Nico Harrison doubling down, NBA Playoffs, The Iamaleava Bros, Texas Baseball, NFL Draft

Welcome to "The Morning Kickoff Show" with Mike "Hardball" Hardge & "The World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry. Today the guys start off talking about how Nico Harrison keeps digging his own grave as he continues to double down on trading Luka Doncic, Some NBA Playoffs discussion after the Pistons beat the Knicks & The Clippers defeat the Nuggets, more news on the Iamaleava brothers as both QBs transfer to UCLA, a preview of the Texas baseball teams schedule & the station’s upcoming big week of sports coverage. A special “World’s Strongest Take” / “You Suck” segment.  Plus, conversations with Joe Cook of Inside Texas, Lifetime Longhorn Aaron Williams & John McClain of HoustonTexasn.com. You can hear it all here on “The Morning Kickoff Show!”

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thank you for tuning in to the podcast of The
Morning Kickoff with myself, Mike Carbo Harts and the world's
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(00:22):
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Speaker 2 (00:36):
Wherever you may be listening.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
This is a turn up Tuesday edition of The Morning
Kickoff right here on Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred The Zone.
This is going to be a huge day here on
the Morning Kickoff. We might have someone that's worse than
the criptkeeper in Dallas. Joe cookof Inside Texas joins us

(00:59):
at seven thirty four, Talk Transfer Portal in all things
related to the Texas Longhorns. Lifetime Longhorn Aaron Williams talks
draft at eight o'clock, followed by John McClain. He is
one of the best to ever do it, and he
will talk about the draft as well at eight seventeen

(01:19):
and the number one Texas baseball team we'll be trying
to get their lick.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Back in slam. Marcus. I am your host, Mike Harballhart.

Speaker 1 (01:29):
My co host is a WWE Hall of Famer and
the world's strongest man.

Speaker 2 (01:34):
He is d Mark Henry. Good morning Austin, and of.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
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Speaker 2 (01:55):
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Speaker 1 (01:57):
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Speaker 2 (02:20):
All right, let's get right.

Speaker 1 (02:21):
Into this because I didn't think it could get any
worse for the Dallas Mavericks. Not the Mavericks, but more
about Nico Harrison. Nico Harrison has been catching all kinds
of flat for what he has and has not done
for the Dallas Mavericks. Number one, he got rid of

(02:42):
Luka Donciz and a lot of folks have decided that
it was time to go, but he has not.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
Left, so he continues.

Speaker 1 (02:50):
I don't know why he continues to meet with the media.
I don't know why these people keep letting him talk
to anybody.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
It's called diarya a mouth for a reason.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
Well, he needs some pepto bismol so he can stop
himself from doing it like that. So Nico Harrison met
with the media once again, and I'm still trying to
figure out, why why are you still talking to people? Well,
he decided that he wanted y'all to know he's gonna
keep doing what he do because, well, I guess you

(03:21):
could say he's kind of stubborn.

Speaker 3 (03:23):
And also, unfortunately, I'm super stubborn, so someone telling me
to do something doesn't work too well for me.

Speaker 1 (03:29):
So us telling him to stop talking to the media,
Mark ain't gonna work.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
No, we have to tell him, Hey man, you need
to talk more exactly this guy.

Speaker 1 (03:40):
But not only that, the media is being relentless with him.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
Every day we hear fire Nko.

Speaker 1 (03:47):
Every game, every situation is fire Nico. They got Mark
Cuban sitting on the side with his hands in his
head because he is trying to figure out what's going on.

Speaker 2 (04:04):
So Nico was.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
Asked yesterday, why shouldn't I Why should why shouldn't you
be fired?

Speaker 2 (04:11):
Nico? Like?

Speaker 1 (04:12):
What what makes it safe for you to believe that
this job is yours forever?

Speaker 4 (04:18):
Luca comes back to town, the Lakers gains happening, and
you're standing there and there's thousands of people channing for
you to be fired. That's an experience that none of us,
you know, no one's channing for our you know, for us.

Speaker 2 (04:31):
To lose our jobs.

Speaker 5 (04:32):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (04:33):
Why why shouldn't you be fired?

Speaker 5 (04:38):
Well?

Speaker 3 (04:39):
One, I think I've done a really good job here.
Uh And I and I don't think I can be
judged by the injuries this year. You have to judge
from totality from beginning to end. And so I think
I have a really good working relationship with Patrick.

Speaker 2 (04:56):
Who. Who is Patrick? Where is Patrick?

Speaker 6 (05:00):
Now?

Speaker 1 (05:00):
Are we dealing with this Patrick who? I'm still trying
to figure it out. I'm still trying to who is
this Patrick person? I know who he is. But my
point is this, you feel like you are still good
with the people in these situations. You still feel like

(05:22):
the people should understand who you are.

Speaker 2 (05:27):
This dude had.

Speaker 1 (05:28):
The audacity audacity to say that you didn't speak to who,
You've never had a conversation with who.

Speaker 7 (05:40):
Lugu was quoted as saying, it's just sad the way
he's talking right now.

Speaker 8 (05:43):
I never say anything bad about him, and I just
want to move on. How do you react to that quote?

Speaker 3 (05:48):
I feel the same way he does, Like I've actually
never spoken ill of Luca at all, and I just
ready to move on with this team that we have.

Speaker 1 (05:57):
This dude also said that I did not understand how
much the fan based loved Lucas Dodgers, the leading star
on the team. I don't understand why. I don't know
how they love Lebron. I don't know how they love
Michael Jordan. I don't know how in the world could

(06:18):
you ever love when did Yama?

Speaker 2 (06:21):
Yes, Like, I don't.

Speaker 1 (06:25):
Let that make sense to me. It doesn't, It doesn't stop.
Twenty five took your team to the championship. Yeah, and
then and and lost because you just didn't have enough pieces.
And then you you say that I don't know why

(06:46):
they I didn't.

Speaker 2 (06:48):
I didn't. I didn't know they loved him like that.
I don't think they respected him like that. Come on,
heart like.

Speaker 1 (06:56):
That's that's that's not even a cop out.

Speaker 2 (07:01):
That's a lie.

Speaker 1 (07:03):
Some some is really truthfully going on.

Speaker 2 (07:07):
What really happened, What really happened. There has to be something.
Owner of the.

Speaker 1 (07:11):
Team said, hey, you need to eat this lost. That's
your job, you eat it. We don't want to pay
him three hundred million dollars over the next five years
because he don't train. He's changed smoker, he liked, he
loves McDonald's and Burger King. He won't go to the gym.

(07:36):
He don't like to watch film. He's a good player,
great player, great player. But that's he's never gonna make
everybody else come along for the ride.

Speaker 2 (07:47):
He's late to the meeting.

Speaker 1 (07:49):
He wants to drink beer in the hallway after the
game and before and before games. He has been spotted
out drinking beers before the games. Yeah, at lunch, at
lunch and sometimes you got you know, you got a
little d drink.

Speaker 2 (08:07):
Yeah, you got to relax a little bit, dad, y'all.
I didn't know that.

Speaker 1 (08:11):
Yeah, yeah, but I understand the problem. Well, he's not
American like he grew up in. The culture is different,
totally different. He's been a pro since he was fifteen
years old. Bro, I had a friend of mine. He's
been drinking wine since he was fourteen at dinner with
his mom and dad. That's what I'm talking about. I mean,
there's there's different cultures in this world, and people move

(08:35):
a little bit different, right, But here's the here's the
bottom line. And I think Charles Barkley, who can be
a little crazy at times, but Charles Barkley said it best,
and I think Nico needs to adhere to what his friends.
Sir Charles Barkley asked of him.

Speaker 2 (08:57):
That my camera right there.

Speaker 1 (08:58):
Okay, listen, man, I consider you a friend of mine,
Nico Harrison. I consider you a friend of mine. I
wish you nothing but the best. I thought you did
a good job last year with the MAVs, and obviously
whatever happened this year didn't work out. Man, don't do
no more press conferences, Like, I don't even know what

(09:21):
you're doing.

Speaker 2 (09:22):
I really don't.

Speaker 8 (09:24):
Like.

Speaker 1 (09:24):
I got sympathy and love for you, but I have
zero idea what you're trying to do.

Speaker 2 (09:31):
This war is over, brother, you you.

Speaker 1 (09:33):
You got to take you takeing the l I hope
you keep your job.

