On today’s episode, Jason explains why Jerry Jones latest comments about Micah Parsons' ongoing contract negotiations are further proof that the Dallas Cowboys owner is losing his marbles. Later, FOX Sports and The Athletic college football reporter Bruce Feldman swings by to discuss if the Big Ten has officially surpassed the SEC, the preseason hype surrounding Arch Manning, why he's picking Drew Allar to lead Penn State back to the College Football Playoff, what led former BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff to transfer to Tulane, why he has Clemson as a dark horse College Football Playoff contender, the sense of optimism surrounding Alabama, and much more!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
This is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
What is up straight Firefam, It's me Jason McIntyre. Straight
Fire for Tuesday, July the twenty second.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
I love July because obviously football is on the horizon.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
I see people counting down only seven weeks until the season.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Star Like people are getting excited. Right College football is
on the horizon. But we're in that we're dealing with.
There's not a ton of news. Obviously I'll touch on something,
but we get some good interviews to get you ready
for the upcoming season. So today we're bringing on Bruce Feldman,
my colleague at Fox. He's at the Athletic one of
the foremost college football writers out there. We tackle all
the big subjects. It sounds like he's extremely bullish on
(00:53):
Penn State and Clemson. I was not as bullish as him,
but he makes certainly compelling cases. He talks to as
many people in the industry as possible. I mean, he's
all over coaching staffs everywhere. He's I mean, listen, Bruce
film is really good. Good dude as well. And so
we'll break down all that just real quick. I did
want to briefly touch on and you know, I don't
(01:18):
think there's much here, but it's the Cowboys. And you know,
Michah Parsons showed up this week at camp.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
He showed up.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Don't know if he's gonna actually partake later this morning,
the Cowboys will take the field. He wants his extension.
And Jerry Jones like had a weird moment at the
podium where he was like, I don't know, talking about
how well you know, you know, we had Zach Martin
a couple of years ago, and we had that issue,
and we had em and Smith who shot out way
(01:47):
back in the nineties, and then he started getting into
and this. Listen, Jerry Jones is like eighty two years old. Okay,
just think, take a deep breath. I know what you
think of Jerry Jones. Just think about your Thanksgiving dinner
with your eighty two year old grandpa. There are gonna
be kernels of information that are great and some pearls
of wisdom mixed in with a lot of crazy shit.
(02:08):
I'm sorry, that's just the reality. And you know when
when Jerry Jones stood up there talking about it, he's like, hey,
you know Trey von Diggs's situation, remember that and remember
this and Uh, you know, if if Michael Parsons gets
injured and missus half the season, the highest paid player,
he just went on this.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Ramble and it's like, what are you doing?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
And nobody can tell him otherwise because they're all kind
of sickle fans, And that's that's like a bigger issue
for another day. It's like, do you want to work
for people or be in a company or anything where
everybody is just.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Totally ball washing the boss all the time.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
And again I'm not saying that this, but other people
have told me, like, hey, Jay, you know why you
and Cowhard work because you push back on him more
than anyone ever has.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
You're not afraid to challenge him. Most of your arguments are.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Rooted in obviously, some are opinion and some are emotion.
I try not to be emotional, but like you know, everybody, obviously,
Cal Cowhard knows a lot. He's been around, he's seen
it all, and I just try to find areas that
maybe he hasn't considered, or opinions and takes he hasn't and.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
So there is a pushaball.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
I don't think anybody's sitting there telling Jerry, Hey, Jerry, uh,
we've screwed this up royally. We need to fix this,
and nobody's saying that, and there's nobody shutting down Jerry Jones.
It's just sad and disappointing. Honestly, I wish the Cowboys.
You know, if they go six, six or seven wins,
we don't have to talk about them. I don't think
we even need to because the league is so compelling otherwise.
(03:38):
So you know, Jerry just kidding. And if someone's listening
to this in Dallas, I know it's difficult. He's a billionaire.
How do you push back on a billionaire. I haven't
been in that room. I haven't had to push back
on a billionaire ever, But I am curious. Is anyone
willing to stand up to him and be like, we've
got to get this fixed like yesterday? And it doesn't
appear that that's happening anyways. Forget about the Cowboys for
(03:59):
a moment, and let's lock in on college football with
Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
In the Athletic.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
You know, a guy, Jason likes to think he knows
everything when it comes to sports.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
I know what sports fans want, but for.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Everything he doesn't he knows a guy.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Who does Let's just say I know a guy who
knows a guy who knows another guy.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
All right, let's welcome into straight fire. One of the
great guests in college football. Doesn't get much better. This reporter,
sideline guy, columnist, TV analyst. I mean he does it all.
Bruce Feldman, California's finest Bruce.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
How are you man?
Speaker 4 (04:36):
I'm doing great, Jason, good to be on with you.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Obviously Big Ten media days this week in college football.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
I know you're fired up. Interesting that they're having him
in Vegas.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
You think Big Ten, You're like, oh, Michigan, Ohio State,
But Vegas is an interesting choice.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
Huh, it is, but it gets you closer to They
added four West Coast schools, obviously, the two LA schools,
Washington and Oregon. So it's kind of Tony Patiti, the
commissioner of the probably trying to spread his empire a little.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Further, and they're flexing a little this week, right, Michigan wanted,
Ohio State want it, and it's kind of looking looking.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
Good for the Big Ten.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
All of a sudden, are the Are they the premier
conference in the country this coming season?
Speaker 4 (05:14):
Uh? You know, we'll see because Obviously the pack the
Pac twelve went away and they took four schools from them,
and that was a flex into it, and then it
helped that. Obviously, Michigan wins, as you said, and then
Ohio State last year comes back to win. I don't know,
you know, is it Penn State's turn? Penn State feels
like they're pretty loaded. I don't know if people are
(05:35):
buying on Drew Aller just yet, but the SEC had
such a dominant run for a long time. You know,
I think Texas is going to be really good. I
don't know, you know, it feels like Georgia and Alabama
aren't quite where they were a few years ago. I'm
I think it's way more wide open these days than
it was a few years ago. And it felt like
(05:55):
it was like some version of Clemson, Georgia, Alabama and
nobody else was within sniffing distance.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Yeah, those were some lean years.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
It feels like because it was only a small quadron
of the country that cared.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
I do look at that interesting you say, Georgia.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
I looked at their schedule, so they don't face LSU,
and they get their other three tough matchups all at home.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
I just wonder are we sleeping on Georgia just a little.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
I know the quarterback doesn't have the name recognition of
the guy that they had last year who was a
bus by the way, he's now at Miami.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
I believe.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
I don't know are we sleeping on Georgia. They have
the second best odds to win the Natty.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
For what it's worth, you know, they still have a
lot of really good players, but most of their rosters
like first and second year players. The new quarterbacks Gunner Stockton,
he jumped in when Carson Beck got hurt in the
SEC title game, and you know, I know they like him,
but it's not like the SEC is loaded with experienced quarterbacks,
(06:51):
and if you were a to rank them, Gunner Stockton
would be nowhere near right now, at least the top
five or even probably the top ten. They added a
bunch of receivers in the portal. What hurt Georgia last
year I thought a lot was you lose a generational
tight end playmaker in Brock Bauers, and you also lost
a really good second receiver in Ladd McConkie. Those guys
(07:12):
both did awesome in the NFL. Georgia early missed them.
