The McShay Show - Senior Bowl, Day 3 Takeaways

Episode Date: January 31, 2025

Welcome back to ‘The McShay Show’! McShay and Muench are back for Day 3 of Senior Bowl week! They start the show with their breakdowns of the quarterbacks (05:35). Then, they go deep into the defensive standouts (22:49) and wide receivers (31:29), before discussing their top takeaways from the week in Mobile (36:32). The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Host: Todd McShay Guest: Steve Muench Producers: Dan Comer, T Cruz, Conor Nevins, Tucker Tashjian, and Mark Panik Additional Production Support: Tony Perry Jr. Social: Eduardo Ocampo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's the McShea show presented by Fandul. You thought December was the most wonderful time of the year? Well, you're wrong. The NFL playoffs are just about here, and there's no better time to bet with America's number one sportsbook. Bet on new and fun markets like to catch a pass same game parlay's, highest scoring game across the Sunday slate, offensive touchdowns in the next drive, and so much more.

The app is safe, secure, and easy to use. And when you win, you'll get paid instantly. Plus, get exclusive offers all playoffs long. So download the app today and bet the playoffs with Fandul, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. The ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit RG-hap.com to learn more about the resources and help lines available and listen to the end of the episode for additional details.

It must be 21 and older and present in select states. Gambling problem? Call 1-800 gambler or visit RG-HELD-HEL We made some headway with the quarterbacks today, as promise. And NFL teams, they're getting excited about this tight end group, plus a public service announcement for NFL media, agents, and prospects. It's Thursday at the Senior Bowl in just 84 days until the NFL draft. Where's my guy? Minch, you good?

I'm good, man. All right. Play me my favorite song in that playlist. Let's go. Thursday at the Senior Bowl. We're excited, Minch. I mean, this is, we're wrapping up the first week with the McShay show at the Senior Bowl, three days of practice. Today's Thursday, a lot of installs, specific situations.

I was impressed today a little bit more physical than typically we see, especially from the morning practice. And a lot of the red zone stuff that we promise, which is helpful for us evaluating quarterbacks, kind of the decision-making, tight quarters, quick decisions. And I think we gleaned some positive things from today. Just a reminder. And let's start with this. Thank you for joining us all week. Keep with us through the draft.

We got a lot coming up. This is just like when Jim Nagy, the executive director, says the senior bowl, it all, the NFL draft starts in Mobile. That's the tagline. He's not kidding. Like, NFL teams are coming in. The coaches are coming in off the season. They're starting to evaluate players. This is kind of the unofficial beginning of the draft process.

And from here, we've got the game on Saturday in Mobile, Alabama. then after that it's on to a lot of what happens is a lot of players go and they train they get ready for the combine 40 yard dash vertical jump broad jump three cone all those different events right so we'll be with you at the combine in indianapolis and between now and then we'll have our typical shows come out on monday night they'll be coming out on thursday morning watch for it and be a part of this with us but we'll also be going to indianapolis we can't miss that i mean it's it's the event all the nfl teams are there, information that comes out of there, the numbers that we get. There's so much in terms of the process that we'll have. So we'll be with you that week of the combine. And then after that it goes on to the players with their individual workouts, right at their pro days. Then teams kind of behind the scenes, and we'll get a lot of information, which teams are going in and going to the area where the player played his college to do the private workouts, which players are going to NFL facilities, to do, they can't work them out of the

their facilities, but they work them out on the board. Kind of get a little bit of time with them to interview them and all of that. And then once that whole process is done, we get into mid-April, and it's just like ramping up information everywhere, some mock drafts, some buzz and all that stuff. So that's the process leading up to the last week in April, 2025 NFL draft, and we'll be in Green Bay with you too. I don't even know if our producer Dan Comber knows that we're going, but we're going. All right?

I don't know, the ringer or Spotify, know that we're going. So we'll be there too. So stick with us throughout this entire process. Thank you for watching. It's been an awesome turnout in terms of the audience of people watching the show this week. So happy and pleased with the numbers and truly appreciative of everyone out there who's tuning into the show. So that's the backdrop. Today was day three of practice.

And let's just start here, man. We promised everyone who's tuned in day one, day two, that we, we'd get to kind of the quarterbacks and what we saw. Let's start with you, Mitch. What did you see from the quarterbacks and what stood up? Well, it was interesting. I didn't see a lot of reps for Ole Miss quarterback Jackson Dart. I thought we were going to get more reps.

Man, he made the most of his opportunities. I mean, I think it was his first rep during the team period going in. And, man, he just drops back in the pocket, steps up, keeps his eyes down field, rips one right down the middle to the Arkansas wide receiver, Isaac Tesla. And just so comfortable. I mean, the way he moves around the pocket, the way he delivers the ball, the way he gets out on time. He had a couple of throws to the front pylon of the right end zone that I thought should have been, the receiver should have made plays on, and they dropped. Again, very calm in the pocket, gets a ball out on time, he's accurate.

And I know I've said it all week. I'm going to say it again. I love the way he moves. I love the way he moves around the pocket. I love the way he can make plays with his feet. I thought, again, not a lot of reps, which was interesting to me. Maybe they want to see more of the other three quarterbacks today. but made the most of his opportunities.

I'm interested to see him in the game because I thought he steadily got better each and every day this week. I thought the first day, we talked about it, the first day, all the quarterbacks. Brand new receivers, installing plays, new verbiage, kind of getting their feet wet. I thought the second day was his best day for Jackson Dart specifically.

I just thought the command he had with the football, on time with his throws, layering the ball the way you expect a potential first round quarterback or top 50 pick of quarterback, whatever he winds up being, to do. Today we saw some flashes of it. It was not like a heavy workload for him, but I think steadily throughout the week, and this is what I went into a whole rant yesterday, about it's not one specific trait that you come out here and you're wowed by. It's kind of the complete package and the command he has and everything's above average to good

in terms of physical traits. His size is good. His arm strength is good. His mobility is good. It's not Lamar Jackson's mobility. It's not Josh Allen's arm. But when you combine all of it, and then the experience he has, the improvement he made on tape from 2022 and 2023 to 2024, where he was carrying the offense.

He was making more NFL throws. I see on tape. And I just watched, what was it? South Carolina was one of the two tapes that I watched. And LSU, I think, was the other most recently. And I'm just seeing a guy who's at the line of scrimmage who's making decisions, setting protections, knows where the, like, I'll just give you a small example. There was one play against Ellisuit, right?

Sets the protection. He understands, it wasn't a hot, but he understood that his left tackle is going to be in a difficult matchup against the defensive end. So on his drop, he just subtly slides to the right. And sure enough, that left tackle got. pushed back a little bit, was giving away a little bit, and that little subtle movement to the right that he predetermined by setting his protection gave him just that extra split second for his receiver to break open the ball to be out on time. Those are things you don't always get to see from college quarterbacks, right? And I think that comes with playing a lot of ball

with being with a coach and Lane Kiffin who love them or hate him. He knows how to coach quarterbacks. And he's been doing it a long time, some really good places, like USC, you know, like Tennessee, Ole Miss, stint in the NFL. Like, he's just been around the game a lot. So he has a lot to impart upon Jackson Dart. So I saw just a lot of the positive things you would expect to see, even though people aren't going to come out of here.

