September 5, 2025 • 9 mins
AJ Schulte, who covers both the Wolverines AND Sooners for A to Z Sports, joins the show to preview Saturday's matchup between two ranked teams.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Socited to talk with AJ Shorty of Aesy Sports. He
(00:03):
covers both Michigan and Oklahoma. Rights for that fine publication
or that fine website. Really learn a lot from it.
You can follow him on Twitter at aj Shulty FB
for football at the end, so check that out. Make
sure you follow him. You'll get some really good information
regarding Michigan, Oklahoma, and college football in general. AJ appreciate
(00:23):
the time very much. Love to know your thoughts on
Bryce Underwood's performance last week. I know it was New Mexico.
I don't care. Man, the way he moved, the way
his poise in the pocket and outside the pocket was
really impressive. What was your overall thought on his play?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Yeah, I think if.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
You are a Michigan fan right now, especially after everything
that happened last year, you know, the shuffling quarterback room
and some inconsistent days passing the football, I'll put it
like that, you have to look at Bryce Underwood and
just be like in all because I thought that was
(01:02):
I think one of the best performances from a Michigan
quarterback in recent memory, and for that being his first game,
I thought he was sharp for the most part. They
were still kind of had a little bit of the
training wheels on, which is understandable in his first game
as a starter, you.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Know, but you could see the talent.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
I thought he was just ripping some really nice throws
at every level of the field, and his arm talent
and his ability as an athlete just add such a
different dynamic to this offense than anything they had last year.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
And so it's I.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Think, if you're a Michigan fan, you look at Bryce Underwood,
You're like, yeah, these next three years.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
We have that dude.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
We have who I think could be one of the
best quarterbacks in college football. And your frient Vinnables this
week had compared him to Trevor Morris, he went up
against pretty much every day at Clenson, and so I think,
you know, if you're a if you look at what
he did and it's like, Okay, this kid is this.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Kid is pretty special.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
I saw that, I read that, we talked about it.
I think we have a tendency to overblow things. I
think we have a tendency to, you know, be a
little bit of a knee jerk reaction. So we've got
to be careful there. It's coaches are going to praise
the opposition. They're not going to sit there and dog them.
But I get it, I get where he's coming from. Oklahoma.
(02:28):
Bren Venable's got a defensive background. I think that's fair
to say, Yeah, he hasn't He hasn't shown it as
much as I thought he would, or his team has
not shown that type of influence as much as I
thought it would. What do you think has been his
calling cards so far in Norman?
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Well, I think, you know, last year, the defense really
came on strong in a lot of the big games.
I think you look at the Alabama game where they
completely shut down Alabama's offense for most of that game.
It's just recently been kind of like some offensive struggles,
especially last year. They really couldn't much like Michigan that
(03:09):
couldn't really pass the ball consistently. But I think if
your Brett Venables, like, the calling card of this team
is the defensive line, and the transformation that Oklahoma has
had up front in the trenches is astronomical. You know,
you look back at the days of Lincoln Riley and
a lot of their defensive linemen were like two hundred
(03:32):
and seventy pounds, two hundred and eighty pounds kind of
like the slasher, you know, like three technique guys not
really not really like SEC.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Big guys in the trenches. And now that pretty much
that whole room is over three hundred pounds, and so
I think if you look at kind of the ways
that he.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Has transformed them physically to match the SEC, I think
that's where you look at Brett Venables and being like, okay,
that's you're seeing his impact. The defensive line has a
ton of talent that came back from last year, and
so like that's kind of like the whole lynch pin
of Oklahoma is the defensive line up front and what
(04:12):
Brendon Memibles and defensive tackle coach Todd bas has done
with that room.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
AJ Shulty from A to Z Sports joining us here
on Ex's and Bros. Fill on Twitter at aj Shulty FB.
