The McShay Show - The 10 Most Interesting Players in College Football, and the Curious Case of Dae’Quan Wright.

Episode Date: August 24, 2026

Welcome back to The McShay Show! Today, the guys are revealing the players they’re most intrigued by to start the 2026 college football season. (00:00) Welcome to The McShay Show! (02:40) 10 M...ost Interesting Men in College Football (03:41) Iowa DB Zach Lutmer (09:15) Iowa WR Tony Diaz (13:13) South Carolina DB Vicari Swain (18:25) NC State RB Duke Scott (20:45) LSU TE Dae'Quan Wright (30:15) Alabama EDGE Yhonzae Pierre (35:55) Florida RB Jadan Baugh (40:20) Texas A&M EDGE Anto Saka (44:48) Miami has a ton of interesting players (48:15) Michigan OT Blake Frazier (53:00) LSU DT Deuce Geralds (55:25) Georgia OL Zykie Helton Nintendo: Power up your play with Nintendo Switch 2. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit https://fanduel.com/playwithaplan to learn more about the resources and helplines. Host: Todd McShay Guest: Steve Muench Producers: Tucker Tashjian, Conor Nevins, and Daniel Comer Social: Abou Kamara Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 The most interesting men in college football. That's today's show. We've got 10 of them. I might turn it into 13. There's 248 days until the NFL draft. Bench, you good? Oh, great, man. Roll that thing, Tuck.
Starting point is 00:00:20 We spend our summers with our family. You go to Montana. I love the beach. And we're not doing those fun things. We're sitting in dark rooms like I am right now. I'm watching tape and getting ready for the season. We've got a top 50 list getting ready to come out in the next couple of We'll give you more details as that comes in.
Starting point is 00:00:55 This episode is brought to you by Nintendo. When you've got different ages, different interests, and a busy schedule, finding something everyone can enjoy is a win. Boy, do I know that. The Nintendo Switch 2 system gives you options with games like Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bonanza, and EA Sports FC26. Two controllers are included so you can start playing together right away. and many existing Nintendo Switch games also work on Nintendo Switch 2. Learn more at Nintendo.com slash Nintendo Switch 2.
Starting point is 00:01:29 Games and systems sold separately. Some Nintendo Switch games may not be supported or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2. Games rated E to E10 Plus. And as we're watching tape, we're always kind of texting one another, jotting down notes, and then the AP poll comes out, the college football poll comes out. We kind of create our own, you know, preseason rankings, if you will, of the top teams. And we start to compile all this data, this information we have. And every year there's this list of players that I've got kind of sitting in the corner,
Starting point is 00:02:05 like, I'm so intrigued to see what this guy does, whether it's buzz, texting with head coaches across the country, position coaches, NFL scouts. Like, there's always these guys that, like, we don't feature when we do all the quarterback, breakdowns. We don't feature the top wide receivers or the edge rushers, but whether it's a guy who could break out, whether it's a guy who is a true freshman, whether it's someone who we're starting to hear a little buzz about, guy who pops on tape that isn't a prospect or is a prospect, but it's not going to make the top five or top 10 list. Whatever it is. Two and five Canadians will hear the words you have cancer. That's why every step and dollar raised matters. On September 19th,
Starting point is 00:02:49 thousands in Toronto for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation Walk. Challenge yourself, friends, and family to walk 21 kilometers in support of life-saving research. Together, we can carry the fire and help create a world free from the fear of cancer. Register today at pmcfwalk.ca.ca. We had a production meeting recently. We're like, let's just unveil like, I don't know, 10, 12, 15, maybe 20 of the most interesting players. We call it the most interesting players. We call it the most interesting. men in college football coming into the season.
Starting point is 00:03:24 I tried to skew a little bit towards teams that I think either are underrated or could be right there in the national championship hunt. I'm interested to see where you went. We decided we're going to go with five each. So it'll be 10 guys today. I legitimately probably will make it 13, but that's in character. I laugh, but you have a problem. You have a problem.
Starting point is 00:03:44 I know, but I'm doing all this research. I'm going through all my texts and I'm going to looking at all my notes. And I'm like, yeah, but I got to mention this guy. What about that guy? Oh, I got a late text from a coach. So we'll try to keep it at a reasonable clip with a reasonable number of players, but we're entering into this thinking, here are 10 of the most interesting men in college football. Let's just dive right in.
Starting point is 00:04:09 Who you got right off the top? Zach Lutmer, Iowa defensive back. And I do mean defensive back because he is not a corner. He is not a safety. He is Mr. Do It All. I don't feel like Iowa always has that guy. I mean, I think you look at Cooper DeGine and that's kind of like the standard he set there,
Starting point is 00:04:28 and maybe that's what jumps to mind. I don't love that comp yet, but maybe at some point we'll do that. Yeah, so, I mean, they do. They get these versatile cats. I mean, they have guys that can do a lot of different things, and they ask them to do a lot of different things. They give them the opportunity to do a lot of different things.
Starting point is 00:04:45 You've got to be smart to play Norm Parker's defense, too. Yes, right. And so watch him on tape, man. He lines up over the slot the most, but they'll put him out wide a corner. They'll play him in the box. I mean, he is all over the place. And I think his ability to do different things for you, like matching up with a bigger wide receiver on the outside or a move tight end working out of the slot,
Starting point is 00:05:06 his ability to use his length and physicality to disrupt slot receivers getting off the line. The way he fights to get off blocks and gets involved in tackling, I do think that's one of his weaknesses. He's got to clean up his tackling a little bit. bit, but he's always, he had 71 tackles last year. I mean, it's not for lack of effort. It's not for him not being able to get off blocks. It's not for him not chasing.
Starting point is 00:05:28 He's a, just a damn good overall football player. Give his full name again so everyone knows. Zach Lutmer. And I will also tell you this, this is a number you're going to absolutely love. Okay. He's, you dig in on these guys and you're trying to find, we're trying to every angle right now to figure out. Like how, what makes this guy great?
Starting point is 00:05:48 And one of our resources is Bruce Feldman from the athletic, his freaks list, right? Lumber comes in on the freaks list. Three, his fastest shuttle time, he ran, his shuttle time is 3.81 seconds. That would tie for the fastest shuttle time ever run at the combine. This guy is six foot, 200 pounds. He's not 5'9, 185 pounds. So when you look at that number, his ability to change directions is incredible for a guy that size. I mean, I remember starting the offseason process of looking at these defensive backs and you're comparing them all and you're going one by one.
Starting point is 00:06:33 Lutmer was pretty far down the list behind some of these guys. I think he's got a real chance to be the second defensive back drafted. I think Iowa was sneaky good. If they could figure out the quarterback, they might have something. man. I did something for Fandual the other day, and they were asking for teams. Like, go ahead and look at, if you don't have the Fandual app, I don't know what we're doing, even if you're not big on wager.
