The Ryen Russillo Podcast - Is NIL Getting Better or Worse? Plus, Matt Leinart on Whether It's Easier to Play Quarterback Now, Travis Hunter, and Caleb Williams’s Struggles.

Episode Date: September 25, 2024

Russillo starts the show with his thoughts on the state of NIL and the departure of UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka from the program (0:28). Then, he’s joined by Matt Leinart to break down quarterback play in college football, share their Heisman favorites, and discuss what’s gone wrong for Caleb Williams (17:46). Plus, Life Advice with Kyle and Ceruti (49:52)! What media member could you do a monthlong road trip with? 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 Guest: Matt Leinart Producers: Steve Ceruti, Kyle Crichton, and Mike Wargon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We've got breaking news out of UNLV. Their quarterback is out. Who was to blame? And what does this actually mean for the future of this horror? We taped with Matt Liner before this breaking news. We're talking to him about all the different contenders and some other fun stuff as well. He has a new podcast out and we've got life advice. It's the Ryan Rosilla podcast presented by FanDuel. Football is finally back and you can dive into all the action with FanDuel. This is why I love FanDuel because actually a lot of times

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That's the powerful backing of American Express. On eligible cards, terms apply. Learn more at mx.ca. Are things getting better or are they getting worse? I think about this often. I don't know why. Maybe it's because this is what I'm in. So, you know, again, constantly monitoring.

Uh, I do think about this a lot though, because I'll see so many, I guess, people in content pushing things getting worse. And if somebody that does this for a living has been doing it a while, I'll look at that approach and go, okay, so in something, and I've said this before, obviously, like if your whole brand is bad thing happens, and now I'm going to tell you that the bad thing is bad. I'm not going to be super impressed. Because I think it's fairly easy, but it is effective. Because it seems to work. Because sometimes people will look at things and go, you're right, that is bad. I agree with you. And sometimes I'll wonder, like, do you want more bad things to happen? To try to prove some kind of point?

And then we'll have like a bad things happening off that goes in like opposing directions where whatever your priorities are, if something bad happens, you'll point to that. And then the other person who completely has different priorities will say, well, look what the bad thing that's happening to my priorities are the things that I care about. And then we just, you know, go at it. Fun day, fun times. But the conclusion that I've come to here in, I don't know how many years, last few years, this is not a new thing. It's not a hobby. I don't think I'm going to go back to school. I'm not going to try to teach a course on this because it's all pretty simple to find this stuff.

But the conclusion that I've come to is not that things are getting worse, it's just that there's a heightened awareness. We are at peak awareness of all things that are happening. So there'll be times I think, okay, I'm seeing this a lot. Does this mean that it's more than before? And then you go back and you look at the numbers over a 10, 20 year period and you're like, this is kind of unchanged. Yet the temperature of this topic or this issue is cranked up, not because

it's happening more often, it's just that the awareness has increased. I don't even think this can be debated anymore. I'm calling it a theory of awareness, but in reality, I think that's kind of the truth. You want some good numbers? Because there are other people that spend a lot of time, who spend their careers in this that will argue things have never been better and they project to get even better. You want some extreme pottery rates in the United States? I got one for you. 1963, 57% of the country. Today, under 15%. 1900, Mexico literacy rate. You ready for that one? Buckle up. Only 24% of the population of Mexico in 1900 can read or write. Today it's over 95%. That's good news.

I got one for you. The murder rate in Italy in the 1400s? Look out. Lucky to go outside. 70 people per 100,000 citizens. Now that murder rate, one person per 100,000. Do it all day. You want to tell me you can find some stuff that's getting worse? No doubt you can do it. But a lot of this stuff, the trends overwhelmingly positive. One that isn't great though, I didn't realize this, the population projections for Italy. Peak population in 2017 of 60 million people projects to 35 million people in 2099. That's not good news. If I'm wrong.

Probably won't be around podcasting in 2099. Um, if I am. You know, wait, what? Uh, why the fuck is he talking about this? Well, I have a reason. Because the quarterback at UNLV Matt Sluka bounced on his team. Breaking news this morning. So he either quit, or he asked for something and they were like, that's not going to work out. I don't know what to believe on any of this.

Okay. And he's off the team. Or he bound, you know, I read his quote, I'll share some of that stuff with you. I think this is a very gray area story for almost all of us that are talking about it or have an opinion on it. But his quote was this, quote, "'I committed to UNLV based on certain representations that were made to me, which were not upheld after I enrolled,' end quote.

So, and I know some of you were thinking, hey, didn't he play at Holy Cross? You're gonna stick up for a guy at the cross? You're gonna stick up for him. I don't know which side to take in this one. Um, because with the information that we have, could it be that he transfers to UNLV? He's told there's going to be a number and with this

NIL free for all that we're in, that the promises were not upheld according to his quote. He could be a hundred percent be telling the truth. It would not be the first time we've heard a story about some NIL promises not working out. Or to be fair to UNLV potentially on the other side of the story, could you have a quarterback who, you know, got a number came in wins a starting

job there three and oh they got Fresno State best start I believe for UNLV since 1984 a potential chance at a playoff spot. There's another story that I read this morning that the family grabbed some further representation. And they were like, Hey. This NIL thing is kind of a free-for-all I'd like to maybe revisit that we're 3-0 I could see that happen so I'm not going to crush him certainly because the possibility exists that he was lied to and somebody didn't step up but I'm also not going to completely blame UNLV here because I know that I don't know.

I remember last season there was a really good player on a team and I was talking to that team and I was like, that guy's a stud. And the first thing they said to me, they're like, he won't be here next year. I was like, well, that that seems weird he's really good. I feel like every week with this guy, Dana's family every week. It's like yeah you know it would be nice as a little sweetener and those are my words right but the premise that was explained to me was that whatever number it is it's's a different number, the requests that continue. And I was like, all right, and I was a little dubious,

somebody just going like, that guy won't be here next year. Guess what? He's not there and he's still really good. So what happens is, is you have someone, maybe even my age, right? Sometimes I forget I am older with a number, other times,

I don't know if it's a youthful spirit or immaturity or just a vision on things or just trying to be fair, but like maybe it's my age or maybe it's your dad or somebody who sees this kind of story is like, are you kidding me? A quarterback on a three and a team looked at his teammates, looked at his head coach and said, I'm out of here. Now, some think because of the IL that this is the end of football, right?

Um, that's not true. We know that, but this story is so gross, right? To the competitive spirit of like what this is all supposed to be about. That maybe some of you or people, you know, think, well, what if he was misled, but man, the team is so good. Like, how could you do that to your team? I remember working with Tim Tebow back in the day to ESPN. I have nothing but good things to say about people. I like people. All right.

I do believe he kind of walked away talk, but when he went on TV and started saying like, you shouldn't get paid, you shouldn't be compensated for the stuff, he got destroyed for it. And he would get crushed even more so now because now it's generally accepted with the IL. Like again, thinking about some of the arguments over the years of why kids couldn't get money. I remember I was looking at some of the excerpts

in these debates and I think the NCAA had said like like at some point like these are young men like look how poorly they'll make financial decisions like dude i have buddies my age that i'm like what are you doing i mean i bought a fucking boat so. Who is anyone to tell anyone of value how they're supposed to send them if they want to waste it who gives a shit but they should have some and I'm happy that they now have an avenue to get some of this money but when this stuff starts to happen with something that that is based in tradition you get a lot of people going up here we go this guy on a 3-0 team historic potential season for UNLV, he quit on his teammates because of some money. Again, this money is being provided because the NCAA doesn't wanna give up any. And they're like, well, let's just let them have the NIL

and then everybody else can pay them. And then we'll just get out of the way. The other part with the NIL, which I think is completely, I think there's some really good ones. Some I don't know all about it, right? There's some collectives that probably do a really good job with this, they care about the brand care about the school alums are involved. There's also

a lot of other people out there that once this thing was opened up, and it was opened up without any real preparation, it was like, yeah, okay, now just go ahead and do whatever you want. Even though they think at some point, the NCAA tried to say, like, there are still rules, even though when we would talk with Bruce Feldman, he'd be telling us like the schools are like, we don't even really know what we're supposed to do here. But when transactions exist, there are going to be people that are gonna say,

well, if a transaction is happening, that means there's a potential cut somewhere. So I don't think all of the people involved in this world are doing it for the greater good of the student athlete for the school that of the student athlete for the school that they love. They just see a potential earning opportunity, right? So as bad as the headline can be of a quarterback leaving his team could be, I don't think this is going to be the first time, which would then lead us to believe that

things will continue to get worse if you believe that. I can think of this as like, all right, if I were a 20 something, if I was the quarterback of a football team, how hard it would be for me to look at my teammates and say, you know what, even if I was wronged, I'm out of here. I don't know. I don't think it's fair for me to try to do that. Maybe it's age speaking. I don't think it's a sense of duty. And if he did get screwed, there's certainly a line where all of us could look at it and go, all right, well, that's ridiculous. Right.

