The Triple Option - Notre Dame's CJ Carr Joins, Fernando Mendoza Goes #1, plus Nachos Boosting NIL

Episode Date: April 29, 2026

Can Marcus Freeman really do it all? His quarterback thinks so. Coach Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram II, and Rob Stone debate if Ohio State asking fans to "Round Up for NIL" at the concession stand this Spring is fair play or going too far? They then discuss the narrative that there isn't enough money to go around while Nebraska and Auburn sink hundreds of millions of dollars into their new facilities. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish were left out of the College Football Playoff this past season and are determined to not let it happen again. Starting quarterback and Heisman contender CJ Carr stops by to talk about their upcoming season, his family's Michigan lineage, and Marcus Freeman's modeling career. We wrap in wrap celebrating friend of the show Fernando Mendoza going number one in the NFL Draft to the Las Vegas Raiders after winning the College Football Playoff National Championship for the Indiana Hoosiers. Chapters 00:00 Show Start 02:59 Any Given Saturday - Round Up for NIL 15:37 CJ Carr, Notre Dame Quarterback 30:55 Cheers to Fernando Mendoza New episodes of The Triple Option drop every Wednesday. Make sure you’re subscribed on YouTube and following on all podcast platforms. Also make sure you’re locked in on social @3XOptionShow on all platforms for highlight moments, bonus content, and to engage with the guys and the TO community. (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://tripleoptionshow.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)   The Triple Option is presented by Wendy’s. Try Wendy's® New crispier than ever Spicy Chicken Sandwich. ⁠⁠https://m-wendys.app.link/gm-spicy-chicken-26-display-banner ⁠⁠ Thank you to or additional sponsors Arkay - Arkay Zero Proof delivers the taste, aroma, and even the burn of real spirits — without alcohol, sugar, or carbs. Shop now at ⁠https://www.arkayzeroproof.com⁠   #CollegeFootball #CollegeFootballPlayoff #CFP #OhioStateBuckeyes #BigTen #ACC #SEC #Big12 #NotreDameFightingIrish #NFLDraft #HeismanTrophy #AlabamaCrimsonTide #LasVegasRaiders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marcus Freeman. Good looking, sharp dressed, well-spoken. Esquire magazine swung by and had a little photo shoot. Look at this. Can we break down these photos for us, CJ? I'm speechless. That's our coach. That's the guy I want to play for. Boy, I got that GQ look on them, don't it? When's the Urban Meyer Esquire shoot? Do we have that booked yet, coach? I can't. I gotta call Marcus. What in the hell? Light it. The triple option is presented by Wendy's. Wendy's invented the spicy chicken sandwich, and now we're reinventing it, making it crisperier than ever before. Wendy's spicy chicken, we're so back. Hey, welcome into the triple option.

Hall of Fame head coach Urban Meyer, Rob Stone, Hall of Famer to be any month now. Mark Ingram the second, deuce, deuce. Notre Dame quarterback Heisman contenders, C.J. Carr will join us momentarily. Plus Fernando Mendoza, the talk of the NF, draft member. Please rate, subscribe, send us questions. We're cross social media, 3x option. show new episodes on YouTube wherever you get your podcast.

Would you like to talk about my podcast studio this week again? Yeah, remind the viewers, where are you? Because this last week we hit it. In the conception room. Oh, Mark, you're right. Marking. No way. Look at the candles.

No way. Are those kids, like, can you light those candles over your right shoulder? I can find out. Look at the clock. Look at the couch. The conception couch. No, they're the fake cameras. They're the fake candles.

What about that lantern? You got a lantern over there? Is that the lantern where you clap and it turns on? There's no. What's that thing called? I've fallen and I can't get up. Oh, my God. Have you ever, like, have you ever gone through your...

The big circle behind you is a clock? What is that? It is a clock. You know what's fun coming to visit your parents is, like, if you need, like, an aspirin or something, You go in their bathroom things and then just the stuff you find from like decades ago, like brute after shave, right? Some brute old spice in like a ceramic case. I'm like, dad, this thing has been around since like conception of young men here.