Starting point is 00:07:04 Where have you been? Yeah. It's like, it's just such a tool, you know? It's such a tool, and you can sign up, get an account, and it gives you, like, opportunities to look at, like, whether it's the Heisman rankings, the college football futures, and one thing that they're obviously in the preseason that they're, that they're interested in people kind of taking a look at and seeing what jumps out at you is the college football futures, right?
Starting point is 00:07:28 It can be the national championship. It can be odds to get to the college football playoff. But one thing that I really scoured through with like the top 50 or so teams was win totals. And what odds jumped out to me? Two of them, I'll get to the other team in a minute. And I'm actually going to go in reverse order of how I was going to start because I might as well go with the one Iowa guy that I had. Iowa 10 plus wins.
Starting point is 00:07:54 This is a program. It feels like they, no one's talking about them. They lose a game early. They have the schedule. But they always wind up winning like nine, nine, ten games every single season. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:08:07 And so their, their 10 plus wins, was it plus 420 or plus 430? And I'm like, man, What's the quarterback situation, you know? And so, like, it looks like Jeremy Heklinsky. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:08:27 He's kind of making the move. He was like 17, 25, 2005 yards, five touchdowns. Like the, the kids day practice. And so like, but whatever it is, it might be a little bit more efficient in terms of the passing game than it was a year ago. And so you're talking about a defensive. standout that jumped out to you on tape. How about an offensive standout? We know the tight ends are going to be really good.
Starting point is 00:08:52 Like, we just know, like, DJ Vonham is back. He's 6'4-241. He's going to be that pass-catching tight-end. I think he's one of the more underrated prospects in this year's upcoming class. We'll see if he has the leap that I'm expecting him to have as an Iowa tight-end. They always develop them. They always have guys that they target who are maybe three stars that they turn into NFL draft prospects.
Starting point is 00:09:15 then they go out and get a USC tight end to bring in because now we get that receiver right in our two tight end sets at Iowa we get that receiving threat we got to have a blocking tight end and they go out and get Zach Ortworth from USC who's going to be their blocking guy so now we're set at the two tight end spot they're always going to run the ball well we know about their offensive line they're loaded again so if the quarterback situation works out they've got this wide receiver bench I can't wait for you to watch them on tape
Starting point is 00:09:44 His name's Tony D.S. Oh, my gosh, is he sudden? And I'm watching him from U.T.R.GV. I had to look this up last. I didn't even, I don't, what is that? What is U.T.R.GV. U.T. Rio Grande Valley. Hotbed for receiver prospects, I think.
Starting point is 00:10:07 So I'm watching U.T.R.G.V. tape, right? I love that. And albeit it is not the best competition, but sudden, sudden, bro, twitchy's twitchy. This guy the way he gets off the line, you know,
Starting point is 00:10:27 everything's like, right? And then in and out of breaks. And then the thing that I love about him, he's not the biggest guy. I'll admit it. 510, 184. You know I love my slot guys. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:10:39 He's a slot prospect for the NFL. At college, I think he can play in. side outside. He's got that versatility. The thing I love about this cat is he then also sometimes the twitchy guys are like, let's get him the screen, quick game, get him the ball after the catch. He can legitimately run routes and then down the field his ability to adjust to the football. And like we know we're not getting USC or Ohio State or Texas or Alabama level passing skills, you know, and so there's going to have to be some adjusting the football.
Starting point is 00:11:17 He does it brilliantly. And I just look at Ferrence and this staff and what they, like their ability to target, guys. It's not dissimilar from Lane targeting a Ferris state quarterback last year. Yeah. Who went on to become the legend that is Trinidad Chambliss. They just kind of figure out that works for us. And so Tony Diaz comes in and it's just like, he, he, He's the story of camp for Iowa.
Starting point is 00:11:49 It's like, how did they even find him? UT Rio Grande Valley, right? He, like, he had interest, too, from some, like, Alabama and Arkansas were interested. So it wasn't just Iowa. And he chose Iowa. So, like, there's this love affair of, yeah, I want to be there and, like, we want you here. Yeah, he's been, he's been, like, the top producer, like, Tim Lester. Ferrence, they love this guy.
Starting point is 00:12:16 He's going to be the starting Z receiver. And I think he has a chance to, he was 875 receiving yards, 68 catches, 11 touchdowns. Again, that was his red shirt freshman year last year. So he's going to be a red shirt sophomore. I can't wait to see what he does for this Iowa team. I think Iowa's going to be one of those sneaky teams that's just hanging around.
Starting point is 00:12:39 Maybe they have one loss, then eventually two losses. But like at the end, we're going to be like, wait a second. Is Iowa kind of like hanging around the chicken coop here? You know? Yeah. They got that Washington, Ohio State, Michigan, Ron, that's not the right order. But that's going to be interesting for Iowa. It is.
Starting point is 00:12:58 But they're a team that I've got earmarked as if they can win one of those three games and finish the regular season with two losses, like they could be hanging around, you know? And you compete, compete well. It always seemed, not always, but vast majority of losses seem to be close losses, right? Yep. And so all of a sudden you got a three-point loss to Ohio State. Iowa State. It was Iowa State earlier.
Starting point is 00:13:26 They had the three-point loss. And then, yeah. Right. And I don't think Iowa State's going to be the Iowa State that we're used to with Matt Campbell and some of the other, you know, losing some of the – I mean, they lost half their roster, it feels like. So watch out for Iowa and watch out for Tony Diaz and the offensive side. All right, who else you got? I'm going to stay with the DBs. I'm going to go Vicari Swain out of South Carolina,
Starting point is 00:13:48 another guy that just getting into the film, I was like, who is this dude? And I know some people are really high on him, like really high on him. He only started three games at Corner last year. And so I'm looking into it. I'm like, oh, he's an all conference punt returner. And he is one of those punt returners that when I say he is fearless,
Starting point is 00:14:08 he is fearless. Watch the Virginia Tech game where he is, he picks up a ball. that he has no business going anywhere near. And then next thing you know, he's running into the end zone. He is a super talented punt returner. And I was like, well, maybe this is what it is. Maybe Pillar High is a punt returner, but I'm not sure that makes him an early round draft pick.
Starting point is 00:14:26 And then you throw on the tape. And you're like, well, wait a second. He played 488 snaps on defense. He did start three games. And I was really kind of blown away on this kid's cover ability. His size, his length, his speed, his ability to turn and run with guys. I think he can match up in zone. It was, I was like, how?
Starting point is 00:14:46 How do this kid only start three games? You know, you make that pivot from, I don't know, I don't know about this. I don't see the experience to, holy crap, this kid could play. I could see him being another, I could see him being an early round guy. That's interesting because I have, there was one scout who mentioned him as, as a guy to, like, keep an eye on it. And South Carolina is another program. It feels like there's a defensive back of it. Like two out of every three years that comes out of there.
Starting point is 00:15:16 Where it's like this young guy, watch for this one year. And then all of a sudden they explode. And then their first, second round draft pick, you know? Yeah, I'm intrigued by watching him this year and his development because some of the scouting services preseason pretty high up on those lists. South Carolina has some players who are pretty high up on the list. Yeah. starting with Lenora Sellers.