Speaker 2 (09:37):
I hope that team get healthy. But man, don't do
any more interviews.

Speaker 1 (09:40):
Please don't thank you Charles that that's that's a real friend, though,
a friend, because you know what, I've done things in
my life that I thought I was okay with no
and then my people would be like, hey, what are
you doing?

Speaker 2 (09:57):
Yeah? What are you doing?

Speaker 1 (09:59):
Man? Like it's one o'clock in the morning, Why are
you on Instagram? Yeah, go to sleep, Mark, pick your
hands to be exactly, why are you telling us about it?
Why are you telling them about our personal conversation.

Speaker 2 (10:17):
Right here?

Speaker 1 (10:19):
But it's things that you do that's gonna affect you tomorrow. Yeah,
And Nico is affecting his tomorrow every time that he
does here.

Speaker 2 (10:30):
We are the lead topic of sports. Yep, it's him
because he can't keep his mouth shut. I wonder real talk.

Speaker 1 (10:39):
I'm not I'm not even trying to be you know,
you're not. I wonder if he was brought in to
be the fall guy. I wonder if he was brought
in to be the guy. You remember when Steve Patterson
came here at the University of Texas. He had to
come in and just do a clean sweep of coaches

(11:01):
the way the business was.

Speaker 2 (11:02):
Being run, and he ended up getting run out of here.

Speaker 1 (11:06):
But he did get bad job he did. He did
get here in the stadiums too. He didn't get alcohol
sales up at the University of Texas, so there was
some benefits. But I'm just curious if Nico's but he
does need to stop talking.

Speaker 2 (11:20):
It's a big Tuesday here.

Speaker 1 (11:22):
On the morning kickoff on Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred
to Zone. When we come back, the NBA was front
and center, not just Nico, but there were some really
good games yesterday, and we'll talk about it right here
on the morning Kickoff on Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred
The Zone coming up. In the next segment, we'll have
Joe Cook up inside Texas. We'll ask him all about

(11:43):
the transfer portal and oh yeah, you know, I gotta
ask him a Jonah Williams question because uh, he is
the talk of baseball right now. Also, don't forget at
eight am, we will have Aaron Williams, former Texas long horn,
lifetime longhorn and former NFL player for the Buffalo Bills.

(12:05):
And at eight seventeen we will have John McClain. You
know John McClain. He knows everything about the NFL. We'll
ask him about the Texans in which direction he believes
the Dallas Cowboys will go.

Speaker 2 (12:19):
But right now we're gonna talk NBA. That's right.

Speaker 1 (12:22):
Last night the NBA was fantastic as it kicked off
with the Detroit Pistons taking on the New York Knicks
in Madison Square Garden, the who's who of who, and
then it finished off with the nightcap with the Lakers.
I mean, excuse me, not the Lakers. The Clippers versus
the Denver Nuggets. And we'll talk about that in just

(12:44):
a second because Kawhi was in rare form. But I
want to go back to the Detroit in the New
York Knicks game. That game was old school basketball. It
was physical. There was some moments where you thought there
was going to be fights.

Speaker 2 (13:01):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (13:01):
It was one of the most intriguing games for me
because of the fact that I wanted to see how
Detroit was going to respond after they got outscored twenty
one to nothing. They did not score on the final
run yet the first game, and they end up getting
beat this game, they came back and they was ready

(13:24):
for the fight. And I will say this, when he
was at Oklahoma State, we knew he was talented. When
he first got in the NBA, he was taking his lumps.
But now Kate Cunningham has decided that he is going
to be one of those guys that is going to
be a problem in the NBA moving I think he
got his nickname last night, like he's the problem.

Speaker 2 (13:48):
Yeah. Like, if Detroit does.

Speaker 1 (13:50):
Not bring another outstanding player in there to help him,
he needs to leave.

Speaker 2 (13:58):
Hey, why are you always trying to make it leave? Man?
You try to get everybody to leave. Why can't they
just stay strung?

Speaker 1 (14:05):
How did I start? How did I start? If they don't,
go back, go back to the starr, go back to
that start you said. If they don't, if Detroit does
not help him, bring somebody in to help him, he
needs to leave. The draft is gonna help him. There's
gonna be drafts moving forward. There's no way this dude
has emerged himself in the in the Detroit community. They're

(14:27):
not gonna be horrible. They're gonna get horrible draft picks
from now Bernie what is his name, Bickerstaff Junior. That's
why draft picks in the NBA are expendable. You can
trade away five draft picks in the NBA because if
you're if you have a super player on your team,

(14:47):
every pick you're gonna get gonna be after sixteen seventeen.

Speaker 2 (14:50):
Who would you go get? Who would you go get
to go be in Detroit?

Speaker 1 (14:53):
Giannis? Giannie is not going to Detroit, Jannis. You need
a dominant player to match him. How do you do
How do you stop that? How do you stop a
dominant player like Gianna's and a player like Kate Kanye
well that he is a problem for he can play

(15:15):
one through four.

Speaker 2 (15:17):
Has a problem with Dame Lillard.

Speaker 1 (15:19):
Dame Lillard is a person that's supposed to be an
outstanding player as well. Dame Lillard is a glorified role player.
To me, he is a he is a shooter. Not
when he was young, he was the guy. He was
a problem, right, So not anymore? I know the answer
to Dame Lillard. But physical physicality. If you get physical

(15:44):
with him, he disappeared. It's like a magic Drick hocus pocus,
no more Dame Lillard, one file and and and you
get under his skin. Yannis is wanting to leave because
they didn't right by him.

Speaker 8 (16:01):
And you think it is me.

Speaker 2 (16:03):
Wait, wait, wait, wait wait, let's get back. Let's get
to this game.

Speaker 1 (16:05):
Let's get back to this game, all right, because we're
gonna get We could get into Jannis because Jannis created
a lot of them problems for him. We still do
this on the podcast podcast because because I will destroy this,
I will destroy Jannis. But Detroit came back and was
able to handle their business on the road, and it

(16:27):
was all because of the physicality. But Dennis Shrewder came
up and made some clutch shots. Now on the flip side,
they were the New York Knicks was so heavily involved
with Jalen Brunson. Jalen Brunson finished with thirty seven points.
He took twenty seven shots. But my question for Nick fans,

(16:47):
you have to get something from Carl Anthony town.

Speaker 2 (16:51):
Where is he? He did nothing last night.

Speaker 1 (16:54):
He sat back and let Jalen Brunson take over the game.

Speaker 2 (16:59):
You had Marque Bridges.

Speaker 1 (17:00):
Who took eighteen shots three of eleven from three point
lamb and Karl Anthony Towns only took eleven shots. You
are supposed to be part of the Big two. That
is why you were traded for. And then you look
at defensively, he didn't even do anything on the defensive boards.

(17:21):
He's had six boards, but that's not enough. When he
was on the floor, he finished with ten points and
he was minus ten in his plus minus.

Speaker 2 (17:31):
You need more from Carl Anthony Towns.

Speaker 1 (17:34):
If you're a New York Nick fan, you are looking
at this right now and trying to figure out what
can we do to get more from him? If you
want to look at the physicality of both of these teams,
why is PJ Tucker inactive? Because PJ Tucker is somebody
that you want in there for the physicality in there
against Detroit right.

Speaker 2 (17:55):
You need him.

Speaker 1 (17:56):
Right, and that makes Carl Anthony Towns a more valuable player.
Because when Round Our Tests was playing, people relaxed on
the Star because they didn't want that Round ar Tests smoke.
But nobody want a problem with PJ. He will punch
you in the face. Pj's that dude. He's his bad dude.

(18:18):
Carthy Town's got to have some respect for his game
and for who his legacy is gonna be.

Speaker 2 (18:24):
Yeah, he's got to be definitely better than what we saw.
It was bad.

Speaker 1 (18:27):
It was I don't understand how you're gonna every time
Mi cal Bridges took a shot, I turned my head. Yes,
especially had no legs and they kept trying to feed
him the ball. And that's good defense, making him the
feature and making uh Jalen Brunson get off the ball
and pass it away. So we'll see what happens there.

(18:49):
But the nightcap was the best cap, as these two
teams are so evenly matched when you look at what
the Clippers and the Nuggets were able to do.

Speaker 2 (18:59):
The last game.

Speaker 1 (19:02):
By two points, it was decided by two points. This
game was decided by three points, and it doesn't get
more evenly matched than this. Well, can we talk about
Kawhi Leonard and what he was able to do.