So, Mark, what took place in that office right now? The conception. Coach Meyer, what is going on with you here? He's enjoying me on. He's egging me on. I'm trying to unsee that, but that's all good. No, no. It's going to be great when you see my parents tomorrow, by the way.

Feel free to bring up the couch and the office coach. POS will be like, yeah, you know what I did. I'll hold it down. I'll hold it down, putting it down. Oh, my God. Happy birthday to my dad, by the way. All right, we are 100. Yeah, big stone.

There we go. 123 days until kickoff of the 26 college football season. And where you will be locked in on any given Saturday. This one, you may notice at concession stands this. season, right? You buy your hamburger, you buy your hot dog, you buy your beverage or whatever it is. There's going to be an option at some places like you're at the grocery store to round up your bill, round up to donate to the school, the donation for NIL in some places, including Columbus, Ohio State rolled out the option at their spring game the other day.

The bucks round and up for the NIA. The bucks are rounding up, man. Also Nebraska proposing a $600 million. Stadium renovation. Auburn approved $323 million of addition to their stadiums as well. So again, we keep talking about, like, where's this money going to come from? Where's this money going to come from? Well, they find it. And then now they're trying to nickel and dime you at the concession stand as well. Again, you don't have to donate.

You don't have to say round up. I know what the grocery store every time. But that's elite. Isn't it? There is no more NIL. That's on their players own, right? It's not the university given NIL. But there are zero rules right now.

None. That's the big take way. You have red share. And they're still NIO. There's still NIO. There's still NIO, coach. So the money comes from the round up and where is it go, they just distribute. I thought you couldn't do that.

Yes. It has to go through the college football commission, which, I mean, my goodness. Are you guys like me, you get annoyed these days where everywhere you go, you're being asked for another bonus tip or another roundup or another this or another that. And now you're going to get hit at the concession. You just, listen, man, you're going there for spring ball, right? Like, I just want to see some young cats. I want to get out of the house.

I want to see some football. And now these poor concession workers have to ask you, would you like to round up to pay for that young, tight end? Well, you remember we had Jay Billis on. Jay Billis looks at things very uniquely, obviously, very intelligent guy and great guy. But I asked them the question. I said about sustained, you know, because the commission, four commissioners, I sat in the White House and I heard how it's unsustainable, what's going on.

everything's unsustainable, unsustainable. And Ash Jay Billis, do you remember what he said? He said, we've been hearing that for 40 years. He was, of course, it's sustainable and it will be sustainable. And, you know, the higher-offs would argue with you, but then also Nebraska, 600 mill into a stadium, 323 at Auburn. They're still paying. I think Auburn's still paying off coaches, right?

It sounds right. They banged a few of them. Yeah. But it's unsustainable. Sure, it. They're, I mean, unbelievable. I remember talking. An AD last year told me that you won't be able to, coaches will not get fired.

Remember Mark? And you laughed. Yeah. He said, you will see coaches hang on to coaches because they cannot afford to buyouts. How wrong was that? I did laugh because a program is not going to sit there and watch their school go to shambles. They're going to fire him and pay that bread. Yep.

And they did it. 20-something coaches were looking for new jobs. There was 20-something vacant openings this year. they're going to get that money. They're going to have you round up, Stone. Round up. Round up. Round up.

There's a moral to the story. There's plenty of money in college football and whatever comes out of an administrators, you know, take it for what it is. They're going to do what they got to do. So let's talk about facilities real quick. I think the facility conversation is changing. So coach in your day, whether it was it, let's just say Florida and Ohio State, how important was facilities on?

on your master list, like there's recruiting, there's whatever, but facilities, where were they for you in importance? Yeah, I had four jobs, and Bowling Greens were not good. We built one after I left that we helped do. And then Utah was very below average. Florida was way below average. And Ohio State was average. But what we did and what I was nuts about is the commitment for sports performance.