Starting point is 00:15:43 They get a peek at the tackle position. Nick Harbour, you're going to finally put it all together. It's going to be interesting. Dylan Stewart, I mean, yeah. Oh, sorry. Dylan Stewart, obviously. Number one edge in the entire draft
Starting point is 00:15:56 class. And it's a draft class that has, you know, Colin Simmons and some other dudes as well. I'm going to go to another team with a player that I think could have a major breakout year for a team. But Iowa was ranked 22. and the AP poll coming in. And so for us to say,
Starting point is 00:16:15 keep an eye on Iowa, it doesn't feel like a massive stretch, given the history, and also where, you know, we're not the only one saying that, you know, they're coming into the year,
Starting point is 00:16:26 they're one of the top 25 programs. We could see them kind of creep their way up as the season progresses. NC State is not in the top 25. I came back from the Manning Passing Academy and Arch was there and Julian saying, was there and C.J. Carr was brilliant and all these other guys, right? Camaria Taylor was like, like God created a modern day quarterback, right? Just about every dude, 90% of the guys in college
Starting point is 00:17:00 football this year and even talking about the NFL draft were there at Manning Passing Academy, but I promised you the first text and videos I was sending to you and to Dan and to Tucker, CJ Bailey, right? And then you start to hear about their defensive lines a little better than you think. Kind of hearkening back to, I don't know, seven, eight years ago, ten years ago
Starting point is 00:17:21 where they're starting to get some of those dudes up front. They had a nice little run. Yeah. Yep. Their offensive lines a little bit better this year. Bailey looks a little more polished. He's 6'6. He's this dynamic weapon as a runner and a passer.
Starting point is 00:17:35 You start to look at their schedule and it's Virginia, Richmond. We get this tough one, sneaky one against Vanderbilt that we wish the administration didn't maybe put that on our schedule going to Nashville. Then we get Appalachian State. We got Louisville at home. We got Wake Forest. We got Stanford.
Starting point is 00:17:52 We got Cal. We got Duke. We got Syracuse. We got Florida State. We got North Carolina. And you're like, huh. Hold on. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:18:01 Huh. And then I look at Fandul, and it's 10 plus wins. And I'm like, sure. we'll give you a loss to Virginia, and then maybe, I don't know, maybe a lost to Duke or, I don't know, like. You said Vanderbilt, right? I'm sorry, Vanderbilt.
Starting point is 00:18:18 Yeah, yeah. Lost of Vanderbilt and then like, maybe, yeah, maybe you drop one to Duke or maybe you drop one to Louisville or whatever it is. Tricky, but I think they're in all those games. I'm not, yeah, that's what I'm saying. And so 10 plus wins at plus 420. I'm like, am I, you know,
Starting point is 00:18:34 and Dave Doran seems to be really confident in this, in this team this year. Like this could be the year where we kind of get back on track. And I'm like, but who's going to be the running back? Because we lost Hollywood Smothers, right? Who was the big time back?
Starting point is 00:18:50 Loaves of dude. Yeah. Yep. And he transfers out. But then I look at this Duke Scott guy. And so I pop in the tape from last year. He's a freshman. 5'10, 223 pounds,
Starting point is 00:19:03 built low to the ground. Great, great forward lean as a runner. Why is that important? contact balance, advancing runs, and now, all right, how's his feet? Oh, multiple cuts he's stringing together. He's not, but he's like, right? Like one cut, two cut, go. Vision, patience, got better as the season progressed, absolutely shredded.
Starting point is 00:19:26 I think it was Georgia Tech, 196 against Georgia Tech, finishes the season with almost 600 rushing yards, 5.5 per carry, four touchdowns. As a backup. Oh, Dave Dorn's given him Jersey, number one. Huh. That's a big deal there. Doesn't just hand out that out like Skittles, right, at Halloween. So, like, he's a program guy.
Starting point is 00:19:50 And now I'm thinking about him and C.J. Bailey in a backfield. And it's, I don't know, it's intriguing. 15 catches last year. Buzz out of camp. I'm telling you, Duke Scott is a name to, to, like, get, to hear whether early in the year no one's going to really be talking they're playing Richmond you know
Starting point is 00:20:14 they lost to Vanderbilt even like you know or they upset Vanderbilt and everyone's going to be talking about about CJ Bailey quarterback don't like don't sleep on this cat I think it's going to be a backfield tandem of Bailey and Duke Scott that is going to like wind up as the season
Starting point is 00:20:31 progresses and we're looking around like shit we're in November and NC State's got one loss and Bailey's putting up these massive numbers and he's running all over the place and creating. And there's this back in the back field who's like getting ready to eclipse a thousand yards rushing. He's got like 30, 28 catches or something.
Starting point is 00:20:49 You know what I mean? Yeah. Just keep an eye on him. Keep an eye on him. All right. That schedule really jumps out, man. All right. We can't avoid it any longer.
Starting point is 00:20:57 Okay. I know we are trying, you're trying to limit how many times you say Lane Kiffin on the show. But look. I was texting with him this morning at 7. 730. But go ahead. Well, I didn't say his name. And he's the ringmaster.
Starting point is 00:21:14 Okay. And I don't know how we could talk about this list without talking about tight end day Kwan Wright, who will be the first player who has gone to an NFL camp and will go back to college. He was at Ole Miss with Lynn Kiffin last year. Now he goes back and he's going to transfer to LSU. And look, I get it. LSU has one of the best, has one of the best tight ends in the country and trade is.
Starting point is 00:21:39 green. I love Tradez Green. But you are adding a guy who average over 16 yards per catch. I think he had five touchdowns, 665 yards receiving. You're now adding that production into the room. He's a dude. He's a really a classic move tight end. We know what his numbers are because he think he was six, six foot three. I have him right here, six foot three and three quarter inches and 246 pounds. And I have those numbers because he went to the combine. He's already been to the combine this kid. Okay. So he's a classic move tight end. You can move him around in the slot. He does, he's really reliable.
Starting point is 00:22:12 He's a long strider after the catch. Just a guy that's going to give them another weapon who understands Kiffin's offense. And this is not only, to me, this is not only interesting in terms of LSU this year and how this helps maybe Sam Levitt. We'll see. Yeah, what are your, what are your thoughts big picture on all this? And what it, this is, yeah, that's the thing, right? Like, what is this? I, there's a, there is, it is a complicated thing.
Starting point is 00:22:38 My understanding, I like the idea of a kid being able to go back in this situation and improve his draft stock because Dayquan Wright, I thought had a chance to be drafted, was not drafted. Now it gets to go back. He could come out next year and become a second, third, fourth, fifth round pick, whatever it is. Maybe he gets drafted. What I hate and correct me if I'm wrong is my understanding is that if you add a Dayquan right, you got to cut somebody. So what does this mean for some of these kids who are on these teams that are now going to be, hey, thanks for coming out. we're bringing a kid who was with the, you know, the Cleveland Browns yesterday.