Carson Beck really missed them, and you know, I think
they're still really talented. We'll see how it plays out,
you know. Again, a lot of it is going to
come back to, I think the quarterback play and how
good that can they be On offense. I don't think
there is going to be as dominant as they were,
you know, back when they went back to back national titles,
(07:34):
where they were just cranking out front seven guys. I mean,
they had a couple of first round picks last year,
you know, in the defense, and it's not like they're
always going to have players. I just think they were
better positioned a few years ago than they were.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Yeah. Now it's interesting you say that losing guys and
the quarterback struggling with that question, Gunner Stockton, he's not
a top five guy in the SEC. I guess my
thing would be like, was Will Howard projected top five
last year in the Big ten? I mean, I remember
the Michigan game where he was terrible. He may have
been concussed, but I was like, you can't win a
(08:07):
national championship with Will Howard And then of course they
go on the amazing run. Can you win it with
an okay quarterback and a six skilled position group. Because
JJ McCarthy, who was the first round pick. I don't
think many people thought he was like an elite quarterback,
did they.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
I'm forgetting already.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
I think it's what it fit with him. He could
make some plays with the legs. He was pretty accurate
on the run. But they were going to grind you out.
They were going to win differently than Ohio State did. Now,
look what Ohio State had last year around Will Howard
was they had two high level running backs, and they
had two elite receivers. JJ Smith, a true freshman last year.
(08:45):
He won't even be in the next draft. He's probably
the most talented player in college football last year. You
add that with a very good defense, you know, I mean,
was he CJ Stroud? No, But the supporting cast was better,
and I think all those pieces of came together. You know,
it helps if you're going to be Joe Burrow like
(09:05):
twenty nineteen LSU. But I think that's kind of a
mix of what you really get, which you know, Nick
Saban won a bunch of championships. He won one with
Greg McElroy, he won another one with god him blank
and not even the quarterback who transferred from Florida State,
who you know, really didn't spend any time in the
Jacob Jacob Coker, thank you. I was gonna say Jacobson,
(09:27):
but that's you.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Know it was you had a big art. Yeah, yeah,
yeah I did.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
But it's you know, it's like very you know, you
can win. You can win if you have that much
talent around them and they are more in the game
manager mode. Well, Howard was a pretty good running quarterback
and he had a lot of experience, So I think
it depends what you surround him with. But if you're
on a team where you're really gonna lean on him
a lot more than I think, it's it's it's different equation.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Yeah, it's five minutes that I haven't even asked about
Arch Manning.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
I'm just curious. You do a lot of radio, TV podcasts.
All this stuff is.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Arch Manning by far and away, the number one topic
in college football coming into the season.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
Yeah. I mean, I think in large part because of
what his last name is, he's the next Manning. And
I think because there's so much intrigue because he plays
physically differently than his two uncles. He's much more of
a dynamic athlete than Peyton and Eli will ever were.
He's probably a lot more like his grandfather Archie in
terms of how he plays. But the people I talk
(10:26):
to at Texas inside the program that I trust, they've
raved about him for the last year and a half
about how football smart he is, the way he can
relate to players, and also he's got a really high
level of athleticism. Now he's only played really a couple
of games and they got to replace four starters on
the old line. That's a big challenge, and they're going
(10:47):
to open against Ohio State. But in terms of the
intrigue and the buzz around him, I will say this,
I did a big story talking to both his parents
about what it's like to raise arch Manning and when
your son is going to be super famous, especially if
he plays the position. You know, they're the first family
of football. And what's different about him than his uncle's
(11:08):
was he was growing up in the age of social media,
when everybody has a smartphone and all these other challenges
that come with it. That story was this is right
now the second most read story I've ever done at
the Athletic Now, Wow.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
I did read it for what it's worth second most
holy Yeah. Number one.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
It was a story I did on the Mike Leach's
First Coaching Staff, which just had a ton of crazy
stories to it, and it just had a lot long
shelf life. But next to that story and this Arch
Manning story has only been out for like a month,
the numbers were insane. Now again, his parents were very
candid with me, and I think that helped. It wasn't
just like, you know, just you know, basically a listical
(11:48):
about why people think he's good. It was a little
more involved than that. But still there is so much
intrigue about Arch. And again, I think he takes over
a program right now that is in a really good
position to make a run at a national title, something
I haven't done in you know, a generation. Now.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Wow, now that's interesting because I look at that matchup
with Ohio State and it looks like some moneys come
in on Texas. It was four and a half for
Ohio State, now down to three. I think Arch could
could be in for a world of hurt. Like opening
game at Ohio State defending champs.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
You got Matt Patricia alignment too.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
On top of four new art that's huge.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Four starters on the O line are gone, and then
Matt Patricia has an entire summer to basically cook up
exotic defenses. He's got arguably the best chess piece defensively
in the country right in downs.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
Yeah, I mean for safety.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
I don't see like in my I'm envisioning like a
thirty four to fourteen Ohio State beat down, and everybody
has questions about Arch and then he has a rate
rest of the season. It's really early, but I'm just
curious we're five weeks out. Any early thoughts on that game.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
Yeah, I would lean towards Ohio State because it's in Columbus.
They have the two best they have the best player
in the college tripball on the offense, and I would
argue probably the best player on defense in Caleb Downs,
and they they have a lot of talent around there.
Now they have to replace both coordinators. Chip Kelly's with
the Raiders now Jim Knowles is now at Penn State,
So those are adjustments for them. They're breaking in a
(13:18):
new quarterback. But the home field advantage I think is significant,
Like what you said, even if they lose in this
being Texas, you know, last year, Ohio State lost the
last regular season game, and that wasn't even their only loss.
They had lost earlier on the road to Oregon. I mean,
in this day and age with the playoff, you know
you can stub your toe twice and still make the playoffs.
(13:40):
So I think it's going to be a thing where
they and he arch grow a lot as the year
goes on. As long as he's still healthy, I think
they're going to be a really dangerous team because they
they're really good. I think they're better on defense this
year than they were last year. And I do think
they they still have a lot of firepower and a
lot of talent, and Sark is really good as a
(14:00):
play caller.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
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Speaker 3 (14:13):
I know you're all over this Elite eleven.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
You've been chronicling it for years, This Drew Aller stuff
at Penn State.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
It's tough man.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
That Notre Dame game was just brutal for him last year.
The interception basically cost him the game. He looks the part, right,
big strapping dude, big arm.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
Five two forty, moves pretty good. Yeah, everybody loves him.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
You've seen him a lot longer than I have. I'm
just curious what are we supposed to make him. He
could be the first first overall pick next whatever the
draft is next April, or he could be like a
fourth round pick and it neither would surprise me.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
Yeah, I would be leaning towards the former than the latter.
I don't think he's going to be like a fourth
round talent, just because the traits wise, he's really big,
he's got a very good at arm. Everybody who's worked
with him says he sees the field really well. And
I think the other thing that probably you can talk
(15:08):
yourself into is, unlike a lot of those elite eleven quarterbacks,
he didn't really start playing the position at an extremely
young age, so when he's in high school he's still
kind of acclimating. His first year as a starter was
just the year before last. I think it was like
twenty five touchdowns, three picks. You know, his numbers were
pretty impressive for a first time starter. Last year they
(15:28):
had Tyler Warren terrific tight end. They did not have
a lot of good receiving help on the outside, so
I think that didn't do him any favors. But I'm
with you on the part where many had his chance
to have that like kind of big coming out moment
and he struggled, you know. But now let's see what
he does this year. I do think he's got some
(15:51):
you know, like a first round profile. We'll see if
he can back it up. Because they made it far
in the playoff. It wasn't like they just snuck in right,
you know. I think the expectation will be they will
play for the national title whether they win it or not.
But you know, they have a loaded defensive line. Jim
Knowles is a really good defense coordinator that comes in
(16:12):
two elite running backs. They added a really good receiver
from from Syracuse who's more of a slot receiver who
I think will be a go to guy for Aler.
