The Ryen Russillo Podcast - College Football Conference Picks, Best QB, Breakout Players, and the Title Picture With Danny Kanell and Bruce Feldman

Episode Date: August 12, 2025

Russillo is joined by Danny Kanell to discuss Penn State’s title chances, the uncertain QB landscape, and the SEC. Then, Bruce Feldman comes on to share the team he thinks is best, break down Arch Manning, and explain why we’re always bullish on new coaches. Plus, Life Advice with Ceruti and Kyle! (0:00) Welcome to The Ryen Russillo Podcast! (0:56) Danny Kanell joins the show (1:35) Biggest takeaways from the AP Top 25 (5:59) Is it now or never for Penn State? (13:55) What to make of Clemson this season (18:15) Can anyone surprise Clemson in the ACC this year? (23:45) Is the Big 12 as wide open as it seems? (34:33) Who will win the SEC? (41:16) Who is the best QB in college football? (51:07) Russillo welcomes in Bruce Feldman (57:14) What to make of Arch Manning (59:47) Are teams still figuring out the transfer portal? (1:03:48) Bruce shares his College Football Freaks List (1:05:31) The chance they would give Penn State to win title (1:14:16) Big 12 predictions (1:18:29) Why are we so positive about uncertainty on a coaching staff? (1:23:19) Carson Beck is set for a return to form (1:24:04) Rapid-fire questions (1:28:36) Life Advice with Ceruti and Kyle! (1:40:45) Childhood friend in prison asked for money (1:47:27) Is it OK that I used my wife’s razor? (1:55:21) My ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend just requested to follow me Check us out on YouTube for exclusive clips, livestreams, and more at https://www.youtube.com/@RyenRussilloPodcast. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Host: Ryen Russillo Guests: Danny Kanell and Bruce Feldman Producers: Steve Ceruti, Kyle Crichton, Mike Wargon, and Jonathan Frias Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Let's talk some college football. We are loaded today. The contenders at the top, the uncertainty with quarterbacks. We'll do that with Danny Connell. We'll go through all the conferences with him. I'll make an SEC joke at the very end. Bruce Feldman on who he likes the most, and is Penn State ready to do this?

He doesn't think so. He likes another team. we'll handicap the rest of the conference is the same way. We did it, but a little different information. We'll go over his freaks list, a new quarterback in a new spot that everybody's excited about, and sifting through the puke bucket stories.

We've got life advice and just an update on life. So Rudy's back. Worgon's here. Somebody had a kid. Somebody got engaged. Somebody got married. I mean, it's wild. Wild crew. So enjoy. Excited for college football season. an incredible opening week past week zero but we do have a nice matchup for week zero so let's talk

with danny cannell let's talk about the season get some thoughts from our guy former co-host and now of course with serious xm every morning six to nine eastern and cbs so the api rankings are out and you know look there's a little bit of a change of order with what came out from the coaches poll here but if you run through it dk you know it's great like six of the top eight teams it depends on what you want to define as a question at quarterback. But it is, like, there's a lot of assuming going on with a lot of the guys behind center, even with the pedigree that they have. And it feels like that's kind of a good place to start for these teams contending for a national championship.

Yeah, that's why I really think this season is setting up to be one of the more entertaining seasons we've seen. I think it was 2016 was the last time this many different teams. received some sort of vote in the top 25. You know, I was going back because in the last five years, it's been Georgia in 24, received 46 first place votes. It's 23. Georgia had 60 first place votes. It was almost unanimous. Before that, it was

Bama 54. And the most we saw was three in the last three seasons. Now we've got double that. And I would say you could even make a case for Notre Dame with their schedule with Bama, with the guys they haven't coming back, that they could have received a vote. But it is because there's so much,

there's so much uncertainty about the QBs. And I do think as we're sort of, we're getting past the COVID years when you had 24 year old, 25 year old quarterbacks that you knew exactly what you're going to get even if they did transfer. We still got a couple.

There's still a few. But there's a lot of guys that have almost zero playing experience. And we're just banking on them working. You know, Ohio State's a great example. Now, we could talk Arch Manning all you want, but he's another one.

But at Ohio State, Julian Sand, the assumption is, hey, he's going to work because he's got Jeremiah Smith on the outside. And you kind of trust Ryan Day with what he's done with quarterbacks. And yet it feels like that competition might be one of the more real ones with Lincoln Keenholz, his backup. Like, so there's just a laundry list, Gunner Stockton, at Georgia. Like, I know he came in and he was a spark plug at Georgia when Carson Beck went down and his teammates rallied around him. but he hasn't played a lot of football. Dante Moore at Oregon. Again, if he beats out Austin Novosad,

he could be really good, but what if they struggle? Like Alabama, Ty Simpson, they just named him the starter, which I think is a good sign that they named him this early. But he's been Mr. Potential guy his whole time there as a former five star,

you know, had kind of opportunities to win out the job, couldn't do it. Like, I think he's going to be good. But there are just so many questions up and down the board didn't mention Notre Dame with CJ Carr stepping in. Almost every, you know, school that is in here outside of Penn State and Clemson have pretty big question marks at quarterback. Yeah, I was looking at the Big Ten, and this is a really interesting note, but they have eight quarterbacks.

They're going to be starters. Well, actually, because Ohio State has two of them. So I guess it would be seven projected starters that at some point during the recruiting process were top 25 in the ESPN 300, which is the most of any. conference. And, you know, saying maybe just terrific because Ohio State in the past has been able to just kind of plug somebody else in. I think Alabama has been able to do that in the past. I'm glad you brought up Gunter Stockton because even though Georgia may not have the elite NFL talent on defense that we just assume that they're always going to have, there's so much depth. The transfer portal part of this becomes way too exciting. It's never, look, this sport has never been. It's the hardest sport to figure out year to year. because of the turnover, and now when you factor in just the amount of movement and lack continuity with some of these teams, like, I'll be sitting there looking at Arizona State going, all right, well, what's going on? And be like, oh, hey, they got that freshman from Alabama at receiver.

And then you just see, like, transfer from Alabama and you get more excited than you probably should. And I don't mean specific to him, but like, you'll look through and be like, oh, wow, they got a Clemson guy, they got an LSU guy. Like, there's this one player that transferred, like, big time. I don't even want to dog him or anything, but it's like big time recruit. big time program that he's with he's at another huge power four program and it's like you realize that guy never played he never played but it looks really good on paper so look some of these

quarterbacks it's just their time um i'd say saying at ohio state like he fits the profile and there's probably a lot of assumption there i probably worry about heartline a little bit but maybe with a year with chip kelly that'll that'll make it better you know than than it was the first time that he was the OC there. But having said all those things, that that's why I kind of get back to like Clemson and Penn State. It's like, should we all be more bullish on Clemson and Penn State because of Klubnik, who's the projected number one pick, and Aller, who's projected to be a first rounder. And I'll say it. I feel way better about Aller going into this year than I did last year. Just, and I know it was a new OC, and it's the second year, but at least I saw some

things last year from Aller that I don't think I saw in 23. Yeah, I go back. I thought when He played USC out there. And he had a couple big fourth down conversions. One, he tucked it and ran. He made a couple nice throws. I thought that was going to be like his game that you could look at and say, there's the difference. Now, it didn't work out that way.

You know, he was kind of a little bit up and down after that. The Oregon game was enough for me. Even in a loss, I'm telling you, there was that play that he made in the fourth and 10 or some fourth and 11. And you can, you can beat me up for saying, oh, it's just kind of one player or whatever. there was the U.S.C. game, the Oregon game, you know, the Minnesota game. There's just more there that I felt like he played the position kind of scared in 23. I totally agree. He's been a game manager. He's been to check down Charlie a little bit, playing safe. And I remember talking to this back on our show at ESPN when we would talk about the risk-reward dynamic that every quarterback kind of has to figure out of, you know, when.

because I would personally rather have somebody who's a gunslinger and dial it back. It's a little bit harder to get guys to take chances. And I feel like that's where Aller has kind of struggled to figure out, all right, it's okay to throw an interception. I think he had a couple interceptions in the USC game, but I was totally okay with it. I was like, hey, at least he's throwing the ball down the field and he's taking some chances. Yeah, it's real. Yeah.

So like, but I was actually okay with it because I was actually like, all right, like, because we kept referring the touchdown interception ratio, which is really good. but you got to have some sort of some sort of recognition that there is a time and a place when an interception is okay. You might have a one-on-one shot down the field that you can take it. There might be times when you try to squeeze it into a tighter window and it just doesn't work and you do get picked off. But the thing is you have as much talent around you, you know, nine, ten games of the year

that if you just play it safe, you're probably going to win those nine or ten games, but it's the difference games, the games against Notre Dame and the play. playoffs. The game is against Penn State, or excuse me, Ohio State or Michigan, like the better competition is when he's got to step up. I thought he took a step forward. I still have a little bit of reservation for him. Like, if you asked me who I was more confident in, I would say I'm more confident in Cade Clubnick, having a better season as a whole. And large part, he's got a way better receiving core that we know about at Clemson, where they did go hit the portal and brought in three guys because that was a big narrative last year was that Drowler didn't have anybody to throw

to. And then, of course, it doesn't help when he doesn't complete a pass to a wide receiver in an entire game in their loss to Notre Dame. And he does lose Tyler Warren, too. Like, that's a big void in that offense that somebody's going to have to account for. He was such like a weapon that they used. But I think you make a really good point about year two of Andy Coltonicki. I think that'll be big for him as far as his comfort level and kind of knowing when to stretch the field, when to make the right checks and call to that big play if he's got the opportunity, the defense is giving it to So if you look at the Franklin resume, which Penn State fans know really well, last three years, 34 and 2 is a favorite, 27 and 0 in favor by at least six points, and 0 in 0% as a dog. This is a Penn State team getting first place votes.

Do you like them better than every other team in the Big Ten? I do. So I'm buying into the hype somewhat. But I do think it does feel like now or never for James Franklin. Like I don't know if there's going to be a better opportunity for two reasons. One, the collection of talent they have coming back, right? They have Drew Allen and Nick Singleton in the backfield. They do have a defense that returns a bunch of guys that can get after the pass or deny Dennis Sutton should be the next in line to be that next.

Mikea Parsons, Abdul Carter. If it's not him, maybe a Soraya Fisher. They bring in Jim Knowles, like to really bump up this defense and take it to the next level. So they've got all these returning pieces. Their mantra is kind of... And taking him away from Ohio State on top of everything else. Yeah, exactly. So, and so their mantra is what you want to hear.

It's what we heard from Michigan. It's what we heard from Ohio State. The last two national champs is we're bringing guys back to do something special. So they've got kind of all these pieces. But I think even more importantly, the fact that we're talking about Ohio State question marks, both coordinators, you know, they're having both new coordinators, new quarterback. A lot of that defense is gone. They don't have the backfield that they had last year.

Oregon. They don't have the veteran quarterback. The other top contenders in the Big Ten have massive question marks. Michigan is kind of vulnerable right now because they're in this kind of weird spot where Sharon Moore is trying to get his legs and prove themselves as a Big Ten contender. So all around the Big Ten, you've got these question marks. You've got Penn State with all this certainty. I just really worry about James Franklin.

Like if he can't get it done this year, I don't know if it's going to get me better. Like it's just going to get more challenge for him to try to, you know, beat those. teams that have equal or better resources than he does. Yeah, the defense, there's some nitpicking we can do with any of these teams, especially when we're talking about, you know, they're number two in the AP. I mean, they flipped it on the coaches poll. So they're, you know, in the AP's eyes, the second best team in the country coming in here behind Texas.

And the receiving part of this is just, it's too, too much of the same story. And so, you know, their leading receiver that's not Tyler Warren last year's, it'll miss now and they bring in a Troy guy, Q's guy, and an SC guy, and we'll see. I mean, that's the thing with the transfer portal is just because it's new. And I say this to myself constantly as we've already covered it. There's just too many times where I look at the problem. I was like, oh, okay, well, they're good. If you had to go graph that many guys at that position, that's a massive assumption once again, just go, all right, we added all these new dudes to the transfer portal and we're going to be really good. And you'd have to be around every one of

these programs day to day to truly understand through the spring practices and everything in the fall camp and I feel like, hey, we're really good at this position. But it's a mistake that I know I'm guilty of kind of making and trying to stop myself unless I know the player really well. I'm like, okay, I've already seen this guy play all the time and he'll be a good fit here. He's a stud or he wasn't used the right way there. But Penn State has to figure that out. They have to figure out guys getting separation because now with Warren being the safety blanket there and a guy who do everything for him. I mean, that's the difference between them, whether it's winning the Big Ten or making a run at a title game.

So I do think that Coltonickey was really good at scheming up plays. I think he's got a very creative mind. That's what he did with Tyler Warren. Like we saw him play like eight different positions. He caught a touchdown pass after he snapped it to Drew, Drew Aller under center. Like he's got a creative mind. So I think he'll get those guys separation.