Starting point is 00:23:11 So there's layers to it. You know, there's just all these things to it. And I'm sure they're college football fans. And I'm guessing this is just more fuel for the fire if you're Ole Miss. This kid played for us last year. He was supposed to be gone. Now they get another playmaker in late August. I mean, there's a lot of layers here.
Starting point is 00:23:30 There are. What do you think? I don't, I don't like it. Okay. I actually don't mind. and I don't have a, I haven't spent enough time on, I don't mind a system in which a player may be, I don't mind when you declare for the draft
Starting point is 00:23:51 and then before the draft, you decide you're going to go back to school. I actually, I've seen such a benefit in the NIL transfer portal era, let's call it. It's such a benefit to, you know what? because it used to be like, oh, if you don't win the starting job, you transfer, you know, gut it out and all that. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:24:13 Okay. I get that there, there should be a level of commitment to what you sign up for, right? And so as a father to four children in this house, like, that's a message that I can get behind. But there's also this message of like, am I swimming upstream in today's society when, like, opportunities are there. Coaches get to leave when they want, right? The players are the ones that are getting all this interest and there should be a payment for it.
Starting point is 00:24:44 Does there need to be a better structure? Yes. My point in saying all of these things is, I've watched quarterbacks and I've watched other skill position players. I've watched offensive linemen, defensive. I've watched players, but no position more so than quarterback. Seek out another opportunity,
Starting point is 00:25:02 even when they are going to be the starter that could benefit them and give them the best chance to succeed in the next level and with the rest of their careers, right? We've watched almost every Mendoza first overall pick. Cam Ward, first overall pick.
Starting point is 00:25:19 Jaden Daniels, second overall pick. We've seen guys who have utilized Bo Necks isn't the 12th overall pick and look at him now if he doesn't get that opportunity. So I love it. And also we're seeing players come into the league. They're more NFL ready than ever.
Starting point is 00:25:37 We're seeing that number from underclassmen coming out. It became a depressing thing when that list of 123 underclassmen came out. 65% of them got drafted only like 34%. I did a study once. Yeah. It's not good. That team 34%. So you're talking about like 40 guys out of 120 that wound up playing in the NFL for three or more years.
Starting point is 00:26:02 you're talking about 80 guys now who left school, didn't get their degree, didn't have an opportunity to go show what they could do for another year, and maybe get better at what they were doing before they left for the NFL. They got bad advice. They were listening to the people who were giving them bad advice because that monetarily, agents mostly, benefited them in the moment.
Starting point is 00:26:25 And now what do you do? Because you're two years out of college. You don't have a degree. And you're playing in the NFL. is not going to be your career. So it was a system that was fucking players left, right, up and down. And I despised it. And I worked every day to get better to make sure that I wasn't giving bad advice to
Starting point is 00:26:45 underclassmen about leaving early. I felt a commitment to that. So I do love that there's more flexibility, there's more opportunity. Players are staying in school. They're monetarily being, they're being, they're being, rewarded for staying in school, maximizing their collegiate eligibility. I love all those things. And if you decide you're going to sign with an agent, you go start training, and then you're starting to talk to NFL teams, and you're like, you know what, I'm not ready, I'm not going to
Starting point is 00:27:17 be drafted where I thought, I want to go back to school, but I'm talking in like March, April, great. College football, though, cannot, it always has been. Let's just be honest, it's always been the the free minor league for the NFL correct major league baseball has a minor league system NBA argued all you want it has a minor league system right many of these other sports have minor league systems where you can develop and grow hockey a lot of high school kids get drafted out of hockey and they and they develop um but you but the thought of you're in training camp, things aren't going well, and I'm just going to bail or ask to be cut and go back to college, minutes, weeks, days, whatever it is before the season,
Starting point is 00:28:11 doesn't feel right. And it feels like just yet another systematic breakdown in what we know college football. It's out of control right now. And so we're seeing the government try to get involved. And every coach and GM that I talked to around college football in the last two years, every single one of them, I've shared it on the show, every single one. When I asked the question, how does this get fixed? The answer is, unfortunately, it's going to take government. And also, unfortunately, the people in government, not to their fault, they don't understand the system very well.
Starting point is 00:28:44 So that's where we are. Sorry, that was a rant I did not expect to. No, I would agree with you. I will just push back on this. I think if NFL GMs are hearing you and I will personally murder you if you allow kids to decide to go back in April because it'll be, then all of a sudden you're press. I don't, as if, if I'm advising a kid and they're a junior and they have a chance of getting drafted and I'm telling, well, say you're going to go into the draft, go through the process, go through the whole thing.
Starting point is 00:29:12 So you're ready for it and you're better prepared for it the next time if you decide not to do it now. And then all of a sudden, you're an NFL team that has evaluated hundreds of players. And all of a sudden, a lot of them go back and the resources that you could have used. Yeah, no, you're right. It gets really messy. It gets really messy. It does. And I don't just. This is a good example of why they need to form, you know, a board or whatever, a committee.
Starting point is 00:29:36 A governing body that actually has control. You mean like the NCAA that has, I've never seen an organization in my lifetime. It's the lack of a better way, get castrated like the NCAA has been. And I know it's a harsh term, but like that's just how it feels. Like this was the most powerful body during my lifetime. And they, it seems now they are, I mean, just powerless with what they can do. And the fact that they can't, there's, there's no one graining this in. There needs to be, there needs to be some kind of group that can do this.
Starting point is 00:30:09 And they should be a lot smarter than me. Because when you start talking about this stuff, it's quick, it's easy to see how quickly it becomes complicated. Yeah. And it's hard to watch a guy who now lives in my hometown of Small Scott, Massachusetts, and Charlie Baker, just like, they, who's, by the way, supposedly an all-time great, like, administrator. I don't think it's a Charlie Baker problem, to be honest. No, it's not.
Starting point is 00:30:30 He's just, he's the fall guy in all this. And like, yeah, when you, when you don't have power and you're asked to, to make power decisions, and I never. Two and five Canadians will hear the words, you have cancer. That's why every step and dollar raised matters. On September 19th, join thousands in Toronto for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation walk. Challenge yourself, friends, and family to walk 21 kilometers in support of life-saving research.
Starting point is 00:30:59 Together, we can carry the fire and help create a world free from the fear of cancer. Register today at pmcf walk.ca.ca. Works out. Okay, moving on. Did you go? Yeah, you did. Yeah, one last. Got us on this.
Starting point is 00:31:14 Take one right. Here's a player that I'm going to call one of the most interesting men in college football coming into the season because, my gosh, I did not expect to see what I saw. Alabama has a defensive lineman that I absolutely loved watching on Saturdays, and saw some NFL potential in him.
Starting point is 00:31:32 His name is Jan Z. Pierre. This has been your guy for a while. But he was my guy before I even knew who the guy Foley was. Right. When I got into his tape, it was right after, and sometimes this can skew you. We talked about Dylan Stewart, Colin Simmons. They're different level cats, man.
