the JV team in high school. And he wasn't even the full-time starter at JV. The last time he's a full-time starter was a freshman in high school. So he did get some high school reps. Now, one of the things I think is very interesting was his safety and a punter, and he was a team captain. Goes to speak a little bit to his, to his leadership.

He was also a redshirt freshman. So he did get some, not a lot. He got some playing time last year for North Texas. So that's kind of what he, that's the background there. He's playing like a five-year starter right now. I mean, like, and he's playing free too. The poise that he's showing, the way he's delivering the ball, his accuracy, his arm strength.

He's got a lot of tools for a kid who could get on the field because he's playing behind a guy who's playing baseball for Baylor now and Deuce Adams, who's a redshirt freshman quarterback at Louisville. I mean, those high schools in Texas, man, they get talent. That's why this kid wasn't getting on the field. But that being said, I'm watching it. He's playing free, man. They got a wide receiver there.

I can't find his name now, but he can run. So they've got a guy who can run. They can strike downfield. They get a ton of yards after catch, which speaks to his, to his accuracy as a passer. I watch that offense, man. It's a lot of fun. And I'll say this about those two kids, the Heinzel kid at Pittsburgh and this messemaker kid,

play young and dumb. They, and I don't mean like they make a lot of mistake. They just don't know any better and they're just letting it rip. Playing with house money. This is fun. We're in college. We're just throwing the ball around. They look completely free of any kind of stress.

They're not shouldering any, like no one expected them to be doing this. Either one of them. Hichel wasn't supposed to be the starter coming in. Mestemaker didn't even really play in high school. No expectations. And they're just going out and slinging it. And it's fun to watch what they're doing. It is a wild story.

It's a quickly becoming one of my favorite. Like we got a D2 quarterback leading, like just tearing apart the SEC. And we got this guy who never even started in high school throwing for 600 plus. 600. Oh, by the way, by the way, the wide receiver's name is White Young. I got to get that in there. But also I'm watching that Charlotte tape where he throws for 600. There is a wide receiver that is wide open on a 55-yard touchdown.

He's behind the defense. and he drops the ball. There were a fair amount of drops on this kid's tape. So I could have had 800. He could have for 800. 8-hundred, yep, easy. You could have a season in a game. I love that.

And I hope he... Tucker, I hope he doesn't transfer. And White Young, by the way, is a sophomore, too. They could have a... Oh, I told you, the comments are already that he's Indiana's next quarter. I know, yeah. And good on him. Like, it's going to be tough to keep him.

I get it, but I don't know. I kind of hope... I like the idea of staying in the... North Texas and just being like that North Texas legend. Becoming like the next TCU. Be awesome. All right. Tape truth number eight.

Breaking news. Here we go. Tim Tebow has risen and he's wearing a yellow jackets fit every Saturday for you, folks. Oh, come on. Haynes King. Haynes King is Tim Tebow 2.0 without the floor to fit and the supporting cast.

What the hell is taking everyone? I'm annoyed. I just haven't dug into Haynes King. Like I saw him at Manning Passing Academy. I see him watching games on Saturday. I haven't dug into his tape because he's not really one of the top 15 quarterback prospects. I just went through and I started watching tape and I kept watching more and more and more. And like every five plays, I'm like, oh, this is Tim.

What's different? it's the uniform, the supporting cast. He's not as thick. I don't think he's as thick or powerful as Tebow was. But he's the closest thing to Tim Tebow that we've had since Tim was reigning terror on the SEC and had moms and grandmothers and sisters like worshipping at his feet. I love Haynes King, by the way. Love Haynes King.

I think Tim Tebow's a different level, but go ahead. I am uniquely qualified. No one took on more water than I did for a four-month stretch when I made the decision based on tape that Tim Tebow is not going to be a great quarterback in the NFL. And that was too young to even know that a hot take could help my career. In fact, when it started to happen, and we saw people at the Senior Bowl and national media flooding around, and all of a sudden I got a circus around me, and I'm hiding out in the bus with you and Wightle because I don't want to go outside and answer more questions. And I go to Thanksgiving, and my mom and my sister, wonderful human beings, very religious, God-fearing humans,

are screaming at me and don't even want to pass the mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving meal because I'm saying Tebow's not a good prospect. And I get Shelley in the Urban Meyer house. I can't walk in the house into the front door until I have a conversation with her. That was a hard period of time in my life. You know that. Yeah, I remember. male during the anthrax time from Baptist preachers down south praying for my hatred.