We like that. I don't love what he did, but I understand why he did it. Imagine if in the NFL, if you could just, you could go to the GM, you could go to ownership, go, Hey man, quarterbacks were over five against me today on attempted throws. No, the GM's like you have three overthrows and you had safety help every time. Whatever Oh, like corners would be in the transfer portal every single week in the NFL, but they have contracts. It's different. It is not what we are dealing with with these agreed upon numbers and then

everybody's supposed to get the money to you. Um, but really it's not the, it's not the beginning of the end. It's just the beginning of something different. It's something different that you're going to have to, you're going to have to accept that more stories like this will happen, but it doesn't mean the end of college football, right? But the people that want to tell you that it's the end that are then going back to the thing they care

about and pointing out only the bad things. They're just going to keep banging this drum. Like remember when Halfley left BC to become a coordinator and then you had Chip Kelly leave UCLA to be the offensive coordinator. Then you had the Kentucky. It was like, look, I, somebody I like was like, I hope college football is paying attention.

Look what's happening. This NIL, the transfer portal I like was like, I hope college football is paying attention. Look what's happening. This NIL, the transfer portal, all the stuff, the job is so much tougher to completely leave the job. Maybe, or maybe some guys just went to the NFL because it's kind of awesome there too. Here's a guess. My guess is that people will still want to coach in college football because it's an awesome job. It may be harder.

It is different, but it's still an awesome job. It may be harder, it is different, but it's still an awesome job. And 10 years ago, 11 coaches made 4 million or more a year. Now that number is over 50 coaches making 4 million plus. All right, so it's going to happen. Whenever I see the calls happening around me, right? Like, okay, here we go, this is over, not sustainable, all these different things, like this is it, this is over. And like in the moment, when it's happening all the time, you're like,

is this, is this really that big of a deal? Um, I remember getting picked up at an airport, NFL city. I'm in the taxi taxi drivers. Like what's your racket? A lot of times I lie. I'm inciting. Oh yeah. How's that?

Well, we've got a saying inciting each house has four sides. So you do the math. It's going pretty well. I'm going to hit that 30% tip button in the middle. That's usually put there to trick people into hitting it. I'm going to hit it with no regrets. That's how well sighting is going. I told him the truth. I was like, I work in sports and he was like, Oh yeah. Might stop watching the NFL because of Kaepernick. I was like, Ooh, all right. And my first thought was, okay, well, did you actually like the NFL or is this like giving up wailing for Lent?

And he was like, you know, no, no season tickets, 20 years every Sunday, watch all the road games, favorite thing to do. So I was like, so you are depriving yourself of joy, something you've really been excited about for a really long time, like kind of your makeup. And just because somebody you don't know did something you don't like, and you're just done on the NFL. And he was like, yep, I'm done. Again, it was kind of like the pulling of one or lesser podcast hosts would probably start their newest pod be like, dude, the NFL is in trouble.

I was in taxi the other day, I can look out. But that message was being pushed there for a little while, right? A message that feels similar today was Luca leaving UNLV. It's like, here we go. Cause remember there was like this weird little ratings dip thing in the chart there. You know what?

I don't think we hear about that anymore. And after the new TV deal, I think the NFL is fine. I think they've weathered the Kaepernick ratings dipped out storm. So I think there's similarities. And I think in the moment, it's easy to just start going, well, this is ridiculous. A quarterback on a college team, whether or not he was lied to, decided to just leave his team when they have a playoff spot on the line. And I would say, yeah, there's a version of this that really sucks. There's a version of this where I wouldn't have his back, but, you know, these are not the 2099 Italian population projections we're talking about here. We are talking about a new world

that may feel disruptive day to day, but it just means the product and the job is different and we're all still going to day. But it just means the product and the job is different. And we're all still going to watch. Get out your game day gear this college football season on Fandel, because right now all customers get a profit boost every college football Saturday, every single Saturday we have our four leg alliance waiting for you at the end of the

week. A tough look on that one for your boy. I was, I was bringing the team down, so we'll get back to work on that one. Two games. Um, we'll probably give out a Georgia Alabama side on this one. I was, I think I would have been 10 and three without Alabama picks last year. I think I went 0 and five on every Alabama game I picked, whether I picked them to cover or not cover.

I just couldn't get them right. And I'm was going to lean just Georgia minus two and a half, but I think I'm going to fade myself on that one, which always solves every problem, which anybody who's ever done this before knows. So you should definitely get on that game where you're so in your head, you're actually picking against yourself. Here's one I actually kind of like here. So you should definitely get on that game where you're so in your head. You're actually picking against yourself Here's one. I actually kind of like here

Michigan minus nine and a half at home against Minnesota Another team I have not a great history with here Minnesota if you look at the rushing ranks for them defensively There's some numbers that are kind of bad. And then there's some that are just sort of average. So you could look at this and be like, all right, defensively, they're going to get gashed. And what Michigan did against SC was strictly running, but it was really like the one play in the second half. They hadn't done anything offensively. So could you, Minnesota off the loss, Michigan after a dramatic kind of prime time slot. Focus, win, walk off touchdown, essentially minus nine and a half for the team that I

just don't know what they're going to be able to do passing the football. Like until I see it, the total on this one's 36 and a half. So I kind of like Minnesota plus nine and a half. So we'll see if we actually give that one out as an official play. So those are two, but yeah, we'll have the Alliance parlay for you on Friday. Boost your winnings on bets like spreads, over-unders, method of first touchdown, and so much more. Just visit bandu.com slash Ryan RYE to download America's number one sportsbook and kick off every college football Saturday with a boost. Must be 21 or older and present

select states are 18 plus and present in DC. Opt-in required required bonus issued as non-retributable profit boost tokens restrictions apply including any token expiration. See terms at sportsbook.fandle.com call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com. Great time of the year to bring in Matt Leiner from Fox and he has a new podcast Throwbacks with Jerry Ferrara. So we're going to talk some college ball with him. What's up, man? Dude, I've joined the podcasting space like you.

By the way, we're getting you on NBA season. We're getting you on. We've already talked about it. Done. I'll come over. Easy commute. Well, dude, I'm just in my garage right now. You should see my little man cave in here.

I've turned it into my work spot. I love it. Well, it looks like you have good, uh, cause she Rockets finished. So it looks like I look, I look tired too right now. Jesus. You should be tired. You've been all over the place, but you get a long ways to go. Let's talk. Let's talk contenders here. Um, I don't know that we're going to run through

every single one. So somebody will feel a little left out. I know you just had Ohio state Marshall, which I had said on Monday, if you watched it, it was like, is this kind of a game here? But the playmakers for Ohio State, like any two, there's five different guys that break the game wide open at any point. Strength of schedule is not what you'd expect. I think it's 132 to what you look at this morning. It doesn't really matter. They deserve the benefit of the doubt a little bit. What do you see with them?

Dude, they're, they're probably the scariest offense, I think, in college football. Absolutely loaded. And I would say with this strength of schedule, Ole Miss is kind of the same. Ole Miss has been... I think Ole Miss is really, really good. I think they got a shot to win it all. They haven't played anybody, but they've taken care of business. Early in the season, some of the teams look dominant. Some of them... Even almost lost what a couple weeks ago do Jeremiah Smith is an absolute monster and I know you know Chip Chip was a South Bay guy and I saw Chip this summer Chip Kelly and I asked him and he goes dude Matt this kid's a top five pick right now if like I've been in the NFL

seen his guy he's a top five pick right now if he left that's how good that's yeah that's how talented he is can I just ask like because I've seen this guy, he's a top five pick right now if he left. That's how good, that's how talented he is. Can I just ask like, cause I've heard it all, we know he was the number one overall recruit and then you would read stuff this summer, I'm like, what is this guy? Like people were talking about it like it was a religious experience.

What is it about somebody who's a freshman that can already be that good at this position? Like what does he give you that other great receivers maybe don't that have even been playing? He, I mean, he's 6'3", 6'4", 2'05", like the body, the physical body's already there. When you're like evaluating receivers, right,

route running, like obviously catching all that kind of stuff, but you just see, have you been around enough athletes where you just look and you're like, oh dude, that dude's different. He's just built different. Marvin Harrison Jr. was kind of the same way. The last couple of years we see how they were like, dude's just built different.

I don't care who his dad is. And Jeremiah Smith's the same, the way he runs, the way he gets out of breaks, the speed, all those things you're like, like damn dude, like this kid is the real deal. Then you talk about Jutkins who they got from Ole Miss, who's just a home run hitter. Trevion Henderson has always kind of been like that.

And I thought we were talking about on the show last week, we're like, this might be the best Henderson's looked in his career. He's dealt with injuries. Maybe it's because Judkins kind of push them a little bit, but like that team, that team is scary, good Ryan and their defense is absolutely loaded. like I think that might end up being the best defense in college football when it's all said and done. But again you know like they haven't necessarily been tested but gosh I don't know man like I don't you look at the Big Ten like I just I just don't know what team is going to be able to play with them.

