June 3, 2025 • 8 mins
Mitch Lyons joins the show to discuss the retirement of Detroit Lions All-Pro center Frank Ragnow, and the hiring of J Batt as Athletic Director at Mitch's alma mater, Michigan State University.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):
And we kind of tug at the code of Mitch
Lions a little bit on Mondays for Mondays with Mitch
for good reason. But today I thought it was appropriate
to bring him back only because look, seven years in
the NFL, tight ends are and it's a tough position.
You're sometimes a wide receiver, you're oftentimes in offensive lineman
as well, and you can understand and relate to what
(00:23):
the Lions are having to deal with and replacing not
just Kevin Zeitler, but now Frank Ragnow with his sudden retirement.
So we welcome in our friend Mitch Lions from Mitch
Lion's Wealth and Mitch Lionswealth dot com. Mitch, you played
with I believe DERMONDI Dawson in Pittsburgh as a center
who is a truly the best great. Yeah, one of
the all time greats. What did you learn about the
(00:46):
importance of that position while playing with a Hall of
Fame player like that?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah. No, the center is huge because you know, it's
basically the quarterback of the line. You know, they're making
all the calls, they're recognizing the defensive front, and they're
communicating to the rest of the Lions as far as
pass protection. Or adjustments on running plays and whatnot. So
it's a very important position and it's definitely not one
you'd like to see turnover that especially kind of if
it was surprising, I think maybe the Lions had a
(01:13):
hint that is a possibility. Obviously, ragnow has been dealing
with a lot of injuries and so you know that
probably had a lot to do with, you know, taking
ratleage early on and then obviously getting him snaps at
center early on. But it's it's a critical position, and
you know, teams like the Steelers they went from Mike
Webster to Dermany Dawson and then they got Jeff Harding's
after Dermani retired from the Lions and then but then
(01:35):
they had Marquise Pouncy. So when you have stability at
that position, it greatly enhances your ability to succeed as
an offensive line.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
We were talking with Lomas Brown a little bit earlier.
Educate us a little bit more on what they're responsible for.
When you're at the edge of that line and you're
hearing Dermani, Dawson or whatever center is barking out, what
did they suggesting? What are they telling you to do?
What's the instruction.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
There, Well, ultimately they're identifying you know who, who their
their main focus point is in terms of pass rusher,
identifying the middle you know who they're considering the middle,
the middle rusher and whatnot, and everybody's you know, everybody's
job kind of falls in line after that. Once you've
identified who who were counting from, then it's just a
matter of counting out from there and who's responsible for who.
So you got a guy that's not reading the defense
(02:19):
wrong and we're getting you're getting miss miss signals or
people aren't understanding what he's saying, then you can obviously
have a real problem if you don't have a hat
on a hat. So communication is key, and you know,
a lot of that gets glossed over maybe by by
the average fan that maybe never played the game, but
off of the line, communication's huge, and you've got to
have a very smart player at their center position because
obviously defensive coordinators to get paid a lot of money
(02:42):
to try to trick trick offensive linemen, so you know,
it's it's important in a critical position.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
He's had all kinds of injuries toe, knee, ankle problems,
I'm sure back problems. I remember seeing Bill Fralick during
a college football season one time, and we asked him
how he's doing, and you just mentioned his elbows, his
hips and his shoulders, and we kind of tend to
forget that. You know, we see you guys as gladiators,
and we see all the positive things, but we're not
(03:08):
with you every single day, knowing that you have aches
and pains and the challenges it is to get out
of bed. You can relate to what Frank Ragnow is
dealing with right now, can't you. I mean, with the
body feels.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Yeah, absolutely, I mean it takes a toll on you,
especially when you've played as many snaps as Frank has,
and obviously he's had problems with his feed. You know,
turf tow might not sound that bad. It's just a toe, right,
but turf tow is crippling and he had a very significant,
severe case of it, and that's just not fun. I
dealt with Planner fasci Ius my whole career and getting
out of bed, and it was like you're stepping on
(03:43):
nails for the first twenty five minutes before your feet
warmed up a little bit, and that's not fun. And
it starts to wear on you mentally, and I'm sure
you know he's gotten to the point here in the
off season where he's like, geez, you know, it's just
it's not feeling that much greater. And we're here, we
are getting great, you know, closer to the season. I
thought always was for me to take me a few
months to feel normal, But it only takes me a
couple of weeks to start feeling bad again. Once you
(04:04):
started pounding on the feet out there.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
In training camp, how long did it take you to
mesh with that offensive line? So that's I think that's
what I know. It depends on the players, okay, and
it depends on the scheme. But this team's going to
have to deal with quite a bit here. They're dealing
with the new offensive coordinator, perhaps some new language, and
now possibly three new position players on the offensive line. Generally,
(04:29):
how long does that take for you to feel comfortable
with one another on that offensive line?