And that means the amount of money that we threw into our own PT person, our own sports psychologists and the very best of the best training staff and weight staff. I was more about the people than the silliness of some of the... I think it's got to be a great facility. But you see, you know, you see like pools and slides and, you know, we were... I didn't want any of that stuff. I wanted just to make sure we had the best of the best for our players. I mean, if it was cutting edge cryout or, you know, whatever it was to make sure those players

had the best of the best, we... And training table, we sunk all kinds of money into that. but not, never had a great facility, ever. I think that was some of the bells and whistles of getting recruited, you would go somewhere and you would love to see that they had, like, great places where you were going to be spending your time, right? I think that was kind of something that, you know, sold players, something that players were attracted to,

was going to have a great stadium, going to have a great locker room, going to have a great weight room, going to have a good dining hall, going to have a good study hall, like those facilities all matter. I think it made, you know, a lot of sense to players and also their families as well, knowing that you were sending your kid to a great place that had great resources and a nice place for your kid to be able to spend this time. But these days, I don't feel like the facilities matter that much. What matters that much is the bottom line.

I'm coming to your school. How much you're going to pay me? I'm coming to your school. How much am I making a month? I'm coming to your school. How much NIA money am I going to get? Where I'm going to be living? All these things.

That's what matters now. If you go to a place, they have great facilities, and they're only going to get you 200,000, but you go to another place, and the facilities are average or below average, but they want to pay you 750,000 to a million, they're going to go where the money's at. And I think that's essentially what we're dealing with in today's age. And the kids aren't wrong, honestly. You know, capitalize on the chance that you have to make this money, and that's what they're going to do.

So I think back when I was getting recruited, I think facilities made much more of a difference. Sure. Whereas opposed to now, it's all about the bottom line, how much money am I? make it. Facilities matter, I think, more for the donors now or for the alumni and the administrators as well, right? Because they see these prices increasing and they say, how can we maximize our Saturdays, right? And if that's suites and boxes that we didn't have and we need to get to get corporate sponsorship in, that's maybe that's what they're talking about facilities now rather than, hey, the players want to see this beautiful training table spread.

Or here's a great couch and pop a shot. What's ironic is Ohio State's facilities. They were actually the same ones that I was there in 1986. Now, they've been expanded, but it's the same one. You have the Woody Hayes Athletic Facility was built in 1987. I was a grad student. The same indoor facility mark. Now it's grown.

I mean, they've added like some rooms to it, et cetera. and everybody keeps saying you need a new one, need a new one. You don't need a new one. You need to renovate your current one. That's what they do. Alabama has the same facility that I was at. You walk in the same door, but that thing looks completely different when you go inside.

I don't look like the same spot. I walk in there, I don't know where I'm at anymore. I'd be like, yo, where are we at here? You know what I mean? Where's the Mark Ingram wing, which way left? Right. Where am I going here? No, but you're right, Stone.

Like, I think when you talk about the facilities, how they're renovating the stadiums, is to generate more revenue. You know, they're renovating the stadiums to have more suites, to have more premium seating so they can charge more money. So it goes to the university so they can spend more. So they can spend more. It's all about money.

It's all about the bottom line here. And we're hearing reports, Mark, of multiple schools with $40 million dollars rosters. $40 million roster. So obviously you've got to figure out a way to pay for that. I thought they had no money, Coach. Here, I, I'm no names, but a friend of mine, not at Ohio State, but I just texted them.

That's a GM. And I said, what in the world? I thought NIL, and here's what he said, no rules. Zero rules right now. He said you're going to see $50 million rosters that, you know, the revenue share I think is going to be, what, 21? That means $30 million are going to be. So there's zero rules.

So let's go back to the beginning of this conversation, asking people to round up their bill at the concession stand. You all right with that, Mark? Listen, at this point, at this day, man, try everything you can. Because when Mother's going for $50 million roster, if we can get a million dollars for roundups. Hey, those roundups add up fast, man, right? Like a 57 cents and a 63 here and next thing you know.

Or, you know, I'm $9.8. No, stop. You got 40,000 people adding to $1. No, it does. It doesn't, Rob, stop. You get 40 grand. And you got a couple Saturdays. Eight home games. That concession stand, you're hitting it multiple times now, Coach.

You're hitting it multiple times. I'm just saying the concept. Like, because, you know, if you're the university, you would say to yourself, hey, these are my people, right? These are the people that want to see our athletic department succeed. So what is, what's a quarter here? What's a $0.63? 60 cents.