He's on the Lindsay Hunter Foundation guest line. How much
do you read? Probably not a whole lot. In the
thirty one to three, thirty five to three blowout win
over Illinois State, in which John Mattier three hundred and
(04:38):
ninety two yards three touchdowns looked pretty sharp Oklahoma as
the team did what they had to do what do
you take out of that for the Sooners that they
can apply against you of them.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
It's kind of an interesting game because the Oklahoma's offense,
like right out the gate with how they went three
and out and everybody immediately went getting last year again,
and then it kind of just felt like they.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Coasted through the rest of the game. You know, they
kept it.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
They admitted after the game, They're like, yeah, we kept
it pretty vanilla because I don't know, if you know,
We've got to play Michigan next week, so we're trying
not to tip our hand. It's hard to really parse
out anything from like the game plan overall, just because
he knew that they were going to keep it pretty basic,
pretty vanilla.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
But if you're Michigan, I think you're.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
Looking at you know, the way that Illinois State early
on kind of put pressure on Oklahoma's defense was a
lot of quick passes and a lot of like getting
the quarterback out of the pocket to negate Oklahoma's pass rush,
and Illinois State had a quarterback who could run and
he got a couple first downs on them, and you know,
(05:49):
Oklahoma was able to rebound because it is Illinois State
and the talent difference.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Is immense, but it's not quite the same as it
would be even when they're playing Michigan.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
And so I think you're Michigan, you're looking at that
and offensively, I think that's your game plan for price Underwood.
And defensively, I think you're trying to figure out ways
that you can stress out John the tier because the
Oklahoma's got a lot of shuffling pieces on the offensive line.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
They're probably they're.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Probably going to start at least one, if not too
true freshmen in this game along the offensive line, and
so like Wink, Martindale is one of the best drawing
up pressure and applying pressure on the quarterback with as
many blitzes as you could throw at him.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
And so I think if you're Michigan now you're coming
in from that angle of how can.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
We stress on the tier out because Illinois State, quite frankly,
I think they had two pressures all game and that's
not going to happen for Michigan. They're just simply two
talented upfront for that result. And so I think trying
to confuse on the tier, make shim, you know, don't
let him have time to sit in the pocket and
just dice you up because he is sharp, and he's
(07:01):
a talented player physically and mentally.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
He's got a really good command of the offense.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
So if you're Michigan, I think the game plan has
to be dominate up.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Front and kind of in on offense.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Keep Bryce Underwood away from the Oklahoma defensive line.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Yeah, last thing for you was so much as made
of Underwood. And it's the first question I asked of
you because we always focus on the quarterbacks. But I
thought Justice Haynes and I thought Marlon Klein were just
as effective for Michigan. How does Oklahoma come back what
I thought was a pretty effective run game and a
big tight end who's tough to follow.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Yeah, it's Oklahoma.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
Last year had one of the best run defenses in
college football by a lot of the metrics. And so
I think if you are from an Oklahoma standpoint, you
feel really good about your.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Defensive tackle room. The issue is that I think Justice
Haynes is explosive. I think he's one of the most
explosive running backs that, oh you will play all year.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
And so you know when he gets a crease what
could have been originally just a three yard game for
an average back is going to be six or seven.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
And like his.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Ability to create explosive plays, something that Michigan really didn't
have last year. Killo Mullings was a fantastic grinder, but
he wasn't that kind of an explosive back. You know,
he would get you three yards, and he consistently gets
you three yards.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
He wouldn't get you more than that.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
But Haynes is capable of doing it all and I
think that changes your dynamics, especially in the offense.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
And then Marlon Pleine.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Oklahoma has a couple of good linebackers, but they lost
Danny Stutsman to the NFL Draft and so they're kind
of suffering some pieces around there. But they returned kiit Lewis,
who had a couple of pick sixes last year. I
imagine he will probably be and when they go man
to man, he'll probably be the guidelines up against Marlon Pline.
(08:57):
But on the flip side, it does sound like Cogan
Hanson is going to come back this week. And if
you're doing a lot of the two tight ends that
Anton is also a really good receiving threat. They line
him up all over the formation, and so that's another
way you could kind of stress test Oklahoma's linebackers.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Okay, you've got one guy who's really good. Let's see
the rest of you.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
How are they going to match up against the two
tight ends that chick Lindsay's going to move all around
the formation? How are they going to be able to
match those guys and keep enough personnel in the box
to kind of defend Justice Haynes because he could take
it to the house from any distance, and so it's
really just going to be an interesting chess match up
(09:38):
front for both sides.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Good stuff, man, A J. Appreciate it, really love the insight,
and really respect the opinions. Don't be a stranger. Have
a great weekend, and thanks for the time today. Keep
up the great work.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Thank you so much. You guys, have a great weekend.