It's unbelievable what we saw from this first round quarterback. It's not that. But it just was really steady and really positive throughout the week. I'm excited, though. I started this by saying I'm excited about seeing it all come together in the game because with all of those things I just mentioned, also you've got a quarterback who can create with his feet. And now we get in the game.

And I've said this before. During the week, if you're a mobile quarterback, that element of your game kind of gets put aside. It's like, all right, put that on pause for now. We're going to really focus on three step, five steps, seven step drops, timing in the passing game, getting the ball out, pocket passing, all those things, right? But now you go in the game and you've worked all those kinks out

and you understand the offense and you show command. And now he can add that element of the mobility with it. And I'm excited to see that all come together on Saturday here in Mobile. So is he done enough to make himself quarterback three going into the combine? Like, we can have that bullshit conversation. I mean, we can. And off the fence. Yeah, we can get some like, you know, some viral clip about he's absolutely,

he's not quarterback. QB3. He's QB2. It's not like, it's about what your expectation is for a player. Did he meet it or exceed it this week so far? I would say he at least met it and I think kind of maybe didn't exceed it, but like I had a high bar. So if you meet that, that's great. Agreed. And so this process continues and I just mentioned the steps in it. Like what he does at the combine is not going to matter where he gets drafted? No, I don't think so. But when he's interviewing at the combine and he's He's interviewing, you know, when teams pull him aside, when teams fly into, you know, to old Mrs. Campus, and they're hanging out in the Grove and they're getting to know him. And when he goes to the NFL facilities, and some teams we've talked to Eric DeCosta, the year they drafted Lamar Jackson, nobody knew except one media member, and Eric denied it, basically.

And so, like, there's a lot that's going to go on behind the scenes. And you think back to even last year, Bo Nix, right? Sean Payton came out and said it was throw 17 or whatever it was at his pro day, I think, where he's like, yeah, this is my guy, which sounds ridiculous, but it's not the seven or 17 plays, whatever that number was that changed his mind. It's seeing him live, the way he's moving to match up with what we already know. And when it starts to, and you just see the way he's carrying himself and those sorts of things. So we don't know. There may be a team already who's like, this is our guy. I've told you about Brett Veach, right?

Spent some time during the preseason. Sounds like some guys behind us are pretty fired up. The practices over this week, right? But Brett Veach, when Mahomes was, I think, a freshman or his first year as a starter, he saw him and went down to Andy Reed's office and was like, this is my guy, this is our guy. He's the guy who's going to take us to another level. And he's like, you know, Brett, he's not eligible for two years. Like, you know, so you just, you don't know which teams are there yet on these quarterbacks.

For me, I think that this is going to be an intriguing race. I don't see a whole bunch of difference in terms of the potential value and what you could provide at the quarterback position in the NFL between Cam Ward, Chador Sanders, and Jackson Dart. I just don't. And so there's a lot of information still to gather. There's more tape to comb through. And as we get closer to the end in April, I'm going to be definitive on it.

But right now, we're moving forward in the process. Love it. All right. Thank you. Fair. Fair and balance is what I try to be, but it's not easy for me. I want to see. I mentioned the mobility, right?

And I've said all week Jalen Milrow is going to, I think, benefit most from being able to uncork that mobility at the game on Saturday and has not had the best week this week. Because everything that he's still developing is, is what has been featured this week. So, of course, it's not going to be this shining moment, you know, the first two days of practice. But I saw Jalen Milrow make strides today, man. It was great. It was really good to see because, like, we're not the only one saying that he struggled with his accuracy.

Seems like he's swimming a little bit. Not sure where to go with his eyes on certain things. Through the interception of Kaiser yesterday, didn't see the linebacker drop. And, like, we've all seen it. But what's important is our guys improving. And I think in day three, we saw Jalen Milrow improve. And I saw it in a guy who, like even in the red zone, right? Red zone, if I'm on the sideline inside Hancock Whitney Stadium with the press box behind me,

they're going into the right side. And I'm watching, and it's not a significant, it wasn't even team. It was, I think, like a seven-on-seven drill going in, but like quick slant. And it wasn't, all of a sudden, he makes a throw. And it was, you know, like anyone who's a golfer, it's like that, you get on the driving range and you just get like your pitching wedge or something just kind of that easy stroke kind of just relaxed no pressure on you you haven't you haven't shanked five balls yet so like your mind's clean that that's what i saw was more of that relaxed stroke right and i was

okay yeah and that was early and then i saw more and more of that throughout the practice and so that that shows that shows to me that he's he's getting coaching and working with guys who are saying Let's take a little bit heat off of the easy throws. Let's make them catchable. And with that, maybe you can kind of, you know, take a little, just relaxed in your throwing motion. And you're so sweet with that deep ball because it's just like this hand-eye touch feel thing that he has that is phenomenal. And so let's apply some of that, those sensibilities and that hand-eye coordination, that feeling to the shorter throws. And we saw that today a little bit more consistently.

Yeah, the big thing for me was the decisiveness. I mean, I felt like he's been holding onto the ball a little bit too long, a little unsure about where to go with it. Today, it was out. It was on time. He was getting it to receivers quickly. The decisiveness was much better today. And then when you add the fact that he was continuing to throw a good deep ball, and I still think his shorter to intermediate passes are a little too firm, but it wasn't as bad today.

It wasn't just the absolute fastballs that he's been throwing, I think, earlier in the week. He took a little bit more off of it. I think he can still make strides in that area. But again, the decisiveness today. And I do wonder if the fact that there was red zone and there was maybe a stressing of when you're in the red zone, you got to get the ball out, man, windows closed quickly. You got to get it out. Maybe that brought the best out of him in terms of that element of his game. And I just remind everyone, too, like, Lamar Jackson was not a great passer coming out of Louisville. He just wasn't.

Josh Allen, for as strong as his arm was, I mean, he didn't complete 60% of his throws. And there were some throws that he made even here at the senior board. It's like, whoa. Yeah. You know, you got a first round, you know, McSha, you got a first round great on this guy? I'm like, yeah, you know, like, Jalen Hurts is another guy. Right. So, like, the mobility factor you have, and we've said this before, and I'll keep saying it throughout the process,

when you bring that level of mobility, you know, Lamar had it to, I mean, Lamar is like the, the elite. He's the standard when it comes to mobility. Josh Allen, a different kind of mobility, combination of athleticism, but also the strength to extend plays. Jalen hurts, his mobility. Like, those are three guys that just popped in my head, and guys that came in the league at a lower than ideal level of consistency with their ball placement,

had the mobility to early in their career, get out of place. You know, you're not forced then to make a throw that you're not comfortable making. You learn to decide on which ones you're going to let rip. And also to extend plays when you kind of haven't processed it, and you don't have all the answers yet. So Jalen's got that going for him and then some with the mobility. And so, again, excited to see progress from him on the third day of practice and really excited to see what he does in the game.

