The McShay Show - Week 4 Tape Truths: Baugh’s Rise, Stewart’s Slide, the Best Defenses in CFB, and Rookie Receipts

Episode Date: September 28, 2026

Todd and Steve are back with their Week 4 Tape Truths, starting with Jadan Baugh’s emergence as a potential top-10 pick and growing concerns about Dylan Stewart’s place among the elite prospects in the 2027 class. They also preview Julian Sayin’s upcoming test against Iowa, discuss Ole Miss’s run defense, debate Georgia vs. Texas, and break down Kamario Taylor vs. Keelon Russell. Plus, Todd evaluates the development of Tennessee linebacker Arion Carter and Georgia linebacker Chris Cole before checking the receipts on rookies Max Iheanachor and Kenyon Sadiq. Check out the guys’ top 50 big board and Todd’s mock draft at TheRinger.com/McShay.(00:00) Welcome to The McShay Show!(02:05) Week 4 Tape Truths(02:35) Expectations for Julian Sayin vs. Iowa's defense(08:23) Jadan Baugh is becoming a top-10 pick(24:55) Worried about the Ole Miss run defense(31:03) Dylan Stewart is falling out of the elite prospect class(52:27) Better Defense: Georgia or Texas?(1:00:33) Kamario Taylor vs. Keelon Russell(1:10:50) Evaluating Arion Carter, Tennessee LB(1:16:10) Evaluating Chris Cole, Georgia LB(1:24:25) NFL Rookie Receipts: Max Iheanachor(1:30:40) NFL Rookie Receipts: Kenyon Sadiq Score big with Dr Pepper Tic Tac. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit https://fanduel.com/playwithaplan to learn more about the resources and helplines. Host: Todd McShayGuest: Steve MuenchProducers: Tucker Tashjian, Conor Nevins, and Daniel ComerSocial: Abou Kamara Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's a tape trues Monday here on the McShay show. All right, Steve. Which is greater? Baugh or Florida's run scheme? No man could do it himself. It's the run scheme. The Dylan Stewart suspension makes can you rely on him a bigger draft question than can he rush the passer? Absolutely.

If I'm building a defense to win a national championship this year, I'm taking Georgia over Texas. I can't believe you're right, but you're right. Give me two more years of Keelan Russell over one more year of Camario Taylor. I like the terms. I'll say yes. Julian Sayan won't slow down against a much better Iowa defense this week. He might accelerate. Just 213 days until the NFL draft.

Mitch, you good? I'm good, man. All right, let's roll that thing. The McShay show is presented by Fandul. College Football Saturdays are here. and it's your most rewarding season ever on Fandul. With the all-new Fandual Rewards Club, every eligible bet can earn you points, win or lose.

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Order a minimum of $30 required, valid on grocery, convenience, retail, specialty foods, or flower delivery orders only. Terms and conditions apply. Let's dive right into it, Steve. We got a lot to get to. You have eight pages of notes. I have eight pages of notes. A lot of tape watch.

We had to delay a few minutes to even start recording this because I'm on the phone with a scout from the southeast. We got a lot to cover. college football NFL draft wise I mean first thing we start the tape trues on a Monday with my tape truth after going back and watching all the tape you have since Saturday night's games

what's your tape truth Steve Julian Sane is on fire and he's not going to slow down against a very good Iowa defense and I think that when you start to look at it the deck is really stacked against Iowa in this game Julian Sane is completing 72% of

his passes right now. He leads the Big Ten and passing yards per game. We know what he's got in terms of weapons. I'm looking at the Iowa defense last week against Michigan, and as good as it is and as disciplined as it is, it doesn't have elite talent and Michigan and Bryce Underwood exposed

that a little bit, and I think that those little cracks that you saw in that game are going to get blown wide open by this Iowa state attack. Look, all saying has to do is stay patient in this game. I think that Phil Parker from the defense corner from Iowa, was going to try and get him to,

he's going to play a lot of too high looks and force him to be patient and not force anything downfield. But that's what Sayans built to do, man. He is great in making touch throws into pockets and zone looks outside the hashashes. He has the timing and enough arm strength to throw into pockets over the middle.

Arthur Smith is going to run all kinds of zone beaters. They're going to put stress on that coverage. And a big question here will be, and it's kind of bad on bad, to be honest with you, will Iowa be able to make him uncomfortable with the pass rush? And my gut says no. I think that Ohio State's offensive line is their Achilles heel. But Iowa's front four, they don't have anyone really up front.

They could consistently apply pressure. And when you add the fact that Julian Sane is really underrated in terms of extending plays and moving around the pocket. And Ohio State did a good job against Texas of using Max Protect and using tight ends and backs to widened edge rushers and slow down that Texas pass rush, I think Stan is going to have plenty of time. And one thing that I will add here at the end is when you look at this and you're Ryan Dane, you're talking to saying before this game, you're probably saying to him, hey, man, we've got a pretty good defense on the other side of the ball. We don't need you to force anything.

Just take what they give you, let your playmakers make plays and continue to be the most efficient quarterback, one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the country, and we'll be good. First of all, like Iowa City and around that campus is it's one of my favorite places in all of the country. I have, there's like a special place in my heart for the folks there, like welcoming. The student section's awesome. Kinnick Stadium, like the fans are literally like on, like working the sidelines. Like they're on top of you. Like you turn around and they're right behind you on top of you.

And so it was, I mean, There were more, there were more, there were other stadiums that felt like, like Eugene, right. Otson is, Otson Stadium is like, it's louder maybe, just like the aerodynamics of the place. And that place is like, whoa, you know, it's jarring. SEC night games are a world in and of itself on its own. But Kinnick has this, I don't know. it's like it's like the difference of i'm sure of like a stand-up comedian doing a massive venue versus like the intimacy of maybe 80 people in a tight room and you you almost like get to know them

right and as the opponent now you're on a sideline where there's there's no gap or distance there's no like the camera the jib the jib truck they call it the one that gets that overhead sideline shot that goes all you know up and down the sideline they can't even run one there really. I remember doing the Ohio State game there years ago when Urban and they upset, they upset Ohio State in that game. And first of all, you have the halftime where you're waving to the Children's Hospital and Brian Greasy and Steve Lee and I spent, I mean,

unbelievable. Unbelievable. One of the great things in college football. But, but is that, and it's like the venue, the fans match the team in that. it starts to feel weird and it starts to build. And the game starts to feel boring. And it's almost like you wake up in the middle of the third quarter and you're like, this hasn't been eventful.

I'm waiting for some moments. And it's because they've suffocated you slowly and you don't even, it's almost like getting poisoned, I should say. You start to feel a little weird. The boiling frog. Like the water keeps getting turned up on you and you don't realize it. Yeah, man, I get it. Right.

I mean, that's their, that's their recipe, right? They have to get big plays and special teams, bend, but don't break. If Ohio State puts up a ton of yards but has to settle for field goals, that's something to look for early on. If they can tighten up in the red zone where there's not as much space, I mean, these are the things that they're going to need to do. You're right. They're going to need to smother them and slowly kind of put them to sleep.

Yeah. It's one of those. Honestly, if you're Ohio State, you want to go out and you want to let it rip early. And if you're in the red zone, you've got to score. Like, those are the things, like, because you don't want to be hanging around in Canada. You got to finish drives. You better finish drives. You got to finish drives because it's a type of place where you get lulled to sleep for a while

and then there's like a punt return or there's a blocked punt or there's a special teams play or there's an interception on a tipped pass and you wake up in your Michigan. And now all of a sudden you're up two points where they get the ball in the 48 off of a punt return. And now they go down and school. And now you got to go score, and then they get the ball, and then two seconds left and back shoulder. And it's like, what's just happened? Right.

So that one's going to be a fun one to watch. My tape truth is this. Florida's run game is the best designed offense I've seen in college football this year after going back in Washington. And quite frankly, I don't know that it's even that close. and this is a run-on sentence and Jaden Baugh is threatening

to be part of elite, elite company. When I mention elite elite company, I'm talking about guys like Leonard Fournett, fourth overall pick. Christian McCaffrey, eighth overall pick. Sequin Barclay, second overall pick,

Bijon, eighth, Ginty, sixth, Jeremiah Love, third. Those are the six guys who have been top 10 picks at running back in the last decade. It's threatening. I'm not there yet.

It's a hell of a class. There's a bunch of potential quarterbacks, but he's threatening. So let me handle this tape truth in two parts, okay? And I'll work in reverse order. Let's start with Baugh and what he's doing. Oh, man, is it fun? He's averaging 8.5 yards per carry.