Those are all true stories. I got Tim Tebow's mom pulling me outside over Prodean thanking me for providing motivation for her son and that they pray for me. A real bless your heart moment. The reason I bring up all those interesting stories is do you know how many times I went back to Tim Tebow's tape to double check and triple check and like not to do a 90 check to make sure I'm absolutely right because this I'm realizing this is like a cross I'm going to have to die on not to bring it back to the religious part that I started the entire

show with this take is going to get some real attention by the way just I'm not even trying for the I'm just telling you I know I know you're not and I'm writing down my notes like I don't see I don't understand why this has not been like there there should be a game day features on like Tim and showing some of the highlights they play the game the same exact way. Yes, you can nitpick like one's a little, I think Haynes a little bit more fluid and athletic. We all know that Tim was more powerful and was the squats and the lifting and the strength, but like they both play the game with this aggressive, physical, attacking style. They can't beat you on a lot of pro-style schemes. They're not going to beat you with their anticipation and throwing

the ball into tight windows or even driving it down the field vertically, but for an occasion when when the scheme and their fear that they instill or install or whatever, they strike into the defense creates a one-on-one where they can take a shot down the field. This is an offense operated by Haynes King on power, aggressiveness, toughness, run threat, and leadership that just is Teflon tough. There is no quit in this man. I'm not saying he's superhuman. I'm just saying there's like God only makes a handful of these kind of competitive cats.

And so when this ball is snapped to him, is it a QB power? It is, is it a zone read option? You've got to defend all 52 plus yards horizontally. And you better be ready to buckle it up because we got a fullback playing quarterback. And that's what Tim was. Tim was the best fullback maybe in the history of college football. but he was getting the ball snapped directly to him. And he had instincts and game awareness and a toughness and this drive

that very few have ever had playing college football. In fact, that drive was so strong and the power running and the commitment and the desire to win was so great. He even won an NFL playoff game. And I remember sitting in the green room in Bristol, Connecticut, and Trent Dilfer, who agreed with my assessment and was my supporting camp the whole time, like, your eyes aren't wrong in what you're seeing with Tim.

Hang in there, kid. I know you're getting chastised and ruined publicly. But you're not wrong. Came to me and said, you know what? We may have made a mistake on Tim. Maybe we didn't factor in just like that unique trait, which is his competitiveness and his toughness and his ability to see creases and grind it out in those certain moments.

And I'm watching Haynes King. And I'm watching the numbers he's putting up. and I'm watching an undefeated season for Georgia Tech. And I'm looking around them saying, yeah, the offensive lines, good, grinding group. Wide receivers are making catches when they need to. But this is all Haynes King carrying Georgia Tech in the same way that Tebow got up in the press conference. It was after Ole Miss and like this will not happen again and apologizing. There is a drive in Haynes King that we haven't seen in a quarterback since Tim Teammoth.

Tebow in college football. And this Georgia Tech team is primed to maybe go undefeated in the regular season and be in the college football playoff. And it's because of King. And I'm shocked that this hasn't been more of a thing because I just see Tim Tebow when I watch Haynes King on Saturdays. I love it. Listen, there's a lot.

We get caught up in hyperbole sometimes and there's a lot of tough and competitive kids who play college football. I can say this. I don't know I can say who's the toughest is. There's no one tough. or more competitive than Haynes King. I can say that comfortably. He is the key to everything they do.

I understand that. I'm not, I got to watch more. I got to go back and watch more because I don't know if I can go Tebow, man. But again, I love the player. I always feel like you put me in these spots where I'm not ready to go as far as you are. And then all of a sudden it sounds like I don't like the guy. Haynes King is awesome. Haynes King is awesome.

And he's been awesome for a while now. He, I mean, if you watched that Georgia tape last year, I mean, he is just a gutsy kid. He's Tebow 2.0. Okay. All right. Go ahead. Fine. Fine. Have it your way.

All right. Tape Truth number nine. I'm in love with the Cincinnati offense. Listen, we're not stats people here, but I got to run through some stats really quickly. And I am going to talk about quarterback Brennan Sorsby and how he used the key, the turns, the whole thing. But it's more than Soresby, okay? They are 13th in the FBS and scoring 38.3 points per game. They're eighth in the FBS.

and rushing yards per carry. They are first in the FBS and fourth down conversion percentage. They are 10 for 11 on fourth down this year. They are almost unstoppable on fourth down. They are tied for fourth in red zone scoring percentage. Who are they tied with? Alabama, that offense that we love. Also, Brennan Soresby hasn't thrown an interception since the season opener

when they lost by three to Nebraska. I did not know that. They have not lost since then either. Now, he does, as always, there's a couple, oh, whoa. And he got away with it. TWPs, turn over wordy plays. There's always a couple of that like that. Like last week he had one against Bill or I was like, dude,

that's if that linebacker had any kind of hands, you were going to be in trouble. But that being said, he hasn't had one. I think it's something to be said for that. So when you look at those numbers, especially I think the Red Zone and Fourth Down, you have to talk about Sorosby's ability to make plays with his feet, and he can do it in any which way.