I think you bring up a really good point though, because I think there's also been a trend in the portal where I think the first couple years people were trying to figure out what the real money was like. And so they might have played hardball and let some players walk. But now if you get a player from an Alabama or from an Ohio state or from a Georgia, it's almost like a buyer beware because all of those schools could afford to keep them. So like what is the player?

Is there something wrong with them? I think it's a little bit different with quarterbacks because there's only one ball. Like I get it. Like you're not going to keep that many QBs. You know, it's just guys want to start. They want to play. but a lot of positional players, I think the better players are being retained.

And I think that was evident in this year's like transfer portal rankings. There weren't quite as many players that was just like, oh, that guy's like a shorefire home run. There were a few, but I think the talent was diluted a little bit because the teams were keeping their better players. Okay, so we're talking better players.

And if you go to ESPN and look at Mel's latest mock draft, Clemson has three of the top six picks. They have five first rounders. the receivers should be terrific after what it felt like a dip based on what our expectations are for for Clemson receivers the running back situation seems to be fine maybe they're not built defensively the way they always have but I like Clubnik I don't know I mean it's going to be

kind of ridiculous whenever you're the preseason team and again they're not number one but you know it's like hey could they go 16 and oh and you're like who gives a shit it doesn't matter All we have to point to is Ohio State losing an admission team and going, all right, it's probably the best thing that could have happened in Ohio State. I know they never feel that way because of how kind of like out of whack that rivalry can be, but that felt like whether it was Herb Street in the broadcasts when they just house Tennessee and Tennessee taps out in that game, it felt like I love the way they talked about that game because it was very evident that Herb Street being so close to the Ohio State program was like the way they talked about day and the way they talked about these kids. very personal for him. And some people may not like that on the broadcast, but I thought it was great storytelling because it turned things around. So basically it speaks to like the greater point of like, I don't, I don't, like maybe somebody goes 16 and 0, but it doesn't, it doesn't matter.

And Clemson, you know, is the clear favorite in the ACC, but do you think that there's, there's a gap between them and the other title contenders that you would have on your list? I don't, but I know some people do. Like they were 0 and 3 last year against the SEC. right? And they got dominated by Georgia early. They lose it home to South Carolina. But I thought one of their best games was against Texas in the playoffs. Like I thought, and I thought that was one of Cade Clubnick's best games.

But their defense was really weak against the run. And that's where I think they will get better. You mentioned a couple of us. So the three first rounders, one of those clubnik? Yeah. He was the number one pick. And then it's CJ Parker and Peter Woods, right, for the defensive line. So I think the defense will be better.

again, another move along the coordinators, Tom Allen comes in, who I loved him as a head coach in Indiana. He was at Penn State. Like, I think he's got a really good track record. I think players love playing for them. They, they kind of did the same thing they did with the offense when they went, because Dabo is loyal to a fault, right? He elevates from within. He doesn't like to go outside. He takes care of his guys. He went outside the program to get Gary Riley. It took a little bit. It was a little bit bumpy early, but now it's starting to work really well. I think this was a really good move for him to go outside the program to bring in Tom Allen. So I think they're there.

I think the question mark is probably along the offensive line, which is really good for Clemson, but how are they? And we'll find out against LSU. But I think they absolutely have the talent, the pedigree, the roster to win a national championship. I'm a big fan of Cade Klubnick. I don't know if I love them at the NFL level just yet. But if he backs up what he did.

last year and finish the season the way he did, I think he'll absolutely play himself into that position where he's a top 15 pick. I think we just give out so many top five quarterbacks, like, oh, he'll be a top quarterback in the NFL draft. I don't know if he's got like the upside potential that they kind of look for in top tier arm strength. He's not the biggest guy you would ever meet.

So maybe he can bulk up a little bit in the process and impress. But I think he's the quarterback I trust the most coming into the season in college football. even more than Drew Aller. Yeah, I like him better than Aller, but, you know, I was looking at Bill Conley's stuff from ESPN, and I just like the way he kind of goes about all of his conference previews. And, you know, he dug into some of the office. And you'll probably do this for any kind of team.

But again, the standard is we're talking about you as a potential national championship winner. We're going to be a little stricter. There's some dropback numbers and what Clubnik average per dropback that are pretty bad nationally off of last year. and there's some defensive stuff. I mean, what they did last year is historically bad based on their standards. So, you know, we could get into that

first Georgia game. But I mean, you know, that feels like 10 years ago, not just a year ago. So I look at that conference. I look at the NFL talent. And you might be right, just trying to be dismissive.

But it feels like if you're being dismissive of them, you're just kind of trying to prove some sort of point. And I don't know if that's an ACC thing or not, because the rest of the ACC, it's what, it's three ranked teams. Louisville's probably thought of as the fourth team with that running back tandem. They bring in Moss, who I liked. I mean, when he, I thought he got hosed at SC last year. So the rest of the ACC, I don't, I mean, I know it's your conference, but is there anything else that we need to look at or anyone that you think is capable of surprising a Clemson? I mean, it wasn't, it feels like a long time. we'll go at L.S, or excuse me, Louisville did go into Clemson and push them around a little bit. That game was probably me, the most stunning outcome of last year's schedule when Louisville had

that win. So I think Louisville's a team that's a Friday night game. They're at home. They kind of feel like they beat them last year. They feel like, why not us again? I mean, it is. I do think there is a very, it's a very valid reason why Clemson is such a heavy favorite. Like, I do think they have the best roster in the ACC. They don't play Miami in the regular schedule. You kind of have to do talk yourself into could this game be competitive. Georgia Tech's a team I really like. I do think Brent Key, their coach, he is, he loves being physical, trying to turn into an ugly fight. I think Haynes King is an underrated quarterback, but I mean, Clemson will probably be at least a touchdown road favorite in that game. It is noon, which, you know,

kind of goes against you, almost want to play that game where there's a little better juice where you can get up for it. But SMU, another one, like, you have to kind of talk yourself into it. Florida State is a massive unknown as far as what they could be. But I'm not looking at that game as really a hiccup. And so I don't think so. South Carolina, you know, they did get lose to them last year. So that one's a potential slip up. But I've got them winning the ACC pretty comfortably. We need to spend a little time on Miami just because they bring in back. I mean, it's it's there's there's a bit of a parallel to like harsson beck going into 24 and the way you feel about club nick and then back and depending on which game you want to pick i mean the Alabama game

i know they came back in it but it was you're like what's wrong with this guy like what happened to him because you could see in 23 when the light went off for him where he was just more confident he was stepping in the throw you were seeing him like okay this is why this guy is this big recruit this is why somebody's talking about him potentially be the number one pick overall i mean the O line looks great. Running back situation should be fine. Receivers probably, you know, too much turnover to just pencil in a lot of certainty there. But we're still talking about a preseason top 15 team. I am really torn on the cane. So I did a, for the cover three pod, we had bold predictions, right? Make your bold predictions, which if I'm going to be bold,

I'm going to make a bold prediction and take it as that. It's kind of like a one-off, like, could you make this case? And I said Miami's going to miss a bowl. Like, and that was my bold prediction. I don't predict that to happen, but I do think we were chatting before this, before the show, I think Miami is one of the widest variants of teams that you could have because if it all comes together, they could win the ACC, they could be a playoff team that wins multiple games. Like they've got a pretty good defense. They've gone to the portal. They bolstered up a lot.

They've spent a lot of money. I think Mario is a coach who can, you know, I know he gets plagued a lot and he gets criticized a lot for in-game play calling, but I do think he usually has an offensive line that's one of of the best out there. And I think this Miami team's no different. Carson Beck is the massive wildcard for me because last year, Cam Ward was such a dynamic difference maker for that team. I mean, he really put him in some rough spots because of some of the boneheaded picks, but he made some heroic plays last year that helped them go 10 and 2. Their defense was the big liability. I think their defense is going to be better. But Carson Beck, so he was a top five,

again, we mentioned top five picks like in the preseason. Two years ago, I guess before last season, he was on everybody's top five NFL draft choices. And then it kind of falls apart. There's two reasons I'm worried about Carson Beck. One, he's coming back from this elbow injury that's pretty significant. Like, is it going to be the same throwing the football? Does that have any sort of lingering effects on him? I don't think it is.

I think he's been totally cleared. There's an intangible factor that I worry about with Carson Beck that I just don't know. Because Cam Ward was not only was a great player, he was an alpha that players wanted to play for. were ready to go to war for him. What was concerning for me was when Carson Beck went down last year and Gunner Stockton comes in and players are like, oh, we're going to play, we're not going to miss a thing, we're going to be better. They were almost excited to have somebody different under center.

Again, Georgia let him walk out the door. Some of that could have been because of the injury, but they could have kept him. Some of his decisions off the field. I mean, life is a series of IQ tests. And he's failed a couple of them. And just like stupidity stuff that maybe it's you right off to end. immaturity and we've all done knuckleheaded things and maybe that was something that I would have done back in the day. But there's just something there that if it comes together, it could work.

And by the way, his season when he played great, he had Lab McCocky and Brock Bowers, two guys who were tearing it up in the NFL. And without those guys, he was pretty pedestrian and tried to force the ball too much. And he definitely does not have great weapons at wide receiver considering how much they lost last year. I love the Big 12 this year. So let me run through couple numbers for you. Preseason polls for last year. SEC was Georgia was picked

to be first. Oregon was picked second. Clemson was picked second. Okay, so those are your winners. So we're talking about either picked first or second in the preseason. Arizona State was picked to finish 16th. And they make a playoff run and

make some noise. And a scary game there against Texas. So then when you look at the odds on favor, right now. At the time when I wrote this down, Kansas State was plus 550, which were the longest odds for a conference champion preseason pick since 2008. The odds this morning are a plus 600. It's wide open, one score games, depth in that group at the top, the most continuity of any of the major programs. If you want to just go power four conferences, the big 12 has the most continuity. And it feels like there's four or five decent picks here.

depending on which team you like. Big 12 has the best collection of quarterbacks to coming back, and I don't think it's close. Like with really good resumes, they may not be first round NFL talent, but they've got guys that just across the board, they go deep with guys that are like 25 touchdowns to 30 touchdowns with between 5 and 10 interceptions, like 3,500 yards.

Like you can just go down the list and see them. And what's interesting is, I don't know if you saw this, Brett Yormark at Big 12 Media Days, they banned preseason polls from the media. like almost every conference media because he was like, hey, we thought it really hurt Arizona State, the perception of them. Maybe they're a higher ranked team at the end of the season.

If everybody didn't think they were going to suck coming into it and they were wrong. And did it matter? They got in. Like, that's all that matters. Like, and they were guaranteed that spot because they won the Big 12. So I do think it's interesting. This is clearly the most wide open conference you could go for. I do think there's a tier of how far I would go down.

but it's pretty deep and I wouldn't be shocked if anybody came out from the bottom half. I don't think you'll see another Arizona State story. I think Kenny Dillingham is a really good coach.

I think he's a guy that's kind of built with the young energy that's kind of leaned in to today's player with the portal and with NIL and being very open

and honest with that. Like yeah, you've got Scott Frost returning. You've got some, you know, reunions taking place. I think they might take some time.

So I don't know if there's that turnaround story this year. but I mean the highest win total I think is eight and a half so like the the odds makers are predicting this thing to be just absolute carnage which isn't good like they're they're promoting themselves as the most competitive concert conference which is great for entertainment purposes it's not great for getting multiple teams in the playoff so I think they're only going to be a one big lead again and I think they've got maybe one of the most interesting storylines in all of college football it's what Texas Tech has done by spending all of this money to go get a roster. I mean, they have the number one transfer portal class. I know these players aren't playing,

but they just tied two top players from the class of 26 and 27. Like they're looking for the future. They're spending money all over the place. They've got the best roster on paper. And yet they haven't contended for a Big 12 conference championship. Mike Leach did it at once. Before that, it was like in the 60s. They just have not been a very competitive program.

and does it work? Like, can you buy a roster that in one year can compete and win a championship? I like their quarterback more, and I feel like he, you know, he's had the shoulder injuries. You know, he won the bowl game MVP, the Independence Bowl, you know, a couple years ago, I think. And you go through the numbers as I just kind of like do my August prep and get ready for the season. It's like, okay, he was a four star. He's been there. He's put up some big numbers.

They went, all these years were just putting up so many yards because of leech and everything they had done down and love it for such a long time. But him throwing for 3,000 yards in the season is the first time a Texas Tech quarterback had done it since 2017. So the transfer portal class, there's so many people. There's also a ton of guys that are not necessarily like from the P4 programs too. So I don't know enough about the group of five guys in the transfer portal. to start going like, okay, all these guys are terrific because there's, I don't know how much of the conference power ranking stuff we're going to do, but we should talk about it because you and I just constantly just beat it to a pulp every time we talk about it. But one of the things

that I thought was interesting and like had the SEC not winning two of the last two national championships and being held to a standard of where it's like, oh, you didn't win two national championships. It's like, okay, you want Jesus. You got to win it every single year forever. to still be considered the best but that part of the conversation is that maybe there is more parity maybe the SEC dominance run is over or it's cyclical and it was bound to happen at some point but part of the reasons for this happening uh and i trust me to go back to tech here in second is that the transfer portal is going to even a lot of things out and then when i go through the transfer portal stuff as i did through the last couple weeks like do people realize that like lSU's

getting other teams best players so is the portal part of it was kind of sold is all these SEC teams that were stacked with NFL talent where they're just going to lose players and it's going to even things out and when I was looking into stuff again the last couple weeks it's like there's a lot of guys going to these schools too and so for tech to grab as many guys as they did it puts them on the radar. I don't know that that puts them ahead of Arizona State. I think I like Levitt better than Avery Johnson at this point. I loved that kid last year and he gets his top receiver back after an injury.