Speaker 2 (19:16):
One on three left?

Speaker 7 (19:17):
Well, from all the lead, we may see Porter Junior
again of the offense at Leonard, ball in his hand.
West course is gonna come in double rise us up
over Corton.

Speaker 9 (19:27):
And hits another one. Kawhi going off tonight in Denver
three point Clipper lead, Leonard's got thirty nine. Incredible performance
from Leonard.

Speaker 2 (19:43):
Yo kids driving on Sue box right, hell alay hard
and had a turnover Leonard with a steal. Leonard backs
it out.

Speaker 7 (19:54):
That's Yo Kitch's seventh turnover tonight, it's got a triple double.
But those seven turnovers have been did and that's twenty
for Kinnver.

Speaker 2 (20:03):
The other night it was the Clippers with twenty.

Speaker 7 (20:05):
I don't like them running the shot clock down this far,
hard to get a good shot.

Speaker 2 (20:10):
Hard and trying to put it away.

Speaker 9 (20:12):
Cannots three point game, Here come the Nuggets.

Speaker 2 (20:15):
Think about taking a foul. Here around passes up at three.

Speaker 9 (20:18):
Now he fires, missed it badly.

Speaker 2 (20:21):
You'll Kitch.

Speaker 9 (20:21):
With the rebound clock ticks to two, you'll catch no
and that is it and the La Clippers hang on
in a thriller.

Speaker 2 (20:34):
Hard. I'm not gonna lie to you. I didn't see
none of that. Well while I'm talking, well, I.

Speaker 1 (20:40):
Tried to give you some of that because I wanted
you to know what that was all about.

Speaker 2 (20:44):
But I want you to hear Kawhi Leonard in.

Speaker 1 (20:46):
The post game, thirty nine points, fifteen of nineteen, four
of seven from three and five of five from the
free throw line, and Kawhi Leonard just playing some dog
one good basketball.

Speaker 10 (20:58):
It was grind it out victory, eighteen league changes, Kawhi
twelve times tied. How were you guys able to close
it out there in that fourth quarter?

Speaker 5 (21:07):
Came down to stop at the end of the game.
Great basketball team, especially at home. MVP and caliber player
with yolkis Man, great guys around him, Murray and they
all playing great.

Speaker 2 (21:18):
So tough, tough fight. That's what the playoffs are about.

Speaker 10 (21:21):
I know what you said before the playoffs started that
you just want to leave it all out on the floor.
You were fifteen of nineteen from the field, thirty nine points.
When did you knew, Hey, I had it tonight.

Speaker 5 (21:31):
I just kept going and staying in his own I
didn't worry about what shots are making our missions.

Speaker 2 (21:36):
Just cut shooting.

Speaker 10 (21:37):
I know it's tough to get a road wind, especially
in the playoffs. Now it shifts back home. How much
does the mentality shift now? Knowing the series is tied
up with one to one, you get to play in front.

Speaker 8 (21:46):
Of some home fans, now the same mentality.

Speaker 5 (21:48):
We got to go out there and still play a
good basketball game, staying focused. Like I said, this is
a great basketball team we'll be playing against, and there's
no easy walk.

Speaker 10 (21:58):
Well, it's going to be a heck of a series.

Speaker 7 (21:59):
Two great game.

Speaker 10 (22:00):
So Fark and grad will.

Speaker 1 (22:01):
See in La watching that first half, he looked as
good as he ever looked. Yeah, he looked like Kawhi Leonard. Yeah,
he looked like he was healthy. And again I think
he played all the games he needed to play this year.
And so looking at Kawhi, if he can play like this,
they are going.

Speaker 2 (22:19):
To be a serious, serious problem.

Speaker 1 (22:22):
Coming up next, we're gonna talk to Joe Cook of
Inside Texas get the latest on Texas football, because don't
forget this weekend is fan Day as Texas Football invites
us all out. Coming up next Joe Cook of Inside
Texas right here in the morning kickoff on Sports Radio
AM thirteen hundred the zign he joins us every Tuesday

(22:44):
at this time. We are always joined by my guy,
Joe Cook of Inside Texas. You can follow him at
Joseph Cook eighty nine. And Joe, I want to get
into the conversation because obviously, this weekend will be fan
Day at the University of Texas dk R Texas Memorial Stadium,

(23:04):
and a lot of folks are, you know, looking forward
to the weekend but really wanted to see what all
this talent look like. But what are you guys hearing
about practice so far? I know that we have an
availability today, but what have you been hearing about some
of the guys that have kind of stood out thus
far at practice?

Speaker 6 (23:27):
Yeah, so I go back to last week and you know,
I think the scrimmage of April twelfth, and you know,
you hear about the guys that you may want to
ask more about because you understand the guys like Anthony
Hill and Arch Manning or are going to be doing okay.
But you know, then you ask about those guys towards
the end and it's like, Yeah, they're making the right place.

(23:47):
They're doing the things that you would expect someone like
Anthony Hill and Arch Manning to do. The one thing
that I've kind of found to be very interesting is
that Trey Weiser continues to get per for his toughness.
We saw that in the Kentucky game, in the Texas
A and M game, even the Oklahoma game last year
that he's someone who can just you know, even though

(24:10):
he may not be the most strong in stature, can
can run like someone who's two inches taller than twenty
pounds bigger. And that continues to be the case. And
he's a little bit larger too, so he's able to
handle that. We know that they have high expectations for
guys like CJ. Baxter upon his return, you know, Christian Clark,
but Trey Wisner continues to get praise as one of

(24:32):
the toughest players in the program and runs that way
on a regular basis too.

Speaker 1 (24:37):
My question is all of these the portal was open,
and the portal is gonna close shortly. Like Texas has
made some moves, picked up a tight end, picked up
a defensive end as of yesterday, can you tell us
more about this defensive tackle defensive end hybrid?

Speaker 6 (24:56):
Yeah, Marod Watson, Well, the guy that picked up on
Friday the defensive tackles Levon is Levon Johnson from Maryland.
I think, you know, when you look at the four
defensive tackles they've added in the portal, I don't think
it's unfair to say that he's number four. Adds a
good piece to the room, but we'll see what he

(25:17):
is able to contribute. The guy that they're hosting today
is Syracuse defensive lineman Marod Watson, freshman All American originally
from the New Jersey area.

Speaker 2 (25:27):
And this guy, if he enters he.

Speaker 6 (25:29):
Maybe one A or one B, or if he commits
to Texas, he may be one A or one B.
Really talented, plays up and down the line, operates though
for the most part in an area where Petequitkowski deploys
his defensive tackles, and man he was he was disruptive
on some of the film that I saw him in.
So uh, He's sought after by other teams like Georgia, Tennessee,

(25:51):
Ohio State. But if Texas can lock it up here
on on on what's to say Tuesday, then that boat
extremely well for their twenty twenty five defensive lines.

Speaker 1 (26:02):
We saw that Stone was in the portal from Oklahoma
and there was word on the street that Texas was
in the running.

Speaker 2 (26:11):
Was there any truth to that.

Speaker 11 (26:14):
No, we never heard anything about Texas and David Stone.
That's an interesting situation, but looks like Oklahoma found the
money that it needed to keep Stone one of the
biggest stories.

Speaker 1 (26:28):
We're talking to Joe Cook of Inside Texas. You can
follow him at Joseph Cook eighty nine on social media.
One of the biggest stories that we are trying to
figure out Bert Auburn gets in the transfer portal and
Texas immediately goes to Texas State to get Mason Shipley
from Liberty Hill. That has been a story that even

(26:50):
when coach Stark met with us last week, he was
kind of being like, well, we're still working on some things,
trying to figure it out. Is Mason Shipley going to
get it first DIBs on trying to take off with
that kicking duty.

Speaker 2 (27:05):
Yeah, I really believe.

Speaker 6 (27:07):
So this is a kicker that you know, we talk
about how some of these recruiting battles are are pretty tough.

Speaker 2 (27:13):
This one featured a lot of teams.

Speaker 6 (27:15):
Oklahoma had him for a visit, TCU one of them,
UCF wanted him, and you know, they made some very
strong offers to get him.

Speaker 2 (27:24):
But Texas was not only.

Speaker 6 (27:26):
A place that brought the best mixture of you know,
opportunity on the field, but opportunity off the field as well.

Speaker 2 (27:33):
And he shows up the kicking game.