Yeah and Will doesn't have to will Howard a quarterback. He doesn't have to light it up like a yours or maybe a Ia Mali Ava because of all these different guys. But I think the looks he, he just keeps you honest. Where he's great. You're like seen it. Yeah. Different spots where it's like, we're going to show you something else here with him and give him, give

him some sort of rollout. He started 27 games at Kansas state. He won a big 12th championship. He's a big cat dude. He's like six, five, like two 40 to like, but, but he can run. And, and I'm just telling you, like with chip in this offense and with chips history, with just quarterback Ron and all that, like they haven't even done anything with him yet. Like to your point, like he's just kind of like the keys to the Ferrari. Don't mess it up right now. Get better every week. Like he's going to be a big part of the run game. Um, and as long

as he just kind of say, and it's different than like what they had last year, you know, and like, McCord was obviously a good player for them, but like he didn't, you know, he wasn't beating you outside of just like kind of doing his job. Well, Howard can kind of give you that, you know, and we haven't seen it yet, but we will see it throughout the conference play, I think. Can Texas win a national championship with Arch? With Arch? Yeah. Ewers is going to come back, but I just based on what you've seen. Because I know, look, I think Sarkin, the message has been, hey, we don't, we're not who we need to be unless Ewers is here. It's obviously a very odd dynamic in that

everybody wants to see Arch play, but yours has been terrific. He was so good in that Michigan game for a bunch of different reasons. Dominant. So I just, when I heard the argument and then we've watched Arch against lesser competition the last couple of weeks, I'm like, you really don't think you could win with this guy, but they have a great body. Here's thing. Like I think, I'm not sure they can because of, the actual schedule is not, it's actually not as terrible as the Georgia or Alabama kind of going through the SEC. But like I looked at the last game and, you know,

he just made some freshmen mistakes cause the pick, you know, I think it was the first series of the game. Quinn Ures, make no mistake about it. Quinn Ures will be responsible for them winning national championship when it's all set. I'm not sure arch is ready. And maybe he can't get there, but I think that's Quinn's team. I think there's no doubt about it. I think Sark would tell you that too, probably. But arch, like we talked about it last week, like his first game in, when Quinn goes down, it's like the legend just began.

Four Tuddies, the 70 yard touchdown scamper hitting 21 miles per hour. I'm like, could you have not, I mean, you couldn't have written a better opening. I think I tweeted it. I was like, dude, this kid is going to be a god in Austin for the next two years. I think he still has a lot of room to grow, to answer your question. Do they have the guys around him? Probably. Could they maybe get there? Cause Sarkis is phenomenal dude. Sarkis is one of the best in the country, getting those guys ready to play. But this is not a quarterback controversy. This is not a battle. That is Quinn Hewers team,

dude. Quinn Hewers is a baller. Yes, I agree with you. I just was, you know how I work. Like the first time I had heard this argument, it's like, well, they can't win a title unless they win. Is there, I said this on the show, you talk about like, obviously LeBron is different, but like the James name is royalty. I mean, Manny, the kid's right up there, dude.

Like I know his dad is not Peyton, but that Manny name and living up to both your uncles and your grandpa, and all of the hype with NIL, just all of this stuff, dude, that is wild. He just came out, I don't know if you ever met him. I met him last year, we had Texas K-State, and dude, just an awesome kid, man. Super nice and down to earth, and by the way, big as hell too. year we had Texas K-State and dude just an awesome kid man like super like nice

and down to earth and like by the way big as hell too like way bigger in person like big old big old ass big old legs like that dude I actually Cooper Cooper was on our show a couple weeks ago and you know Cooper's like tall and skinny and I'm like dude where did he get the ass from bro like he looks nothing like he's just built like he's built like probably Peyton and Eli. It was funny, man. But he's, yeah, he's gonna be a stud. I remember the first time I saw his high school highlights

and your assumption you go into it, you know, drop back, pat the ball, Manning style, and we're off. And then when I started seeing him run, it was just kind of funny to see that first big run a couple of weeks ago, and then everybody, that was their real introduction into arch and it was like, wait, I'm Manning. This guy's athletic and he runs around all over the place.

Here's what I loved about Sark though. Cause Sark had said regarding the mistakes, the beginning of the game, because, you know, I could have given him a couple of warmup throws. And I was going through the throws again. There's a third and one, he threw it 55 air yards on the third and one. third and one, he threw it 55 air yards on a third and one. And I know it's, it's a Louisiana Monroe. They had a third and 10, they were backed up at their own five yards. He throws another ball, 50 air yards.

So like Sark is not holding back with him. And maybe it's a bit of a reward for the situation that there's a ton of other schools where he's playing right now. And the fact that everybody seems to be cool about it is, is its own accomplishment. there's a ton of other schools where he's playing right now. And the fact that everybody seems to be cool about it is its own accomplishment. Well, dude, yeah, it's like Raiola for Nebraska. It's like they, you know, the first start, they didn't held back.

Like some of these kids are so advanced. Arch and, you know, look, I was coached by Sark. Sark, Kiffin, some of these guys, even Lincoln, like they are just masters of developing quarterbacks and getting them ready. And Arch has been there in the system for a year. Yeah, but dude, just come out there firing it, dude, like we're not going to throw a screen or I could throw a hitch, we're going to throw by and then his first

picks into triple coverage, like just like, what are you doing, bro? But he bounced back, he's going to be great, man. They need you or so I'm telling you for that run, if they're going to make a run, they need Quinn. I just love it was, you know, once I learned, Hey, when you're at your own five or 10 and it's third and 12, maybe a draw or a screen. Like, yeah, just don't throw it. Just hand the ball off. And they were like, Nope, we're just, we're just dying. All right. Let me ask you this then. Um, if you, cause we were talking off air

a little bit about Bryce Young and his drug was a Carolina. We've talked to you about your NFL career. You and I've talked about it on off the air. If I don't know if I want to make it about your son, but this actually works. Cause you know how much I love your son and he's getting ready to, to get things dialed up here this week. If you were saying, okay, I want my son to go play

for this guy because I know he's going to build the right structure, I know he's gonna understand the mental component, he's gonna know when to push, he's gonna know when not to push. Who do you think is like the perfect person in football right now to develop somebody that you care about a little bit more than just another guy in Saturday.

Probably in college. Yeah. Look, you want to give me a college and a pro one? It's two, well, it's two guys. It's Sark and Kiffin. And again, they coach me, but there's not, like Lincoln is great, clearly. I don't know if Cole fits that system and stuff,

but Lincoln is great. Lane is... I'm just telling you, man, I played for those guys and they've grown so much as coaches. But as far as how they teach the position... And again, the game has changed since I've played, but you look at the quarterbacks and the way they play, Jackson Dard and now Quinn, the way they teach the position is just different. And obviously they're offensive minded guys, but the development, the demand and how they can grow a quarterback, that's who I would want Cole to play for.

Because Cole's, and again, Cole's raw. He hasn't played a ton of football. He's uber talented, but he would need someone like that. And then in the league, I mean, the Shanahan's, those guys like I played in that system like just the way it's just taught differently man like I played in probably three or four different systems in the NFL and and Year five. I was like, holy shit, dude, like this is how you play the quarterback position Wow, like this is how you coach like and that was Shannon that was Kubiak, but that was Shanahan system and that was Kubiak, but that was Shanahan system. And quarterback.

Can you explain, can you explain a system to somebody like me that doesn't understand it? Like, can you, can you give me a layman's explanation of like, this is what makes it better? Yeah. So it's all about kind of the fit of your QB. So like when, when Wissenaunt came over, it was what they ran in with the Steelers. Okay. And it was what they ran with the Steelers. And it was what they ran with Big Ben. And Big Ben, big physical pocket guy, obviously he can move around pretty well, but a lot of balls thrown downfield, physical run game, it didn't really fit my style. I didn't have a great arm. I liked boot. I liked throwing on the run. I liked more of the West Coast system, which you know is like, get the ball out on time and quick, right?

Get the ball. There's always going to be answers to the test always going to be answers to that. Whereas some of these other systems it's like just stand back there be big and just chuck the ball downfield like Like that just wasn't that wasn't my style So when I learned the system with Shanahan, which was a lot more bootleg, which was a lot more time. I say I This is how I could describe it. So In that system your footwork is tied to your progression Every single play and what I mean by that is when you when you see a quarterback in the pocket and he takes his drop And again, it's shotgun now

So it's a little bit different than playing under center. But when you see a quarterback drop back, that first hitch is going to your first read. If it's there, you throw the ball, regardless. I don't care if it's two yards, four yards, five yards. You throw it, boom, it's timing, right? Get the ball out quick, whatever. If it's not there, your second hitch goes to your second progression, and so on and so forth.