But instead of maybe spending more time on tech and the rest of the Big 12, where are you right now with the idea that the portal is actually thinning out the top end talent? So I think it has spread it around some. Because as much money as programs do have, there's still as a limit. Like, you can't keep everybody. You can keep your best players. So where I think its impact is sort of depth that becomes more of an issue. And like if there's like, I think in Alabama, Georgia historically and even the last, you know,

decade where they've sort of been the most dominant programs in the game, you've seen like they, without the, and I think some of this has to do with the freedom of movement, like as well. like the transfer portal being open plus NIL where you might have guys that you could have as a backup and they're sophomores and they're kind of waiting for that opportunity. They don't want to sit out a year, can pay them a little bit, and then they're happy and they kind of come to their time. Now, I think there's players that are hungry for playing time and they want to play right away. I think that's happened with Georgia, a couple guys that have left the program. Jermaine Johnson goes to Florida State. Marvin Jones Jr. has bounced around a couple times.

there's some other Alabama players, you know, Justice Haynes, like there's other players that have kind of moved around the Power 4 level. But I think it's prevented those teams that really were able to just hoard all the talent. But it's spread it. But I think a lot of it, to your point, is spread through the SEC, which kind of brings them down where they don't have this dominant team. And there's a lot of really good football players, which is what they're saying. Like, this is the deepest it's been and the depth of the league is really, really strong.

which I would tend to agree with, but it's kind of like the Big 12 in a way because they don't have that team that's won the national championship. Who's one in the SEC? Yeah, you know, it does make sense. So I'll follow up before I ask the question again that I just asked.

I just, like anything, I needed, I need more years to see how this is all going to play out. It would have to be like a five to seven year thing where it's like, okay, this is really different now. But I couldn't help from kind of chuckling with the message that was being sold as Michigan and Ohio State win national championships. It's like, oh, it's a transfer portal. It's like, okay, but like, what the fuck?

Like, eventually somebody else had to win national championships. Okay. Eventually another conference had to win back-to-back championships with two different teams. Like, it didn't have to happen at some point. And then I think not just in sports, but it's very much human nature is like when something happens that's a little bit different. It's like, okay, well, let's come up with all these reasons why it potentially happened when I would argue a lot of times is like, well, sometimes things happen and doesn't mean it's necessarily a thing. Because when I look at the SEC and whether you like Texas with the skill guys, the running backs, you know, there's going to be turnover their offensive line. You like their front defensively.

You know, I think there's some Bama talk. if there's some Georgia talk we do here with LSU. But LSU has everything you'd want except are all these new guys in the secondary just going to work out? Because it was a disaster two years ago. It improved somewhat, but it was still a problem for them last season. And you can just tell because in some of the transfer portal rankings, they're one, in tech is two. Depends on who you want to. Let's just face it, that these are amongst the top rated groups of transfer acquisitions.

but that part is kind of, that part feels like it's not brought up enough. It's like you do realize like some of these other top programs are also picking off P4 guys and then bringing them in. It's not just an exit strategy here for all the talent. And that part of it, I don't think was, it's just something I paid more attention to this summer because when Michigan and Ohio State were winning, it's like, oh, well, the SEC's just losing all these players. I was like, I don't know that that's necessarily happening, maybe some of the depth stuff.

And then to your other point, it's like maybe some of those guys are leaving too at any P4 program because they're like, holy shit, I'm not good enough. And then it's not knocking North Carolina, but like it's like, hey, I was at Clemson and now I'm at North Carolina. Or hey, I was at Ohio State and now I'm at Northwestern. You know, it's like, okay, there might be there might be a reason. Again, I wasn't even trying to use those as specific examples other than it felt like the North Carolina transfer portal, like those guys, the frequent flyer miles, it's just ridiculous. when you're going through and keeping track of that. All right. So let me get back to that original question then.

Who do you think is winning the SEC? So I just actually did some picks today. So I'm going with Alabama. Actually, one of the things I actually really liked was that Ty Simpson was announced the starter today. As much as, you know, Jeremiah Smith has kind of caught so much attention for being this. And he was incredible. Like he's probably going to be the number one overall pick in two years because he still has another year of eligibility after this one. Ryan Wilson was really good for Alabama, right?

I mean, he was kind of a superstar freshman as well that goes along with him. Jeremy Bernard, the receiver that came in from Washington that following Kaelin DeBore there is really good. And I think as long as, is Ty Simpson, like, I don't think he has to play. I don't think he has to be a Heisman candidate. But as long as he can kind of manage the system, the offensive line should be freakishly good. I think this offense will be a little bit more of what Kailen DeBore wants it to be. And the defense, I think, is absolutely one of the top three in the SEC. So, like, I feel

like this could be one of those years where, and I also think they've got sort of that mental edge that they were lacking last year. There was sort of this uncertainty about Kalin de Borre. He was so much different than what Nick Saban was offering as far as intensity. He's Mr. Layback. He's given reporters his numbers. Players are talking about, oh, we need to be on time. Like, what? This was happening in Tuscaloosa, but I think they had to figure out, like, all right, he's going to treat us like grown men and give us some freedom. We can't take advantage of it. And I saw that happen last year where that's how you have a letdown game against Vanderbilt. Like they had no business losing to Vanderbilt. And I think those, that loss in the Oklahoma

loss, I guarantee you, Kailen Abor and his staff will be reminding this team about the entire season. So I think Bama's going to be at the top. I don't say it with a ton of confidence because I do feel like this is a league that a lot of different teams could win. I'm not going with Texas because I just, I almost have a principle on as good as he might be. I still think it could be a little bit bumpy for Archmanning. I still think he could struggle, you know. And the thing about Texas, though,

their schedule is very, very manageable for like, how do you predict them to lose some games? But I think they might lose a game that we just don't see coming. Maybe it's not even Archmanning's fault. It might just be, you know what? They're kind of getting more into the, you know, they've been told how good they are. and they just have one of those slip-up games that you don't see coming.

South Carolina schedule is tough to talk yourself through that in comparison to the other teams as well. I talked about South Carolina a lot last year because I loved watching them play. I always was like, hey, South Carolina's on. Let me make sure I get them up on a screen, whether it was sellers, whether it was the edge guys. But it's such a brutal schedule. And I may bring up a note on that one on the way out. So, Bama, I'm a little surprised because I, look, it's not just the four losses, it's not the last loss that in the regular season where, you know, I know all the shit that I get about it was like, I wasn't arguing Bama in after the third loss.

Like I didn't even like them as much as South Carolina. And then they lose the, you know, Illinois bowl game and whatever that meant on all over a debate about, you know, the playoff expansion and kind of just saying, hey, if we go to 12, We're going to have some of these teams that were arguing up where the schedule with the expansion of the conferences has never been more imbalanced. And I think there's just a very human nature thing when a team is like say 10 and 1 and the other team is 9 and 2. People just have a hard time believing the 9 and 2 team can be like miles better than the 10 and 1 team. And now that teams are, look, they're clearly going to go to 16 because of the money involved in all this. like this is a group where at the end of the year, it's hard for me to find a lot of sympathy for any of those teams.

But this is where the schedule part of it, I just don't think has become enough of, but we've only had one year of this. Again, I need more years to understand the trends and how this will work. And when it's a playoff committee, then it's different people all the time too, so you can't really predict it year to year as much as you can. But there does somebody be something with human nature

where I don't think, especially last year with some of the rankings are coming out, It was very clear the committee did not, they didn't really care about digging into realizing how imbalance some of the schedule experiences were for some of these programs. So who would you have left out? Because I thought they got it right. Like, and I think you've got it. No, I'm fine with it. I'm fine with it.

But I mean, look, this turns into the Indiana conversation. Clearly, there's different schedules, clear. But, like, also, like, if you just don't lose to Vanderbilt or Oklahoma, one of those two games, you're in if you're Alabama. same thing with old miss like if you just don't leave to lose to kentucky who was a two-win team at home you're in so like all the teams that were there that they were making the case again they did have that loss that just was the backbreaker forum and it's one of the reasons i'm upset about the rush to go to 16 because i thought i thought 12 was really entertaining i thought it valued the

regular season we saw the conference games matter because clemson had to win that to get in the playoffs. And if we go to 16, I think we run the risk, because I've always been, you know, as long as we've worked together, I've been like, we need to expand. We need to expand. And the arguments against expansion, I think come true if you go to 16. Because if you go to 16, a lot of those losses I just mentioned, those regular season games, they will become completely irrelevant. Conference championship weekends will become completely irrelevant because all the teams playing them with 16 teams will just be automatically in. So they, you know, technically they're playing for seating or home field, but I don't think it's going to value as much.

I wish we would just do a year or two more years of the 12 team for exactly what you're talking about. Like, let's see how this plays out. Let's see how the data unfolds, what we learn from it before we rush to 16 and diminish some of the things that have made our sport really special. Yeah. I mean, to your point, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Alabama, they're all in last year. So then you lose that Oklahoma game.

It's no big deal. You lose that Florida game. you know, you lose those games. It's like, oh, it doesn't even matter. And I'll say it again because they said it last year, but during the Ohio State Michigan broadcasts. And it's like, this is for everything. And I'm like, it isn't for everything.

And it's still a great game and it's an unbelievable upset. And the fact that it's been four years straight from Michigan. And, you know, again, we've already covered this. But to say, hey, this means everything. It's like, it doesn't, it doesn't mean everything. And now we're going to go to 16 teams. We're going to have some fucking eight and four teams screaming. that they got left out.

Sorry to swear, but I'm passionate about it. Give me, who do you think is the best quarterback in college football? I think I said it before, so I'll give you a couple. So Cade Club next to one I trust the most.

I think he'll have, I think he'll be the best college quarterback this season. I'm glad you brought up Sam Levitt. I think he's an absolute stud. I think he's going to take even more of a leadership role over that team because Camp Scataboo, like he was the emotional leader of that team.

And what he did without Jordan Tyson, their receiver in the championship game and in the playoffs. I mean, he went toe to toe with Texas and had a really good game there. So I think he takes another step forward. But it's interesting you mentioned some, like there's a couple quarterbacks and some teams. One of you mentioned, like what do I do with South Carolina? I think the Florida gators are another like, how do I predict what the Florida Gators are going to do?

Ole Miss is one that has a young quarterback in Austin Simmons, who I think is going to be a breakout star. For all those three teams, like if their quarterback reaches stardom, where they're as good as like the ceiling, which is very hard request. Like I don't think that any of that's going to happen. South Carolina could absolutely be 10 and 2. Like he is that special.

He took over the end of that Clemson game single-handedly by himself and willed them to a win with some of the runs that he made let in that game. DJ Lagway is a physical freak, except that he can't stay healthy. Like that's a major concern for me is why it's really hard for me to handicap the gators.

If I knew he was going to be healthy for 12 games, even with their schedule, I think he could lead him to 10 and 2, possibly 11 and 1 if he's healthy, but I don't know. And then Austin Simmons, I do think Goldmiss is kind of getting disrespect a little bit because they lost so much talent. I like him too, by the way. At what point are we just going to trust Lane Kiffin to be what he is,

which is kind of consistently a nine, 10 win team potentially. Like, and he's done a really good job with quarterbacks historically. Like if Boston Simmons is, you know, he's a guy that graduated high school at 15, like he's already got his college degree. He's only 19. like he is two sport athlete which I love about him now he's focusing just on football he's got some insane physical traits like if he steps up old miss could be a team that we're not talking about so those are just a few of the quarterbacks I really like kind of for different reasons some just

the upside freakish talent that we're seeing and then I do think cave club next like the best college quarterback this season give me the quarterback in a new place that you're most excited to watch I mean, I'll be a homer. Give me some Tommy Costellanos talking some trash out there calling out. I have no idea what he's going to do. Did you talk to him before he said that about Bama not being able to stop him? I was like, Connell must be like N. IL in this dude or something. No, absolutely not.

I would have recommended the opposite. Hey, just keep your mouth shut. Why would you kick that hornet's nest that's coming into town? but I do feel like we've heard so many times and this is why I'm a little bit nervous about it. Like Gus Malz on, he finally got his quarterback. Like he doesn't look like a quarterback.

Like he's not 6-3 or not 6-4. Doesn't have a cannon, but he can run around. And he got benched at BC. He was kind of fun. Yeah. I mean, and he almost beat Florida State twice.