Speaker 6 (27:35):
You know, it's one of those things where Steve Starkesian
doesn't want to leave that to chance, Texas could have
an SEC championship. You could argue if the kicking game
was on point at the end of the year. And
that's not to say that Burt Auburn, you know, I
hope he goes and finds a lot of success because
he hit some big kicks in his career. It's unfortunate
just that all those big kicks came in some really
tough losses and then he was nails in twenty twenty three.

(27:59):
But kick a lot of it's mental, you know, a
lot of it. Just the slightest thing can throw a
kick off. Some combination of that kept happening over and
over again for Bert and Texas felt the need to
go and add somebody in this window to not leave
things to chance for the twenty twenty five season.

Speaker 2 (28:18):
They want to know that, you know, hey, you know.

Speaker 6 (28:20):
See Sharkeysan likes going for it from the thirty and
in Who knows if that's a result of you know
what Burt Auburn was last year. If that's just a
philosophical belief, but now we may see that alter a
little bit. If Mason Shipley's going to be, you know,
the guy that we expect him to be.

Speaker 2 (28:37):
What we saw from Texas State. What is Mason's strong point?

Speaker 1 (28:40):
Is a distance or is it more he's an accurate
dart thor kicker.

Speaker 6 (28:47):
You know, it's one of those things where you try
to look at the stats and see what they tell you.

Speaker 5 (28:51):
Uh.

Speaker 6 (28:52):
He was fifteen for fifteen and twenty twenty three, and
then last year he was fifteen for nineteen which he
had's four misses but still fifteen makes.

Speaker 2 (29:00):
And he had a long of sixty.

Speaker 6 (29:02):
In an indoor game at NRG Stadium, so he six zero, Yes, sir,
So he hit that against Sam Houston State in the
game the Bobcats lost, but it was right before halftime,
so it was a pressure kick. He can hit him
from sixty. I think he's got range into the fifties.
And you know, he's someone that we'll see if he
handles kickoffs. But he has a good history of accuracy

(29:27):
and distance.

Speaker 1 (29:28):
Yeah, it's gonna be interesting to see how it plays out.
I'm gonna let you go with this, Joe. You and
I are baseball guys, and this weekend we got a
chance to see a star being born.

Speaker 2 (29:40):
On the forty acres.

Speaker 1 (29:41):
He's here for football, but he just happens to be
pretty good at baseball. Jonah Williams, what was your first
initial thoughts when you saw this young man have a
hell of a weekend this past weekend.

Speaker 6 (29:55):
Yeah, you know, it's like, all right, whose turn is
it in left field? And Schlasnagele decided to give Joanah
Williams the opportunity, and man, he made the most of it.
Good at bats, good level swing, hitting the ball right
back where it came from a couple of times, and
had a really hot weekend. And he even saw him

(30:15):
make some impact on the bass pass with some stolen
bases over the course of the entire week. So really
impressive to see. You kind of wondered when he would
get an opportunity. He wondered a little bit if maybe
this this version of the game was a little bit
fast for him right now, which there is no problem
with that for freshmen, especially considering you know, when you're

(30:37):
splitt in sports, sometimes you don't dedicate as much at
tension to one as you do the other. But I
think you know, this is the type of weekend where
you go out and have a great week for a
five for seven week against the top eleven team, and
you look like you're right at home, and you look
like you're right at home in the plate and making
big plays. So maybe this is a confidence builder that

(30:59):
Joanah william need. And you know, if this is the
guy that you have at the bottom of the order
in the nine spot, hey, you know that's.

Speaker 2 (31:06):
That's your extra leadoff guys.

Speaker 6 (31:07):
Well, Jonah Williams has some tremendous speed and hopefully Texas
gets to make use of that more he gets.

Speaker 1 (31:13):
On base, No doubt, no doubt. I knew you would
bring it as always. Thank you and we will talk soon,
my friend.

Speaker 2 (31:21):
Absolutely, thank you. Guys.

Speaker 1 (31:22):
There is Joe Cook of Inside Texas breaking it down
like no other. Coming up next, do we have our
own version of trading places. We'll talk about it right
here on the morning kickoff on Sports Radio AM thirteen
hundred the great stuff by Joe Cook of Inside Texas.
Make sure you follow him at Joseph Cook eighty nine.

(31:46):
Coming up at the top of the hour, we'll be
talking to former Texas Longhorn lifetime Longhorn Aaron Williams about
the draft, his expectations for a lot of these Texas Longhorns,
and we'll follow up up with John McClain of the
Houston Texans dot com as he talks all things Houston Texans.

Speaker 2 (32:08):
But in nineteen eighty.

Speaker 1 (32:09):
Three, there was a movie that came out starring Dan
Ackroyd and Eddie Murphy, and it was set in a
time where people were always trying to figure things out.

Speaker 2 (32:25):
Well, it's called trading places.

Speaker 1 (32:27):
And in college football, we have been witnessing a lot
of things happening in the transfer portal that's very similar that.
And there's some things that have happened just recently where
you think you got one quarterback or one player and
you end up with another one and it's just you

(32:52):
just try to figure things out. So, in case you
did not follow, Nico Amalva has the decided to leave
Tennessee after negotiating for more money fell through, and then
he decides, I need to find a new home. But
this time he goes and he wants to go to UCLA,

(33:17):
and UCLA decides it's not enough to just have one.
I'm gonna leave you now. I'm gonna get the second
one because his brother Madden, that's right, his name is
Madden has decided to leave Arkansas to go to UCLA,

(33:37):
And now the game has changed so much that UCLA
has now decided we'll take them both. And now the
quarterback for UCLA is going to yes where, Yes Where, Tennessee.
But who can you blame for this debacle? As some

(34:00):
would say it, And I think there's only one person
or one group of people that you can blame.

Speaker 2 (34:09):
Get Valentine, it was the Duke's. It was the Duke's.

Speaker 1 (34:21):
If it wasn't the Dukes, it had to be Dama
Lava's daddy and him being able to negotiate all of
these things. Now, obviously the transformation in trading places, as
we're calling it, is a little bit different because Tennessee's
deal with the new quarterback, Joey Aguilar.

Speaker 2 (34:41):
Is a significantly cheaper deal.

Speaker 1 (34:44):
Obviously, he wasn't going to demand that type of money,
but he is going to get an opportunity to get paid.
But the one thing about it all Mark, when you
sit back and you really observe how this is all
playing out.

Speaker 2 (35:01):
Is it truly a win win situation for both.

Speaker 1 (35:06):
No, it's not like all the continuity is gone right,
all of the relationship with the other players is gone.

Speaker 2 (35:14):
You got to start all over and just learning all
the plays.

Speaker 1 (35:19):
Like there's people that are gonna have to slow down
so he can catch up. So you're gonna slow your
development down a notch so this guy could come in
and get it yeap. Hopefully he's really sharp, which most
quarterbacks are. Then you have to be able to adjust
because Aguilar not only came from Appalachian State, he went

(35:42):
to UCLA, transferred there, and now transferred again. Now the
reason why I'm not making a big deal about his
transfer is obviously UCLA decided that they wanted the other
guy to come in and not only bring him, but
he brought his brother that is in as well.

Speaker 2 (36:02):
They're both not quarterbacks, are they.

Speaker 1 (36:04):
Yes, yes, it's a family affair. It's a family affair,
and his brother had an opportunity to be the starting
quarterback at Arkansas. I'm doing but now they have made
the move, and I can only think of one thing
if I'm Tennessee, because most of those Tennessee fans were

(36:27):
thinking to themselves, this is over for us.

Speaker 2 (36:31):
The order man, we're back.

Speaker 1 (36:38):
That's what Josh Haipel is saying to that to the
athletic director business because if this young man can come
in and do half of the things with the talent
that Tennessee already has, and he can make this happen,
I think this is going to be a good move
for Tennessee because the headache is gone, right.

Speaker 2 (37:01):
They don't have to.

Speaker 1 (37:02):
Worry about somebody coming into the office every time and
trying to renegotiate a contract for something.

Speaker 2 (37:11):
They're dealing with that Dad must be like dealing with
LeVar Ball. But but Lvar Ball is. This dude makes
him look like a.

Speaker 1 (37:23):
Genius because LaVar Ball, think about it, everybody and his
family is successful. They were all top three picks except
for Langelo. Now he rapping, I'm aa swerve in the corner.