Like, whatever. It's crazy just what we've gotten to. You know what I mean? Like, we got our own fans rounding up to go to the NIL. But at the end of the day How about the opposing fans? How about those Auburn fans coming to Bama for a game

and asking them to round up? They're going to be like, Can I round down? Round down. Can I round down? Take that order back. I am not interested. Hey, you got to get it how you live, man.

Because if you don't have the funds, if you don't have the money, if you don't have the resources, you cannot compete in today's game. So, amen. I'm changed my whole tune, man. Get it how you live. Pay.

Get it how you live. I would try to get a $70 million. roster right now. It's coming. It's coming. It's coming, Coach. That was, this year. It was 20.

It was 30-something last year. It's up north of 40 now. It's going up with inflation, coach. And they say, and everyone says sustainability and Jay Billis says stop. It is obviously sustainable. I have to agree. I agree with Jay Bellas.

It is sustainable. Because it ain't going nowhere, Coach. It ain't going nowhere. Until the rules happen, the number's going to keep going up. Just win, baby. Just win. Bingo. Bingo. That was never cutting corners presented by Wendy's. Wendy's new spicy chicken sandwich is crisper, crunchier, and more flavor-packed than ever.

Wendy's, we're so back. And when we come back on the Triple Option, Notre Dame quarterback, C.J. Carr joins the show. Light it. Welcome back to the Triple Option. Rob Snow, Marking from the second, Urban Meyer here with you. We go to South Bend, Indiana, bringing in the quarterback of Notre Dame University, C.J. Carr. By the way, coach, right? Like, that cat looks like a proper quarterback. I would take that every day right there. Look at that bad ass.

Welcome, C.J. Man. The look is on point this spring. Well done. Thank you. Appreciate it. Hey, C.J. I love your grandfather.

We became good friends over the years. And, you know, Wolverine legend won a national title, and you're stuck with a decision to make a big one. And you pick a rival. I know you guys aren't playing for a minute, but back in the day, that was a huge rivalry. When you first got to Notre Dame,

I first got there in 1996, and I couldn't get enough of it. The Basilica, the Grotto. I'm a Catholic guy, Irish Catholic guy, and so I just, is it still, I mean, do you pinch yourself someday? I said, I'm the quarterback at the University of Notre Dame, and when you walk around that great campus?

Yeah, during the recruiting process, it was unbelievable. During my sophomore or the summer, going into my sophomore year of high school, my dad kind of wanted to take us all over the Midwest. And, you know, just to see what was all over, I'd been offered by Michigan and Michigan State at that point. And, you know, we didn't want to lock in on a lot of people I thought I would just kind of lock in on Michigan right away and commit. But, you know, my dad wanted to do it right. He wanted me to see around. So we hit all the Midwest schools. And at this point,

Coach Freeman wasn't, you know, the head coach here. And so we visited Notre Dame, but it wasn't really a place we were looking at too hard until, you know, Free got the job. And I really liked the offense coordinator Tommy Reese, who isn't here anymore. But, you know, I liked, I just, you know, really like the staff and the people. And then as I continue to kind of visit Notre Dame, it just felt more like home. Like you said, coach, it's you walk past the basilica and the dome. And it's a special place. There's a different type of aura around Notre Dame when you're walking around the campus. So I definitely made the right decision. So a quick mini history lesson, 1996. Coach Holtz hired me, Mark and Rob and CJ. Notre Dame back then, they didn't have

a training table. The players had to stay in the dorms for four years. A lot of the dorms were non-air condition. They did not pay the coaches. We got paid about half. What other coaches got paid. The facilities were awful. I mean, horrible, infested with stuff. And I mean, just really, really bad, but it was the mindset that we're Notre Dame. We don't have to do like everybody else. But I don't think Brian Kelly gets enough credit. He changed that. And now Marcus, I watch and I see what has happened to Angela Edison, what I've seen, the facilities. I think you guys get another one. Oh, yeah. It's the best version of Notre Dame in my lifetime right now. And that's pretty cool. Tell us about the facilities and the commitment they've made to you guys. I'm telling you,

You had no training table. And last quick story, I went on the road recruiting back. This is around cell phone time, Mark. They refused to give us cell phones. And so I was at a practice, and I asked the assistant coach from University of Connecticut, can I borrow your cell phone? Because I have to make a call. He looked to me and goes, you're Notre Dame.