He beat him once two years ago when Florida State was undefeated in the regular season. He had him on the ropes, probably should have. And I guarantee you that's why Florida State likes them. They saw him in person twice, like shred their defense i like by the way i mean last year was an absolute disaster position i mean it was it was as disastrous as you can have for a team that had any kind of preseason expectations

i mean it's like historic stuff to end up at two and ten based on what people thought of them so i'm i'm very much for it um the malzon relationship and you know it's funny with gus malzahn too because it's if this guy were 28 and it's like hey we got this guy everybody's like oh my god we've got like the next dude and think about milesan's track record and it's like Like, I, it's like indifference because he's lost a couple of head coaching gigs. And I think we're like way too dismissive of coordinators who've had awesome runs. So like it makes a lot of sense for Florida State to do all of those things. But I do think it's worth reminding people that as much fun as Casalanos was, it was like it also didn't end well there either.

Right. The other one that I'm really curious to see now, I work with Dusty Dvorchek. He's a sooner. He lives in Norman. But everything you've heard about John Manteer, and I loved him. when he was at Washington State. Like he can play, but can he play against the SEC? He comes with his coordinator, which again,

I think that that relationship is really key, that he doesn't have to learn an entire new system. His guy knows what he wants to do. Their defense is going to be a lot better. But like, can he shred the SEC? I don't know. All right, but then there's also the news of material and everything that's going on today, too.

I mean, so I don't know what's going on with some of the, we'll just leave it vague and some of the stories. That's his welcome to the SEC moment for me. Like the minute that you didn't scrub everything you had, including Venmo, which who keeps their notification, like who keeps your transactions public in the first place is beyond me. I think it's going to be a nothing burger, but the NCAA, like in Oklahoma already said they've talked to him.

He assures him. He hasn't gambled on it. Like, of course he's going to say that first off the bat. I hope it's not. I don't want to see anybody, I don't want to see anybody's career, like, sent off the tracks because of some stupid bet that he placed in 2020. to, which we don't even know if it's real. Like, this could totally be a Texas or an Oklahoma State fan that just

Photoshop something, and it just runs like wildfire. We have no idea. Who knows? I don't know. Mine's Bo Probula in Missouri. If he can hold off Sons of Sam Horn. And I'll, like, I was texting with somebody this morning. I go, I am so guilty of just loving the little, little splashes of Bo Prubula at Penn

State. But I don't even know if he's going to win the Mizzou job. That's the rumor coming out. that he's struggling there. I don't love that he bailed on his team. Yeah. Remember he left Penn State before the playoffs? Yeah, I don't love that.

But it's today, I can't blame him. There's millions of dollars at stake. Okay, variants. Last thing here is swing teams. So I think you touched on it there with Notre Dame. I mean, this is another team just because of the CJ Car, although Lloyd Carr's grandson. Incredible, incredible legacy.

It is. It is. Just the swing teams. Go ahead. The widest variance teams, I had Miami because I really, like teams that are expecting to be championship contenders that might fall short of it, I do wonder if they throw in the towel, kind of like we saw with Florida State last year. Like, especially when you're transfer portal heavy, you get against your hired guns, like they're not there because they love the tradition of Miami. So that's one reason I think they could be a wide variance game. They could win the ACC, but if it doesn't work out against a very tough schedule, they play Florida and Notre Dame in the first month of the season, auto road trip to Tallahasse.

If they start two and three, which I don't think is likely, I worry about a quit factor. No one for me is USC. I think people are kind of sleeping on USC. Last year was not great, but they were very competitive in the games. They liked Jaden Maiva

because they didn't go out and get anybody else in the portal. I like some of the changes Lincoln Riley made in the off season. He fired his strength conditioning coach. Like they were kind of soft. And that's been kind of his knock as Lincoln Riley as head coach

that he doesn't have very physical teams. Strength coach is one of those ways to build it up. So I think USC is one of those high variance team. If Jaden Maid is good, I kind of look at the history that Lincoln Riley's had with quarterbacks, they had a lot of close losses last year. You flip a couple of those, they could be a playoff team. I have Michigan and Florida kind of the same category of, they're both ranked.

You know, Michigan's offense can't be worse than it was last year. It was just atrocious. And they've got Underwood, but then, I mean, he hasn't played where Lagway is I mean, look, if he's right, I think he's in the conversation of, like, best quarterbacks in all college football. But then you go through even the camp injury list. Like, I was looking at it this morning. I was like, that's four different injuries. And he's still not ready to go.

And, of course, Nate Beer is like, hey, he doesn't have to play tomorrow. That's it. That's pretty much it. I do want to leave you with this one last thought before we say goodbye to you, all right? Yep. I just want to remind you and, like, Joel Klatt, when it's November 22nd. and South Carolina is playing coastal Carolina. And you guys

tweet all your bullshit about how a few of these SEC teams play these teams towards the very end. I just want to remind you specific even to South Carolina, I can do this a lot of different teams. They'll have come through a stretch where they play number 9 LSU, number 19,

Oklahoma, number 8, Alabama, number 21 Ole Miss, and number 19 A&M. They're all not going to be ranked necessarily the same way. That's five games in six weeks. They'll play coastal Carolina and then they'll finish with Clemson so you know you guys do it every year and it's like you know it's too bad that they couldn't play Purdue and have that ninth conference game that big 10 fans wear like some cape of achievement but you know what I'll do South Carolina specifically who

by the way opens with Virginia Tech on top of anything else so and I know you know so people are like why they keep playing these other power four programs that's weird I got a bounce like I know seconds, but I will let you know as long as all those teams aren't like 500 and outside the top 25. They're all preseason top 25. I won't say a peep. But if all of a sudden we see all those teams banging up on each other and they're just like everybody else, you will probably hear from me and Joel. I got live TV. I got to go on. By the way, I know I'm going to hear from you guys. I was trying to help. I was trying to help. It's August. It's going to happen in November. You're the best. Thanks, Danny. See you.

Keep it going with college football and joining us from Fox Sports for a big noon kickoff and the athletic. It's Bruce Feldman. What's up, man? Good to see you. We're almost at that time of college football. Can't wait. Yeah, so let's just start with some simple stuff at the top. Who do you really like?

Who do you look at? Is there one team? I know it's a weird group at the top, some uncertainty or everything, but is there one team, at least for you, just talent alone and have the vibe around them going into the year that you feel great about? I'm pretty excited. be like I was a little on the front end of buying in on Clemson this year. I know that people kind of got off the dabbo bandwagon the last few years. I liked how they finished. They were competitive against Texas. I thought Kate Klubnick played really well in the playoff game. They have finally, for the first time in probably four or five years, the caliber receivers they

used to have when they were playing for national titles outside. They got three big time guys that I think are difference makers for Klubnick. And then defensive. they have a bunch of guys who are going to be first round guys next year. And you add Tom Allen who comes in to take over the defense. They were kind of out of sync all last year. That really held them back. I think they're going to be way, way better and really fierce. They got two elite defensive linemen led by Peter Woods, who has a chance.

I think not only be a top five pick, he could be the first pick in the draft next year. Super explosive interior guy played both inside and out last year. I think Tom Allen's going to cut those guys loose. They have obviously a huge opener. LSU comes in there. That's two really talented teams with real playoff shots. But I like this team. I think they have a chance to win it all.

Do you have more confidence in picking LSU Clemson or Texas, Ohio State? I have more confidence right now, I think, in LSU Clemson. You know, you have the factor of as good as LSU is and they're really talented. Brian Kelly's lost all of his openers at LSU. that's a really tough place to play. I feel like with Texas and Ohio State, I like Texas a little more long term this season, but they do have to replace four offensive linemen up front.

It's Arch's first real big start. I know he started two games last year, but nothing like he's going to see in Columbus. To me, that's kind of a wild card game, whereas I feel like you have big home field environment edge with Clemson, and I think they have, They're a national title caliber team, and I think they're going to be ready to jump on them out of the gate. Yeah, LSU's lost their last five openers, going all the way back to the Mississippi State game with Costello.

People thought he was going to win the Heisman after 600 passing yards. So it's right, it's lost to Mississippi State. It's lost to UCLA where they weren't. I think we were at the UCLA game. I was doing that as a sideline reporter, the Coach O. Leach game, Coach O. Chip Kelly game. Fascinating. I know. It wasn't it wasn't only four years ago, and it feels like forever.

ago, then back-to-back Florida State and SC in Vegas last year. So I think I've been to three of them. Maybe it's my fault. I won't be making it to Clemson for this one because that opening weekend is so stacked. Is there a team in the top eight, top ten that you see in both the coaches

poll and the AP and the way everyone's talking about them that you're like, I don't see that? I'm curious to see how it goes with Oregon this year. I think because of the track record so far of plugging in new quarterbacks and new new guys. I think Will Stein is one of the best offensive coordinators in the country.

He's proven that, you know, in a relatively short time. Donte Moore, we saw him a little bit. Now, he was a five-star quarterback recruit out of Michigan, went to UCLA, played a little bit, struggled, but he was a true freshman. I know from the people I talked to at Oregon, they're very excited about him. I just think they were at such a high level. You lose Evan Stewart, who I think would have been their best outside guy. He's going to be gone for the season with a knee injury. Now, they do have, I think, a breakout guy to watch for this year is Kenyon Sadiq. He's one of my big freaks list guys.

He is a super explosive tight end who ended up kind of breaking through a little bit late last year in the Big Ten title game against Penn State. I think he will be a go-to guy for them. But they've been, you know, again, the way they finished, I don't know if they're, I would have them at the back end of the top 10. And to me, I think you're given a lot of, I don't know, I'm not as sold on them right now. I think they're good. I don't know if they have the, you know, again, I need to see a lot more from Dante Moore this year to see that they can be a real national title contender.

It was Stewart out now. And if you look at the continuity rankings and the turnover year to year, which again, continuity is a tough goal. to achieve in today's world of college football. But depending on which number you want to look at, especially with barely anyone coming back from this offense, it's one of the best offense in the country last year. The number that I had as 104th nationally and 16th of the 18 teams of the Big Ten.

So you're right. It's, I mean, as great as Lannning has been, I mean, it's an incredible run very early on there. And what they did last year up until the Ohio State game where it just was disgusting in the first half, it's you know maybe he's on the short list of guys to get a benefit of the doubt but that is replacing a ton of people and I know there's so much turnover in the sport today

but you know there's just certain brands now and we've seen this forever we've seen it forever in college football with the AP rankings and that kind of stuff but that's asking a lot it's asking a lot of Will Stein in this offense and a quarterback finally getting his chance to be like okay pick up or just keep this thing going and the way they've had it going it's it's going to be I don't know if it's surprising is the right word but they're just, there's so much more unknown with them in comparison as the other teams where it's like maybe just the quarterback is different and you feel good about everything around it, like say a Bama or, you know, Texas is a perfect example of that.

I know you talked a little bit. You had a piece on Arch Manning where, you know, his grandfather had said, hey, he's coming back for 26 on top of everything else. Do you have any read on what kind of year you're expecting for him now that it's his job under Sark? You know, everybody I trust inside the Texas program, Ryan, raves about him. They rave about his football intelligence, about his athleticism, about his ability to connect with teammates. He's got a good arm. He's got everything you want in an elite quarterback. The only thing he really doesn't have is real playing experience, right? You know, he played a couple games last year.

I think the hype is insanely high. And look, we're all part of that, especially. us, you know, the story I did, it was really about how his parents, Cooper and Ellen Manning, raised him as being the next Manning, but also like, you know, Cooper's two brothers who are obviously great NFL quarterbacks. They were Archie's son, too, but they were not raised in like a social media era. So now every time Arch goes somewhere on campus out to eat, somebody's filming him, you know, and that kind of thing. And, and, and, and, Everything I've heard is he's dealt with it great, but you're talking about a guy with such a, you know, if he doesn't go out and light it up against Ohio State, again, we don't know what Matthew Tricia is going to do on defense.

He's, you know, a new defense coordinator. He obviously is very smart. He's been in the NFL around Belichick all a long time. He's got a lot of players, including probably the best defensive player in the country and Caleb Downs and some elite athletes at linebacker. Those are big chess pieces and a new offensive line for Texas. There probably will be some growing pains. But he does have Sark, and Sark's a really good play caller. I'm fascinated to see because I think, you know, from talking especially to Cooper, his dad,

they're going to be really patient with him. They're not rushing into anything. Money's not a concern. You don't have to chase NFL money. It's not a business decision. It's a development decision. Again, I think we saw last year with Ohio State playing 16 games, it's going to be a long season. And they may struggle a little bit at times.

I think he probably will. But everybody I've talked to is so effusive in who he is and what they think he's going to be. I don't want to say he's a can't miss. You can't put that on anybody, especially a college quarterback. But I think he's going to be outstanding. I would bet on him this year. Now that we've had a few years with the portal, and, you know, technically it's like six years, but it feels like it's been ramped up in the last few years.