Socited to talk with AJ Shorty of Aesy Sports. He
(00:03):
covers both Michigan and Oklahoma. Rights for that fine publication
or that fine website. Really learn a lot from it.
You can follow him on Twitter at aj Shulty FB
for football at the end, so check that out. Make
sure you follow him. You'll get some really good information
regarding Michigan, Oklahoma, and college football in general. AJ appreciate
(00:23):
the time very much. Love to know your thoughts on
Bryce Underwood's performance last week. I know it was New Mexico.
I don't care. Man, the way he moved, the way
his poise in the pocket and outside the pocket was
really impressive. What was your overall thought on his play?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Yeah, I think if.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
You are a Michigan fan right now, especially after everything
that happened last year, you know, the shuffling quarterback room
and some inconsistent days passing the football, I'll put it
like that, you have to look at Bryce Underwood and
just be like in all because I thought that was
(01:02):
I think one of the best performances from a Michigan
quarterback in recent memory, and for that being his first game,
I thought he was sharp for the most part. They
were still kind of had a little bit of the
training wheels on, which is understandable in his first game
as a starter, you.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Know, but you could see the talent.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
I thought he was just ripping some really nice throws
at every level of the field, and his arm talent
and his ability as an athlete just add such a
different dynamic to this offense than anything they had last year.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
And so it's I.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Think, if you're a Michigan fan, you look at Bryce Underwood,
You're like, yeah, these next three years.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
We have that dude.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
We have who I think could be one of the
best quarterbacks in college football. And your frient Vinnables this
week had compared him to Trevor Morris, he went up
against pretty much every day at Clenson, and so I think,
you know, if you're a if you look at what
he did and it's like, Okay, this kid is this.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Kid is pretty special.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
I saw that, I read that, we talked about it.
I think we have a tendency to overblow things. I
think we have a tendency to, you know, be a
little bit of a knee jerk reaction. So we've got
to be careful there. It's coaches are going to praise
the opposition. They're not going to sit there and dog them.
But I get it, I get where he's coming from. Oklahoma.
(02:28):
Bren Venable's got a defensive background. I think that's fair
to say, Yeah, he hasn't He hasn't shown it as
much as I thought he would, or his team has
not shown that type of influence as much as I
thought it would. What do you think has been his
calling cards so far in Norman?
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Well, I think, you know, last year, the defense really
came on strong in a lot of the big games.
I think you look at the Alabama game where they
completely shut down Alabama's offense for most of that game.
It's just recently been kind of like some offensive struggles,
especially last year. They really couldn't much like Michigan that
(03:09):
couldn't really pass the ball consistently. But I think if
your Brett Venables, like, the calling card of this team
is the defensive line, and the transformation that Oklahoma has
had up front in the trenches is astronomical. You know,
you look back at the days of Lincoln Riley and
a lot of their defensive linemen were like two hundred
(03:32):
and seventy pounds, two hundred and eighty pounds kind of
like the slasher, you know, like three technique guys not
really not really like SEC.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Big guys in the trenches. And now that pretty much
that whole room is over three hundred pounds, and so
I think if you look at kind of the ways
that he.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Has transformed them physically to match the SEC, I think
that's where you look at Brett Venables and being like, okay,
that's you're seeing his impact. The defensive line has a
ton of talent that came back from last year, and
so like that's kind of like the whole lynch pin
of Oklahoma is the defensive line up front and what
(04:12):
Brendon Memibles and defensive tackle coach Todd bas has done
with that room.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
AJ Shulty from A to Z Sports joining us here
on Ex's and Bros. Fill on Twitter at aj Shulty FB.
