In a new episode of Project NIL with Anthony Gargano & William Penn Charter School Director of Athletics Danny DiBerardinis react to a jam-packed Signing Day, big name recruits that made news, & more!
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
You don't listening to Fox Sports Radio Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Well, good morning, good morning, good morning, happy happy Championship Saturday.
This is Project N I l my man, Danny the Bernardinas,
Danny d Dad. I'm Anthony Gargano, your resident sports dad.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Good morning, Danny Dad, at.
Speaker 4 (00:25):
What's going on?
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Because how we doing? Baby? Good? Good?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
We got This is a sad time for me, I know, man,
because this is it, man like Championship Saturday, and then
next week sucks because it's like, God blessed. I love
the Army Navy game, but you know, it's the end
of the season. Man, it's it. And then we got ball.
I love the bowl season, but then it starts to
(00:50):
whittle down the one by one by one, and we
have winded down the last full Saturday was last weekend
of college football.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
And big news this week. Signing Day.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Occurred this week Danny Day, and it was it was
a rousing signing day.
Speaker 5 (01:10):
It's it's wild and how it's how it's evolved over
the last couple of years. Man, it's it's a new game.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
It's a new game.
Speaker 5 (01:18):
It's not as simple as uh, just picking a hat
off the table anymore. Right, there's a lot more factors.
There's a lot more that's going into it. There's so
many different angles that are happening.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
So it's crazy. It's a crazy environment right now.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
So it really was.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
It was just you know, it's it's it is crazy
every big school jocking.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
I mean, look what happened with Penn State.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Right, Penn State finally gets its coach, Matt Campbell from
Iowa State, long time, very good coach goes to Penn State,
but you know, to forever and they got like three recruits.
Speaker 5 (01:58):
Yeah, yeah, I mean it's difficult with the uncertainty, right,
I know, kids who were committed there and you know,
just the uncertainty and nothing's promised when there's not a
head coach in place. Right, there's a lot of hey,
ninety five percent, everything's good, but there's still that five percent.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
We got to wait to.
Speaker 5 (02:14):
See this new coach come in, so we can't you know,
the financials we promised you, or even this spot we
promise you is not really fully guaranteed until we have
that new head guy. So you know, you can't blame
kids for not committing. They're going to be extremely extremely
active on January second, when that portal opens because they're
gonna have to build a roster out. So it's going
(02:36):
to be very interesting to see how how Matt Campbell.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
And his new staff that he's gonna have to put.
Speaker 5 (02:41):
Together very quickly can corral all these guys who are
part of the portal.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Yeah, and you still have a cap to work with, Like,
you still got to go and work with it, and
you know, some kind of money gets straight. Like I'm
sure you'll get help and you'll have, you know, addition,
very fun just to try to help you. But you know,
it's still still gonna be tough to put it on
the roster of free agents.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
And basically that's the world we live.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
We live in a free agent world, and this is
what they're gonna have to do. They're gonna they're gonna
have to put together a team of free agents. I guess,
you know, you canna make the argument that you bring
in recruits and you're putting together a team, but these
are all more older kids.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
It's more like a free a kid to the NFL
free agency.
Speaker 5 (03:29):
Yeah, a lot of I mean, it's the difficult, difficult,
it's a difficult time. And you know, we touched on
the lame thing last week. We were unsure what he
was gonna do. You were pretty confident, you know, with
that brink truck backing up that he.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Was, Yeah, he's gonna end up. It was you.
Speaker 5 (03:43):
But part of that is, you know, I've read a
lot about it, and part of his allure was, you know,
he got he has four to top ten recruits in the
country signed at Old Miss. He really had to live
in the portal every year to year at a job
like that. With some of these certain schools, you can
kind of have that mix of getting the top recruit,
which but.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
Also getting the top portal guys as well.
Speaker 5 (04:03):
And I from what I've read, that was a big
part of Lane's decision and trying to switch over is
in a.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
While, like what makes LSU better than you know, Florida, right,
Like what makes LSU more attractive than Florida as opposed
to Florida State as opposed to Georgia.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Like when we look at when we.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Look at these top programs, it's bizarre how a pecking
order comes, right because like what you go, listen, I
get Old missed to a degree, it's still a big
time state state school at SEC school. But you know
what makes LSU better than Florida, Right, but LSU clearly
(04:51):
is atop the pecking order over Florida.
Speaker 5 (04:55):
Yeah, I think facility, Right, how many people you play
in front of They have a a ton of money
they're investing in their nil On top of it, you know,
they're pledging thirty plus million a year and too, rosters
are putting a ton of money into coaching staffs obviously,
So I think there's a little to some other factors,
Like the facilities is a big part when you're recruiting, right,
they dominate in state. Louisiana has so much talent in state.
(05:19):
They do not let the top talent leave the state.
And in Florida it's probably more talent, but a lot
of it's leaving the state.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Right.
Speaker 5 (05:26):
They have a stranglehold on Louisiana where they're going to
get the top three kids every single year. The number
one player in the country is from Louisiana right now,
he's committed to LSU.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Right.
Speaker 5 (05:36):
They do a phenomenal job of keeping those guys in state. Facilities, money,
their stadiums, alsome. I've been there before. Me and my
buddy's on our college football trip a few years ago.
Stop at LSU it's an hour from New Orleans, so
I think there isn't a lured to it.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
But yeah, I mean, why is it such.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
More of a lord than those other schools you mentioned?
Is I don't have a real answer for that.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
You look at you know, like a Penn State that
just you know struggled, right Like Penn State was one
of the first schools to jump into the coaching pool, right,
you know, I get you know, obviously was born out
of frustration. Penn State, Penn State a d geez Fredi
(06:21):
and slip, Penn State a D. Pat Craft fires James Franklin,
and there was all kinds. There's a lot of reporting
about Jimmy Sexton, the powerful agent that was trying to
derail Penn State because he was upset. How Franklin was
That situation was handled one coach.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
You have to coach.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
And you know what was wild is the Penn State
vacancy got coaches paid a total of three hundred and
forty million extra raises.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Yeah, unbelievable.
Speaker 5 (06:55):
People were saying pack Craft is, if he's interested in you,
you're doing to do really well.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
Because he was he was getting everyone an.
Speaker 5 (07:03):
Extension he possibly could. And yeah, I didn't fully understand it.
I understand, like why people want to stay where they're at.
They're happy, they're comfortable. I get all that, but I
was very surprised it went this long. I know they
were trying to be patient with it. Obviously they didn't
want to be this patient. They wanted to get it
done before that December third signing day early period, the
(07:23):
first day of early signing. So yeah, I mean, anyone
he's interested, they signed and supposedly hit you know, the
handshake agreement with Klanie out at BYU, and then it
gets leaked and you know, the Mormons rallied and made him,
you know.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
A great deal to stay.
Speaker 5 (07:41):
So yeah, I didn't fully understand why people weren't so
interested in it.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
But man, if he was interested in you, you got paid.
At the end of the day.
Speaker 5 (07:48):
There was millions and millions of extensions being thrown around.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Wild man, right, like just completely wild stuff that was
that was happening. And then you look at the early
Stagni period and in a minute, I want to ask you.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
To explain it.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
But the big news is that five star quarterback Jared
Curtis flipped right Vandy all of a sudden man, it's
wild and mander belt Is flips the five star quarterback
that was committed to Georgia, Jared Curtis. He he flips
(08:30):
to Vanderbilt. It was wild. I mean it's had to be.
I don't know. Three years ago, it was before before
this this incredible comeback, somebody was telling me about we
were talking about Vandy. It was like, yeah, well, you know,
Vandy's one of those teams in the SEC that could
never win, Like they just could they not could never win.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
From a past tense.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
They were looked at like they will never be able
to win. And it was almost to the point where
like why even be in the conference?
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Yeah, and now look at him. It's unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
Dude, I'll be a fact baby, right yeah.
Speaker 5 (09:12):
I mean, and he stayed right. He could have got
a bag. I'm sure they took care of him there,
but he stayed loyal. And I mean they're right there.
I mean then I love how they're talking. They're saying, hey,
we have all this time, like let's let's have a play,
and it's like we'll go anywhere. They're Ad and coach
are out there saying like, we will go anywhere. You
tell us where we'll play Utah, we'll play Notre Dame,
We'll go on the road, you know, cause they're on
(09:34):
the outside looking in right now. They have uphill battle
and I mean they're not dodging it. They want everything,
they want all the smoke, and you know, they must
be their coach must be doing a great job and
building a great culture to keep a lot of those
guys in this era where you know, I'm sure they
were a lord to many other schools in this offseason
in the past couple off seasons, and you know, credit
to them for being in the mix. And man, they
(09:55):
just they just flipped the number one quarterback who's committed
since June.