I don't know if NIL is part of this. but I don't know if we're in a settling phase of this, but you talk to so many coaches and people that are day-to-day with these programs. What is your understanding of maybe their understanding of how this landscape, which changed so rapidly, I can't call it more predictable, but then maybe just understanding what this is,

this new version of the sport, because in the very beginning, it just felt like a free-for-all. and I think it's to some degree still that you know the coaches I talk to there's a lot of moving parts here right and so one of the things is you know some of the coaches I talk to have been very adamant they hate when it comes up about money who's getting paid what you can't pay some new guy more than your starter and then it's like you know I know one head coach in a in the big 10 told me it was like you know these guys are lying to each other about how much money they're making you know and it was like, that screws up the locker room. They're very, very protective of that. Then there's other layers of this. You know, like, we both talk to a lot of people inside the sport, you know,

and you have a player in the, in the pros, they're making, you're giving two or three percent to their agent for commissions. I talk to coaches now where it's like some guys are getting charged 30 percent. It's like insane. So you're, as a coach, they're trying to juggle all of the, this as it fits into roster management and ego and entitlement and all the stuff that comes with it. And I think it's still, they're still figuring it out. And the teams that they feel like have the best locker room leadership are the teams that are going to have the best chance.

I don't think it's a coincidence that like Signetti got off to a fast start in Indiana because he brought a bunch of guys who had been with him from James Madison. So they had, they were transfers, but they knew who he was and they knew what he was about and he knew them and they knew each other. And I think that's the part like Texas Tech is going to be fascinating this year. They brought it, they upgraded the roster. It's a lot of guys who, you know, when I saw a bunch of them this summer, they all said all the right things. They have big personalities. They've been a bunch of different high-level programs, got a lot of experience.

It's great at this time of year. How does it work? You know, if you lose a couple of games, how does this kind of come into play? because we've definitely heard stories of coaches saying, yeah, the locker room was a mess because of this. Or maybe that's a coaching cop out, but I do think that's part of the reality. You do the Freaks list.

It came out recently. It's up on the athletic. It's a must read for college football fans. It's funny, too. Like, didn't you have to kind of delay it a little bit because it was so popular? Yeah, I mean, one of the coaches, Jeff Trailer, the head coach at UTSA, this is a few years back.

He was like, hey, when's this thing going to run? And usually it had been running in July, and we ended up moving it back to early August, in part because Trailer was saying, hey, I got a guy, he is, he definitely belongs on the freaks list. He's, he's ridiculous. You know, a six four corner, super long arms, you know, jumps 11 feet, is going to run in the four threes, like crazy numbers. But if you put him out there, I think they were worried he was going to get poached by somebody else in the summer. That guy, Tariq Wallen, ended up testing every bit of what

trailer said, the Seahawks took him. He's been a really good corner. He broke out as a rookie. And so there are those guys under the radar. And what's been really cool about freaks, especially in the last five or ten years, I hear from all these NFL scouts and personnel people who use it as a great source because they're always finding out about somebody and what's going on in the off season. And I think because the strength coaches and all the staffs have been so on board with it that it's really grown into something much bigger than I ever imagined. and it's one thing to make the freaks list and then there's always kind of the guy that's held in this rarefied air of like a freak among the freaks so give me a couple names

of players where you can just tell the strength guys the coaching staff they just kind of roll their eyes talking about somebody that's this special on their team yeah i mean caiman proctor's numbers see he's a six seven three hundred sixty six pound left tackle at alabama huser recruit coming in. Strength numbers are crazy. He's, you know, bench presses 535, squats over 800 pounds, power cleans over 400. And those numbers are all amazing. But again, he's almost, he's 366 pound. I was, you know, going back and forth with Kail and DeBore and then his strength coach sent me more numbers. And it was the jump numbers. And the fact that this guy vertical jumps 32 inches, which, you know, it doesn't seem like that much. You know, there's plenty of guys on a football field,

probably, you know, half dozen on a given play who might jump that. But he's 366 pounds. I went back to the NFL Combine. There were five receiver, wide receivers at the Combine this year, who didn't jump higher than that. Some jump less than that, including La Jante Wester, who's 160-some pounds, and he had like an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown in an NFL game this last weekend. You know, it's crazy to see a guy that big who can jump like that.

And there's a handful of guys. out there, you know, we mentioned Dan Lanny, he was in the SEC, he's been around a bunch of elite athletes. When he's talking about Amari Washington, a 340-pound defensive tackle, you know, who vertical jumps 36 inches and hits almost 21 miles per hour, that's mind-blowing even for a guy like that. After Texas between Bama, Georgia, LSU, who do you like the most? after Texas between Bama, Georgia, and LSU, in terms of in the SEC? Yeah.

Or just overall? Well, I don't know. Do whatever you want with it. You know, I, like I said, I really like Clemson. I think this team is pretty loaded. You know, I don't know. I'm going to be hesitant to buy all the way in on Penn State. You know, they're loaded with freaks list guys.

You know, I think both coordinators are outstanding now. you add Jim Noles on defense to what Andy Kodlnicki does offensively. That was a great hire for James Franklin last year. Drew Allers, very talented. I know everybody there talks about how fast a processor he is. They love him. He's got everything. It's just, and it's unfortunate that I would say it this way.

But like, because I feel like I'm given the benefit of the doubt, some other guys who we really haven't seen it yet in a big moment either. And because we've seen him, you know, maybe not do it. at the most critical moment. And I think it's because it's Penn State where they've gotten really close but haven't gotten over the top in a while, you're sitting there kind of reserve and judgment.

I think they did upgrade the receiver room a lot, which was key, especially without Tyler Warren there, who they leaned on so much. You know, Trevor Pena was a really good receiver. He's a pretty explosive slot at Syracuse, who comes in there. I think he's going to be really good. They should have as good a chance as anybody

to win the national title, you know, and it's just, I don't know, I feel like it's maybe in part because I feel like I've been, you know, so much on the James Franklin bandwagon since his vanity days when he was winning at a place and nobody ever gets close to winning at. And he did really well at Penn State. And now all of a sudden you're like, okay, they got to take that next step, that next step. Maybe this is the year. I don't know. I mean, you've seen plenty of Aller. Are you ready to say, hey, this is a team that's going to win the national title, though? Same thing I said to Danny earlier. I feel way better about Alar going into 25 than I did 24.

So, that's, no, I'm not telling these. But, but, like, what percent chance would you give them to win the national title this year? Over 25 percent? That seems a little high, but, you know, Michigan is a massive, like, they're ranked in the top 15, but it's like, that's a massive assumption, okay? is you got a new quarterback you got an offensive coordinator that we'll see how it goes and the skill talents way less than what michigan has and the old line's not as good so you know we covered oregon and you know i guess ohio state could take a step back to new coordinators again you know

post chip it's heartline no traeion and no frenchon judkins i think that's going to be the drop off chip runs it you know really knows how to run the football you You lose those two running backs who are elite. I don't think they have any back who's going to be close to as good as either one of them. Doesn't Penn State have to figure this out once? Like I know it's a very easy thing. Like I could sit there and, you know, over the years when I was probably a little bit more anti-Pent state, and it wasn't, again, it's rarely ever specific to the team, the personnel or the coach.

It would just be like, oh, here we go. You're going to win your 10 games. You're going to, you know, complain that you don't get enough respect. the two teams that you play that are any good, you lose to them every year. And, you know, like, I'm supposed to take you seriously. I think there's enough to build on from last year and beyond Ohio State looking at the other contenders and an expanded Big Ten. You know, look, Indiana has a chance with Mendoza to, but, you know, a lot of that was scheduled based last year. Illinois, that's an awesome win against South Carolina at the end of last year.

You know, and Beelam is smartly using the momentum off of that, you know, to kind of build on this year. But it's, there's also some stuff with Illinois from last season where you're like they get destroyed against Oregon. It didn't look like they were ever going to convert a third down against Penn State when they scored seven in that case. I just remember watching that whole game and it probably got me off Illinois a little bit too much. Or it's like, okay, you put together some nice wins here. But there's also a bit of, if you look at how their season played out, it's like, was that really a 10-win team or they just get a bunch of breaks? and that just seems so dismissive. So I don't even really necessarily like doing that,

but there's some luck rating stuff if you want to dig through it that Illinois is a rather lucky team. So the grander point that I'm making is that this does line up for Penn State if Ohio State is struggling to put it all together based on the standard having to basically get back to a national championship game. So I do think Penn State has a real chance of this.

And I think too many people just look at Franklin's resume and go, oh, whatever, that guy's never going to win anything. And it's like, I don't know, I would have, I would have believed that. I would have been the guy saying that a couple years ago. I'm not saying that going into 25 about Penn State. And look, some of the guys who won national titles in the last five or six years. I mean, for a while, people were like, is Kirby going to win one? You know, and then he obviously did, and then he won two.

Coach O won one. Ryan Day won one last year after everybody was ready to give up on him. Harba, the year before. Six weeks earlier. So I just think it. we get really weird about coaches, which is its own thing. And, you know, whether you want to turn it into a Norville conversation where it's like last year was a disaster, but, you know, if Travis doesn't get hurt in 23 and, you know, they put

together such a great season and, you know, look, the committee leaves them out, which, you know, in the moment, I understand the debates around it, but I think the injury to Jordan had a lot to do with that as well and then he goes to 10 it's like okay well this guy can't get it done it's like he just proved that he can get it done it's a bit like the Brian Kelly conversation too where all right well you know hey he's not going to win a championship at Notre Dame well making

the playoff a couple times is pretty good it's been you know back then when it's four teams it's it's something that's really hard to do so I'm with I think we're so dismissive of coaches that some of these programs or after two or three years are like oh well this guy's never going to get it done I mean look

dabble was the only dude even able to, I don't want to say that he's competing with Sabin because ultimately no one will put together a run like Saban did. I don't think that's ever going to happen again. But he was the only one, you know, who was able to get two against him in the national championship game. And then Davo takes a downturn. It's like, all right, maybe because he's not bringing any transfer guys. You know, it's like, hey, should we move on from this guy? I just don't like the patience. On Davo, it was interesting. I remember doing a fine bomb interview the morning of the national title game in 2020, at the end of the end of the

the 29th, that season. And I think the question was if Clemson wins tonight and they were playing LSU, Clemson wins night, does Davo become the best coach in college football? Because that would have given them three. And he would have beaten the team that beat Alabama and maybe then all of a sudden the feeling was, all right, not that it's passing save and by, but obviously LSU beat them, came back to beat them pretty handily. And then Clemson started backsliding, right?

And then obviously the transfer portal thing became a thing. And it seems like he's gotten it back doing it his own way. But you're right. I mean, look, people wrote off Jim Harbaugh in a big way. You can say, you know, it's Connerstein's. It's way more than that. I mean, obviously that team was really talented. And he knows how to coach football.

You see it here with the Chargers. Like he saw with the 49ers. Like he knows what he's doing. He may be crazy. But crazy sometimes works. with football. And I think that's a hard thing. Sometimes we outsmart ourselves

and how we evaluate these guys. And a lot of it is fit. You know, Coach O won a national title because he fit really well at LSU and with that team and with the dynamic and how it comes together. For all we know, you know, Drew Aller, I know he's supposed to be really, really smart.

He may be the perfect thing for them, you know, and maybe it did take, you might be right, you know, because now he has last year. I think they're more primed to win a national title than anybody else in that conference, including Ohio State, because you have a quarterback question mark and two new coordinators, and maybe the, you know, the dynamic is a little off. I don't know. I mean, if there was a year when Penn State's going to win a national title, it is this one. big 12 covered it with danny it feels wide open it might be my favorite conference as far as like going in to how competitive you know i don't know if we're going to get as lucky as how competitive the conference was how it went down to the last couple weeks you know the b yu loss um you know kansas state's the favorite here i loved levitt like watching him at arizona state and going dude this guy is like full of himself in the

best possible way as a young quarterback. And, you know, they get through what, five and two, the first seven games. You're like, oh, this is kind of weird, you know, considering Arizona the state was supposed to be the worst team. And then they ended up like just trucking teams towards the end. And again, I'm not saying that they were doing that to Texas because they ended losing in the playoff, but they made a game that I didn't think was going to become. I was like, okay, all right, enough of this. This isn't going to be competitive. And it kind of felt like that way early on. And then next thing, you know, they're still in it the whole time. So do you have a strong feeling in a conference that feels like they're as much parody at the top as

any? No, nobody has a strong feeling on it. You can talk yourself into teams, but it's, it's so, uh, there's so little margin for error between the different teams, probably from like one to 12. And I think last year, I remember, you know, on our own podcast, the audible, we did this thing where we ranked how many teams we thought actually had a legit chance to win the conference last year in the in the big 12 and i think stew had like eight and i might have had 11 and neither one of us had arizona state and that was the team that ended up winning right so right i like levit i think he's a really good fit for them and kind of the the vibe of ASU i think there's some gunslinger vibe you have it with kenny dillingham was a great fit the young coach there was from

there um you know obviously they lost scataboo and i think a lot of that edge that they had they were beating off him, right? You know, I'm the toughest guy in the field. Everybody kind of knows it after the first couple snaps, and then they kind of have that swagger to them. I don't think they're going to fall back, but the team I kind of like is Iowa State. And Rocco Beck, you know, is Anthony Beck's kid,

and he got his probably more his mom's height than his dad's size, but he's got a real, he's got a chip on his shoulder. And from talking to him this summer and talking to some of his teammates and talking to Matt Campbell, I think he's the guy who helped reestablish the culture there. They went from having the best season they'd ever had in program history. You know, five years ago, they finished number nine. And then it kind of lost its way a little bit, and they backslid. And he helped get it back.