This is the way Kubiak taught. And it seems very pedestrian. But when you tie your feet to your progression, the ball is always getting to the open guy if you're doing it at a high level. Matt Schaub, that's who I played, was really good at it. That's why you see like Garoppolo. You saw all of these guys in the system. Just play at a high level because it's timing. It's timing, it's timing. And a lot of other systems aren't necessarily based on timing. They're just like, you got like Josh Allen, you got these big dudes, man, who are really good players, but they're just so physically gifted that they can kind of get away with other things, if that makes sense. So a lot of it is timing. A lot of it is also playing to the strengths of

what you are as a quarterback. Like I was not a guy that was going to go down and throw the ball like a deep comeback 25 yards down the field like and rip it. Like I was going to be like, hey, let's space the ball out. Let's get the ball out fast. And so that's kind of how I learned. But yeah, so that would be kind of the difference, man. Timing is everything in some of these certain systems. OK, I think that was a good explanation. I'm always on a constant journey to understand it a little bit more. It's hard, dude. Now, by the way, now, like RPOs and like,

I like Cole, I couldn't even teach an art. I mean, I could teach an RPO. I never did it. I was barely in the shotgun in college. So like it's just a different game now. It's just more advanced. And that it's actually like Brady said, like it's just a different game now. It's just more advanced. It's actually like Brady said, like it's less advanced in what they're putting

on a quarterback because it's a lot easier. Like that's why like, dude, I was looking at, this is totally sidebar, but I was looking at like completion percentages. I'm like, dude, these guys are completely 80% of their throws in an NFL game every single week. Like it's like, like when I was playing our goal was When I was playing in the NFL, which was what just 10 12 years

It was like 64% was like the goal or something like hey, let's get 60 over 60% And that was like that was great. Now, it's like 75. It's just it's bizarre dude. It's changed so much Look, I brought it up on Monday's pod Donald's at 68% and he's 15th in the NFL. He's Kevin O'Connell, dude. I'm telling you, Kevin O'Connell is telling you, dude, these guys and, and Bryce, obviously I'm sure you hit Bryce Young in that situation. Like you have a guy, you have a quarterback friendly system, a head coach,

an offensive coordinator that knows how to get these guys in the right play and call. And you have just a competent player that has enough talent. Dude, Sam Darnold going to win the MVP if he stays healthy, dude. I mean, it's mind boggling, but it was never a question of talent, dude. It was always like, dude, you go to the Jets, like you go to some of these places like at the time, obviously, you go to some of these places like at the time, obviously, go to some of these places, man, like, like you're screwed, dude, especially when you're, when you're expected to play

early. I want to talk more about some of the Saturday stuff. So we look at Tennessee going into Norman and you know, we can look at the final score, but I thought that was fairly one sided and whether it's EM Aliiava's talent, the front, the running backs, dude, bro McCoy who I know is is a guy who's actually down the street here and started at SC like middle linebacker playing receiver. When he doesn't get the catch, he punishes you for even thinking about tackling. Yeah. I love them.

When you watch Tennessee, do you look at them now after the Oklahoma game and go, okay, yeah. If at the end of the year, they're holding the trophy up. That's not going to be a surprise. Dude, they're so Nico, he's a SoCal kid too. I used to train, Cole used to, Cole's really good close with his little brother who's a, who just committed, I think he committed to UCLA. And so they go down there and throw with a 3DQB guys.

And I watched Nico throw probably two summers ago, right before he... Right when he committed Tennessee and I'd never seen him throw in person. And great kid, man. Good family. Great kid. 6'6", huge. Bigger than me. I look up to him. And Ryan, I swear, dude, I was watching him like, holy... I've seen a couple QBs in person, whether it was in a game or working out. Like, damn, dude. seen a couple QBs, like in person, whether it was in a game or working out like, like, damn dude, like it's just like one of one, his arm talent, dude, I'm telling you is ridiculous. Like, and he's, he's smart.

So to answer your question, he's a stud. He's going to keep getting, but now he's going to have a couple of games here. Like, you know, look at the numbers, like he's got, but the town is there. That running back is really good. Samson. Yeah. Their defense is probably the difference from what a couple of years ago when they had that run with Hendon Hooker and they, he ended up hurting his knees. So they lost a couple of games, but like their defense is stacked. I think their schedule shapes up pretty nicely. A couple of these teams in the STC, like Georgia, dude, I think Georgia might lose two games.

That's kind of like my hot take. No one's really talking about it, but like, dude, they play all of the top, all of the teams that are in the top 10 for the SEC, they get them all. And like some of those teams avoid some of the top teams. Tennessee, Josh Hyple, that system, the defense, I'm with you, dude.

Like I think that team, I think that team, and I'm jumping on Ole Miss again, but I think those are two teams to keep an eye on like to make a run. Yeah, I've loved what I've seen from Jackson Tarr. I was a huge fan when he was at SC. I loved his toughness. Like there's an edge to him that's a little different. Dude, he's swaggy man. He's a great kid. I went down and watched him person put up a thousand yards I think on LSU and you know with Ole Miss it kind of came back to the defense.

But yeah, I feel like I'm probably giving Ohio State a little bit more of the benefit of the Dell, only because I expect Ohio State to be able to navigate the conference a little bit more. Some of these SEC schedules, you're right, you can look at one teams and then another teams, that feels like it's entirely a different experience. I mean, Mississippi State, I know no one cares,

they're one in three. They have Texas, Georgia, A&M, Tennessee, Missouri, and Ole Miss, still to go. Still to go. I'm pulling up. So Georgia's got Texas, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Alabama, and they get Bama this week. Do you have a lean Bama-Georgia this week?

Dude, I saw Georgia's favored in this. Yeah, minus two and a half, I think. Dude, and what, Bama's beat him, what, eight of the last nine times, I think, or some crazy stat like that. I like Bama, dude. I haven't, I'm gonna dive in a little bit. I like Bama, man.

I'm telling you, dude, like I think, we saw Bama at Wisconsin a couple of weeks ago. Georgia, to me, and it showed up on film against Kentucky, and they're a really talented team, really talented team, they're very good. But there's no Bowers, there's no Lad McConkie who is probably super underrated in college football. It's just a little different, man.

The playmakers are like, they just don't have a dude this year. They lost both running backs. They have ETN? Yeah, they have ETN. They lost both running backs from last year. I don't know, man. Like, I just, to me, it's just like, Bama's Milro is a stud, dude.

And like, he's getting better. Ryan Williams is an absolute stud. He's kind of like their next Devontae Smith, the young kid, the 17-year-old. He can fly, man. I like Bama, dude. Like, I would take Bama plus two and a half and a heartbeat. Yeah, Georgia, you're absolutely right

on the playmaker part of it. Because even in the past, when I've thought about the receiver room, like how many of these guys like do that? Does everybody know? And it's like, well, it doesn't really matter because the tight ends have been so good. But I think Nate Frazier, the freshman at running back

is the one that gets me excited. Dude, he's a modern day boy, man. He's a great, he's a modern day boy. Yeah, but you're right. When you know, I think Nate Frazier, the freshman at running back is the one that gets me excited. He's a modern day boy, man. He's a great, he's a modern day boy. Yeah, but you're right. When you look at the production, um, yeah, he's, he's, you can tell right away. They're young back there. He's young and I look at the receivers. You're not wrong about the receivers. I mean, Pollock even said it. Yeah, I just, I just don't see, there's just not a guy, you know, there's like,

you know, they had pickings, they had all those running backs for those years, but Bowers was a stud the last three years. Um, they don't see, there's just not a guy. You know, there's like, you know, they had Pickens, they had all those running backs for those years, but Bowers was a stud the last three years. They don't, you know, they don't have a guy. You know, they don't have a guy. And Carson Beck is really good, but Carson Beck had those guys last year. And it's, it'll be interesting, dude. I like Bama, like I do.

But listen, smart Kirby's great, man. The defense is fricking good. Like it'll be a good one. Let's do a little on Miami and the Heisman favorite right now. Cam Ward. Uh, I came over Hunter. Well, I have a whole Hunter Heisman segment that I'm going to maybe unveil tomorrow. So I'm not sure I'm going to use it all yet. Uh, I would be,

I don't have a vote. I don't have a vote. I think Hunter, I'm gonna get you a vote. You want me to get you a vote? I can get you a vote. If you wanna give me a vote, that's fine. I think there was a time where I was gonna get a vote, but I wasn't gonna, like the person that was gonna give me the vote was like, who would you vote for? And I was like, not him.

So they said no. Yeah. I think it was somebody, it was almost like a pack was trying to figure out a way to be like, can we get this guy a vote and he'll go our way? And I was like, I'm not voting for him. I would be tempted to vote for Hunter just because I think it's that special.

Like here's part of the segment, and you can steal this for TV because I think it is a good point, is that we become so enamored with the two way guy basically as a gimmick. And this is gonna feel a little anti-Michigan, but like Charles Woodson deserved the Heisman the year he won it.

You can argue for Peyton Manning, whatever. But you know, he returned punts and he had, I think like 30 touches on offense. Remember what Michigan was trying to do with Jubil Peppers? They were like, yeah, let's get into the Peppers formation. And it was kind of this gimmicky thing of like, can he get a touchdown as a defensive player?

Hunter plays both positions the entire game. He averages 133 snaps a game. We're desensitized by what he's actually doing, like being a the epitome of what a dual threat he is. He's literally an elite like, we're gonna talk about it this weekend. But like, he's, he's an elite on both sides of the ball every snap. Like, it's like, he will literally, he's a great corner. Like he will, it's not just a kick return or like, let's throw him a pass. And then he's out of the game.

