The Triple Option - Retired Navy Seal Mike "Boots" Barker, NFL Rookie Camp, & Georgia Preview

Episode Date: May 28, 2025

What defines a hero? We take a crack at it today.   With NFL rookies reporting for camp, Mark takes a look back at his first spring in New Orleans and it wasn't exactly normal #WhoDat.   Urban, Mark, and Rob then attempt to define what is a hero with a man deserving of the title - retired Navy Seal Mike "Boots" Barker as they discuss leadership, how to build a team you can count on, the weight of sacrifice, as well as a couple missions he CAN discuss...well, kind of.   Georgia lost 13 players to the NFL and Carson Becht transferred to Miami. Can Kirby and company find their way into the College Football Playoff once again? The guys take a look into the BetMGM Crystal Ball and debate the 9.5 win total.  Finally, school is out for summer, the guys get into some of their summer adventures. 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.  Find your new favorite Frosty Fusions™ flavor today with choices like OREO®Brownie, Caramel Crunch, and Pop-Tarts® Strawberry. ⁠⁠https://m-wendys.app.link/frostyfusion25⁠⁠   Thank you to our additional sponsors NHTSA – Click it or Ticket: ⁠⁠http://www.nhtsa.gov/clickit⁠⁠   BetMGM It's the NBA Playoffs! With Bet MGM’s Second Chance Promotion, you’ll get your stake back in cash if your First Field Goal Scorer, scores second instead. That’s right. Simply bet on any player  to score the first field goal during ANY playoff game. If you’re right,  you win! But, if your pick scores second instead of first, you get your  stake back in cash. Grab the chance at getting your  stake back at Bet MGM. See Bet MGM dot com for Terms. This US promotional offer not available in DC, Mississippi, New York, Nevada, Ontario, or Puerto Rico. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER, available in the U.S. For New York, call 877-8-HOPE NY or text HOPE NY (467369). For Arizona, call 1-800-NEXT-STEP. For Massachusetts, 1-800-327-5050. For Iowa, 1-800-BETS-OFF. For Puerto Rico, 1-800-981-0023. For West Virginia, visit www dot 1 800 gambler dot net. Subject to eligibility requirements. In partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Georgia, Georgia. We always love it when there's an opportunity for Mark to sing that song. Oh, sing it Mark. Georgia, Georgia. Welcome to the triple option presented by Wendy's. Try Wendy's new frosty fusions with flavors like Caramel Crunch, Oreo Brownie, and Pop Tart Strawberry. Light it. Rob Stone, Mark Ingram II, Urban Meyer here with you on the Triple Option presented by Wendy's. Thanks for joining us. Rate, subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever it is you

get your podcasts. You can find us on social media. We're at 3XOptionShow. New episodes coming right every Wednesday on YouTube, wherever it is you get your podcasts. Memorial Day weekend is softly in our rear view mirror, but we're gonna kind of continue that discussion, that theme, if you will, as we talk to one of the great American heroes out there, the highly decorated SEAL team development member, Mike Boots Barker joins the show as we continue to honor the military

through the course of this kind of Memorial Day stretch. Coach, Doug, in his Rolodex and pull this one out. It's a good conversation, Coach. It's tremendous and I can't wait for people, you know what, I can't wait for people to, first of all, see American hero and then also just hear about what goes through their heart in some of those difficult situations.

Can't wait. For sure. That's coming up later, but first we get strapped in. Presented by NHTSA, not wearing your seatbelt. Could cost you a ticket or your life. Don't risk it click it or ticket So we get strapped in courtesy of NHTSA right now NFL rookies They finally were able to put on that new NFL gear for the first time mark your rookie cap Was a different type of rookie experience, wasn't it?

Yeah, it was way different different any of these rookies experience because I didn't have a rookie experience NFL was locked out. So my first actual official day with the team was training camp. But when you have great leaders, like Boots told us, we have great leaders. They come and they rise to the occasion. So Drew Brees flew several of us. I was actually in New Orleans, but flew all the guys in, put us up. And we had practice at Tulane's campus. We went through plays, we did

seven on seven, we did routes on air. So when you have great leaders, you do have a rookie experience because they need you to be up to par and up to speed when training camp hits. So I didn't have a full blown rookie experience, but thanks to Drew Brees, thanks to some great leaders in the saints organization, we're able to get the team together and still work. Even though we couldn't officially work in the, did you guys see, did you have a playbook to work out of? Yeah.