Speaker 2 (37:34):
Woo, I'm not talking to you. I'm not talking to you, sir.
That is that is not a rap channel.

Speaker 1 (37:47):
I'm gonna trying to get everybody to turnout school.

Speaker 2 (37:52):
He's on his way to school.

Speaker 1 (37:54):
He's like, why would why would dad do that?

Speaker 2 (37:58):
You're embarrassing the family. We're up in the corner.

Speaker 1 (38:01):
Whoooo coming up next, we're gonna get an opportunity to
talk to somebody that gut a.

Speaker 2 (38:07):
Chance to hear his name call. A few years.

Speaker 1 (38:10):
Ago, in the NFL Draft. Aaron Williams, Life Tom Longhorn,
McNeil Maverick will be joining us to talk NFL Draft,
Buffalo Bill's and where he thinks they will go and
who will be the first one off the board for
the Texas Longhorns right here on the morning Kickoff on
sports Radio AM thirteen hundred The Zone. Welcome back to

(38:35):
our number two of the morning kickoff right here on
Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred The Zone.

Speaker 2 (38:40):
Mike Harball, Harts and World's.

Speaker 1 (38:42):
Strongest Man WWE Hall of Famer d Mark Henry and.

Speaker 2 (38:46):
Our number one.

Speaker 1 (38:46):
We heard about Nico Harrison and his terrible press conference
and why does he keep talking? We also talked NBA.
We heard from Joe Cook of Inside Texas with the
Jonah Hype and transfer portal, and we've also talked about
Nico and Madden. I'm Olivia going to UCLA. But joining
us on the phone right now is my good friend,

(39:08):
Lifetime Longhorn, Aaron Williams.

Speaker 2 (39:10):
He was a second round pick of.

Speaker 1 (39:13):
The Buffalo Bills, and let me just tell you this much.
He was hell on the baseball field as well.

Speaker 2 (39:21):
Good morning, Aaron, How you doing, buddy?

Speaker 8 (39:24):
What's going on, Mike Man, thanks you having name.

Speaker 2 (39:26):
I'm glad to have you on.

Speaker 1 (39:27):
Man.

Speaker 2 (39:27):
Thank you for taking the time. Aaron.

Speaker 1 (39:29):
This is an important time for a lot of players
as their lives will change, and you were one of
those players that had his life change. As a matter
of fact, you got a birthday coming up here in
the next couple of days, but we'll talk about that
in a minute. But you came to the University of
Texas and major mark early in your freshman year, and

(39:51):
as you developed, you saw your opportunity to get to
the next level grow and grow, and eventually got to
the NFL. But talk about your time on the forty
anchors that led to your opportunity to get drafted.

Speaker 8 (40:07):
I mean true, I had a pretty amazing experience at UT,
coming in as a freshman, high expectations from a disappointing
year the year before, and you know, the veteran guys,
the senior guys, you know, all lucked usin and had
had a good first two years, and then obviously the

(40:28):
last year was one of the start of the disappointing years.
But the overall experience for me two BCS Bowl games,
one National Championship game, and then in a Big twelve
championship game. So right there itself, I think that's pretty
good to to have an to have a great experience.
But the coaching staff, the players, everyone you know, push

(40:48):
each other to to be great as possible and the
development that UT carries with the great coaching staff. I
was blessed enough to be with coach Wyniekeina as we
all know, the godfather of DBU. So I had a
heck of experience at college and then it definitely prepared
me to get ready for the NFL.

Speaker 1 (41:07):
Andar coach Sark has made it abundantly clear that he
wants the representation of former University of Texas athletes. Uh,
do you have a relationship with uh? The university still?
And now that coach a Kena's back. If you don't,
will you?

Speaker 8 (41:27):
Uh? I will always be longhorned. So I was always
be connected somehow, some way. And Coach Stark does love
when former guys come back and just kind of mentor
the kids and just try and show them the right path.
You know, with my coach MATC. Brown, he did a
great job of allowing guys to come back and show

(41:48):
those guys' experiences and show them what it takes to
get to the next level. So Sark is bringing that
that camaroritie back, that family, that family bond.

Speaker 2 (41:56):
That we've always had.

Speaker 8 (41:57):
And and also the o the coaching staffs, even they're
new or not, you know, they come together and want
us to help as much as we can as possible.
And it makes it better for me personally, just because
you know, coach me and Coach Keena have been through
a lot together and we've we've you know, fell, we've
been successful, we fought, we've we've done it all together.

(42:18):
So to have that amazing coach come back, it truly
is a blessing for those kids, not only just for me.
I mean it's great for me to have him back,
but for him to have a knowledge and just you know,
he's brought a lot of guys in the in the NFL,
and to have those guys that have experience to that
to with Coach Keena, I mean, it's truly an opportunity

(42:38):
that they should, you know, take advantage of.

Speaker 1 (42:40):
We're talking to lifetime Longhorn, Aaron Williams and Aaron you know,
I look at John A. Barron, another local kid you
went to McNeil, He went to Flugerville Conley, and he
is another dog guys I like to say, somebody that
can do a little bit of everything. He's played multiple
positions at the University of Texas, you had an opportunity

(43:03):
to do different things and play multiple positions as well.
What is it about Joday that has a lot of
NFL scouts looking at him and salivating over his ability?

Speaker 8 (43:16):
I mean, honestly, man, when you went to Jim Thorpe Award,
there's there'd be I would be very, very curious to
see why any coaches wouldn't go out to that playmaker
that we have.

Speaker 2 (43:28):
Jaday.

Speaker 8 (43:28):
I mean, I'm always praised Jada. I mean we're two
local Austin kids, and it's not many Austin kids making
noise like like Johday did I did. We had James
Macouba who was also from Austin. So anytime those guys,
anytime there's anybody local, I'm always praised because you know,
as an Austin kid, you don't really hear a lot

(43:48):
of highlights from guys from from the local area. So
anytime I noticed or seeing a guy that's from the
Austin area, I'm always getting a lot of praise and
a lot of a lot of help. And I had
a chance to opportunity through jar Day's time at sex
Us to you know, throw a little tips here and there,
but for the most part, you know, he has Michael

(44:09):
Huff and he has now had Blake Gideon at the time.
And then now he's back to get ready for the league.
And I'm sure took coach a Kina, you know, came
in and whispered in his ear what he what he
should and should not do. And then also his teammates,
I mean they had he had a very successful career
at UT the third Jim Thorpe Award rainning for US,
so there's not really much he needed to prepare. But

(44:31):
the coaches that Laura look at him just know that
he's getting a playmaker. I mean, he didn't win a
Jim Thorpe for no reason.

Speaker 2 (44:37):
And we let another one.

Speaker 1 (44:39):
You talk about the local prospects, we let Leonard Moore
get out of here and go to Notre Dame. But
I'll tell you what, with the portal now there's there
still might be a chance.

Speaker 2 (44:48):
What do you think.

Speaker 8 (44:51):
Look, I'm telling you right now, the portal nowadays, man,
anything is possible. You know, the portal and the NIL
has definitely changed the game of recruiting. And luckily for Texas,
you know, we have a great an il booster fund
behind us. And it wouldn't it would be not the

(45:12):
smartest idea for kids not to come to Texas. I mean,
you literally have everything great coaching staff, NFL experience by
being at UT, the city itself, and the great people,
the great food I mean, and the money behind it
that we can we can throw out the kids now
how this game is being played. So it's really it's
really an opportunity for these kids to come in and

(45:33):
just experience something that a lot of people just don't
get the chance to.

Speaker 1 (45:36):
And a mentorship somebody like you and Huff and Derek Johnson.
Just the history of this university was a big class it.

Speaker 8 (45:48):
Is and that's one of the reasons why it made
me withdraw to Texas. You know, before I was wining
and rode Texas, I had God always look up the
guys like Michael Hoff, Quinn Jammer, Michael Michael Griffin, Rod Babers.
I mean, the less can go on, Anathan Basher and
so I had a great example and I think the

(46:08):
best thing that UT can do is continue that tradition
of showing that showing these kids that you know, this
guy came from Houston, Dallas, Austin. They came into Austin
together to complete a goal to win a national championship.
But then hopefully for your career and you know, live
and play as long as you can in then.

Speaker 1 (46:27):
So we're talking to lifetime Longhorn, Aaron Williams, and Aaron
A lot of people don't realize you were one heck
of a baseball player.

Speaker 2 (46:36):
You had all kinds of talent.