He's got over, in 150 yards rushing per game. He's averaging, okay? It's early. Leads the nation with 600 rushing yards. 11 touchdowns through four games. Best start by any Gator ever. Gators have had Emmett Smith. They've had Eric Rett, Fred Taylor.

Yeah. Pretty good backs of it. have come through Gainesville, okay? That's what he's doing, statistically. Those are the names you have to start to mention. Versus Ole Miss this past week. Why are we talking about? 29 carries, 142 on the ground, three touchdowns,

one catch for 12 yards. Five straight 100-yard games for Baugh. Jaden Baugh has five straight 100-yard games. You know, there's only two players in the history of Florida football who have done that. Emmett Smith, Fred Taylor. So I'll give you one play that will help you understand this. It's tough on Mondays.

Side note. It's tough on Mondays when we have taped truths during the season. And I apologize to our audience. Like, we're working on it. And I'm appreciative of the people at Spotify that are working on it. But it's tough on Mondays when you get up and your feed is full of slapies, as we used to call in college. Yep.

a bunch of slapies with their own channels and discords and feeds and everything else, YouTube channel, all of it. And they're just ripping off tape. They don't know what they're talking about, a lot of them, but they're ripping off tape. And it's 2026. And we're sitting here. I made a career at ESPN, quite frankly, in large part, because I was one of the few guys at the time that really knew how to break down tape.

I've sat down with general managers, scouts, coaches in the NFL, college coaches, Urban Meyer, Nick Sabin, like, pretty good at it, okay at it, like, know what I'm doing. We've sat down with Teddy Bruske and watched tape. I've done so many hours with Trent Dill for Brian Greasy. Greasy might be the smartest human being I've ever watched tape with in my life. And so it's frustrating, and we recognize it.

but we're working on it. Anyway, first play from scrimmage. Sorry, I had to get that off my chest. It's hard to do a tape trues show with no tape. It's like a funny line I saw one on some highlight from one of the housewives thing.

This woman came on as like a commercial. It was like, I'm a fashion show with no fashions, you know? We're doing tape trues with no tape. Anyway. first carry versus old miss all the bells and whistles that i'll get to in a minute right i'm talking motion to pistol rPO with with uh that burner vernell brown selling the jet jet sweep they get counteraction with the garden tackle coming from the left to the right pulling towards the field

they're all there all the bells and whistles right it's an inside handoff but old miss like gap discipline eye candy aside. They're in the position. They defend it as well as you can humanly defend it. Okay? They literally like they, it was the playbook for how do you defend all this stuff going on. I'm talking like a 4-3 guy coming on, a jet sweep, pistol, zone, like all this stuff,

guards and tackles pulling. There's like so much to diagnose in under two seconds. They defend it perfectly. Handoff, tries to get in the A gap, nothing there, stuffed, bounces it outside. Defender there. Next defender, out to the edge. 12-yard gain. Welcome to Gainesville.

You're going to have a fun day in the swamp. Because you just did everything right, everything that Pete Colton, Golding told you to do. And he still got 12, right? Mm-hmm. That's the ball effect in this offense. That's why we're talking about him in rare air in potentially being a top 10, 15, 20 pick in the NFL draft, okay? Then there's the Buster Faulkner aspect of it.

And we've talked about his history, Georgia Tech, Todd Munkin of Georgia, air raid principles. He's got a little bit of everything meshed in. It's like he put the three best ingredients in the world into this melting pot and is presenting you, a recipe of something special you've never tasted before because it's a little bit of everything but combined the taste is like oh i've never i've never had that before you know

it's like my bernet sauce um buster faulkner run scheme component you ready two plays yes and i i spent i went i went through every single run play and i probably had i think 13 of them that i jotted down and i we could do we could literally do a one hour special on this right now easily and have a ton of fun if we had a board up here tape drawn it up um but for people like this this makes it easy for people i thought this example is good as many other like the 12 other examples i would want to share it's just a couple plays later if you can somehow get it get your tape uh they threw a pass on the second second uh play after that ball run i just told you about and here's the next run.

You ready? And this is why, let me, before I get to this play, there's this Duke Clark part, right? Yeah, there is. Bonn Duke Clark have combined for over 200 yards rushing and six touchdowns, or they combined for over 200 yards rushing

and six touchdowns in that win. 52 to 28, right? Clark on the season is averaging eight yards, per carry. Yeah, does that take anything away from Baugh? No. But it should shift a little bit of our attention, right,

to what Faulkner in this offense is doing. And it just demands attention. So let's go to the play. I wanted to mention that. Eight yards per carry for the backup. So clearly they're doing something right. Right. All right.

Baugh's back in pistol. Okay. third play from scrimmage Baugh is back in pistol behind Philo the quarterback so you've got center quarterback and right behind

is going to be the running back for those that don't know they motion 7 and 3 from the left side over to the right wing which is boundary side meaning tighter to the sideline right so 7 and 3 motion pre-snap to the boundary side

they're hanging in the wing they reset then seven goes over and uh no three goes across formation on a motion pre-snap as the as the snap is coming now he's motioning from right to left okay so picture this you philo's in front of you um ba to your right you got two wing guys that just motioned over now now as we're they're reset now i'm calling cadence three is going across the formation to the other side right so now we're left with one wing guy to the right and a guy motioning across pre-snap, right? That's the setup of the play.

Then what they're trying to accomplish is a stretch to the boundary. It's a stretch run to the boundary, meaning like a zone, stretch it out, right? But the other thing that I don't know that everyone would notice is because they run that sale route so frequently and so effectively that like overroute from their right wide receiver because now we got we got a wing guy and we got a wide receiver to the to the to the split out wide and that guy's number four i want to say yeah wide receiver four um he runs at like an over route he doesn't even pretend to block like so the snap of the ball cornerback is is locked on to number four four goes and runs the sale route the opposite way corner follows him he's got to right

because they've shown this so many times. They may run the fake the stretch run, boot, Philo. If you don't go and cover him, stick with him, that's six. You saw that later in the game, right? I mean, they were, I don't know if you're going to get to that, but yes. No, I'm not. I'm so handcuffed. They started hitting the tight end on some of that after the same kind of,

it looks like the same play, but now they're going to throw it to the tight end going the other way. Like it's, it's difficult to defend men. So now I'm a defensive player, and I want to flip the, flip the mirror around, okay? I go from looking at this offense with in front of me, offensive line, Philo and the gun, behind him, hidden his ball, right? I got two guys motioning over to my left as a defender. Then I got pre-snap. Then I got the other, I got one of those two motioning that way, right?

Snap of the ball. I got a receiver running a sail route with my cornerback following behind, right? And so now I'm worried about because three is three is a burner. What's he up to? He's going that way. And the ball snap, right? And now I get the receiver running behind me. And then so as a boundary safety, the safety over on this side,

I'm watching my corner follow that, that sail route. And I'm going to take a false step is exactly what he's. he did and exactly the design of the play. And that false step winds up killing me, right? Because now we've got a corner who's supposed to be outside contain, right? The force player on the boundary side, gone. Exit stage right. I got, but now the other guy who can help and be a force player is the safety, the boundary

safety, and he's taking a false step. and now we're now we get we're down a defender and a half in terms of what you need to defend this thing because remember it's ball but we just defended it perfectly two plays ago and ball ran for 12 so now i got a safety taking a false step a cornerback that's completely out of the play now let's run it right run the tape uh on the snap of the ball uh seven who's aligned on the way on the, oh yeah, on the seven, so who is aligned on the, on the wing, crosses the formation, which is more eye candy for the linebackers and the DB to sort through. He goes, he goes racing across.

So now you're a safety in a cornerback. We've already lost one and a half of them. I got a receiver going that way. I already had another receiver pre-snap motion. It's all flowing field side, right? Because you're not certainly, because the odds are you're not going to run stretch to the boundary. There's nowhere to stretch. Right, right.

So they're setting it. We've been taught by watching tape. They fake the stretch of the boundary, and they got all these skill guys going that way. We, you know, antennas are up that they're going to boot, alert, yeah. Play action, alert, alert. He's going to roll this way, and now he's got three receivers.

He's got layers. They don't do it. Ball snap. This is in my mind. I'm rewinding. Play, rewind, rewind, play. Ball snap, offensive line is. awesome. This offensive

line is awesome in the run game. They get out, they're like the right tackle and the right guard do a really nice job. I want you to write this name down, Steve, because in 2028, you're going to come to me when we're preparing for the draft and be like, I love this cat. Number 52, the center 52,

Harrison Moore, he's awesome. And he's just getting going. Former tight end. Watch his feet. Watch his feet. Watch how quickly he gets out ahead of, because your job as a blocker in these zone schemes is to get out ahead with mobility, then get your hands in and bring your hips and feet around.