Starting point is 00:31:55 Especially Dylan Stewart. Colin Simmons, it was more than I expected, more complete than I expected, but still not the length, like the raw traits as a pass rusher, right? Then I got to Yonzi Pierre and I'm like, good luck, good luck stacking up to those two guys I just watched, you know? Yonzi Pierre to me, it was like watching a coaching clinic unfold in front of my eyes. I just, I didn't, because we saw the, what was it, eight sacks and, and like, you know, the pressures, three force fumbles, 14 and a half tackles for, he was a big play pass rusher, right? Right.
Starting point is 00:32:40 You know what he is on tape? Tell me. Will Anderson, without the elite traits. Did you know you were to say that? Are you just pulling that off the top of your head right now? I wrote it in my notes that I can't give him the Will Anderson comp because. he's not as skilled as Will Anderson. But when we talked about Will Anderson,
Starting point is 00:33:06 it was like this guy is unbelievably talented. Yeah, he's heavy-handed. He's violent. He's quick. He's sudden. He's not the tallest. He's not all, but he still has this skill set that translates to the NFL.
Starting point is 00:33:21 It's a monster. Yonzi P. And listen, the actual comp, like I see him more in like the Alex Highsmith mold. The Tully, too, though. below to really good traits
Starting point is 00:33:35 not Will Anderson traits but when we talked about Will Anderson coming out I'll never forget sitting in the indoor practice facility talking to Nick's name I'm like tell me about he's like I literally gave him the key to the facility
Starting point is 00:33:47 not like the figurative like he had the keys to the building like he literally had the physical key and the pasco to get in the building because he would come in at 10 o'clock at night two in the morning four in them whenever it was and he would be working on something. Always in the lap.
Starting point is 00:34:04 And what you could see on tape was hands inside, technique perfect, eyes where they're supposed to be, gap sound, discipline, motor that never fucking quit, ever, ever, ever, ever. And I'm watching Yanzi Pierre. And yeah, they're wearing the same uniform and everything. And I'm watching this guy. And it's the versatility. Yeah, he spends a lot of snaps like stand up outside linebacker, but he plays on both sides, experience with hand in the,
Starting point is 00:34:30 dirt. Comfort playing off-ball linebacker. This guy's playing off-ball linebacker, too. Dropping into coverage sometimes. Coaching Clinic on tape is what I wrote, like five-time, disciplined, instinctive, just nose balls, stacks, shed, violence, eyes where they're supposed to be, picks up the football. The only time he got into trouble, because, again, he's not the big, he's 6-3-244. The only time I saw him get into trouble that he couldn't get out of is when he didn't rush half a man or when he's trying to take on a 300 plus pound guy and is trying to just do it mono a mono in a closet, right?
Starting point is 00:35:07 Right. But most of the time, he's smart enough not to. And I think he's one of the hidden secrets in college football. I watch from Archmanning to Dante Moore, my love affair with Sam Levitt and the explosiveness of DeMond Williams and Jeremiah Smith and Cam Coleman and all these beautiful, brilliant talents. if you said you get one tape to go back to watch because you want to get in a good mood because you're in a bad mood today, Todd, who's going to make you the happiest?
Starting point is 00:35:37 It's Yonsei Pierre. And I just wanted to shine some light on 42, man. This guy does it the way. This guy does it the way. I just think back to our days with Coach Colin and Mark Magna. And then people were like, who? Coach Collins turned out to be one of the best defensive line coaches in the NFL. He was our defensive line coach, then defensive coordinator at Richmond.
Starting point is 00:35:56 and he had this young man named Mark Magna, who is to this day, but certainly was way more back then, an absolutely insane human being, but also the epitome of officer and gentleman. And those two in practice would scare me because the level of detail attention, the screaming, the yelling, the intensity,
Starting point is 00:36:20 as a quarterback, you were frightened of it. And I just, I harken back in those, like the late 19, watching those two work on their craft of being the best you can possibly be. And I have this mental image of that's what Yanzi's doing every day. Yeah, that's the best example in my life of what it looks like when two people have this like align in terms of what they love. An insane level of commitment.
Starting point is 00:36:43 Yes. And demand the highest from each other and of the people that they were around. I mean, they just. That was it. Yeah. The standard was very high. Very, very high. All right.
Starting point is 00:36:54 Europe. I'm going to kind of take a page. out of what your book right there. And maybe I'm selfish here. And I have a sneaky suspicion. There's going to be some people who hear this name. They're going to, yeah, man, we love them too. I don't know what you're so mad at us about.
Starting point is 00:37:07 But I feel like people are maybe sleeping on Florida running back Jaden Ball. And I think they think he's good. But I don't know if they know how good he is. And I mean, I'm going to go into one specific area. And this is why I think he's the best running back in this draft class. I really think I love Kiwan Lacey. I would give Ba. a slight knot above Lacey because I'm cool.
Starting point is 00:37:32 He's just, he's so freaking good in the passing game. I was stunned at what I saw when I put on tape. First of all, he's 228 pounds and six foot. So right there, does he have the tools to hold up in pass bro? Absolutely. He's big. He's strong enough. Does he have the awareness?
Starting point is 00:37:52 Can he locate assignments? Absolutely. Most importantly, when you're evaluating these backs, and pass bro. Is he willing? 100%. He will step up. He will stone guys in the hole. He is aggressive. He is not shy about taking on contact. And I
Starting point is 00:38:06 saw him on multiple plays. His work has never done. If he blocks one guy and he pushes him, he's looking to block another guy. I love that about him. And I was like, but he's still, you know, he's six foot, 228. How does he move? This guy, they line him up at wide receiver for
Starting point is 00:38:22 37 snaps last year. They put him in the slot for 21 snaps. Is he the most twitchy route runner in the world? No. But is he more developed route runner than I expected? Could he do more things in space than I would expect from a 6 foot, 228 pound
Starting point is 00:38:38 running back? Absolutely. This guy, I gave him, I am giving him right now a one or highest grade that you can give him in the passing game. And I think it really sets him apart. And then you add that size speed. He is a powerful dude. He's going to take
Starting point is 00:38:54 you and he's going to throw you to the ground when gets into space with that stiff arm. He runs with good forward lean. He's going to fall forward at the end of the runs. He's going to break tackles. And he's got enough juice that if you give him a crease, you're in trouble. I think, and again, I think there's probably some people to think
Starting point is 00:39:10 the same about Jane Bob, but when you're looking at that conference and you're looking at Key Juan Lacey at Ole Miss. And you're looking at Amad Hardy in Missouri, who I hope gets back soon. Doesn't look like he's going to be there for the start of the season. Super talented dude. Nate Frazier in Georgia. These are just some of the SEC names I'm throwing out. Jane
Starting point is 00:39:26 I think maybe because of the situation at Florida last year, the coaching change, everything that's going on there, do not sleep on this kid. I love watching him play football. Yeah, John Summerall. Go ahead. There's a lot of Levyon Bell there. There's a lot of Levyon Bell. And you know I love Levyon Bell. Laveon Bell was a little heavier in Michigan State.