Speaker 2 (04:36):
It's I mean it's going to take OTAs and this
is a big time, especially for those young players. Ratledsche
If he's getting snaps at the center, I mean, this
is a great time to just build his comfort level
and then start getting him up the steed mentally and
being able to handle it and listen. I have trust
in Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell that they took some
guys that they know can play right. So you got
to have some faith there. But it's a big you know,
(04:58):
it's a big change obviously, and guys like Taylor Decker
and Penney Sewell, you know, need to step up and
kind of pull some of those guys along that are new.
But it's going to take OTA's, it's going to take
camp you know, and it's going to take a little while.
But you know, I trust the brain trusts, you know,
selective guys that can handle that.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Former NFL VET Mitch lions joining us here on exus
and bros. Don't forget we got him every Monday at
Mondays with Mitch and of course his website Mitch lioneswealth
dot com. Let me shift gears for you. You're Alma
Modern Michigan State, near and dear to your heart and
for good reason has a new man in charge in
the athletic department. And his name is Jason Batt. He
(05:38):
comes from Georgia Tech. What do you like about his
resume and what are the expectations you have and other
spartan grads have for him to undertake in that athletic department.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Well, like we've talked about before, Chef, I mean, it's
a brand new game and it comes down to dollars, right,
It's it's professional football, professional basketball at this point, and
you've got to rally the troops in terms of alumni
and donors to to get the money up there to
pay to play or else you're not just you're not
going to be competitive. Man. It's it's not about you know, uh,
you know, having a great beautiful campus and you know
(06:12):
all the history and culture and tradition. It's just not
the same as when I went there, right, It's just
it's a different scenario we're living in. And he seems
to have a track record where he's been able to
do that, which is what needs to be done. You know,
He's that was involved in a pretty big initiative at Alabama.
He's raise of money obviously at Georgia Tech. Question is
does Michigan State have enough deep pockets that want to
(06:33):
fork over the money to pay to play in this
new era? And that that will be a time will tell,
I guess, But he appears to be a guy that
you know has the track record, so hopefully he can
carry that forward into planting.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
You're you're a people person. I mean, you like to talk,
You look people in the eye, you shake hands firmly.
You're you're you're that kind of guy. How do you,
as an athletic director endear yourself to a passionate alumni
group and fan base as quickly as he will need to.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Well, you're going to go on a road show first
forst started. You're going to make a lot of trips
around the state and you know, possibly jump on a
plane and go see some donors that are out of state.
But you want to engage that that donor group quickly
and you know, be authentic, be genuine, look them in
the eye and tell them what you want to do
and that you need their help because it's not going
to happen without their help. And you know, I think
(07:22):
the passion is there and the fan base, and I
think with the right people and the right deep pockets,
if he can get them on board early and get
some positive moment, I'm going that's going to help him
a lot. So yeah, I anticipate he's going to hit
the road and go shake some hands and like you said,
look people in the eye and just be authentic and
then tell them what his plans are and then get
him on board early.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Saw a lot of Spartan's alum yesterday at the Detroit
Sports Commission golf outing at Oakland Hills. Wish we could
have seen you there. Tom Dempsey was there, so people
you know and are close with. It was great to
be with them and I'm sure Michigan State has made
the right move here. Thanks for the insight. We appreciate
it as always, so we had to call you on
the last minute, but it's great to get your perspective on.