He does it at such a high level already. It's awesome to watch. If you really watch their tape, like their left tackle is really good on this stuff. He moves well, but their center is kind of the key to all of what they do because he's always the guy who's down the field or when he needs to be or he's getting so far on that stretch and getting out of front in front that he's able to seal off and it creates that lane, right? So they all do their job.

Every single. The Faulkner does his job with all the pre-snap and post-nap candy. The line does its job by getting out. Now they've got reduced numbers on the defense because of what I just explained to you. And now, and you got a center who seals the sucker off. 27-yard gain down to the 13-yard gain down to the 17-yard line. You know when Baugh was actually physically touched for the first time? 23 yards downfield when he was tripped up at the end of the road.

Yikes. Yeah. Perfect combination. The first play I told you about was All Baugh. Second play I told you about was All-S scheme and execution of scheme. this thing's a wagon, man. This offense is a wagon. It's fun to watch.

It is. And now we get at Missouri, at Missouri, tough place to play on Saturday. I'll tell you who I don't want to be this week. Corey Batoon, defensive coordinator from Missouri. Sleepless nights, good luck. I actually wrote in my notes, good luck. He's going to have to draw. He's going to have to draw.

on all 30 years of his coach, I looked him up, 30 years of his coaching experience to try to put his players in position and to warn them and train them for the experience that they're about to get. Good luck. Yeah. It was, that was one of the more fun tape studies

I've had in a while just watching that group. All right. Second part of tape trues Monday, right? What's the take? The tape take. Not like screaming at my TVs, you and I are fighting. But what have you seen on tape that leads you to a take that you're afraid is true? Well, no surprise here.

You're a glass half full guy. I'm a glass half empty guy. I watched the same tape. I went from the other angle, and I'm going to say this. Oh, you did. That's right. Yeah. I was wondering why you didn't clap back or like.

You're saving it all for right now. Okay, good. Because it felt a little unbalanced. My concern is the old miss run defense is as bad as the numbers. The tape is as bad as the numbers, despite having one of the best defensive tackles of the country in Will Eccles. And I'll just get into it. Like, I'm going to read the numbers because this is how bad it is right now.

Ole Miss ranks 126th and rushing yards allowed per game. 110th and rushing yards per carry allowed. They're tied for 100. 28th and rushing touchdowns allowed through four games. They have given up four runs of 40 plus yards and 19 runs of 10 plus yards according to college football stats.com. Look, Florida and Jane Bonn have something to do with that. Absolutely.

But like you mentioned, Duke Clark also went off. They were better in the LSU game. Still some issues. Here's what I'm going to say. All the hallmarks of a bad run defense, right? Which is you're getting your ass kicked up front, you're missing tackles, you're not fitting up in the efforts not good enough in terms of pursuit. Those are, you're going to find that.

That's a four for four. Yeah, you're going to find those in all bad run defenses. But I'm a little more concerned than that. I think you got Eccles, who is outstanding defensive tackle. He can do whatever you want him to do. You've got Cam Franklin, who's a 300-pound edge. You can line up on the inside or the outside. I think he's a really good player.

I think he can find another level, but I don't think he's the problem right now. The rest of the defensive line is going to have to find a way to play better in my mind. They've got talent up front. They haven't played up to the level yet. It would be interesting to see if they can unlock that. They have an issue at linebacker. Their linebackers are a little lighter. They are burying themselves in blocks

or they're getting stuck on blocks at the second level. They've got to be better. They've just got to be better. And then in terms of the secondary, your safety, he's got to take better angles. They've got to do a better job of making plays in space. So there's an issue there. I think Pete Golding's doing all he can in terms of playing

different fronts. You're seeing over, under, even. You're seeing all kinds of fronts. And in theory, that should make it a little harder for the offensive line to, you know, sort it out, get, you know, certain looks are going to be tougher to double the downline, and all of these things. He's trying to mix it up a little bit. Has it really worked. But I also think there's been some questionable alignments for them. I mean, you're talking about some of this Florida scheme. They're running, they were running power at the underfront. I mean, Ole Miss was running a lot of underfronts early in that game. And Florida was like,

going to run power right at that because it creates just great angles for our guys who are on the front side blocking down and then in the center blocking back. I mean, it's a great angle for him. I'm not going to get caught in the weeds here too much, but it just creates really good angles for them. And they didn't get out of it quick enough. And so Florida had some really good success early on. There was a three, they went three down against LSU against a condensed formation, which made it just too easy for them to seal the defensive line. I mean, there's been some things that I think defensively as a coordinator he's tried,

but there's other things that he could do or hasn't done as well as he could have. I'm concerned. I'm going to get that they play in Florida, and that's a really good run game, but they gave up 143 to Charlotte, 162 to Louisville, 172 to LSU.

I mean, they've got to get better. Or we're going to watch this quarterback on the other side of the ball and Trinidad Chambers, who is absolutely electric? Is this going to hinder his ability get in the playoff and really show what he can do, I'm worried. I am too, because I can't get enough of Trinidad Chambliss.

And Trinidad Chamblis does what TC does, man. Like, it's through for, what, 300 plus and all the things and gave him every shot. But it just collapsed at the end, right? And then, I'll say 5228. Yeah, I hope this isn't a season that where we're looking at, like, like three, four losses. And we don't get to see them in the playoff because I think the nation college football, like people who love this game want to see Trinidad with another shot in the playoff.

Obviously. Yeah. So I'm hoping that Pete's going to be able to fix some things and get things right enough. But I also want to remind people like, that's a really tough spot, man. That game against that game against LSU was unlike many I've ever. that I ever been around or covered or been like since working on college football

starting back in like 2000, right? And the emotional high to have to kind of just roll up your sleeves and head back out to the swamp the following week like that's not easy either. So I'm giving a little grace

but I'm also recognizing what you're saying is true but but yeah Trinidad needs more support and I don't mean just from his offensive side. I mean, and Lacey, back healthy and all that stuff. But the writing's on the wall where it could become a sloppy three, four lost team or the ship could get righted.

It could. You know what I mean? I feel like this showed up at times last year and they were able to, I don't think they ever fixed it, but they were able to kind of patch it together well enough for them to make the run. And that's what they're going to have to do. I just, I mean, but it is surprising, a little bit surprising to me because I, again, the linebackers I'm a little concerned about, but the guys they have up front can play, man. They have, like every other SEC team, it feels like they have depth and talent along the defensive line.

I think Franklin's played pretty well. Eccles has played out of his mind at times. The rest of the group's kind of got to get better in my mind, to varying degrees, but they all got to get better. All right. Here's the tape take that I'm afraid is true. Dylan Stewart has worked his way out of the elite class of this 2027 draft. Let me paint a picture for you, okay? When I tell you Dylan Stewart traits-wise is, it's what it looks like when you close your eyes and you think about 12, 15 sack guy in the NFL.

He's long. He's athletic. he changes directions like a Ferrari. He is powerful. He's not just speed. We've seen a lot of speed guys who crap out in the NFL because they can't match match power with power. They can't jolt an offensive lineman

and then work off of that. He can do it. He's growing into his frame. He'll continue to grow into his frame and continue to get stronger. But from the trait standpoint, like his takeoff, like the amount of yards that he can't, he's able to chew up in just three, four strides.

the forward lean, the torso flexibility, the bend. It's beautiful. It is absolutely beautiful. It's what you want. It's what you're looking for as a scout. When you start just watching the traits, you're like, oh, that's it. That's it.

So you watch the tape in the summer like we did. And you give them the number three ranking in this entire draft class coming in, the ringer.com slash McShay is where you can see our preseason top 50, which will continue to update and add more evaluations and more players to those rankings. You give them that number three spot and a grade that's equivalent in a class that's got a bunch of quarterbacks, that's got a Jeremiah Smith, a generational wide receiver, a Leonard Moore, a Patrick Sartan type talent, that's got some offensive linemen, that's got other edges like Colin Simmons, who just ripped.

off five sacks and yeah he pissed all over the he simulated pissing all over the thing urinating yes but yeah but that's why we ranked him ahead of them because of the traits in what we expected it to be this year right also want to remind people six and a half sacks is a true freshman it was awesome tall lanky skinny guy oh he's going to grow into it this guy's special five star five plus star recruit right yeah it's like oh i can see i can see the path Second year, though, four and a half sucks. We got all these traits, and you watch you on film, and you're like, oh, well, you're close there,

and they're doubling them here, and you kind of, I don't want to say you make excuses, but you still are holding on to the future is going to be because he's going to put it all together in his final year, his third and final year at South Carolina. Can't wait to see that version. Then the news comes out. He's got a back injury.