They're they're one of the most intriguing teams in college
football for a lot of the reason that we're talking about.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Damn, I'm looking at the schedule.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Uh what a start for Franklin Nevada f I U
Villan Nova by week Oregon, So basically they get like
four weeks of prep for that Oregon matchup and that's
it in Beaver Stadium. They do have to go to
Ohio State, which will be tough, but otherwise, yeah, is
Sparty going to be any good this year?
Speaker 3 (16:49):
I have I'm not down to uh, I'm not up
on that.
Speaker 4 (16:51):
Their quarterback in Chiles, has a He came with Jonathan
Smith from Oregon State. He's from here in southern California.
He's from County. He's really talented. I mean, he's got
one of the best arms in college football. He runs well.
He was a kid who was starting to blow up
in the recruiting process late. I think even like Notre
Dame tried to come in late. He decided he wanted
(17:11):
to stick by Oregon State, and then they when they
all made the move to East Lansing. The biggest challenge
for him is just taking care of the football. He's
still a really young quarterback. Last year was his first
full season as a starter. I know they're very optimistic
about him. Traits wise, he has NFL talent. It's just
as he matures does he do a much better job
taking care of the football. He can take the big
(17:33):
next step. I think they have a chance to be
a top twenty five team. I mean, he's when you
see him. I went out to Corvallis a couple of
years ago. This is when Dju transferred from Clemson to there,
and I remember going there and I was like, this
other guy, who is this guy? He throws it better
(17:53):
than any of the quarterbacks that had and they had
another kid who had actually started half the season, So
it wasn't like he walked into a room quarterback room
that nobody had anything. I mean, Dju is a five
star who was getting offers when he was in ninth grade.
Is a big, powerful arm. You know, I think he's
in Rams or Chargers camp now, but like Chiles's arm
(18:14):
was wow when you saw it and it was just
like you come out of there. He had just he
was still you know, he's an early enrolled leadue. Now
he's in east Land saying. I think there's reason for
those fans to be excited about him. But he has
to he has to take care of the football a
lot better.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
You know, somebody had told me you schedule a national championship.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
Obviously that was a few years ago.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Somebody smart, and I'm looking at the Georgia schedule and
I like him a lot. At this Penn State schedule.
They get a bye before Oregon and before Ohio State.
That is smart scheduling on the part of Penn State.
I mean, you're right they could run the table. Maybe
I'm missing an opportunity on the Nittany Lions.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
Here, Yeah, but I think after last year, Jason, I
don't think you need to run the table. I mean,
Ohio State, everybody was off the bandwagon after that horrible
at home against the pretty mediocre Michigan team. You know,
I think, which you if you're going to bounce around
like that again, they're lost. No shame of losing at
oorgon the way they did it based on the last play.
But I think if you're going to lose a couple
(19:12):
of times, you do need really good leadership to kind
of keep the big picture going. I think the idea
of going sixteen and oh, like LSU ran the table
when it was fifteen and oh you know when it
was Joe Burrow and the best offensive team probably college
football's ever seen. But I think we're going to see
a lot more of like teams like Ohio State that
(19:33):
have blemishes that end up making it to the finish line.
Just because it's such a long season. And the other
thing I would stress is now in this day and age,
these teams come together so late because you have so
many portal additions. You don't just have like twenty five freshmen.
You probably have forty to forty five newcomers every year,
and I think the lack of continuity, I just think
(19:56):
teams are going to be a lot more inconsistent earlier
in the year.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Speaking of coming together, do we need to talk about
Texas Tech? I was really not aware of the great
stuff they had done, and then somebody pointed it out
to me and I was like, Wow, this is fascinating.
Where are they on your I know it's the arch
manning season, but is Texas Tech like a sleeper? Hey,
you might want to put a couple bucks on him
in Vegas to get to the playoff?
Speaker 4 (20:20):
Well, they spent a lot of bucks. As a former
Texas Tech offensive lineman in the Mike Leach days, he
ended up becoming a billionaire in the oil and energy
business and he's put his money is where his mouth is.
And they've gone more aggressively in the portal than anybody.
So you saw them gobbling up, especially the linemen, offensive lineman,
defensive lineman, a bunch of good linebackers. I mean they've
(20:43):
upgraded the roster in a big way. I think that
the challenge here is Baron Morton. He's the quarterback who
was there already and he's played a lot and he's
been solid. Does he take the next step with the
talent around him, because as we saw last year, there's
no conference, it's more for grabs in the Big Twelve.
Right Arizona State preseason picked Fish the last. They end
(21:04):
up not only winning the conference, almost beat Texas in
the playoff. Yeah, I think Texas Tech is a dangerous team.
I'm the biggest question is Joey Maguire, the head coach,
who is a really good Texas high school football coach.
You know, he had some you know, he had some
talent in the last few years and they've been decent.
But I think people are like, can he be the
(21:26):
guy to lead them, you know, not only into the playoff,
but deep into the playoff? Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
I'm looking at the schedule. I don't see any I mean,
who's the toughest. I mean they got to go I
guess at Utah's never easy? Is Kansas State gonna be
good this year.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
Oklahoma State. Kansas State to me is the closest thing
to a sure thing in the Big Twelve where they're
not going to be bad, you feel like. And they
have Avery Johnson, who's a dynamic running quarterback who people
are excited about, and he's physically gotten a lot stronger
this offseason. I feel like Kansas State is probably if
you said who has the best chance to win win
(22:02):
at least eight games in that league, I would always
say Kansas State.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
By you just landed.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
I saw the news today that they landed the transfer quarterback.
Speaker 4 (22:12):
No backwards.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
I'm sorry they lost it.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
Transfer is transferring to Tulane. He will told he will
get there actually on Tuesday.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
Interesting. So how good is this guy?
Speaker 4 (22:22):
By the way, he's talented now, I mean they he
led them to an eleven win season last year and
his first year as a full time starter. He was
really banged up in the second half of the year.
Like I know, some guys in that staff, they're like,
there's probably a couple of games he probably shouldn't have played,
but he kind of gutted it out. He's a good
running quarterback who has a pretty live arm. He plays
(22:44):
with a chip on his shoulder, but his accuracy can
be a little spotty. And also he's got some gunslinger
in him, which means you get some turnovers. But he's
one of the better quarterbacks in college football. Now he's
gonna have to have a crash course at Tulane in
about forty days to get ready for their opener. He's
(23:05):
one of five transfer quarterbacks they took this offseason. Who
was their quarterback who got a bunch of money to
go to Duke. I mean, I wouldn't doubt that Retslov's
actually more talented than the guy who went to Duke.
But again, he's going to learn this offense, or has
to learn the offense really fast to get them ready.
I think the hope for him is at least he's
(23:27):
ready by the conference season. Maybe if he's not ready
for the opener.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
Dude, that's tough.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
So you're telling me they got four new quarterbacks and
then they just added another guy.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
Yeah, Oh, that's not right.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
I mean, I'm sure a couple of those guys thought
transferring in would be the move for them.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
I'm sure they did. But John Summrall is the coach there,
and I think he's a big believer, is like, Hey,
I'm all for players getting paid, all for players getting
taken care of, but just know that I'm going to
try to have the most competitive position rooms and team
I can get. And I think those guys are red.
Sloff's actually going to Tulane as a walk on. He's
not going on scholarship, and so you know, he's really talented.