(08:04):
Frank ragnow in Michigan State. Have a great day, my
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Friend, all right, Sank to you, Schep
And we kind of tug at the code of Mitch
Lions a little bit on Mondays for Mondays with Mitch
for good reason. But today I thought it was appropriate
to bring him back only because look, seven years in
the NFL, tight ends are and it's a tough position.
You're sometimes a wide receiver, you're oftentimes in offensive lineman
as well, and you can understand and relate to what
(00:23):
the Lions are having to deal with and replacing not
just Kevin Zeitler, but now Frank Ragnow with his sudden retirement.
So we welcome in our friend Mitch Lions from Mitch
Lion's Wealth and Mitch Lionswealth dot com. Mitch, you played
with I believe DERMONDI Dawson in Pittsburgh as a center
who is a truly the best great. Yeah, one of
the all time greats. What did you learn about the
(00:46):
importance of that position while playing with a Hall of
Fame player like that?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah. No, the center is huge because you know, it's
basically the quarterback of the line. You know, they're making
all the calls, they're recognizing the defensive front, and they're
communicating to the rest of the Lions as far as
pass protection. Or adjustments on running plays and whatnot. So
it's a very important position and it's definitely not one
you'd like to see turnover that especially kind of if
it was surprising, I think maybe the Lions had a
(01:13):
hint that is a possibility. Obviously, ragnow has been dealing
with a lot of injuries and so you know that
probably had a lot to do with, you know, taking
ratleage early on and then obviously getting him snaps at
center early on. But it's it's a critical position, and
you know, teams like the Steelers they went from Mike
Webster to Dermany Dawson and then they got Jeff Harding's
after Dermani retired from the Lions and then but then
(01:35):
they had Marquise Pouncy. So when you have stability at
that position, it greatly enhances your ability to succeed as
an offensive line.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
We were talking with Lomas Brown a little bit earlier.
Educate us a little bit more on what they're responsible for.
When you're at the edge of that line and you're
hearing Dermani, Dawson or whatever center is barking out, what
did they suggesting? What are they telling you to do?
What's the instruction.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
There, Well, ultimately they're identifying you know who, who their
their main focus point is in terms of pass rusher,
identifying the middle you know who they're considering the middle,
the middle rusher and whatnot, and everybody's you know, everybody's
job kind of falls in line after that. Once you've
identified who who were counting from, then it's just a
matter of counting out from there and who's responsible for who.
So you got a guy that's not reading the defense
(02:19):
wrong and we're getting you're getting miss miss signals or
people aren't understanding what he's saying, then you can obviously
have a real problem if you don't have a hat
on a hat. So communication is key, and you know,
a lot of that gets glossed over maybe by by
the average fan that maybe never played the game, but
off of the line, communication's huge, and you've got to
have a very smart player at their center position because
obviously defensive coordinators to get paid a lot of money
(02:42):
to try to trick trick offensive linemen, so you know,
it's it's important in a critical position.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
He's had all kinds of injuries toe, knee, ankle problems,
I'm sure back problems. I remember seeing Bill Fralick during
a college football season one time, and we asked him
how he's doing, and you just mentioned his elbows, his
hips and his shoulders, and we kind of tend to
forget that. You know, we see you guys as gladiators,
and we see all the positive things, but we're not
(03:08):
with you every single day, knowing that you have aches
and pains and the challenges it is to get out
of bed. You can relate to what Frank Ragnow is
dealing with right now, can't you. I mean, with the
body feels.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Yeah, absolutely, I mean it takes a toll on you,
especially when you've played as many snaps as Frank has,
and obviously he's had problems with his feed. You know,
turf tow might not sound that bad. It's just a toe, right,
but turf tow is crippling and he had a very significant,
severe case of it, and that's just not fun. I
dealt with Planner fasci Ius my whole career and getting
out of bed, and it was like you're stepping on
(03:43):
nails for the first twenty five minutes before your feet
warmed up a little bit, and that's not fun. And
it starts to wear on you mentally, and I'm sure
you know he's gotten to the point here in the
off season where he's like, geez, you know, it's just
it's not feeling that much greater. And we're here, we
are getting great, you know, closer to the season. I
thought always was for me to take me a few
months to feel normal, But it only takes me a
couple of weeks to start feeling bad again. Once you
(04:04):
started pounding on the feet out there.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
In training camp, how long did it take you to
mesh with that offensive line? So that's I think that's
what I know. It depends on the players, okay, and
it depends on the scheme. But this team's going to
have to deal with quite a bit here. They're dealing
with the new offensive coordinator, perhaps some new language, and
now possibly three new position players on the offensive line. Generally,
(04:29):
how long does that take for you to feel comfortable
with one another on that offensive line?