He's going to not be able to play maybe in the first game. Now it's the second game. or he's back, but it's everyone, like, let's slow down the hype because it's going to be load management, you know, pitch count. But then I put in the tape on those first two games, including Alabama this past weekend. Here's what the tape says. And I want you to listen to what I say here, okay?

I'm going to rip through it all. Six and a half sacks to four and a half sacks, all the traits in the world. What do you pick up on in my notes? Mississippi State bending the edge advancing through contact got a hurry really disruptive play

didn't finish next one violent power wrong shouldered which in Scott like that's wrong shoulder meaning he did it properly he went in with the wrong

he's spilling the runner outside thank you spill the runner outside yeah knock back the lead blocker locates the ball tackle for loss good job

now we have from the left defensive end spot to the A gap. Forces Camaro off the spot. Comes in hot, though. Misses a sack. Left one on the field. Left defensive end. Now inside out move goes,

falls out quick, but arms up in the passing lane. Did what he could. Right. Here's the next one. Spins off a block, makes a tackle in the running back, cut back on his side.

Next one. Destroyes the left tackle. on a wide zone, draws a holding penalty. Good job. That's the extent of his impact plays in Mississippi State. On a pitch count, on limited snaps, right? Mm-hmm. Good day.

Alabama destroys the block by tight end 40. Look up 40's name. I should know it. It's Ford, but I think it's Josh Ford, but I'll make sure right now. Destroys 40 with an easy, not destroy physical, with an easy swim move. embarrassing like for 40 rushes the throw but that's the selfish late hit on keelan russell extends that drive i'll get to the to the extracurricular stuff in a little bit um you could but at

that point you started to sense after that and then he comes back on the field things were starting to boil up you could see kind of in his body language and all of that but i want to stick to the actual football all of it. Next one. Defeats two blocks. Shows a lot of snap taking on the lead blocker. Freeze his defensive mates, they go make the stop. Next play. Loops inside from left defensive end generates a push into Russell. But Russell gets off the throw. Loops inside from left defendant another time. Has Russell in his grasp?

Sound familiar, but fails to finish. Fails to finish. But his teammate 40 winds up and makes a sack because Keelan started to climb and he was there for the set. At this point now, it's 35 to 10 Alabama, 635 third quarter. Absolutely destroys Ford again, number 40 tight end on a lead block. Forces the running back, forces running back inside gets maybe a gain of a yard or two. But this is where the jawing starts to happen, just as a reference, 635 third quarter. told you it was boiling up kind of from the beginning.

He and Ford have been going at it all day long. Yeah, I like the narrative that Ford somehow an angel and all this. It doesn't excuse anything, but give me a break with the, oh, I can't believe what happened. Come on, man. Uh-huh. Next one makes quick work of the right tackle, hurries Keelan and do it in completion. brushes up against Keelan. Keelan Russell there.

Who flops. No call, but an interesting side note. Another one, you know? Yeah. The Angels in Tuscaloosa. Yeah, yeah. Clutching the pearls. Push pull in this next way.

Push, pull. Outside in move. Forces Keelan off the spot, Keelan. but isn't able to get home or come in under control. Keelan has a big game, takes off running. A few plays later, it's now 3518, but Alabama's on the goal line, 808 fourth quarter. Alabama broke the power to the right side away from Stewart. Stewart gets caught up on the muck.

40 decides at this point, like goal line, trenches, bodies everywhere. A couple guys have kind of stood him up, and he's just, and 40 decides at this point, now that we're up 40, they've crossed the goal line, it's 41, extra point pending, 41 to 18, 40's going to, going to absolutely bury him,

dump truck him. And then like kind of push off on him when he's getting up and barking out. Yeah. That's when, when Stewart retaliates. You can't do it. I'm not saying you can do it. No, no.

that's the football of it. This is the best pass rusher talent-wise that we've seen talent-wise, just pure raw talent that we've maybe seen in a couple years. Okay? Did you notice in two games, albeit limited pitch count,

but he's in there for a lot of the past plays and opportunities, that there was one thing missing? Didn't finish? Is that we're going to get to? Yeah, sacks. Yeah, yeah. Coming in hot, not being,

able to bend bends a tight edge but like then come like on the ground swinging it guys rather than being in control like the great ones bend it and stay on the edge through contact while being pushed

they have this torso flexibility to them and this lower body strength core strength control body control type combination that afford them and allows them to advance a rush and finish. Because at the end of the day, getting home is the job, right?

Yeah. So there's that element to it. Now, everyone has seen what's happened with the videos, and the videos that have come out are worse than even what we saw during the broadcast because the broadcast doesn't have personal phones on the sideline and some of the other things that have come out in social media where he's basically unreachable. unhinged, right? Now, is Alabama

innocent in all of it and some of the players and some of the things that they were doing? No, but guess what? You show that you're vulnerable to this and that you're going to lose your composure and every opponent, I don't care what helmet they're wearing, I don't care what their history of a program is, I don't care if they're considered the best guys,

the worst guys, whatever. Yeah. They're going to bait you all day long. So get used to it. Especially because you're so talented. If you weren't so talented, they wouldn't care. But because they want to get you off your game. Whether it's double teaming you or getting under your skin one way or another,

these guys are going to try and get you off your game. The witch hunt is out on this guy now, right? 100%. And it will carry with them in the NFL. Those guys are pros and they're pros at this stuff. Right? Yeah. More importantly, I've talked to some scouts who,

who are in that region. I think it was surprising to everyone, like how it played out. Right. And the manner in which he disrespected, I don't care what you think. I don't care if you're a diehard, lifelong South Carolina fan,

and you want to, you want to, like, set fire to the Beamer house and do all the stupid stuff that people, like, at the end of the day, he's a head coach.

And if you show that kind of disrespect to a head coach, it's a character flaw. Period. And then continue to do it to your, and you can get into the NIL and he's making more money than some of the assistant coaches. I don't care. At the end of the day, this game is about structure, discipline, accountability, respect, and doing things the right way.

He showed none of them on Saturday. I can tell you this, well, you won't hear from any coach, really, very, very, very, very, very rarely will you hear an assistant coach or a coach within a program come out and on the record say something negative about a player? It is horrific for recruiting. Yeah, it's not good. There's been a lot of signs. And so when I tell you this from league circles, it's directly talking to people in the league who have been working in this area, specifically, who know the most about the inner workings of what's going on. and the entitlement and having all the answers

and lack of respect for authority, coaches, everything else. And you can blame it on the current state of college football. You can blame it on athlete entitlement. You can blame it on everything you want. But then you combine that with like Shmar Stewart or, How many guys wind up? If you don't have the... Meanwhile, it's the same day when Colin Simmons has five sacks in a game against Tennessee.

Yeah. There's something, too, and we've seen it historically, production in college leads to production. It's an indicator. It doesn't lead to. It's an indicator of you... So when I'm talking to people in the league, it's... We kind of knew there was stuff there. This takes it to another level.

and already this year had to be the year. I think that's the most important takeaway for everyone that I want to share. This had to be the year where it went, yeah, it went from six and a half to four and a half, but my gosh, he worked on his craft. He came back. He was ready to go. His array of pass rush moves were advanced.

He was more powerful. He finished plays and became a 10, 12 sack guy. He was impactful. And there's a lot of. impact and disruption and good plays versus the run and doing the right things. I don't want, you heard all my words. That's great tape. But when we're talking about the number three prospect and one of the best,

if not the best draft classes, talent-wise, that in a quarter of a century of you and I covering it, you're left wanting more. And now you have this indefinite suspension that after two games missed, limited snaps in the other two. you got basically very limited in four games. Now it's an indefinite suspension and all this extra. There's no way.

No, is you going to be a first round draft pick? Bet your ass he will be. Because it's just what? I'm going to counter. I'm going to devil's advocate you. Everything you've said is accurate about the situation. And I 100% agree with everything you've said. I will remind you that this.

young man just turned 21 a couple weeks ago, that this has been a absolutely horrific season in South Carolina. And that on top of that, because the offense has been as bad as it is, he's not getting some of the true pass-fars situations that Colin Simmons is getting going against Tennessee or some of these other things. He's just not getting those-

For like 400 yards on Saturday, man. I understand it's not a situation. It's not in a situation where you know you, I'm just arguing, the counterpoint, it's not a situation where you know you could pin your ears back and just get after it. You have to respect the run. He's not going to get a lot of those. That's a small, small, small part of it.