(24:08):
There was a bunch of you know, group Power Conference
schools that I was told were interested in him, you know,
till the towards the end. But this he'll end up
going to Tulane where sum Roll was actually when he
was at UH at Troy the head coach a few
years ago, they thought they were going to get Retslov
committed out of junior college, and then at the last
(24:29):
minute Yu swooped in and we're able to land.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
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 (24:44):
So I'm sure some people are like, well, what's what's
so special about this guy? The honor code violation? Has
that has all that stuff come out? Because I've been
reading a little.
Speaker 4 (24:52):
Bit of it. I think it's you know, from what
we heard, it was he had consensual sex there and
that was that's you can't do that at BYU. It's
part of the honor code.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
And so I'm surprised more teams weren't up on him,
you know, like for him defaul to too late.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
Well, if he was that good, why didn't Tennessee So
this all.
Speaker 4 (25:13):
Had happened Jason back in January or earlier in the spring,
I think you would have had more of those schools,
you know, going Honestly, if he was available back when
Nico left Tennessee to go to UCLA, I think Tennessee
would be more likely to go after Jake rutz laf
than Joey Agilar, the quarterback who had been at app
(25:35):
State and then went to UCLA for a couple of months.
I'd be surprised if they would have said, oh, yeah,
we're going to take Agalar over rutslof.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
Let me go, acc we haven't done anything this kid
club nick Love, I don't know, man, I know guys
like it, Bruce.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
You do your Freaks List? Do you do a lot
of stuff with the draft? Is kid club?
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Nick A really really good college football quarterback or do.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
You see him as like elite and he's going to
be a first round pick?
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Because I gotta be honest, I don't know, man, I
haven't seen it.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
Maybe I just I haven't seen it yet.
Speaker 4 (26:09):
I think he's a really really good quarterback. I don't
know if that makes him just a really good college
quarterback or more. You know, he was a really high
He's an Austin, Texas kid who was he was one
of those elite eleven kids. He you know, coming out
of high school and had a little bit of a
shaky start. But I don't think they had really great
talent around him, especially a receiver. You know, back when
(26:29):
it was Taj Boyd and Shaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence,
Clemson had studs at receiver. They didn't for a while
now Alston, it's getting back to that. I do think
he's a first round kind of quarterback. He's accurate. I
think he's really smart. I think he sees the field well.
I mean he's not overwhelmingly physically you know, got the
(26:52):
you know, he's not Anthony Richardson in terms of just
as a specimen. But could he be a Kirk Cousins. Yeah,
I could totally see that.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
It's interesting because Dabo's kind of, you know, his insistence
on we're not hitting the portal for so many years,
Clemson's fallen back a little. And by falling back, I
mean they're, you know, ten wins and not like thirteen
and competing for the Natty.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
Do you it sounds like he's changed his tune a
little bit though.
Speaker 4 (27:15):
Huh a little. They took a defensive end from Purdue
who will start for them. This is a I mean, look,
don't be surprised if Clemson ends up in the national
title game. Oh come on, no, I'm telling you they
have a bunch of dudes who will be first round
picks on the defense. They have a dynamic freshman running back.
The AD and the receivers are really good. I'm not
(27:38):
this team has enough talent to win a national title.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
I was all excited for UNC and Belichick. I mean, really, check.
Speaker 4 (27:47):
Back with me on the Clemson d line, Clemson defensive players.
When you talk draft next spring, I'm telling you there's
gonna be a bunch of hair loaded.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
I forgot to mention Belichick.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
I mean it was Belichick was such a hot button
issue for months, Bruce, and then I guess, you know,
the girlfriend thing, it became a little too much.
Speaker 3 (28:05):
It's really been shut down.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
I haven't seen or heard a peep out of UNC
for the last month, right.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
Yeah, And I think some of that has been you know,
I think a lot of us like to compare, Oh,
there's going to be like a similar vibe to Dion
coming to Colorado and it's must see TV and everything.
And while there's intrigue, what I think is different is
when Dion came from Jackson State, he brought his son
to be his quarterback, and he brought the number one
(28:31):
recruit in the country a few years earlier, Travis Hunter.
So you had star power and there was a lot
of social media buzz about it because they you know,
they opened up and they showed a lot of people
what was going on with all the videos and different
things that they were putting on YouTube. North Carolina's not
that way. I mean, Bill Belichick wasn't even like putting
(28:51):
you know, jersey names and numbers, you know, for the
spring game, and it's all been under wraps. Like I know,
the quarterback that they took, Go Lopez. He started out
at South Alabama. He's a really good quarterback in the
Sun Belt. But I think for a lot of people
they do not know who most of these players are.
And by the way, unlike Dion, he didn't Belichick's taking
(29:14):
over a program that had some decent seasons. It wasn't
like they were a one team like Colorado was. They
were decent and they've obviously whether it's Sam Howell or
Drake may or Marion Hampton, they've had high level talent.
So I think that adds to it. And it's also
just like you said, I think there's been so much
(29:35):
attention has ended up like pivoting over to what's going
on with he and his girlfriend who's fifty years younger,
and I think it became kind of very tabloid story,
but I'm not sure the sports real sports world has
kind of gravitated to me.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
Yeah, it's funny. You know, Alabama for the longest time
was on top of college football.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
Bruce, we just did twenty five minutes and no mention
of the time, like is that. I know you were
a Kaelin de Bor guy.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
You know him well, he's got an uphill climb and
I've seen some of the numbers about Alabama just not
being able to kind of back it up with the
nil money that some of these other programs are Any
thoughts on the tide is their kind of reign of
terror fading fast or not?
Speaker 3 (30:14):
Really?
Speaker 4 (30:15):
We'll see what happens this year. I mean, they have
one of the you know, probably five or six most
talented players on offense. And Ryan Williams who graduated High
School of the Year earlier and made a splash last year.
The new quarterback, Ty Simpson, who's a coach's kid, and
I think internally they like him a lot. He's not
as dynamic as Jalen Milroe, but I think he will
(30:36):
be good in the system. I think the biggest reason
for optimism if you're an Alabama fan is that Ryan Grubb,
who had been is really a protege of de Bor.
They were together at Sioux Falls and NII when they
were wintering national titles, and he was also the play
caller and the guy behind that Washington offense that played
for the national title and Michael Pennix became a top
(30:58):
ten pick. He was one year in the NFL, is
an OFFENSEI corner with the Seahawks. Now he comes back
to Debor, he'll be in the SEC, and I think
that'll be a really good thing, not just for the offense,
but really for Debor to have. I think somebody who
knows him really well, they know each other what they're
looking for, and they're enough, they're talented enough where they're
(31:20):
a national title contender. The parts that I think hurt
them last year they were wildly inconsistent on both sides
of the ball. And we'll see now he's had a year.
This is much more his program than it was probably
a year ago at this time.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Jalen Milrall, I'll never forget that game against Georgia. He
was unbelievable, and then the Oklahoma game, he's.
Speaker 4 (31:39):
Just like unwatching in the Sea game, he was I mean,
really bad offense, and so you got to see both
sides of it when he's on. I remember watching him
against LSU he and it was two years ago. He
and Jayden Daniels had a spectacular like back and forth
where you're watching, you know, incredible athlete who can run
but also make plays downfield, and I thought, you know,
(32:00):
he's going to be fascinating to see how he kind
of develops into an NFL quarterback as well.
Speaker 3 (32:05):
All Right, Bruce Feldman, Fox the Athletic enjoy Vegas. Is
I mean, what's it gonna be like? One ten?
Speaker 1 (32:11):
There?
Speaker 4 (32:11):
I mean was like one eighteen. I was in the car.
I was in an uber going somewhere, and I said
to the driver. I was like, is it really one
hundred and twenty one degrees? He goes, No, that's my clock.