Well, you know, Drew and these players, they know the plays, they know the basic interest. Yeah, but you didn't, you're a rookie. Yeah. But they could tell me what to do. They could tell me the name of the place. It could be like, this is how you run it. There were some other running backs who had been in the, on the team.

You know what I mean? So luckily I had some great leaders who weren't selfish and envious and helped me. So I grew as a player, even though I couldn't be with the team. So that was my rookie experience. Any soft rookie hazing moments? Man, all I had to do was bring breakfast sandwiches every Saturday morning. I had to go make sure everyone's order breakfast sandwiches. That was my job.

But it was all easy, man, because some people get away worse. So I was thankful I had some OGs that just wanted to eat good. So that's all they want. What were these breakfast sandwiches? Really? Like special? Oh man, they were great. You didn't have to make them like biscuits.

We talk in English. You have, you can have biscuits. You could have bagels. You could have muffins. It depends on what's your heart desires. And I will order it and and the breakfast sandwich place would make it. I can't believe I freaking forget the name right now. But who ordered the most breakfast sandwiches?

Was there one dude who just devoured like come on man you're not gonna eat this man. No everyone kind of got one or two you know you know of bacon bacon egg and cheese you know sometimes bacon, bacon, egg and cheese, you know, sometimes bacon, egg, sausage and cheese. Sometimes the pork chop. They had all types of pork chop, the pork chop breakfast. Pork chops for breakfast. Coach, you ever had a South breakfast? Not happening either. Not happening. South in that dirty South in Louisiana. That's how we do it

in that dirty South man. Any crawfish? Any crawfish for breakfast? Not for breakfast, but definitely for lunch and brunch. Crawfish etouffee. Oh, yeah. Now we're talking. All right. We've lost our focus and we've gotten in the oysters. Rockefeller. They have now.

And then Charles Broil oysters. Oh, yes. Oh, and the red beans and rice. Louisiana, I love you and you love me. Oh that baby. Let's go. With that, coming up next, we get to talk to just a great American hero, retired Navy Seal, Mike Boots Barker joins the Triple Option presented by Wendy's. Light it. Every journey I take leaves a lasting impact. Traveling the world only makes me realize

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fees on your first three orders. Service fees exclusions and terms apply. Instacart, groceries that over-deliver. Welcome back to The Triple Option presented by Wendy's, Rob Stone, Mark Ingram, the second Urban Meyer. How about the guest we got this week here? Mike Boots Barker, retired Navy Seal. Coach pulled one out of his Rolodex and said, hey man, let's continue celebrating. Let's continue celebrating Memorial Day weekend and honoring those who have served and Boots man, you fit that bill coach. I'm letting you bat lead off here, my friend. Yeah, it's an honor to see my friend Boots. We just did a Folds of Honor event that bears the name Boots Camp and we have a bunch of friends donated a lot of money for Gold Star

families. That's what Folds of Honor is. I can't think of a greater cause. And Boots and I became friends at a Folds of Honor event at Inverness in Toledo. And we were drinking some brown water, me and a bunch of seals on the back porch. And we drank a lot of brown water that night. And I grew up and everybody, you know, people know this. My father's army. Brown water. And some bourbon, some whiskey.

Let's go. A'm uneducated like myself. Brown water. Some bourbon, some whiskey. Let's go. A lot of whiskey, Mark. And I had this idea that, you know, I want to be a Navy, you know, I think who doesn't dream of being a Navy SEAL and let's teach them how to shoot. Let's teach them hostage situations that, so we did it all. And we had our second successful year. But Boots, great to have you here. And I'm going to start off with this, that I am very passionate about this.