It's just like, you know, we get so locked in cause I have a vote. We get so locked in and like the best player on the best team, the quarterback, every once like Devante Smith, like every once in a while there's like an outlier receiver, maybe a running back. Dude, like, I don't know, like he's the best football player in America. Like I don't think there's a debate for what he does. And if he's not on that team or even Chidor, because Chidor is a baller too, like they're, they single-handedly beat teams, like those two players, like it's unbelievable how bad they are in some other areas. But those two, so like, he's, he's a stud man. I'm telling you, dude, like, yeah, it's not a gimmick.

Like he, he, he could get, I actually asked prime prime was on our show last week. And I was like, like, dude, where does he get drafted at? Like, does he get like NFL is a little bit different beast, but prime made a good point and maybe use this. It was like, he's like, man, in the NFL, it's a slower game anyway. One, there's not as many snaps. So Prime thinks he could play both sides in the NFL.

I don't know. It's a different beast. You're covering guys like VK Metcalf all game or some of that and not, you know, but like it'll be interesting, man. Like he's a fascinating story, dude. And he's elite in both sides, man. We're on the same page here.

I think there's a lot of voters and there's so many people that vote for the Heisman where if they have a bad record, they're just not going to be willing to vote for somebody. And I would, I would, because you're right. It is defaulting far too often to best quarterback or the quarterback on the best team when he's not even the best quarterback like it's the MVP. Like I understand how valuable it is, but like to your kind of like a

basketball football point here, if you have two special players on a basketball team, everybody else can stink and you're going to win a bunch of games in football. It's not supposed to work this way. And what they're doing with Shador and Travis and you get that Baylor win the other night, I have no idea what Baylor was doing on that last play that led to regulation, but if you, if you have to regulation, but if you have access dude If you have access to like film, I don't know if you do but I don't oh

I'm I'll send you a screen. I'll send you a screen record if you just watch Shador drop back this dude is running around every single play every single play It's and we watch it, you know from like I don't need to for that I don't know if you really if And we watch it, you know, from like the... I don't need film for that. I don't need film for that. No, but like if you really, if you really watch it and you just watch like the fact that this kid can do what he does and it like Caleb was really good at just maneuvering in the pocket. Shador is almost better in a lot of ways just because one like he's, he's a great thrower. He's a pure thrower. He's really, really talented throwing the football, just standing back there. But the amount of times

he maneuvers in the pocket and running away and hitting a dude in stride 30 yards downfield on a crossing route, I would be dead, dude, if I was behind that offensive line. I would be dead. And so again, it goes to the point of like, should Doris like you could even throw him in this race because like what he's doing for that team, it's like there's not another player in college football that can do that with the amount of like little time he has to throw the plays that he made. It's like, it's almost like I feel bad for him sometimes. I'm like, dude, like, gosh, man, like this kid, this kid is just like, I hope he gets out okay and healthy this season. But

both those kids, dude, are just studs. Hunter is a unicorn, man. He's, he's like, very few people, if anyone can do that, like you said, and he's, he's rare. Right. He gets the, he gets the PI on the huge play. And then, you know, over time, he puts a helmet on the guy going in for the tie-in time. He actually, it's not that he's just about there playing. It's like, okay, so two of the biggest plays, although Shadour's throw was incredible because he knew he was gonna get crunched on it, stepped up. There's no questioning his toughness.

All right, two things before we let you bounce. All right, one's not that serious. This one is serious, so we'll start here. Have you watched Caleb Williams the first three weeks? I assume you've seen some of it. How do you feel? I think he's, I think, look, I think, I mean, dude, it's been rough. I mean, I think all in all, their offense. There's definitely a learning curve for him. I think you see some of the

plays and this was, this was the whole thing coming in like, Hey, you're not going to be able to make those plays at the next level. You're not going to be able to make them all the time. I think there's a learning curve for him to be able to have to really kind of sit in a pocket and process and deliver while you're getting hit. I also will say the offense line is awful, dude. Like, I'm sorry. Like I've seen enough plays where I'm just like, I'm like, bro, like the tackle just gets whiffed and you have a half a second to throw the ball. then you're running around and you're making a play. So I think, again, system means everything for these young guys.

He's got to learn how to play from within the pocket and process. Because you look at college, right? And he's very special, dude. He's a great talent. But you look at college, he just got away with all of that. Or you look at someone like Jayden Daniels, a little different system, probably a little more polished, throwing the football when you saw him at LSU and what he was able to do.

He stood in the... And that's kind of... I mean, now it's translated over in the NFL. You look at what Jayden Daniels has been able to do so far in a couple of weeks. So look, I'm not one of those fans who'd be like, like, oh, he stinks in this. Like, no, he's going to be good. Like they just, they need some help. They need some help. But I'm a little surprised, dude, because I thought Chicago would be a lot better than they are so far. Pete One of the reasons, one of the many reasons I loved him was I was like, well, even if things

aren't right, he found a way to make plays at SC when it felt like he was the only thing they could count on last season. I was like, even better, it doesn't have to be perfect because he's used to everything being a bit of a mess, but it's just moving in a speed with him where you just can't. Dude, you just can't. It's just the mess is there's a lot less of a mess in the NFL, dude. You just can't like those guys are too good, man. Like the lineman are for like they're bigger, they're faster, they close the windows or no one's when he's running around making those plays in college guys are wide open in the NFL guys are covered. So you have to throw them open right or everyone like you have to like, like that's just the difference like you can't get away with that as much you know, like he's gonna dazzle dude, he's gonna make some plays but there's a learning curve for him man. Like there's a learning curve for like most of these rookies.

Final thing again, Linard's got a new podcast out now, Throwbacks with Jerry Ferraro. Speaking of throwbacks, you made a little bit of noise. You're a big influencer too. There's another lane of Linard's post-playing career that people need to be aware of. Oh, are you going, are you going Jersey? Are you talking about a Jersey right now? Yeah. That's exactly.

So your, your position is what? I got crushed on this. This was where I'm coming from. Okay. There's two things that I, I would, huh? Alita's athlete. So that's two things. Okay. So like I, I was never, and I will never be the guy that will run up to an athlete or a celebrity and take a picture or get an autograph. I would never do that. Now for my kid, yes, of course. But like, like grown man going up

that it's just, I just not, it's just not what I would do. I would be like, Oh dude, that's, that's Ron Russo. Oh, he's cool, man. Like, but I would just, I would just never do that. Nor would I ever wear another guy's Jersey. I just now I have a Kobe jersey, I rock around the house. It's like my tank and all that. I just wouldn't wear a Shohei Ohtani jersey to a Dodger game. It's just not what I would do. So that's where I was coming from.

So I was like say, for a grown man to wear another grown man's jersey, I just think it's funny. Now, I got attacked because I was like, Oh, what about all the fans that wear your Jersey? So like, I, I appreciate the passion of a fan for their team. But you thought the men were losers. What you thought the men that were doing it were losers. Oh no, dude. I don't, I mean, I'm, I guess I'm backtracking. I look, at the end of the day, I just would never like, those are my stances on that.

Well, you're not wearing, you're not wearing a jersey to a game. I wore an LSU jersey during Six Man. Yeah, Six Man doesn't count. Yeah, Six Man you're supposed to dress like an asshole. Yeah, you're supposed to wear whatever the hell you want. You would never wear a, I don't even know who your favorite team is, but you would never wear,

you wouldn't wear a LeBron James jersey if he was your favorite player to a Laker game. Good bet I wouldn't, yeah. There's There's, there's a very good reason. You have principle or you just wouldn't do it. I own some, but it was almost more of a joke to have around the house to like hand out when I was younger and I still have them. So if we get you over at the, the newest state, maybe we'll throw one your way. You can put you, put you in a Mullen team, maybe a Chris M on your way. You can put you, put you in a, maybe a Chris Mullin team USA, which I have.

Yeah. Oh dude. Maybe July 4th weekend. That's who I modeled my game after. When you come on throwbacks, we'll rock jerseys, dude. The funny thing is, is when Cole asked me for an autograph at pickup when he was 14, I signed for him immediately. He's like, dad, who's this guy with the ginormous biceps who can't shoot?

I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. Yeah. I need a rematch between who's his buddy, Jimmy? That guy was insane. He didn't miss. Jimmy's 14. He's a freshman.

Tell him to go to St. John's. All right. Great seeing you, man. You too, man. We'll come talk to you soon. All right. All right, brother seeing you, man. You too, man. We'll come talk to you soon. All right. All right, brother. Later, Ry.

You want details? Buy. I drive a Ferrari, 355 Cabriolet. What's up? I have a ridiculous house in the South Fork. I have every tool you can possibly imagine. Best of all, kids, I am liquid. So now you know what's possible.

Let me tell you what's required. Got a great update here to get things started. Our email address, lifeadvice, rr at gmail dot com. Remember the guy who just recently was telling us about his coworker that won't stop inviting him to do stuff? Well, he gave us an update. So just so you guys know, well, he didn't say that, but just sharing with the audience, Garth is in his mid 40s. So if you miss the Garth piece, you're going to need Monday.