It's only but it is it's one twenty one. He goes,
but it is one hundred and eighteen degrees. I was like,
oh yeah, that makes a difference. Man.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
Wow, We'll try to have some fun out there.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
Man.
Speaker 3 (32:27):
All right, Bruce, thanks a lot.
This is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
What is up straight Firefam, It's me Jason McIntyre. Straight
Fire for Tuesday, July the twenty second.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
I love July because obviously football is on the horizon.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
I see people counting down only seven weeks until the season.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Star Like people are getting excited. Right College football is
on the horizon. But we're in that we're dealing with.
There's not a ton of news. Obviously I'll touch on something,
but we get some good interviews to get you ready
for the upcoming season. So today we're bringing on Bruce Feldman,
my colleague at Fox. He's at the Athletic one of
the foremost college football writers out there. We tackle all
the big subjects. It sounds like he's extremely bullish on
(00:53):
Penn State and Clemson. I was not as bullish as him,
but he makes certainly compelling cases. He talks to as
many people in the industry as possible. I mean, he's
all over coaching staffs everywhere. He's I mean, listen, Bruce
film is really good. Good dude as well. And so
we'll break down all that just real quick. I did
want to briefly touch on and you know, I don't
(01:18):
think there's much here, but it's the Cowboys. And you know,
Michah Parsons showed up this week at camp.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
He showed up.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Don't know if he's gonna actually partake later this morning,
the Cowboys will take the field. He wants his extension.
And Jerry Jones like had a weird moment at the
podium where he was like, I don't know, talking about
how well you know, you know, we had Zach Martin
a couple of years ago, and we had that issue,
and we had em and Smith who shot out way
(01:47):
back in the nineties, and then he started getting into
and this. Listen, Jerry Jones is like eighty two years old. Okay,
just think, take a deep breath. I know what you
think of Jerry Jones. Just think about your Thanksgiving dinner
with your eighty two year old grandpa. There are gonna
be kernels of information that are great and some pearls
of wisdom mixed in with a lot of crazy shit.
(02:08):
I'm sorry, that's just the reality. And you know when
when Jerry Jones stood up there talking about it, he's like, hey,
you know Trey von Diggs's situation, remember that and remember
this and Uh, you know, if if Michael Parsons gets
injured and missus half the season, the highest paid player,
he just went on this.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Ramble and it's like, what are you doing?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
And nobody can tell him otherwise because they're all kind
of sickle fans, And that's that's like a bigger issue
for another day. It's like, do you want to work
for people or be in a company or anything where
everybody is just.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Totally ball washing the boss all the time.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
And again I'm not saying that this, but other people
have told me, like, hey, Jay, you know why you
and Cowhard work because you push back on him more
than anyone ever has.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
You're not afraid to challenge him. Most of your arguments are.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Rooted in obviously, some are opinion and some are emotion.
I try not to be emotional, but like you know, everybody, obviously,
Cal Cowhard knows a lot. He's been around, he's seen
it all, and I just try to find areas that
maybe he hasn't considered, or opinions and takes he hasn't and.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
So there is a pushaball.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
I don't think anybody's sitting there telling Jerry, Hey, Jerry, uh,
we've screwed this up royally. We need to fix this,
and nobody's saying that, and there's nobody shutting down Jerry Jones.
It's just sad and disappointing. Honestly, I wish the Cowboys.
You know, if they go six, six or seven wins,
we don't have to talk about them. I don't think
we even need to because the league is so compelling otherwise.
(03:38):
So you know, Jerry just kidding. And if someone's listening
to this in Dallas, I know it's difficult. He's a billionaire.
How do you push back on a billionaire. I haven't
been in that room. I haven't had to push back
on a billionaire ever, But I am curious. Is anyone
willing to stand up to him and be like, we've
got to get this fixed like yesterday? And it doesn't
appear that that's happening anyways. Forget about the Cowboys for
(03:59):
a moment, and let's lock in on college football with
Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
In the Athletic.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
You know, a guy, Jason likes to think he knows
everything when it comes to sports.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
I know what sports fans want, but for.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Everything he doesn't he knows a guy.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Who does Let's just say I know a guy who
knows a guy who knows another guy.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
All right, let's welcome into straight fire. One of the
great guests in college football. Doesn't get much better. This reporter,
sideline guy, columnist, TV analyst. I mean he does it all.
Bruce Feldman, California's finest Bruce.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
How are you man?
Speaker 4 (04:36):
I'm doing great, Jason, good to be on with you.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Obviously Big Ten media days this week in college football.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
I know you're fired up. Interesting that they're having him
in Vegas.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
You think Big Ten, You're like, oh, Michigan, Ohio State,
But Vegas is an interesting choice.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
Huh, it is, but it gets you closer to They
added four West Coast schools, obviously, the two LA schools,
Washington and Oregon. So it's kind of Tony Patiti, the
commissioner of the probably trying to spread his empire a little.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Further, and they're flexing a little this week, right, Michigan wanted,
Ohio State want it, and it's kind of looking looking.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
Good for the Big Ten.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
All of a sudden, are the Are they the premier
conference in the country this coming season?
Speaker 4 (05:14):
Uh? You know, we'll see because Obviously the pack the
Pac twelve went away and they took four schools from them,
and that was a flex into it, and then it
helped that. Obviously, Michigan wins, as you said, and then
Ohio State last year comes back to win. I don't know,
you know, is it Penn State's turn? Penn State feels
like they're pretty loaded. I don't know if people are
(05:35):
buying on Drew Aller just yet, but the SEC had
such a dominant run for a long time. You know,
I think Texas is going to be really good. I
don't know, you know, it feels like Georgia and Alabama
aren't quite where they were a few years ago. I'm
I think it's way more wide open these days than
it was a few years ago. And it felt like
(05:55):
it was like some version of Clemson, Georgia, Alabama and
nobody else was within sniffing distance.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Yeah, those were some lean years.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
It feels like because it was only a small quadron
of the country that cared.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
I do look at that interesting you say, Georgia.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
I looked at their schedule, so they don't face LSU,
and they get their other three tough matchups all at home.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
I just wonder are we sleeping on Georgia just a little.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
I know the quarterback doesn't have the name recognition of
the guy that they had last year who was a
bus by the way, he's now at Miami.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
I believe.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
I don't know are we sleeping on Georgia. They have
the second best odds to win the Natty.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
For what it's worth, you know, they still have a
lot of really good players, but most of their rosters
like first and second year players. The new quarterbacks Gunner Stockton,
he jumped in when Carson Beck got hurt in the
SEC title game, and you know, I know they like him,
but it's not like the SEC is loaded with experienced quarterbacks,
(06:51):
and if you were a to rank them, Gunner Stockton
would be nowhere near right now, at least the top
five or even probably the top ten. They added a
bunch of receivers in the portal. What hurt Georgia last
year I thought a lot was you lose a generational
tight end playmaker in Brock Bauers, and you also lost
a really good second receiver in Ladd McConkie. Those guys
(07:12):
both did awesome in the NFL. Georgia early missed them.
Carson Beck really missed them, and you know, I think
they're still really talented. We'll see how it plays out,
you know. Again, a lot of it is going to
come back to, I think the quarterback play and how
good that can they be On offense. I don't think
there is going to be as dominant as they were,
you know, back when they went back to back national titles,
(07:34):
where they were just cranking out front seven guys. I mean,
they had a couple of first round picks last year,
you know, in the defense, and it's not like they're
always going to have players. I just think they were
better positioned a few years ago than they were.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Yeah. Now it's interesting you say that losing guys and
the quarterback struggling with that question, Gunner Stockton, he's not
a top five guy in the SEC. I guess my
thing would be like, was Will Howard projected top five
last year in the Big ten? I mean, I remember
the Michigan game where he was terrible. He may have
been concussed, but I was like, you can't win a
(08:07):
national championship with Will Howard And then of course they
go on the amazing run. Can you win it with
an okay quarterback and a six skilled position group. Because
JJ McCarthy, who was the first round pick. I don't
think many people thought he was like an elite quarterback,
did they.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
I'm forgetting already.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
I think it's what it fit with him. He could
make some plays with the legs. He was pretty accurate
on the run. But they were going to grind you out.