Speaker 4 (09:59):
I mean, goge it.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
So Jared Curtis in June was going to was going
to Georgia. See geezh. I mean, there's so much fun
with the system. You know, if you're committing, there's got
to be a period where you just can't poach players.
I mean, the idea concept of poaching guys that have
(10:22):
already committed. I'm just uncomfortable with the whole thing.
Speaker 5 (10:26):
And so talking about signing day, this is the big
the biggest changes on signing day. Are you see a
lot of reclasses up for the one percent right because
they want to get paid faster, and that middle everyone's
reclassing back the middle and back they want them extra
year of experience, right, So you're seeing reclassification both ways
is higher than ever. If you're in that top five,
(10:48):
top ten, top twenty percent player in the country, you're
looking to go up. You might say, hey, I'm a junior.
I want to be a senior because I want this money. Right,
I'm going to go out there and try to get
this anil money now for everybodybody else with the transferportal,
people are saying, hey, I need an extra year because
I need to be older, I need to be stronger
to have an opportunity.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
So they're reclassing down.
Speaker 5 (11:09):
So this reclass movement has taken a new, a whole
new level with this nil structure.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
When so that's that's number one.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
Hey, all of that, let me stop right there. All
of that. I had a conversation.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Who was It was a coach and was like, because
I had I had mentioned that, you know, I was
thinking about reclassing my kids, right, And he's like, let
me tell you something. It's not a question, it's a
demand he's like, you have to reclass your kids. If
(11:48):
you don't reclass your kids, they don't have a shot.
And it's like, well, I mean you know, I mean
I don't know if they can play you know, on
Saturdays or you know, when out of college.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Whatever it is. He's like, it doesn't matter. You got it.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
You need to do it just for that, just for
giving them a chance and for their own development.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
Like it's crazy.
Speaker 5 (12:14):
Yeah, it depends on when you're when you're born, right,
there's all all kinds of factors that go into it.
A month opportunities, but if you're looking in this college
landscape and you want to be a college athlete, the
D two or Division I level, a request makes.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
Sense today, right, I mean it did for a long time.
Speaker 5 (12:30):
It used to be more like we want you younger,
we want to see your potential and upside. And with
this portal being so, you know, this free agency period
with the portal, it's it's changed at how that outlook
and how people approach it.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Yeah. Why it was amazing because he was like, dude,
you're you're thinking about it. He's like, it's not even thought.
You have to do it. I was like, wow, Okay,
I'm sorry, I just had to bring updates.
Speaker 5 (12:55):
So, and then the point number two with signing day
is so it's wild people are committing very early to
hold their spot, right, but there's so many flipping late.
So people are verbally committing early on because it holds
your spot because there's limited spots.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Right.
Speaker 5 (13:12):
So the move is people commit in June and May
however you are because they want to you know, they
want to block in their spot. They want to have
an offer to fall back on. But that entire time
they're negotiating with other schools.
Speaker 6 (13:24):
Wow, no, now that's stuff fair agreed, right, So there's
a verbal commit and until December third, right, So this
year it was December third, was the early signing day,
December third December fifth, So that's the first signing period.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
Now the second this has always been when people usually
commit or sign. The second signing day now in the
spring is bigger than ever because people wait for their
dust to settle from the portal. It used to be
you didn't really have a big window or it wasn't
really common to commit late to sign late. Now with
the portal, the spring signing day is becoming bigger and
(14:04):
bigger because everyone.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
Has to wait for the dust to settle.
Speaker 5 (14:07):
Everyone has to see how the portal shook out and
what these rosters are looking like. So it's tough for
these kids because you have to preach patience. I mean,
I'm talking to a kid at my school right now
and he's portal line Division one player and I just
told him patience.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Man.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
It's so tough because he knows he can play at
this level. And I told him, like, you really have
to be patient.
Speaker 5 (14:26):
I know it's not what you want to hear right now,
but in today's landscape, if you're on the fence, you
either got to go lower.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
And work your way up.
Speaker 5 (14:35):
If your dream is to play Division one, or find
a good fit for you that's Division two or Division
three high academic that fits your needs and you want
to go in and be an impact player right away.
But if your dream, his dream is to play Division
one football, it's tough. You have to be patient and
you have to wait and see how this all shakes out.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
So what I'm just gonna showing like a dumb question.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
But I'm a parent, right so I don't know the
world like you do.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Why first of all, if you go and sign with
an early signing period and you sign, Why isn't that binding?
Speaker 3 (15:10):
It is.
Speaker 5 (15:11):
Once you sign, it's binding, they have to let you
out of it. So if you sign December third, So
this like the quarterback, he committed verbally, right, like Jared
Curtis Right, Yeah, he committed verbally.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
He just held his spot at Georgia. Georgia planned on
him coming.
Speaker 5 (15:24):
You have to work him just as hard until that
December third signing day. It is a grind for these
colleges to keep these kids. If you stop giving them love,
someone's gonna swoop in and take them or offer more money.
You have to be in constant contact with these elite guys.
Who are you know getting these big time money offers? Right,
You have to keep working just getting them, that's not
(15:46):
the job, right. You have to continue to work and
get them to the finish line. So that verbal commit
just holds your spot and it just says, hey, this
is where I intend on going, but you don't know
until that December third day. Once you signed December third, right,
unless a coaching switch or something happens, you are.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
Locked in that school.
Speaker 5 (16:02):
They have your rights for that next year and if
they want to get out.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
Of it, they'd have to sit out.
Speaker 5 (16:09):
So that's simper third makes it, That makes it real.
But that's why there's so much movement beforehand. Like Chris Henry,
we talked about him. He was on our top ten
high school players. Chris Henry junior. He committed to Ohio
State right and then he commits but didn't sign his paperwork.
So then the story erupts on, you know, on Wednesday,
(16:30):
where's he going to go? And in the last twenty
four hours, Oregon and USC and Texas came in. They
must have been throwing crazy money at him because he
waited the whole day before. Finally then he signed. Yesterday,
he committed. He did end up sticking with Ohio State,
but he just committed and then didn't sign. So then
people realized that the the paperwork never came in because
(16:53):
these schools were.
Speaker 4 (16:54):
Coming in late, receiving the country.
Speaker 5 (16:57):
You know, son of XL Fame, I mean that NFL
player Chris Henry, he played for Bengals and he's actually
in again.
Speaker 3 (17:05):
It's crazy. He was in.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
He grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Speaker 5 (17:08):
Oh yeah, two years ago to California to play out
modern day. Yes, yes, and now you know he said,
he told Ryan Day's coming home, so it was a
whole fiasco. He ended up committing on the Pat McAfee show. Yes,
so yeah, but again, it's not done until it's signed,
and you don't know these schools are coming.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
In very last minute.
Speaker 5 (17:30):
So it is such a wild West scenario where there's
it doesn't.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
Matter who you say you're going to until you put
that pen to paper. It's not done.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Isn't that wild? Man Like?
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Now it's become such a production of like the signing
like there is you know, Chris Henry Junior on Pat McAfee,
and we're gonna, you know, do it in this big manner.
It's it's it's crazy and it's just insane.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
Would you tweak this?
Speaker 2 (18:05):
How do you fix society or does it need to
be fixed? It strikes me like it's so impossible to
plan if you still don't know coming up to December third,
whether or not you still have landed the quarterback.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
Yeah, and you don't know how the rosters shake out.
Speaker 5 (18:24):
So I'm torn on it, right, I would like to
maybe have it earlier, right, But then with this how
colleges treats their coaches and how the carousel is there's
gonna be kids getting in and out, So it's like,
what's the point I'm saying, like, why would you do
it early? Because then kids are gonna be in and
out the whole time, right, but or the roster, right,
you might have someone blow up, and so you want
kids to kind of.
Speaker 4 (18:44):
See how it works for the season.
Speaker 5 (18:47):
But I honestly don't know what the answer is. But
I saw stat that kids commit earlier, but they commit
more often than ever. So people are verbally committing, but
the de commit is larger than ever by at ten x.
It was never to this scale where kids are decommitting
to go to another school. And that's obviously with the money.
(19:07):
It's it's the NIL part of it. And it's this
ever changing landscape and even a coaching caraself right, I
mean you saw how many coaches on the car.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
Yeah, I mean it was insane, dude, it was insane.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
We never experienced anything like this.
Speaker 5 (19:26):
Yeah, I mean, transfer portal and NIL have made commitment
feel very temporary when you commit, right, it's not it's
not nearly what it once was. You know, schools expect
movement until signature day always right, and kids are committing decommitting.
Speaker 4 (19:42):
At a rapid pace that we've never seen before.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
That's it's it's just not It's not the whole world
is insane, all right. To make some sense of it
coming up, I want you to kind of go through
some of the highlights of it from some of the players.
Also how it affects parents, right like, because this is
you know, we look at it from every angle, from youth,
(20:08):
you know, through high school into college.