I think Campbell had to reshake up the staff. And they have that kind of, kind of ethos about them right now. They did lose two really good receivers, but I think they have some guys in that room who are good players. And they have a dominant defensive lineman and Dominique Orange, who I think will be a top 50 pick in the draft. And he's a guy that will be a problem for teams. And you have to scout around them. They have a tough game in week two against their arch rival, Iowa. But if you were asking me a team that I think will win the Big 12, I like K-State, I like ASU,

but I really like Iowa State more than them and in part because I would ride with Rock O'Beck on this one. Okay. You like him better than Avery Johnson in Kansas State? I do. I do. Avery Johnson's faster and he's going to be a more highlights guy. But I just think in terms of the fit there,

you know, like they're ranked, I want to say like 22 or 23 in the preseason polls. I think they're much better than that. You got anything? Speaking of Freaks, you got anything on Lincoln Cure, the tight end, the five-star, the only five-star recruit in the history of Kansas State? Not much. The biggest freak they have there is their, is their quarterback. I mean, the guy, the guy runs like the wind, you know, but like in terms of that, no.

So I'm coming up empty on that one. No, I know. I put you in a tough spot there because I know that's a little early for a guy to be popping up on the freaks list. All right, let me share just concern. So this time of year when I'm going through all of the art, articles and all the prep work, I'll notice, because I used to read everything. And then I started going, like, I need to be a little bit more selective about my time because so much of it felt like

August propaganda. And I don't want to make this about Raola, Nebraska, but I read a piece whereas I was getting through it, it was like hitting every single one of the cliches. It was like, he's like another coach on the field, you know? And I was like, was this a story? And you understand this too like if you're hit up by an sID or program i imagine sometimes you're thinking hey is there a story here or are you just wanting me to throw together like 700 words on how awesome this guy is to pump him up before the season starts and real look everyone in the country wanted him so i shouldn't make this about him so it's a broader question on the stories that maybe you're pitched or that you're even reading and so i don't know this feels a little negative so maybe i don't want you to be

specific about it. But I think you understand what I'm saying. There's just so many times where I'm reading about the new coordinator, this guy's coming in, and they say the same thing every single off season. And I'm like, is this specific? Am I supposed to feel better about this player? Am I supposed to feel better about this team or this coach? Or is this just that part of the season where everybody's thrilled with the uncertainty? You know, me and a college football writer, buddy in mine used to have a joke. And what I would call it was the puke bucket story. Because when Mike's first got to Arizona. There was like five different stories about there were pute buckets all over the

practice field because they were working so hard. So on the cliche front, there has never been a defensive coordinator hired who is way less aggressive than the guy he followed. He could have followed Jolie Dunn and he's going to make Jolie Dunn look like read and react guy. That's just people do not want a passive defensive coordinator. you know, it's like, by the way, it's always aggressive, but simpler. Yeah, we're going to have them play faster.

You know what? What makes it simpler? It's easier for me to get you off the phone to tell you something in five seconds to say, hey, you know, they're going to play faster. Okay, that sounds great. You know, that sounds great. And you never know what's going to work. The thing I learned over time is that so much of how well, look,

a new coach works out is who he follows. And I'll give you this example. We got to Nebraska. This is not Riola related right now. We got to Nebraska right after Scott Frost had got fired. I mean, it was that week. We were doing Big Noon. They were playing Oklahoma.

And I talked to one of the guys and staff. Remember, Frost brought most of his UCF guys there. And I was like, let me ask you a question. Why did this? And I was totally wrong on Scott Frost. I thought it was going to go great in Nebraska. Obviously, I got that way wrong, as did a lot of my, you know, colleagues. And I said, why did it bomb here? And it worked so well at UCF. And this person said,

you know what? When we got to UCF, we were replacing George O'Leary, who was a big asshole. But he was a good coach. He was tough on them. But he was like really, really hard on the players. We loved up the players. There were good players. And they responded. When we got here, replaced Mike Riley, not an asshole. People liked him treated good. And it was almost like the fire. we never we never kind of fixed it because we were kind of more like that and i think that's can be an oversimplification but that became the a story i ended up doing for the athletic about who follows who just like talking to players at texas an m when kevin sumlin got there first season he got there yeah he had johnny mansell bang they they finished in the top five in the first time in 50 years

but a big part of that was he took over from mike sure Sherman inherited a bunch of good offensive lineman. Sherman could really evaluate that and had a really savvy experience, sound locker room of veteran players. And then someone came in, more of a players coach, put them loose. Those guys responded, they took off. Then by the end of it, you know, four years later, he had a bunch of guys who were around, who, you know, played with Johnny.

And it was kind of, the discipline part was already, was not there. So it just kind of was a little bit run amok. and they didn't have that same kind of balance. So so much of it, I think, is how it all fits together. And I think that's the part that sometimes you lose sight of with all the things where you say to yourself, why was that guy so good here and so bad over there? Well, sometimes it's out of their, it's a little out of their control.

That was good. All right. Give me a new quarterback in a new spot that you're excited about. That feels, it's not just somebody new, it feels real that the excitement is on. The more I hear from the guys down at Miami is Carson Beck is going to feel like the guy who NFL scouts thought two years ago

could have been a first round pick in that loaded first round. You know, it's back from the elbow surgery. The Miami guys rave about his football smarts and his accuracy and his quick release. And on top of that, he's got a really good offensive line because Cristobal, this is his group. That's what he's been building for.

or Jordan Liles is a breakout guy to remember he's a running back who everybody who comes through there was like, man, they got a big time back. It's been a minute since Miami's had one of those. They used to have them, you know, all the time 20 years ago. It sounds like he's in that mode. But last year, Beck was without,

certainly without Brock Bowers, but also without Ladd-McConkie. He really pressed. They didn't have a guy who is going to give defenses problems and kind of a go-to guy. I don't know if he has anybody special out there. C.J. Daniels had been good at Liberty, really good at Liberty, pretty good at LSU. He's a guy that I think they're really counting on.

They like what he's done. They have some dynamic young receivers. But I think it's everything I've heard about how Beck is operating has been really impressive. And again, Shannon Dawson was the offensive coordinator who was really good when Cam Ward got there and went from being a fifth round projection to the first pick in the draft. I'm not saying Carson Beck will be the first pick in the draft, but I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up as a top five pick. I think he's going to have a really big year.

Okay, a couple rapid fire ones to finish here. I'm putting you on the spot. What do you think ends up ranked higher, number 12, Illinois, number 13, South Carolina? I think number 12, Illinois. Both teams have really, really good quarterbacks. I just think that the schedule is a little heavier at South Carolina. You lost. I mean, they have one great defensive line, and they had a bunch they lost.

I think the defense was really good. I just think they may take a little step back just because they were so good up front. I'm not saying they won't be good, but I think that's the part where I think they take a little step back. Okay. Let's see. SMU's preseason 16 or Oklahoma preseason 18. I'm going to take the Sooners. You know, like, I know there's rumblings about the John Mateer situation.

I feel like he's got a little bit of Baker in him. He comes with a really good offense coordinator in Ben Arbuckle. I think they're going to be explosive. Jay Knott will help in the run game. I don't know if so much of it in my head was Kevin Jennings looked so over his skis at Penn State with the noise and everything. I think they're going to take a step back. I don't think they're going to fall apart, but I think they're going to, I don't think

that's the music are going to be a top 25 team this year. Okay. Last one. Preseason 23, Texas Tech, or preseason 24 Tennessee? I'm going to say Texas Tech. Tennessee lost a ton from last year, and they lost Nico, and it wasn't like Nico was a superstar last year, but again, it was his first year as a starter. They lost a, you know, a high-level running back, three offensive line in the top three

receivers. That's a lot. And then the quarterback situation, you're bringing in a, you know, whether it's Joey Aguilar, I mean, he's, he's also got to learn on the fly. I do not think they're going to be a top 25 team. I just think almost every position room they have is going to be worse off than it was last year. Do you want to pick the pack 12? I don't know, man. It's like, I don't want to say does anybody care because that's not fair.

I hate it, by the way. This isn't, this isn't even, I hate when I go through the stuff and I'm looking at standings and everything. Sometimes I have to like double check, you're like, who's in the ACC? Whenever I see the Pac-12 and I just see those two teams, it makes me sad. You know, like, for whatever it's worth, you know, like Jimmy Rogers is a really good coach in South Dakota State. He goes in there. You know, you got Zeviyak House who is a actually look good against Syracuse in the bowl game. He played at Bryant, which is an FCS school.

I could see them being decent, you know, like. he's a good coach, and I just don't know, you know, like, I give them credit. Whatever they had played Syracuse really hard because they were so depleted in the bowl game. And I feel like stuff like that kind of translates, you know, can, again, they're not going to be a top 25 team, I don't think. But I think they're going to be pretty competitive, you know, because I think he's a good coach. And I think what they have, they can work with. It won't be like a team loaded with NFL draft prospect. but I think they're going to be going to surprise a few teams.

Bruce Feldman, check out the Freaks list, the Athletic, and you'll see him every Saturday on Fox throughout the season. Thanks, man. Appreciate it. My pleasure. You want details? Bye. I drive a Ferrari, 355 Cabriolet.

What's up? I have a ridiculous house in the South Fork. I have every tour you can possibly imagine. And best of all, kids, I am. liquid so now you know what's possible let me tell you what's required look at this group back together again we have kyle east coast kyle who's outside sir rudy doesn't age and honestly a little disappointed that as soon as we pulled up the video war gone closed out yeah thought about it so um so rudy just alphaed the shit out of war i did first off i did not do that and now people

we're going to be mad at me because you're going to think I push wargone out of the spotlight, which is not true. Wargown's welcome whenever he wants to be. Wargons, like, trying to feed a deer or something, you know, just you make one sudden move and he's out of here. Yep. It's quick with that button on the camera. But I don't know. Sounds like things went well. How are you doing? How are you doing? I'm good. I appreciate you saying that I look good because I feel like I haven't slept a ton and, you know, the bags are getting there a little bit. I've looked at some like under eye treatments. I'm like, do I, should I go that route? Do I look like kind of like a haggard old man these

days, but I appreciate the compliment. I'm good. I'm good to be back. It's been a cute, a couple months, you know, I miss the boys. We're all like on the East Coast today. We're all wearing black. This is like a very like, we're in unison when we'd even talk about some beforehand. Yeah, is that a new shirt? What was that brown? It's from Target. True story. Good fellow. Nice. It is. Yeah. Yeah. I love, I love Surrey. Just maxing out the 401k at 24 years old getting a shirt from Target, kid number two. So is the math, the real thing kid number one and then kid number two is like 40 kids everybody's asked me that um yes i would say uh it's infinitely harder from one to two like but you don't really know it's funny all the

old man things that they tell you about like life like life advice literally of like oh you know it goes by fast or you know the jump from one to two is crazy it's all true but you don't really listen to it in in real time until it happens and you're like yeah all right guess the old man was right but uh yeah you look back now and you're like man one baby it's cake we had that like my parents were watching our two and a half year old a couple weeks ago and we just had the baby at night. I'm like, this is nothing. I could do this.

Wow. This is nothing. I know. How about you, Kyle? Anything to update us on? Any rabbits? No, still four. Somebody did get stopped.

Our caregiver from Wag got stopped. We're using a lockbox situation on the first day that we had them come and that we have like a new security and he's like, you can't be doing this. And I'm like, well. If this doesn't get solved, I guess problem solved, ultimately, right? I mean, have to get, like, maybe that car smell gun and change the smell when we get back. But, no, I think it'll be fine.

I don't think they're going to starve to death. But there was a moment where I was like, well, if he can't get in, then they cut the lockbox. There's no keys. I guess that kind of, that's that. But I think, I think it'll be resolved. Yeah, that'd be crazy. I think you almost reported yourself to whatever rabbit services just to probably. is a few groups in California.

We're working on a solution. We're working on a solution. We're circling back. There's no early flights book back because that's what it sounds like. Yeah, I'm not going to do that. No. Would you get divorced before you fly back early and cut off a pot's damn hang for rabbits and their safety? You know, some of these things you just don't even want to have to think about. So I'm just going to take a pass. I'll take the fifth. Yeah, it's good. It's good. Smart. What else? What else? I don't know really what.

what else to update. Well, Wargon had a wedding, I guess, even though he wouldn't know it by the fact that he's hiding, but yeah, jump back in Wargon. Anything? I'm here, yeah. It was great.