Starting point is 00:39:47 There was like 240. And I think Ball is around 228. So, I mean, take that into account. But I was watching them. You know how much I love Levyon Bell coming out of Michigan State. state and i was like there is there's a little bit of that here the history on levy on bell and munch is that it's one of the maybe one of the very the very short list of players that munch fought me on so hard that i like i had to stop picking up his calls and reading his text yeah and he
Starting point is 00:40:12 he that he actually wound up like absolutely shoving in my face and it was right on and i never bring it up i rarely bring it up you didn't you used to more yes uh but john somerall comes in and 42 and 11 at Troy and Tulane, guys a winner, brings the level of energy, setting up a GM system with Caldwell there, mirroring that of like Oklahoma and what they're trying to do. It's not going to be overnight, but there's this, I have this sense of security that that is a program that is absolutely going to head in the right direction. We know the recruiting base.
Starting point is 00:40:52 We know the support. I think that they might get right a little faster than people think, and Baugh's absolutely going to play a huge role in what they try to do, not ranked in the top 25 coming in. There's, what was it, nine teams from the SEC that were ranked in the top 25. Yeah. But they're a team to kind of keep an eye on this year, and I'm very intrigued to see what Baugh does and what Florida does, quite frankly,
Starting point is 00:41:18 as a team. All right. you know Texas A&M is ranked eighth in the country in the eight people yeah okay yeah how much has people talked about Texas I mean we're laying Kiff in and oh what what I think Elko's such a good coach that we've just come it's it's what he's done there Mike Elko what he is done there in a minute standing to the point where we've just accepted that they're a top 10 team and I think that's why people aren't talking about them we've just accepted the Texas A&M was it not nine guys. I know.
Starting point is 00:41:52 Nine or ten guys to the NFL draft, right? Cassius Howell at Edge Rush. Yeah. Marcel Reed's back, but Marcel Reed, like I said it, if they're going to get got, it's going to be Marcel Reed, and that's exactly what happened last year. But Reed looks good to the Mannington Academy. A lot of good reports about that. Rebuild the offensive line, but it's like,
Starting point is 00:42:12 every tape I watch of an Edge Rusher was beating the bejes out of Crown over. so like maybe it won't be maybe it'll be better. You know, like, it's a little harsh. I don't know what he did. But then you go to last year and we came into the year and we didn't know a whole lot
Starting point is 00:42:28 about this Cassius Howell Cat. So I'm like, who are they going to replace him with? They've got a track, a very short, but a very effective track record now. Let's plug in this guy and he's going to be a dude. Because remember the year before, they had four defensive linemen get drafted.
Starting point is 00:42:43 Four guys that could play. And so Cassius Howell comes in, one of the most dominant defensive linemen, certainly edge rushers in all of college football. And in certain periods of time, you're like, this guy like, or should we talk about him in the Heisman race? He was that effective. And they're winning game after game. So who's going to be the guy this year?
Starting point is 00:43:01 I'll give you a name. Anto Saka. Defensive end from Northwestern. Right. 30 pressures he had last year, okay? 2023, 27% pass rush win rate, two sacks, 18 pressures, very limited play, right? he's a guy that I think they see something in that they can develop and get more consistency, get him on the field more,
Starting point is 00:43:29 and this is kind of the breakout year. So now I'm like, because I'm getting texts and I'm reading things. And I keep them, okay, Saka, Saka, got it.
Starting point is 00:43:39 I've got all these quarterbacks to watch and receivers to watch and edge rush. And I keep going back. All right, so who's this Texas A&M guy? And I finally sit down. I watch a little bit of Northwestern tape. and I'm like, oh, he can get, he can actually get home as a pass rusher. And he's disruptive and he's explosive. And then I, and I'm like, who is he?
Starting point is 00:43:57 Let's figure out who he is as a dude. So I just, I literally just Googled him, I think it was. And the first thing that pops up is an interview of him in like a, you know, cut off t-shirt. And he's, he's ripped. Yeah. And you know what else he is? He's at least 38 years old. He might be 46.
Starting point is 00:44:18 I'm telling you, dude, there ain't no way he's 21, 22 years old if you see a picture of him. But, yeah, and then I'll be racing to look at that after this. And then there's talk about him. Like, he's the superhuman guy in that defensive line room. I think when we get to like October that it's going to be just like Cassius Howell a year ago, where we're like, oh, we got to pay attention. So Saka is a guy I wanted to mention. There was a lot of buzz about him going into last year
Starting point is 00:44:53 as a guy who could work himself into the first round conversation and he just, it just didn't take off that way, but there was no question about the talent. This kid's got talent. Now he's going somewhere where they know how to unlock it, man. And what I've read and heard is like, I'm not, this isn't disparaging, but like he's taken very well to the strength
Starting point is 00:45:16 in conditioning at Texas A&M. Let's just put it that way. You know what I mean? Sometimes you need it, whether it's a new, a new face, new people pushing you, whatever it is, sometimes people like max out where they are. Let's get a new opportunity driven by, maybe it's the other teammates, maybe it's the coach himself, whatever it is, that he's primed, right? That's awesome.
Starting point is 00:45:40 Can I mention two other names real quick? I don't know if you can't mention them. I'm like, you have to do it. Like, this is just who you are. A&M is sitting at 8, Miami's sitting at 7, and we're looking at this Darien, this Darien Mentsa one-year marriage, right? This arranged marriage for a year before Mensa,
Starting point is 00:45:58 I think shocks the world and goes and becomes a first-round draft pick and probably higher than people expect. I think he's going to have an awesome year. And we know about Malachi, Tony. We've talked about it ad nauseum on this show. Everyone who has a college football or NFL draft show, specifically college football has talked about, like, there can't be enough praise.
Starting point is 00:46:15 on Malakitoni for all the reasons we've discussed. But who are going to be the other guys? And you talk, there are some wide receivers. Who's going to be the tight end for Mentsa to rely on? Do you remember Elijah Lofton? Yes. He was going to be the next up, right? In Miami, you can argue Iowa's tight end you.
Starting point is 00:46:33 You can argue with some other, argue some other places. Miami, like, going back to like, shocky and like, they've got a pretty good track record. Yeah. Of developing tight ends over the years, right? Kellyn Winslow Jr. They've had dudes. Greg Olson, yeah.
Starting point is 00:46:49 Greg Olson, yes. Yeah. Elijah Lofton was supposed to be next up. He had like nine catches because who else? It was, Elijah Arroyo was there. Royo was, yes. I think he's going to have a breakout year, by the way.
Starting point is 00:47:03 Spoiler. I think he's going to have a breakout year for Seattle. I hope he does. But next up was supposed to be Elijah Lofton. I think he had nine catches as a freshman. You could see the athleticism. He's 6-3, 242 pounds. another weapon in the passing game.