Speaker 6 (20:11):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
With the you know, Project Nil kind of with the
nil stuff around it, I want to go into that
a little bit. World Cup. Uh is germane in that
I had. I had a whole conversation with a youth
soccer academy for the Union yesterday which was really interesting.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
I'm gonna bring this up to you.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
I want to bring this up to you because it's
it's another new kind of wrinkle in the youth sports game.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
So, so mu's to do. It's Project ni l every week.
He is Danny di Bernadine's. He's the a d at
Pencharter High School, one of the oldest schools in the
country and the oldest Quaker school in the country. Uh.
I'm Anthony Garganta were sports dad and fella. We're coming
up next with Jeff Schwartz right here on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Oh, welcome back Project Ni l A d Danny Di Bernadinas.
I'm Anthony Garganol Sports Dad, Fella, Jeff Schwartz.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
And I coming up the top of the hour.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Happy Holidays, baby, I have our little Dean Danny d
oh Man.
Speaker 4 (21:37):
It's the best time of the year. Man, Hollidays are great.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Ever. Get to see the.
Speaker 5 (21:40):
Family, get everyone, yeah, you know, get together.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
Yeah, watch some sports.
Speaker 4 (21:46):
Has a great time, man.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
Yeah, I do like the the bulls.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
I don't want what's gonna happen to all this stuff,
like do you stay with Bowl games?
Speaker 3 (21:56):
And I know there's a lot of money tied into it,
you know, Like I would like.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
Them to start to playoff a little earlier. We didn't
get a touch on earlier. It's like these dates so
so people out there that don't know. Their early signing
days this year were December third to December fifth. The
Transfer Portal officially opens January second, So the bowgue our
playoff system is just starting then.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
So you had jad wants right, you know.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
Yeah, so you're putting these kids.
Speaker 5 (22:24):
Who may be a backup, who may have like starting potential,
but he's behind somebody. He has to make a decision
whether to stick with his team or leave. And for coaches, right,
this was a big reason why Lane.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
Had to leave when he left.
Speaker 5 (22:39):
I don't like how he handled the whole situation, but
he had to leave because January second.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
The portals open. They need to know who the coach is, right,
So there's no way around it.
Speaker 5 (22:49):
If they put it after the bull season and transfer portal, right,
a lot of this heartache that we're or seeing through
these fan bases wouldn't occur and there wouldn't be as
much now. The reason for the January second date of
the portal opening is because they want it to end
by the days the first day of school starting back up,
(23:10):
which usually around January eighteenth of January twenty first, that's
the first day of classes for a lot of the schools,
so they want everyone registered. So that's the pushback of NCAA,
but with online classes.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Because it is a in the end, it is a university. Right,
it's higher learning.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
Dude. Here's hell thing. My nephew's going to Virginia Tech.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Right, He's got a lot of classes online.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
What sets does that he lives in Blacksburg? What sense
does that make? Oh?
Speaker 4 (23:51):
It's wild.
Speaker 5 (23:51):
I mean I know a high profile player in college
basketball right now, and he told me he has not
been on campus yet just for practice.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
He doesn't.
Speaker 5 (24:00):
He does six week classes at the time, so he's
breaking them out. He does six week online classes.
Speaker 4 (24:06):
He doesn't. He hasn't stepped foot in a classroom in
the last two years.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
I don't know how I feel about that. Yeah, I don't.
Speaker 5 (24:14):
I don't really like for me, I needed I'm much
more of a better in person learner. I don't comprehend
it off. It's just online. I like to have interaction
and conversation.
Speaker 4 (24:23):
But I mean, that's that's the world, man, It's.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
No, it is Listen.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
It started during COVID, which is you know. I hate
that the anti social I want to just sit in
my pajamas and be in my you know bedroom at class,
Like did you take your butt to class?
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Man?
Speaker 3 (24:42):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
I hate the old school, but like it's better, you know,
we need social interaction. Like I worry about these kids
because you know, they're isolated so much. They don't spend
enough time together. I even see the way my kids
to the way, like they're not hanging with their friends
(25:05):
every weekend, right, they are on video games through all together.
And I hear them laughing. I'm like, all right, but
like they don't in my old stuff. It'll go out,
you know a little bit, but not like the way
we did. We were always together.
Speaker 5 (25:21):
They're losing their social skills, you know, they're it's it's
just it's a sad It's not it's not I won't say sad,
but it's definitely different.
Speaker 4 (25:28):
And it's definite I don't love for sure.
Speaker 5 (25:31):
I would much prefer more interaction with people want to
want and not through a screen or through a microphone.
And you know, have these kids outside. It's just a
different world. And you know it's changed, its changing rapidly,
and COVID did play a big part of it, right
because they understood they can have all these different type
of interactions without having to leave their house.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
Right, So yeah, it's crazy.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
I mean look at sports right, like, and this has
changed for somebody like you, everything's organized like, so the
youth sports is all organized like, they don't ever play.
Rarely do I see kids out there playing themselves where
they're you know, let's play with you know, handful of kids.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
They don't do it.
Speaker 4 (26:17):
Oh it's wild.
Speaker 5 (26:17):
I mean I remember coming home from school, I would
just sprint. I mean I would try to do my
homework as fast if I can. I sprint to the
playground and be there until dinner time and then try
to head back out until I was allowed.
Speaker 4 (26:27):
To have to come back home.
Speaker 5 (26:28):
Right, And we're playing sports at the playground and I
walk around my neighborhood.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
You see kids playing, but not not nearly to the
level of it once was.
Speaker 5 (26:35):
And the kids are playing are really young that that
middle aged kids, those teenage kids are not outside like
they once were.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Nah, it's wild, it really, it really is. It's it's
a wild thing. So the next date so basically what
happens in the spring.
Speaker 5 (26:56):
Yeah, so they're the spring signing period. I'm gonna pull
up the date right now. So they're the springtime period,
which it used to be pretty dead, but now it's
bigger than ever because you're waiting to see how the
portal shakes out. Right, Like you don't know what that
looks like until the portal comes out. And so this
(27:18):
date used to be very it used to be a
lot smaller. Now it's there's a day in February. It's
day in April where these kids are coming out and
signing in waves.
Speaker 4 (27:26):
It used to be very dormant.
Speaker 5 (27:28):
It used to be just the early signing day was
the day people signed because there wasn't this big transfer window,
this big free agency that happens, right.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
That's happening now. So it's it's difficult and it's and
it's changing. But I mean that's you got to preach
patient to these kids.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
Man.
Speaker 5 (27:45):
It's it's wild. It's it's really wild, and it's different.
So there's a February one and there, and there's an
April one.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
So what happens with the twenty six is in the
twenty sevens when it comes to recruiting.
Speaker 4 (27:57):
Yeah, so college coaches aren't like they used to.
Speaker 5 (28:00):
I remember my first couple of years as athletic director,
they were giving committable offers to sophomores and juniors. Those days, like,
there's offers, but they're rarely committable until.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
Late in your junior year.
Speaker 5 (28:13):
You rarely see kids committing as sophomore. People used to
you know, verbally commit earlier on those days are gone.
And again, like we've talked about and even when we
had Seana last week, the amount of freshmen that they're
taking is half or less. You know, schools used to
take in football, for example, some classes are twenty five
to twenty to thirty people. They're looking at ten to
(28:35):
fifteen now right because they're hoping those fifteen to twenty
spots are going to be portal spots where they're getting
more grown individuals, guys who are more ready to compete
right away.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
Right.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
So it's crazy, and it's kind of is youre a
like give a strategy? Like I think about it, like,
if I'm a more of a mid level kind of program,
I would go all in on on the high school
and the kids and try to recruit and try to
(29:08):
build my team that way since everybody else is using
the portal.
Speaker 4 (29:12):
Oh for sure, I agree, I a thousand percent agree.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
Once I got to be in the building, right, like,
there's a better chance I could keep them. Like, I
know everybody's really like looking for the portal, but if
I get them in the building, and treat him right.
I mean, I should have an insight track of keeping
my players right at.
Speaker 4 (29:33):
But the college coaches, it's so it's so violdle right now.
Speaker 5 (29:36):
So they're just saying, hey, we want to make sure
we're getting guys who can contribute right away.
Speaker 3 (29:41):
We're not.
Speaker 4 (29:42):
They're not trying to invest in projects unless they have.
Speaker 5 (29:44):
The job security where they're like, hey, you have four
years and we're not going to mess with you to
to really grow this program. And then once you have
that class, you could build behind it and can build
behind it and build behind it. But there's not that
job security that there once was. Yeah, there's so much
more money in it. So that day in February is
February fourth, So it's the first Wednesday in February this year,
(30:06):
and the portal will be open from January second till
like January twentieth or eighteenth, and then you know, so
we'll see how the dust settles, we'll see where everyone is,
and then there'll be a two week push of that
second window, which again used to be very small with
commitments and now it's it's ten x.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (30:24):
Yeah, it's crazy. And just to wrap up, like the
signing the day. I know we kind of we downplayed
it or didn't speak so highly of it. It's still
a celebration, right, I still want to talk about like
it is still such an amazing day for a majority
the top.