And I said, I know they don't give a cell phone. So that's a, tell us about the difference now. It's a lot different than that coach. It's unbelievable. We're building a new locker room, weight room. facility right now. And it looks unbelievable. We've got to walk by it every day going to practice for about the last, you know,

seven months. And so come fall camp will be in that. And it's amazing. We got training table. Yes, there are. So it's good. It's amazing. Yeah, man, CJ, man, big fan of you, man, what you stand for, what you did last year,

your first season starting. But I just want to talk about the two dogs you had in the backfield last year, man. You had obviously, Jeremiah, I love. and Gedarian Price. How did they help you in your first year as a starter? And how are you preparing to live without those two dogs this season? Yeah, they took a lot of stress and pressure off of me, knowing that in the run game, we could kind of do whatever we wanted when you have the two best backs in college football. And you don't like the look the defense is giving you. It's really easy to just check to a run play, get the ball into those guys' hands and let them kind of

work their magic. And so it's, it's going to be a change being, you know, without the two best backs in the country. But I also think, you know, what people aren't expecting is that we got two, two or three really, really good backs coming in behind them. Neas Williams, Nolan James Jr. and Kejuring Young are going to be really, really good for us. And then two freshmen will come in. And it's unbelievable. They're going to be really good. They're going to surprise a lot of people that, you know, might not think that we can, we can bring you know, a JD and a Jay-love aspect of our game back, but I think we can. Hey, CJ, I'm looking at your schedule here, and you are probably going to be two score

favorites in every game except maybe at BYU, which is the tough one. We've been there. And then Miami, I think Miami comes to you guys in November, which those hurricanes. I know Coach Freeman's hoping for a nice 12-degree day in South Bend. But last year, you lost the two, you know, the two games. Miami and Texas Amity kept you out of the playoff. Have you and Coach Freeman, because you're going to be a leader here, talked about how to just keep it one week at a time?

Because, I mean, it's, you can't, you can't stop your toe. Certainly not twice. No doubt. We've, you know, a big theme going into this year that we've talked about is starting fast. And for the last few years, we haven't started fast. And so this year is going to be a big emphasis. We've worked throughout the offseason, getting more team periods in, and doing some tempo drills at the beginning of practice,

just to emphasize, you know, coming out of the gate hot and taking care of business one week at a time, like you said, Coach. And so Coach Freeman has done a great job of kind of preparing us, at least this far into spring. And, you know, we're going to keep our heads down and continue to work throughout this summer with player-led practices into the fall with fall camp. And then into week one with Wisconsin, which we're really excited about.

you're talking about doing those Midwest trips and you mention your dad. I feel like you're not mentioning mom, Tammy, for a reason that maybe mom wasn't allowed on some of these trips or particularly the one to South Bend. Is that right? Particularly the one to South Bend. Because she was allowed to come on all the visits. Once we started to get really serious about Notre Dame, then it was like, all right, you can't meet free until we've, you know, I know what I'm getting myself into. Well, why is that?

What had you worried about your mom's reaction to Coach Freeman? Because I think in all households, like the mom is the boss, and at least that's my household. It's mom and we listen to Mom. And so Coach Free just does such a great job of capturing Notre Dame and the way he recruits. And exactly what he says is what Notre Dame is like. And I just knew my mom, the second she heard him talk about Notre Dame and how much he cared about it and the passion he had, it was over.

And there was no more other schools. And so we had to kind of, we had to wait for her to fully meet free and get and sit down with him. And then she did. And it was exactly what we thought was going to happen. And now I'm here. Did Coach Freeman know he had that upper hand coming into the conversation, do you think? I don't know. I don't know.