Today at lunch, Garth invited me to watch the USC Penn State. Watched the game in a few weeks. At that moment, I thought of Kyle's advice and decided to pull the trigger. I said, quote, appreciate the invite, but I've got to be honest, I'm not going to be able to hang out after work at all. He said, like ever. Honestly, valid response.

I said, yes. He sat back in his chair, packed up his lunch and left eight to 10 seconds after of awkward silence. I've crossed the Rubicon. Hopefully this doesn't come back to haunt me. It's over. Yeah. It probably feels good though.

At the very least he bought himself a ton of time. I guess we should have asked him, is this guy like kind of a wild card? Is he capable of anything? You know, we didn't really, we didn't really, that would have been a good follow-up to know like, cause he have, you know, and he warrants out, does he have any, you know, is he beat people up? And I want to go, who knows?

I don't know. But if he's not a wild card, it's probably just a good relief off your shoulders. Right? Like now you don't have to worry about it anymore. Even though you feel like a dick. I can see the only call he gets like a late night poor decision call from this guy. Be like, so what is it, man?

Just tell me what it is. Like I could see like maybe like a 1230 or something. But yeah, I think all the awkward, no, not today's that I'll stop. Good for you. Okay, I just dropped something. All right, we do have an insight into Garth from someone else in the military. I thought this was a really well written email. So we're going to share a little feedback here.

Just want to provide some input into what I think might be going on with Garth from Monday's Life Advice. My advice is based purely on the fact that he's prior military. He said that Garth was retired from the military, which to me means he did at least 20 years. Well, maybe, I don't know. Might be less than that, but what I'm going to say still stands. Even if he did less than that, the military is weird in that people who don't necessarily have much, if anything in common, still hang out with each other. Terrific, terrific point.

You're close, you're in close proximity to the people you work with basically all the time, so people end up also hanging out when not at work, the people you work with become like family, even if they kind of suck or really suck, even the more introverted people would come hang out at some point, he probably feels like his work friends are also his actual friends because he went through a significant portion of its adult life where this was his reality. Whether it was in the army, Marines or air force being sent overseas for months at a time or in the Navy living on a ship for months of the time. This is probably just the culture that Garth

was accustomed to. I could be way off. Garth could just be a dick. Lots of dicks out there. Lots and lots of dicks. Yeah. Clip that. It's a good note. That was his. That was his thought. It's a great note. And I love the reasonable open-ended. Maybe that's not what it is or whatever. But I think, you know, maybe you did Garth a favor, but it's tough, man. It's tough out there. Guys, you know, just a little too eager, especially if the other guys are cooler than you. Forget it. I can tell immediately. You're not. You're kind of cool, but you're not like us. Cool. All right. Let's see, let's see.

We got a bunch of good ones in here. So let's try to, let's try to get something cooking here. Did we do the young engaged one already? I think we just did that one, didn't we? Doesn't ring a bell. Doesn't ring a bell. Okay. All right.

I like this one. How to deal with tension between divorced parents. 20 years old, six foot 190, pick up comp currently, Clay Thompson lost all athletic ability due to, I don't think Clay lost all of his athletic ability by the way. He's just a narp now.

Yeah. But can still hit shots from deep. My parents got divorced when I was young and there was never really any issues. It was clear my mom and dad realized they had to stay friendly in order to give me and my sister as normal life as possible. They both remarried and I love both my stepmom and stepdad. Before I went to college, my mom passed away.

Sorry to hear about that. After the first year, it seemed like everything was going fine. I moved in with my dad over the summer, but would still visit and go back to my hometown on the weekends to see friends and family. This past summer, there seemed to be some tension between my dad and stepdad. Whenever I would stay for an extra day with either side of the family, the other side would make passive aggressive remarks about not spending enough time with them. My older sister is out of college and lives in a big city, so this problem isn't really one for her. Now that I'm back in college, it's easier to balance the divorced parent life. However, I obviously

have to go back for winter break and such. How do I balance what seems to be an ever growing tension from both sides of my family? I feel like whatever decisions I do make, whatever decisions I do make based on where I want to stay for a couple days pisses off the other side. Thanks God. Love the pod also, Ryan. Welcome to the misery that is being a Bears fan. Yeah, sucks so far. Nice. Tough, tough.

All right, Kyle, you wanna go first on this one? He's right. He scouted it out perfectly. You gotta have thick skin. And my parents are divorced. They've been divorced forever. And they- How old were you? I think like two.

So I mean, it was super normal to me. I was in like this thing called Banana Splits where they like pull you out of lunch and put you in this like group with other kids. But all these kids were like new divorce, you know, I was like old poor, old divorced. So it was like- Wait, so there was like a support group

at your elementary school called the Banana Splits for divorce kids? For divorce kids, but these were all new kids. And I was like, I don't, what are you guys crying about? I don't, I don't know. It's like, can I go back to lunch? Are you serious? Really?

Is this a thing? I, it was in my school. I've, I brought it up to a couple of people. They laugh uncontrollably. Maybe it's the name Banana Splits, but yeah, but name of anything. I doubt it would be called that now. It'd be like the banana alternative friendship, right?

Like, yeah, I don't know. It was like, uh, I, it was be called that now. It'd be like banana alternative friendship, right? Like, it's just- Yeah, dude, I don't know. It was like, it was very confusing to me, why everyone was so sad. This name blows. They just made you hang out with this group of people that you didn't know. Yeah, it's been so long ago now.

I don't remember, I think it was definitely during lunch, and I think, I remember like one day, like a guy just coming up and like, I think he was like a resource guy or something. He was like, all right, hey, we got this thing. And I don't know. I don't think I did it the whole year, but I think I somehow got out of it. I just remember being like, I don't think this is for me. I think it's for you guys. Anyway, my whole point was is forever it's been this way and coming home now. College was one thing, but now coming home, I'm booking my own flights and I try to go three weeks at a time.

My mom's usually the one, my dad lives near all the stuff, my mom's in the sticks a little bit. Both have great houses, pools, like I said last episode. But she's just always just, I try to get there the first day, usually I end up spending probably 60,

40 between my dad and my mom's house in favor of my dad. So I try to get over there like the next day. And even as soon as I get there, she's just like, yeah, so what do you think? You'll be here like three days for the next three weeks or something. I'm like, no, mom. And she's like, no, it's okay. I just get my hopes up and usually end up getting crushed.

That's just you just got to have that roll off your back. And usually, I'm telling you, it's like actually 60, 40 but that extra 20 percent she really will magnify. And it hurts her. She's not doing it to be mean. It really, that really hurts. So you just got to get used to, you know, I just come up with a thing to like change the subject or

like, oh no, mom, it's not like that. I just got this and like, just don't read into it too much. It's, I can tell it's eating you up inside. And I'm not saying I'm impervious to it, but it's just going to be that way. I really don't see a way around it. Do you split it up like when you go home though, is it 50 50? Do you try to make it as 50 50 as possible?

My dad lives in Poughkeepsie. My mom lives in Pleasant Valley. If those who know it's a little bit out of the way, you got to go down 44 for, you know, 25, 30 minutes, a lot of construction these days. It can take longer. And she, you know, bad cell service. She's just out there in the sticks. And I love that too. That's a, take longer and she, you know, bad cell service. She's just out there in the sticks. And I love that too.

That's a, it's two different, you know, experiences for me, but. You charge the batteries. Exactly. You get it. You get it. Um, so there's just no way around it. And I just, I just be like, Oh mom, it's not that way or whatever. I'm like, Hey, didn't you need me to set up that camera for you or something?

Like, I'll just try to change the subject and make the most of the time. That's really all there's no way around it. I've been trying all angles, just she counts the days and it sounds like you got family that counts the days. I was just talking to my wife about this. I mean, my parents aren't divorced. I can't like directly relate to that. But I was talking to my wife about how when you yeah, you know, we're, but, but, so my parents live in the Cape now and So they're like almost three hours away We just had a baby obviously and I guess I know she's been around for a little while Yeah, she's almost to what's up next next one

And I guess I never really fully understood like, you know when you grow up and you just hear like, oh family's complicated and like, oh man in-laws, blah blah blah. I never was like, I'm like, what's, I don't know, I love my family, they're awesome, they're great, and then slowly, so I'm like, I'm in my mid-30s now, I'm like, god damn, this is like, hit me like a ton of bricks because,

you know, you get the guilt trip of like, when are you coming to visit? Or, why don't you FaceTime us enough? And this stuff, and it's like, yeah, I got a busy life, all this stuff's going on and I feel like I never really set proper boundaries to be like, this is what I have to do guys,

like I love to come hang out with you every weekend but I can't do that, I'm really busy and I don't think I've ever really properly set the right boundaries, at least set them straight, I kinda just keep pushing it off and just be like, oh yeah, I know, I'll call you here, I'll call you there and it's kind of just become a thing. And it's adds extra stress to my life. And I'd imagine you know, when you got two parents who aren't even you know, who are obviously

pulling you from totally different directions. I just think you got to lay the smack down and just say, Hey, like these are the boundaries like these are I'm, I'm an adult, I'm set. I mean, Kyle's up here like putting his finger up. So maybe I'm wrong. But I would be like, this is the this is the bandwidth that I have. It's isn't about a love thing. It's about what I'm trying to enjoy in my life. I have all these other things going on in my life. I love you, I'll see you as much as I can,

but this is what I have to give. And this is what I'm giving and this is my max. And if that's not good enough, then like, I don't know what to tell you. It's a you problem. The only reason it's a little different in situations is because you live in a house three hours away and this guy is like, I'm gonna stay with you

from here to then, and I'm gonna, like, unless he's renting a hotel room, like, he's staying with one of them. And I doubt it ever gets to the point where they're like, you know, I'm really doing a nice thing by letting you stay, but there is that little thing in the back. It's like, you're also like, they're providing you a shelter, and, you know, they like you being there.