Speaker 4 (30:37):
It's more of a circus.
Speaker 5 (30:38):
For the you know, the top one hundred kids in
the country, right or top three hundred and football, But
it's still like it's still a celebration, right. It is
a little bit of a checkpoint, which it used to
not be because you know, there's other stuff going on,
there's other money factors going on. But the end of
the day, they're kids, man, and that it is crazy.
And we've talked about We've touched on a lot. We've
(30:58):
had people talk about mental health, health and their development
as a person on the show. It's just like, you know,
it's tough because we're making them make really grown up
decisions with these financial factors that they never had to
think about before.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
Right.
Speaker 5 (31:11):
It was just like, hey, the fit and development isn't
at the priority like it once was. The dollar sign
is at the priority, so it makes it it's difficult,
but I still want to celebrate it, right. I don't
want to just say it's just it's a circus, right,
but it's.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
Tough, man, Yeah, it really is.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
It's it's a new world, man.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
Hey.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
I had an interesting conversation yesterday. I was hosting the
World Cup draw in Philly because we're hosting a obviously
we have six matches next summer and the national show
was out of DC, so we had a gathering at
the Governor of Pennsylvania.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
Josh Shapiro. There we had.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
All the dignitaries from Philapia Soccer and the whole thing.
Speaker 3 (32:01):
It was a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
The professional teams in Union, they have a youth academy yep.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
And the youth.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
Academy is wild where the kids go to school there right.
Speaker 4 (32:13):
Like, and they train all day long.
Speaker 5 (32:16):
Yeah, in school, but they're training more than ever and
it's it's a wild model. Because I've kind of looked
into it, I'm like, how you know, because it's it's
mostly free.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
Well, do me a favor. I want you to explain it.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
Coming up all right, we're gonna take quick too, and
I want you to explain it because I could see this
being the future of youth sports.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
This is project Nil.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Danny de bernadinas the a d from patroon our high school.
Every week, I'm Anthony gargantto we are with you as
we explore the world of youth sports, high school sports college,
that intersection called Project Nil right here on Fox Sports Radio.
Welcome back Project and I don't forget Fellas. Coming up next,
(33:05):
I'll be with Jeff Schwartz. We'll tackle Championship Saturday and
all the NFL.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
News by Bree and the crew.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
Back there today.
Speaker 4 (33:16):
Man again me real in the Howaday Spirits.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
He was funny.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
I had the same reaction Mighty Mark and Mighty Marks
the main when it comes to the music.
Speaker 4 (33:25):
I love it Mark.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:30):
So Danny, let's dive into this whole.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
I think it's the future. Right.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
So I have this conversation with the guy that runs
the Philippy Union professional soccer team.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
It's youth and its youth academy.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
There's like seventy eighty kids that are in it, and
they scat them. They live it, right, So they go
to school there they they basically live.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
Soccer that well.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
You know, they have an educator and you know the
kids are getting their requisite education, but they're learning differently.
The school day is different. Uh, it's a wild just
wild situation.
Speaker 5 (34:16):
Yeah, I mean it is wild. Now you're saying it's
seventy eighty kids. So this is for the smallest, smallest percent.
This is of the you know, there's millions upon millions
of kids playing soccer in the United States. This is
probably half of a percent, right that are able to
go to these academies. Now, if you are able to
be in these academies, it's an amazing thing. So think
of it as like basically a professional environment built for teenagers.
(34:41):
You know, they train every day, they compete against national teams,
they get great you know level exposure to getting the
highest level coaching, and they're in school, right, so they
find a way to get the school work in.
Speaker 4 (34:52):
Now, this is again for the smallest percent.
Speaker 5 (34:54):
The Union have had the most success so local to
me and you, the Philadelphia Union has had so many
homegrown kids come through that that have played for their team,
and one who's the number one kid in the one
of the number one kids in the world, Cavin Salvin,
who signed over to play in Europe when he becomes eighteen.
(35:15):
So the way this works is it is free, right,
and you get this phenomenal opportunity. So their hope is
that you come and you play for them, right, they
keep their talent. But when you're sold, they get paid.
So Cavin Salvin going to play for Manchester City.
Speaker 4 (35:33):
Eventually they get a.
Speaker 3 (35:34):
Piece of that.
Speaker 4 (35:35):
There's a huge buyout.
Speaker 3 (35:36):
So they invest in you.
Speaker 4 (35:37):
Right, they're giving you a tons of stuff for free.
Speaker 5 (35:39):
They're teaching you, they're training you, they're giving you all
these opportunities. But if you're super successful, they have a
part of you as well. Well.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
It's wild, man, It's almost antithetical to how we know
you build a develop talent because we all think you
develop talent to keep it. But it's you know, it's
almost like a business because you're flipping guys for big dollars.
Speaker 5 (36:08):
Yeah, it's very again, it's very rare that, you know,
we have these kids that are able to play in Europe.
But the Union Academy, their success rate has been unbelievable.
They've had pipelines to their main team to MLS, a
few to Europe and a ton to the national so
they've had great success.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
In you know, doing it.
Speaker 5 (36:29):
They so they're kind of what people are trying to
model their academies after. Now there's a bunch of different
MLS next and different leagues and where you can still
play high.
Speaker 4 (36:37):
School and do that.
Speaker 5 (36:38):
Again, this is for a really small percentage, but if
you are in that percentage, going to these academies is
life changing and it does give you a great opportunity
to really chase your dream and go to the highest
level because you're getting the topknop training and you're getting
it in a very creative way.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (36:55):
Wow, all right, I got one of them things. It's
the it's the holidays, right, so I have I was
on Dick sporting goods website, which I you know, I
have to be honest with you.
Speaker 5 (37:10):
It's like a candy store for me, right back, ball,
I know it's dangerous.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
I'm looking at all this stuff and I'm looking at everything, right,
and I just imagine, like we were kids, there was
a sporting.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
Goods store called Al Rainbows.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
It was it was on Broad Street, right, and you
went to Al Rainbows, and you know, you had baseball
gloves and baseball back like there was no other like
there was no like big national chain back when I
was there, and so you know what you had was.
Speaker 3 (37:44):
You shared equipment.
Speaker 2 (37:47):
And now like the equipment available is unbelievable, man.
Speaker 4 (37:52):
And you can get it within twenty four hours.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
It's it's insane. And you know what's funny, was looking
because hospital has these uh Bruce Bolt uh batty gloves.
Dude through one hundred and seventeen dollars for batty gloves.
That's when there are a undred seventeen dollars.
Speaker 4 (38:17):
Man, did they make his bat fast or what's coming?
Speaker 3 (38:21):
It's it's really unbelievable, man.
Speaker 5 (38:24):
I mean, he's got the best stuff. I've seen the
videos of him. He's always got the coolest batt man.
Speaker 4 (38:29):
I mean, well, he's.
Speaker 5 (38:30):
Going deep, so you got to you gotta keep going.
Speaker 3 (38:32):
Was working at it.
Speaker 4 (38:34):
Shopping fences three eight.
Speaker 3 (38:37):
I was cracking up, though. I'm like, are you kidding me?
Speaker 2 (38:40):
Like, look at this stuff and then like all the
football equipment is is awesome, but there's a lot of
great training equipment and I don't know, like under my
tree because I'm staring at it now, there will be
a lot of sports training equipment and everything else.
Speaker 3 (38:58):
And I know, I suck. I go. It's just really
for that for.
Speaker 5 (39:04):
Me, I'm glad you get excitement buying it for them,
right at least you're getting something out.
Speaker 4 (39:09):
And I'm and I'm happy.
Speaker 5 (39:11):
That they're asking for sports related stuff for Christmas and
not so much games and technology. Right, I'm glad that
they're asking for things that they're going to stay active
and use.
Speaker 4 (39:20):
And if it's if.
Speaker 5 (39:22):
It's bad and gloves, let's get the bat and gloves, man,
let's go.
Speaker 2 (39:25):
I said, listen, well you want uh you know, a
new quarterback, like we're talking about working out with a
quarterback coach. And he's like, yeah, I like that. I said, well,
i'd be one of your stocking stuffers and he's like
I'm in.
Speaker 3 (39:38):
And I was like, all right, good.
Speaker 4 (39:40):
Yeah, it gets me fired up, man.
Speaker 3 (39:42):
Yeah, it's good, right, It's it's good. It's good stuff.
Speaker 2 (39:45):
It's a great time of the year, man, you know,
for all the stuff that we've got basketball. If you
need to reach us, I would love to. Danny give
everybody your email
Speaker 5 (39:55):
Yeah, Daniel d five on five a Gmail is the
email or Daniel unders Underscore five on five on tex
You don't listening to Fox Sports Radio Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Well, good morning, good morning, good morning, happy happy Championship Saturday.