Keep it rolling. Yeah, keep it rolling. Bring some of the things that we saw in terms of his touch and his timing today and bring that in the game and now be able to uncork that unbelievable mobility. And so that should be, it should be a possible. positive. When we look back on this week, it should be a positive from Jalen Milrow, even though it started out very much negatively. Two other guys I want to get too quickly, and we're not going to make this a quarterback show. But Dylan Gabriel, man, I've been up and down on his play

necessarily, but like I guess, I don't know. It's just a thing I've got going on here. He had that like 79 miles an hour in the Zebra technology initial ball velocity, and everyone's like, oh my gosh, just like 12 miles an hour faster than Josh Allen, a couple other guys with elite arm straight through at the, at the combine. And so I saw that, and I'm like, now he doesn't have Josh Allen's arm. And I reported yesterday again,

he doesn't have Josh Allen's arm. And for the third day in a row, I'll report that he does not have Josh Allen's arm. But I saw a couple throws yesterday where I was like, I'm not sure where I am on his arm strength yet, because there are some throws where it's like, and then there's some throws, a deep out he threw yesterday in practice.

and it kind of got away from him flooded a little bit, but I think it just came off his hand wrong. And I was watching him today, for what it's worth, and arm strength isn't the most important thing, as long as you have a baseline, and then if you don't have great arm strength, you better be able to get the ball out on time. He's got a good arm, man.

Right. He does. Like, I've been, like, as the weeks gone on and seen more of a catalog of throws live, we've all seen them on tape, but live, I mean, the more, I think I said I wasn't sure, like, comparing him versus two. I think he's got a stronger arm than two. He's got he I don't think he has a stronger arm than to it, which is great news for him because coming into the week you weren't sure about

that. I wasn't sure about that. I think that was a question mark for Dylan Gabriel was how how strong was the arm and now that we're trying to figure out we know what's stronger than we thought and really how strong is it? That's a good sign for him. Very good from maybe a potential red flag to I think we're okay here. Yeah. And we might actually be good here. Yeah, he's undersized like you see it. but there are guys who have been under like two is not the biggest quarterback but he's taller um obviously russell wilson is kind of like the standard for you know five 10 guys can can do it um and what it and Dylan checked in at 510 yeah five 510 so 5 10 and a half five yeah so and i think wasn't i could be wrong but i want to say i want to say what was it 510 and 3 8s inches

for russ but Anyway, so it's somewhere in that same range. My point being, he's got a lot to overcome, but I think the arm strength thing is not going to be a concern, and that's a positive too. Last thing I want to get to, Tyler Shuck, he got better every day. Yeah.

I was encouraged. He's not, we're not talking about a first rounder or a second rounder, or maybe even a third rounder, but there's a guy who could be a backup in the league with the combination of some of his mobility and extending, and the timing that I saw, from him and getting the ball out in time and layering some throws, some sideline throws, placing it right where you want it placed. It wasn't this like blow you away week, but he helped

himself this week. Yeah, I mean, it's been a journey for him. I mean, he started off at Oregon, then he went to Texas Tech, ended up at Louisville. He had a really hard time staying healthy, but when I look at him and just watch the tape and you take away the injury history and you look at his tape, good frame, good arm talent. And I like the way the ball comes out of his hands, and he can move around a little bit, like you said. I mean, he's not a scrambler. He's not the, we're not talking about an elite talent in terms of athletic ability, but he can move around a little bit. I was excited to see it.

I might be a guy, maybe a guy that starts in someone's practice squad and then kind of works himself in. But I think he's improved his stock, for lack of a better way of saying it this week. The McShay Show is brought to you by Fandul. Every pass, every play, every prop. It's Super Bowl 59, and it's all happening on Fandul. Bet on America's number one game with America's number one sports book any way you want. I'm talking spreads, live bets, over unders, player props, special props, and so much more. As I look at these early lines, I kind of like this same game parlay.

You're telling me this Super Bowl is going to happen. Super Bowl 59 with the season Sequin's had and he's not going to be in any time touchdown score. No way. So let's start with Sequon Barkley. And then Juju Smith-Schuster. Has anyone else noticed? This guy's becoming a real serious part of the offense for the chiefs. Over one and a half receptions.

Let's get that together in the same game parlay. I'm looking at Fandual right now. It says plus 184. Let's take that from them. Plus, to make the Super Bowl even sweeter, new customers can score 200 bucks when you make your first bet. Just place a $5 bet, and if you win, you'll get 200 in bonus bets.

Download the app or head to fendul.com slash McShay and bet with Fandul. official partner of Super Bowl 59. Must be 21 plus in present in select states or 18 plus in present in D.C. First online real money wager only. $5.1st deposit required. Bonus issued as non-withrowerable bonus bets

which expire seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook. Fandul.com. Gambling problem? Call 1-800 gambler or visit RG-Help.com. Where are you with the rest of today? What did you see that stood out?

I don't want to go through position by position. It wasn't as long or physical practice as Wednesday was. But there was a lot to take from it. Where are you with some things that just jumped out that were important to you that you saw? I thought, you know, some of the defensive linemen today jumped out to me. I know you just said just not to do positions, but that's really the group that I saw. The Toledo, we talked about Toledo defensive tackle, Darius Alexander. I just love the versatility.

He can come off the edge. and he can really rush between the tackles. And when you look at these teams that want these NASCAR rush packages, you're talking about a guy who was 34-inch arms and great quickness. And when you put that against an interior offensive alignment, that can be a real problem.

And then the central Arkansas edge, David Walker doesn't have those kind of tools, man. He's less than 6-foot-1. He's shorter than 6-foot-1. He's got 31-3-quarter-inch arms. But man, is he explosive? And he uses that naturally low center of gravity to get under guys and move guys.

and he's relentless. I mean, you talk about the production, and again, I know it's at Central Arkansas, but 63 tackles for loss and 31 sacks over the past three seasons. I mean, the guy put up numbers. You want guys who are at that level to dominate, and man, did he dominate?

So he's flashed all week, and I thought he's best day today. I actually spent some time down with the defensive line for the second practice, the American practice, and just watching them go through drills with the defensive line coach. I thought it was also to go through the back,

You know, they were doing like hand-to-hand comments, combat stuff, going through the bags. And Jason Taylor was down there. It was kind of fun seeing him make a comment or two. His son is obviously here, Mason Taylor, the titan from LSU. And some things jumped out, right? And some of it's just even like body type or hand quickness and all that stuff. But just watching the two old miss edges, Princely Uman-Mieland. he's quicker than Ivy, his teammate.

He's just, he's more fluid, he's got more suddenness. There are different kind of edges, right? Yes. It's like a three, four outside linebacker guy. That's Prince Lee. Yep. And then Jared Ivy is more of the defensive end who can kick inside to rush the pass. 100%.