He's on the Lindsay Hunter Foundation guest line. How much
do you read? Probably not a whole lot. In the
thirty one to three, thirty five to three blowout win
over Illinois State, in which John Mattier three hundred and
(04:38):
ninety two yards three touchdowns looked pretty sharp Oklahoma as
the team did what they had to do what do
you take out of that for the Sooners that they
can apply against you of them.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
It's kind of an interesting game because the Oklahoma's offense,
like right out the gate with how they went three
and out and everybody immediately went getting last year again,
and then it kind of just felt like they.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Coasted through the rest of the game. You know, they
kept it.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
They admitted after the game, They're like, yeah, we kept
it pretty vanilla because I don't know, if you know,
We've got to play Michigan next week, so we're trying
not to tip our hand. It's hard to really parse
out anything from like the game plan overall, just because
he knew that they were going to keep it pretty basic,
pretty vanilla.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
But if you're Michigan, I think you're.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
Looking at you know, the way that Illinois State early
on kind of put pressure on Oklahoma's defense was a
lot of quick passes and a lot of like getting
the quarterback out of the pocket to negate Oklahoma's pass rush,
and Illinois State had a quarterback who could run and
he got a couple first downs on them, and you know,
(05:49):
Oklahoma was able to rebound because it is Illinois State
and the talent difference.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Is immense, but it's not quite the same as it
would be even when they're playing Michigan.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
And so I think you're Michigan, you're looking at that
and offensively, I think that's your game plan for price Underwood.
And defensively, I think you're trying to figure out ways
that you can stress out John the tier because the
Oklahoma's got a lot of shuffling pieces on the offensive line.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
They're probably they're.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Probably going to start at least one, if not too
true freshmen in this game along the offensive line, and
so like Wink, Martindale is one of the best drawing
up pressure and applying pressure on the quarterback with as
many blitzes as you could throw at him.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
And so I think if you're Michigan now you're coming
in from that angle of how can.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
We stress on the tier out because Illinois State, quite frankly,
I think they had two pressures all game and that's
not going to happen for Michigan. They're just simply two
talented upfront for that result. And so I think trying
to confuse on the tier, make shim, you know, don't
let him have time to sit in the pocket and
just dice you up because he is sharp, and he's
(07:01):
a talented player physically and mentally.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
He's got a really good command of the offense.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
So if you're Michigan, I think the game plan has
to be dominate up.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Front and kind of in on offense.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Keep Bryce Underwood away from the Oklahoma defensive line.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Yeah, last thing for you was so much as made
of Underwood. And it's the first question I asked of
you because we always focus on the quarterbacks. But I
thought Justice Haynes and I thought Marlon Klein were just
as effective for Michigan. How does Oklahoma come back what
I thought was a pretty effective run game and a
big tight end who's tough to follow.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Yeah, it's Oklahoma.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
Last year had one of the best run defenses in
college football by a lot of the metrics. And so
I think if you are from an Oklahoma standpoint, you
feel really good about your.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Defensive tackle room. The issue is that I think Justice
Haynes is explosive. I think he's one of the most
explosive running backs that, oh you will play all year.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
And so you know when he gets a crease what
could have been originally just a three yard game for
an average back is going to be six or seven.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
And like his.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Ability to create explosive plays, something that Michigan really didn't
have last year. Killo Mullings was a fantastic grinder, but
he wasn't that kind of an explosive back. You know,
he would get you three yards, and he consistently gets
you three yards.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
He wouldn't get you more than that.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
But Haynes is capable of doing it all and I
think that changes your dynamics, especially in the offense.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
And then Marlon Pleine.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Oklahoma has a couple of good linebackers, but they lost
Danny Stutsman to the NFL Draft and so they're kind
of suffering some pieces around there. But they returned kiit Lewis,
who had a couple of pick sixes last year. I
imagine he will probably be and when they go man
to man, he'll probably be the guidelines up against Marlon Pline.
(08:57):
But on the flip side, it does sound like Cogan
Hanson is going to come back this week. And if
you're doing a lot of the two tight ends that
Anton is also a really good receiving threat. They line
him up all over the formation, and so that's another
way you could kind of stress test Oklahoma's linebackers.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Okay, you've got one guy who's really good. Let's see
the rest of you.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
How are they going to match up against the two
tight ends that chick Lindsay's going to move all around
the formation? How are they going to be able to
match those guys and keep enough personnel in the box
to kind of defend Justice Haynes because he could take
it to the house from any distance, and so it's
really just going to be an interesting chess match up
(09:38):
front for both sides.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Good stuff, man, A J. Appreciate it, really love the insight,
and really respect the opinions. Don't be a stranger. Have
a great weekend, and thanks for the time today. Keep
up the great work.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Thank you so much. You guys, have a great weekend.
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