I say it quite often when I speak, certainly to veteran groups, but what is a hero? And we actually looked it up. It's a guy that's admired, idolized for courage, outstanding achievements, for noble qualities. I don't know if I agree with that. That's a dictionary description of what a hero is. I think a hero is someone that puts others ahead of self and even if you put yourself in harm's way. To me that's a hero and that's how much love I have for our

veterans that serve our country, the men and women who have served and are currently serving. And Boots is a hero. Boots is a guy that he can't speak a lot of the things that he's done for this country, but I'm gonna get very personal with him and then hand it off to him. He's a friend, a guy I admire deeply, and his son came down, as did mine, to this event.

And we had him up there and we called a campfire talk. We have our Navy SEALs and a couple of rangers up there talking. And he talked and his son was up there, Mikey, and talked about when he was very young, I want to say seven, eight years old, if I remember him talking, that Boots would say, go on deployment and say,

and you're talking about real deployment, this is real stuff you're going into. And he'd say, you're the man of the house and I'll take care of your mom and the other kids because there's a chance. Dad's not coming home. And I saw Boots get emotional. I saw this kid that grew up real fast, man, when he was seven, eight years old. So Boots, I want to thank you for your service and, uh, thanks for being a

hero and thanks for the, what you've done for our country. Thank you. Well, thank, thank, thank you for having me. And yeah, that's quite a title. I don't know if I've earned that, but thank you. There's many people that have really laid it down for us. Past generations all the way up, all the way up to the recent ones, the recent fights that I've been in and that I've laid it down.

Those are, those are the true heroes. They really are. And the reason I bring that up and I have Mark on here and I know Mark agrees with me because I talked to his father actually about this is that I would get very upset with our players, not upset, but I would just because God blessed you with great size and speed does not make you a hero. Scoring touchdowns or not hero. That's fun.

That's great. But heroes come awful cheap nowadays, whether you're a musician or a coach or a, uh, incredible athlete. You know, I, I just, I just get very upset when I hear people either label them or idolize these people when you. And I went on two USO trips and I watched, I watched what these men and women do to protect our country. So thanks again, Boots.

Well, thank you. Hey, let's start in the beginning. Boots, how did you get into the military? What was it that pulled you into it? Oh, yeah, you know, I had some of my, my, my, my heroes, one of them being my father and my grandfather. My grandfather was a, was a pilot in World War II, flew B-24s. My dad later on, obviously, you know, obviously later on, but he was in Vietnam. And you know, it wasn't a whole lot of talk from either one of them about those things. But when there was those discussions, there was a, there was a, there was a light in their

eye. They were, they were, they were proud of it. It was hard. And I liked the idea of the fact that it is hard. And I, and I, and I like that. You're not, you're not told, thank you. You're not looking for accolades. You're doing it because, so anyway, those were my heroes. But I also had other heroes too.

I love football. And so the way I got into it, basically, I was a, you know, thought I was a way cooler than I really was a football player in college, and I lost my scholarship because it turned out I wasn't cool enough to skip all the classes I was skipping and I lost my scholarship. My dad was upset. I was, I was, uh, you know, in my, in my feeble mind back then, I was like, you know, I'm sick of telling everybody, telling me what to do. I'm joining the military so I can be told what to do. Right.

Right. And about along the, those same, same timelines, um, I was, uh, I had dated a girl in high school and I had gone back home and kind of ran into my high school girlfriend. And maybe we relived a night or two or something. And yeah, a little while later, Let's just say we got started early. And it was like, Oh, Oh, when he's a job and, and health insurance. And, uh, so I married the, uh, love of my life. Uh, I was very lucky, you know, that, uh, find somebody that early and, uh, you know, these things take time and work, but our oldest now is, uh, you know, 27

years old and she's my angel and, uh, and, uh, so that was our oldest. And then we have, um, my, our, our next daughter, she's in the air force herself. She just commissioned in the air force. So we're so proud of her and, uh, her husband is also in the air force. They they're they're brand new officers together and, and, uh, it was just amazing people is so smart. And then, and then of course, as coach mentioned, Mikey, he is our youngest and he is a, he's turned into a tough, tough young man.

And he currently plays football for Colorado school months. So we're very proud of him. How'd you get the nickname Boots? I used to have this friend on the team and he was more of a comedian than anything else. Very funny guy and nicknames can come and go and this one kind of seemed to stick. But there might've been a couple things, where a couple instances where I wasn't very nice to people.