You want to do Reed Zone, he's a threat on that. He's a threat on that. You want to scramble. He's a threat on that. He is dangerous. when he keeps the ball. He's a constant threat to run, and that really is a big part of their offense.

In addition to that, I think he's a really good trigger man on the RPO, gets the ball out. He can be very accurate. He has the arm strength, the strike down field. But this is a team that's balanced that runs the ball well.

And they have a big offensive line that's not necessarily very athletic, but we'll get hat on hat. And again, they run the ball in the well. And they're deep at running back with the guy I really like is Tawi Walker. He is 5'8. He is 218 pounds.

So if he, you know, he looks like he's too, He's a guy, you know, that for lack of a better way, a little bit of a bowling ball. But dude, he will hit you. He will deliver the blow. He is powerful.

It keeps the legs turning. Wasn't he that cat that we got in trouble with the FCC because we showed a clip of him? I think it was. Oh, maybe it was him. It was. I don't remember. But anyway,

he runs like that guy. He runs like that. Connor came racing in our offices. It was. Yeah, it was. I didn't even put two and two together. So yeah, that's the cat.

together some money to pay the, what is it, the FCC or whatever it is? Yeah, so I'm watching his tape and that's, and he's that dude on every play. He's that guy on every snap. He actually catches the ball pretty well too. And then they got some depth at wide receiver and they got a day two tight end prospect of Joe Royer. This is an offense. It's dangerous. Now they got, they're at Utah this week.

That's going to be a big test for them. And they got, they got BYU the week before Thanksgiving. That's going to be another big test for them. So they got some games coming up. But I love the Cincinnati offense. and I would not want to play them right now. I'm going to go to another school that's a little bit off the radar too.

We'll finish it with Tate Truth 10. I love that, by the way. And by the way, Jeff Lewis, my brother-in-law. It's now become a ritual. Like, he doesn't want to break the street because for fear of, you know, bad luck. But every Saturday before the game, he now texts what's mention,

mention his thoughts on the cats. So he's thrilled to have you on board. Tape Truth number 10 Bear Batchmeyer at BYU is back on track. Everyone relax. We saw a little dip. We thought the, you know...

What a name, by the way. Love that name. Cinderella's slipper might be falling off. Arizona and Utah. Those were not his highlight real games, okay? But he got back on track this past week. The big win. I wanted... You sometimes when we watch tape, just like share, like pull the curtain back.

Sometimes when you watch tape, you go on and like, I want to watch Bear Batchmire. What was different this week than the last couple of weeks? And you just expect to be maybe like an hour rip through it, a few games. And then you, but then sometimes you get grabbed by something and you wind up in a rabbit hole. It's no different. Like if you're sitting in home or driving your car right now listening or watching the show. And we appreciate everyone who's supporting us. Like couldn't be more happy with the way this thing's going.

And it's all because of your support. But like anyone who's sitting in their car or walking around listening to this right now or watching, you've all gotten in a rabbit hole on the internet, right? Sometimes in tape, it's the same thing. I wound up in this. I have two pages of notes mentioned

BYU's offense that I don't know that I'm ever going to use. I'm certainly not going to go on for 35 minutes right now. But the reason I kind of got gravitated too. It sounds like you went out for coffee with BYU and then you guys ended up grab a dinner. Yeah. And woke up the next morning and still there.

Um, okay. Well, we said, we said they've earned now the right to take first date. This is my first date with BYU. Yeah. I've watched BYU. It went well, apparently. Yeah. It's now two in the morning and I get some tough decisions to make, bro.

You know what I mean? Yep. You slip it out. He's saying going for breakfast. And there was some nostalgia to this thing. You know, this offense is the offense of my child. hood. This is not this is no tempo spread you RPO's. This is like 80s 90s that I was expected like just throwing bigger shoulder pads and let's do this thing. Strong run game. They're 16th in the

nation and rushing, right? Like 216 rushing yards per game. Let's not get you know, good story, get messed up with facts, but I think that's right. That sets up the play action. You got this freshman quarterback who came in unexpected, had to start for circumstances. And and has done great. But then there was this dip in like a two-game period, and then last week all of a sudden things are starting to go again, okay? A few things stood out to me. First of all is player development at BYU.

You can't always, in today's day and age, it's some of these powerhouse programs and the power four with the NIL and the transfer portals and all the things that we know about. It's hard to get a guy, keep them, develop them. them and all that. Well, at BYU, they have that the stuff that they don't bring in some transfers, because their tight ends of transfer, okay? Their tight ends on his third start, Carson Ryan, number 20. Fourth year senior, only transfer of like of the key guys in that passing attack,

but from UCLA to Utah, Utah to BYU. I'm not saying you can't. But BYU, because of the culture and because of the, you know, the Mormon background, backdrop and and everything else, there's a tendency to be able to, you know, get a player, develop them, and see growth over the course of a career. Well, there are two receivers. Parker Kingston, if you watch him, he's the Z wide receiver. A little undersized by comparison to the X wide receiver. The X wide receivers chase Roberts. Kingston's number 11.