So it's just a little different by saying, like, I'll get to you when I can, because you're also like, you know, they've got a roommate up for you, and my mom's always like, will you just let me know when you're coming, because I got a vacuum again. I was like, I'll get to you when I can, because you're also like, you know, they've got a room made up for you. And my mom's always like, will you just let me know when you're coming? Because I got a vacuum again. I was like, I was just there two days ago. I don't think you need to clean the whole house again. But it definitely is a little ammo to make me feel bad.

Yeah. I can't stop thinking about the banana splits. Yeah. Every time I bring it up to somebody, they're like, wait, can you tell me more? I was like, I don't remember that much. I just remember feeling like it wasn't for me. I just was like, I don't remember that much. I just remember feeling like it wasn't for me. I just remember, like, I don't remember much, man. I met, I was just wondering if like anyone ever lied.

Like my parents got back together. Can I go back to regular lunch? Jen pop. All right. So here's a couple of things. Um, I think you guys are great on it. Uh, my experience is a little different. Um, the way that you wrote the email, it almost made me think that you were the oldest, but you told us that you have an older sister who's out of college and living in a city. And for me, no, I just think you have different instincts being the oldest middle.

I guess I think it's pretty natural, but you at 20, I think it's important to remember that both your dad and your step parents probably still see you as being younger than 20, even though you're 20 and you're in college and you sound like you have a good head on your shoulders and it's not necessarily their fault. I think it's like a tough transitional period of thinking like, oh, this guy actually could like make his own decisions because up until very recently, you weren't really making your own decisions. And you were going back and forth in the traditional sense of like, look, I think some people, once they get a license or whatever, whatever the split custody is and all that kind of stuff, it can be

different all over the place. So I'm not saying it's the same everywhere, but there's probably an assumption that they can kind of walk over you a little bit and not necessarily like in a nasty way, they're just assuming that you're like, going to go along with the program. Um, and it's great that you all get along enough that everybody seems to want to have you around and you still want to spend time with, with both sides.

But I just remember I was like trying to mediate things all the time in the different stages of the shit that I went through. And I would, I would try, like I would like really try and try to get like one side to listen to the other side, but I was constantly in the middle of it. And, um, it was the best feeling ever. Once I was like, Hey, you know what? Fuck this. I'm not married to either of you.

And I'm bad. I don't want to do this anymore. It's fucking pointless. Nobody listens. And, you know, like, I don't, it took me longer than being 20. But there'll be some real like realized power for you to probably show them a version of you they've never seen before. And you don't have to do it in a version of you they've never seen before. And you don't have to do it in a way where you're being a dick. But I think it would rattle the cages a bit to your benefit. If you just said, Hey, guess what?

I've got a limited amount of time. I love you to death, you know, and then this message would be related to the other person. I don't need a constant guilt trip of what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to balance it all. I want to spend every time with it. So let's not make this time, stretch, like let's not add stress to this time of something that can't be solved. Okay. And you got to start looking at me as somebody who like, you know, it sounds like you're a good kid too, on top of everything else. I mean, unless you're just a fuck up and

left those parts of the email. but you may need to like wake them up a bit to the idea that you're not this 14 year old that's packing up a sleeping bag and toothbrush and leaving for the weekend all the time. Like there could be a chance they're still looking at you that way. Um, which I think is a very common parent thing to do. It's not really even their fault. They care. They raised you. They care about you this much, right?

I think that transition is probably tough for a lot of parents, but in this case, like you probably need to speak in a tone that's a little bit more forceful. And it's not combative, but it's just, Hey, guess what's been going on for a little bit here. I have a limited amount of time. The best way to use this time is for us to have like that stress not added to my plate. I don't want to fucking hear it anymore. All right, you don't have to swear,

but like you get the point, the tone. Show them a tone that maybe is something they haven't experienced before and it'll wake them up. I would imagine unless, you know, if their level of intelligence is enough to be receptive to something like that, I think it would be to your benefit because I certainly wish that I when I was younger you know getting a phone call you're in college you know like what's going on like did you know this and I'm like well I got a

phone call, you're in college, you know, like what's going on? Like, did you know this? And I'm like, well, I got a plant and soil science quiz tomorrow. That would be a bomb. But, uh, thank you for that update. That has nothing to do with my day to day while I'm up at school. Like, thanks. Cool. Got it.

You know, and that's, uh, it would have been awesome if I had the strength and the knowledge that 18, 19, 26, 30, if I had had the ability to go, hey, this isn't my problem. So there you go. You guys want to do another dog one? Oh boy. When's the last dog one we did? We did the one about, it was just a recent dog one. I forget what it was. You guys been doing shows without me?

We just did a dog one. Yeah, it was like the guy had too many dogs, right? Oh, it was the neighbor. Remember the neighbor who was, who were renting and they were assholes. Who let the dogs out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Literally, yeah.

Yeah. Yeah, that was good. How much did you like that song, Kyle, when it came out? Oh my god, so much. So much. Did you ever not ironically order it on TouchTunes? I don't think I've ever put it on TouchTunes, but it's been long enough where I think everyone would be like, what? Yeah, that's great.

Yeah, it's only Wednesday. One of the It's only my guy if I can help. Oh, okay. Well, you know, look, I'm a little, a little out of the mix. Okay. Uh, yeah, we got a time sensitive dog one here. So let's, uh, let's get to that one. I love when they're time sensitive. Well, it looks like we're still in the window here.

We, here we go. Um, terrible writer. So please disregard the emails choppy. It looks to me bulletproof efficient, so let's go. One of the wives girlfriends hooked on life advice, shout out Vermont, Killington area. I spent a year there at the Wobbly Barn one night. 5'10", daily Pilates and and running no basketball comp, big Derek

White fan. So, all right, we've got a female listener here. Uh, my boyfriend and I have planned a month long road trip in October, leaving from Vermont and taking a Northern loop to California, then Southern route home. This is great. I love this. This is something I've wanted to do since high school camp cross country to see roadside oddities, some national parks, and of course the Hoover Dam.

I checked out the Hoover Dam. I can't think of one friend I would spend a month in a car with. I can't think of one. I got some great friends. We've done a lot of good stuff, Reggie. I can't think of one person. I just was going through the Rolodex in my head. I'm like, no, I don't even think we'd make the way back.

All right. Quick aside, media draft of people you could maybe do this with month in a car. I got nowhere to be, I don't know where to begin. Come on, Kyle, you're the easiest going human being of all time. There's somebody you could do it with. Yeah, I guess if they're not my friends, I'm just thinking of my friends and all their bad qualities.

So let's talk it out. Let's work it out. Like I feel like now off the board is canal off the board. Like you were drafting in your war room and you're putting up 500 prospects and there'd be like another list of seven guys. You've already done this for like less than that. And it was a disaster. The drive. Yeah. I mean, it's a not starter. I wasn't even there and I have PTSD. So yeah, no. It's too long. It's too long.

What about this, Kyle? When you really break it down. What about you and House? I'd watch that television show too. I'd have to know his stance on cigarettes in the car. I feel like he's pro-cigarette. I feel like he would let you do it. House is a great pick.

Cause I think House could really, like I think house adapts in the best way possible. That's a good one. House is good. What about, what about you and me, Saruti? No. Find a way. We have different like, like musical tastes. I feel like, you know, just on, on, on the ride, just like what's what's going on the playlists. I don't know that we would align there. I don't you know, I'm not that like argumentative. I'm not that confrontational. So it'd be fun.

I don't think I would like piss you off, but I don't know. I don't I don't I don't think would be a good fit unless you disagree. We'd probably again, we probably just the problem is like whenever we get on the phone ends up just being like, who do we think is stupid and who sucks? And I couldn't do that for a month. I would be in such a bad mental place if I did that with you, if I hung out with you for a month. Cause that's like half the time we just got on the phone

and vent about shit we don't like. This doesn't feel great. This doesn't feel great right now. I thought maybe we could do it. You thought he was gonna say maybe? I'm not trying to. You thought he was gonna defy you on that? I'm trying to think about all the people.