Speaker 1 (46:38):
In Texas now has a two sports star well in one,
Jonah Williams. Jonah Williams got an opportunity safety from Galveston ball,
came to school early for football, but ended up being
on the baseball field, and now he's making ways in baseball.
What are your thoughts on two sport athletes. I think

(46:58):
I know him, but what are your thoughts.

Speaker 8 (47:03):
I actually love it, especially for the correlation between football
and baseball and that coordination how to track the ball.
It's another way of training your body and preparing yourself
to be a better version of yourself on the field.
And you you stay busy, you know you don't get
a chance to get distracted by other things. You're always,
you know, locked in. You're always doing some type of

(47:23):
workout or getting prepared for the game. So it's not
like a lot of guys where you're kind of I
wouldn't say just sitting through during spring ball or anything.
But you're more active, You're more still having your body prepared,
and it just helps you in the long run. I
love two sport athletes. It's it. It gives you a
chance to either stay more focused and prepare yourself in

(47:46):
the ways that you know, once you you know, look
at your mistakes and realize what you can and cannot
do off the field, that it helps you get replaced
from the things that you miss on. And you know
from that field of when you're in season too, now
that you're in office and you're still working on those
individual things, just with a different sport.

Speaker 1 (48:06):
Aaron, before we let you go, I wanted to ask you.
You're doing some work with the Buffalo Bills. The Buffalo
Bills drafted you in the second round in the twenty
eleven draft. You's pretty much spent your whole career there
and now you're working with them.

Speaker 2 (48:20):
What are you doing for Draft night.

Speaker 8 (48:23):
I'm actually going to be flying up the Buffalo. Buffalo's
having a draft night, and so I had the opportunity
last year to announce two picks last year, which was
a really cool experience up in Detroit. This year, I'll
be flying up there and they have a big draft party.
So I go up there mingle with the fans. I'm
sure we'll have some guys that I played with up there,

(48:43):
so it'll be good to catch up with some four
players and you know, just enjoy that Bill's Mafia Buffalo experience.
You know, even though it's not a game day, I
promise you, they're going to treat it just like a
game day. They're going to have tables for us ready
to break. It's just gonna be another crazy uh.

Speaker 2 (49:04):
Wa, man, you're gonna do an elbow drop through one
of the tables.

Speaker 8 (49:08):
Hold on, hold on now, hold on, missus strong sean
man on the on the earth.

Speaker 2 (49:15):
The reason, you.

Speaker 8 (49:18):
Know what, I actually need tips on how to properly
land and break a table. If you can do it,
I'm not.

Speaker 2 (49:27):
Telling you to go and do that. Leave that to
let crazy do that.

Speaker 8 (49:33):
Hey, but I got to It's it's just part of
the lifestyle. Man, you like not going to UT Colgate
and you're going to UT games. So it's something you
just gotta you know, prepay yourself.

Speaker 1 (49:42):
Listen, I go to Tailgates to eat, not to be
in pain.

Speaker 2 (49:46):
I do not want you in pain. Brother, Oh my.

Speaker 8 (49:51):
God, I can't do either. My I don't think my
body can handle. So I'll find an alternate for me
to do it.

Speaker 2 (49:55):
For There you go, there you go.

Speaker 8 (49:57):
Yeah, the fans would definitely do it for me for sure.

Speaker 1 (50:00):
There is my guy, Aaron Williams, as he will be
part of the Buffalo Bill's Mafia Draft Day celebration. As
always there. I love you, brother, and be safe up there.

Speaker 8 (50:12):
Hey you guys always man, thank you guys for having
me and I appreciate it so always fun being on
the show, no.

Speaker 2 (50:16):
Doubt, no doubt, there is Aaron Williams. Coming up.

Speaker 1 (50:20):
Next, we will have John McClain as he breaks down
what's going on with the Houston Texans and who the
pick might be.

Speaker 2 (50:28):
Right here on the.

Speaker 1 (50:29):
Morning Kickoff on sports Radio AM thirteen hundred The Zone.
Welcome back to the morning kickoff right here on sports
radio AM thirteen hundred The Zone. Mike Harball Hards and
the world strongest man, the Mark Henry. We just had
a great conversation with former Buffalo Bill and lifetime Longhorn
Aaron Williams. And let's not stop the party as the

(50:53):
NFL Draft comes to you this Thursday, April the twenty fourth,
And what better way to find out what's going on
in Houston then bringing on John McClain, NFL writer from Houston,
and you can follow him at McClain Underscore on Underscore NFL. John,

(51:13):
always good for you to join us, and I want
to get right into it.

Speaker 2 (51:18):
The question that I have is, what is the.

Speaker 1 (51:20):
Story that is going on that, well, Kelvin Banks might
fall all the way to number twenty five and fall
right into the lap of your Houston Texans.

Speaker 12 (51:32):
Well, I think anybody believes that doesn't have a clue
about Sheldon Banks Junior. What's he done all of a
sudden to go from like a top ten or twelfth
pick to all of a sudden fall into twenty five
and they get.

Speaker 2 (51:46):
Up on the wrong side of the bed. I don't
understand it.

Speaker 12 (51:49):
At one point, people are talking about Banks being the
first offensive lineman. Now they're talking about him being third.
But I'll tell you this, if he were available at
twenty five, the Texans would jump all over. There's just
no way he's going to be available. They need an
offensive lineman, so they'll have to draft someone else.

Speaker 2 (52:10):
So let's let's stay right there for a second.

Speaker 1 (52:12):
Because of the fact that the Houston Texans have had
a very interesting offseason, for those that are watching from afar,
you can probably shed a lot of light on it.
They get rid of most of their offensive line pretty much.
I think it was like seventy five percent of its
starting line has now been changed. They make a move
on the defensive side. Why is it that it was

(52:35):
time for them to make a change on the offensive line.

Speaker 2 (52:38):
Because their offensive line was terrible. CJ.

Speaker 12 (52:42):
Stroft was pressured more than any quarterback in the NFL
last year and third and most sacks, and that's according
to Next Gen Stats, and that a Texans offensive lineman
at least one was beaten at the snap forty something percent.

(53:03):
I think it was forty one percent of the past
plays and that was the most in the league by far.
So instead of trying to put a band aid on
if they fired their offensive line coach and they fired
Bobby Sloan, the offensive coordinator who went to Miami, and

(53:25):
they decided they needed to take a Jackammer to it,
and left guard Kenyon Green will go out as the
biggest bust in team mystery, but they did him a favor.
They traded him to Philadelphia where he'll work with the
best offensive line coach, Jeff Stallin, and if he can't

(53:46):
make it there, he's not gonna make it anywhere. They
cut their right guard Shaq Mason, who gave up ten
a half sacks. Nobody saw it coming because he had
played well the year before. And then the moves that
surprised everybody was trading their left tackle Lamie Tunsall, their
past pass protector, to Washington for multiple draft picks. And

(54:07):
they did that with Tunsul because when they acquired him
from Miami in twenty nineteen, they redid his contract made
him the highest paid offensive lineman in history. Next time
they redid it, they made him the highest paid offensive
lineman in history. His contract expires in two let's see,
after the twenty twenty six season, and he was already

(54:31):
making noise about being the next highest paid again and
they weren't gonna do it. They didn't want any contract issues,
so they shipped him out.

Speaker 2 (54:40):
They put him.

Speaker 12 (54:41):
You know, they brought in four guys, and if any
of them were any good, they wouldn't have been available.
So they need an offensive lineman who could play can
solidified left tackle. The one I would like to see
them get is Ohio State Josh Simmons, who would have
been if he healthy, he would have been a top

(55:02):
offensive lineman taken. But he blew out his Patoller tendon
in October. And even if he had to sit out
and everybody says he's going to be healthy, but even
if he had to set out, I would take it
because the guy is really good. If you had to
play at guardier like Tomsilds a rookie, you could do that.
If you had to do that with Kelvin Banks junior

(55:25):
for a year, you could do that. I'm curious that
if indeed Banks dropped to say nineteen or twenty, would
they trade up and get him. May have enough draft
choices over the next two years, but I'm not counting
on that one bit.

Speaker 2 (55:41):
Johnna.

Speaker 1 (55:41):
I'm waiting to see you and die hard for uh.
But outside of that, if you had to pick and
you knew that this is the most important thing that
the Texas needed.

Speaker 2 (55:53):
What would you pick?