I, they, watching Umamielan, he just super quick hands. But Ivy, a little bit more violent with his hands, okay? Both of those guys, they're just good, they're good football players. They really are. but I see some tightness in I.B. Right. Yeah, bigger and the role he plays, but there's a little bit more tightness in his game.

He's got 20 pounds heavier than Princeton. Exactly. So he's longer, though, by the way. He's got 34 and a quarter inch arms, Princeley does. Yeah, which is huge for an edge rusher against those offensive tackles. Tim Smith is a grown-ass man. I'm glad you're bringing him up, man.

He is, I mean, just watching him in drills and his lower body and the thickness and, like, we're not talking about a guy who's going to be a pass rusher who's going to come in. But like you talk to me about day three. I'm a defense that wants to plug gaps and I need some physical grown-ass men in there. Tim Smith's a guy who's going to play some ball for a little while. As a four-eye, the kind of the inside shade of the offensive tag on a base three-man front. You can do a lot worse than Sim Smith.

And that's, you know, it's great to get down there and see his body type, see how big he is. because it's like the guys we're going to show out here are the guys the you know the mike greens from marshal the shmar stewards from texasana am the guys were super explosive and excel at getting after the quarterback but there's a role for these defensive alignment who are stout and tough against the run yeah we got the cruise ship taken off we're a cruise ship taking off we got players screaming because they're happy practices over this week but we'll forge on you'll overcome the adversity i also thought omar norman lot stood up more than anyone Tennessee defensive of linemen, okay? And the reason

I say that is he's shorter. He's shorter. Like when you watch him, it's always interesting to just watch them and compare body types and, like, who they are. Shorter than the rest of those guys. Thick, thick trunk and, like, middle and quads and thighs. Like, he's just thickly built.

But my goodness, he is quick and got snap in his hands. And what I love to, like, certain guys become the leader after just three days. And you're talking about dudes that he's hanging out with, right? Down on the defensive line. Talking about Dale Walker from Kentucky, who's 6-7-340.

Talking about Walter Nolan's going to be a first-round pick from Ole Miss. The two other Ole Miss guys would just mention, grown-ass man, Tim Smith, from Alabama, Kyle Kinnock. But you're watching these drills, and he's the one who's kind of like setting the tone, not just with his words, but getting there first every rep. flying off the snap even when they're in individuals. You're hearing the coach just saying, good job, Omar, good job, Omar, good job, finishing the bag drill by knocking, like, by almost diving on top of that final bat.

Like, little things that you watch and you recognize, like, okay, he doesn't look as good physically, like off the bus as some of these other guys. But now I get why he's just as productive, if not more productive. Now I get why he's constantly being talked about, you know, as a guy who's, emerging this final season at Tennessee, you can see what goes into that. We can all see the tape, but what goes into that? And it was cool to see Omar Norman Lott today. You could just, I mentioned Kyle Kinnard yesterday. It's kind of the edge guy that was setting the tone and going back and working on every single pass rush move after with the defensive line coach. And with Omar

Norman Lott, it was the same thing for the kind of the interior defensive lineman today. Other positions. What else stood out to you? Because I'm going to mention. one guy that I really liked. Go ahead. Billy Bowman, the safety from Oklahoma. 5096, 198. It means he's 5'9 and 3 quarters and 198

pounds. Not the biggest. Probably not going to be the fastest. Again, coming off the bus, you're not like, ooh, it's Cam Chancellor. But you watch him on the field and every single drill, he just is always around

ball. Right. Instinctive. And just he knows how to close. He takes the right angles. He just does every little thing right. And I actually, I got to talk to him, and I've never mentioned names, but talked to a guy who's been around him, okay, and has experience in personnel departments and the stories

he was telling today about, about Billy Bowman and the fact that, like, he literally walks around the football facility with a notebook that has color coded and goes through every single, every single rep and the preparation that goes goes through for each game and the leadership that he brought to the table for Oklahoma's defense. It was actually pretty good. It was just the offense, put him in terrible situation. So just to hear that kind of thing and to hear him say, like, I'm not saying he's going to be Brian Branch, but he is, he's for us or for Oklahoma was kind of Brian Branch. It has a lot of similarities. And we've seen now with like Dax Hill, Mike Santer Strill, Brian Branch, guys that don't get drafted in the top 20, 25, that go early in the second round.

And I think Jad A. Barron is a different kind of version of that, too, for Texas, and we'll get to them later. But there are a couple guys in this class in a league that is so reliant on versatility in the secondary. And guys that can be on the field and play different roles on different downs in different pass-run situations, these guys are becoming more and more important. So Bowman all week has been making plays in just around the ball. And I think this has been a, it's been an important week for him. But I also, when hearing the stories behind the scenes, don't be surprised when we get to late March and early April,

if you're starting to see him climb up boards because people are catching wind, that unbelievable interview. You should hear how advanced he is in his preparation. These are the guys that move up. It's not just the 40-yard dash freaks and the combine winners and the workout warriors. It's guys when they get to, when coaches actually get to sit with them and meet with them, they respect what they're doing. I'll give you another player, I think, from that school, and that's Oklahoma State, inside linebacker Nick Martin, 6 foot, 22 pounds, 30 and 5 eighth inch arms.

So not a big guy, short arms, but man, he flies around. instinctive, vocal, always around the football, competes in coverage. I thought he had a really good week. Again, another guy that you look at doesn't necessarily check a lot of boxes in terms of that big size, but has played really well. Wide receivers. I just want to get to a few that, and I've kind of had an up and down relationship with Jaden Higgins. And I just thought the first day it wasn't. Notting it off again?

Such high expectations. I thought there were some, there were a few moments in the first day of practice where I didn't think it was up to his standard, okay? Right. He has shut me up. His last two practices have been outstanding. And it was a little bit more of it today. He is a big dude. I mean, he's six, three and a half, 217 pounds, long arms.

And watching his refinement and how smooth he is, I'm trying to think of the quote, some personnel guy said to me, he's a smooth drink, not a drink of water, but a smooth flowing water or something like that. It's like watching water flow something like that. And I'm just looking at him like, yeah, he is. Yeah. Because when you watch him, you don't think six, three and a half

until it's like contested versus a smaller DB, okay? And I just, as the week went on, I had a greater appreciation for his movement skills. I think he's a guy who absolutely helped himself. And then while they're so different, his teammate, Jalen Noel also had a similar type of week. That name came up a lot in conversations. A lot, right? Because, yeah, he's 509, 6.

He's 5.9 and 3 quarters. But he's thickly built. He's sturdy. He doesn't get. So when you look at the smaller receivers, right, you're always looking for and partially expecting that there's going to be these, knocked off of route moments, a lot of them. Tess Johnson has been flat out freaking phenomenal this week, right? He's 156 pounds, though.

The Oregon wide receiver is a superstar this past year. But he's had the shoulder injury. He got knocked out of the Ohio State game, came back in, showed a lot of tough. But when you look at the smaller receivers, you want to see durability, obviously, but you can't predict that necessarily. And the thing that you can, though, predict is based off the tape you watch, is are they getting knocked off their routes? Can they get off the line of scrimmage?