But it is September. He has a chance. And I want to be clear about this to make some changes. And I don't mean fix his profile or his reputation. That's bullshit. Scouts will see through that. He has got to make, like he has got to have a come to Jesus moment and make some real, changes about how he's approaching things.

Take the suspension and as an opportunity to do that. And if he does and if he can convince teams and I don't think it's going to take a lot of convincing, I'm sorry, it's not going to take a lot of convincing because this is a, this is a results oriented business man. And if you watch this tape, there's going to be guys that are going to be talked into it. So I'm not, I'm not ruling him out as a guy. I mean, who was the Georgia defensive line who I'm Cameron. remember how I'm not remembers.

Craven Walker. You know, no, no. Jayden Carter? Jalen Carter? He went ninth overall. I don't know how I'm not getting that. I thought you meant lack of sack production. Jalen Carter was the best prospect in that entire draft class and he went ninth and it took

a phone call between agent, agent. I'm just saying, man. Drew Rosenhouse and Howie Roseman to work out essentially a verbal deal on what the behavior is going to be here. What a brainfire. I mean, I'm just saying that the weird stuff happens, man. And it is September and what an indefinite suspension means? I don't know.

The character stuff was far more proven and concerning with Jalen Carter. And that was even before the driving incident that led to death, fatality. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. But the proven, but the talent combined with the proven. like play on the field. Yeah.

It's greater for Carter. What I'm trying to share in all of this is there are, I'm not, I didn't speak to everyone in the league today. I hate when the league is saying, consensus, just talk to a couple people to get their sense. And it's,

well, less said, but how he said, yeah, that's, that's not going to happen. There's a, there's a sense from a couple people I've talked to today. of we really like this was supposed to be the year where he like went from here traits are awesome flashes really good play really explosive fun awesome stuff to watch on tape to this guys like can't block him sack machine i can't so yeah i don't know we'll move on

we have we have a whole bunch of time to talk about it but it's definitely one of the biggest stories of the of the season so far and and also like and i said this is the other that part was a big takeaway for me in my conversations was he needed this season more than anything to solidify the not hype but the like yeah this guy's a sure lock top five prospect and now he's missed two because of the back two he's played has been limited still not getting home as a pass rusher and now indefinitely suspended. Then there's a second part, and all we can go off of the stuff we've seen,

of like the gun, like the gun gesturing after Jackson Dart sack. The, um, the, the shoving the opponent, Vanderbilted for unsportsman-like conduct. Now the Alabama meltdown. That stuff is not a choir boy around the program every day,

doing all the right things and, no. When that's what you see on the field, typically, right? Right. So the second takeaway from me is, I'm not saying anyone had the foresight to see this coming. But I don't think there's a lot of people in Columbia, South Carolina, who have been around this young man who are like totally blown away that this happened. Nope.

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The result can only be iconic. Score big. Try Dr. Pepper Tick-Tac today. I'm going to ask you, this is the portion, who you take? I like this part. Who you taken? Georgia defense or Texas defense? Who you taken?

Statistically very similar profiles, both giving up 13.3 points per game. Very close in terms. I mean, they're both outstanding against the run. They're both outstanding against the pass. there are some differences that I would talk. I'm going to start with Texas who has played Ohio State in Tennessee and held Ohio State to 23 and Tennessee to 17. And that's not nothing, man.

If you're Will Wisn' Buschamp listening to this, you're like, hey, man, how about who we played? How about the strength of schedule? Because I think I'm doing a pretty good job here, and he is. He's doing really an outstanding job. And we watched that pass rush against Tennessee. And it was like watching Lions Hunt when I put on the tape. I mean, we knew, we know what Colin Simmons is, man. And he's just outstanding.

But like what really impressed me, and I talked about this defensive line earlier in the year, and I wasn't sold. Well, now I am. I am firmly sold. Luke Jackson is emerging as an, I mean, Lance Jackson, sorry, Lance Jackson is emerging as an absolute stud.

They could put him in Simmons. Yes. They could put him on the same side of the field with Jackson over the guard, and it's hard to double them both. and it's just, it is hard to watch. I was like, oh, I don't really see the talented defensive tackle that I've seen in the past few years.

Dude, Hero Canoe and Marad Watson are all over that tape. And what I mean by watching a lion hunt, this is what I love about these guys, they are all playing with a level of energy that is, it is so much fun to watch. And then you see these things where they have Simmons as an off-the-ball linebacker and kind of looping around the side.

And all of a sudden, Lance Jackson's coming in, just like a lion hunt, man. Lance Jackson's firing off the other side and forcing the quarterback off the spot and right into Colin Simmons' arms. They are chasing the quarterback into each other's arms. It is incredible to watch. At the second level, you know,

the pit transfer machine Biles has got five career interceptions, three of them taking back for touchdowns. He's undersized. He's a little light, but he's instinctive. He's tough. He's ranging. He's a good tackler against the run. I mean, this is a really, really good defense.

I will talk about Jolani McDonald, the safety, who I think, again, could find another level, but is a talented dude better against the run than he has been in coverage right now, but I think he's got the skill set to get there. So why in the world am I taking Georgia, who has played Western Kentucky in Arkansas and has not had this kind of a test?

Some of it is just the history of Kirby Smart and Glenn Schumer, the defense coordinator. Some of it's just that. But it's going to, what really stands out to me is that is the secondary for Georgia is clearly one of the best in the country. I think it's right up there with Notre Dame. And what that secondary allows Georgia to do. And I just want to read off these names.

They have three corners they play on the outside. Most teams are like, oh, I hope we have two. They have three corners on the outside who are sticky. I mean, they are just sticky. They are tough to separate from. and they are Ellis Robinson, the fourth, Demelo Jones, and Braylon Conley, he's the third but rotates in, okay? Then you have KJ Bolden at safety.

One of the best in the country. I mean, he's just one of the best in the country. Then you go and get Khalil Barnes and Clemson to play nickel. I mean, give me a break. I mean, it is there, that secondary is loaded with talent. Now, when I say they're sticky, that it gives you the freedom to play man. You just want to play man, and you can bring pressure from all over the place. You can do that, but they're also good in zone.

These are not guys that you like, oh, if you put them in zone, they're going to start guarding grass and not know what to do with themselves. These guys could do whatever you ask of them. And now that gives you the freedom to do what you want to do up front and where you don't have an elite pass rusher like a Colin Simmons, but you could bring people from all over the place. And they throw some looks at you like there was a second and nine play in the Oklahoma game last week where they had eight players on the line of scrimmage. And just before the snap, like they shifted, but no one dropped. And John Mateer is looking at this like, I don't know, time out. Like, what are we supposed to do here? Like, I don't know how we're supposed to handle this in terms of blocking.

It allows them to do so many different things. And though they don't have an elite guy up front, they don't have an elite guy up front, they have a ton of talent and a ton of depth. And it's going to come at you in waves. These guys are not going to wear down. You can't run at them because they're all fresh. They have size and depth. They're fresh all the time.

And then I know that you love this guy, but their linebackers are just incredible. Chris Cole, Raylon Wilson, they are, their linebackers are excellent. And when you look at Smart and his defenses, they have a plan coming into a game. They are outstanding at how they want to handle things. But we saw this against Ole Miss last year. We saw it against in the regular season. We saw it against Tennessee last year. You could punch them in the mouth early.

They are as good as anyone in the country at making in-game. adjustments again because they they can do it and once they find out what's your weaknesses once they turn the tide of like okay you guys got us there we're gonna shore this up and now we're gonna figure out how to attack you you can see the tie turn you can literally understand how they're doing in real time so yeah Texas is great man it will must champs great but it's hard in the strength of schedule has been really difficult and they've played well and I love that defense but I'm I'm going with Georgia this

That was a rant. That was a rant. No, I love it. This Georgia team has been kind of fun to watch because it's all, it reminds me the NFL, right? And college football has kind of turned into the NFL in many ways. They, they ain't going to win free agency. There's not going to be a lot of splash in the off season.

We're not going to be talking about, oh, my gosh, can you believe that Cam Coleman's going to play with Archmanning and all of that? I think what they did instead was went to, they went to like an iron factory or like a nail camp. And they went in and they just dug in and they got nastier and they got stronger and they got tougher and they got more discipline. And this. And I remember talking to you last year. I did a tape study, tape trues.