Speaker 12 (55:55):
I picked an offensive tackle because they're desperate. I take
that offensive tack. When anybody complained about it, I'd say,
k mother and leave it at that. Behows your primary
asset is CJ. Stroud. Some people have them taking a
wide receiver in the first round.

Speaker 2 (56:14):
Yeah, that's what I was saying.

Speaker 12 (56:15):
Unless it's somebody rated way above where they and he's available,
I don't see it. They're starting receivers last year Nego Collins,
Tank Dell third rounder or stuff on Digg's fifth rounder.
You don't have to do that in the first round.
And so I think they're going to take a offensive alignement.
Could be a guard like uh Gray's Abel North Dakota State,

(56:39):
could be a guard like Tyler Booker from Alabama, Donovan
Jackson from Ohio State, and they can get a wide
receiver in the second round.

Speaker 1 (56:51):
We're talking to John mcclan You can follow them on
social media at McLain Underscore, on Underscore, n f L
and John we all know for those that are new
to the show, you are a huge Baylor Bear fan.
So your love hate relationship with the University of Texas
runs deeper than most. You're from Waco, so you understand

(57:12):
it all. But my question for you is looking at
this year and last year, as a matter of fact,
the growth of this Texas football team and the development
of these Texas football players. Eleven went to the Combine
last year. This year they are sending fourteen and there
are a lot of guys that may be first rounders.

(57:35):
Do you think that the Texans will end up with
a Texas Longhorn?

Speaker 2 (57:40):
Oh?

Speaker 12 (57:41):
I don't have any idea they might get another round.
I don't think Banks is going to be there and
easy only offensive lineman worthy of being a first round pick,
but they certainly could another one because one of the
good things it stands out about the long Horne skill
position players is their speed. That's one thing Steve sart
Occasion and staff have done a great job of recruiting.

(58:03):
Now we all know he should have pulled yours for
arch manning on the goal line, but that's hindsight. And
like everybody else, I can't wait to see what arch does.
I've known Archie since he played here with Oilers in
eighty two and eighty three, and no Peyton and don't
know Eli but everybody can't wait, and they get receivers

(58:25):
transferring in there because they all want to play with
arch Manning and UTA's recruiting is just going to continue
to skyrocket.

Speaker 2 (58:34):
And I like the long Arms.

Speaker 12 (58:35):
A lot better since they play in the SEC. But
I'll say this ever since I was a kid in
Waco and would cry every year when Texas.

Speaker 2 (58:45):
Would beat Baylor.

Speaker 12 (58:46):
When you do beat Texas, it means more than anybody else.
You beat Daggy, so what. But boy, when you beat
the long Arm, that's achieving something. And I just wish
John mcavick was still the coach.

Speaker 2 (59:00):
Why would you wish that upon us, sir?

Speaker 12 (59:04):
Because Baylor used to hammer the long Orange with macavic
was there.

Speaker 1 (59:08):
Do you remember Curtis Hafford who was that uh? He
played middle linebacker for Baylor. He came from a rival
school and as a relative, he was really really like
an important piece to Baylor in the in the eighties
late eighties eight.

Speaker 12 (59:27):
I'm a front runner and Baylor's playing well like they
did the second part last season.

Speaker 2 (59:32):
I'm all about it.

Speaker 12 (59:33):
When they stink it up early, then I get you
mad want to tweet blast them, So I'm careful right now,
I'm bad at the basketball program because every single player
on the team is gone. I think even the walk.

Speaker 2 (59:46):
Ons are gone. They're making some moves. JOHNA. Will let
you go with this.

Speaker 1 (59:51):
Do you see any unexpected moves in this year's draft,
something that a lot of folks are going to be
scratching their head, Not like Eco Harrison, trade and Luca,
but something like that.

Speaker 12 (01:00:04):
I think if Sanders were to go second to the
Browns or third to the Giants at this point, nobody's
picking that in the mock drafts.

Speaker 2 (01:00:12):
I think that would shake up the draft.

Speaker 12 (01:00:14):
And I hope Sad Sanders go somewhere where he can
play and sticks it up to everybody's butts. Through all
of a sudden, it started to trash him anonymously because
they're gutless and he hadn't done anything to deserve it.

Speaker 2 (01:00:29):
I love it. There he is, John McClain.

Speaker 1 (01:00:31):
Make sure you follow him at McClain underscore on Underscore NFL.

Speaker 2 (01:00:38):
John, I appreciate you, my men, my pleasure, guys.

Speaker 12 (01:00:42):
Thank you very much, and good luck to the long
warn of the draft.

Speaker 2 (01:00:44):
Thank you. There he is, John McClain. Coming up next,
we will.

Speaker 1 (01:00:48):
Have the world's strongest man as he brings you the
world's strongest tank right here, Paul, Good Morning kickoff on
Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred, The Zoll Drop, w WE
Hall of Famer and World's Strongest Men Mark Henry back

(01:01:09):
in the at s brings you his world's Strongest take.

Speaker 2 (01:01:15):
Take it away, big fella.

Speaker 1 (01:01:17):
Marge, Yes, sir, you know what time it is? What Thomas,
It's time for the World's Strongest Take by the world's
strongest man Marcus. Back then they didn't know me. Now
I'm hot. They all on me.

Speaker 2 (01:01:35):
Guys. This is a special edition.

Speaker 1 (01:01:40):
Of the World's Strongest Take, because I'm going to make
my take based off.

Speaker 13 (01:01:47):
Who sucks the most. Oh yeah, and.

Speaker 1 (01:01:58):
You know when you hear this, somebody's about to get it, guys.
Nico Harrison is suffering from the most severe severe case
of diary of the mouth ever in sports. He just

(01:02:21):
cannot stop talking about his mistake as a general manager
and trading away the best Dallas prospect since you're one
and only Dirk Nowinsky, who Dirk is also a big

(01:02:41):
supporter of Luca Donnage, So it's like getting a two
for one slap in the face to the Dallas fan base.

Speaker 2 (01:02:50):
Because now Dirk is going to Los Angeles to watch
Luca play. It's hard situation.

Speaker 1 (01:03:02):
Charles Barkley considers himself a friend of Nkos. He gave
him some wonderful advice. Take the l and shut up.
Now on the flip side of the coin, we have
coach Mike Tomlin, impeccable record, has never had a losing season,

(01:03:26):
has coached for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and is the third
coach of the franchise. They don't change coaches that often
hard where they had Chuck Knowles, Bill Cower and Mike Tomlin.
And he is in danger of having not only his

(01:03:51):
first losing season, but losing the fan base of the
Pittsburgh Steelers. There are people that are already all in
for his head. The season hasn't even started yet. They
haven't even started the preseason, they haven't even started the

(01:04:11):
summer workouts, the OTAs and people are listen, they put
all their eggs in the Aaron Rodgers basket and it
didn't happen, or it hasn't happened. At this point, they
should consider it a loss and they should try to

(01:04:35):
move up and draft a quarterback or just say, you
know what, we're gonna take loss, We're gonna pay the
money to Atlanta, We're gonna give up maybe a second
or third round draft pick, and we're gonna take Kirk Cousins.

Speaker 2 (01:04:52):
They have to make extreme moves like that.

Speaker 1 (01:04:55):
Now my take, right now, if I had to pick,
oh God, it hurts Mike Tomlin. He's in the worst situation.
He's in the worst situation because Nico can get fired

(01:05:15):
and you know, it'll be like another general manager getting fired.
And by the way, I think that in my opinion,
I think Nico, the owners of the team wanted Luca gone.
They didn't want to invest all of that in Luca,
and they made Nico fire him and you take the loss.
Not us, but Mike Tomlin. I have a soft spot

(01:05:37):
in my heart because I know a bunch of players
that have played for him and they talk about him
like a father and for him to never have a
losing season and to go and put himself in this
spot because he put himself in this spot, because he's

(01:05:59):
the he's the final decision.

Speaker 2 (01:06:02):
I would say that it is Mike Tomlin. What's say you?

Speaker 1 (01:06:07):
I think Nico's the one that's gotta go. I think
Nico Mike Tomlin, as you said, I mean they've only
had three coaches. I mean they're not They're not just
firing people. And Mike Tomlin's not making this decision on
his own. They have to talk about some things, and
I'm sure if Mike was really stepping in it, he

(01:06:27):
would have made sure that they didn't let both Russell
Wilson and Justin Fields leave for them to bring back
Mason Rudolph. And as you say, Skylar Thompson, you fired cut.
My thing is Nico has now put himself into grease
and nobody else wants that grease. I mean he he

(01:06:51):
has shown if he would have if he would have
just stopped and not man and he would have said
what it is is what it is, and that's where
we at and pulled on and not continued to talk
about it and make himself sound like a buffoon, then
we would have a different meeting with no press recording devices.