They were going to win differently than Ohio State did. Now,
look what Ohio State had last year around Will Howard
was they had two high level running backs, and they
had two elite receivers. JJ Smith, a true freshman last year.
(08:45):
He won't even be in the next draft. He's probably
the most talented player in college football last year. You
add that with a very good defense, you know, I mean,
was he CJ Stroud? No, But the supporting cast was better,
and I think all those pieces of came together. You know,
it helps if you're going to be Joe Burrow like
(09:05):
twenty nineteen LSU. But I think that's kind of a
mix of what you really get, which you know, Nick
Saban won a bunch of championships. He won one with
Greg McElroy, he won another one with god him blank
and not even the quarterback who transferred from Florida State,
who you know, really didn't spend any time in the
Jacob Jacob Coker, thank you. I was gonna say Jacobson,
(09:27):
but that's you.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Know it was you had a big art. Yeah, yeah,
yeah I did.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
But it's you know, it's like very you know, you
can win. You can win if you have that much
talent around them and they are more in the game
manager mode. Well, Howard was a pretty good running quarterback
and he had a lot of experience, So I think
it depends what you surround him with. But if you're
on a team where you're really gonna lean on him
a lot more than I think, it's it's it's different equation.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Yeah, it's five minutes that I haven't even asked about
Arch Manning.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
I'm just curious. You do a lot of radio, TV podcasts.
All this stuff is.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Arch Manning by far and away, the number one topic
in college football coming into the season.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
Yeah. I mean, I think in large part because of
what his last name is, he's the next Manning. And
I think because there's so much intrigue because he plays
physically differently than his two uncles. He's much more of
a dynamic athlete than Peyton and Eli will ever were.
He's probably a lot more like his grandfather Archie in
terms of how he plays. But the people I talk
(10:26):
to at Texas inside the program that I trust, they've
raved about him for the last year and a half
about how football smart he is, the way he can
relate to players, and also he's got a really high
level of athleticism. Now he's only played really a couple
of games and they got to replace four starters on
the old line. That's a big challenge, and they're going
(10:47):
to open against Ohio State. But in terms of the
intrigue and the buzz around him, I will say this,
I did a big story talking to both his parents
about what it's like to raise arch Manning and when
your son is going to be super famous, especially if
he plays the position. You know, they're the first family
of football. And what's different about him than his uncle's
(11:08):
was he was growing up in the age of social media,
when everybody has a smartphone and all these other challenges
that come with it. That story was this is right
now the second most read story I've ever done at
the Athletic Now, Wow.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
I did read it for what it's worth second most
holy Yeah. Number one.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
It was a story I did on the Mike Leach's
First Coaching Staff, which just had a ton of crazy
stories to it, and it just had a lot long
shelf life. But next to that story and this Arch
Manning story has only been out for like a month,
the numbers were insane. Now again, his parents were very
candid with me, and I think that helped. It wasn't
just like, you know, just you know, basically a listical
(11:48):
about why people think he's good. It was a little
more involved than that. But still there is so much
intrigue about Arch. And again, I think he takes over
a program right now that is in a really good
position to make a run at a national title, something
I haven't done in you know, a generation. Now.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Wow, now that's interesting because I look at that matchup
with Ohio State and it looks like some moneys come
in on Texas. It was four and a half for
Ohio State, now down to three. I think Arch could
could be in for a world of hurt. Like opening
game at Ohio State defending champs.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
You got Matt Patricia alignment too.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
On top of four new art that's huge.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Four starters on the O line are gone, and then
Matt Patricia has an entire summer to basically cook up
exotic defenses. He's got arguably the best chess piece defensively
in the country right in downs.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
Yeah, I mean for safety.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
I don't see like in my I'm envisioning like a
thirty four to fourteen Ohio State beat down, and everybody
has questions about Arch and then he has a rate
rest of the season. It's really early, but I'm just
curious we're five weeks out. Any early thoughts on that game.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
Yeah, I would lean towards Ohio State because it's in Columbus.
They have the two best they have the best player
in the college tripball on the offense, and I would
argue probably the best player on defense in Caleb Downs,
and they they have a lot of talent around there.
Now they have to replace both coordinators. Chip Kelly's with
the Raiders now Jim Knowles is now at Penn State,
So those are adjustments for them. They're breaking in a
(13:18):
new quarterback. But the home field advantage I think is significant,
Like what you said, even if they lose in this
being Texas, you know, last year, Ohio State lost the
last regular season game, and that wasn't even their only loss.
They had lost earlier on the road to Oregon. I mean,
in this day and age with the playoff, you know
you can stub your toe twice and still make the playoffs.
(13:40):
So I think it's going to be a thing where
they and he arch grow a lot as the year
goes on. As long as he's still healthy, I think
they're going to be a really dangerous team because they
they're really good. I think they're better on defense this
year than they were last year. And I do think
they they still have a lot of firepower and a
lot of talent, and Sark is really good as a
(14:00):
play caller.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
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 3 (14:13):
I know you're all over this Elite eleven.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
You've been chronicling it for years, This Drew Aller stuff
at Penn State.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
It's tough man.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
That Notre Dame game was just brutal for him last year.
The interception basically cost him the game. He looks the part, right,
big strapping dude, big arm.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
Five two forty, moves pretty good. Yeah, everybody loves him.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
You've seen him a lot longer than I have. I'm
just curious what are we supposed to make him. He
could be the first first overall pick next whatever the
draft is next April, or he could be like a
fourth round pick and it neither would surprise me.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
Yeah, I would be leaning towards the former than the latter.
I don't think he's going to be like a fourth
round talent, just because the traits wise, he's really big,
he's got a very good at arm. Everybody who's worked
with him says he sees the field really well. And
I think the other thing that probably you can talk
(15:08):
yourself into is, unlike a lot of those elite eleven quarterbacks,
he didn't really start playing the position at an extremely
young age, so when he's in high school he's still
kind of acclimating. His first year as a starter was
just the year before last. I think it was like
twenty five touchdowns, three picks. You know, his numbers were
pretty impressive for a first time starter. Last year they
(15:28):
had Tyler Warren terrific tight end. They did not have
a lot of good receiving help on the outside, so
I think that didn't do him any favors. But I'm
with you on the part where many had his chance
to have that like kind of big coming out moment
and he struggled, you know. But now let's see what
he does this year. I do think he's got some
(15:51):
you know, like a first round profile. We'll see if
he can back it up. Because they made it far
in the playoff. It wasn't like they just snuck in right,
you know. I think the expectation will be they will
play for the national title whether they win it or not.
But you know, they have a loaded defensive line. Jim
Knowles is a really good defense coordinator that comes in
(16:12):
two elite running backs. They added a really good receiver
from from Syracuse who's more of a slot receiver who
I think will be a go to guy for Aler.
They're they're one of the most intriguing teams in college
football for a lot of the reason that we're talking about.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Damn, I'm looking at the schedule.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Uh what a start for Franklin Nevada f I U
Villan Nova by week Oregon, So basically they get like
four weeks of prep for that Oregon matchup and that's
it in Beaver Stadium. They do have to go to
Ohio State, which will be tough, but otherwise, yeah, is
Sparty going to be any good this year?