Starting point is 00:47:16 Keep an eye on him this year. He was injured last year. He had like around 30 catches, not a big year. Didn't play in the national championship game. It was battling injuries and went through some stuff last year. Hearing a lot of reports out of South Florida. Remember last year I told you I've got some bird birdies down there like chirping about Carson Beck and things are different. These birds are chirping about two players.
Starting point is 00:47:42 Loft in at tight end. and Justin Scott is a name to remember defensive tackle. Okay, number five. You watch his tape from last year. In a rotation, a lot of dudes, stout, unbelievable center of gravity, works through contact.
Starting point is 00:47:58 I think Justin Scott and Elijah, we talked about their schedule, man. Justin Scott, defensive tackle, Elijah loft in a tight end. As Miami starts to stack wins and Ments has got this thing rolling, I think those are two names that are going to become household names.
Starting point is 00:48:14 in college football. Got it off your chest. I like it. Thank you. How many names are you holding out, by the way? Like I know you just said two, but there's probably about 14 more guys in your list. I'm really intrigued by Dom Nichols,
Starting point is 00:48:28 the Edge from Michigan. No, that's not what I was asked. I was asking for a number. This is my fault. This Dremkego Green for SMU is a cat number 19. Devin McEwen, I'm hearing good things out of Columbus, 152 career catches,
Starting point is 00:48:42 transferring in from UTSA. Ian Premmer could be a guy Notre Dame at tight end. We see what all of a sudden their tight end. Eli Raredin gets drafted by the Patriots. It's my fault, and Rarden's becoming a story of the Patriots
Starting point is 00:48:56 training camp. It's always next up for the tight ends is Notre Dame tight end you. And we got this guy, Ian Premmer, who's just, he's like, he looks NFL ready. Yeah, those are four more names, but I didn't bring them up.
Starting point is 00:49:12 Who's your last guy? You're actually the worst. I'm going on a limb here. And I'm okay with it. I'm going on a limb with right now because there's a head football coach in Michigan that says, hey, Munch, I haven't really set my offensive line lineup up front. And there's still some battles going on. But I really believe that Blake Frazier is going to be the starting left tackle for
Starting point is 00:49:31 the Michigan Wolverines. And when I say I am intrigued, I am intrigued. Started eight games last year at right tackle because of injuries. And look, there's no getting around. it. There were some tough moments. I mean, he had going against Colin Simmons in the bowl game, there was some reps that he just didn't look
Starting point is 00:49:51 ready yet. Cineato Jackson the edge, the edge from Ohio State, gave him some problems too. Gave a lot of guys' problems, though. But yeah. Yeah, yeah, he's a good player. A lot of stuff, you know, a lot of it stems from the fact that he was playing at maybe 290 pounds.
Starting point is 00:50:10 I'm not sure if he's at 290, man. I think he, this kid was light. and hadn't quite gotten to the weight they needed him to get to. Well, now he's reportedly 310 pounds. And I'm like, okay, if this kid's 310 pounds and he's moving the way that he was moving before, I wrote my notes. He has all the talent in the world to be an elite pass blocker. He could be an elite pass blocker.
Starting point is 00:50:33 He's got those kind of feet, that kind of quickness. If he has not lost any of that agility, this kid's got a chance to be really special. I think he's got a chance to be their best offensive tackle process. since maybe Taylor Luan. I think he's that talented. Now, whether it all comes together, we'll have to see. But again, I'm intrigued.
Starting point is 00:50:52 And we talked all about Winningham going from Utah to Michigan. What a great get that is. And Jason Beck and Bryce Underwood and is he going to be able to get the best out of him? I mean, Tim Harding, they brought Tim Harding over from Utah as the offensive line coach.
Starting point is 00:51:06 This guy is damn good. I mean, he just had two guys going the first round last year. He had Garrett Bowles early. in his career. I mean, he's got a number of guys get drafted. He knows how to develop dudes. I feel like maybe this is going to be a theme with this Michigan team. I think Winningham is going to change it and he's going to get a turn in the right direction. How long that takes, we're going to have to wait and see. But what I mean by that is there's going to be more discipline. There's going to be
Starting point is 00:51:33 more accountability. I think you're seeing that with Frazier's weight and the way he was in the weight room in the offseason and those kind of things. Watch out. It could all come together for this kid and he's a redshirt sophomore. It's not out of the question we could be talking about him in April this year. I think it's probably going to be another year after that, but we'll see. And you have a young, inconsistent quarterback. You put a left tackle there who can protect him, give him a little more confidence. I'm fascinated to see what happens with Blake Frazier this year.
Starting point is 00:52:02 I feel like as I was going through this list, there were a lot of guys who were very interesting at Michigan. And I think it's because there's a lot of new faces at Michigan. There's a coach who knows how to develop with a coaching. staff that knows how to develop that has never had the resources that they now have at Michigan. And it's not going to be overnight and there's going to be some bumps. But Michigan's sitting there at 16 in the preseason poll. And I don't know that I've ever got, you got to remember I grew up Michigan, like Michigan sweatpants,
Starting point is 00:52:32 Michigan hat, Michigan. We didn't have hoodies back in the day. It was a sweatshirt. And like my grandfather worked with Bo Schembeckler. Like every year since I can remember maybe 10 years old, I was getting. and the M go blue or the M blue magazine in the mail back in the day. Like, I feel like every year I knew, even like the Rich Rod years, I knew it wasn't going to be pretty.
Starting point is 00:52:55 Like this year, I don't have a clue. I don't have a clue what Michigan's going to be. And I'm here for that. Yeah. They, if it's a rough year, it's like, yeah, what did we expect? A lot of new faces, a lot of turnover, like a lot of stuff to overcome from a year ago, a lot of programs, systemic stuff going on. But if they come out and all of a sudden,
Starting point is 00:53:16 they win 10 games in the regular season, they're kind of in the hunt. Or maybe they get two losses going into Ohio State. Like that won't completely shock me either. You know, like that's how much I believe in Winningham. And now as like reports are coming out with some of the players and some of the guys stepping up at multi, like wide receivers I'm hearing about. Offensive linemen you're talking about edge rushes.
Starting point is 00:53:38 I just mentioned that Dom Nichols is another edge rusher. I can't think of his name that I'm getting little nuggets about. So I don't know. This Michigan team is going to be fascinating to watch in a big 10 that's stacked and keeps getting better every single year. Yeah. All right. My last one, I had to bring in a true freshman, okay?
Starting point is 00:54:00 Because I don't get in the recruiting stuff. We're dealing with the NFL draft when that's all going on. But we have some really good resource. Billy Tucker is one of them. We've worked closely closely for a long time. and Lugan Bill and, and, and Craig Hallbert's great. Robert, Hobart, I can't believe, I'm blind. Craig's, Craig's one of my favorite guys in the industry.
Starting point is 00:54:24 Absolutely grinder, man. Oh, my gosh. So, so I'm, but then you start to hear the reports out of camp, and you're texting with some coaches and different stuff. I want to give you a name, maybe two. Deuce Geralds from L.SU. defensive tackle. Oh, yeah.