And so I got the nickname of Boots, I suppose. Just kind of leave it at that. Well, leave it at that, that's fine. No, man, Boots, I suppose. Just kind of leave it at that. We'll leave it at that. That's fine. No, man, Boots, we appreciate you, man. I don't know you, but got a lot of respect for you already. You know what you've done. You serve the family man that you are.

You've raised successful children. So me, with five children, trying to be a father, to raise successful human beings, I admire that and respect that a lot. I appreciate you. I appreciate your service and I appreciate and respect everything you're about. It's inspiring and motivating, but I am going to take this thing a little, you know, a little lighter here.

I got a little fun fact that, uh, you know, Captain Phillips, the movie that we all kind of grew to love, I heard that you were part of the team that went to go ahead and rescue that crew. I know you can't talk about too much stuff, but maybe you can enlighten us on what that experience was like being a part of the crew that went and saved, you know, the crew from the Captain's Phillips, you know, movie thing, but you, you know what I mean? Well, yeah.

Um, I'll try to navigate those lines carefully. Um, I was very privileged, uh, and blessed to work among heroes. Coach, um, I got the walk hallways and got to train and operate and deploy with, with individuals that made a fantastic team and teams and wow, it was a, it was a privilege and, um and to be able to serve with those men in those spaces at those times for sure. And yes, one of the missions I was on as we went and it was very successful and we got to save a life that day and it was worth it all the way around and incredible

leadership. And again, incredible team. And I was very honored to be a part of that. Did the movie get the portrayals and the moments right? I think it did well explaining the situation at hand with the company, MERSC, and the shipping and the shipping channels, where they're at, why. And then I think obviously Tom Hanks being just a fantastic actor that he is, portraying that character of Captain Phillips

and what he did and what his crew did. And yeah, I thought it was, I mean, I thought it was good. Obviously we came in towards the end of that whole thing and we were able to get him out of harm's way from there. Right, so the movie, yeah, I mean, yeah, I mean, it was, I mean, there's things that I wish wouldn't have been said, like, you know, using, um, your names and, and, and, and dates and places that are probably shouldn't have been, but that, you know, it's, uh, it was a successful mission.

And I, and it was, uh, it was, it was fantastic to be able to save a life that day. No, the boat is actually in the seals. Didn't you say that you told me that? Yeah. Oh, there's a, there's a, there's a museum that we have in Fort Pierce, Florida that just kind of honors our history and our legacy. And yeah, so they have that lifeboat that he was held up in. And yeah, it's down there on display. My admiration for the special ops,

I used it every year of my coaching career and just the research I've done it, the friends I've had and the trips I've been on to watch these, you know, special ops are the elite of the elite. When you, when you get an assignment, I asked Boots about this earlier today, you get one of those assignments, Mark and Rob, imagine this, you got a family, but you've also dedicated your life to this country. You get one of those assignments and you're kind of looking at it, reading it, and you start to get briefed on it and you're like, uh-oh, this

is, this is a real one, Mark. This is, you know, this is no game. This is, and none of them are games, but we all know there's some that, wait a minute, we have to do what? I want Boots to share with you what goes through the heart and soul of a parent, of a husband, and of a guy that's protecting our country when you receive an assignment that there's, there's chance that, and he made the comment that he knows that there's probably

going to be a chopper to not come back. What goes through your heart? Take us there if you will. Yeah, some of these things can be pretty tough. Um, you know, there was, uh, I'll go back to one of my favorite team leaders that I had again, amazing, amazing mentor, amazing leader. I was probably getting a little too, too big for my bridges. If you all get a little mouthy, maybe, um, on some things, I guess, weren't lining up and he looked in, uh, you know, the best way to say it is like, hey, we raise our right hand. And he's like, you used to raise your right hand just like I did. Shut the fuck up and get to work. And that's the perspective. That's the very humbling perspective of

that's our duty, right? You know, somewhere along the lines of people with a lot of things on their collar that make big decisions for this country on behalf of this country. And they're sending us in there as tools to get the agenda done and what they need to get done on behalf of this country. And again, it was a privilege to be able to be a part of that. But yeah, sometimes when you're looking at things like, wow, yeah, this could be it. The odds start getting stacked against you. And but again,