Roberts is number two, okay? Roberts is 6-4, 210 pounds. Kingston's 511 and 187 pounds. Kingston's always been a good return specialist. always been good with the ball in his hands. But you've seen the growth in his game over his career. Already has 34 catches, and it's not a big number. This is a pro-style 1980s offense, right? But 34 catches through eight games compared to 32 catches, Steve, his first three seasons. Keep him in the program, develop him. When his time is up, he's ready to go, and we're going to

see him playing at a high level. He's also averaging 15.2 yards per catch because of that run-after catchability, okay? Especially the last four games. He's had 412 receiving yards compared to just 104 in the first four games. He's taking off. Now with the X, I told you about Chase Roberts, 64, 210 pounds, another fourth year player. Player developed. Here's a guy who's gotten better every year. There's 22 catches back in 2022, 42 catches in 23, 52 in 22 in 24. And then this year, on a similar catch pace, but with the highest yards per catch average of his career, with 18.5. It's all about chunk plays off of play action for this offense and especially for Chase Roberts.

Okay. And here's the important takeaway, takeaway from the tape. Tapeway, I like it. All that stuff is to set up like what's going on at BYU and who the characters are, okay? But the most important thing I'm going to tell you is that it's all about catching that split second, this offense in the play action game, catching that split second when a linebacker or a safety, whether in zone or in man, has been gotten. Takes the bait. Takes the bait. The carrot dangling the carrot out there. Give me one or two steps in the wrong direction.

And so with a young quarterback, he was finding those guys, but it was inconsistent. I'm seeing in Bear, Batchmire. He's now knows where to. his eyes are to go. And it's happening faster. And yes, you say, well, just the last two games, he wasn't great. But like, I just, I see some, and maybe it was from some of the failures and the mistakes that were coachable moments. But this past game, you're starting to see a guy who's operating this thing, okay?

And the whole design is the slide one. So play action, the offensive lines going this way. We have to respect this running game, all those things. And then all of a sudden it's booted out. Where do my eyes go? That's the whole deal. And he's got this, like, he's got bears like honestly is a national treasure he's wearing 47 he's a runner he's a tough guy

like he's he a fullback is he a quarterback but and he's got this how do i describe it like this funky attached like can i shop put yeah like attached you know but then like javelin style throw to him so none of it looks normal from the 47 jersey to a freshman to attach chavlin but he's selling the hell out of his play fakes and now his eyes know where to go and he's got these veteran receivers who are making plays you know they're just fun to watch they're fun to watch this bad boy's getting in rhythm and i'm not saying i'm buying them i'm not saying they're one of the you know if we get into a college football playoff that they're going to make this long run i'm just saying there's a lot to like and it's kind of some nostalgia to it

If you're an 80s, 70, 80s, 90s, baby. And it's going to be interesting, though, because they've got to weather a hell of a school. I was going to ask you, yep. They got a buy week to build off of it, get healthy, and get ready, because this thing's about to get serious. Like, remember the perfect storm we lived up in the Northeast? You got storms coming from every direction.

You got to batten down the hatches. Texas Tech in Lubbock. TCU comes to you. SINC, that team that you love dearly right now at Nippert Stadium. And then UCF. Those, and UCF's the least scary of the four, but it's coming after off of those three games and they're not horrible. Those four teams have a combined 24 and 7 record. So we're going to find out a lot in November about BYU, but it was a fun tape study.

Awesome. I love it. I love that he's wearing 47. It's the best thing ever. Offensive lineman, I'm guessing, love him. No, no like diva to him. No. No.

And if you, yeah, check out a social. There's some fun stuff. He's just, he's, he's, he's bare, he's 47, and this thing's growing. So the McShay report is out. It's coming out on Thursday. If you're not a subscriber, subscribe. If you can, if you got it to do it, premium subscriber, we're doing a big mailbag on Thursday. It's rough draft on Thursday.

It's our new flagship show for NFL. draft college football looking ahead to the week. But we're going to answer all of your, the premium subscriber questions. And we'll cover all things. College football, NFL rookies, NFL draft, coaching carousel. Whatever you got for us, we will answer on the show. And whatever we can't get to on the show, I'll do a whole other newsletter. And then Saturday night, we're back for the most fun show that we do all year long.

And that's the Saturday night live reaction show on YouTube. So we appreciate all your support. We're excited for this week to come. And Mench, as always, man. five stars. Must be 21 plus and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus and present in D.C., Kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem?

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