I mean, Kyle was there. We got, like, awesome weather. I thought, like, everything went pretty well. I'm happy with it. Kyle, what are your thoughts on it? I thought it was great. I had no idea it was a Jewish wedding. I walked in,

and then you had set me up with some boys well i didn't know where to sit i didn't know i had no idea of war i was jewish uh i guess we don't really get into that sector of our lives on this podcast but uh i walked in with your boys who i didn't end up sitting with which i didn't love got a lot of dudes i got to know and then all of a sudden they're a table away but uh the wedding was great the food was good but i walked in and i see a bunch of people with yarmaca sitting down and i'm like oh are we on the other side they're like no dude everybody's jewish and i was like oh my god and i never saw the chair thing before um very responsible breaking of the glass there was like a nice thing covering it i you know i always wondered what that was about i asked a couple

questions that i was always wondering about and got some some answers uh really nice service and uh yeah i got nothing else to say i did break out a little early of being segregated is what you're saying i just didn't know if it's bride groomside thing it seemed like i mean i couldn't tell who was who because i mean i was kind of the lone wolf there um just from this from this crew how was he as a long wolf at your wedding war gone i thought he's good i think you probably did the receptional early but then you caught up this of the after party right yeah you could call it that that yeah you could call it that i put in like four hours though i'd put in a good four four four hours i think yeah yeah yeah yeah quick face timed in yeah quick face you did

wow i didn't even do that damn i mean it wasn't part of the i don't think it was on the the the order of events or anything like that but day of yeah like right before the speeches Kyle walks over with like a phone yeah in hindsight that was probably not the right time to do that shirtless on a boat he is shirtless

he's like dude anyway it's a good gesture yeah no it was a good time I turned 50 and went to St. Barts so congrats on that probably not not as exciting as your updates

Yeah, like St. Bartz. Don't think I can retire there, though. So, you know, just crossing it off. Too slow? A lot of it is speculative retirement destinations. That's kind of what I'm focused on here. There will be a travel pod. I think it's easily the worst I've ever, it's the worst one I've ever done.

Wow. Is that one you're going to tell Mike, like, just don't listen? Like your fantasy baseball, you're like, man, just where the file and just put the do one in front of it. I've listened to it. I just don't know that it's strong enough. Oh, okay. I mean, yeah, I wouldn't say, there's a, there's a good story at the beginning that makes the whole thing kind of worth it.

Yeah. Maybe tip out earlier if you're listening. Hey, we're proud of our retention rate here, Wargonna. That's true. So, uh, and then as far as, I think that's more of a Kyle joke, but yeah, yeah, I got it. I don't know. I, I was, I was bummed out about it for like two days and it's like, hey, guess what? Next year you're going to be 51.

So what the fuck are you doing? And it was great. I got over. I started thinking of it that way. I went like what do you want to do you want to go through the list of all the things that you thought you'd be doing you want to ignore the list of the things that you've done like like it's going to happen there's nothing you can do about it and uh you know it's just the way math works I did see a tweet from somebody saying 25 years ago dudes that are 50 today were 25 so like get on your

grind or something and I was like wow that speaks to me like math did mathematically it just yeah the math is just crazy on that Is that the same guy that broke his hours, his days up into like six hour intervals and just multiplies on himself, you know? We're on the same page out there. Yeah, I can't keep track of them, you know, the amount of guys on the grind. Somebody else tweeted something like my dentist. There's probably plenty of people that have heard this joke, but the guy was like,

my dentist told me I grind in my sleep and I told him thanks. Yes. Timeless. Timeless impact. So I got to, I've been doing a lot of, we're taping our like Premier League preview on the soccer pot today. I'll just drop there. I can listen to it.

Nice plug. So I've been doing a lot of like YouTube research watching videos and there's this ad that I got like a million times. This just like I know which one you're talking about. Dude where he goes, if you make 150K, I can get you ripped in three days. And it was just like, whoa, you start off with like a salary figure. That's kind of because it's like, whoa, whoa. I can't.

It's unbelievable because I'm the same thing like looking at any. I've seen him 12 clips in a row where he's just and he's, he is Jack like congrats. But it's just fucking leave it. Where's the setting for guys that are. okay with their shirt off that make more than 150. Okay. Like, is there a filter that YouTube, like, what do I need to do here to have this guy stop yelling at me about whether or I want to take my shirt off? I got to be honest to you, I do kind of love this, this weird. I would never go to one of these things. I would never have any of these people on the pod, but this whole new

mode of, hey, are you good at sales? Oh, you're kind of good? Take off your shirt. And this is why you suck at sales. So it's a bit like Magnolia. That's like the Shane Gillis thing from tires. You see season two, right? That was season two, I think. That's what it was. Yeah, season two was great.

But remember Tom Cruise and Magnolia? Saint suck my big thing. Never mind. I'm not going to say the entire thing, but that was so ahead of its time. And now we're kind of in it right now. I'm expecting one of these guys to steal my whole counting your reps and reverse thing. I mean, it's just so good. And now people are starting like, we're getting a lot of emails on it going, oh my God.

This is like a complete unlocking of my full potential. Could that be IP? Could you like put that down as like a patent? If some guy is up there selling cars and telling people to take their shirts off from Plano, Texas, and then they use my thing, expect words with the exchange. Yeah. Right. Some male will be on your way. Because there was a comedian that took my, I think that the bottom line scores for men's and women's basketball should be in different colors.

And a comedian took that. But whenever I presented it, people were like, well, that's sexist. And it was like, we'll take, the guys will take the worst fucking color. Give us periwinkle. Give us moth. I don't give a fuck. Just make them a different color. I'm sick of every year.

I mean, it's been going on decades for me. I'm like, Duke is down. What? So, yeah, I said that on the air with the radio show years and years ago. And then a comedian decided to use it. So yes, if one of the guys that has sales conferences who yells at people for having a little bit a chub around the midsection decides to start talking about the unlocking of our mental barriers by counting in reverse for reps words will be exchanged all right um yeah but on the math

of turning 50 was funny because then i started thinking about it was like when i was when i was 20 and those peak like the first half of 20 the peak years but also kind of the worst years and then i thought well my dad was 50 and now like I was like you just turned 80 actually and then I was like all right let's get out of this headspace last is a couple of days that's kind of proud I was able to move on you have some kids and you start doing the math

about like high school and like how old am I going to be when she graduates like what's the like am I going to be like a total loser then like what was my dad like at that age I thought my dad was cool but was he but like also I feel like I mean this isn't new or anything but it feels like people are just sneaky younger looking now like when my dad was said every guy who gets older ever though isn't that no i know yeah like you know

know who knows like you know exactly like kids this generation are gonna look like they're like you know 20 years old and they're 40 but i'm like my dad also had a big old thick mustache that made him look a little bit older but i'm like i don't know do i 37 like when i'll be 50 around in my early 50s when she graduates like what am i going to look like then it's like kind of like a weird life freak out moment of man that's kind of crazy to think about you don't have to worry about looking old. You're going to be fine. Thanks, man. Well, you don't look 50. Life advice. Sorry. I remember that. Life advice are gmail.com. Let's read a couple of them. All right. What do we got? Fellas, 510, 160, 33 years old. No impressive gym stats, but can rep out 50

pushups discuss amongst yourselves if that is noteworthy. I think anybody trying to accomplish anything like that is terrific. A lot of guys doing zero pushups. All right. And I, that I see him in these YouTube clips all the time. If you want to Zoom. Hashim the beat. I'm not tall or Tanzanian, but I love yelling Hashim in the face of my 10-year-old neighbor. When I block his shots, he has no idea who he is. And I get the sick joy of seeing the confusion on his face.

About two months ago, I received a random Facebook message from a person that went to my high school. He was two grades above me and graduated with my brother. Let's call this person Dominic. Dominic used to be in my brother's friend group until he started down a different path in life that you will see below. I've not spoken to him in about 15 years, so I'm surprised to see this message. It started out very topical with the lines of like, how are you thinking about the old times, et cetera. I asked him something like, what are you up to? And get the response, I am in prison. Turns out Dominic was arrested after a raid on his house that found some illegal things.

At this point, so many questions are going through my head. How are you messaging me from prison? Do they allow you to use Facebook in prison? Yeah, I guess is no, but I think there's phones in there anyway. No, they get like the, you know, they go to the computer lab, right? It's not like whatever their version of that is. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that exists. I mean, don't they like monitor, I guess they could monitor your chats. I thought it might be something like con chat or something.

Maybe they have their own service. I don't know. Yeah, I mean, how are these women meeting these guys in prison that they're marrying? So, you know, whatever. Yeah, but out the game for a while. I really had to keep in touch with anyone in prison, so I really don't know. Yeah. I mean, what was it? There was the rumor that Little Wayne was listening to ESPN radio nonstop on some sort of device while he was in prison. He was like, Mike and Mike got me through the day. Anyway, am I doing something illegal by messaging a person in prison? So this guy's worried about it. I'd give him a response to something like, keep your head up, you'll get through this. He then asked if I could help him with something and now I know what he wants. I'm sure you've already guessed it. Money. He asked if I can send him money.

to his cash app. At that moment, I know there's no chance they're letting prisoners use cash app. Again, none of us know the true, like, what the rules are or not. I imagine maybe different levels of incarceration, maybe have different access to different things. I freeze. I just don't respond, hoping he will just forget about it, but Dominic is persistent. I finally respond back with an excuse that I don't have any spare income, father of three, bills, etc. He states he understands. And then, The conversation is over. Turns out Dominic still needs money. I then get a random text message a few weeks later from a 310 area code, which we all know is Los Angeles. If you look at the link, you can see his current location is nowhere near California. It's our boy, Dominic, reaching out again for money to his cash app. At this point, I block the number and block his Facebook. I know I made the right call not giving them money to a random cash app.

I have no idea who's managing the account and the money I will send more likely to use for legal things. concern is this. Dominic's been to my child at home. My parents still live there, probably overthinking this, but will our boy try to retaliate on them when he gets out? Wow. Dude, you're so far down the list of people he asked. Like this, this guy coming out of left field, you are so far down the list. He's been told no by so many people at this point. You're just a name on a list. And if he is coming to see those people, I think you'll probably get a heads up by somebody else he visited. I think you're totally, you're totally, he's just, he's throwing shit at the wall here. I don't think he's going to take any of this personally.

Great jail instincts, Kyle, because it's exactly what happened here. He also wondered if he would come hunting him down. The answers are probably no, because I also found out, to Kyle's point, he has messaged 75% of our high school asking for money as well. Would still like to hear your thoughts. He's in the class of 06 Facebook group, just like fired out. He's got to go for me. Kyle nailed this one.

You say no and you don't feel bad about it. Because you have to think of the other person, like too often, well, because it makes sense, right? You think of how we feel. And then we, if you have a massive imagination, like our emailer here, you start playing out all these different scenarios. And that's fine. It's not like a criticism or anything. Maybe you watch a lot of movies.

But, you know, the other day, somebody asked me for money on the street. And if you're young and have nice sneakers, it's a fucking zero percent chance. You're getting any money from me. like able-bodied now we could get into the whole thing there's a lot of mental health issue stuff that's super unfortunate don't know how you solve it um not really interested in getting into a long-form discussion on that but to just package everything into one category feels extremely insensitive um and unfair but when you're like an able-bodied dude in your 20s with really nice sneakers standing out of outside of a fucking CVS at one in the morning giving me the stare down asking for a couple bucks

I look forward to saying no to you. Okay? And I think what you always have to do, because whenever you make eye contact with that person, it's kind of the worst thing ever. You know, it's like, ah, shit, now I made eye contacts and now they feel more comfortable.

Think of that person on that end of the transaction, much like our guy Dominic here. He's just spraying the infield here, all right? He is only hitting up as many possibilities as possibly can. So when the guy outside of CVS gets turned down, he doesn't remember you in 10 minutes because he's asking everybody else. So it's an important thing to remember that even though you don't have this interaction at all, I wouldn't even say very often at all, you're going to be thinking about it more.

He's already moved on to all. Like he probably forgot that you've blocked him. You know, like sure, the number might not go through, but he's not sitting there thinking about you, especially when you back it up with your own data that you've acquired that he's asked 75% of your high school for money as well. So there's no reason to feel bad or play out all these scenarios who are here in trouble.

That was an easy one. I think it was. It's getting hotter by the second out here, boys. I mean, I don't know if you guys are feeling. You're not feeling the same sun, but holy shit. Your son was like behind the trees when we started. No, because I'm moving. I'm like slightly moving. Anyway, we're halfway done, right? Ten more minutes. We're good.