And even when they do within that five yards, are they struggling? And then when there's that contact that's kind of that, you know, that in-between contact that gets allowed, are they getting knocked off their routes? And then when the ball's in the air and you have those contested moments, do they have any chance? Well, with Tess Johnson, unfortunately, the answer in a lot of those situations is no. And so he's got to absolutely win with his quickness and explosiveness. And he did that a lot this week. He can do that if he's paired with the right offensive coordinator and play caller who can design it for him.

With Noel, I don't know that you have to design it as much because he doesn't get knocked off as much. And he's got this sturdy build. And he's so damn polished as a route runner. And he plucks in transitions. And if you talk to receiver coaches and really good scouts, that pluck in transition for a slot receiver is so critical. because you're working so often in that quick game from the slot, and how quickly you can go from here to there, catching the ball and transition up the field can depend on,

is it a five, six-yard gain, or is it nine to 15, you know? He's great with the ball in his hands. It's a return man after the catch. I think he's a guy you can get involved in the run game if you want to. I think he's a guy. He's one of those dudes you want to get in space. You have an all-satellite team. You used to have an all-satellite team.

No, I have one. Okay. Even last year when I sat out, I made one for myself. So I think he's a candidate. We'll see. That's always a great group. So I think he's a candidate for that group. Another guy in that similar mold is Restrepo, right?

He's going to save Restrepo, man. Right? Tough. Watching him this week, Javier Restrepo from Miami, he's not the biggest cat, right? Which is his official height. 509.3, so 5.59, 3,000, almost 5.9.5. But he's 200 pounds. And he's just, he's thickly built.

He doesn't get knocked up. And I was talking to one scout who he's like, he's just always open, right? right? He's just always open. And he's making play after play. None of it's flashy, none of it's vertical. He's not tracking it deep, but it's like, we're in a bind. When we get into team and things get dicey and the bullets start to fly, who's going to be the guy that I trust to get open and get me out of trouble?

It's Restrepo. Absolutely. And it is on tape. And to see it here confirms like, yeah, it doesn't, it's not just ACC competition or whatever you want. He's a chain mover. He's a chain mover. Right. And there's a place for that, there's a necessity for that, you know?

I totally agree. So that's it. Royals caught the ball well today. Yeah. No, he's kind of had a quiet week. I get it. I get it. I like his build.

I know he's under, he's sub six foot, but he's put together pretty well. I like the way he caught the ball. He's still a player. I'm excited about going forward. Yeah. And maybe, and here's the other thing. We fly back, well, I fly back tonight. Mench.

Don't even ask about me. Mitch. He's a clock flight in the morning? Yeah, him and Daniel, I guess. Like all sorts of things. They're going out clubbing in Mobile tonight. But, no, but

so you get back and now we got, we got Friday, we got all weekend, the game's on Saturday, we'll get the tape of the game, but you get tape of the practices, too. And I'm not going to sit here in line and say, I saw every rep, because you have to have conversations,

went on Rich Eisen today and missed about 20 minutes. Like, there's stuff that I didn't see, and hopefully you caught the things I didn't see, but we didn't see every play. So, absolutely, and every year I go back and study the practice tape, and it's, oh, I'd miss that. Oh, shit, maybe he played better. Or, oh, now I get quite, whatever it is, there's more to gain.

But this is, you know, three days of hyper focus on what we were able to see. Yeah, for me, I don't finish a report without going back and throwing on the tape and watching the reps that they had the scene roll. If they're here, I'll go back and watch what they did here before I finalized that report. And some of it's just as simple as did they play different positions? Did he kick inside? You know, we talked about the North Dakota State Interior Offensive Line and Gray's Abel. Where did he play? He played center and guard.

That's not what he did in college. Those guys you want to see, where do they play? What do they do? Some running backs didn't catch the ball very much in college. Well, they have to catch the ball at the senior bowl. It's those kinds of things that are great when you're going back and looking at the tape. It's the most important part of the process because this is the last time we get to see these prospects in paths competing and playing. actual game of football. The rest of it is important, but it's not in pads. It's not actually

playing football. It's in gym shorts. It's working out. It's 40-yard dashes. It's vertical jumps. It's stuff that, yes, it's part of the whole algorithm that you put together when you try to figure out what works and you get these predictive analysis and all that stuff. And the scouting community is embracing it some places more than others, but as a whole, embracing it more now as part the process, whether it's just a tiny bit or whether it's an increasing bit, it's absolutely part of the process. But this is literally the last time you get to see them in pads competing, playing the game of football.

And with that, I want to transition real quickly. The senior bowl is a privilege, man. Like, this is a privilege. And I think sometimes we forget and people forget. It's a privilege for the media. It's a privilege for agents. It's a privilege for prospects. Okay?

Not everyone gets invited. There's a whole hell of a lot of players playing in other All-Star games that want to be here. There's a whole hell of a lot of players not playing in All-Star games that would die to play in one of these. There's a whole hell of a lot of players

that want to be draft picks that just physically can't be here. So I say that because there's been a lot of like negative buzz and stuff in the last 24 hours, and I just want to kind of clear the air, okay? It is not groundbreaking that a few first-round players, after a couple great days of practice, decide to take off and finish the week, okay?

But there's a certain level of respect, and there's a certain way to handle things. If you're one of those players, and especially if you're one of their agents, because you work for those players, and don't forget that. If you're an agent, you have a job, and it's best service. your client. Do you think it's in the client, or in this case the prospect's best interest, to leak information that your player

that you're representing is not going to practice the rest of the week, that he had two great days, did what he needed to do for himself. He got what he needed out of this game and took it and is about to take off. And you're going to leak that information

to a media member instead of making the first people that understand and know the situation, Jim Nagy, the senior bowl people, who have spent all year long getting this ready. So it's an amazing event for your players, for you, for NFL teams, for the media, it's not. And so if you're a player who has an agent who decided that it was a better idea to call someone in the NFL media and tell them and have Jim Nagy and the senior bowl staff maybe find out from somebody, else that you might not be back the rest of the week? Is that the agent you want representing?

And if you're that agent, are you doing the best thing for your client? Those are the questions I would ask. Second thing is, I got a list last night, Mensch got a list last night, our producers got lists last night. When I got the list and passed it on to the people in our group, it was for your eyes only so that we know the roster so that our unbelievable camera people and production people can make sure that they're focusing on the guys so that we can highlight them best. and put together the best show we can possibly provide to help service these players in our audience. And so when we get that information

that there are a few guys that are going to take off early, and again, not groundbreaking, it's happened before. It's my duty to make sure that our group knows. This is for us, this is not for, to break news. We don't need more followers from this. We can get followers from doing the right thing, okay? So if you're in the media and you get that information, I don't know, because I know there was one person

who got that information and made sure that the right people had that information. There are other people who got it and tried to service themselves with it. So, again, I'm going on a rant, but, like, let's not forget if you're part of this whole thing, there's a right way to do it, and let's treat it with some respect. And I think if you start to do that, and people will kind of appreciate that, and everyone will gain and benefit from this unbelievable, wonderful game that we all love, the game of football, and then especially the Senior Bowl in this case. And for players, too, like, I get it, man.