Speaker 2 (04:36):
It's I mean it's going to take OTAs and this
is a big time, especially for those young players. Ratledsche
If he's getting snaps at the center, I mean, this
is a great time to just build his comfort level
and then start getting him up the steed mentally and
being able to handle it and listen. I have trust
in Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell that they took some
guys that they know can play right. So you got
to have some faith there. But it's a big you know,
(04:58):
it's a big change obviously, and guys like Taylor Decker
and Penney Sewell, you know, need to step up and
kind of pull some of those guys along that are new.
But it's going to take OTA's, it's going to take
camp you know, and it's going to take a little while.
But you know, I trust the brain trusts, you know,
selective guys that can handle that.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Former NFL VET Mitch lions joining us here on exus
and bros. Don't forget we got him every Monday at
Mondays with Mitch and of course his website Mitch lioneswealth
dot com. Let me shift gears for you. You're Alma
Modern Michigan State, near and dear to your heart and
for good reason has a new man in charge in
the athletic department. And his name is Jason Batt. He
(05:38):
comes from Georgia Tech. What do you like about his
resume and what are the expectations you have and other
spartan grads have for him to undertake in that athletic department.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Well, like we've talked about before, Chef, I mean, it's
a brand new game and it comes down to dollars, right,
It's it's professional football, professional basketball at this point, and
you've got to rally the troops in terms of alumni
and donors to to get the money up there to
pay to play or else you're not just you're not
going to be competitive. Man. It's it's not about you know, uh,
you know, having a great beautiful campus and you know
(06:12):
all the history and culture and tradition. It's just not
the same as when I went there, right, It's just
it's a different scenario we're living in. And he seems
to have a track record where he's been able to
do that, which is what needs to be done. You know,
He's that was involved in a pretty big initiative at Alabama.
He's raise of money obviously at Georgia Tech. Question is
does Michigan State have enough deep pockets that want to
(06:33):
fork over the money to pay to play in this
new era? And that that will be a time will tell,
I guess, But he appears to be a guy that
you know has the track record, so hopefully he can
carry that forward into planting.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
You're you're a people person. I mean, you like to talk,
You look people in the eye, you shake hands firmly.
You're you're you're that kind of guy. How do you,
as an athletic director endear yourself to a passionate alumni
group and fan base as quickly as he will need to.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Well, you're going to go on a road show first
forst started. You're going to make a lot of trips
around the state and you know, possibly jump on a
plane and go see some donors that are out of state.
But you want to engage that that donor group quickly
and you know, be authentic, be genuine, look them in
the eye and tell them what you want to do
and that you need their help because it's not going
to happen without their help. And you know, I think
(07:22):
the passion is there and the fan base, and I
think with the right people and the right deep pockets,
if he can get them on board early and get
some positive moment, I'm going that's going to help him
a lot. So yeah, I anticipate he's going to hit
the road and go shake some hands and like you said,
look people in the eye and just be authentic and
then tell them what his plans are and then get
him on board early.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Saw a lot of Spartan's alum yesterday at the Detroit
Sports Commission golf outing at Oakland Hills. Wish we could
have seen you there. Tom Dempsey was there, so people
you know and are close with. It was great to
be with them and I'm sure Michigan State has made
the right move here. Thanks for the insight. We appreciate
it as always, so we had to call you on
the last minute, but it's great to get your perspective on.
(08:04):
Frank ragnow in Michigan State. Have a great day, my
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Friend, all right, Sank to you, Schep
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