Starting point is 00:54:46 Grady Jarrett vibes. Remember Grady Jarrett. One of my favorite players I ever evaluated. I gave him a late first. He went in the third, I think it was, coming out of Clemson. I think he might even go on later. I'm going to look that up because it was an absolute steel by the Atlanta. Fifth.
Starting point is 00:55:01 It was the fifth. And I was livid. Absolute steel by Atlanta. I was livid. This guy was the most disruptive three technique. This is before, obviously, this is four. Aaron Donald, cut in a similar cloth. Obviously, Aaron Donald was a whole different level. But he was like, he was the three undersized, three technique, penetrate, penetrate, disrupt,
Starting point is 00:55:24 leverage, found a way to overcome 30, 40 pound weight differentials in his one-on-one matchups because he just knew how to rush half a man technically. He was shaving edges at every point and doing it quicker than you. Yeah. And I'm watching this guy and he's just a freshman. We'll see how it all plays out, but I'm watching them, and I see the quick first step, leverage, violent hands, explosiveness, nonstop disruption. And I'm just saying, for all the talented players that Lane has gotten, that LSU already had, all of it, I'm hearing that he could be in the starting rotation and could be a big impact player on an LSU team that I seem to believe in a little bit more than the rest of
Starting point is 00:56:04 the country. Yeah, the AP polls got him at 11. But I hear a lot of analysts who are kind of like, yeah, I don't know. I don't know. But I've got greater hopes, and I think this is going to be, I think he's going to wind up being an elite defensive lineman. I don't know there's going to be elite right off the jump. But I'm excited to see what Deuce Gerald's does as a first year player.
Starting point is 00:56:25 Here's another one. The last one I'm going to leave you. That's a wrap, right? That's it, right? That's it. I just have to share this. I have to share this story. Give me one minute.
Starting point is 00:56:37 Zikai Helton from Georgia. Not a lot. there's been some, but not a lot of true freshmen come in and start right away for Kirby Smart, the Georgia Bulldogs, okay? 6-3, 300-pound, 3-star coming out. He was originally, originally a higher star. And originally, I can't remember if he actually committed, but he was being hunted down by Alabama. I think he did originally commit, or there was some kind of verbal agreement.
Starting point is 00:57:07 Like, he was going to Alabama. And then I want you to understand this kid's backstory. It's incredible. Foster home care at nine years old, eventually taken in by his fourth grade teacher named Kimberly Perry. And Kimberly, for any people like this that open up their homes and are willing to give to others, the way that Kimberly Perry did for help. And I just like, I can't give enough credit to.
Starting point is 00:57:32 Then on top of that rough childhood battles Crohn's disease. this is while he's in this this presumed marriage with Alabama he goes from 320 pounds to down to like 230 loss around like 90, 100 pounds of Crohn's disease finally gets medicated, gets the situation and then his final year he starts to play better because he's got the Crohn's disease situation under control via medication and medical help. So from 230 he gets back up to over 300 plus pounds, right? And Alabama kind of gave up on him. Got lost in the shuffle.
Starting point is 00:58:11 You know, ghosted, as the kids would say, right? And Georgia comes in. He's a hometown guy from Carrollton, Georgia. Kirby recognizes, Kirby and the staff recognize they bring him in. Not a huge recruit, no huge expectations from him as a first year player. But his state championship game was like legendary, both defensive line and offensive line. The way he played, kind of finished his career, comes in early commit, early entry comes in in January, right?
Starting point is 00:58:40 Ready to go. Work in his way, strength and conditioning. He's now up over 300 pounds. And Kirby recently said that he's earned the opportunity to potentially be a starter for this team, probably at guard, I would say. And by all accounts, one of the five or six best offensive linemen at Georgia. So we're talking about a Georgia team that's sitting in number three in the AP poll could have a true freshman starting or playing in a very serious rotation, protecting, protecting Gunner Stockton and making ways for,
Starting point is 00:59:12 you know, paving the way for that run game, right, that you talked about earlier. And this is a guy who, like, saw his football thing start to fall apart, has been a foster home, fourth grade teacher. Like, I can't pull for an offensive lineman more than this freshman who's come in and it's just been the energy they say he's bringing. Like, he's just brought, like, light to this program and the way he plays and practice. and does all the right things. And you just, like, we always talk about adversity with prospects.
Starting point is 00:59:42 But there's no different. Like at some point in life, you face adversity. Unfortunately, for this young man, it's been his entire life, especially around nine years old. And then he thinks he's got everything under control because Kimberly Perry takes him in and things are starting to straighten out. And then this disease strikes his body and rips 100 pounds off of him. And so he's just been through a lot. And, like, I just, I love for pulling for guys, like, like Zikai Helton.
Starting point is 01:00:06 keep an eye on it out for him this year in the SEC. Of course, I bust your balls and you talk about a great kid and an offensive lineman. Of course, that's just... I knew if I was going to throw in a 13th player here, it better be a good story. Bench. Though, here it is. Top 10...
Starting point is 01:00:23 It's a good group. Top 10 most interesting men in college football. Duke Scott running back, Tony Diaz, wide receiver, NC State and Iowa, respectively. Edge, Yonzi, Pierre, just love the way he plays the game.
Starting point is 01:00:42 Anto Saka, the Texas A&M Edge, could be the this year's Cassius Howell, Deuce Gerald's, the defensive tackle three technique, Grady Jarrett vibes. Mentsch, you got six through ten. I obviously mentioned the Key Helton, that story. I just gave you a couple of Miami guys I threw in.
Starting point is 01:00:59 Munch, you got your list as well. Ripped through it there. Iowa defensive backs is Zach Lutmer. South Carolina, defense corner and punt returner, Vicarie Swain, Florida running back, Jaden Baugh, Michigan offensive tackle, Blake Frazier, and LSU tight end Dayquan Wright, making history. We'll see how that goes.
Starting point is 01:01:17 All right. We'll be back on Wednesday, I believe. We've got two more shows this week. We're knocking out three shows a week as we ramp up to college football and the start of the NFL season as well. For you, my friend, five stars. Thanks, man. Must be 21 plus and present in select states
Starting point is 01:01:35 for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus and present in D.C., Kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem? Call 1-800 gambler or 1-800-My reset. Call 1-88-78-8-9-777-7-7-7 or visit ccpgg.org slash chat in Connecticut. Or visit MDGamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gambling helpline, ma.
Starting point is 01:02:02 or call 1-800-327-50-50 for 24-7 support in Massachusetts. Or call 1877-8-8-Hope-N-Y or text Hope N-Y in New York. For Louisiana, call 1877-7-770-8867. Two and five Canadians will hear the words, you have cancer. That's why every step and dollar-raised matters. On September 19th, join thousands in Toronto for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation Walk. Challenge yourself, friends, and family to walk 21 kilometers in support of life-saving research. Together, we can carry the fire and help create a world free from the fear of cancer.
Starting point is 01:03:02 Register today at pmcfwalk.ca.ca.com.ca.

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