we we we lean on each other, lean on good leadership, amazing assets. You know, everybody from our, our just our support units is is unbelievable. Everything from big inventory all the way up to our pilots, and way, shape or form is truly an entire battlefield team to get some of these things done. I was very, very lucky in some things, I think, but you know, they say the harder you work and the harder you train, you make your own luck. Hi Boots, I'm on the board of Folds of Honor and Captain Dan Rooney started an incredible organization that takes care of all the educational costs

for Gold Star families, Gold Star's families, obviously the family member paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country and I fell in love with it. The first event I went to, we met some families that benefited from it. We've also taken on first responders now, the first Folds of Honor and I know Boots, that's when I met Boots up in Inverness

at the American Interiors that We're all part of with Steve Essex. So talk to us about why I'm sure you get pulled in so many different directions but why Folds of Honor? It came down to their mission and They are definitely not the people that are afraid to put their money where the mouth is their mouth is so to speak So they say they do it the the mission of supports is it's huge. It's important. What is it to to be a gentleman like myself, and many of my teammates, or anywhere if you're you're if you're a wounded vet, if you're a bull star, wife or child. If you're a first responder, our law enforcement and our first responders are amazing and they keep this side of the country running smoothly.

And to be able to support them and be able to help them out, especially, you know, these lines of work, these professions that we've gotten into, they don't pay a whole lot, right? You know, these are things where we went out in the private sector and really hustled. Sometimes I feel like if I worked half as hard as some of these things, you know, in another profession, I'd make 10 times more money, right? Or have made 10 times more money. But to be able to especially take somebody that's been doing a job like that,

so very selfless job and you're giving them basically a little bit of financial relief. Like my kids are recipients, right? It's not everything. It's not the answer, but it helps and it helps so much. And then you start talking with these people and becoming, you know, you befriending them and you realize where their heart is. And the fact that Folds, what I like about Folds is it doesn't, it's not just Navy SEALs or it's not just, you know, the special warfare foundations or all these various specific things it's, it's, it's, it's broad. It helps everybody. I was always big into a team mentality because every time I was on in, in peril on the battlefield and I looked left and I looked right, my teammates were there.

And I didn't and I looked right. My teammates were there. I didn't do this alone. So this whole thing is just, it's a greater team. And again, they are not afraid to put their money where their mouth is. And they get it done for a lot of these people that need help. Hey Boots, I want to build upon the team concept. I remember this conversation because I used it over and over with my teams, but you're in a SEAL team, you're in special ops, and you have so much confidence of your right, your left behind you in front of your team that you're on. It's in your mindset. It's going to be hard to be challenged. You're you're unbreakable. What happens in Navy seal? Cause I've done it as a coach.

When I, when I have that kind of team, I bring it on whoever it does not matter what's on the other sideline. What happens when you don't feel that way? When you, when you have a team that there might be a guy or two, and I'm not saying you have to go that far, but you just, it's not clicking. There's something, and you're getting ready to go in harm's way. I'm getting ready to coach a team that might lose a game. That's a whole different animal. Take us there if you will too, please. Well, it is a mindset and you have to lean on the guys with their specific roles within the team.

Delegation of duty and authorities within the team, that's good leadership, right? Yeah, there's always shortfalls. If there is a shortfall, somebody up and down the chain of command is affected immediately, right? So usually the guy lower has to step up or the guy higher should be looking up and out on some different issues and things is now looking down and in, which is which is which is taking, you know, basically, you know, mental clarity of his job should be looking up and, you, and, and we always would keep a tight eye on each other. For many reasons, but mostly because we all love each other. But it is yes, if there is a shortfall, if somebody gets injured, somebody gets hurt, if somebody goes down, isn't able to make a deployment. Somebody has a baby, so they're late for

deployment or right, right. We're able to train and practice enough where people can step into those roles. And you don't slow down as much. And that comes from good leadership, right? Um, but I have seen it and and I've experienced bad leadership as well. And and that it kind of sucks. Sometimes the the lower guys, especially in like, you know, my my realms, the lower listed guys, you kind of have, the lower unless you guys kind of have to just kind of grin and bear it and work around it, right?