You've had a long season. The season's extended, and you're here, and you go out and you make a decision to play. And absolutely, people are thrilled that you play, and you played really well on Tuesday and Wednesday. And, yeah, you don't have much left to prove. And I understand that. Walter Nolan was here. He was practicing his ass off today.

He's going to be a first-round pick. Josh Connerly's going to be a first-round pick. He was here today. Thomas, cornerback, Florida State. He's awesome on Monday. Or Tuesday. Awesome on Wednesday. He was also awesome today.

He's going to be a first-round pick. So, like, I'm not saying, if you come here, you have to. I'm not like one of those old-school dudes, okay? But I am saying, think about it, because when I talk to three different personnel people today, they get it. We've all been through this together. We understand the culture. We understand the situation.

We understand that everyone's here. that everyone has their own interests here, but also that part of your own interests and don't be, I guess if you're a prospect and you're listening to this or you're a family member or a friend of a prospect, remember this and pass this information along. There's an NFL scout, there's a general manager, there's a head coach that was expecting to have a job interview

with you or your friend or your family member. And you just left. And you had an agent who said, yeah, we got to go. You had two great days. You're a first round pick, you're a lock, you're top 15, top 20. But there are people here who, like, part of their schedule tonight is we got 15 minutes, 11 minutes now with an individual prospect, and he's just not showing up for a job interview. And I'm not saying it's going to affect anyone in any one of these guys. I'm not.

But let's start thinking about how that people are taking that information. And so a scout can be frustrated, and again, it's not going to affect the draft stock. But there's a, if you commit to something, there are certain guys that are here that committed to it and they're going to see it through. And there are certain guys that didn't. And so that could get weighed in at some point. All right, my rant's over. Sorry. It's well put.

No, it's well put. A couple more things. Important things. And it's not going to be short. Nothing we do here is short. But I do want to get to some speed stuff that I thought was really interesting. And then I want to finish up kind of wrapping up this week a little bit and give some some, some kind of. And I got some really awesome notes.

I can't share all of it. But I want to start the conversation on certain things, and we'll finish with that. And some really, like, good stuff. The zebra technology, we talked about it all week. It's unbelievable. Like the fact that the Senior Bowl has teamed up with Zebra, we got the miles per hour, we get the fastest speed. Some of the, have you seen like the fastest decelerations showing DBs and wide receivers?

Who can decelerate the fastest, which would be get in and out of their breaks or for as a receiver or for a cornerback and their pedal, all of a sudden can stop, the cutting and stopping and going, there's all sorts of numbers. But let's just go kind of top level for now off of the stuff that we've seen. I'm going to give you the fastest players by miles per hour on day two, which was the day that was like the most physical exertion of all these practices. So really good indicator. How about this one?

The fastest guy on day two in practice, both practices, Darien Porter from Iowa State. You're not Tulsi. Toolsy? Six, two, almost six two and a half, a hundred and a half, that says six two and a half, basically two hundred pounds, he's one ninety seven, cornerback with length, who was 22.17 miles per hour. Yeah. That's two, almost two full miles per hour faster than the next guy. Also, by the way, hey, nice job, Campbell. Nice job Iowa State.

Two fastest guys here on day two were Iowa State dudes. Jaylen Noel, who we talked about earlier. 20.8, let's call it, okay? After that, here's a player. I'm excited to watch more tape. I know he's fast on tape. I've seen it, but I didn't know. There's the top five list I'm going to go through.

There's three cornerbacks, one wide receiver, and there's a linebacker. Shamar James from Florida. He was at 20.71. That's six one-hundredths of a second behind a wide receiver, Jalen Noel, who's the fastest wide receiver here on day two for the senior bowl. Pretty impressive. And I'll round it out. Jalen Smith from USC, a cornerback was at 20.67. And Quincy Riley's another player who we had a conversation today. And scouts are kind of getting a little bit or intrigued. He was at 20.41 miles per hour, the cornerback from Louisville. And, you know, you look at his history, yeah, he's going to have to

become a little bit more, we call him buffet tacklers, you know, pick him. can choose sometimes. But, but, like, great when the ball's in the air, the ball skills, the ball production, coverage skills. Now we know he's one of the top speed guys, like, starting to come together. Yeah, come together in terms of the evaluation for him. One other dude I want to mention, and I don't have the exact number in front of me, but Bachel Tootin, right? Yeah. The running back from Virginia Tech. I think he was the fastest of all the running backs. And this is a good group. I mean, this is a group that includes, don't forget, Quadsilla.

I wrote quads. You should see this guy's quads. I mean, he's exactly what you would think of with like a back. He looks like a running back. But you add that in the really good tape and the fact, I saw him catching the ball pretty well this week. And then the fact that he's running 20 point, or I don't have the exact number,

but he's the fastest running back in this group in terms of the zebra on day two. I'm not saying he's the fastest. He's going to run the fastest 40. But I thought that that number stood out. Anything more on that? Are you good? No, I'm good. That's good speed.

Quincy Riley, I like to see him run that fast because that was one of the questions I had. I thought he was okay in that area. I didn't think he was going to run that well, so that's exciting for him. All right. Notebook stuff. I'll let you actually start because I've been on a heater. I think you've got all the... The PSA.

No, but I want... Now that we're looking back, we've got three days of practice, we're getting ready for the game. what are your takeaways? Don't you have to give me them all right now. We can go back and forth. But what are some of the takeaways that you'll remember from this week of practice and things, whether there's guys who are surprising that played better than expected,

guys you can't wait to go back and watch tape on, guys that you wanted to see, whatever it is, just some things that stood out to you. I'll just reiterate this. I thought small schools won this week. And I thought in coordination with that, Jim Nagy staff won. I mean, we've highlighted a number of small school players,

and one that I'd like to point out, because we did hear a little bit of buzz about him today, is the Alabama A&M offensive tackle. Carson Vincent, who has the longest arms of any of the offensive linemen here, who moves really well. He's a guy that I think that I'm very excited to watch more tape on him.

I think he's really helped himself this week, and he's raw. Look, we saw that he's raw, but he competes. He didn't look like. again, like a fish out of water. He didn't look like he was lost here. So I thought he had a great week. A guy that I would think that maybe flew under the radar and is a better athlete that I anticipated was the Nebraska defensive line.

And Ty Robinson, we haven't talked about him. No, we haven't. He's a good player. The defensive lineman for Flores State, Josh Farmer, there's all these defensive linemen here. It's almost hard to get to all of them. The defensive line from Josh Farmer, I know we mentioned him because he's got that great length. I think he's got 35-inch arms. He had a great week. He's another guy that we go back and look at him. We have all of these talented defensive tackles.