I don't think Stanford Steve litters anymore, so I might be able to pull that off. And I was in a ton of road trips. That was a ton of road trips with him. I was with, Saruti's replaced Steve, and I'll tell Saruti I talk to you more than anybody else in my life right now. And Saruti would be like,

well, my wife is ranked higher than you. And when I asked Stanford Steve that, I was like, do you talk to anybody as much as I talk to anybody? He was like, yeah, my wife. And I was like, fair, fair. Would Kyle and I have a better chance than Saruti and I would? Prior to Saruti's answer, I thought maybe it was even. Now I feel better about it.

I'd be excited. I'd do it just to see what it's like for you, just because the FaceTime is so little. That would make up for these years. I mean, you won't even ask I might not even ask you anymore. You don't even have a beer with Kyle. We've had tried to, we've done plenty of live shows. There's been plenty of beers in there.

I tried to twice. Outside of work things. Uh, yeah. I tried to twice in LA. I hit them up. Uh, I'm gonna dive in Korea town was like, it's on. You were like, dude, I don't stay up to sleep. I think Kyle is too, I think Kyle is too, then this, there's on. You were like, dude, I don't stay up this late. I don't go out of four.

I think Kyle is too, and there's no disrespect to this, I think Kyle's a little too unstructured for you. I think you would be annoyed by, like, Kyle after all. Kyle, we're not turning off here. We're not. Yeah, I think you'd have a plan and you'd wanna do as much, maximize as much as possible,

and I don't know that that would also be Kyle's goal in this trip. Well, you know what's interesting is we could totally go our separate ways at the stops and then come back. Be like, well, how was your 12 hours? I would need a long time with whoever I went, but like I love Van Pelt, no way. And he wouldn't want to do it with me, no chance.

Do you think you'd have a better chance with you and Bill Cerruti than me and you? That's a nice answer. I don't know Bill well enough, I feel. I know I'm a little, but I don't know that I know, I mean, Kyle would know better than I would on that answer. I think he'd probably just take me off his podcast after he'd be like, we need to get someone else.

I'd be like, it's been too much. I see too much. Okay, Kyle. I wouldn't be fired, but I think he'd be like, I just need a little distance. Better chance. You and me for a month or you and Bill for a month? Me and you. I think that's the right answer.

He's got too many keys. You know what I mean? I just, I don't know. I don't want to get that close. I think things would really have to be on Bill's terms. Like we watch, we watched football Sundays and by the end of the second window, I'm like, I think I'll probably get out of here. And he's like, yeah, yeah.

All right. And that's not saying anything bad. It's just like, you know what? I think we're all feeling good about this. Maybe we can get out of here now. I think when you're like an elite status for a long time, like I think Van Pelt has it, like you're used to things kind of morphing to your way.

Specific specifications. Right, and like that's part of the hard work and the reward, but road trip, I don't know. I don't know. I think you've got to be a little bit more malleable. And I think malleability would be the key. So we can't come up with one person that you'd be like, what about me and Van?

That would be fun. But Van, I think again, Van is like a little bit too much. He's a little too chaotic, I think for you. I think you guys like your relationship right now. And I think it would be something like a little bit too much. He's a little too chaotic. I think for you, I think you guys like your relationship right now. And I think it would be something else at the end of it. And you might want the beginning thing back. That's the thing. Yeah.

I think you like exactly how it is. And you might be like, man, I wish we could get back to that place, but I don't know. I like it exactly. I think what about Chris Ryan? Chris, he would go with you. Yeah, I think that's true. I think that's true. It's like, I'm going to, I'm going to write 10,000 words on this.

When we get back here, what about fantasy? It'd be like having a rewatchable is in the car with you. Haven't seen that. So Rudy would just be like, yeah, I didn't see that one. It could just be like, Hey, on demand. It'd be like, watch this movie on the iPad while we're in here. And then just tell me what you think and then the casting choices. I might be able to do with my youngest brother, but I don't know.

And there's nobody at ESPN. It's so long, man. That's it. It goes back to the very first. It's really long. A month is long. It's so long. There's no one in the media that you're thinking of right now. You're like, okay, this is a lock. John Fanta. No way. I love John Fanta. I fucking love John Fanta.

You and Brian Curtis? I think we'd run out of material after a month. Yeah, you put your A stuff like on the first leg. Like we're not even on the highway yet. Cause I think like athletes know, I mean, you know, like Willie Colon, love Willie Colon. Great guest, he was awesome the last time he was on the pod. Willie's a lot, like a month.

For a month? A month? David Wood cracks me up. Yeah. What about PFT? I don't know. I think it would just be so easy. That seems pretty, yeah.

Not Big Cat though. I would imagine you couldn't do that with Big Cat. No, I think Big Cat's Midwestern sensibilities. You'd make it a few exits further than you think. We couldn't do that with Big Cat. No, I think Big Cat's Midwestern sensibilities, you'd make it a few exits further than you think. You would. But he's like an instigator though. I feel like he would just,

I think that would, I think without the audience, he'd be less of an instigator. Like there just wouldn't be anybody. What about Chris Long? I think it would be so much fun, but I don't know if he much fun, but I, I don't know if he'd make it a month.

I don't know if he would, because he might just be like, I need something different. You know, I can't, I can't do this for the month. All right, whatever. We have an email here. We haven't even touched. Okay. My boyfriend and I plan the trip.

We have one dilemma. We have an eight year old 69 pound lab pit mix, uh, named cash. Cash is the best dog. I'm not being biased since these hours, of course, not people wouldn't do that. He's great with people who could care less about other dogs likes to sleep and listens.

When told my boyfriend told me he'd only commit to the month trip. If we brought the dog along with us at first, I was on board, just excited to plan this adventure. Then I thought about how much we'd miss out having the dog with us, such as not being able to leave them alone for long periods, finding dog friendly hotels and activities or finding a dog sitter or having, and or having our dog sit in the car basically for a month while we drove around, obviously sitting in the car

attending to, you don't need the dog people on us. His parents obviously adore the dog. He grew up at their house and they watch him weekends. obviously sitting in the car attending to. You don't need the dog people on us. His parents obviously adore the dog. He grew up at their house and they watch him weekends when we are away for our annual ski trip, which is two weeks long. So they watch him on weekends and this annual ski trip that's two weeks long.

I think even though four weeks is a long time knowing he's not in a kennel, but a place he thrives without us, we should leave him with my partner's parents. I just think this trip can be more of an adventure without them and even more carefree, but wanting to make sure my boyfriend's happy if I accept it either way, knowing with or without our dog we'll have a great trip since we both love hearing

all three of your opinions that might help us to make a decision on what to do. Leave the dog, it's my vote. Anyone else? Parents love that too. If you've got a parent like that, like my oldest brother does that, it's actually,. Anyone else? Parents love that too. If you've got a parent like that, like my oldest brother does that, it's actually, I kind of get off a little bit.

You have an incredible option. You have an incredible option, okay? He'll be like, oh, my dog needs vet stuff and he drives down and leaves the dog there for like a month and my parents take him to the vet. It's a crazy thing. I'm like, come on, you're old enough not to do this. But my parents like it too.

So if the partner's parents like it, I think this is a no brainer. They'll treat them better than you would for that month. It's easy. Yeah. I've got two dogs. I've taken one of them, this is before we got the second one. We'd go to like a cabin somewhere, like whatever, Vermont, Hampshire, Maine, and there'd be some land.

It's a dog friendly place. You take a chill one? You're not traveling a ton. You're driving up there. No, well, we only had one at the time. I don't know that I would do it with both now. But if you're on a road trip, I'm as big of a dog guy as there is. That's a nightmare.

I don't wanna do the logistics of all the stuff you said of dog hotel stuff. You're limiting what your activities are going to be. The eating situation's gonna always be a problem. I mean, unless you're just living, I assume you're in a truck or a car. It's like not an RV situation. Well, she said camp, but then she also said hotels.

So let's face it a month on the road, you're going to want a few nights at like someplace to really recharge and sleep in a bed and shower and the whole deal. So like, even if you're the hardest core people with all your hyper light gear, you know, just camping all over the place, there's going to be times you're going to want to hit that reset and the limit your options. I know plenty of hotels would just let you put down the dog deposit, but like say it eight years, say something happens, like say somebody gets an infection or something sick and like the middle of it, you've just got bail on the entire trip

and you're in the Dakotas. Yeah. You know, Dakotas are great, but, you know, I think the chances of you turning around definitely rise when you bad the dog. The chances of you not completing this definitely go up if that dog is there. Shout out to Cash. Yeah. Cash is going to be just fine.

That's the best part of the whole thing is you have an incredible scenario to leave him behind by people that care about where you said he even grew up at the parents place anyway. So, you know, dog's not a purse man. scenario to leave him behind by people that care about where you said he even grew up at the parents place anyway. So, you know, dogs, not a purse, man. Fuck. Yeah. Like that. Okay. That'll do it for us.

Thanks for Oregon and Kyle and Saruti. Uh, and we're going to tape our mail in and Thursday special for YouTube. So please subscribe to our YouTube channel and the podcast. Ryan Risselover here, Spotify. Must be 21 and older, present in select states for Kansas, in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus and present in DC gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org forward slash chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 800-327-5050 for 24 seven support Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE-NY or text HOPENY in New York.