It was probably October. We're like, can Georgia fix its defense? this thing don't look right. Remember Tennessee, which his name, came out and torched them. And then there was another game. And I remember coming back to you and being like,

they don't have the dudes that are veterans, but they got dudes. Yeah. And I'll get to nine in a little bit. And I appreciate you. You're a good teammate there. I saw what you did. Yeah, yeah.

He's awesome. He's, because you know I'm going to talk about nine in a little bit, Chris Cole. So thanks for nuts. stealing all my thunder. But, but yeah, I, I don't, I don't, I just wouldn't want to play. They're the type of team that, that it affects the next game, what they, what they're going to do you physically. So I'm, yeah, I'm here for it. I'm here for it. They haven't played anyone.

They haven't been, no, like, oh, they gave 20 to Western Kentucky. But those, the Arkansas and the Western Kentucky scores are really misleading, a lot of late points in those games, man. Like, a lot of, Yeah, the offense, the offense is not, like, it is not, it's, it's, it's welcoming. It's not overwhelming. It's not underwhelming. It's just overwhelming. All right. What do you want to ask me today, sir?

First of all, I love this question because of the way you put it. Do you want Mississippi State quarterback Camario Taylor for one year or Alabama quarterback Keel and Russell for two years? My initial is, like I win now baby. Give me Camario. Yeah. One more year recruiting with every receiver and whether it's high school recruiting and probably more importantly for Camario bringing in another veteran or two, an offensive line,

because you want to be around this guy. Because he's going to be, if not the face. He's going to be on the Mount Rushmore of the 2026 college football. You know, like he's going to be the front facing face. He's the guy. Yeah. Then I watched the tape. And literally nothing changed about Camario.

I know who Camario is. He does that flat-footed, calm. Everything is just easy-peasy in the pocket. Going to miss a throw here and there. Going to sail one out of bounds. But then one of two things is going to happen. There's going to be a late-op breaking receiver who opens. And he's just going to flick his wrist.

When you thought you covered the whole thing up, And it's going to rip it at a perfect trajectory, 60 to 75 yards in the air. Or this like really chill, Marcus Russell scaring you a little bit looking guy in the pocket who stands real big and is going to go from that to a trained killer because he's decided to take this pigskin in his hand. And he now he's out for blood. And he's just going to and he goes in this like mode. Yeah. So that's hard to pick against. Real hard.

But, I mean, real hard. But give me Keelan Russell. Yeah. I'm scared. I'm scared. I don't want to be a defensive coordinator in this conference at all. It's frightening. With all these.

The talent at quarterback, yeah. Because Stockton's a pain in the butt to deal with and you get to deal with the rest of that team. Arch, not fun with those receivers. You go down, by the, by the way, when you get it, When you get a game where you don't have to face a quarterback finally, you're facing Florida's run game. Like it's a nightmare being a defensive coordinator in this conference.

But why, why Kieland? Let me give you one play example, okay? That'll help set the tone. Set the stage, I should say. 70-yard, 75-yard touchdown pass to Lazier Brooks, number three, right? Yep, yeah. All right, so here's how it goes. Bunches to the right.

Russell snaps the ball, gets depth. It's a shotgun, but also goes back more than you normally would see, you know, two, three, but sliding to his right, okay? Bunch to the right, okay? Everything feels like it's flowing to the right side. So if you're on the defensive side, you're watching a quarterback, go roll to your left a little bit. You got bunches left.

You're kind of, everything's just naturally going this way. okay um clean which which which is an important part of it because remember i said a little bit deeper than you would think on when you get catch the ball it's not that that one back foot in the dirt you know hit you go um clean pocket for four seconds they have max protecting with one of their tight ends by the way this year they've got tight ends that can actually block and they get past protection that actually protects. It's a fun thing to watch. Yeah.

That subtle slide, the extra depth on the drop, it allows time for Brooks to run this deep route. Now let's look at the route that Brooks runs. And mind you, he's not Ryan Coleman. And I'll get to him in a second. He runs this vertical route. He's got to be in the four threes too. This guy can freaking fly.

Yeah, I was going to say, I mean, he's not, he's pretty damn good, dude. He's so good. Yeah. Think about the flashes we saw last year. Now it's becoming a little consistent. He started to come on at the end of last year. It was like, who is this kid? Right.

I couldn't pronounce his name. Right. Lotzier or Lotzer or whatever I was calling him. He runs vertical and just gets up, it gets that defensive back up on his heels, right? Then what he does is presses the safety to his left. By selling he's going to run a corner route. Now, mind you, quarterback's rolling, right?

Mm-hmm. Texan's kind of right there. Bunches to this side. So the safety's like, I better go. I can't keep up with them. I better get, I better get sco. And then just peels off. What a bad feeling.

After pressing the corner, peels it back to a post that just looks like this deep over route, right? Yeah. Keeling with the time he needs. just rolling a little bit to his, sliding a little to his right, with depth, with protection, run after catch down, the sideline stays inbound touchdown, right? See ya. This isn't about Mississippi states what it has a supporting cast, coaching and players,

versus Alabama's coaching players. Tough to do that. However, when you're telling me I get the rest of this year to let this guy develop, and I'm already seeing Keelan, oh, wait, he's starting to know. where his eyes are supposed to go. Oh, wait. He's starting to protect his body because he's starting to realize that the A on his helmet, that's a big business. No, they don't have, but the A on the logo, but the number, that helmet, the distinctive number of the side. That's a big business. That's a big deal, not just here, but nationally. And I'm the, I'm the franchise. So now he's

starting to protect his body a little more. He's starting to realize who he is. It's not like last year the flashes and then and this year like it's now oh i got i got a really you know the first few games i should say it's my job is to operate this thing and there's a comfort level and a calm and a poise to him right um protection is really good tight ends are blocking really well ryan coleman's come alive. LaSere is a factor. Yep. And I want to remind people that said, I'm going to feed off of what you said the other day, but I'm going to go a little bit deeper.

There's a reason why Nick Saban landed on DeBore. Culture, discipline, way he runs it, all that. Yes, all falls in line. But DeBore comes with Grubb, too. And together, these guys have been air traffic control in college football for the last decade. And because it was at Fresno State and Washington, Washington. I don't think the rest of the country is as hip to it as they should have been. Certainly folks in Tuscaloosa. I want to remind you some of the stuff that they've done.

I'm betting on what's to come with Keelan, right? Greb was the OC and quarterback coach under DeBoer debating, going back to Fresno State. 2017 is when they got together. 2021 is when he got elevated to quarterback coach and OC. They've been linked since except the one year he went off to the NFL, the Seahawks, came back, okay? This duo has done things like get a Washington program

to the national championship. When Big Bad Oregon, when Big Bad Oregon was supposed to beat them and couldn't do it. Oregon could not get over the hump of beating that Washington team. Send three receivers from one offense to the NFL, two of which I believe were first round picks. Lead the nation in passing.

once and be in the top 25, I think every single year that they've been on top of it. Set conference records in passing. Send Pennix and Ty Simpson to the NFL via round one. Send Jake Hainer. My guy, I like Jake Hainer. He was good, man. For what he was.

Yeah. To the NFL v. around four after throwing for 4,000 yards in this offense. Keelan's special. Keelan's not Jake Hainer. Keelan's not Ty Simpson. Keelan's not Michael Penix. Keelan does more, has more to work with. And now you're telling me I get him for three years.

Give me that. Give me that. And he's already farther along than you expected, right? I mean, I did not expect to see this at this point. I mean, good on him. And to be clear, just to clean this up, if it was one year, if there was no terms on this, you would take Taylor over Russell still, right? Yeah, I would have to exclude.

Yes, what Taylor's doing in this moment. I'm glad you just to be clear about it. What Taylor's doing in this moment is better than what Keelan's doing in this moment. And when you get to top, like what Taylor's doing is unbelievable. That Mississippi State team, yes, it's better. It's better, but it's not what we're seeing on the field right now, you know? Yep. They just beat a really good team.

Missouri's a really good team. They're well coached. They're one of the most respected program. Eli Drinkwitz, I feel like every coaching job that opens, he's on the top three or four list. Like, they just beat a really good football team. And that team last year... And it looked like the tie to turn.

It looked like the tie to turn against them, and they could have folded, and they did not. Yeah. So I'm here for everything that Camaro is doing. I love the guy. And if you're telling me the rest of this year, absolutely. This year and next year, I'd be like, yeah, but like I'm nervous of what Keelan's going to be next year.