Yeah, all right. I'm not rushing. You know, use my wife's razor. Hey, fellas, six foot, 180, former D3 soccer guy. Hey, Sir Rudy. But still played morning pickup hoops to this. I still play morning pickup hoops to this day. Player Com, Joachim, Noah, all the feisty hustle, defensive rebounding,

but with none of the heightened talent. I hope it's not too feisty, because a non-offensive Noah in a pickup game is a lot. But, all right. I just had the best shave of my life, exclamation, point. For context, I'm not an overly. hairy guy, but I have to trim the face and neck probably once a week to keep looking clean as I have a forward-facing job. And overall, if I let it go, it wouldn't look very good until I made it a few weeks. When no shave November rolls around, I usually get a bit of a head start in mid-October,

and it makes for a strange one to two weeks before I can make a stash halfway, a look halfway decent. I do use an electric shaver mostly now, but have also used traditional razors in the past. My wife and I have been married four years in September, two kids, ages two and three. She works nights on the weekends as a nurse, so I usually'm on dad duty during the weekends. Last Saturday, I was able to get the kids to bed and had to jump in the shower quickly after a long day, a bug spray sunscreen and just general sweating, chasing them around. I needed to shave anyway, so I grabbed my wife's razor. She keeps in the shower. Went for it. Pause for a split second, but ultimately just went for it. First reaction was how smooth and nice the gels that come along with

a female razor felt. Got out was delighted with the results, quick, efficient, and comfortable. a few questions for the gang though one should more men be grabbing for women's razors at the grocery store to me the comfort was a level above my traditional male razor experience more importantly two was this a strange move or a violation of my wife's hygiene items on par with sharing a forgotten toothbrush on vacation am i overthinking this or given what she uses that razor for am i outing myself as a weirdo and should have never written this email finally three do i tell my wife let's uh Let's go with the married guys on this one. For me, my wife will grab my deodorant, so I feel like she owes me one if I'm ever in this situation. Yeah, she'll grab it sometimes. And I'm like, all right, what are you using? I'm degree. I use degree.

I buy the two-pack 48-hour joint. So it's like a men's scent. Interesting. Yeah, I'm a straight. You ever time it? You ever set a timer when you put it on and be like, I'm not doing this again for 48 hours? No, I'm thinking the little asterix is for like a, you know, 5, 6, 130, like that type of. guys so i think that's usually like when you dig into any of five six one 30 that's i'm just thinking

or maybe you do it by bmi or something but i always whenever i see one of these things that's good for this amount of time i'm like well that's that's not for the average bear i don't so 72 unit you're like no way like whatever let's just walk by it's luster yeah let's just hope we get as lunch uh but uh but i i use a straight razor anyway and i'd submit maybe maybe you should try that too but um dude you're not a weirdo i mean it's 2025 people are people are using all sorts of things for all sorts of things. So whatever, man. If that's what you found, that's cool.

I mean, it's cool that it's in the shower. Are you suggesting our guys of VaveM now? Because he, you know, because every, it's just all on the table. Pass. You pass twice an episode? I think you could do that. Yeah. Yeah.

Pass whenever you want. I was looking at my contract the other day. I think I can't. Yeah, listen. It's a free country. I have a lot on this. I have used my wife's razor before. They are really nice.

I mean, they have, yeah, they have like the bars, like above and below, you know, with like the nice and lotion thing. But it's, the problem with that is,

and they look in somebody. I have, it is, but I only really, so I don't, I haven't shaved my face in probably 15 years, like with an actual razor. I usually just use like,

like the low trimmer, like the zero trimmer around here or whatever. But I'll do like some touchups around the mustache because you kind of get, got to get angles and stuff. You know, the beard line a little bit. And it's a nice feeling. But those razors are more expensive.

I'm pretty sure those razors are way more expensive. So, like, you're getting upcharge for buying a female woman's razor. So I don't know if it's actually worth it for you. Maybe just buy a bar. So the other thing is, I'm also very confused. Yeah, go ahead. Can I just add to the pricing thing real quick? Because I'll never forget, there was some discussion somehow on the air that I

had during kind of like the fill-in stage of the radio thing and it was fascinating to me because we were on the air and it was like well no because this is this and I was like well what's going on and then it was like well just like with women's hygiene products they're priced higher as a sign of how misogynistic society is and I was like can we get back to the fucking NBA off season, maybe. So I don't know. I mean, is it priced based on demand? You know, I mean, I imagine there's certain things that men really like that maybe

are priced higher for men just because the market knows that we're more likely to pay. So, you know, look, I'm sure somebody can send me a ton of links or whatever, but kind of like a female dip, like a female Zin be more expensive than a male one. You know, that's like an all-man product. Yeah, but based on what? we're saying is that if they had females in compared to men's desire for it, then the men's Zin would always price higher. Yeah.

Yeah. I think the packaging would be a little bit different. But good luck in California. Here's the question, though, to your point, are those razors actually more expensive? Because there's more going on in those razors. They're better designed. Right. Would they hold up to a man's face with some?

much regular use. We're talking on a lot of tough issues today. It's a larger surface area. And we're back. And the demand is more. The demand is more, right? So Rudy just says he's like, I only use a little, like, I don't need to make sure I'm all, you know, squared away. Whereas, you know, when you think about if it's a leg razor, you know, summertime, that's kind of a top.

That's a high priority. Usually you don't leave the house if you're not quite finished with that. Whereas a dude might just be like, you know, it is what it is. It's a good point. It's the more surface area. Yeah. Probably more frequent use. I've never been more confused about what, like, so you said you use a straight edge, Kyle.

Yeah. Like, remember, like, you know, growing up, it was always like, oh, this thing's got five razors and it's got this dip setting that like. Yeah, Mach 3, baby. But now that's apparently, yeah, now that's apparently terrible. So I straight have stopped shaving my face because I would get all the bumps on my neck and I'm like, I'm just not doing this anymore. So I just didn't do it. And that's why I haven't done it since. I haven't gone back.

But apparently, like, I was using like a three or four, you know, razor little contraption thing. instead of just using a straight edge and maybe that's why it's better now. So I'm just, I'm confused about the state of what I'm supposed to use in the razor anyway. Straight edge could be a little scary,

you know. I'm ready for that. Yeah. I need a tutorial. Watch a YouTube video or something, but yeah. You actually take like, you put it in like the little thing and just like,

do you make one 50? I got some clear, I got some clear, clear gel and I just, you know. Man, that's, who, I don't know if I'm ready for that.

Oregon, you ever use your wife's razor? Yeah. hasn't really had enough time to use his wife's razor. I straight edge too. I'm with Kyle. Let's go. I don't use the wife's razor.

My concern is hygienics there. I'm kind of of the mindset like if it's touching your face or really shouldn't be touching anywhere else. So that would be my concern with sharing. It's just a, you know, you have to apply that just a razors. You're definitely not a five seconds. Wash claws.

Towels. Dental floss. Straight edge gang down. All right, let's sneak one more in here. The boyfriend of an old fling has requested to follow me. Guys, huge fan of the pod, events the past few days have my mind in a pretzel. NBA comp would be Anthony Bennett. No disrespect to him, but I consider myself fairly athletic.

However, I was blessed with no basketball skill whatsoever. So whenever I do play the occasional pickup game, I severely underwhelm. Feel free to change the girl's name or not. I don't really care. I guess you don't care, man. We'll change it anyway. Anyway, last night doing some bedtime Instagram scrolling. I received a random Instagram follower request from a guy.

I'd never met before my life. We did have one mutual friend, a girl. It's called her Debbie, who I had a fling with over a year ago. After doing some quick digging, I realized my new Instagram follower is now the current boyfriend of Debbie. This all seems not like a huge deal, but I won't lie when it says it has me kind of rattled. For context, my thing with Debbie lasted maybe two months, but in no way what I considered serious or that we were officially. shall we match on Hinge, one on a handful of dates. Things seemed to be progressing towards a relationship.

When she decided to drop the news, she didn't see it going further. Side note, she does suddenly this info on me right before we went to go see Dune 2 and due to my unwillingness to waste the $30,000 I spent on the tickets. And my excitement to see Dune 2, I made the decision to still go see it. We then had to sit there awkward through the entire movie like she didn't just crush me. Looking back, I may have played that wrong. Why couldn't she just not go to Dune 2 with you? Yeah. You should just tell her not to come.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Take a little bit of your power back. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it looks like somebody's waiting an extra day to see Dune 2. Yes, I was upset about it for a bit, but after doing some self-scouting on how I can

approve for my next relationship, I got it over and moved on. It's now been a year and a half, and I have no interaction with this girl whatsoever, barely thought about her until Mr. boyfriend dropped me a follow request. At a pure curiosity, I accepted thinking he might have something to say, but nothing. Wow. I even sent my own request to follow him as an attempt to match his move to which he accepts. I'm now locked in a stalemate of what the hell is going on.

How does he even know about me? Is he trying to intimidate me somehow? Is he somehow threatened by me? Maybe your athleticism. Who knows? And he hasn't seen you play pickup yet. The list of my head is the reasons why he would feel the need to follow me is endless. And I've yet to come up with an answer, which kind of is bothering me.

Maybe this was his game all along. It was not like I was a serious boyfriend of hers that she might. might bring up when asked about previous relationships. I'm self-aware enough to realize this email may sound insane to a normal person as they would probably just move on. My curiosity is killing me. So my question is, do I forget about it and be normal or do I try to figure out what's going on?

Maybe message him asking what's up or even message Madison asking why he followed me and even create some drama in their relationship. It could add to some excitement in my everyday life. Questions. Wow, he's got a bunch of stuff here. As far as I can tell, they've been dating for some time now. Also, I can tell she started seeing him sometime after she's seeing me, so no overlap. I and the couple have no mutual friends.

Debbie and I still follow each other on Instagram, zero interaction since she ended things. I consider the ending between us to be normal. It ended because she didn't view where I currently was in my life job to be sufficient enough for her. Wow, I'm not proud to admit it, but I did send her a follow-up text a few days after it happened, explaining my feelings and confusion, which I received no answer and dropped the issue entirely. I will also admit she did first post him. I might have tried to check out his page to see if she upgraded, but that was months ago and left no trace of me checking him out.

Personal opinion here, the jury's still out, and if she did, in fact, upgrade. All right. I would not reach out. I think I know what happened here. I think he did a thorough scrub of what's going on with her while she was taking a long shower or something and probably looked. through her DMs, even though it was eight months ago or whatever it was and probably

just wanted to keep tabs on you, maybe watch your story. Who knows? Maybe he's got trust issues. But I think that's probably what happened. I don't think he uses whatever thing you got to pay for to see who looks at your profile. Like, I don't even know if that's even real. But I think that was just, is that real or not? People can see

if you look or something. People used to post it. People used to post it like one person unfollowed. It used to be like you could tell who unfollows you, which, you I guess it's just an automatic thing. And I'd be like, really, that's, and the only price for that is you have to post about it, or an automatic post. Anyway, I don't know if that's, if that's real or not, like to actually see who's viewing

what you've got going on, but maybe if you're like a business account, I don't know. It feels like a LinkedIn thing, but yeah. But I think, I think it's probably just, this dude has taken an abundance of caution. Maybe he's got a little trust issue thing and he probably just wants to keep tabs on you. I wouldn't message her, especially saying how it ended with basically you being like you want some more information. and she doesn't want she didn't want to answer you so if you just come back into her life even though it's like you know something a little fishyy's going on with your new boyfriend

adding me for some reason um i think i think the stakes are low and i think he's probably just uh you know a little sherlock homes of a dude and uh you got nothing to worry about because you haven't really had any contact yeah is does he just want you to know that he's you're in his you know you're in his periff like you he's he's on your radar i don't i don't even know like what And if you, I would ask her, because what's the, what's the, what's the worst that could happen? Like, he's clearly like snooping around. It seems like he's clearly snooping around. He knows something must have happened between you two for you to be like, what's the deal with your boyfriend following me?

I think that's a totally legitimate question. If that gets him in trouble, that's kind of not any of your problems. So, and it answers your question. So I don't actually have an issue with you reaching out to her. Dad, leave it until he fucks around. I would just, I wouldn't reach out to anybody and be like, hey, you're in, you're in their head, bro. Do you send him a DM? Be like, sup.

just the eyes emoji just the eyes you do a power like just go through 20 of her pictures now that's always the move it's just like 20 straight likes I'm gonna take up your plug page yeah

2013 picnic love it yeah that's what you're gonna do I mean he's reaching out to you he's already kind of like honestly this pretty soft move on his part and I love the follow up they help follow you right back

obviously you dig her a little bit she had the power move ending it i mean you're right and it's the email that it doesn't really matter but to get caught up on all of this for your own entertainment the fact that he had to follow you i think is that's the win just take the win and you're good and go see doom two again go see it without that emotional strain because that's going to get in the way of you enjoying storytelling i got to see that again too i kind of miss there's a lot of movies there's a lot of movies over the years where i'm like how come i didn't like that movie i was like oh i remember I went to that movie. I didn't even like the first Austin Powers

because the person I was with at the time I was just back and forth. It's very hostile. It was bad, bad deal. And I was sitting in the movie and I'm like, this movie sucks. And then I think I watched a year later. I was like, this movie's great.

And that's what can happen. All right. Remember, if it can touch your face, it shouldn't touch anywhere else. Thanks to Sir Rudy. Thanks to just being back in the mix. Kyle, Oregon, of course, and Jonathan Friest. Ryan Rusillo podcast.

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