This is Project N I l my man, Danny the Bernardinas,
Danny d Dad. I'm Anthony Gargano, your resident sports dad.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Good morning, Danny Dad, at.
Speaker 4 (00:25):
What's going on?
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Because how we doing? Baby? Good? Good?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
We got This is a sad time for me, I know, man,
because this is it, man like Championship Saturday, and then
next week sucks because it's like, God blessed. I love
the Army Navy game, but you know, it's the end
of the season. Man, it's it. And then we got ball.
I love the bowl season, but then it starts to
(00:50):
whittle down the one by one by one, and we
have winded down the last full Saturday was last weekend
of college football.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
And big news this week. Signing Day.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Occurred this week Danny Day, and it was it was
a rousing signing day.
Speaker 5 (01:10):
It's it's wild and how it's how it's evolved over
the last couple of years. Man, it's it's a new game.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
It's a new game.
Speaker 5 (01:18):
It's not as simple as uh, just picking a hat
off the table anymore. Right, there's a lot more factors.
There's a lot more that's going into it. There's so
many different angles that are happening.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
So it's crazy. It's a crazy environment right now.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
So it really was.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
It was just you know, it's it's it is crazy
every big school jocking.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
I mean, look what happened with Penn State.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Right, Penn State finally gets its coach, Matt Campbell from
Iowa State, long time, very good coach goes to Penn State,
but you know, to forever and they got like three recruits.
Speaker 5 (01:58):
Yeah, yeah, I mean it's difficult with the uncertainty, right,
I know, kids who were committed there and you know,
just the uncertainty and nothing's promised when there's not a
head coach in place. Right, there's a lot of hey,
ninety five percent, everything's good, but there's still that five percent.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
We got to wait to.
Speaker 5 (02:14):
See this new coach come in, so we can't you know,
the financials we promised you, or even this spot we
promise you is not really fully guaranteed until we have
that new head guy. So you know, you can't blame
kids for not committing. They're going to be extremely extremely
active on January second, when that portal opens because they're
gonna have to build a roster out. So it's going
(02:36):
to be very interesting to see how how Matt Campbell.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
And his new staff that he's gonna have to put.
Speaker 5 (02:41):
Together very quickly can corral all these guys who are
part of the portal.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Yeah, and you still have a cap to work with, Like,
you still got to go and work with it, and
you know, some kind of money gets straight. Like I'm
sure you'll get help and you'll have, you know, addition,
very fun just to try to help you. But you know,
it's still still gonna be tough to put it on
the roster of free agents.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
And basically that's the world we live.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
We live in a free agent world, and this is
what they're gonna have to do. They're gonna they're gonna
have to put together a team of free agents. I guess,
you know, you canna make the argument that you bring
in recruits and you're putting together a team, but these
are all more older kids.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
It's more like a free a kid to the NFL
free agency.
Speaker 5 (03:29):
Yeah, a lot of I mean, it's the difficult, difficult,
it's a difficult time. And you know, we touched on
the lame thing last week. We were unsure what he
was gonna do. You were pretty confident, you know, with
that brink truck backing up that he.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Was, Yeah, he's gonna end up. It was you.
Speaker 5 (03:43):
But part of that is, you know, I've read a
lot about it, and part of his allure was, you know,
he got he has four to top ten recruits in the
country signed at Old Miss. He really had to live
in the portal every year to year at a job
like that. With some of these certain schools, you can
kind of have that mix of getting the top recruit,
which but.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
Also getting the top portal guys as well.
Speaker 5 (04:03):
And I from what I've read, that was a big
part of Lane's decision and trying to switch over is
in a.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
While, like what makes LSU better than you know, Florida, right,
Like what makes LSU more attractive than Florida as opposed
to Florida State as opposed to Georgia.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Like when we look at when we.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Look at these top programs, it's bizarre how a pecking
order comes, right because like what you go, listen, I
get Old missed to a degree, it's still a big
time state state school at SEC school. But you know
what makes LSU better than Florida, Right, but LSU clearly
(04:51):
is atop the pecking order over Florida.
Speaker 5 (04:55):
Yeah, I think facility, Right, how many people you play
in front of They have a a ton of money
they're investing in their nil On top of it, you know,
they're pledging thirty plus million a year and too, rosters
are putting a ton of money into coaching staffs obviously,
So I think there's a little to some other factors,
Like the facilities is a big part when you're recruiting, right,
they dominate in state. Louisiana has so much talent in state.
(05:19):
They do not let the top talent leave the state.
And in Florida it's probably more talent, but a lot
of it's leaving the state.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Right.
Speaker 5 (05:26):
They have a stranglehold on Louisiana where they're going to
get the top three kids every single year. The number
one player in the country is from Louisiana right now,
he's committed to LSU.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Right.
Speaker 5 (05:36):
They do a phenomenal job of keeping those guys in state. Facilities, money,
their stadiums, alsome. I've been there before. Me and my
buddy's on our college football trip a few years ago.
Stop at LSU it's an hour from New Orleans, so
I think there isn't a lured to it.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
But yeah, I mean, why is it such.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
More of a lord than those other schools you mentioned?
Is I don't have a real answer for that.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
You look at you know, like a Penn State that
just you know struggled, right Like Penn State was one
of the first schools to jump into the coaching pool, right,
you know, I get you know, obviously was born out
of frustration. Penn State, Penn State a d geez Fredi
(06:21):
and slip, Penn State a D. Pat Craft fires James Franklin,
and there was all kinds. There's a lot of reporting
about Jimmy Sexton, the powerful agent that was trying to
derail Penn State because he was upset. How Franklin was
That situation was handled one coach.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
You have to coach.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
And you know what was wild is the Penn State
vacancy got coaches paid a total of three hundred and
forty million extra raises.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Yeah, unbelievable.
Speaker 5 (06:55):
People were saying pack Craft is, if he's interested in you,
you're doing to do really well.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
Because he was he was getting everyone an.
Speaker 5 (07:03):
Extension he possibly could. And yeah, I didn't fully understand it.
I understand, like why people want to stay where they're at.
They're happy, they're comfortable. I get all that, but I
was very surprised it went this long. I know they
were trying to be patient with it. Obviously they didn't
want to be this patient. They wanted to get it
done before that December third signing day early period, the
(07:23):
first day of early signing. So yeah, I mean, anyone
he's interested, they signed and supposedly hit you know, the
handshake agreement with Klanie out at BYU, and then it
gets leaked and you know, the Mormons rallied and made him,
you know.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
A great deal to stay.
Speaker 5 (07:41):
So yeah, I didn't fully understand why people weren't so
interested in it.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
But man, if he was interested in you, you got paid.
At the end of the day.
Speaker 5 (07:48):
There was millions and millions of extensions being thrown around.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Wild man, right, like just completely wild stuff that was
that was happening. And then you look at the early
Stagni period and in a minute, I want to ask you.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
To explain it.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
But the big news is that five star quarterback Jared
Curtis flipped right Vandy all of a sudden man, it's
wild and mander belt Is flips the five star quarterback
that was committed to Georgia, Jared Curtis. He he flips
(08:30):
to Vanderbilt. It was wild. I mean it's had to be.
I don't know. Three years ago, it was before before
this this incredible comeback, somebody was telling me about we
were talking about Vandy. It was like, yeah, well, you know,
Vandy's one of those teams in the SEC that could
never win, Like they just could they not could never win.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
From a past tense.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
They were looked at like they will never be able
to win. And it was almost to the point where
like why even be in the conference?
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Yeah, and now look at him. It's unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
Dude, I'll be a fact baby, right yeah.
Speaker 5 (09:12):
I mean, and he stayed right. He could have got
a bag. I'm sure they took care of him there,
but he stayed loyal. And I mean they're right there.
I mean then I love how they're talking. They're saying, hey,
we have all this time, like let's let's have a play,
and it's like we'll go anywhere. They're Ad and coach
are out there saying like, we will go anywhere. You
tell us where we'll play Utah, we'll play Notre Dame,
We'll go on the road, you know, cause they're on
(09:34):
the outside looking in right now. They have uphill battle
and I mean they're not dodging it. They want everything,
they want all the smoke, and you know, they must
be their coach must be doing a great job and
building a great culture to keep a lot of those
guys in this era where you know, I'm sure they
were a lord to many other schools in this offseason
in the past couple off seasons, and you know, credit
to them for being in the mix. And man, they
(09:55):
just they just flipped the number one quarterback who's committed
since June.
Speaker 4 (09:59):
I mean, goge it.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
So Jared Curtis in June was going to was going
to Georgia. See geezh. I mean, there's so much fun
with the system. You know, if you're committing, there's got
to be a period where you just can't poach players.