He's, you know, he just speaks with a lot of passion about Notre Dame and understands his role in this program and is the best leader we could ask for. And so all that coming together, it's hard for the moms to say no and our family at least. You know, looking at that schedule again real quick, there's two big misses on there. And that's the Wolverines and that's the USC game. You know, I grew up in era. That was a must. That was a, that was two rivalry games. Have you guys talked about that or just move on about the rivalry games going away?

I know over social media there was a lot of buzz about the USC games. And I think Michigan's supposed to be coming back at some point in the future. You know, both of those teams, I think this program would love to play. And growing up, it was, you know, for our family, it was always, we were a Michigan family. So Michigan, Ohio State was number one. And then, you know, I grew up watching Michigan, Notre Dame. And so, you know, that's a rivalry. I would love to bring back.

And I'm not going to, unfortunately, be a part of a game like that unless it's a playoff game. But it's a special. They're very similar programs, I think. And I think they need to be playing each other every year. Yeah, man, I have a feeling what you're going to say here. But I just need to talk to you, man. We've got this Heisman trophy right here, man. And according to Vegas right now, you tie with Archmanan, as a Heismaner,

favorite, much deserved, well deserved. You've earned that. But are you hearing this noise? How does it make you feel? Is adding a little pressure to you? Tell me about, man, being in that discussion already in a way too early preseason Heism's favorite. Yeah, like you said, it's way too early. If you had looked at last year's, you know, projected Heisman winner, I don't think Fernando Mendoza would be anywhere near that. And so it really doesn't, doesn't, doesn't mean anything to me and it doesn't mean anything to this program until, you know, we get to go out and play Wisconsin week one and carry on momentum week in, week out. You know, our goal here is to play our best football each week.

And team glory is what we're after. And with team glory, the individual rewards will come. But, you know, like I said, it's it's all about winning here. And that's what we're kind of worried about. The man is polished, man. I can't knock him off as pivot, man. day. You mentioned the theme starting fast. And again, that O and two start last year is part of it. I think there's another theme out there that we've been hearing from South Bend, this revenge

tour type concept, the fact that you guys were not accepted in the college football playoffs. Is that for real, this revenge tour vibe that's going through your program? No, it's the year in Notre Dame. We're worried about ourselves. We're not worried about anyone else. And we want to just show up every day. And we got a lot of time before game one. And so we're not worried about, you know, the teams we played last year or the results of last year. We want to keep the pain from not, you know, make it into the playoffs. But we want to use that to just propel us forward. It's not about anyone else. And it's about reaching our... So you're telling me you don't have November 7th circled somewhere in your locker room,

somewhere in your office, somewhere in your brain. Don't tell them, CJ. That's up to you, dude. Don't go there. I don't. I don't. We have every week circled and it's, you know, right-answer. You don't have rice. You don't have rice circle. Don't think that came with you. We do. We do. It's another opportunity to be. You're damn right, CJ. The man knows the stuff.

Yeah, real quick, this is my last question for you, Ced. I think this is really cool for a listener. So Notre Dame does not have fraternity sororities. Your affiliation is with your dorm. Yes. It's one of the coolest experiences. And 7,000 students, I think 7,100 go to the games. You know how many students are, Rob? 7100.

Everyone goes. It's one of the coolest experiences. So what dorm are you in and is true you're affiliated with that dorm? I'm a part of the Keogoo Kangaroos. That's my dorm. There you go. I was in there for about a year and made some really good friends in that dorm. and it's the best part, I think, is the, it's kind of like a locker room, the dorm.

It's like, you know, we're going to go play dorm basketball in the winter. And then in the fall, we have dorm football sectionals. And then, you know, you have a sister dorm and you go to formals with that dorm. And so it's like a team. It's like a locker room. You're part of the Keogoo's or, you know, the O'Neill, whatever. and you make some really good friends in there, really good memories.

How many years you got to be in the dorm? No, there's a smile. Technically, it's three. Because you know what happened, Rob, our players came from some, some came from wealthy families. They'd all get apartments. Yes, sir.