And see that poor leadership as a speed bump and work around it the best we can. But there's different levels of leadership and you're not supposed to jump the chain of command, but sometimes you can kind of circumnavigate if you will, some things here and there, right? But I think for you, you know, I'm just, just, you know, speaking, just being in, in, in teams my whole adult life, for you, Coach, it'd be like if you had a, you know, maybe an offensive coordinator or a special teams coach or something like that, that just wasn't getting it in that it of what you're trying to bring to the team, that culture you have

established and made, and they're, they're just not fitting in, right? getting it in that it of what you're trying to bring the team that culture you have established and made, and they're just not fitting in, right? Or they're not quite doing your agenda, so to speak, I guess, right? And, you know, it's counseling, it's practice, and these things, that's the thing too, is these things, they don't gel immediately. A lot of us very type A personalities, when we first meet each other, we don't like each other, right? Because everybody's, you know, everybody wants to be the big cock on the block, right? And then you start establishing that totem pole and then realizing what everybody individually brings to that team and you start respecting and then you work and you work and you work and you train and you practice, and then

you're tested. And then that's, you know, where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. And and while and the amazing things that can happen when everything is clicking and the shortfalls that happen when it's not. And you can usually start identifying those from from from a distance when you're as involved as as we are, when you when you've established a culture, especially a culture of winning. So you can establish those shortfalls and those weak links immediately, right? And everybody, you know, everyone's going to make mistakes. We're all human. You put somebody on a microscope and you're going to see mistakes all kinds. And we would put each other on the microscope quite a bit, but I guess what I'm trying to articulate is we would see these shortfalls from a long ways out, we would try to correct them as they come. And if they were

not being if they're not being corrected by the individual, we would start figuring out what we would have to do to either relieve them from duty if it got that bad, or put them in places where not only they would succeed, but what they were providing the team, they would, the team is going to succeed because it's, it's, you know, it's mission and team first, right? Mike, how often do you realize that you're essentially in a life or death situation and how does one cope with that and move forward through that? Um, wow. Well, you know, not much lately, which is nice. Right. Happy to hear that, by the way.

Again, we raised our right hand, we knew what we were getting into and we would practice these things and it was hard. And we like, I like always shares the fact. I liked the heart. I liked, I liked knowing the fact there's not many people that can do this, right? And I took pride in and as we all did, right. You know, it's kind of like that, you know, equating it back to

football there, coach, you know, that kid on the football team that wants a challenge me, put me in the most difficult situation. Like, Hey, we're down and out right now. Put me in. I want to be the one to carry that ball. I want to, I want to get the touch on the ball or I want to, you know, whatever it is, right, they want to be put in that, that crux situation, and sneaker swim, they want to challenge themselves. And, you know, these are the these are the the people that again, these are the people that are the privilege to work with and work for. And, and I can't say enough

good things about them. How often are you self editing yourself while you're talking? I hear like these pauses and these, these moments where you're catching yourself like, Nope, I can't go. I can't go here. Like, can you just have a normal conversation at any point in your life with all you've seen and done? There's a lot of things that I did that were, you know, sensitive, you know, cloud information

and things like that. There's a lot of things that that command and, you know, in the SEAL teams in general, any, you know, Ranger bat SEAL teams, SF commands, SF groups, you know, it is, if you say the wrong thing at the wrong time, especially in something like this, where it's going to be aired publicly, even though I something like this, where it's going to be aired publicly. Even though I feel like this is a for a very good reason. That's why I'm here. I'm here because on behalf of coach here and yeah, you say the wrong thing and it just takes one guy to be like, I can't believe he said that on here and on in front of so many people.

And you know, they start getting bad names and you start like, hey, this guy, this guy is like, likes to run his mouth. Like we've, unfortunately we've had a couple of book writers that wrote about things that they absolutely had no business writing about. Taking our business outside of the command. And that is not the culture that we ever established. It would be like taking, again, going back to football,

sorry, it'd be like coach, somebody taking again, going back to football, sorry. It'd be like, coach, somebody taking your playbook, uh, especially your offensive scheme and maneuver and, uh, and sharing it with the world. And you're like, what the hell are you thinking? Like, why would you ever do that? Right. So, uh, I definitely don't want to be labeled that. And, um, I owe it to the command. The team and my prior teammates to, uh to never let them down even post Navy.