Yeah. Yeah. But you give me that. extra year. Hell yeah. I'm signing up for it. All right. Next part. How far has he moved? I told you the last movie. This is the structure on tape trues on Monday. We do a lot of in this industry, oh, he's skyrocketing up the board or I watched this one game and he's totally changed it. But like, all right, let's be real. Like what's happened and how far has he moved and give me some context, whether it's from last week to this, last season to this, whether it's

off the radar to now, give me a guy where fits the mold of how far has he moved, highlighting what he's done so far this year or what he's done even just recently. All right. Give me some grace here. I got some story time because this kid's story is unbelievable. I want to talk about Tennessee linebacker, Aaron Carter. And I want to go back to last year, okay? Aaron Carter is considering coming out for the draft

and ultimately decides to declare for the draft. He re-injures a foot injury that he had been battling all of last year and needs to undergo surgery and decides because of that he's going to go back to Tennessee. In the meantime, he's signed it with an agent, and he's taken a $427 flight from this agent. So the NCAA comes in and suspends him. him for two games. They, he

jokes. I don't even get me started. He jokes, go ahead. He pays the agent back. He pays the agent back. They end up producing the, the, the suspension from two games to one. The opening game is against Furman. He, he is suspended for this game. Who is the only player, do you think, the Tennessee sent out to midfield for the coin flip?

I love it. Arian Carter. I mean, it says, he's a team captain. And it says a lot. And Josh Hypoil, the head coach, talked about when he talked to the team about sending him out and what that meant and how excited the team was for him. Okay. He's a, he's a semifinalist for the Witten Award last year. He's in the running for the Witten Award, which is just, it is a prestigious award to win at the college football level.

He is, so all signs point to him being an outstanding human being. While this is all going on, I mean, that's a great story in itself, okay? while this is all going on, his girlfriend is diagnosed with breast cancer in February. Oh, gosh, I didn't know that. So he does the whole thing where he shaves his head with her and he supports her, but he also, and I think this is both funny and touching, decides that he's going to make a donation to cancer research for all of his stats. And so for every tackle he makes this year, he will donate $427 with a little nod to the NCAA to keep. it's a research.

But that's not it. $500 for each sack, $1,000 for each interception, and $5,000 if he scores a defensive touchdown. I love it. If you're talking about character and looking at what, like, this is

next level. So let's get into the player. The player is, even though he battled a foot injury last year, he led the SEC and tackles per game. He led Tennessee in tackles the year before. He's a very productive run defender. 240 pounds.

This is a guy that can hold up. in the middle. He's number six on Feldman's Freaks list. He went from 12 last year to 6 this year. He's got something like a 400 pound bench press. You see it on. Yeah, exactly. Apparently he's his vertical jump improved by a couple inches, according to Bruce.

But you see the size, 240 pounds, really good size for a guy, an off the ball linebacker. You see the upper body strength with the way he can anchor and take on blocks and hold up when teams try to run at him. He can play on the edge. I mean, he overpowers tight ends when he plays on the edge. And then he's got speed. So he's got those range to make plays in pursuit. I think he is got, you can unlock him as a pass rusher. I don't think they've done it yet.

But I love the upside because you see how he flashes as a handfighter. You see that he closes well enough to get home when he rushes from depth. He's got some upside as a pass rusher. Coverage is a work in progress. I thought earlier in his career he did a better job of tracking the ball and making plays on the ball. It feels like he's doing a little bit of guarding grass right now, but has all the tools to get there.

I think he was always going to be a day two linebacker, but I think he's inching his way up, and I think he's firmly in the second round range at this point. I love everything about what you just did. I love the story. I love the humor from, from Aryan. I love the fact that he is considered one of the high character guys. I feel terrible.

I didn't know about it, but more so that his girlfriend's going through that. It's a really cool picture you just painted. And my gosh, just he pop on tape. That's the other thing. I feel like he's been getting warmed up and then you throw on the Texas tape

and you're like, oh, that's, he played well in other games. The Texas tape is different. He was everywhere on Saturday. And I was just watching on the couch, you know. I'm going to stick with the SEC and linebacker. And I think you now know, we kind of tipped it. But Chris Cole, man, whew, I had a fun.

Some days you're going into the lab and you start breaking down tape and it's a grind or like, you're doing the negative. And I had some fun, man. Chris Cole might have been outside of the Florida run game and Baugh, he was the highlight of the last 48 hours of my life, from a work standpoint, at least. Um, maybe overall. Getting, I'm kidding.

Why this week? Why are we featured him this week? What he did against Oklahoma was awesome. Chris Cole is a Georgia linebacker. And I remember I referenced watching tape last year in the Georgia defense. And I kept going back to nine. Like that guy nine. I didn't even, when you're, when you're a pup and you're not there ready yet,

oftentimes, you just got a number. And then you'll get a name when it's your time, but you get a number. Nine is ingrained in my head. And then it becomes Chris Cole prospect in the offseason, number nine. And it's like, all right, well, we're doing a top 50. Don't know if we're going to include him in this, but he's definitely like right there on the – So he's like a top 40, top 50 prospect. Love his traits.

Excited to see if this year we can see growth, right? There's been growth. There has been growth. Eight tackles, sack, tackle for loss, two fumble returns, one return for that touchdown. On that touchdown return, scoop and score, in pads carrying the football, he hit 22.12 miles per hour, Steve.

That's, that slot receiver stuff. That's insane. That's like a big X, a big fast X, you know? Yeah. you'll hear like 23 24 occasionally will be reported but those are like the high 4243 guys right I want to remind you that he is 6 3 and 200

this was preseason verified height and weight 6 foot 3 235 pounds they estimated them as a 465 5 I think that scouts can have to re-calculate that one a little bit yeah We're talking about like a four, four, four, six or something. Like, this, he's going to run. It feels like they kind of mailed in some of the estimated 40 times. I'm just going to throw that out there.

I think you said that very kindly. Okay, tape. Versatility is in high demand, right? Yeah. Uh-huh. I wanted you to just, I'm going to rip this off quickly because I know we've been going forever, but I just wanted you to hear, okay? Tennessee State screams off the right edge.

bend lean working through block hurried throw incomplete left edge next play sniffs out the screen defends the block defeats the block pb u next play coming off the right edge holy hell is what i wrote holy hell is he parallel is he literally parallel is from his knees to his helmet parallel that's how that's how low he gets the forward lean and the body control he has got me to write holy hell in my notes drives the offensive tackleback hurries the quarterback now off ball linebacker same game reads locate scrapes tackle at the line of scrimmage next play left edge again outside in move too damn quick gets a hurry ball had to come out quick incomplete now western kentucky off ball

patient, key, diagnosed, lateral quicks, cuts off the running back, violently gets him to the ground. Finishing plays, right? Off ball linebacker again, gets an early beat. And I didn't do every play like I did with Dylan Stewart. These are plays that kind of show the wide array.

We're talking about pass rush with power, pass rush with speed, pass rush with that body lean and body control and bending an edge. We're talking about off ball linebacker versus the run. off ball linebacker in coverage off ball linebacker versus so it's all of these things this one he gets an early beat great eyes defeats the block tackle for loss finishing now he's off ball linebacker spying this play was awesome patient holds his water quarterback starts to bail to his right scud missile when he takes off running when he's got a beat it is literally what like watching um what is

Animal Kingdom or what's the Netflix? What's the next Netflix show that I love? Planet Earth is that what it is? Our planet, the planet Earth. When you see like a tiger or like a jaguar or a cheetah in the wild and they're done grazing or stalking and they've set their eyes on something, how quickly they go from to. Yeah. Oh, that got me worked up.

Yeah. For loss. We tackle with the line of scrimmage there. So I don't know if he gets a sack, but I want to include, even though he doesn't get a sack, that's going to be a gain of five, seven yards. If the average linebacker's there, he stops that thing before it starts. Arkansas game, off ball, coverage, diagnosis, screen, fast eyes, comes screaming off across the field, trips up the tight end, minimum gain.

Right edge again. Obvious pass down. Asked to drop in zone. Oh, silky hips at 6-3. Silky smooth, oily, loose. Great depth. Quarterback tries to take off again. When am we going to learn this quarterbacks?

Don't do that. Because there's a lion in the wild. Will the lion in the wild won again? limits to three yards and you get the point. Then I read this. Of the highest character kids we've had in our program, oh, no, I said of the high, basically of the highest character kids we've had in our program,

he's the highest in a long time. Kirby said that? Kirby Smart. Wow. I think I think I couldn't paste it wrong. So it's a mild error phrasing, but essentially maybe it was one up. That's what it is.