But the Notre Dame administration, we would have to check their dorm rooms once in a while to make sure they're actually living in dorms, but they weren't. Yeah, that doesn't happen anymore. It's you're supposed to live on campus, for three years or at least have a dorm and then you can move off your fourth some guys now that nil is around we get apartments and houses wow love times have times have you you haven't been able

to have the uh the cereal on the quad or whatever they call it on those Saturday mornings right you're too busy but your kangaroos are doing that the the breakfast cereal that you guys do yeah they're they're doing that uh for me they're they're sucking down the cereal for you all right Let's conclude by going back to your head coach, Marcus Freeman. All right. I mean, good looking cat, right? Like we can all accept this, right? Good looking, sharp dressed, well spoken.

Esquire magazine swung by, right? And had a little photo shoot. Now, look at this. Can we break down these photos for us, CJ? I don't think I can. I'm speechless, to be honest. That's our coach. That's the guy I want to play for.

You know what I'm saying? You have black and white over here. I got that GQ look on them, don't it? What's the Urban Meyer Esquire shoot? Have we had, have we, do we have that booked yet, Coach? I can't, I got to call Marcus, say, what? That, he looks good though. Hey, man, GQ.

This hasn't made it into the locker room. This hasn't made it into the locker room. This hasn't made it into the weight room. Oh, it's on the way for sure. Love it, we love it, we love it. CJ Car, so, thank you so much for spending some, some of your springtime here with us. I know Spring Ball just wrapped up for you guys. He had a great outing.

People are raving about you. You're a Heisman candidate. But let's start fast, right? No 0-1-2 starts in South Bend this year. Start, start fast. Appreciate it. Thank you, Jay. Keep on your family, brother.

Thank you guys. We doing everything, man. We're rooting for you, Doc. Thank you. And if you're a Notre Dame fan and want more coverage of the Irish, make sure to check out the Echoes, a podcast on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. With your host, Mike Golick Jr.

And Jessica Smetana, new episodes drop every two. Tuesday morning. Coming up next, we talk about the number one overall pick. Fernando Mendoza on his way to Vegas when the triple option presented by Wendy's returns. Light it. It is time for Cheers of the Week, presented by RK Zero Proof. RK. Zero Proof delivers the taste, aroma, and even the burn of real spirits without the alcohol, sugar, or carps. Mark had that burn last week on the show. The NFL draft was last week. No, I love me some arc-case, don't. I know you do. I have some back home.

Indiana QB, Fernando Mendoza, as expected, went number one overall to the Las Vegas Raiders. Coach, what do you think will make Fernando a success in the NFL? Great players around them. You know, I've had Alex Smith was the number one player overall, and he went to a really bad team, bad defense, bad special teams, bad offense, and he got blamed for it. And then it finally settled down, and Jim Harbaugh came in and settled. things in and they started winning and then he played for a guy named Andy Reid with a good team and he had a really good career and then went on to Washington so Fernando Mendoza is a dear friend of

this program he still text me that's how good that kid is I love the guy I said mid year last year that he needed to come back and then he won a run mark that was historic and he certainly proved that he's the number one pick he's earned it he deserves it but I haven't really watched the Raiders, but I know Matt Liner, you, Mark, and I think Brady said the same thing. That's as bad a football team as they've ever seen. And I didn't watch them. I've been watching the NFL of a long time, coach. The Raiders were one of the worst football teams I've ever seen in history that I've ever watched.

They couldn't do anything. Yeah. So I worry about them a little bit. You know, you start getting beat up in a bad offense. And once again, I don't know this. Like, I'm going to study the Raiders, but you get stuck behind a bad offense line. you get stuck with very average talent around you. They do have some...

They're playing teams that get... They beat the piss out of you. They do have some cornerstones, though. What's that? They do have some key pieces of cornerstones to build around, but they definitely need to protect the man because they could not do that at all last year.

The common thing every great quarterback has, Mark and Rob, is good players around them. Yes, sir. Because it's impossible to do it around them. I think I'll piggyback off coach, man. I think the great players around him will be substantial, and he does have that. You have a great running back.

Ashton Genti. You have a generational tight-in and Brock Bowers. You have Max Crosby. So now you just need to put some stuff in the trenches. You need to be able to run the football, one, because you have Ashton Genti. You need to be able to pass block, for one, because you have, you're going to draft Fernando Mendoza. You have two top seven picks from your quarterback and your running back.