We're not even talking about the Mason Graham's of the world or the Kenneth Grants, the guys who weren't here. When you look at the guys that were here, I mean, stacking these guys, you know, as we heard, getting them in the right buckets and then sorting those buckets is not going to be an easy task. And that's a great thing. It's not an easy task because these guys are all playing well and they're all making a push for where they should go. Yeah, the small school offensive lineman thing was interesting because you've got to remember this is the day and age of the transfer portal. And I'll never forget talking to Chip Kelly. And he was like, recruiting has

changed for me. This is when he was at UCLA. He's like, recruiting has changed for me because it's no longer, and it was unfortunately in his mind because he loved bringing in prospects and developing them. But now it was like, maybe you should go to the smaller school. We'll keep an eye on you and in a year or two will come pluck you. Right. Right. So with that is the backdrop, the fact that some of these guys didn't transfer weren't plucked from an Alabama or an Ohio State of Georgia. Clemson, Oklahoma. Right?

It's still pretty awesome that Jim Nagy and his staff are able to identify them, right? So you mentioned the Alabama A&M guy, right? Right. I was told today there's a chance he doesn't get out of the top three rounds. He doesn't get out of the third round. Just when you look at the tools, the talent. again, if you're an offensive line coach, we've talked about this recently about, now the coaches are getting more involved. They're going to get in the ear of whoever in the front office and say, look, man, like, that's a guy I can work with.

I saw him down at the senior ball. I saw him competing. I see the way he moves. I see that length. I see that size. Give me a chance. Specifically, I was told, like, the wingspan is what is intriguing most teams. Okay. You know, like obviously six, just about six, seven, three, fourteen, but 83 and three-quarter. inch wingspan is the larger. The second best was Logan Brown from Kansas was 83 and a half, but everybody else is like 81, 80, 79, you know? Yeah. So there were obviously other traits.

We saw the energy he brought. We saw the improvement throughout the week. But like finding a physical trait that's unique, he's got that. And that was pointed out to me. The other thing was Greg Zabel. Yeah. I don't think I talked to an NFL scout or a person that had, what? there was an offensive line cross check or or was just there watching that didn't mention Zabel

as like the clear cut winner. In fact, I talked to one personnel director today who was like, well, like we don't even have to talk about Zabel. He's the obvious winner. Let's talk about some other guys. Right. You know, so Greg Zabel from North Dakota. I'm convinced he's a starting center of the league.

Yeah. I mean, I'm just convinced that he's a starting center. And can play guard. Right, who could play a guard. So, um... Here's a thing about him. Yep. He moves like an offensive tackle.

He's played offensive. And he moves like an offensive tackle. But when you see the way he can power down against inside moves and the way he can mirror guys who are trying to beat him with quickness and side-to-side moves, that is not, that is easy for him when he's on the inside. If he had longer arms, he still will be playing on the outside. So you're taking a guy that moves like those elite athletes on the outside, then has the quickness to really play center, the toughness, the smart, the competitiveness level. I'm not sure he could have had a better week. One more small school guy, Jacob Bayer, number 69 he was wearing this week, playing center from Arkansas State. It was interesting.

I was reminded, and I actually had read this, but he came back this year and played five months removed from a torn ACL and came in, and people were like, eh, his tape's not as good. Like, yeah, no kidding. He's five months removed from an ACL, but as the season progressed, he got stronger. And I was told to go back, and I haven't watched it yet,

Arkansas State versus Bowling Green. And even the guy I talked to was like, listen, I know we're not talking about world beaters at Bowling, and green, but how easy he made it look and how he's had a good week. And Jackson Slater, we talked about him yesterday. So you're talking about four small school offensive linemen that all showed up this week. And you've got to remember, you're looking at helmets that say LSU, okay? They say Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, right?

And you're going up against these dudes every day in practice. you're looking at helmets to say Michigan, Oregon, okay? They didn't show an ounce of fear those four guys. And in fact, we're competing and beating a lot of those guys who have bigger names from bigger programs. So that part was really cool. I don't want to get hung up on it, but I think we both appreciated that.

A couple other things I want to jump to and jump in anywhere you want. Yep. The tight ends, and I mentioned this in the open, Scouts are getting excited about this group, really excited about this group. Deep. Mason Taylor. There's some people that are in love with Mason Taylor and not necessarily because he's he is, I think he's one of the biggest, one of the fastest, all those things, but you know

exactly what you're getting with this guy and his love of the game and is obviously, he's been in the game and it's in his blood, Jason Taylor, a Hall of Famer, but like you just know what you're getting and he's going to be a damn good NFL starting tight end for a long time. and that doesn't get out of the top 50 picks, okay? That's the information that I'm getting. A lot of guys are intrigued with our guy, Elijah, Arroyo. The production is interesting.

A lot of the same, like Dog with a Bone, we've got to figure out what gets more information. But my goodness, can he separate so smooth and athletic. Those are the reports I'm getting back today. So those are the two that people were really in love with. Fanning, the bowling green tight end. Look at the way he catches the ball. These are some of the things.

I mean, look at the way he catches the ball. Every drill he shows up. The consistency. The guy is going to play. He's probably going to be a backup early in his career, but he's going to play in a rotation. I just really like that fanning guy. And then Ferguson, everyone agrees.

Like, nothing elite that jumps out, but he just shows up. Every time we're in team, every time we're in 7-on-7, he's separating. He's getting open. He's catching the football, and he's getting upfield.

So those are four tight ends that I appreciated them. We've talked about all of them throughout the week, but when you're, like, in Thursday, it's a little bit looser on the field. There's not as many scouts and personnel guys and directors and GMs. So the ones who are there, it's like people are talking more. There's not like these crowds of people all around you.

And people are opening up. And, like, that was one of the first things that I noticed in these conversations I'm having. This is a good, tight end group. And we don't even have Colson Loveland, who's going to be a first round pick, probably in that 25 to 32 range. let's say, and we don't even have Tyler Warren, who could be a top 15 pick out of Penn State. So that was intriguing to me.

Another name that keeps coming up, and I'm bouncing around here, and I'm doing it on purpose. Because these are the conversations you're having, and you get all over the place. Trayvion Henderson, man. It's interesting. He's going early. It's interesting. Like, he might go first round early. It surprises me a little bit.

speed, explosiveness, and you want to know what scouts freaking love about this guy, the blocking. And the same thing, I was talking to a director of personnel today, and he was like, the blocking. And I was like, just like Zeke, he's like, exactly. He's like, you know what you're getting. You keep him on the field every single play. He doesn't have to come off the field.

And it's like, yeah, he was in the rotation with Judkins. And Judkins is awesome, too. People love Judkins, okay? but you see that speed and the way he cuts. And everyone I talk to when it was come to, and it's not just this week, there's only a few, I don't want to oversell it.

I think three different conversations I've had throughout the week, somehow Henderson comes up. We're talking about this deep running back class. But every time I've talked to anyone about him, it's the same thing, going to be a better NFL player than a college player in terms of production and consistency.

Remember he had that he was dinged up and now he's in a rotation of last year. I think he's like his best football. He's kind of getting ready to peak. And teams recognize it. So in a class that we're talking about, we went through all the names yesterday and am I going to do it again. And we know that Ashton Jinty is the star.