I mean, the idea concept of poaching guys that have
(10:22):
already committed. I'm just uncomfortable with the whole thing.
Speaker 5 (10:26):
And so talking about signing day, this is the big
the biggest changes on signing day. Are you see a
lot of reclasses up for the one percent right because
they want to get paid faster, and that middle everyone's
reclassing back the middle and back they want them extra
year of experience, right, So you're seeing reclassification both ways
is higher than ever. If you're in that top five,
(10:48):
top ten, top twenty percent player in the country, you're
looking to go up. You might say, hey, I'm a junior.
I want to be a senior because I want this money. Right,
I'm going to go out there and try to get
this anil money now for everybodybody else with the transferportal,
people are saying, hey, I need an extra year because
I need to be older, I need to be stronger
to have an opportunity.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
So they're reclassing down.
Speaker 5 (11:09):
So this reclass movement has taken a new, a whole
new level with this nil structure.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
When so that's that's number one.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
Hey, all of that, let me stop right there. All
of that. I had a conversation.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Who was It was a coach and was like, because
I had I had mentioned that, you know, I was
thinking about reclassing my kids, right, And he's like, let
me tell you something. It's not a question, it's a
demand he's like, you have to reclass your kids. If
(11:48):
you don't reclass your kids, they don't have a shot.
And it's like, well, I mean you know, I mean
I don't know if they can play you know, on
Saturdays or you know, when out of college.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Whatever it is. He's like, it doesn't matter. You got it.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
You need to do it just for that, just for
giving them a chance and for their own development.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
Like it's crazy.
Speaker 5 (12:14):
Yeah, it depends on when you're when you're born, right,
there's all all kinds of factors that go into it.
A month opportunities, but if you're looking in this college
landscape and you want to be a college athlete, the
D two or Division I level, a request makes.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
Sense today, right, I mean it did for a long time.
Speaker 5 (12:30):
It used to be more like we want you younger,
we want to see your potential and upside. And with
this portal being so, you know, this free agency period
with the portal, it's it's changed at how that outlook
and how people approach it.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Yeah. Why it was amazing because he was like, dude,
you're you're thinking about it. He's like, it's not even thought.
You have to do it. I was like, wow, Okay,
I'm sorry, I just had to bring updates.
Speaker 5 (12:55):
So, and then the point number two with signing day
is so it's wild people are committing very early to
hold their spot, right, but there's so many flipping late.
So people are verbally committing early on because it holds
your spot because there's limited spots.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Right.
Speaker 5 (13:12):
So the move is people commit in June and May
however you are because they want to you know, they
want to block in their spot. They want to have
an offer to fall back on. But that entire time
they're negotiating with other schools.
Speaker 6 (13:24):
Wow, no, now that's stuff fair agreed, right, So there's
a verbal commit and until December third, right, So this
year it was December third, was the early signing day,
December third December fifth, So that's the first signing period.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
Now the second this has always been when people usually
commit or sign. The second signing day now in the
spring is bigger than ever because people wait for their
dust to settle from the portal. It used to be
you didn't really have a big window or it wasn't
really common to commit late to sign late. Now with
the portal, the spring signing day is becoming bigger and
(14:04):
bigger because everyone.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
Has to wait for the dust to settle.
Speaker 5 (14:07):
Everyone has to see how the portal shook out and
what these rosters are looking like. So it's tough for
these kids because you have to preach patience. I mean,
I'm talking to a kid at my school right now
and he's portal line Division one player and I just
told him patience.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Man.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
It's so tough because he knows he can play at
this level. And I told him, like, you really have
to be patient.
Speaker 5 (14:26):
I know it's not what you want to hear right now,
but in today's landscape, if you're on the fence, you
either got to go lower.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
And work your way up.
Speaker 5 (14:35):
If your dream is to play Division one, or find
a good fit for you that's Division two or Division
three high academic that fits your needs and you want
to go in and be an impact player right away.
But if your dream, his dream is to play Division
one football, it's tough. You have to be patient and
you have to wait and see how this all shakes out.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
So what I'm just gonna showing like a dumb question.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
But I'm a parent, right so I don't know the
world like you do.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Why first of all, if you go and sign with
an early signing period and you sign, Why isn't that binding?
Speaker 3 (15:10):
It is.
Speaker 5 (15:11):
Once you sign, it's binding, they have to let you
out of it. So if you sign December third, So
this like the quarterback, he committed verbally, right, like Jared
Curtis Right, Yeah, he committed verbally.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
He just held his spot at Georgia. Georgia planned on
him coming.
Speaker 5 (15:24):
You have to work him just as hard until that
December third signing day. It is a grind for these
colleges to keep these kids. If you stop giving them love,
someone's gonna swoop in and take them or offer more money.
You have to be in constant contact with these elite guys.
Who are you know getting these big time money offers? Right,
You have to keep working just getting them, that's not
(15:46):
the job, right. You have to continue to work and
get them to the finish line. So that verbal commit
just holds your spot and it just says, hey, this
is where I intend on going, but you don't know
until that December third day. Once you signed December third, right,
unless a coaching switch or something happens, you are.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
Locked in that school.
Speaker 5 (16:02):
They have your rights for that next year and if
they want to get out.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
Of it, they'd have to sit out.
Speaker 5 (16:09):
So that's simper third makes it, That makes it real.
But that's why there's so much movement beforehand. Like Chris Henry,
we talked about him. He was on our top ten
high school players. Chris Henry junior. He committed to Ohio
State right and then he commits but didn't sign his paperwork.
So then the story erupts on, you know, on Wednesday,
(16:30):
where's he going to go? And in the last twenty
four hours, Oregon and USC and Texas came in. They
must have been throwing crazy money at him because he
waited the whole day before. Finally then he signed. Yesterday,
he committed. He did end up sticking with Ohio State,
but he just committed and then didn't sign. So then
people realized that the the paperwork never came in because
(16:53):
these schools were.
Speaker 4 (16:54):
Coming in late, receiving the country.
Speaker 5 (16:57):
You know, son of XL Fame, I mean that NFL
player Chris Henry, he played for Bengals and he's actually
in again.
Speaker 3 (17:05):
It's crazy. He was in.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
He grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Speaker 5 (17:08):
Oh yeah, two years ago to California to play out
modern day. Yes, yes, and now you know he said,
he told Ryan Day's coming home, so it was a
whole fiasco. He ended up committing on the Pat McAfee show. Yes,
so yeah, but again, it's not done until it's signed,
and you don't know these schools are coming.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
In very last minute.
Speaker 5 (17:30):
So it is such a wild West scenario where there's
it doesn't.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
Matter who you say you're going to until you put
that pen to paper. It's not done.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Isn't that wild? Man Like?
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Now it's become such a production of like the signing
like there is you know, Chris Henry Junior on Pat McAfee,
and we're gonna, you know, do it in this big manner.
It's it's it's crazy and it's just insane.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
Would you tweak this?
Speaker 2 (18:05):
How do you fix society or does it need to
be fixed? It strikes me like it's so impossible to
plan if you still don't know coming up to December third,
whether or not you still have landed the quarterback.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
Yeah, and you don't know how the rosters shake out.
Speaker 5 (18:24):
So I'm torn on it, right, I would like to
maybe have it earlier, right, But then with this how
colleges treats their coaches and how the carousel is there's
gonna be kids getting in and out, So it's like,
what's the point I'm saying, like, why would you do
it early? Because then kids are gonna be in and
out the whole time, right, but or the roster, right,
you might have someone blow up, and so you want
kids to kind of.
Speaker 4 (18:44):
See how it works for the season.
Speaker 5 (18:47):
But I honestly don't know what the answer is. But
I saw stat that kids commit earlier, but they commit
more often than ever. So people are verbally committing, but
the de commit is larger than ever by at ten x.
It was never to this scale where kids are decommitting
to go to another school. And that's obviously with the money.
(19:07):
It's it's the NIL part of it. And it's this
ever changing landscape and even a coaching caraself right, I
mean you saw how many coaches on the car.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
Yeah, I mean it was insane, dude, it was insane.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
We never experienced anything like this.
Speaker 5 (19:26):
Yeah, I mean, transfer portal and NIL have made commitment
feel very temporary when you commit, right, it's not it's
not nearly what it once was. You know, schools expect
movement until signature day always right, and kids are committing decommitting.
Speaker 4 (19:42):
At a rapid pace that we've never seen before.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
That's it's it's just not It's not the whole world
is insane, all right. To make some sense of it
coming up, I want you to kind of go through
some of the highlights of it from some of the players.
Also how it affects parents, right like, because this is
you know, we look at it from every angle, from youth,
(20:08):
you know, through high school into college.