I appreciate the things you have done and seen and witnessed for us and for our country. And I know there's a lot of things you can't talk about and we respect that even more, particularly here this Memorial Day stretch of time. Boots, thanks so much for everything you've done for our country. Thank you for taking the time to join us on the Triple Option as well. It's been a privilege, honor to talk to you and hear your story. Thank you for having me, Coach. I'll see you real soon, my man. And again, thank you, gentlemen. Appreciate it. Coming up next, we take a look into our Crystal Ball and iGeorge's 2025 expectations on the Triple Option presented by Wendy's.

25 expectations on the triple option presented by Wendy's. Like it. Welcome back to the triple option presented by Wendy's. Rob Stone, Mark Ingram, the second Urban Meyer back here with you. The triple option crystal ball. It is brought to you by Bet MGM and we are almost to the NBA finals. Here's an offer for basketball.

You won't find anywhere else. Pick the player you think will score first in the game. If it's not your player, but he scores the second field goal of the game, you get your stake back in cash. All right. So last week we talked about Clemson. This week we're going to stay in that region and head to Athens, Georgia and take an early look at Kirby Smart and what he's got with his Bulldogs this year. Georgia, Georgia. We always love it when there's an opportunity for Mark to sing that song. Mark, will they be singing 10 regular season wins? The win total set by Bet MGM is nine and a half. They always got that half, that little hook. The overcoming in at minus 175, the under at plus

145. Right, so it's at nine and a half right now. Last season, 10 and two, their losses at Bama, at Ole Miss. They had ranked wins over Clemson, Texas, Tennessee, beat Texas SEC title game, lost to Notre Dame in the second round of the college football playoffs. The guys just keep departing Athens and that's a good thing for Kirby Smart. That means you have a healthy, strong program. But coach, 13 players lost to the NFL draft, including three in the first round.

How does Kirby Smart just keep reloading, keep storm trooper up with these talents? So quick story, Earl Bruce, my mentor and the guy that followed, Woody Hayes at at Ohio State went down to see Bear Bryant. He went down and Bear Bryant was obviously the legendary coach at the time. And coach Bruce who just starting out and he said, can I get 10 minutes your time? He said, sit down, boy. He's called him boy.

So he, Earl Bruce sat down and he said, I write this down quickly. I don't much time for you. And because coach Bruce asked him, what's the secret to success to be a head football coach? He said, Hey, write this down quickly. I don't have much time for you. And cause coach Bruce asked him, what's the secret to success to be a head football coach, he said, boy, write this down. Number one scheduling. You have to get to control your schedule. Number two scheduling. Make sure you get control of your scheduling.

And he said, I write this down, boy. Number three, scheduling. So I'm sitting here looking here. You go, boy. I look at the Georgia schedule. They are playing nine. This is an sec schedule, man. Well, you can't control the schedule. The schedules. What did you see?

Why? Of course. No, you can control it by scheduling, but you can control Marshall and Austin P Marshall, Austin P and Charlotte Marshall, Austin P and Charlotte. And they got nine count them. Nine home games. Yeah. Come on, Kirby.

What in the world was that? So that's the Bear Bryant right there. It's, it's, it's like, we're going to play all, Hey boys, we're going to go on the road at Mississippi state, which not is not that hard right now. It used to be really hard. I don't know if they'll get back to it. Auburn. I don't know, Mark. I, Auburn's been down a little bit. And then you got 10 and 11.

Auburn's down. The Barners, when the Barners were down. All right. Barners stay down. Look at that schedule. I know what an SEC schedule is. All right. So, again, it's nine and a half. Regular season wins. Let's rip through the schedule. Marshall and Austin P home home to open up to another. Let's not even let's yeah. All right. At Tennessee game number three, first sec matchup. Nico less Tennessee. Duh home Bama. Mark, Mark, Mark. L L L. Wow. I don't know. We all know that was coming coach. All right. So the dogs at three and they're going to whimper into the next game versus Kentucky. Let's give them four at, at Auburn. Duh. Five versus Ole Miss. I think Ole Miss might have to rebuild a little bit. I'm here. I think so too. Six versus Florida. In the cocktail party. Yeah.