You have to be able to have somebody in front of them to be able to block. But what I think is going to make Fernando Mendoza successful is all the intangels we talk about, the leadership. his communication. He is a football nerd. He studies. He knows coverages. He knows where to go with the football. He processes quickly. He has great accuracy. He has the size. He's like 64 or 65. So he has all the intangels that you look for in a quarterback. But to me, most importantly, who he is. Who he is. He's coachable. He wants to learn. He wants to be great. He has great leadership traits. Yes. And yes, he is accurate with the football. He does process quickly. But I think who Fernando, Mendoza is as a person is what's going to make him successful. He doesn't want to be, he's not one of these guys who's going to be complacent. He's going to be content with being the first number one overall pick. No, he wants to be great.

He wants his teammates around him to be great. He has great leadership qualities, great leadership capabilities. I'm just excited to watch the young man. Big fan of Fernando Mendoza. I can't wait to watch them. And I just need the Raiders to do something to help this young man because they were bad last year. Yeah. I wonder if the franchise.

changes him or if he changes the franchise. You're right. It's one or the other. Right. And that's a great way of looking at it. It's a big one. And that's no disrespect to what Raider Nation is, but it's been dysfunctional for a while now. And they need to get out of this rut. And he is that type of Messiah type character. I mean, like, he's anti-Vegas, right? I mean, he is a clean living cat and a smart dude. And you do not see them getting mixed up with some of the things that have have nabbed some Vegas players lately. And I hope that smile and that arm just wins over that city, wins over that fan base, and it becomes a winner in the NFL.

But it's not easy at that position. And with all that is expected of you coming out as a number one pick, I think there's a lot of GMs out there these days, Mark, who would say, you know what, burn your high picks on a quarterback. I get it. It's the most important position. but you know what? I would rather take some dude who's in his third, fourth, fifth year,

who's got some experience and calm down and maybe doesn't have the great stats but understands better now what this position is rather than taking a gamble on some teenager. They need to get some offensive damn linemen. They could not block anybody. You have Ashton Genti. He could not... People were talking about Ashton Genti.

Like, this dude was a beast last year, and he was getting hit two yards behind a line of scrimmage every time we touched the ball. Gino Smith was dropping back. He was getting hitting his mouth. He was looking out of his earhole half the season. So like get some guys on the front offensive line to help these cornerstone pieces that you have drafted. Like I said, you got Bowers, you got Gentile. You're going to go get Mendoza.

Get some offensive linemen that can run block and pass block so you can have a whole fighting chance to be successful. So I love what you said, Rob. You said he either changes the franchise or the franchise changes him. Mark Enger just told you, I can't agree. You just said it without that. he becomes them, and that's not good. So I don't, once again, I haven't studied them, but we all know, balling up.

You better have some freaking guys in front of you, man, or that, that, that, that, that, that, in that league. He's got the mental and physical makeup, sure, to be a success. Yeah, but if he gets a shit kicked out of him because he's, no one's blocking him. He's looking out of his earhole. I'm defensive of that kid, you know,

I don't think the franchise will change him. I, to change him to, you know, I think he has the wearerthal to be true to who he is. And that's why I have hope. for him in the NFL is because he's going to stay true to who he is. He's going to work. He's going to believe, yes, he might run around, he might get beat up a little bit.

I believe in Fernando Mendoza staying true to who he is, but I just need the Raiders to be able to help him because... I watched them because I had Ashton Gentian fantasy last year. And they were terrible. Coach, awful! I want the Raiders to do well, Mark, but I think you've triggered a new T-shirt idea, right?

The Raider, but with the... home it sideways and he's looking at it. You know, Smith was, you got him flicking off, fans, Flans picking him off, casting jetty with the head down. Like, he's getting the ball. He can't run. Like, well, it was bad. He didn't change the franchise. The franchise changed

him, man. Oh, boy. That does it for the triple option. Follow, subscribe. Rate us on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify. Wherever it is, you get your podcast, as well as across social media, we are at 3x option show. And as always, to our wonderful sponsors. Wendy's in RK. Zero Proof.