Speaker 6 (20:11):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
With the you know, Project Nil kind of with the
nil stuff around it, I want to go into that
a little bit. World Cup. Uh is germane in that
I had. I had a whole conversation with a youth
soccer academy for the Union yesterday which was really interesting.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
I'm gonna bring this up to you.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
I want to bring this up to you because it's
it's another new kind of wrinkle in the youth sports game.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
So, so mu's to do. It's Project ni l every week.
He is Danny di Bernadine's. He's the a d at
Pencharter High School, one of the oldest schools in the
country and the oldest Quaker school in the country. Uh.
I'm Anthony Garganta were sports dad and fella. We're coming
up next with Jeff Schwartz right here on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Oh, welcome back Project Ni l A d Danny Di Bernadinas.
I'm Anthony Garganol Sports Dad, Fella, Jeff Schwartz.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
And I coming up the top of the hour.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Happy Holidays, baby, I have our little Dean Danny d
oh Man.
Speaker 4 (21:37):
It's the best time of the year. Man, Hollidays are great.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Ever. Get to see the.
Speaker 5 (21:40):
Family, get everyone, yeah, you know, get together.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
Yeah, watch some sports.
Speaker 4 (21:46):
Has a great time, man.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
Yeah, I do like the the bulls.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
I don't want what's gonna happen to all this stuff,
like do you stay with Bowl games?
Speaker 3 (21:56):
And I know there's a lot of money tied into it,
you know, Like I would like.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
Them to start to playoff a little earlier. We didn't
get a touch on earlier. It's like these dates so
so people out there that don't know. Their early signing
days this year were December third to December fifth. The
Transfer Portal officially opens January second, So the bowgue our
playoff system is just starting then.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
So you had jad wants right, you know.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
Yeah, so you're putting these kids.
Speaker 5 (22:24):
Who may be a backup, who may have like starting potential,
but he's behind somebody. He has to make a decision
whether to stick with his team or leave. And for coaches, right,
this was a big reason why Lane.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
Had to leave when he left.
Speaker 5 (22:39):
I don't like how he handled the whole situation, but
he had to leave because January second.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
The portals open. They need to know who the coach is, right,
So there's no way around it.
Speaker 5 (22:49):
If they put it after the bull season and transfer portal, right,
a lot of this heartache that we're or seeing through
these fan bases wouldn't occur and there wouldn't be as
much now. The reason for the January second date of
the portal opening is because they want it to end
by the days the first day of school starting back up,
(23:10):
which usually around January eighteenth of January twenty first, that's
the first day of classes for a lot of the schools,
so they want everyone registered. So that's the pushback of NCAA,
but with online classes.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Because it is a in the end, it is a university. Right,
it's higher learning.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
Dude. Here's hell thing. My nephew's going to Virginia Tech.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Right, He's got a lot of classes online.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
What sets does that he lives in Blacksburg? What sense
does that make? Oh?
Speaker 4 (23:51):
It's wild.
Speaker 5 (23:51):
I mean I know a high profile player in college
basketball right now, and he told me he has not
been on campus yet just for practice.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
He doesn't.
Speaker 5 (24:00):
He does six week classes at the time, so he's
breaking them out. He does six week online classes.
Speaker 4 (24:06):
He doesn't. He hasn't stepped foot in a classroom in
the last two years.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
I don't know how I feel about that. Yeah, I don't.
Speaker 5 (24:14):
I don't really like for me, I needed I'm much
more of a better in person learner. I don't comprehend
it off. It's just online. I like to have interaction
and conversation.
Speaker 4 (24:23):
But I mean, that's that's the world, man, It's.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
No, it is Listen.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
It started during COVID, which is you know. I hate
that the anti social I want to just sit in
my pajamas and be in my you know bedroom at class,
Like did you take your butt to class?
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Man?
Speaker 3 (24:42):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
I hate the old school, but like it's better, you know,
we need social interaction. Like I worry about these kids
because you know, they're isolated so much. They don't spend
enough time together. I even see the way my kids
to the way, like they're not hanging with their friends
(25:05):
every weekend, right, they are on video games through all together.
And I hear them laughing. I'm like, all right, but
like they don't in my old stuff. It'll go out,
you know a little bit, but not like the way
we did. We were always together.
Speaker 5 (25:21):
They're losing their social skills, you know, they're it's it's
just it's a sad It's not it's not I won't say sad,
but it's definitely different.
Speaker 4 (25:28):
And it's definite I don't love for sure.
Speaker 5 (25:31):
I would much prefer more interaction with people want to
want and not through a screen or through a microphone.
And you know, have these kids outside. It's just a
different world. And you know it's changed, its changing rapidly,
and COVID did play a big part of it, right
because they understood they can have all these different type
of interactions without having to leave their house.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
Right, So yeah, it's crazy.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
I mean look at sports right, like, and this has
changed for somebody like you, everything's organized like, so the
youth sports is all organized like, they don't ever play.
Rarely do I see kids out there playing themselves where
they're you know, let's play with you know, handful of kids.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
They don't do it.
Speaker 4 (26:17):
Oh it's wild.
Speaker 5 (26:17):
I mean I remember coming home from school, I would
just sprint. I mean I would try to do my
homework as fast if I can. I sprint to the
playground and be there until dinner time and then try
to head back out until I was allowed.
Speaker 4 (26:27):
To have to come back home.
Speaker 5 (26:28):
Right, And we're playing sports at the playground and I
walk around my neighborhood.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
You see kids playing, but not not nearly to the
level of it once was.
Speaker 5 (26:35):
And the kids are playing are really young that that
middle aged kids, those teenage kids are not outside like
they once were.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Nah, it's wild, it really, it really is. It's it's
a wild thing. So the next date so basically what
happens in the spring.
Speaker 5 (26:56):
Yeah, so they're the spring signing period. I'm gonna pull
up the date right now. So they're the springtime period,
which it used to be pretty dead, but now it's
bigger than ever because you're waiting to see how the
portal shakes out. Right, Like you don't know what that
looks like until the portal comes out. And so this
(27:18):
date used to be very it used to be a
lot smaller. Now it's there's a day in February. It's
day in April where these kids are coming out and
signing in waves.
Speaker 4 (27:26):
It used to be very dormant.
Speaker 5 (27:28):
It used to be just the early signing day was
the day people signed because there wasn't this big transfer window,
this big free agency that happens, right.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
That's happening now. So it's it's difficult and it's and
it's changing. But I mean that's you got to preach
patient to these kids.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
Man.
Speaker 5 (27:45):
It's it's wild. It's it's really wild, and it's different.
So there's a February one and there, and there's an
April one.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
So what happens with the twenty six is in the
twenty sevens when it comes to recruiting.
Speaker 4 (27:57):
Yeah, so college coaches aren't like they used to.
Speaker 5 (28:00):
I remember my first couple of years as athletic director,
they were giving committable offers to sophomores and juniors. Those days, like,
there's offers, but they're rarely committable until.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
Late in your junior year.
Speaker 5 (28:13):
You rarely see kids committing as sophomore. People used to
you know, verbally commit earlier on those days are gone.
And again, like we've talked about and even when we
had Seana last week, the amount of freshmen that they're
taking is half or less. You know, schools used to
take in football, for example, some classes are twenty five
to twenty to thirty people. They're looking at ten to
(28:35):
fifteen now right because they're hoping those fifteen to twenty
spots are going to be portal spots where they're getting
more grown individuals, guys who are more ready to compete
right away.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
Right.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
So it's crazy, and it's kind of is youre a
like give a strategy? Like I think about it, like,
if I'm a more of a mid level kind of program,
I would go all in on on the high school
and the kids and try to recruit and try to
(29:08):
build my team that way since everybody else is using
the portal.
Speaker 4 (29:12):
Oh for sure, I agree, I a thousand percent agree.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
Once I got to be in the building, right, like,
there's a better chance I could keep them. Like, I
know everybody's really like looking for the portal, but if
I get them in the building, and treat him right.
I mean, I should have an insight track of keeping
my players right at.
Speaker 4 (29:33):
But the college coaches, it's so it's so violdle right now.
Speaker 5 (29:36):
So they're just saying, hey, we want to make sure
we're getting guys who can contribute right away.
Speaker 3 (29:41):
We're not.
Speaker 4 (29:42):
They're not trying to invest in projects unless they have.
Speaker 5 (29:44):
The job security where they're like, hey, you have four
years and we're not going to mess with you to
to really grow this program. And then once you have
that class, you could build behind it and can build
behind it and build behind it. But there's not that
job security that there once was. Yeah, there's so much
more money in it. So that day in February is
February fourth, So it's the first Wednesday in February this year,
(30:06):
and the portal will be open from January second till
like January twentieth or eighteenth, and then you know, so
we'll see how the dust settles, we'll see where everyone is,
and then there'll be a two week push of that
second window, which again used to be very small with
commitments and now it's it's ten x.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (30:24):
Yeah, it's crazy. And just to wrap up, like the
signing the day. I know we kind of we downplayed
it or didn't speak so highly of it. It's still
a celebration, right, I still want to talk about like
it is still such an amazing day for a majority
the top.