One of the, that's what it is. Okay. Cut the wrong word. One of the highest character kids we've had in our program in a long time. Yeah. That's awesome. Now we got everything. I'm going to boil it down for you.

Jalen Walker was 6-1-2-43. He didn't work out of the combine or the pro day. But he was fast. He was talented. My gosh, I loved his tape. And I said a lot of the same things I just said about Jalen Walker. But he was two inches shorter, shorter, didn't have this length.

Not quite that. like he has. Yep. Cole is longer, faster, better traits. And if this trajectory keeps up, he's going to be a better prospect than Jalen Walker.

And Jalen Walker was drafted 15th overall. Right. So we got to update our board soon, man. This kid is, he's one of the real ones. Yeah, you bring up the versatility. And I went into that,

when I was comparing the defense. I was like, they don't have an edge like Simmons. And then I'm watching, I'm like, well, who the hell is that? Who the hell is coming off the edge there? And it was, it was cool every time. All right, let's get your receipts. This is the way we ended up every day on a Monday. Once we get a few weeks in, I'll stop guiding our audience through.

They need to help. It's my fault. That's not theirs. Receipts. Let me go here quickly. I'll keep up. I'm going to keep it moving. I do want to mention a few other names.

All, Marius Mims, who I did my receipts on last week. Yeah, yeah. Amarius Mims, the right tackle. We talked about how you nailed the wording and the breakdown of him and his tape. We both really loved the upside, but there were, but only eight starts in college and the injury, all that. But said he could be an all-pro type of player. I talked last week about how awesome of a start this year. He's becoming one of the dominant right tackles and all of the.

the National Football League, 23 snaps one-on-one versus T.J. Watt didn't give up a pressure. Wow. This guy's in his back. Other rookies that won't be mentioned here, but we're recognizing. And some of them,

and they all, well, Sunny Stiles. The linebacker class has been outrageous, but yeah, Sunny Stiles looks amazing. R. Vel-R. Rees was awesome this week and continues to be. J. Sean Barham.

feel good about that report now. Yep. But even Ted Hurst reached pay dirt. Like there's some guys that are stepping up. That's my guy. Sunny Styles. I, like, that's why I had a, what, two overall last year? Yeah.

Before I wound up with, whatever. All right. But I'm going to, this, I want to take receipt. Here's my receipts on this one guy. I'll never forget learning the story, driving back with you, me and Dan in the car, Dan Comer, our producer, who you got to see a little bit of last week. Never again. I'm not letting him back on. I thought he was great. He trashed us. That's good.

Max and you're not sure. I'll never forget learning his actual story. I talk to a scout, he's got to look it up. Talk to, he wasn't a scout. He was an assistant general manager. He's got to learn this guy's story. It's awesome. The fact that he's doing this now, he was Arizona State to the Steelers, okay, drafted 21st overall. Born in Nigeria, moved to the U.S. when he was 13 years old, played soccer and basketball,

his whole youth, right? In L.A., playing AAU basketball, he's got a coach who encourages him to go to try playing football, right? Just try out. He's at East L.A., community college, East L.A. And never played football in high school.

Goes to a year at East L.A. Still hooping it up and all that. And finally he's like, yeah, I'm going to give it a shot. Second year at East L.A. He plays, right tackle and some left tackle. And there's this coach from Fresno State who's like, huh, that guy's interesting, recruits him and he's going to bring him to Fresno State. But that coach from Fresno State goes to Arizona State and says,

we got to bring this kid. Like, I want to work with him. Gets thrown into it. Played one year. Played one year of East L.A. Offensive tackle. And now he gets thrown in. They didn't want to have to.

They want to give him a year. Because of injuries, yeah. They're like, we'll bring him along, and then the next thing you know, he's got to go play. Five starts. Next two years, full-time starter at right tackle.

Develops into all Big 12 tackle in 2025. Shows up to the senior ball. And I get scouts in my, my ear like, I don't know, like, is he tough? Does he have that dog in him? And he didn't back down to one son of a bitch there all week. No, he did not. He was awesome.

He was awesome. 6-6, 321 pounds, 34-inch arms, 4-9-140, elite, 9-3 broad jump, 93th percentile on the last three drafts. His report is some just nuggets out of it. Smooth hits landmarks, gets out of his stance. quick. Can mirror, can slide. Needs to improve some of the hand placement, timing of his punch.

But he doesn't have to win with his hands to anchor. When he squares up, keeps his cleats on the ground, basically he can lock in, right? Run. Basically, our whole thing was better pass pro than run has the traits to improve. Let me summarize it as we're getting later in this show.

We chronicled all conference OT after the backstory, excellent week of Senior Bowl helped solidified things, exceptionally high ceiling. Your comp that you gave him, Mench, is Icki Iquanoo,

who is the six overall pick in 2022, both excellent athletes, violent playing styles, and they weren't finished products coming out of college. So this year, unfortunately, in training camp, he gets this neck shoulder injury

that doesn't allow him to play the first two games. The reason I'm focusing, I'm featuring him, him this week and the receipts is this is his first start in the NFL like four years ago bro he hadn't played football yeah and he and now he's starting um in a win over the bengals division win big right tackle right tackle in his first start 36 past blocking reps three pressures allowed 8.3% was the lowest on the team of his off of the five offensive linemen percent one-on-one rate.

Primarily faced Miles Murphy, who did wind up with a sack, but also had to go up in the rotation against Boyer, Mafei, Cassius Howell, and a couple other guys. He looked good against Moffey. Really, really good in 36 pass block reps. I tried to tell him. I tried to tell him. I told people this kid is, I mean,

Pittsburgh was supposed to take Mackay Lemon with that pick, and then Philadelphia jumped him, and it's going to be one of those things. where you look back on and they're going to be like, dang, you know, no offense to McKinian Lemon. But I think the Steelers are going to be very happy with the way that unfolded for him. Yeah. So who's your receipts today? I promise you these will not be all positive.

We will get some that are negative, but I could resist with Jets, Kenyon and Sadiq going off yesterday. I want to quote, this is from your report. I think it's, it really stood out to me. Sadiq isn't nearly as polished or productive as Raiders 20, 24, 13th overall pick. Brock Bowers coming out of Georgia. But he has a similar skill set. If a team uses him the right way, he can make an immediate impact of receiver

and develop into a difference maker. It was fascinated by that because I'm watching Jets' offense corner to Frank Reich and the way that he's getting this guy involved is, I mean, he's just, it's like easing him in. I'm going to make this as easy as I can possibly make for it. I mean, the best example is a lot of Sadiq's production in these first three games

has come off of him blocking, or chipping and then just releasing into the flat, they dump the ball off to him and he can do what he does after the catch with that speed. They're not asking him a lot as a route runner. We note this in his report that he's developing as a route runner. He's not there yet. They're doing vertical routes, crossers, and hitches.

There's nothing, it's not a super complicated game plan for this guy. The other thing that I really like is that Cadiq can go out wide and they can move him around. They're using him in line a lot right now, which allows him to attack the middle of the field, which he's the best at, gives him more favorable matchups, which I think favors him. I think the way Reich is using his talent.

Also, Reich ran a jet sweep with him for a touchdown against Tennessee. Awesome. Like, you're just getting him touches, getting him the ball in space, letting him do what he wants to do, or doing what he can do. You saw the speed. You saw the 4-39 speed on the 24-yard touchdown. You see the speed after the catch. It's just, it jumps out.

He does look like a little bit of a smaller player in the field. but you see the speed. The ball skills are the ball skills. I mean, he had seven catches for for 105 yards and a touchdown against the lines and he had a drop. And the drops are frustrating, but then he also goes out

and makes this incredible acrobatic catch for the touchdown. It's who he is. It's who he is. The first play of the game, he runs a hitch and Gino misses it, but he extends and plucks and makes a diving catch. And you're like,

dude, if you can make that catch, you can make any catch. catch. But there are just these little blips where he might drop the ball. He is who we thought he was. I'm just glad that he's somewhere where they are using correctly and

getting him some touches. And now you just build off of it, right? Now you go from graduate level to PhD level, whatever you want to do. It's just going to be continuing that process excited about where he's at right now. All right. This show went long. I don't know if we're going to revise

it next week. We said a lot of work, so it's hard not to get it all in. I hope people enjoyed it. I kind of don't care. But it's definitely time to roll. Five stars, match. We'll see you on Thursday. Thanks, man. Must be 21 plus

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