Speaker 3 (16:49):
I have I'm not down to uh, I'm not up
on that.
Speaker 4 (16:51):
Their quarterback in Chiles, has a He came with Jonathan
Smith from Oregon State. He's from here in southern California.
He's from County. He's really talented. I mean, he's got
one of the best arms in college football. He runs well.
He was a kid who was starting to blow up
in the recruiting process late. I think even like Notre
Dame tried to come in late. He decided he wanted
(17:11):
to stick by Oregon State, and then they when they
all made the move to East Lansing. The biggest challenge
for him is just taking care of the football. He's
still a really young quarterback. Last year was his first
full season as a starter. I know they're very optimistic
about him. Traits wise, he has NFL talent. It's just
as he matures does he do a much better job
taking care of the football. He can take the big
(17:33):
next step. I think they have a chance to be
a top twenty five team. I mean, he's when you
see him. I went out to Corvallis a couple of
years ago. This is when Dju transferred from Clemson to there,
and I remember going there and I was like, this
other guy, who is this guy? He throws it better
(17:53):
than any of the quarterbacks that had and they had
another kid who had actually started half the season, So
it wasn't like he walked into a room quarterback room
that nobody had anything. I mean, Dju is a five
star who was getting offers when he was in ninth grade.
Is a big, powerful arm. You know, I think he's
in Rams or Chargers camp now, but like Chiles's arm
(18:14):
was wow when you saw it and it was just
like you come out of there. He had just he
was still you know, he's an early enrolled leadue. Now
he's in east Land saying. I think there's reason for
those fans to be excited about him. But he has
to he has to take care of the football a
lot better.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
You know, somebody had told me you schedule a national championship.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
Obviously that was a few years ago.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Somebody smart, and I'm looking at the Georgia schedule and
I like him a lot. At this Penn State schedule.
They get a bye before Oregon and before Ohio State.
That is smart scheduling on the part of Penn State.
I mean, you're right they could run the table. Maybe
I'm missing an opportunity on the Nittany Lions.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
Here, Yeah, but I think after last year, Jason, I
don't think you need to run the table. I mean,
Ohio State, everybody was off the bandwagon after that horrible
at home against the pretty mediocre Michigan team. You know,
I think, which you if you're going to bounce around
like that again, they're lost. No shame of losing at
oorgon the way they did it based on the last play.
But I think if you're going to lose a couple
(19:12):
of times, you do need really good leadership to kind
of keep the big picture going. I think the idea
of going sixteen and oh, like LSU ran the table
when it was fifteen and oh you know when it
was Joe Burrow and the best offensive team probably college
football's ever seen. But I think we're going to see
a lot more of like teams like Ohio State that
(19:33):
have blemishes that end up making it to the finish line.
Just because it's such a long season. And the other
thing I would stress is now in this day and age,
these teams come together so late because you have so
many portal additions. You don't just have like twenty five freshmen.
You probably have forty to forty five newcomers every year,
and I think the lack of continuity, I just think
(19:56):
teams are going to be a lot more inconsistent earlier
in the year.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Speaking of coming together, do we need to talk about
Texas Tech? I was really not aware of the great
stuff they had done, and then somebody pointed it out
to me and I was like, Wow, this is fascinating.
Where are they on your I know it's the arch
manning season, but is Texas Tech like a sleeper? Hey,
you might want to put a couple bucks on him
in Vegas to get to the playoff?
Speaker 4 (20:20):
Well, they spent a lot of bucks. As a former
Texas Tech offensive lineman in the Mike Leach days, he
ended up becoming a billionaire in the oil and energy
business and he's put his money is where his mouth is.
And they've gone more aggressively in the portal than anybody.
So you saw them gobbling up, especially the linemen, offensive lineman,
defensive lineman, a bunch of good linebackers. I mean they've
(20:43):
upgraded the roster in a big way. I think that
the challenge here is Baron Morton. He's the quarterback who
was there already and he's played a lot and he's
been solid. Does he take the next step with the
talent around him, because as we saw last year, there's
no conference, it's more for grabs in the Big Twelve.
Right Arizona State preseason picked Fish the last. They end
(21:04):
up not only winning the conference, almost beat Texas in
the playoff. Yeah, I think Texas Tech is a dangerous team.
I'm the biggest question is Joey Maguire, the head coach,
who is a really good Texas high school football coach.
You know, he had some you know, he had some
talent in the last few years and they've been decent.
But I think people are like, can he be the
(21:26):
guy to lead them, you know, not only into the playoff,
but deep into the playoff? Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
I'm looking at the schedule. I don't see any I mean,
who's the toughest. I mean they got to go I
guess at Utah's never easy? Is Kansas State gonna be
good this year.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
Oklahoma State. Kansas State to me is the closest thing
to a sure thing in the Big Twelve where they're
not going to be bad, you feel like. And they
have Avery Johnson, who's a dynamic running quarterback who people
are excited about, and he's physically gotten a lot stronger
this offseason. I feel like Kansas State is probably if
you said who has the best chance to win win
(22:02):
at least eight games in that league, I would always
say Kansas State.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
By you just landed.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
I saw the news today that they landed the transfer quarterback.
Speaker 4 (22:12):
No backwards.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
I'm sorry they lost it.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
Transfer is transferring to Tulane. He will told he will
get there actually on Tuesday.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
Interesting. So how good is this guy?
Speaker 4 (22:22):
By the way, he's talented now, I mean they he
led them to an eleven win season last year and
his first year as a full time starter. He was
really banged up in the second half of the year.
Like I know, some guys in that staff, they're like,
there's probably a couple of games he probably shouldn't have played,
but he kind of gutted it out. He's a good
running quarterback who has a pretty live arm. He plays
(22:44):
with a chip on his shoulder, but his accuracy can
be a little spotty. And also he's got some gunslinger
in him, which means you get some turnovers. But he's
one of the better quarterbacks in college football. Now he's
gonna have to have a crash course at Tulane in
about forty days to get ready for their opener. He's
(23:05):
one of five transfer quarterbacks they took this offseason. Who
was their quarterback who got a bunch of money to
go to Duke. I mean, I wouldn't doubt that Retslov's
actually more talented than the guy who went to Duke.
But again, he's going to learn this offense, or has
to learn the offense really fast to get them ready.
I think the hope for him is at least he's
(23:27):
ready by the conference season. Maybe if he's not ready
for the opener.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
Dude, that's tough.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
So you're telling me they got four new quarterbacks and
then they just added another guy.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
Yeah, Oh, that's not right.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
I mean, I'm sure a couple of those guys thought
transferring in would be the move for them.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
I'm sure they did. But John Summrall is the coach there,
and I think he's a big believer, is like, Hey,
I'm all for players getting paid, all for players getting
taken care of, but just know that I'm going to
try to have the most competitive position rooms and team
I can get. And I think those guys are red.
Sloff's actually going to Tulane as a walk on. He's
not going on scholarship, and so you know, he's really talented.
(24:08):
There was a bunch of you know, group Power Conference
schools that I was told were interested in him, you know,
till the towards the end. But this he'll end up
going to Tulane where sum Roll was actually when he
was at UH at Troy the head coach a few
years ago, they thought they were going to get Retslov
committed out of junior college, and then at the last
(24:29):
minute Yu swooped in and we're able to land.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
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Speaker 2 (24:44):
So I'm sure some people are like, well, what's what's
so special about this guy? The honor code violation? Has
that has all that stuff come out? Because I've been
reading a little.