Speaker 4 (30:37):
It's more of a circus.
Speaker 5 (30:38):
For the you know, the top one hundred kids in
the country, right or top three hundred and football, But
it's still like it's still a celebration, right. It is
a little bit of a checkpoint, which it used to
not be because you know, there's other stuff going on,
there's other money factors going on. But the end of
the day, they're kids, man, and that it is crazy.
And we've talked about We've touched on a lot. We've
(30:58):
had people talk about mental health, health and their development
as a person on the show. It's just like, you know,
it's tough because we're making them make really grown up
decisions with these financial factors that they never had to
think about before.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
Right.
Speaker 5 (31:11):
It was just like, hey, the fit and development isn't
at the priority like it once was. The dollar sign
is at the priority, so it makes it it's difficult,
but I still want to celebrate it, right. I don't
want to just say it's just it's a circus, right,
but it's.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
Tough, man, Yeah, it really is.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
It's it's a new world, man.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
Hey.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
I had an interesting conversation yesterday. I was hosting the
World Cup draw in Philly because we're hosting a obviously
we have six matches next summer and the national show
was out of DC, so we had a gathering at
the Governor of Pennsylvania.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
Josh Shapiro. There we had.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
All the dignitaries from Philapia Soccer and the whole thing.
Speaker 3 (32:01):
It was a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
The professional teams in Union, they have a youth academy yep.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
And the youth.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
Academy is wild where the kids go to school there right.
Speaker 4 (32:13):
Like, and they train all day long.
Speaker 5 (32:16):
Yeah, in school, but they're training more than ever and
it's it's a wild model. Because I've kind of looked
into it, I'm like, how you know, because it's it's
mostly free.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
Well, do me a favor. I want you to explain it.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
Coming up all right, we're gonna take quick too, and
I want you to explain it because I could see this
being the future of youth sports.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
This is project Nil.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Danny de bernadinas the a d from patroon our high school.
Every week, I'm Anthony gargantto we are with you as
we explore the world of youth sports, high school sports college,
that intersection called Project Nil right here on Fox Sports Radio.
Welcome back Project and I don't forget Fellas. Coming up next,
(33:05):
I'll be with Jeff Schwartz. We'll tackle Championship Saturday and
all the NFL.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
News by Bree and the crew.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
Back there today.
Speaker 4 (33:16):
Man again me real in the Howaday Spirits.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
He was funny.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
I had the same reaction Mighty Mark and Mighty Marks
the main when it comes to the music.
Speaker 4 (33:25):
I love it Mark.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:30):
So Danny, let's dive into this whole.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
I think it's the future. Right.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
So I have this conversation with the guy that runs
the Philippy Union professional soccer team.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
It's youth and its youth academy.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
There's like seventy eighty kids that are in it, and
they scat them. They live it, right, So they go
to school there they they basically live.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
Soccer that well.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
You know, they have an educator and you know the
kids are getting their requisite education, but they're learning differently.
The school day is different. Uh, it's a wild just
wild situation.
Speaker 5 (34:16):
Yeah, I mean it is wild. Now you're saying it's
seventy eighty kids. So this is for the smallest, smallest percent.
This is of the you know, there's millions upon millions
of kids playing soccer in the United States. This is
probably half of a percent, right that are able to
go to these academies. Now, if you are able to
be in these academies, it's an amazing thing. So think
of it as like basically a professional environment built for teenagers.
(34:41):
You know, they train every day, they compete against national teams,
they get great you know level exposure to getting the
highest level coaching, and they're in school, right, so they
find a way to get the school work in.
Speaker 4 (34:52):
Now, this is again for the smallest percent.
Speaker 5 (34:54):
The Union have had the most success so local to
me and you, the Philadelphia Union has had so many
homegrown kids come through that that have played for their team,
and one who's the number one kid in the one
of the number one kids in the world, Cavin Salvin,
who signed over to play in Europe when he becomes eighteen.
(35:15):
So the way this works is it is free, right,
and you get this phenomenal opportunity. So their hope is
that you come and you play for them, right, they
keep their talent. But when you're sold, they get paid.
So Cavin Salvin going to play for Manchester City.
Speaker 4 (35:33):
Eventually they get a.
Speaker 3 (35:34):
Piece of that.
Speaker 4 (35:35):
There's a huge buyout.
Speaker 3 (35:36):
So they invest in you.
Speaker 4 (35:37):
Right, they're giving you a tons of stuff for free.
Speaker 5 (35:39):
They're teaching you, they're training you, they're giving you all
these opportunities. But if you're super successful, they have a
part of you as well. Well.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
It's wild, man, It's almost antithetical to how we know
you build a develop talent because we all think you
develop talent to keep it. But it's you know, it's
almost like a business because you're flipping guys for big dollars.
Speaker 5 (36:08):
Yeah, it's very again, it's very rare that, you know,
we have these kids that are able to play in Europe.
But the Union Academy, their success rate has been unbelievable.
They've had pipelines to their main team to MLS, a
few to Europe and a ton to the national so
they've had great success.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
In you know, doing it.
Speaker 5 (36:29):
They so they're kind of what people are trying to
model their academies after. Now there's a bunch of different
MLS next and different leagues and where you can still
play high.
Speaker 4 (36:37):
School and do that.
Speaker 5 (36:38):
Again, this is for a really small percentage, but if
you are in that percentage, going to these academies is
life changing and it does give you a great opportunity
to really chase your dream and go to the highest
level because you're getting the topknop training and you're getting
it in a very creative way.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (36:55):
Wow, all right, I got one of them things. It's
the it's the holidays, right, so I have I was
on Dick sporting goods website, which I you know, I
have to be honest with you.
Speaker 5 (37:10):
It's like a candy store for me, right back, ball,
I know it's dangerous.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
I'm looking at all this stuff and I'm looking at everything, right,
and I just imagine, like we were kids, there was
a sporting.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
Goods store called Al Rainbows.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
It was it was on Broad Street, right, and you
went to Al Rainbows, and you know, you had baseball
gloves and baseball back like there was no other like
there was no like big national chain back when I
was there, and so you know what you had was.
Speaker 3 (37:44):
You shared equipment.
Speaker 2 (37:47):
And now like the equipment available is unbelievable, man.
Speaker 4 (37:52):
And you can get it within twenty four hours.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
It's it's insane. And you know what's funny, was looking
because hospital has these uh Bruce Bolt uh batty gloves.
Dude through one hundred and seventeen dollars for batty gloves.
That's when there are a undred seventeen dollars.
Speaker 4 (38:17):
Man, did they make his bat fast or what's coming?
Speaker 3 (38:21):
It's it's really unbelievable, man.
Speaker 5 (38:24):
I mean, he's got the best stuff. I've seen the
videos of him. He's always got the coolest batt man.
Speaker 4 (38:29):
I mean, well, he's.
Speaker 5 (38:30):
Going deep, so you got to you gotta keep going.
Speaker 3 (38:32):
Was working at it.
Speaker 4 (38:34):
Shopping fences three eight.
Speaker 3 (38:37):
I was cracking up, though. I'm like, are you kidding me?
Speaker 2 (38:40):
Like, look at this stuff and then like all the
football equipment is is awesome, but there's a lot of
great training equipment and I don't know, like under my
tree because I'm staring at it now, there will be
a lot of sports training equipment and everything else.
Speaker 3 (38:58):
And I know, I suck. I go. It's just really
for that for.
Speaker 5 (39:04):
Me, I'm glad you get excitement buying it for them,
right at least you're getting something out.
Speaker 4 (39:09):
And I'm and I'm happy.
Speaker 5 (39:11):
That they're asking for sports related stuff for Christmas and
not so much games and technology. Right, I'm glad that
they're asking for things that they're going to stay active
and use.
Speaker 4 (39:20):
And if it's if.
Speaker 5 (39:22):
It's bad and gloves, let's get the bat and gloves, man,
let's go.
Speaker 2 (39:25):
I said, listen, well you want uh you know, a
new quarterback, like we're talking about working out with a
quarterback coach. And he's like, yeah, I like that. I said, well,
i'd be one of your stocking stuffers and he's like
I'm in.
Speaker 3 (39:38):
And I was like, all right, good.
Speaker 4 (39:40):
Yeah, it gets me fired up, man.
Speaker 3 (39:42):
Yeah, it's good, right, It's it's good. It's good stuff.
Speaker 2 (39:45):
It's a great time of the year, man, you know,
for all the stuff that we've got basketball. If you
need to reach us, I would love to. Danny give
everybody your email
Speaker 5 (39:55):
Yeah, Daniel d five on five a Gmail is the
email or Daniel unders Underscore five on five on tex
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