That's the new neutral side. I'm putting a half there. A half. So it stays at six. At Mississippi State. Duh. Duh. Versus Texas. Half? Marsh Manning?

Half. L! L. Really? So you got two L's. I got two L's. That's a seven versus Charlotte. That's a versus Georgia Tech Nine so they're at nine with a pause on Fama and in Texas and a pause on Florida. Yep. Yep. So a couple pauses in there

Damn, I got ten wins for the I feel like they're going to win one of them three that a week. Yeah, I agree. But again, you know, they're replacing a quarterback whenever we got those programs. He's a high level. Oh, yes. Replacing Carson's always. Yeah, Gunnar Stockton and Ryan Puglisi. You know, Coach Smart says he's pleased with how these guys have gone so far. They continue to get reps. They're getting better. What else is he going to say? Right. But whenever you get those QB changes at these big time

programs, man, it always kind of worries me a little bit. I just love how coaches are nowadays. Look what it says. I think both these guys are doing a great job. You know what I mean? In the program. Right, Coach? Because I'm almost going to leave.

Don't give them any out. Hey, Coach, what they say, if you don't have one you have None, baby Minus under the nine and a half for the Georgia Bulldogs Sing it sing it Sing it under Georgia Georgia under Georgia, Georgia.

Oh, time, time now for treat of the week presented by Wendy's try Wendy's new frosty fusions with flavors like caramel, crunch, Oreo, brownie, and pop tarts, strawberry. Question of the day, is it caramel or is it caramel? You can find us, our social media handled that question a couple of weeks ago, the triple option, Mark, you're going to be happy to hear this because you get a well-deserved break. We're going to be off the week of June 2nd. So our next episode is coming your way June 11th school school. Remember the Alice Cooper song coach. You might know this one, the Alice Cooper song schools out.

Scoopy. I don't know that song, right? No, Alice Cooper. I think he's from Milwaukee. School's Out. Oh, I do remember that. Ever. I used to love that song.

I still bang it. All right. So School's Out for the summer. What summer trips do you have planned to treat yourselves or the family? Coach, you got a couple banger trips coming up this summer. Yeah, we got the Cabo. We got some great- Cabo coming up.

What, Cabo coming up in like two weeks? Three got the Cabo. We got, we got some great Cabo coming up. Cabo coming up in like two weeks, three weeks. Are you going, you're going right? Yeah, I'm there. Okay. So we're doing the, uh, this is the golf heaven. So I'm going out to, uh, San Francisco golf club, Olympic, Pebble, Monterey peninsula in Cyprus, then we're going to the Fox seminar in Taranea. Thanks for the invite.

And then from there you go to a member guest in Gaza ranch. That's Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. And then Shelly goes home and I get on the plane and fly to Ireland and play four days of golf in Ireland and then fly to Scotland and play five days of golf in Scotland. Well, thanks for inviting me. That's two weeks.

I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends. I didn't get you on text. You didn't get the text. So the coach just got himself a summer hummer. No, I didn't were friends. I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends.

I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends.

I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends. I thought we were friends. up on you for sure. Come on down, baby. You know, I love some gold cup action I know man. I know full-on chaos. We got some Premier League action

Man, we're almost a man. We're almost you know, we're in the future. I was talking about actually right now We're in the future right now. Yeah All right. Yeah Going to Cabo here and Joe first and then the family and I would take a trip to Vegas. We'll be doing Vegas. I got some credits. I got to use shout out to some, you know, some prior appearances. I got some credits I need to use. So when you go to Vegas, what time of year?

June kids are going to love it in July 14th through 17th. Oh, my God. It's going to gonna be hot but we live in the hot It's heating up right now dogs over It's spicy out there more right now, so we ain't worried about a little heat You know, I mean I saw coach Talon his brow off before we went on. I was like, oh man. It's August has hit Florida already Winter was beautiful, but that's summer Is game on now in the summer follow subscribe rate us on YouTube Apple podcast Spotify wherever you get your podcast as well It's across social media 3x options show. Thank you as always our wonderful sponsors. Tell you mama know MGM and Wendy's

We'll see you in June. Okay.