Speaker 2 (01:07:17):
Which if that was the.

Speaker 1 (01:07:19):
Case, cool, isn't that any any law? No, But now
he's in this position to where he is on camera
and it sounds worse than what you could have ever
imagined it happening.

Speaker 2 (01:07:34):
In the back. I didn't know that the fans loved
him like that.

Speaker 1 (01:07:38):
That to me was the kid. That's the kiss of death.
That's the kiss of death right there. Yes, he is
as in the.

Speaker 2 (01:07:47):
Words of my friend.

Speaker 1 (01:07:51):
Mark Baker chop King, he gone. He has to put
it in to win because he has now made himself
vulnerable to any in every thought process. You know what,
when Charles Barkley tells you you've said too much, Oh

(01:08:13):
my god, I may have to do it.

Speaker 2 (01:08:14):
I'm going back on it. You are exactly right what Charles.

Speaker 1 (01:08:18):
Barkley says, you said too much and you just need
to stop.

Speaker 2 (01:08:23):
I'm changing my take there is Thank you.

Speaker 1 (01:08:25):
Heart, You're welcome. That's why we do what we do.
When we wow what we do. Another great take by
the world's strongest man. Coming up next, we'll close out
the show and send you to Dan Patrick right here
on the Morning Kickoff on sports Radio AM thirteen hundred
The Zone. Welcome back to the Morning Kickoff right here

(01:08:46):
on Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred The Zone. If you
missed any part of the show, get over to our
podcast page on iHeartRadio app on AM thirteen hundred The Zone,
dot Com, or wherever you get your podcasts, Because today
was a loaded, loaded show. We had Aaron Williams, former

(01:09:09):
Texas Longhorn and Buffalo Bill draft pick come on at
eight o'clock.

Speaker 2 (01:09:14):
He missed that, y'all.

Speaker 1 (01:09:16):
You also missed Joe Cook of Inside Texas talking about
the transfer portal who Texas picked up, and of course
I had to ask him about the Jonah Williams hype
train that is going on. And if you missed the
interview with John McClain, you definitely missed.

Speaker 2 (01:09:32):
You missed some great stuff as.

Speaker 1 (01:09:34):
John McClain, who has been covering the NFL for a
number of years, had some pretty cool takes as always.

Speaker 2 (01:09:43):
Also, we talked.

Speaker 1 (01:09:44):
A lot about Nico Harrison and what terrible, terrible form
he has shown and Kawhi is bawling again. But I
wanted to talk about the number one Texas Longhorns as
they get ready to take a trip to San Marcus
to try to get they licked back on the Texas
State Bobcats as the Bobcats came into Austin earlier this

(01:10:06):
season and defeated them. But Kimball Shusler, one of the
hottest batters in the country, has been named SEC Player
of the Week, co Player of the week, and I
had mentioned it during the telecast about how hot he was,
and I said, I believe that this is going to
be your player of the week, and by god, that's

(01:10:28):
exactly what he was. And even Craig Way had mentioned
it on the game telecast on right here on AM
thirteen hundred the Zone he had mentioned it as well.
Texas Kimball Shusler totaled an SEC leading seven fourteen batting
average and he had three home runs and drove in

(01:10:49):
ten RBIs during a perfect four and zero week. He
has reached base safely in thirteen of his seventeen played
appearances by mounting four multi hit games in his efforts,
including a two homer game eight RBI performance as Texas
defeated Auburn fourteen to two. He has been able to

(01:11:11):
turn it up.

Speaker 8 (01:11:12):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (01:11:12):
The other co player of the week just happened to
be Jason Lavalette from Texas A and M, who hit
five home runs and scored ten runs and eleven played
appearances this past week as they went three to one
Texas and Texas A and M.

Speaker 2 (01:11:28):
Well. The hatfield at.

Speaker 1 (01:11:30):
McCoy's take place this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It is
going to be an epic weekend on the forty acres.
But again Texas tonight they will have to beat Texas
a I mean Texas State. Excuse me, as that is
a huge matchup tonight on I think it's one O

(01:11:51):
three one, Yeah, one O three one FM. First pitch
is at six o'clock, but the pregame starts at five
forty five Asway and Keith Morland bring you the action. Also,
we have NBA tonight, Mark and I don't know about you,
but you need to get all your TVs ready to

(01:12:12):
go because it is a big, big night tonight. Milwaukee
will head on the road to Indiana. Indiana leads the
series one game to nothing. I believe your best player
in the league, Dame Lillard will be back. I know
you said he ain't. COMBECE Memphis is at OKC. Let's
just hope Memphis doesn't get beat again by fifty one.

(01:12:35):
And then the nightcap your Lakers, Minnesota at the Lakers.
Anthony Edwards just letting you know he's about that life
and so it's important for you for your Lakers to
get a dub tonight. Mark, Wow, it's super important because
this is the death pende.

Speaker 2 (01:12:52):
You don't get a win tonight.

Speaker 1 (01:12:55):
But also I just hope that I can stay away
because usually by third beginning of the third one large
hard for me. Well, I need you to go to
sleep anyway, so you can be ready and fresh to
go tomorrow. But you can also go home and take
a nap, which you're definitely gonna do that. I know
I mix one in every once in a while, well

(01:13:17):
every day, but I make sure that I get a
nap and you should too. Also, we want to give
you a chance to win a pair of tickets to
go see Jason all Dean. That's right, Jason Aldean will
be performing at the Moody Center August the sixteenth. All
you gotta do is leave a message and the message
is going to be green.

Speaker 2 (01:13:38):
Green is your keyword for today.

Speaker 1 (01:13:40):
By using that AM thirteen hundred zone red microphone on
the always free iHeartRadio app, and if you do that,
you get a chance to win a pair of tickets.
Tomorrow's show is gonna be loaded as well. I'm trying
to get my boy Q, who is in Green Bay,
because the draft will be taking place in Green Bay

(01:14:01):
while people will be in Green Bay. You and I
Craig Way and Camp Parker and our guy Marcus. Marcus
will be with us on site as we will be
at Twin Peaks in Round Rock this Thursday, starting at
two o'clock. Two o'clock, we will be at Twin Peaks
bringing you all the pre draft coverage and talking everything

(01:14:25):
Texas Longhorns, who we think will be number two.

Speaker 2 (01:14:28):
Three, four and five.

Speaker 1 (01:14:30):
Because I get all those two, three, four and five
and then you try to figure out what's happening next.
We got a big day on Thursday. Big day on Thursday.
We have Charles Davis. That's right, that's.

Speaker 2 (01:14:42):
Right, know who you know?

Speaker 1 (01:14:43):
You see his mock drafts all over the place, and
we'll get his take and he'll be in Green Bay
as well. Yeah, we'll get him on on the Legends
of the Locker Room segment at seven fifteen I mean,
excuse me at eight fifteen Central time for those that
are listening elsewhere.

Speaker 2 (01:15:01):
But it is going to be a busy, busy week.
We also have Texas Football this weekend.

Speaker 1 (01:15:08):
We'll have Coach Sark audio tomorrow as Coach Sark will
meet with the media one last time before Saturday's fan Day.
It is going to be a busy busy weekend on
the forty Acres. You also got mac Jack and McConaughey.
We have Tenny Kenny Simms Memorial on Thursday morning. Then

(01:15:31):
we have mac Jack and McConaughey. We have Texas sout
I mean softball, baseball. We got everything that will be
going on. This is gonna be a bu good week.
This is going to be a busy week. But again,
come and hang out with us at Twin Peaks, Round
Rock as we will be there.

Speaker 2 (01:15:48):
From two to six fifty leading you all the way
up to the draft.

Speaker 1 (01:15:53):
And again, if you miss any part of the show,
get over to the podcast.

Speaker 2 (01:15:57):
Page for my man Mark Henry. From Mark, I'm hardball
harsh and just.

Speaker 1 (01:16:02):
Remember this, don't believe everything you see because even salt
looks like sugar.

Speaker 2 (01:16:07):
Have a great day, peace,