Speaker 4 (24:52):
Bit of it. I think it's you know, from what
we heard, it was he had consensual sex there and
that was that's you can't do that at BYU. It's
part of the honor code.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
And so I'm surprised more teams weren't up on him,
you know, like for him defaul to too late.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
Well, if he was that good, why didn't Tennessee So
this all.
Speaker 4 (25:13):
Had happened Jason back in January or earlier in the spring,
I think you would have had more of those schools,
you know, going Honestly, if he was available back when
Nico left Tennessee to go to UCLA, I think Tennessee
would be more likely to go after Jake rutz laf
than Joey Agilar, the quarterback who had been at app
(25:35):
State and then went to UCLA for a couple of months.
I'd be surprised if they would have said, oh, yeah,
we're going to take Agalar over rutslof.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
Let me go, acc we haven't done anything this kid
club nick Love, I don't know, man, I know guys
like it, Bruce.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
You do your Freaks List? Do you do a lot
of stuff with the draft? Is kid club?
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Nick A really really good college football quarterback or do.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
You see him as like elite and he's going to
be a first round pick?
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Because I gotta be honest, I don't know, man, I
haven't seen it.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
Maybe I just I haven't seen it yet.
Speaker 4 (26:09):
I think he's a really really good quarterback. I don't
know if that makes him just a really good college
quarterback or more. You know, he was a really high
He's an Austin, Texas kid who was he was one
of those elite eleven kids. He you know, coming out
of high school and had a little bit of a
shaky start. But I don't think they had really great
talent around him, especially a receiver. You know, back when
(26:29):
it was Taj Boyd and Shaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence,
Clemson had studs at receiver. They didn't for a while
now Alston, it's getting back to that. I do think
he's a first round kind of quarterback. He's accurate. I
think he's really smart. I think he sees the field well.
I mean he's not overwhelmingly physically you know, got the
(26:52):
you know, he's not Anthony Richardson in terms of just
as a specimen. But could he be a Kirk Cousins. Yeah,
I could totally see that.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
It's interesting because Dabo's kind of, you know, his insistence
on we're not hitting the portal for so many years,
Clemson's fallen back a little. And by falling back, I
mean they're, you know, ten wins and not like thirteen
and competing for the Natty.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
Do you it sounds like he's changed his tune a
little bit though.
Speaker 4 (27:15):
Huh a little. They took a defensive end from Purdue
who will start for them. This is a I mean, look,
don't be surprised if Clemson ends up in the national
title game. Oh come on, no, I'm telling you they
have a bunch of dudes who will be first round
picks on the defense. They have a dynamic freshman running back.
The AD and the receivers are really good. I'm not
(27:38):
this team has enough talent to win a national title.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
I was all excited for UNC and Belichick. I mean, really, check.
Speaker 4 (27:47):
Back with me on the Clemson d line, Clemson defensive players.
When you talk draft next spring, I'm telling you there's
gonna be a bunch of hair loaded.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
I forgot to mention Belichick.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
I mean it was Belichick was such a hot button
issue for months, Bruce, and then I guess, you know,
the girlfriend thing, it became a little too much.
Speaker 3 (28:05):
It's really been shut down.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
I haven't seen or heard a peep out of UNC
for the last month, right.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
Yeah, And I think some of that has been you know,
I think a lot of us like to compare, Oh,
there's going to be like a similar vibe to Dion
coming to Colorado and it's must see TV and everything.
And while there's intrigue, what I think is different is
when Dion came from Jackson State, he brought his son
to be his quarterback, and he brought the number one
(28:31):
recruit in the country a few years earlier, Travis Hunter.
So you had star power and there was a lot
of social media buzz about it because they you know,
they opened up and they showed a lot of people
what was going on with all the videos and different
things that they were putting on YouTube. North Carolina's not
that way. I mean, Bill Belichick wasn't even like putting
(28:51):
you know, jersey names and numbers, you know, for the
spring game, and it's all been under wraps. Like I know,
the quarterback that they took, Go Lopez. He started out
at South Alabama. He's a really good quarterback in the
Sun Belt. But I think for a lot of people
they do not know who most of these players are.
And by the way, unlike Dion, he didn't Belichick's taking
(29:14):
over a program that had some decent seasons. It wasn't
like they were a one team like Colorado was. They
were decent and they've obviously whether it's Sam Howell or
Drake may or Marion Hampton, they've had high level talent.
So I think that adds to it. And it's also
just like you said, I think there's been so much
(29:35):
attention has ended up like pivoting over to what's going
on with he and his girlfriend who's fifty years younger,
and I think it became kind of very tabloid story,
but I'm not sure the sports real sports world has
kind of gravitated to me.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
Yeah, it's funny. You know, Alabama for the longest time
was on top of college football.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
Bruce, we just did twenty five minutes and no mention
of the time, like is that. I know you were
a Kaelin de Bor guy.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
You know him well, he's got an uphill climb and
I've seen some of the numbers about Alabama just not
being able to kind of back it up with the
nil money that some of these other programs are Any
thoughts on the tide is their kind of reign of
terror fading fast or not?
Speaker 3 (30:14):
Really?
Speaker 4 (30:15):
We'll see what happens this year. I mean, they have
one of the you know, probably five or six most
talented players on offense. And Ryan Williams who graduated High
School of the Year earlier and made a splash last year.
The new quarterback, Ty Simpson, who's a coach's kid, and
I think internally they like him a lot. He's not
as dynamic as Jalen Milroe, but I think he will
(30:36):
be good in the system. I think the biggest reason
for optimism if you're an Alabama fan is that Ryan Grubb,
who had been is really a protege of de Bor.
They were together at Sioux Falls and NII when they
were wintering national titles, and he was also the play
caller and the guy behind that Washington offense that played
for the national title and Michael Pennix became a top
(30:58):
ten pick. He was one year in the NFL, is
an OFFENSEI corner with the Seahawks. Now he comes back
to Debor, he'll be in the SEC, and I think
that'll be a really good thing, not just for the offense,
but really for Debor to have. I think somebody who
knows him really well, they know each other what they're
looking for, and they're enough, they're talented enough where they're
(31:20):
a national title contender. The parts that I think hurt
them last year they were wildly inconsistent on both sides
of the ball. And we'll see now he's had a year.
This is much more his program than it was probably
a year ago at this time.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Jalen Milrall, I'll never forget that game against Georgia. He
was unbelievable, and then the Oklahoma game, he's.
Speaker 4 (31:39):
Just like unwatching in the Sea game, he was I mean,
really bad offense, and so you got to see both
sides of it when he's on. I remember watching him
against LSU he and it was two years ago. He
and Jayden Daniels had a spectacular like back and forth
where you're watching, you know, incredible athlete who can run
but also make plays downfield, and I thought, you know,
(32:00):
he's going to be fascinating to see how he kind
of develops into an NFL quarterback as well.
Speaker 3 (32:05):
All Right, Bruce Feldman, Fox the Athletic enjoy Vegas. Is
I mean, what's it gonna be like? One ten?
Speaker 1 (32:11):
There?
Speaker 4 (32:11):
I mean was like one eighteen. I was in the car.
I was in an uber going somewhere, and I said
to the driver. I was like, is it really one
hundred and twenty one degrees? He goes, No, that's my clock.
It's only but it is it's one twenty one. He goes,
but it is one hundred and eighteen degrees. I was like,
oh yeah, that makes a difference. Man.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
Wow, We'll try to have some fun out there.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
Man.
Speaker 3 (32:27):
All right, Bruce, thanks a lot.
Fox Sports Radio News
Host
Jonas Knox
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