And he's going to be picked somewhere in the top, probably 15, maybe because of running back need, he gets to 1520. I don't think he will. But Henderson could be RB2. And there's some buzz like, I don't know he's getting out of round one, which I thought was fascinating. That's fascinating. Look, I thought I didn't love him coming into this past season.

I knew he was talented. The explosiveness, the juice is so easy to spot when you watch him on tape. It just jumps out right away. And then I thought he had an outstanding season this past year. I did. And both of those running backs, because I think Judkins deserves to be in this conversation, too. When you look at that playoff run, both of them were willing to do literally whatever it took to win a football game. They would be on the field at the same time.

They were blocking for each other, whether there was pass bro, making a play in the passing game. I thought both of them were outstanding in that area. I think it's a very talented backclass, and I'm interested to see, I think it could be a pick-your-favor or choose-your-own-favor kind of a deal that maybe some people will have Henderson higher than others. It would be interesting to see if he goes that high. I don't have him quite as high, but I do think he had a great year.

So I get the buzz. Some cornerback notes. We talked about Quincy Riley and some of the conversation there and the speed with Quincy Riley coming out of Liverpool. Azarier Thomas, who we, I mean, just fell in love with him live, the first time seeing him live for Florida State, the cornerback was wearing number eight all week. The thing that talking to scouts today, the confidence in press coverage, and then the confidence

when the ball's in the air. And we mentioned that both things on Tuesday, but to hear it now, like, there's a certain level of, and one guy was like, hey, like, just, I want you to literally watch the confidence in his movements and his eyes and the consistency, because that, you know, he's a lot. The dude trusts himself in press. And that's hard to find. Right? It's hard to find at this level.

You coach that in. You develop that over time. But he has absolutely no question he's going to win in press. And there's something to that. And it shows up in his play. And so I thought that that was interesting. He and Maxwell Harrison from Kentucky, I think kind of across the board of the people we talked to,

were the best two corners here in a really good group. Remember, Quincy Riley, we just talked about, Darien Porter, six, two and a half, almost 200 pounds. So there's a lot of talent there, but those are the two that jumped out. And Harrison specifically, when the ball's in the air. Remember we're talking about the Bill Belichick, Nick Sabin stuff we were reading through? And we've literally had that list for 15 years of the critical traits, but just to have we got to re-look at it. and two of the greatest defensive minds to ever coach college pro and to see how important how high up on the list when the ball is in the air.

Confidence, production, when the ball's in the air. Do they panic? Do they, are they, is the speed not easy? Are they getting flustered or are they just calm and relaxed? And that's with Hairston. That's the thing that jumps out to people is when the ball's in the air, and both of those guys, but Hairsten especially. Yeah, it's going to be tough to sort out this corner group because, I mean, it's a good problem to have.

There's a ton of talent, but is Travis Hunter corner wide receiver? Benjamin Morrison coming off a serious injury. What do we do with him? So there's two other guys that came up in conversation. We're starting to kind of, just on the sideline and watching plays and just talking. Two other guys came up in conversation because remember we're talking about Bowman now from Oklahoma as kind of that nickel guy. And we're also talking about the two corners that we just mentioned, Thomas and Harrison Hirston, talking about Riley, talking about Porter.

And the conversation immediately went to Jaday, Jada Baron, right, from Texas. And he's next in line of that Dax Hill, that Mike Sandristrill, that Brian Branch of nickel corners. I'm not saying they're all identical, but kind of nickel guys with versatility. Swiss Army Knives. who are always around the football, right? And Jaday's name kept coming up, and people just love him. I don't think he's getting out of the first round. And I wouldn't have said that maybe mid-season or towards the end.

I just didn't know. So obviously, like, the workouts are going to be important, more so of, like, the 40, and some of the speed numbers are more important at corner than any other position. So we'll see how that all plays out. But we knew Branch was one of the 20 best football players in that draft. He just happened to fall to pick 33 to Detroit, and they hit the lottery, right? And then the other guy was the Notre Dame corner, Benjamin,

and people love them. But the durability stuff is going to be huge for him. I'm just going to, I'll share it like the medical tests and the checks and maybe the medical re-checks at the Combine are going to be huge because they love the player, but what's the concern going to be long-term for that? And then the East Carolina corner is in a similar position genre. I really thought he had a chance to be this year as Quinnion Mitchell. You know, that smaller school guy who was just an elite talent.

I thought he had a chance to have a great year. I was hoping to see him here. And then he tore his ACL early on. So obviously that hasn't worked out. So sorting out, it's a good problem to have, right? It's a good problem to have when you have a ton of talent at Corner. The problem, the issue for teams will be sorting out, getting through the medical, the interviews, you know, what tape do you have?

How much tape do you have in this year? All of that stuff is going to come into play. but a lot of talent there. Yeah. I mean, I've got pages of notes here. I think the defensive line, too, was the area that people really, really were, you know, we talk about tight end corner, but I think defensive line was the area that people were just thrilled with this week. Alexander's name kept coming up from Toledo.

99 UCLA kept coming up. Olodejo. Yeah, Oladejo. Farmer from Florida State. Another guy had a really good kind of, under the radar week, but people are like farmer. Do you see farmer? So I don't know.

It's an awesome week. I mean, we could go on for hours. It was a great week. It was a great. Jim Nagy and his staff put together a great roster. It was well-run practices. It was a very competitive. A lot of juice every day.

There was some UCLA, USC violence going on today, guys scrapping. It's always good to see like those old teams of their rivalries go against each other and get after it and see teammates go after it. It was, overall, it was a great week. Yeah, it was. Now we get to go back. We'll study some of the practice tape. We'll watch the game on Saturday.

We'll be back, I believe, Monday night, is that right? Monday night, Tuesday morning, we'll let you know. We'll look, you know, in social media. But we're going to start a regular schedule, as I mentioned. We're going to be at the Combine. We're going to be at the NFL draft come hell or hot water. And we'll be with you throughout the entire process. Thank you, everyone for joining.

Seriously. Like this week has been, it's our first trip on the road, the mixation. show. We appreciate you watching, appreciate you tuning in, whether it's on video or audio for Spotify, audio podcasts on Apple, YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts. It's been a huge week for us. It's been a blast. I hope we've proven to everyone. I'm looking over at Dan, right? I hope we've proven we can put a show on the road on, and I'm excited to do more of it. But again, thank you to everyone. Please click, subscribe, download. All the stuff. the they tell me to tell you to do.

So we appreciate everyone and we'll see you soon. Thanks. 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. Gambling problem? Call 1-800 gambler or visit RG-Help.com. Call 1-888-78-9-7777 or visit ccpg.org slash chat. in Connecticut or visit MD gambling help.org in Maryland.

Hope is here. Visit gambling helplinema.m.m.m.m.org or call 1-800-327-50-50 for 24-7 support in Massachusetts. Or call 1877-8-Hope NY or text Hope N.Y in New York.